Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effects of geography and spatial behavior on health care utilization among the residents of a rural region.

OBJECTIVE This analysis determines the importance of geography and spatial behavior as predisposing and enabling factors in rural health care utilization, controlling for demographic, social, cultural, and health status factors. DATA SOURCES A survey of 1,059 adults in 12 rural Appalachian North Carolina counties. STUDY DESIGN This cross-sectional study used a three-stage sampling design stratified by county and ethnicity. Preliminary analysis of health services utilization compared weighted proportions of number of health care visits in the previous 12 months for regular check-up care, chronic care, and acute care across geographic, sociodemographic, cultural, and health variables. Multivariable logistic models identified independent correlates of health services utilization. DATA COLLECTION METHODS Respondents answered standard survey questions. They located places in which they engaged health related and normal day-to-day activities; these data were entered into a geographic information system for analysis. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Several geographic and spatial behavior factors, including having a driver's license, use of provided rides, and distance for regular care, were significantly related to health care utilization for regular check-up and chronic care in the bivariate analysis. In the multivariate model, having a driver's license and distance for regular care remained significant, as did several predisposing (age, gender, ethnicity), enabling (household income), and need (physical and mental health measures, number of conditions). Geographic measures, as predisposing and enabling factors, were related to regular check-up and chronic care, but not to acute care visits. CONCLUSIONS These results show the importance of geographic and spatial behavior factors in rural health care utilization. They also indicate continuing inequity in rural health care utilization that must be addressed in public policy.
Towards the grounding of abstract words: A Neural Network model for cognitive robots

In this paper, a model based on Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) extends the symbol grounding mechanism to abstract words for cognitive robots. The aim of this work is to obtain a semantic representation of abstract concepts through the grounding in sensorimotor experiences for a humanoid robotic platform. Simulation experiments have been developed on a software environment for the iCub robot. Words that express general actions with a sensorimotor component are first taught to the simulated robot. During the training stage the robot first learns to perform a set of basic action primitives through the mechanism of direct grounding. Subsequently, the grounding of action primitives, acquired via direct sensorimotor experience, is transferred to higher-order words via linguistic descriptions. The idea is that by combining words grounded in sensorimotor experience the simulated robot can acquire more abstract concepts. The experiments aim to teach the robot the meaning of abstract words by making it experience sensorimotor actions. The iCub humanoid robot will be used for testing experiments on a real robotic architecture.
Does more exposure to the language of instruction lead to higher academic achievement? A cross-national examination

Aims and objectives: As some Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) studies claimed that native speaking (NS) students outperform language minority (LMi) students, far-reaching inferences have been drawn by policymakers. However, previous PISA assessments were not appropriate because they only included a dichotomous home language variable. The main objective of this study is to gain a better understanding of how students’ language background and use are related to academic achievement. Design: The PISA data from 2012 provides a unique opportunity to fill this research lacuna as it includes a more elaborated questionnaire on language background and use. Data and analysis: Multivariate three-level analyses are conducted on PISA 2012 data from 18 countries, covering about 5,000 schools and 120,000 students. Findings: The results show that there is an achievement gap between LMi and NS students for both reading and math. After controlling for students and school characteristics, the LMi–NS achievement gap narrows, but remains significant. This holds true for most countries. However, language use per se is not the cause of underachievement: LMi students who more often speak a minority language with their parents do not achieve less. In some countries, speaking a minority language more often with parents is actually positively related to math and reading achievement. Nevertheless, speaking the instruction language in the school context is positively associated with math and reading achievement. Originality and significance: This study revealed that the relation between language use and academic achievement is more complex than it was conceptualized in most previous PISA studies. Scholars need to go beyond the dichotomous approach to achieve a better understanding of language use. Our results show that linguistic diversity could function as an asset for academic performance, at least if a good balance between focus on minority languages at home and instruction language at school can be found.
A Simpli(cid:12)ed Clausal Resolution Pro edure for Propositional Linear-Time Temporal Logi

Abstra t. The lausal resolution method for propositional linear-time temporal logi s is well known and provides the basis for a number of temporal provers. The method is based on an intuitive lausal form, alled SNF, omprising 3 main lause types and a small number of resolution rules. In this paper, we show that the normal form an be radi ally sim-pli(cid:12)ed and, following on from this, a simpli(cid:12)ed resolution method an be de(cid:12)ned for this important variety of temporal logi
On AOP techniques for C++-based HW/SW component implementation

The increasing complexity of embedded system applications is leading to a convergence between hardware and software development. In this paper we aim to close the gap between hardware and software implementation by proposing guidelines for handling both domains in a unified fashion. We leverage on aspect-oriented programming (AOP) concepts to provide unified C++ descriptions that can be both compiled to software or synthesized to dedicated hardware using highlevel synthesis tools. Our results show that our strategy leads to reusable components at the cost of a small overhead when compared to software-only and hardware-only C++ implementations.
Cross-validation and refinement of the Stoffenmanager as a first tier exposure assessment tool for REACH

