Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Negotiating meaning following infertility and disruption to life plans

Infertility is seen as a distressing crisis for the couple and individual. There has tended to be too heavy a focus on the female’s experience and not enough attention given to couples who go through IVF together. The aim of this research was to investigate how heterosexual couples co-construct their experience of infertility and fertility treatment. It was of interest how they construct their experience, how they construct themselves and each other, how they talk about alternatives to fertility treatment ie. adoption and childlessness, and how they each manage their own personal stake in the conversation. Both members of the couple were interviewed together to allow for co-construction. A discourse analysis was conducted from a social-constructionist epistemological position. Three heterosexual couples were recruited and data was gathered through semi-structured interviews. Dominant discourses of IVF as struggle and sacrifice, the pain of infertility and what is lost by not having their own biological children were identified. This helped to build a picture of the couples as deserving parents but also led to constructions of unfairness and resentment. Childless people were characterised as materialistic and lacking meaning in life. The analysis looked at how the couple was constructed during the interview with the dominant discourse being the ‘in it together’ discourse. This was troubled by some topics like donor gametes, who the infertile one in the couple was, and different reactions to IVF. The current research not only adds to the literature on infertility and IVF but also to how couples work together to co-construct experience and meaning. Implications, limitations and areas for future research are discussed.
Oscillatory Brain Activity in the Time Frequency Domain Associated to Change Blindness and Change Detection Awareness

Despite the importance of change detection (CD) for visual perception and for performance in our environment, observers often miss changes that should be easily noticed. In the present study, we employed time–frequency analysis to investigate the neural activity associated with CD and change blindness (CB). Observers were presented with two successive visual displays and had to look for a change in orientation in any one of four sinusoid gratings between both displays. Theta power increased widely over the scalp after the second display when a change was consciously detected. Relative to no-change and CD, CB was associated with a pronounced theta power enhancement at parietal-occipital and occipital sites and broadly distributed alpha power suppression during the processing of the prechange display. Finally, power suppressions in the beta band following the second display show that, even when a change is not consciously detected, it might be represented to a certain degree. These results show the potential of time–frequency analysis to deepen our knowledge of the temporal curse of the neural events underlying CD. The results further reveal that the process resulting in CB begins even before the occurrence of the change itself.
Statistical User Simulation with a Hidden Agenda

Recent work in the area of probabilistic user simulation for training statistical dialogue managers has investigated a new agenda-based user model and presented preliminary experiments with a handcrafted model parameter set. Training the model on dialogue data is an important next step, but non-trivial since the user agenda states are not observable in data and the space of possible states and state transitions is intractably large. This paper presents a summary-space mapping which greatly reduces the number of state transitions and introduces a tree-based method for representing the space of possible agenda state sequences. Treating the user agenda as a hidden variable, the forward/backward algorithm can then be successfully applied to iteratively estimate the model parameters on dialogue data. © 2007 Association for Computational Linguistics.
Examining ERBB2 as a candidate gene for susceptibility to leprosy (Hansen’s disease) in Brazil

Leprosy remains prevalent in Brazil. ErbB2 is a receptor for leprosy bacilli entering Schwann cells, which mediates Mycobacterium leprae-induced demyelination and the ERBB2 gene lies within a leprosy susceptibility locus on chromosome 17q11-q21. To determine whether polymorphisms at the ERBB2 locus contribute to this linkage peak, three haplotype tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (tag-SNPs) (rs2517956, rs2952156, rs1058808) were genotyped in 72 families (208 cases; 372 individuals) from the state of Pará (PA). All three tag-SNPs were associated with leprosy per se [best SNP rs2517959 odds ratio (OR) = 2.22; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.37-3.59; p = 0.001]. Lepromatous (LL) (OR = 3.25; 95% CI 1.37-7.70; p = 0.007) and tuberculoid (TT) (OR = 1.79; 95% CI 1.04-3.05; p = 0.034) leprosy both contributed to the association, which is consistent with the previous linkage to chromosome 17q11-q21 in the population from PA and supports the functional role of ErbB2 in disease pathogenesis. To attempt to replicate these findings, six SNPs (rs2517955, rs2517956, rs1810132, rs2952156, rs1801200, rs1058808) were genotyped in a population-based sample of 570 leprosy cases and 370 controls from the state of Rio Grande do Norte (RN) and the results were analysed using logistic regression analysis. However, none of the associations were replicated in the RN sample, whether analysed for leprosy per se, LL leprosy, TT leprosy, erythema nodosum leprosum or reversal reaction conditions. The role of polymorphisms at ERBB2 in controlling susceptibility to leprosy in Brazil therefore remains unclear.
My Mother Needs Me! Is It Possible to Stay Connected While Being My Own Person? The Object Relations of the Latina “Dutiful Daughter”

