Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A grounded theory of successful long-term physical activity behaviour change

This paper presents a grounded theory of successful long-term physical activity (PA) behaviour change. Currently, a range of theoretical frameworks are available to guide researchers and practitioners in the development and implementation of PA behaviour change interventions. However, none of these theoretical approaches are specifically intended to account for PA-related behaviours. In addition, there is limited evidence to support the efficacy of current intervention strategies, particularly in the long term. To obtain a more ecologically valid explanation of successful PA behaviour change, this study describes the development of an explanatory model of successful PA behaviour change, grounded in relevant ‘real life’ experiences. To achieve this, a grounded theory methodology was adopted. Twenty-one adult participants, who had previously led sedentary lifestyles and had successfully completed a physical activity referral scheme to increase their PA participation, took part in in-depth interviews. All participants had been maintaining an increase in levels of PA participation for between four and seven years. An explanatory model of PA behaviour change is presented, which identifies individual core beliefs or values alongside various situational/informational cues, as key behavioural determinants. The results are discussed based on their contribution to the advancement of theoretical insights and applied practices within exercise psychology.
Lord of the Links: A Framework for Discovering Missing Links in the Internet Topology

The topology of the Internet at the autonomous system (AS) level is not yet fully discovered despite significant research activity. The community still does not know how many links are missing, where these links are and finally, whether the missing links will change our conceptual model of the Internet topology. An accurate and complete model of the topology would be important for protocol design, performance evaluation and analyses. The goal of our work is to develop methodologies and tools to identify and validate such missing links between ASes. In this work, we develop several methods and identify a significant number of missing links, particularly of the peer-to-peer type. Interestingly, most of the missing AS links that we find exist as peer-to-peer links at the Internet exchange points (IXPs). First, in more detail, we provide a large-scale comprehensive synthesis of the available sources of information. We cross-validate and compare BGP routing tables, Internet routing registries, and traceroute data, while we extract significant new information from the less-studied Internet exchange points (IXPs). We identify 40% more edges and approximately 300% more peer-to-peer edges compared to commonly used data sets. All of these edges have been verified by either BGP tables or traceroute. Second, we identify properties of the new edges and quantify their effects on important topological properties. Given the new peer-to-peer edges, we find that for some ASes more than 50% of their paths stop going through their ISPs assuming policy-aware routing. A surprising observation is that the degree of an AS may be a poor indicator of which ASes it will peer with.
Retrieving leaf area index with a neural network method: simulation and validation

Leaf area index (LAI) is a crucial biophysical parameter that is indispensable for many biophysical and climatic models. A neural network algorithm in conjunction with extensive canopy and atmospheric radiative transfer simulations is presented in this paper to estimate LAI from Landsat-7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus data. Two schemes were explored; the first was based on surface reflectance, and the second on top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiance. The implication of the second scheme is that atmospheric corrections are not needed for estimating the surface LAI. A soil reflectance index (SRI) was proposed to account for variable soil background reflectances. Ground-measured LAI data acquired at Beltsville, Maryland were used to validate both schemes. The results indicate that both methods can be used to estimate LAI accurately. The experiments also showed that the use of SRI is very critical.
The relationship of post-acute home care use to Medicaid utilization and expenditures.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES To describe the use of post-acute home care (PAHC) and total Medicaid expenditures among hospitalized nonelderly adult Medicaid eligibles and to test whether health services utilization rates or total Medicaid expenditures were lower among Medicaid eligibles who used PAHC compared to those who did not. STUDY POPULATION 5,299 Medicaid patients aged 18-64 discharged in 1992-1996 from 29 hospitals in the Cleveland Health Quality Choice (CHQC) project. DATA SOURCES Linked Ohio Medicaid claims and CHQC medical record abstract data. DATA EXTRACTION One stay per patient was randomly selected. DESIGN Observational study. To control for treatment selection bias, we developed a model predicting the probability (propensity) a patient would be referred to PAHC, as a proxy for the patient's need for PAHC. We matched 430 patients who used Medicaid-covered PAHC ("USE") to patients who did not ("NO USE") by their propensity scores. Study outcomes were inpatient re-admission rates and days of stay (DOS), nursing home admission rates and DOS, and mean total Medicaid expenditures 90 and 180 days after discharge. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Of 3,788 medical patients, 12.1 percent were referred to PAHC; 64 percent of those referred used PAHC. Of 1,511 surgical patients, 10.9 percent were referred; 99 percent of those referred used PAHC. In 430 pairs of patients matched by propensity score, mean total Medicaid expenditures within 90 days after discharge were $7,649 in the USE group and $5,761 in the NO USE group. Total Medicaid expenditures were significantly higher in the USE group compared to the NO USE group for medical patients after 180 days (p < .05) and surgical patients after 90 and 180 days (p < .001). There were no significant differences for any other outcome. Sensitivity analysis indicates the results may be influenced by unmeasured variables, most likely functional status and/or care-giver support. CONCLUSIONS Thirty-six percent of the medical patients referred to PAHC did not receive Medicaid-covered services. This suggests potential underuse among medical patients. The high post-discharge expenditures suggest opportunities for reducing costs through coordinating utilization or diverting it to lower-cost settings. Controlling for patients' need for services, PAHC utilization was not associated with lower utilization rates or lower total Medicaid expenditures. Medicaid programs are advised to proceed cautiously before expanding PAHC utilization and to monitor its use carefully. Further study, incorporating non-economic outcomes and additional factors influencing PAHC use, is warranted.
The dangers of heterogeneous network computing: heterogeneous networks considered harmful