Objectives For regulatory risk assessment under REACH a tiered approach is proposed in which the first tier models should provide a conservative exposure estimate that can discriminate between scenarios which are of concern and those which are not. The Stoffenmanager is mentioned as a first tier approach in the REACH guidance. In an attempt to investigate the validity of the Stoffenmanager algorithms, a cross-validation study was performed. Methods Exposure estimates using the Stoffenmanager algorithms were compared with exposure measurement results (n=254). Correlations between observed and predicted exposures, bias and precision were calculated. Stratified analyses were performed for the scenarios “handling of powders and granules” (n=82), “handling solids resulting in comminuting” (n=60), “handling of low-volatile liquids” (n=40) and “handling of volatile liquids” (n=72). Results The relative bias of the four algorithms ranged between −9% and −77% with a precision of approximately 1.7. The 90th percentile estimate of one out of four algorithms was not conservative enough. Based on these statistics and analyses of residual plots the underlying algorithm was adapted. Subsequently, the calibration and the cross-validation dataset were merged into one dataset (n=952) used for calibrating the adapted Stoffenmanager algorithms. This new calibration resulted in new exposure algorithms for the four scenarios. Conclusions The Stoffenmanager is capable of discriminating among exposure levels mainly between scenarios in different companies. The 90th percentile estimates of the Stoffenmanager are verified to be sufficiently conservative. Therefore, the Stoffenmanager could be a useful tier 1 exposure assessment tool for REACH.
Social Justice and Teacher Education

Teachers play a crucial role in promoting more equitable educational outcomes for marginalized students from low socio-economic backgrounds. Correspondingly, there is a clear warrant for preservice teacher education to work toward the development of teachers who are socially just in their beliefs and practices. This article comprises a systematic review locating empirical research at the intersection of social justice—as it is variously defined within the literature—and teacher education published in peer-reviewed journals within the last 10 years. We explore the focus, design, and findings of the research identified as a basis for recommending future research in the field. By taking stock of the current state of the field and articulating questions that remain under-researched and research approaches under-utilized, we are better placed to move beyond revisiting familiar research terrain.
The coelomic envelope to vitelline envelope conversion in eggs of Xenopus laevis

An amphibian egg recovered from the body cavity is enclosed by a coelomic egg envelope. Upon transport down the oviduct, the envelope is converted to the vitelline envelope. The coelomic and vitelline envelopes are distinct in terms of sperm penetrability, ultrastructural morphology, and radioiodination profiles. In this study, the macromolecular compositions of these two envelopes were determined. Isolated envelopes were compared by one‐ and two‐dimensional gel electrophoresis, peptide mapping, and radiolabeling. A protein with a molecular weight of 57,000 (57K) was present in the vitelline envelope but was absent in the coelomic envelope. A glycoprotein with a molecular weight of 43K in the coelomic envelope was converted to a component with a molecular weight of 4lK in the vitelline envelope. The 43K‐molecular weight component of the coelomic envelopes could be radioiodinated by lactoperoxidase but no labeling of the 41K‐molecular weight component occurred in the vitelline envelope. Peptide mapping using limited proteolysis established that the 43K‐molecular weight component of the coelomic envelope was a precursor to the 41K‐molecular weight component of the vitelline envelope. These molecular alterations may underlie the ultrastructural and physiological changes occurring in these envelopes.
Potential Impact of Rapid Blood Culture Testing for Gram-Positive Bacteremia in Japan with the Verigene Gram-Positive Blood Culture Test

Background. Early detection of Gram-positive bacteremia and timely appropriate antimicrobial therapy are required for decreasing patient mortality. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the performance of the Verigene Gram-positive blood culture assay (BC-GP) in two special healthcare settings and determine the potential impact of rapid blood culture testing for Gram-positive bacteremia within the Japanese healthcare delivery system. Furthermore, the study included simulated blood cultures, which included a library of well-characterized methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) isolates reflecting different geographical regions in Japan. Methods. A total 347 BC-GP assays were performed on clinical and simulated blood cultures. BC-GP results were compared to results obtained by reference methods for genus/species identification and detection of resistance genes using molecular and MALDI-TOF MS methodologies. Results. For identification and detection of resistance genes at two clinical sites and simulated blood cultures, overall concordance of BC-GP with reference methods was 327/347 (94%). The time for identification and antimicrobial resistance detection by BC-GP was significantly shorter compared to routine testing especially at the cardiology hospital, which does not offer clinical microbiology services on weekends and holidays. Conclusion. BC-GP generated accurate identification and detection of resistance markers compared with routine laboratory methods for Gram-positive organisms in specialized clinical settings providing more rapid results than current routine testing.
Static Relations: a Piece in the Biomedical Information Extraction Puzzle