THE OBJECT RELATIONS OF THE LATINA DUTIFUL DAUGHTER by Juliana Martínez Advisor: Steven Tuber, Ph.D. Background: Latinas are culturally expected to be “dutiful daughters” establishing strong attachments and adhering to the traditional values characterized by loyalty, cooperation, respect and interdependence within family members. Conventional Latina mother-daughter bonds, therefore, are expected to be exceptionally close. Healthy mother-daughter closeness can be a valuable source of support while closeness without differentiation from the mother may result in a lack of independence and poor interpersonal and personal growth. Mutuality of autonomy, a dimension of object relations (OR) theory, focuses on the progression of separation – individuation from developmentally normative fused representations in infancy to highly differentiated self-other representations as the individual matures. Latinas have rarely been investigated using an object relations approach and the current study is the first to investigate the interactions of family dutifulness, mother-daughter bonds, and quality of OR in a Latina sample. Methods: In addition to administering two self-report measures looking at mother-daughter relations and Latina values respectively, this research applied the adapted Mutuality of Autonomy Scale (MOA-TAT) to examine verbal narratives on the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) in a sample of thirty college-aged Latinas. Mother-daughter closeness was determined using the Mother-Adult Daughter Questionnaire (MAD) and the degree of dutifulness was established using the Latina Values Scale (LVS). Included in the LVS was a conflict scale, which measured the respondents’ conflict with the traditional values they endorsed. Pearson correlation analyses were used to examine the relationships between the study variables. Results: Participants with MOA
Simulation Based Study of Interference for Wireless Domains

In this project, we use OPNET to design a Multimedia Wireless Network where a number of voice, data and video users transmit information that is received by a wireless receiver. We focus on a specific user and treat others as interferers. We then characterize the interference as envisioned by the receiver. The assumed area is around 1 km X 1 km in a campus where the users are randomly distributed. Another important feature of this project is that instead of assuming usual Poisson distributed traffic patterns, we use realistic traffic models.
Cast indexing for videos by NCuts and page ranking

Cast indexing is an important video mining technique which provides audience the capability to efficiently retrieve interested scenes, events, and stories from a long video. This paper proposes a novel cast indexing approach based on Normalized Graph Cuts (NCuts) and Page Ranking. The system first adopts face tracker to group face images in each shot into face sets, and then extract local SIFT feature as the feature representation. There are two key problems for cast indexing. One is to find an optimal partition to cluster face sets into main cast. The other is how to exploit the latent relationships among characters to provide a more accurate cast ranking. For the first problem, we model each face set as a graph node, and adopt Normalized Graph Cuts (NCuts) to realize an optimal graph partition. A novel local neighborhood distance is proposed to measure the distance between face sets for NCuts, which is robust to outliers. For the second problem, we build a relation graph for characters by their co-occurrence information, and then adopt the PageRank algorithm to estimate the Important Factor (IF) of each character. The PageRank IF is fused with the content based retrieval score for final ranking. Extensive experiments are carried out on movies, TV series and home videos. Promising results demonstrate the effectiveness of proposed methods.
Simplified Training for Gesture Recognition

Since gesture is a fundamental form of human communication, its recognition by a computer generates a strong interest for many applications such as natural user interface and gaming. The popularization of real-time depth sensors brings such applications to the public at large. However, familiar gestures are culture-specific, and their automatic recognition must therefore result from a machine learning process. In particular this requires either teaching the user how to communicate with the machine, such as for popular mobile devices or gaming consoles, or tailoring the application to a specific public. The latter option serves a large number of applications such as sport monitoring, virtual reality or surveillance -- although it requires a usually tedious training. This work intends to simplify the training required by gesture recognition methods. While the traditional procedure uses a set of key poses, which must be defined and trained, prior to a set of gestures that must also be defined and trained, we propose to automatically deduce the set of key poses from the gesture training. We represent a record of gestures as a curve in high dimension and robustly segment it according to the curvature of that curve. Then we use an asymmetric Hausdorff distance between gestures to define a discriminant key pose as the most distant pose between gestures. This further allows to dynamically group gestures by similarity. The training only requires the user to perform the gestures and eventually refine the gesture labeling. The generated set of key poses and gestures then fits in previous human action recognition algorithms. Furthermore, this semi-supervised learning allows re-using a previous training to extend the set of gestures the computer should be able to recognize. Experimental results show that the automatically generated discriminant key poses lead to similar recognition accuracy as previous work.
Detection of 23SrRNA Mutations Strongly Related to Clarithromycin Resistance in Helicobacter pylori Strains Isolated From Patients in the North of Iran