This report addresses the issue of writing reliable numerical software for networks of heterogeneous computers. Much software has been written for distributed memory parallel computers and in principal such software could readily be ported to networks of machines, such as a collection of workstations connected by Ethernet, but if such a network is not homogeneous there are special challenges that need to be addressed. The symptoms can range from erroneous results returned without warning to deadlock. Some of the problems are straightforward to solve, but for others the solutions are not so obvious and indeed in some cases, such as the method of bisection which we shall discuss in the report, we have not yet decided upon a satisfactory solution that does not incur an unacceptable overhead. Making software robust on heterogeneous systems often requires additional communication. In this report we describe and illustrate the problems and, where possible, suggest solutions so that others may be aware of the potential pitfalls and either avoid them or, if that is not possible, ensure that their software is not used on heterogeneous networks.
Gain-Bandwidth Analysis of Broadband Darlington Amplifiers in HBT-HEMT Process

Broadband Darlington amplifiers using a GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) high electron-mobility transistor (HEMT) process are reported in this paper. The gain-bandwidth analysis of the Darlington amplifiers using HEMT-HBT, HBT-HEMT, HEMT-HEMT, and HBT-HBT configurations are presented. The bandwidth, gain, input, and output impedances are investigated with transistor size, feedback resistances, and series peaking inductance. The design methodology of the broadband Darlington amplifier in the HBT-HEMT process is successfully developed, and the direct-coupled technique is also addressed for high-speed data communications. Furthermore, two monolithic HEMT-HBT and HEMT-HEMT Darlington amplifiers are achieved from dc to millimeter wave, and successfully evaluated with a 25-Gb/s eye diagram. The HEMT-HBT Darlington amplifier demonstrates the best gain-bandwidth product with good input/output return losses among the four configurations.
Interpolation-based efficient matrix inversion for MIMO-OFDM receivers

The use of orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) drastically simplifies receiver design in multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless systems. Nevertheless, MIMO-OFDM receivers are computationally very demanding since processing is performed on a tone by tone basis with the number of data-carrying tones ranging from 48 (as in the IEEE 802.11a/g standards) to 6817 (as in the DVB-T standard). In this paper, we present a new class of algorithms for computationally efficient channel inversion in MIMO-OFDM zero-forcing receivers. The basic idea of the proposed approach is based on the fact that even though the inverse of a polynomial matrix is generally not polynomial, the adjoint and the determinant will be polynomial, which allows efficient inversion of the individual matrices through interpolation. We perform an in-depth complexity analysis of the new class of interpolation-based inversion algorithms. For the system parameters employed in the IEEE 802.16a standard, we demonstrate computational cost savings of up to 80 % over brute-force per-tone matrix inversion.
The role of self-control in the link between prior and future victimization:

This article investigated the effect of self-control on the link between individuals’ prior and future victimization, using panel data across nine years from the Pittsburgh Youth Study. Results showed that for victims with high self-control, prior theft victimization was related to decreased risk of later theft victimization. However, self-control was not related to repeat violent victimization. Control variables related to opportunity structures and delinquent subcultures played a key role in influencing the effect of self-control on the relationship between prior and later victimization. Implications of the findings are discussed.
Space-time discontinuous Galerkin discretization of rotating shallow water equations on moving grids