We propose a static relation extraction task to complement biomedical information extraction approaches. We argue that static relations such as part-whole are implicitly involved in many common extraction settings, define a task setting making them explicit, and discuss their integration into previously proposed tasks and extraction methods. We further identify a specific static relation extraction task motivated by the BioNLP'09 shared task on event extraction, introduce an annotated corpus for the task, and demonstrate the feasibility of the task by experiments showing that the defined relations can be reliably extracted. The task setting and corpus can serve to support several forms of domain information extraction.
Laparoendoscopic Management of Midureteral Strictures

The incidence of ureteral strictures has increased worldwide owing to the widespread use of laparoscopic and endourologic procedures. Midureteral strictures can be managed by either an endoscopic approach or surgical reconstruction, including open or minimally invasive (laparoscopic/robotic) techniques. Minimally invasive surgical ureteral reconstruction is gaining in popularity in the management of midureteral strictures. However, only a few studies have been published so far regarding the safety and efficacy of laparoscopic and robotic ureteral reconstruction procedures. Nevertheless, most of the studies have reported at least equivalent outcomes with the open approach. In general, strictures more than 2 cm, injury strictures, and strictures associated either with radiation or with reduced renal function of less than 25% may be managed more appropriately by minimally invasive surgical reconstruction, although the evidence to establish these recommendations is not yet adequate. Defects of 2 to 3 cm in length may be treated with laparoscopic or robot-assisted uretero-ureterostomy, whereas defects of 12 to 15 cm may be managed either via ureteral reimplantation with a Boari flap or via transuretero-ureterostomy in case of low bladder capacity. Cases with more extended defects can be reconstructed with the incorporation of the ileum in ureteral repair.
Morphology of proximal tibia in Iranian population and its correlation with available prostheses

Background: Total knee arthroplasty is a complex procedure aiming to relieve pain and improve function. It is critical to select prosthesis that best cover the bone surfaces. Ethnicity may affect fitness of the components mainly designed for Caucasian populations. This study aimed to evaluate morphometric features of proximal tibia in Iranian population. Methods: During 2013, 150 consecutive patients (96 males and 54 females) form orthopedics department of Rasoul-Akram hospital with knee CT scan were randomly enrolled. We entered cases with apparent normal extremity alignment and bone maturity. Cases with history of fracture or conditions affecting knee profile were excluded. Standard cuts were simulated on CT scan. Anteroposterior (AP), mediolateral (ML) and aspect ratio (ML/AP) were measured for general morphology. Medial and lateral AP distance of tibia and their distance to tibial center were measured for checking symmetry. Results: Mean age was 43.0± 10.4 years (rang 11-80). Males showed significantly larger values in ML dimension and aspect ratio than females under a given AP value (p<0.001). However, the aspect ratio was suggestive of similar configuration of proximal tibia profiles among genders. Totally, close correlations were observed among simulated cuts and size-matched tibial components of the prostheses. However, better coverage was provided by some brands via designing interchangeable components for a given dimension. Medial and lateral condyles of tibia were almost symmetrical. Conclusion: Our findings indicated that some alterations in the shape of the components are needed to provide optimal coverage in Iranian population. We propose symmetrical configuration in designing tibial components as well.
A Spectrum Synch Technique for Induction Motor Health Condition Monitoring

Induction motors (IMs) are commonly used in various industrial applications. A spectrum synch (SS) technique is proposed in this paper for early IM defect detection using electric current signals; fault detection in this paper will focus on defects in rolling element bearings and rotor bars, which together account for more than half of IM imperfections. In bearing fault detection, the proposed SS technique will highlight the peakedness of the fault frequency components distributed over several fault-related local bands. These bands are synchronized to form a fault information spectrum to accentuate fault features. A central kurtosis indicator is proposed to extract representative features from the fault information spectrum and formulates a fault index for incipient IM fault diagnosis. The effectiveness of the developed SS technique is demonstrated on IM with broken rotor bars and IM with damaged bearing. Test results show that the developed SS technique can detect incipient IM faults effectively.
IDDM and Milk Consumption: A case-control study in São Paulo, Brazil

