Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Symptom-Management Self-efficacy Mediates the Effects of Symptom Distress on the Quality of Life Among Taiwanese Oncology Outpatients With Breast Cancer

Background: Theory has suggested that self-efficacy plays an important role in facilitating health behaviors and, in turn, promoting healthy outcomes. However, limited research has focused on the mechanisms through which symptom-management self-efficacy acts as a mediator between symptom distress and quality of life (QOL) for patients with breast cancer who have undergone chemotherapy. Objective: The purpose of this study is to examine the association between symptom distress and QOL among Taiwanese oncology outpatients with breast cancer and proposed symptom-management self-efficacy as a mediator between symptom distress and QOL. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 201 oncology outpatients in 1 teaching hospital in the Taipei area of Taiwan. The research instruments included the Symptom-Management Self-Efficacy Scale–Breast Cancer, the symptom distress scale, and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Group Questionnaire. Bootstrapping was used to statistically assess the possible mediating effects of self-efficacy on QOL. Results: Symptom-management self-efficacy mediated the association between symptom distress and global QOL (indirect effect, −6.33; 95% confidence interval [CI], −9.63 to −3.74), functional QOL (indirect effect, −4.47; 95% CI, −7.05 to −2.36), and symptom QOL (indirect effect, 2.59; 95% CI, 1.07-4.83). All of the 95% CIs were significant. The lower symptom distress that patients experienced was indirectly associated with better QOL through higher self-efficacy. Conclusions: Symptom management self-efficacy may be a crucial mechanism through which symptom distress influences patients’ QOL. Implications: Clinicians may incorporate strategies focused on improving patients’ self-efficacy in relation to managing their symptoms caused by chemotherapy to improve patients’ QOL.
Domestic Interaction on a Segway Base with Heterogeneous Inter-Classifier Feedback

For a mobile robot that interacts with humans such as a home assistant or a tour guide robot, activities such as locating objects, following specific people, and distinguishing among different people are fundamental, yet challenging robotic vision tasks. For complex object recognition and tracking tasks such as person recognition and tracking, we use the method of inter-classifier feedback to track both uniquely identifying characteristics of a person (e.g. face), and more frequently visible, but perhaps less uniquely identifying characteristics (e.g. shirt). The inter-classifier feedback enables merging multiple, heterogeneous sub-classifiers designed to track and associate different characteristics of a person being tracked. These heterogeneous sub-classifiers give feedback to each other by identifying additional online training data for one another, thus improving the performance of the overall tracking system. We implement the tracking system on a Segway base that successfully performed aforementioned activities to a second place finish in the RoboCup@Home 2007 competition. The main contribution is a complete description and analysis of the robot system and its implemented algorithms.
TCF21/POD-1, a Transcritional Regulator of SF-1/NR5A1, as a Potential Prognosis Marker in Adult and Pediatric Adrenocortical Tumors

With recent progress in understanding the pathogenesis of adrenocortical tumors (ACTs), identification of molecular markers to predict their prognosis has become possible. Transcription factor 21 (TCF21)/podocyte-expressed 1 (POD1) is a transcriptional regulatory protein expressed in mesenchymal cells at sites of epithelial–mesenchymal transition during the development of different systems. Adult carcinomas express less TCF21 than adenomas, in addition, the KEGG pathway analysis has shown that BUB1B, among others genes, is negatively correlated with TCF21 expression. The difference between BUB1B and PTEN-induced putative kinase 1 (PINK1) expression has been described previously to be associated with survival in adult but not in pediatric carcinomas. Here, we analyzed the gene expression of TCF21, BUB1B, PINK1, and NR5A1 in adult and pediatric ACTs. We found a negative correlation between the relative expression levels of TCF21 and BUB1B in adult ACTs, but the relative expression levels of TCF21, BUB1B, PINK1, and NR5A1 were similar in childhood ACTs. In addition, we propose using the subtracted expression levels of the TCF21/POD-1 genes as a predictor of overall survival (OS) in adult carcinomas and TCF21-NR5A1 as a predictor of malignancy for pediatric tumors in patients aged <5 years. These results require further validation in different cohorts of both adult and pediatric samples. Finally, we observed that the OS for patients aged <5 years was markedly favorable compared with that for patients >5 years as well as adult patients with carcinoma. In summary, we propose TCF21/POD-1 as a new prognostic marker in adult and pediatric ACTs.
Enhancing the efficiency of active RFID-based indoor location systems