A space-time discontinuous Galerkin (DG) discretization is presented for the (rotating) shallow water equations over varying topography. We formulate the space-time DG finite element discretization in an efficient and conservative discretization. The HLLC flux is used as numerical flux through the finite element boundaries. When discontinuities are present, we locally apply dissipation around these discontinuities with the help of Krivodonova’s discontinuity indicator such that spurious oscillations are suppressed. The non-linear algebraic system resulting from the discretization is solved using a pseudo-time integration with a second-order five-stage Runge-Kutta method. A thorough verification of the space-time DG finite element method is undertaken by comparing numerical and exact solutions. We also carry out a discrete Fourier analysis of the one dimensional linear rotating shallow water equations to show that the method is unconditionally stable with minimal dispersion and dissipation error. The numerical scheme is validated in a novel way by considering various simulations of bore-vortex interactions in combination with a qualitative analysis of PV generation by non-uniform bores. Finally, the space-time DG method is particularly suited for problems where dynamic grid motion is required. To demonstrate this we simulate waves generated by a wave maker and verify these for low amplitude waves where linear theory is approximately valid.
N-Glycosylation as determinant of epidermal growth factor receptor conformation in membranes

Significance Structural analysis of growth factor receptors in their membrane environment is key for understanding their functions that are vital to the development and survival of organisms. High structural flexibility and posttranslational modifications of the full-length receptors, however, hinder structural analysis at high resolution. Here, we used atomistic molecular dynamics simulations and biochemical experiments with proteoliposomes to elucidate the role of N-glycosylation with regard to the structural properties of the human epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). We find that N-glycosylation critically determines membrane interactions and structural arrangement of the ligand-binding EGFR ectodomain. This combined approach provides new means to structurally explore and experimentally validate functional properties of cell surface receptors and test therapeutic agents, such as monoclonal antibodies. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) regulates several critical cellular processes and is an important target for cancer therapy. In lieu of a crystallographic structure of the complete receptor, atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have recently shown that they can excel in studies of the full-length receptor. Here we present atomistic MD simulations of the monomeric N-glycosylated human EGFR in biomimetic lipid bilayers that are, in parallel, also used for the reconstitution of full-length receptors. This combination enabled us to experimentally validate our simulations, using ligand binding assays and antibodies to monitor the conformational properties of the receptor reconstituted into membranes. We find that N-glycosylation is a critical determinant of EGFR conformation, and specifically the orientation of the EGFR ectodomain relative to the membrane. In the absence of a structure for full-length, posttranslationally modified membrane receptors, our approach offers new means to structurally define and experimentally validate functional properties of cell surface receptors in biomimetic membrane environments.
Risk and protective factors for psychological well-being of children orphaned by AIDS in Cape Town: a qualitative study of children and caregivers’ perspectives

Abstract By 2020, an estimated 2.3 million South African children will be orphaned by HIV/AIDS (Actuarial Society of South Africa, 2005), but little is known about risk and protective factors for their emotional and behavioural well-being. This qualitative study explores perspectives of affected families. Orphaned children (n = 60), caregivers of orphaned children (n = 42) and social care professionals (n = 20) completed semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Participants were recruited from schools, shelters and welfare services. Findings from multiple sources indicate potential risk and protective factors in a range of dimensions, including bereavement, family functioning, social support, poverty, access to education and perceived stigma. Many factors reflected international literature on children experiencing similar stressors (e.g. non HIV/AIDS-related bereavement). However, this study also identified factors which may be specific to this group, notably stigma, abuse and peer factors. Current research is quantitatively testing associations between these identified factors and psychological outcomes.
Cardiovascular fitness and haemodynamic responses to maximal cycle ergometer exercise test in children 6–8 years of age

Abstract We investigated cardiovascular fitness and haemodynamic responses to maximal cycle ergometer exercise test in children. The participants were a population sample of 425 children (204 girls, 221 boys) aged 6–8 years. Heart rate (HR) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) were measured from the beginning of pre-exercise rest to the end of recovery period. We provided reference values for peak workload and changes in HR and SBP during and after maximal exercise test in girls and boys. Girls had a lower cardiovascular fitness, indicated by peak workload per body weight [mean (2 s) 2.7 (0.9) vs. 3.1 (1.0) W · kg–1, P < 0.001] and lean mass [mean (2 s) 3.5 (0.9) vs. 3.8 (1.0) W· kg–1, P < 0.001] than boys. Plateau or decline in SBP close to the end of the test was found in about third of children and was considered a normal SBP response. Girls had a slower HR decrease within 2 min after the test than boys [mean (2 s) 53 (18) vs. 59 (22) beats · min–1, P < 0.001]. The results are useful for physicians and exercise physiologists to evaluate cardiovascular fitness and haemodynamic responses to exercise in children and to detect children with low exercise tolerance or abnormal haemodynamic responses to exercise.
The manifestation of transference during early psychotherapy sessions

Despite the clinical use of therapeutic transference across various schools of psychotherapy, there have been relatively few empirical studies of this phenomenon, none of which has examined transference with a non-pathological population. In this study, the core conflictual relationship theme (CCRT) method was used to examine the manifestation of therapeutic transference in the first three sessions of 22 counselling contracts with high-functioning individuals. Factor analyses of the wish (W) and response of other (RO) components of the CCRT indicate a complementary pattern of relating in which the therapist is idealised and others are devalued. Within the response of self (RS) component, clients exhibited a concordant relational transfer whereby they had a negative response to both the therapist and others. Additionally, control issues emerged in the W component for significant others and in the RS component for the therapist.
The Chaos of Combat: An Overview of Challenges in Military Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Research