Background: Helicobacter pylori is curved Gram negative and microaerophilic bacilli that have infected half of the world’s population. It is recognized as the causative agent of duodenal ulcer, gastritis peptic ulcer, mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma and is associated with gastric adenocarcinoma. Resistance to clarithromycin is related to point mutations in 23SrRNA gene on nt 2143 and 2144, when A turns to G, and A2143G is the most important type. These mutations lead to reduced affinity of antibiotics to their ribosomal target and are considered as the main cause of treatment failure. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of A2143G point mutation in 23SrRNA of H. pylori strains isolated from gastric biopsies of patients in Rasht, north of Iran, by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Patients and Methods: A descriptive study was performed on 89 H. pylori strains, which were isolated from gastric biopsies of patients with gastric disorders such as gastritis, peptic ulcer, duodenal ulcer, non-ulcer dyspepsia and gastric adenocarcinoma. Isolated strains were tested for clarithromycin resistance using as breakpoint a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of ≥ 1 mg/L by the E-test. The presence of H. pylori DNA was confirmed by amplifying the ureC (glmM) gene by PCR. Also, point mutation on 23SrRNA gene (A2142G and A2143G) was detected by PCR-RFLP using MboII and BsaI restriction endonucleases in all extracted DNA. Results: Of the 89 H. pylori isolates, eighty-four were susceptible to clarithromycin, while five (5.6%) were resistant. All DNA samples of resistant strains, which were treated with BsaI had A2143G mutation. There was no point mutation in the sensitive strains of H. pylori. Also, we detected no mutation on nt A2142G of resistant strains. Conclusions: In the present study, the frequency of clarithromycin resistance was lower than the other studies conducted in Iran. Resistance frequency in samples isolated from gastric ulcer was higher than other gastric disorders. Women and patients aged more than 60 years old showed the most resistance frequency in this study. All resistant strains had the A2143G genotype.
Sequence Heterogeneity of TT Virus and Closely Related Viruses

ABSTRACT TT virus (TTV) is a recently discovered infectious agent originally obtained from transfusion-related hepatitis. However, the causative link between the TTV infection and liver disease remains uncertain. Recent studies demonstrated that genome sequences of different TTV strains are significantly divergent. To assess genetic heterogeneity of the TTV genome in more detail, a sequence analysis of PCR fragments (271 bp) amplified from open reading frame 1 (ORF1) was performed. PCR fragments were amplified from 5 to 40% of serum specimens obtained from patients with different forms of hepatitis who reside in different countries (e.g., China, Egypt, Vietnam, and the United States) and from normal human specimens obtained from U.S. residents. A total of 170 PCR fragments were sequenced and compared to sequences derived from the corresponding TTV genome region deposited in GenBank. Genotypes 2 and 3 were found to be significantly more genetically related than any other TTV genotype. Moreover, three sequences were shown to be almost equally related to both genotypes 2 and 3. These observations suggest a merger of genotypes 2 and 3 into one genotype, 2/3. Additionally, five new groups of TTV sequences were identified. One group represents a new genotype, whereas the other four groups were shown to be more evolutionary distant from all known TTV sequences. The evolutionary distances between these four groups were also shown to be greater than between TTV genotypes. The phylogenetic analysis suggested that these four new genetic groups represent closely related yet different viral species. Thus, TTV exists as a “swarm” of at least five closely related but different viruses. These observations suggest a high degree of genetic complexity within the TTV population. The finding of the additional TTV-related species should be taken into consideration when the association between TTV infections and human diseases of unknown etiology is studied.
Amperometric Metronidazole Sensor Based on the Supermolecular Recognition by Metalloporphyrin Incorporated In Carbon Paste Electrode

An amperometric metronidazole (MTZ) sensor using a glycosylated metalloporphyrin as a recognition element, which was incorporated in a carbon paste electrode, is reported. For the preparation of a MTZ-sensitive active material, 5, 10, 15, 20-tetrakis [2-(2, 3, 4, 6-tetraacetyl-β-D-glucopyranosyl)-1-O-phenyl]porphyrin (T(oglu) PPH2) and its Mn(III) complex MnT(o-glu)PPCl were synthesized from the reaction of pyrrole with ortho-acetylglycosylated benzaldehyde by Lindsay’s method. The MnT(oglu) PPCl-modified electrode showed excellent selectivity toward MTZ with respect to a number of interferents and exhibited stable response. The calibration graph obtained with the proposed sensor was linear over the range of 2.9×10-3-5.8×10-8 M/L, with a detection limit of 5.8×10-8 M/L for MTZ. Cyclic voltammetric measurements indicated that MnT(oglu) PPCl included in graphite-epoxy resin matrices could efficiently mediate electron transfer from the base electrode to MTZ causing a decrease of reduction potential for MTZ detection. The sensor could be regenerated by simply polishing with an alumina paper, with an excellent reproducibility (RSD=1.6%). The experimental conditions such as pH and applied working potential were optimized. The prepared sensor is applied for the determination of MTZ in pharmaceutical preparations and the results agreed with the values obtained by the pharmacopoeia method.
Learning Grammatical Constructions from Narrated Video Events for Human-Robot Interaction