Active RFID-based indoor location systems rely on received signal strength (RSS) measurements in order to report position estimates of target objects. In practice, such systems exhibit a location error in the order of several meters. Much of this is due to the varying-nature of RSS measurements over time. Localization errors of several meters are harmful for applications in which the desired location information is the room or area where the target object is placed. When such location information is wrong, a user searching for the object has no choice other than to perform a blind search through the indoor environment. In this paper, we propose a simple algorithm that can greatly reduce the need for blind searches by automatically reporting to users a second estimate of the possible area in which the target object could be located. We have enhanced the wellknown LANDMARC location system with our algorithm for performance evaluation. Simulation results show that the overall location performance is boosted by up to 96.66% in accordance with signal propagation conditions and the placement of target objects.
Separating intrinsic interactions from extrinsic correlations in a network of sensory neurons

Correlations in sensory neural networks have both extrinsic and intrinsic origins. Extrinsic or stimulus correlations arise from shared inputs to the network and, thus, depend strongly on the stimulus ensemble. Intrinsic or noise correlations reflect biophysical mechanisms of interactions between neurons, which are expected to be robust to changes in the stimulus ensemble. Despite the importance of this distinction for understanding how sensory networks encode information collectively, no method exists to reliably separate intrinsic interactions from extrinsic correlations in neural activity data, limiting our ability to build predictive models of the network response. In this paper we introduce a general strategy to infer population models of interacting neurons that collectively encode stimulus information. The key to disentangling intrinsic from extrinsic correlations is to infer the couplings between neurons separately from the encoding model and to combine the two using corrections calculated in a mean-field approximation. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach in retinal recordings. The same coupling network is inferred from responses to radically different stimulus ensembles, showing that these couplings indeed reflect stimulus-independent interactions between neurons. The inferred model predicts accurately the collective response of retinal ganglion cell populations as a function of the stimulus.
Paediatric Consultation Liaison Psychiatry Services (PCLPS) -what are they actually doing?

Introduction Paediatric Consultation Liaison Psychiatry Services (PCLPS) are specialised services treating mental health difficulties co-morbid with medical problems. Methods Standardised clinical data was retrieved from all case notes (N=108) during the study timeframe (Jan-June 2016). Results The majority of children were female 59 (55%) with a mean age of 13. Presentation was typically via the Emergency Department (ED) (85, 79%), and of those, the majority (53, 62%) were 'out of hours' and for Deliberate Self-harm (44, 52%) Almost half of all cases seen (50, 46%) were previously known, and discharged back (84, 78%), to CAMHS. Discussion The majority of work conducted by the PCLPS involved children with acute or deteriorating psychiatry disorders, previously known to CAMHS, with a much smaller focus on typical liaison presentations. Adequate resourcing of hospital based PCLPS and 'out of hours' CAMHS are necessary to allow PCLPS provide a specialist service to children with combined medical and MH problems. Given the development of the National Children's Hospital, addressing these resourcing deficits is of vital importance.
Improved method for prioritization of disease associated lncRNAs based on ceRNA theory and functional genomics data

