Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Process of Retrieval from Very Long-Term Memory

In this paper we argue that the protocols of subjects recalling the.names of their high school classmates, as well as an army of traditional memory phenomena, can be understood from an informationprocessing analysis which interprets re-, tried as a problem-solving process. This characterization of retrieval focuses on the reconstructive and recursive nature of the process of remembering. Refrieval is viewed as a process in which some information about a target item is used to construct a description of the item and this description is used in attempts to recover new fragments of information. A new description is formed and the process continues recursively. Three subprocesses are identified: FIND A CONTEXT, in which a proper environment for conducting a search is established: SEARCH, in whidr bits and pieces of information appropriate to the context are recovered until an adequate description can be formed within the search context; and VERIFY, in which recovery infonnation is checked for consistency. From the perspective dthis characterization, we examine the protocols of sub-pcts asked to think aloud while recalling the names of their classmates. Subiects' retrievals continued for a surprisingly long period and were characterized by the phenomena of overshoot, systematic hypothesizing, fabrications, establishment of search contexts, self-corrections, and the use of a number of basic search strategies. The view of memory as a problem-solving process not only leads us to the identification of these phenomena but also to a framework for o coherent . interpretation for them.
An overview of scripting languages

Over the last few years the interest in scripting languages has dramatically increased. These languages have many important advantages over traditional programming languages, most notably, they eliminate the need for compilation, they manage memory automatically and they include high-level datatypes. In the future these languages are likely to become the core of most programming projects, because of their power to ’glue’ existing components together into a working application system.
Exploring students' learning effectiveness and attitude in Group Scribbles-supported collaborative reading activities: a study in the primary classroom

Improving students' reading comprehension is of significance. In this study, collaborative learning supported by Group Scribbles (GS), a networked technology, was integrated into a primary reading class. Forty-seven 10-year-old students from two 4th grade classes participated in the study. Experimental and control groups were established to investigate the effectiveness of GS-supported collaborative learning in enhancing students' reading comprehension. The results affirmed the effectiveness of the intervention designed. In the experiment group, students' learning attitudes, motivation and interest were enhanced as well. Further analyses were done to probe students' interaction processes in the networked collaborative classroom and different collaboration patterns and behaviours were identified. Based on the findings obtained, implications for future learning design to empower L1 learning were elaborated.
Immediate-early gene expression in EGF-stimulated intestinal epithelial cells.

The mammalian small intestinal epithelium is a continuously renewable population of cells which arise from a proliferative zone of undifferentiated stem cells within the crypts. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is thought to play a role in the maintenance and proliferative response of the intestinal epithelium. In order to investigate the early changes in intestinal gene expression which occur in response to a mitogenic stimulus, we performed studies in two different cell lines (IEC-6 and HT-29), both of which have characteristics of intestinal crypt cells. Cells were grown in DMEM + 10% FCS at 37 degrees C/5% CO2 and treated with either EGF (10 ng/ml) and/or cycloheximide (CHx) (10 micrograms/ml) for various times. Northern blot analyses were performed on total RNA using 32P-labeled cDNA probes corresponding to various protooncogenes. Our results showed that EGF treatment caused rapid increases in c-fos, c-jun, and junB expression (P < 0.001) in both cell lines. c-fos and c-jun followed similar time courses, peaking at 30 min, whereas junB levels plateaued at 1 hr. The magnitude and time course of protooncogene induction by EGF were similar in the two cell lines. A dose-response experiment indicated peak EGF effects at 10 ng/ml. CHx treatment resulted in greater and more prolonged increases in protooncogene expression when compared to EGF alone, indicating that protein synthesis is not required for protooncogene induction. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
A digital microfluidic system for serological immunoassays in remote settings