OBJECTIVE To test the hypothesis that breast-feeding is a protective factor against IDDM and that early exposure to cow's milk is a risk factor for the disease. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A case-control study was conducted in São Paulo, Brazil. A total of 346 diabetic children, aged < 18 years, were identified in two institutions in the city of São Paulo. Duration of exclusive breast-feeding and age of introduction to cow's milk products in infant diet were compared with 346 sex-, age-, and neighborhood-matched control children. All comparisons between diabetic and control children were done using paired tests. RESULTS Statistically significant differences were found for the duration of exclusive breast-feeding (P = 0.007) and for the age of introduction to cow's milk products (P = 0.047). Control children had a longer time of exclusive breast-feeding and had received cow's milk later in their diet than the case children. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that a shorter duration of exclusive breast-feeding is a risk factor for IDDM (odds ratio [OR] 2.13; 95% CI 1.8–3.55) and that the introduction to cow's milk products before age 8 days is a risk factor for the disease (OR 2.29;95% CI 1.37–3.83).
Improving polyphonic and poly-instrumental music to score alignment

Music alignment link events in a score and points on the audio performance time axis. All the parts of a recording can be thus indexed according to score information. The automatic alignment presented in this paper is based on a dynamic time warping methodology. Local distances are computed using the signal's spectral features through an attack plus sustain note modeling. Good alignment has been obtained for polyphony of up to five instruments. The method is robust for difficulties such as trills, vibratos and fast sequences. It provides an accurate indicator giving position of score interpretation errors and extra or forgotten notes. Implementation optimizations allow aligning long sound files in a relatively short time. Evaluation results have been obtained on piano jazz recordings.
Comforting or rewarding myself: Choices for self-gifting

Abstract This study aimed to empirically explore consumers’ preferred self-gift products depending on the motivation to give self-gifts. Perceiving the distinctive motivations for self-gifts led to the postulation of likely distinctiveness in selecting types of attractiveness-relevant products (enhancing vs. problem-solving products) for self-gifts. Two empirical studies were conducted to test the hypotheses with 319 female consumers in their 20s and 30s. Study 1 was an experiment through which different preferences were tested and verified. Here, two types of attractiveness-relevant products showed differing preference levels when the motivation was to give a self-gift reward, thus representing a therapeutic motive. This study also revealed that among enhancing and problem-solving products, experiential products and material products showed different levels of preferences. Study 2 was conducted to provide empirical evidence of the moderating effect of regulatory focus on product type preferences and self-gift motivation. This study expanded the scope of the research in this field as it examined consumer behaviors regarding self-gifts and linked consumer motivations to give self-gifts with relevant product types. We also clarified that different situations exist for self-gift consumption and the preferred products vary depending on a consumer’s motivation to give a self-gift.
Learning and Sparse Control of Multiagent Systems

In the past decade there has been a large scope of studies on mathematical models of social dynamics. Self-organization, i.e., the autonomous formation of patterns, has been so far the main driving concept. Usually ﬁrst or second order models are considered with given predetermined nonlocal interaction potentials, tuned to reproduce, at least qualitatively, certain global patterns (such as ﬂocks of birds, milling school of ﬁsh or line formations in pedestrian ﬂows etc.). However, often in practice we do not dispose of a precise knowledge of the governing dynamics. In the ﬁrst part of this talk we present a variational and optimal transport framework leading to an algorithmic solution to the problem of learning the interaction potentials from the observation of the dynamics of a multiagent system. Moreover, it is common experience that self-organization of a society does not always spontaneously occur. In the second part of the talk we address the question of whether it is possible to externally and parsimoniously inﬂuence the dynamics, to promote the formation of certain desired patterns. In particular we address the issue of ﬁnding the sparsest control strategy for ﬁnite agent models in order to lead the dynamics optimally towards a given outcome. We eventually mention the rigorous limit process connecting ﬁnite dimensional sparse optimal control problems with ODE constraints to an inﬁnite dimensional sparse mean-ﬁeld optimal control problem with a constraint given by a PDE of Vlasov-type, governing the dynamics of the probability distribution of the agent population.
Augmenting Wargame AI with Data Mining Technology

Data mining methods can be used to augment a traditional wargame AI in a variety of ways. They can be used in situational analysis to identify high-level structures such as front lines, weakly defended targets, inadequate supply lines or other items of interest. They may also be used to model and predict the likely responses of players, and learn viable decision making strategies by example. These capabilities can both speed the development of an AI and improve its quality by reducing the amount of explicit programming of rules or scripts that would be required, by allowing the decision making to occur at a higher level, and by allowing the wargame AI to adapt over time and learn from previous experiences. Wargames have a long history of use as tools for training military personnel, and are likely to be used even more in the future. Modern computer wargames are sophisticated software tools that can provide detailed data about the actions taken by each player and the underlying situations within the game scenarios that lead up to these actions. Data mining tools can be used to aid in the analysis of this data in order to improve the feedback provided to the player, revealing general tendencies or weaknesses that could be exploited by an opponent.