The ability to provide natural language interaction with humanoids will likely require adaptive systems that learn the mappings from speech to meaning in a context dependant manner. The objective of this research is to develop a system for miniature language learning based on a minimum of pre-wired language-specific functionality, that is compatible with observations of perceptual and language capabilities in human development. In the proposed system, meaning is extracted from video images based on detection of physical contact and its parameters. Mapping of sentence form to meaning is performed by learning grammatical constructions that are retrieved from a construction inventory based on the constellation of closed class items uniquely identifying the target sentence structure. The resulting system displays robust acquisition behavior that reproduces certain observations from developmental studies, with very modest “innate” language specificity.
The Impact of Environmental Experiences on Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression Across the Life Span

Symptoms of anxiety and depression are relatively stable over time. Can this stability be explained by genetic influences, or is it caused by the long-lasting effects of accumulating environmental experiences? To address this question, we analyzed longitudinally assessed symptoms of anxiety and depression in eight samples of monozygotic twins of widely varying ages. These samples were drawn from American and European population-based registries. Using hierarchical linear modeling, we examined individual differences and individual changes in the level of symptoms over time. This method enabled us to decompose the variance into the predictable variance shared by both members of each pair of twins, the differences between individuals within pairs, and the residual variance. We then modeled how these components of individual variation changed over time. Within pairs, the twins’ predicted levels of symptoms increasingly diverged from childhood until late adulthood, at which point the divergence ceased. By middle adulthood, environmental experiences contributed substantially to stable and predictable interindividual differences in levels of anxiety and depression.
Environment-dependent interatomic potential for bulk silicon

We use recent theoretical advances to develop a functional form for interatomic forces in bulk silicon. The theoretical results underlying the model include an analysis of elastic properties for the diamond and graphitic structures and inversions of {ital ab initio} cohesive energy curves. The interaction model includes two-body and three-body terms which depend on the local atomic environment through an effective coordination number. This formulation is able to capture successfully (i) the energetics and elastic properties of the ground-state diamond lattice, (ii) the covalent rehybridization of undercoordinated atoms, and (iii) a smooth transition to metallic bonding for overcoordinated atoms. Because the essential features of chemical bonding in the bulk are built into the functional form, this model promises to be useful for describing interatomic forces in silicon bulk phases and defects. Although this functional form is remarkably realistic by the usual standards, it contains a small number of fitting parameters and requires computational effort comparable to the most efficient existing models. In a companion paper, a complete parametrization of the model is given, and excellent performance for condensed phases and bulk defects is demonstrated. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}
MegaTorrent : An Incentive-Based Solution to Freeriding in P 2 P File-Sharing Networks

We present MegaTorrent, a modification of BitTorrent that eliminates freeriding without artificially restricting system efficiency. It relies on a notion of “reputation” similar to that in the “EigenTrust” Algorithm or in Google’s PageRank: users improve their reputation by uploading to peers with high reputations, and as a result, having a high reputation becomes desirable. We prove that given rational individual behaviors, the mechanism is naturally fair–users get according to how much they give. Furthermore, the mechanism does not introduce artificial constraints such as requiring strict exchange. Megatorrent is also robust against peer collusion and multiple identity attacks. We reaffirm our theoretical findings through simulation, and demonstrate that unlike in BitTorrent, freeriders cannot hope to get by in MegaTorrent.
QoS-based resource allocation for relay-enhanced OFDMA networks

This paper studies the subchannel and power allocation problem in the relay-enhanced downlink orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) systems. The challenges of this resource allocation problem arise from the complication of two-phase assignments within a subchannel since the relay station (RS) can provide an additional two-hop signal path from the base station to the user equipments (UEs). Existing research work does not fully consider all the influential factors to achieve feasible resource allocation for the relay-based networks. In this paper, the QoS-based resource allocation (QRA) schemes are proposed to design the subchannel and power allocations for the UEs with the consideration of direct and two-hop communications. Both the selective and fixed phase assignments for the UEs are addressed to obtain the suboptimal solution for the proposed QRA schemes. Different weights are designed for the UEs to exploit the fairness and maximization of system throughput for the relay-enhanced networks. Simulation results show that the proposed QRA schemes with selective phase assignment can provide comparably higher network throughput with QoS consideration.