Portable digital microfluidic serological immunoassays for measles and rubella were developed and evaluated in a remote setting. A fluid transition into the field Many point-of-care diagnostics rely on lateral flow assays or microfluidics; however, these methods generally cannot test multiple samples simultaneously. Ng et al. optimized inkjet-printed digital microfluidic (DMF) cartridges and a portable control system to perform serological immunoassays in remote settings. DMF devices use electrostatic forces to mix and separate reagents and samples in small droplets of fluids. The DMF system measured IgG antibodies for measles and rubella from human blood samples obtained from adults and children on-site in a refugee camp in Kenya. Four samples could be tested simultaneously, although DMF IgG detection was less sensitive and specific than laboratory-based ELISA testing of matched serum samples. The emergence of this field-compatible technology brings with it new tools for advancing global health. Serosurveys are useful for assessing population susceptibility to vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks. Although at-risk populations in remote areas could benefit from this type of information, they face several logistical barriers to implementation, such as lack of access to centralized laboratories, cold storage, and transport of samples. We describe a potential solution: a compact and portable, field-deployable, point-of-care system relying on digital microfluidics that can rapidly test a small volume of capillary blood for disease-specific antibodies. This system uses inexpensive, inkjet-printed digital microfluidic cartridges together with an integrated instrument to perform enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). We performed a field validation of the system’s analytical performance at Kakuma refugee camp, a remote setting in northwestern Kenya, where we tested children aged 9 to 59 months and caregivers for measles and rubella immunoglobulin G (IgG). The IgG assays were determined to have sensitivities of 86% [95% confidence interval (CI), 79 to 91% (measles)] and 81% [95% CI, 73 to 88% (rubella)] and specificities of 80% [95% CI, 49 to 94% (measles)] and 91% [95% CI, 76 to 97% (rubella)] (measles, n = 140; rubella, n = 135) compared with reference tests (measles IgG and rubella IgG ELISAs from Siemens Enzygnost) conducted in a centralized laboratory. These results demonstrate a potential role for this point-of-care system in global serological surveillance, particularly in remote areas with limited access to centralized laboratories.
RAxML-VI-HPC: maximum likelihood-based phylogenetic analyses with thousands of taxa and mixed models

UNLABELLED RAxML-VI-HPC (randomized axelerated maximum likelihood for high performance computing) is a sequential and parallel program for inference of large phylogenies with maximum likelihood (ML). Low-level technical optimizations, a modification of the search algorithm, and the use of the GTR+CAT approximation as replacement for GTR+Gamma yield a program that is between 2.7 and 52 times faster than the previous version of RAxML. A large-scale performance comparison with GARLI, PHYML, IQPNNI and MrBayes on real data containing 1000 up to 6722 taxa shows that RAxML requires at least 5.6 times less main memory and yields better trees in similar times than the best competing program (GARLI) on datasets up to 2500 taxa. On datasets > or =4000 taxa it also runs 2-3 times faster than GARLI. RAxML has been parallelized with MPI to conduct parallel multiple bootstraps and inferences on distinct starting trees. The program has been used to compute ML trees on two of the largest alignments to date containing 25,057 (1463 bp) and 2182 (51,089 bp) taxa, respectively. AVAILABILITY icwww.epfl. ch/~stamatak
Social Acceptance as a Moderator in the Relationship between Socioeconomic Status and the Psychological Adjustment of Ethnically Diverse Early Adolescents

ABSTRACT Research suggested that socioeconomic status is related to psychological adjustment in ethnically diverse adolescents. Understanding correlates that may be helpful in mitigating ill effects on diverse adolescents’ psychological adjustment is important, with adolescents’ social acceptance being one correlate of interest. As a result, this study examined the relationships among ethnic identity, SES, social acceptance, and the psychological adjustment of 278 ethnically diverse early adolescents. Results of regression analyses suggested that socioeconomic status and social acceptance are important predictors of psychological adjustment. In addition, results indicated that adolescents’ perceived social acceptance moderates significantly the relationships between their socioeconomic status and depression, anxiety, and self-concept. These results suggested that social workers and other health service providers should identify early adolescents who are not feeling accepted socially for intervention in an effort to mitigate the symptoms of poor psychological adjustment, particularly when these adolescents are facing other struggles related to low socioeconomic backgrounds.
Rapid detection of Pseudomonas aeruginosa septicemia by real-time fluorescence loop-mediated isothermal amplification of free DNA in blood samples

Background: Pseudomonas aeruginosa septicemia poses significant healthcare-related problems including high mortality rates and substantial resource utilization. Successful antibiotic treatment relies on the accurate and rapid identification of infectious agents. However, current traditional methods of bacterial identification require extended processing steps including bacterial overnight culture, biochemical reactions, and antibiotic susceptibility testing. The sequential steps associated with infection diagnosis lack the celerity and sensitivity that is required to facilitate efficient result determination. We describe a rapid, sensitive, loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay for the direct detection of Pseudomonas aeruginosa DNA from clinical patient plasma. This technique is referred to as the “LAMP-Pa” (loop-mediated isothermal amplification of Pseudomonas aeruginosa) assay. Methods: Three primer pairs were designed to amplify the oprI gene, which encodes a Pseudomonas aeruginosa outer membrane protein. LAMP-Pa was performed using a 25 μl final volume at 65°C. For comparative purposes, we also used a traditional method of bacterial identification to evaluate assay efficacy. Results: The procedure enables direct detection from clinical patient plasma within 20 minutes without the requirement for DNA purification. The detection limit pertaining to Pseudomonas aeruginosa identification is 2.8 ng of total DNA/μl plasma. The diagnosis is specific to Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and the coincidence rate of LAMP-Pa and the traditional method was 100%. Conclusions: Our data indicate that the assay provides a sensitive, specific, and intuitive diagnostic tool for Pseudomonas aeruginosa septicemia detection.
GIN (Gaps-In-Noise) performance in the pediatric population.