Although several computational models that predict disease-associated lncRNAs (long non-coding RNAs) exist, only a limited number of disease-associated lncRNAs are known. In this study, we mapped lncRNAs to their functional genomics context using competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) theory. Based on the criteria that similar lncRNAs are likely involved in similar diseases, we proposed a disease lncRNA prioritization method, DisLncPri, to identify novel disease-lncRNA associations. Using a leave-one-out cross validation (LOOCV) strategy, DisLncPri achieved reliable area under curve (AUC) values of 0.89 and 0.87 for the LncRNADisease and Lnc2Cancer datasets that further improved to 0.90 and 0.89 by integrating a multiple rank fusion strategy. We found that DisLncPri had the highest rank enrichment score and AUC value in comparison to several other methods for case studies of alzheimer's disease, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer and gastric cancer. Several novel lncRNAs in the top ranks of these diseases were found to be newly verified by relevant databases or reported in recent studies. Prioritization of lncRNAs from a microarray (GSE53622) of oesophageal cancer patients highlighted ENSG00000226029 (top 2), a previously unidentified lncRNA as a potential prognostic biomarker. Our analysis thus indicates that DisLncPri is an excellent tool for identifying lncRNAs that could be novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets in a variety of human diseases.
Sporting Activity Is Reduced 11 Years After First-Generation Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation in the Knee Joint

Background: Little is known about long-term sporting activity after periosteal autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI-P) and its correlation to clinical, morphological, and ultrastructural cartilage characteristics on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Purpose: To evaluate long-term sporting activity after ACI-P and to correlate with clinical and MRI findings. Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: Patients who underwent ACI-P for isolated cartilage defects of the knee joint between 1997 and 2001 were analyzed for sporting ability for 3 different time points: lifetime until the onset of pain, the year before ACI-P, and 11 years (range, 9.0-13.4 years) postoperatively. Sporting activity was assessed and patients’ level of activity scaled using standardized questionnaires. MRI scans of the affected knee joint at follow-up were analyzed using the MOCART (magnetic resonance observation of cartilage repair tissue) score and T2 mapping. Results: Seventy of 86 patients (81% follow-up rate) consisting of 25 female and 45 male patients, with a mean age of 33.3 ± 10.2 years at the time of surgery, mean defect size of 6.5 ± 4.0 cm2, and 1.17 treated defects per patient, agreed to participate in the study at a mean 10.9 ± 1.1 years after ACI-P. Fifty-nine patients (69% of total; 84% of follow-up) agreed to MRI, allowing the complete evaluation of 71 transplant sites. Before the onset of symptoms (lifetime), 95.7% of patients played a mean 6.0 sporting activities at a competitive level. In the year before ACI-P, 81.4% of patients played a mean 3.4 sporting activities in 2.4 sessions during 5.4 hours per week at a recreational level. At follow-up, 82.9% of the patients played a mean 3.0 sporting activities in 1.8 sessions during 3.0 hours per week at a recreational level. In contrast to objective factors, 65.6% of the patients felt that their subjective sporting ability had improved or strongly improved after ACI-P, whereas 12.9% felt that their situation had declined or strongly declined, and 21.4% stated that their sporting ability had undergone no change because of surgery. Factors of sporting activity correlated significantly with clinical long-term outcomes. MRI analysis with a mean repair tissue T2 relaxation time of 35.2 milliseconds and mean MOCART score of 44.9 showed no conclusive significant correlation to sporting activity. Level of performance was the only sporting activity factor to show a weak correlation with subgroups of the MOCART score. Conclusion: The premorbid level of sporting and recreational activities cannot be achieved 11 years after ACI-P. The MRI results determined at this time point did not conclusively correlate with long-term sporting activity.
A function for generating debugging questions in a Java programming learning assistant system

Today many universities offer courses for learning Java programming. Debugging cannot be avoided in programming. Nevertheless, there are not many chances for students to debugging programs, particularly written by another person. In this paper, for increasing that chance, we propose a function for generating a new kind of questions that are called debugging questions. A debugging question requires students to debug a program mixed with bugs. This function provides three ways of mixing bugs: deletion of reserved words, swapping of variables, and replacement by lists. We implemented this function into a Java programming learning assistant system, called JPLAS. We also discussed the usefulness by evaluating the function.
The Effect of WS2 Nanotubes on the Properties of Epoxy-Based Nanocomposites