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), or concussion, is among the most common injuries affecting Veterans of recent combat deployments. Military mTBI differs from civilian mTBI in fundamental ways that make assessment and diagnosis difficult, including a reliance on retrospective self-report and the potential influence of comorbid psychopathology. These unique features and their implications for research and clinical practice are summarized, and neuroimaging studies are discussed in the context of these complicating factors.
Familial aggregation of Parkinson's disease in a Finnish population

Familial aggregation of Parkinson's disease in a Finnish population was investigated. A family history was obtained on 268 patients with Parkinson's disease and 210 controls ascertained from the population of the province of northern Ostrobothnia, Finland. Ten per cent of the probands reported an affected first degree relative, whereas the corresponding frequency was 3.8 per cent in the controls (p=0.01). The relative risk of Parkinson's disease among the first degree relatives of the patients with Parkinson's disease was 2.9 (95 % confidence interval 1.3–6.4) and the cumulative incidence of Parkinson's disease by the age of 90 years was 3.3-fold higher among the first degree relatives of the patients than those of the controls. The crude segregation ratio was 0.27 for the siblings and 0.17 for the parents suggesting that recessive inheritance may be more common than dominant inheritance among Finnish patients with Parkinson's disease.
Hair Cell Overexpression of Islet1 Reduces Age-Related and Noise-Induced Hearing Loss

Isl1 is a LIM-homeodomain transcription factor that is critical in the development and differentiation of multiple tissues. In the mouse inner ear, Isl1 is expressed in the prosensory region of otocyst, in young hair cells and supporting cells, and is no longer expressed in postnatal auditory hair cells. To evaluate how continuous Isl1 expression in postnatal hair cells affects hair cell development and cochlear function, we created a transgenic mouse model in which the Pou4f3 promoter drives Isl1 overexpression specifically in hair cells. Isl1 overexpressing hair cells develop normally, as seen by morphology and cochlear functions (auditory brainstem response and otoacoustic emissions). As the mice aged to 17 months, wild-type (WT) controls showed the progressive threshold elevation and outer hair cell loss characteristic of the age-related hearing loss (ARHL) in the background strain (C57BL/6J). In contrast, the Isl1 transgenic mice showed significantly less threshold elevation with survival of hair cells. Further, the Isl1 overexpression protected the ear from noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL): both ABR threshold shifts and hair cell death were significantly reduced when compared with WT littermates. Our model suggests a common mechanism underlying ARHL and NIHL, and provides evidence that hair cell-specific Isl1 expression can promote hair cell survival and therefore minimize the hearing impairment that normally occurs with aging and/or acoustic overexposure.
Implementing and Sustaining Service-Learning at the Institutional Level

In this study, we offer insights regarding the tactics used by institutions to implement and sustain service-learning at various levels of commitment as identified by Holland (1997). An analysis of data collected from 12 directors of service-learning centers provides a description of common practices associated with implementing and sustaining service-learning initiatives at the institutional level, focusing on organizational tactics associated with funding, administration, faculty recruitment and support, and student involvement and assessment.
Why Did California Electricity Crisis Occur? a Numerical Analysis Using Multiagent Intelligent Simulator Abstract—during the Summer (2000), Wholesale Electricity Fits of Competition Promised to Consumers. This Study Proposes a Use of a Multiagent Intelligent Simulator (mais) to Numerically Ex- Amine

Q1 5 prices in California were approximately 500% higher than those 6 during the same months in 1998–1999. The price hike was unex-7 pected by many policy makers and individuals who were involved 8 in the electric utility industry. They have been long wondering 9 whether the electricity deregulation policy (1996) produced bene
Model-based power spectrum sensing from a few bits

Wideband power spectrum sensing is fundamental for numerous applications. When side information on the potentially active emitters is available, such as carriers and spectral masks, it should be exploited to improve sensing performance. Here the power spectrum is modeled as a weighted sum of candidate spectral density primitives. The objective is to estimate the unknown weights from a few randomly filtered broadband power measurement bits, taken using a network of low-end sensors. A linear programming formulation that exploits the sparsity in the unknown weights is proposed. A better approach follows, which exploits the approximately Gaussian distribution of the errors in the power measurements prior to quantization, in a maximum likelihood formulation that includes a sparsity-inducing penalty term. Simulations show that the model weights can be accurately estimated from few bits, even when the errors are significant.