BACKGROUND The recently developed Gaps-In-Noise (GIN) test has provided a new diagnostic tool for the detection of temporal resolution deficits. Previous reports indicate that the GIN is a relatively sensitive tool for the diagnosis of central auditory processing disorder ([C]APD) in adult populations. PURPOSE The purpose of the present study was to determine the feasibility of the GIN test in the pediatric population. RESEARCH DESIGN This was a prospective pseudorandomized investigation. STUDY SAMPLE This investigation involved administration of the GIN to 72 participants divided into six groups of normal children ranging from 7 through 18 years of age. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS The approximate GIN threshold (the shortest gap duration for which at least four of six gaps were correctly identified) served as the dependent variable. Results were analyzed using an ANOVA to examine between- and within-group differences. RESULTS No statistically significant differences were seen in GIN thresholds among age groups. In addition, within group analysis yielded no statistically significant differences between ears within each age group. No developmental effect was seen in GIN thresholds between the ages of 7 and 18 years. Children as young as age 7 are able to complete the GIN with no significant difficulty and perform at levels commensurate with normal adults. The absence of ear differences suggests that temporal resolution as measured by the GIN is an auditory process that develops relatively early and symmetrically (i.e., no laterality or ear dominance effects). CONCLUSIONS The GIN procedure appears to be a feasible measure of temporal resolution in both pediatric and adult populations.
Hepatoprotective Effect of Eplerenone, A Selective Mineralocorticoid Receptor Antagonist, Against Thioacetamide Induced Liver Injury in Rats

A growing body of evidence suggests the contribution of aldosterone in induction of oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction, inflammation and fibrosis in the vasculature, heart and kidney leading to progressive target organ damage. However, its role in liver injury is not clearly elucidated. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of eplerenone, a selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist, on liver injury in rat and the possible underlying mechanisms. Liver injury was induced by intraperitoneal injection of thioacetamide (200 mg/kg body weight, 3 times per week for 4 weeks). Thioacetamide injection resulted in significant increase in serum aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, interleukin 6, Tumor necrosis factor alpha and hepatic malondialdehyde concomitant with significant decline in the indices of antioxidant capacity, hepatic reduced glutathione and superoxide dismutase. Treatment with eplerenone (4 mg/kg/day for 4 weeks) in thioacetamide injected rats significantly restored these values to nearly the control values. The present study suggests implication of aldosterone in the pathophysiology of liver injury as treatment with eplerenone has hepatoprotective effect against liver injury induced by thioacetamide via reducing liver enzymes, inflammatory markers and oxidative stress.
Parallel-plate lab-on-a-chip based on digital microﬂuidics for on-chip electrochemical analysis

This paper describes an electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD) digital microfluidic-based lab-on-a-chip (LOC) integrated with on-chip electrochemical microsensor by IC compatible fabrication process, and its application for the entire online biosensing process capable of fully automatic analysis for ferrocenemethanol (FcM) and dopamine (DA). In this work, we made full use of the parallel-plate structure of the EWOD digital microfluidic device to fabricate the microfluidic module on the bottom plate and the three-microelectrode-system-integrated electrochemical cell together with patterned ground electrode on the top plate. The proposed LOC possesses the multifunction of: (1) creating, merging and transporting of microliter-level sample droplets, (2) online biosensing, and (3) droplets recycling. The three-electrode-integrated microsensor not only reveals a sensitive electrochemical detection for FcM in a wide concentration range (10 µM–1.0 mM), but also shows good stability, selectivity and reproducibility for surface-controlled detection of DA. The calibration of DA was linear for concentration from 1.0 to 50.0 µM with a high sensitivity of 2145 nA µM−1 cm−2 (R2 = 0.9933) and estimated detection limit of 0.42 µM (signal/noise ratio of 3). This work shows the promise of state-of-the-art digital microfluidic biosensors for fully automatic online bioanalysis in a future LOC to perform on-chip biomedical protocols in vitro diagnostic assays.
MidFusion: middleware for information fusion in sensor network applications

Several applications and services employ networks of embedded sensors to monitor events in the environment. To be effective, such applications should cope with sensor network limitations and characteristics, such as resource constraints, dynamicity and heterogeneity. In sensor network applications, there is a need for some level of fusion of information collected from different sensor sources. Research in this critical area is still in its infancy. We propose MidFusion, a middleware architecture that uses a Bayesian theory paradigm to support sensor network applications performing information fusion. MidFusion discovers and selects the best set of sensors on behalf of applications, depending on the quality of service (QoS) requirements and the QoS that can be provided by the sensor networks in a transparent way. We present the theoretical foundation of the MidFusion architecture and demonstrate its effectiveness through an example scenario.
On the use of informed initialization and extreme solutions sub-population in multi-objective evolutionary algorithms