In this paper we evaluated the effect of embedding inorganic nanotubes (INT) of tungsten disulfide (WS2) in an epoxy matrix, on the mechanical, thermal and adhesion properties of the resulting nanocomposites. The nanotube content spanned a range of values (0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5 and 1.0 wt%), and the nanotube incorporation process consisted of a combination of both distributive (magnetic stirring) and dispersive (ultrasonic mixing) methods. The adhesion of the nanocomposites to an aluminum substrate was characterized by both a single lap shear and a T-peel test. The fracture toughness (K IC) of the nanocomposites was characterized by a standard compact tension (CT) plane-strain fracture test. The thermal properties of the nanocomposites were determined by dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA). Overall, the addition of INT-WS2 was found to improve the shear strength and peel properties of the nanocomposite, and to significantly improve its fracture toughness and glass transition temperature. The extent and character of the nanotube–epoxy interaction were examined by electron microscopy, as was the energy dissipation mechanisms during fracture.
Resting State BOLD Variability in Alzheimer’s Disease: A Marker of Cognitive Decline or Cerebrovascular Status?

Background: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that may benefit from early diagnosis and intervention. Therefore, there is a need to identify early biomarkers of AD using non-invasive techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Recently, novel approaches to the analysis of resting-state fMRI data have been developed that focus on the moment-to-moment variability in the blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal. The objective of the current study was to investigate BOLD variability as a novel early biomarker of AD and its associated psychophysiological correlates. Method: Data were obtained from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) 2 database from 19 participants with AD and 19 similarly aged controls. For each participant, a map of BOLD signal variability (SDBOLD) was computed as the standard deviation of the BOLD timeseries at each voxel. Group comparisons were performed to examine global differences in resting state SDBOLD in AD versus healthy controls. Correlations were then examined between participant SDBOLD maps and (1) ADNI-derived composite scores of memory and executive function and (2) neuroimaging markers of cerebrovascular status. Results: Between-group comparisons revealed significant (p < 0.05) increases in SDBOLD in patients with AD relative to healthy controls in right-lateralized frontal regions. Lower memory scores and higher WMH burden were associated with greater SDBOLD in the healthy control group (p < 0.1), but not individuals with AD. Conclusion: The current study provides proof of concept of a novel resting state fMRI analysis technique that is non-invasive, easily accessible, and clinically compatible. To further explore the potential of SDBOLD as a biomarker of AD, additional studies in larger, longitudinal samples are needed to better understand the changes in SDBOLD that characterize earlier stages of disease progression and their underlying psychophysiological correlates.
Working Paper No . 607 , 2003 Search Activities , Cost of Living and Local Labor Markets by Eleonora Patacchini and Yves Zenou IUI

A model is considered in which optimal search intensity is a result of a trade off between short run losses due to higher search costs (more interviews, commuting.) and long-run gains due to a higher chance of finding a job. We show that this optimal search intensity is higher in areas characterized by larger cost of living and/or higher labor market tightness. This model is then tested for England on sub-regional data. We estimate a spatial error model and we find that both the local cost of living and the local labor market tightness are found to have a positive and significant effect on unemployed average search intensity. These findings are consistent with the prediction of the theoretical model.
Study of Biodegradation of Pure Magnesium