This paper examines two strategies in order to improve the performance of multi-objective evolutionary algorithms when applied to problems with many objectives: informed initialization and extreme solutions sub-population. The informed initialization is the inclusion of approximations of extreme and internal points of the Pareto front in the initial population. These approximations, called informed initial solutions, are found using a fast evolutionary or local search algorithm on single objective problems obtained by scalarizing the multiple goals into a single goal by the use of weight vectors. The extreme solutions sub-population is proposed here to keep the best approximations of the extreme points of the Pareto front at any point of the evolution, and the selection scheme is biased to give these solutions slightly higher chances of being selected. Experimental results applying these two strategies in continuous and combinatorial benchmark problems show that the diversity in the final solutions is improved, while preserving the proximity to the Pareto front. Some additional experiments that demonstrate how the number of initial informed solutions affects the performance are also presented.
The effect of an occupational therapy mental health day treatment centre on the use of inpatient services in the Western Cape, South Africa

Abstract Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine whether attendance at an occupational therapy-led day treatment centre for mental health care users affects the use of inpatient services in South Africa. Methods: A retrospective pre-test/post-test quasi-experimental study design was used to compare admissions and days spent in hospital during the 24 months before and after attendance at the centre, using the hospital’s electronic records. Total population sampling yielded data for 44 mental health care users who made first contact with the service between July 2009 and June 2010. Data were compared using the Kruskal–Wallis test, Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test and Mann–Whitney U test. Results: There was a significant decrease in the number of admissions (z = −4.093, p = 0.00) and the number of days spent in hospital (z = −4.730, p = 0.00). Participants were admitted to psychiatric care 33 times less in the 24 months’ post-intervention, indicating a medium effect (r = 0.436). They also spend 2569 days less in hospital, indicating a large effect (r = 0.504). Conclusion: The findings suggest that an occupational therapy-led day treatment centre could be effective in reducing the use of inpatient mental health services in South Africa. Implications for Rehabilitation Attendance at an occupational therapy-led community day treatment centre decreases the number of admissions and number of days spent in hospital and is therefore beneficial to mental health care users and service providers. The study indicates that the successful implementation of a community day treatment centre for mental health care users on the grounds of a tertiary hospital by utilising existing resources is possible.
THE MONETARY BASE IN MONETARY POLICY INDICATORS McCallum and Hargrave ’ s Monetary Impulse Measure

T he adjusted monetary base has long been an index measure that aggregates the effects of Federal Reserve open-market operations, discount window lending and reserve-requirement changes. Traditionally the adjustment procedure has assumed that a change in required reserves leads to a one-to-one change in the demand for reserves. Recently, however, Anderson and Rasche (1996) have revised the St. Louis measure of the adjusted monetary base to reflect that many depository institutions are not bound by reserve requirements, so their demand for reserves does not change with further reductions in reserve requirements. Using bank-level data, Anderson and Rasche determine for each financial institution whether it is bound at the time of the change in required reserves, and they adjust the reserves only of bound banks. A second innovation of Anderson and Rasche is to include banks' required clearing balances in the measure of bank reserves. In terms of helping to reduce the likelihood of payments-related overdrafts in banks' accounts with the Fed, clearing balances are functionally equivalent to the reserve account deposits that are formally pledged towards satisfying reserve requirements. Furthermore, many nonbound banks freely choose to hold deposits at the Fed under clearing balance agreements. Hence Anderson and Rasche' s revisions affect both components of traditional measures of adjusted reserves: the source base (through the addition of required clearing balances) and the reserve adjustment magnitude (through more sophisticated analysis of how changes in reserve requirements affect the demand for reserves). Anderson and Rasche' s article contains a full description of the revisions they make to adjusted reserves in the post-1980 period. Because the adjusted monetary base and adjusted reserves have seen wide empirical use as indicators of monetary policy, it is important to know whether the Anderson and Rasche revisions alter existing empirical evidence regarding the stance and potency of monetary policy. The present paper applies both the old and revised measures in empirical models to examine whether the revisions cause the conclusions to change. Any altered empirical results would be a consequence of the data revision, but not a rationale or justification for the revision. One would expect that the growth rates of the revised and the old measures of the adjusted monetary base would differ most greatly in periods surrounding reserve requirement changes and periods when required clearing balances change rapidly. Just as it is necessary to examine whether the switch from fixed-weight to chain-type measures of GDP …