Magnesium and its alloys are possible to develop new type of biodegradable medical magnesium alloys by using their active corrosion potential. The bio-corrosion properties of the high pure magnesium in the Hank’s solution were investigated in this paper, the results showed that high pure magnesium had a low corrosion rate and hydrogen release in Hank’s solution, when the pH value of solution was controlled at 7.5, the corrosion rate was under 0.2mm/year, the production of hydrogen was about 0.15ml/cm2, and if the solution wasn’t controlled on pH value, the corrosion rate was about 0.02 mm/year, production of hydrogen was about 0.1ml/cm2 . Result of in vitro Kinetic clotting time test and animal implant prep-test showed that High pure magnesium had good thromboresistant property and tissue compatibility, pure magnesium can biodegrade lowly in animal body and formed surface apatite, which proportion of Ca/P was similar with bone tissue.
Support needs and experiences of family members of wounded, injured or sick UK service personnel

Introduction When a service person has been wounded, injured or sick (WIS), family members may provide care during their recovery in an unpaid capacity. This may occur in diverse environments including hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation centres, in the community and at home. Method Thirty-seven family members of WIS personnel were interviewed regarding their support needs, family relationships and use of UK support services. Semistructured, in-depth telephone interviews were used, with data analysis undertaken using a thematic approach. Results ‘Family member involvement’ was the main theme under which four subthemes were situated: ‘continuity of support’, ‘proactive signposting and initiating contact’, ‘psychoeducation and counselling’ and ‘higher risk groups’. Family members felt they might benefit from direct, consistent and continuous care regardless of the WIS person’s injury or engagement type, and whether the WIS person was being treated in a hospital, rehabilitative centre or at home. Conclusion The findings of this study suggest that family members of WIS personnel value proactive, direct and sustained communication from support service providers. We suggest that families of UK service personnel may benefit from family care coordinators, who could provide continuous and consistent care to family members of WIS personnel.
Convolutional Neural Networks with Fused Layers Applied to Face Recognition

In this paper, we propose an effective convolutional neural network (CNN) model to the problem of face recognition. The proposed CNN architecture applies fused convolution/subsampling layers that result in a simpler model with fewer network parameters; that is, a smaller number of neurons, trainable parameters, and connections. In addition, it does not require any complex or costly image preprocessing steps that are typical in existing face recognizer systems. In this work, we enhance the stochastic diagonal Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm, a second-order back-propagation algorithm to obtain faster network convergence and better generalization ability. Experimental work completed on the ORL database shows that a recognition accuracy of 100% is achieved, with the network converging within 15 epochs. The average processing time of the proposed CNN face recognition solution, executed on a 2.5 GHz Intel i5 quad-core processor, is 3 s per epoch, with a recognition speed of less than 0.003 s. These results show that the proposed CNN model is a computationally efficient architecture that exhibits faster processing and learning times, and also produces higher recognition accuracy, outperforming other existing work on face recognizers based on neural networks.
Three-Anti Finishing for PLA Spunlace Non-Woven Fabrics

The purpose of this paper was to treat the PLA spunlaced non-wovens by finishing agents of organic fluorin FG-910, measure the properties of resistance to water, alcohol and blood of the fabrics by using different test methods. The experimental results show that PLA spunlaced non-wovens treated by FG-910 have excellent resistance to water, alcohol and blood,furthermore, there are no harmful effects on their strength,breathability,moisture permeability.
Quick and energy-efficient routes: computing constrained shortest paths for electric vehicles

In this paper we study multi-criteria routing problems related to Electric Vehicles (EVs). Because EVs still suffer from a rather small cruising range restricted by the battery's capacity, and loading stations are sparse and reloading is time intensive, previous work focused on computing the most energy-efficient routes efficiently. Unfortunately these approaches do not guarantee anything in terms of distance or travel time. But even a very eco-friendly driver might not be willing to accept a tour three times as long as the quickest one to save some energy. Therefore we present new types of queries considering energy-consumption and distance or travel time and reloading effort, e.g. computing the shortest or quickest path on which the EV does not run out of energy while requiring at most k recharging events (with k being an input parameter). The respective optimization problems are instances of the constrained shortest path problem, which is NP-hard. Nevertheless we will provide preprocessing techniques that allow for fast query answering even in large street graphs.