Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Client-identified helpful and hindering events in therapist-delivered vs. self-administered online cognitive-behavioural treatments for depression in college students

The study investigated what participants found helpful and/or hindering in therapist-delivered vs. self-administered online cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) for depression. A descriptive–interpretive analysis was used to investigate client-identified helpful and hindering events and impacts in online treatment. Eighty participants with symptoms of depression were randomly allocated to either eight sessions of therapist-delivered asynchronous e-mail CBT counselling (eCBT; n = 37), or computerised CBT self-administered treatment (cCBT; n = 43) for depression. From sessions 2–8, participants were asked to complete the Helpful Aspects of Therapy form (HAT). Participants completed 149 HAT forms representing a response rate of 45% (eCBT: 49%; cCBT: 42%). Reported helpful events included provision of information, monitoring, scheduling, restructuring, problem solving and distraction techniques and led to impacts such as learning new coping skills and behavioural changes, developing awareness and insight and achieving self-efficacy. Additionally, therapist responsiveness seems to have a worthy impact of feeling supported and validated as identified by the eCBT group, who solely reported helpful events such as acknowledgement/listening, advice and guidance and provision of compassion. Unhelpful events also surfaced for both groups, though more for the cCBT group, and included the burden of work, time and pace, issues with the content and its form of delivery, and technical problems, which led to impacts such as being frustrated, confused, irritated, disappointed, anxious and self-critical. CBT principles remain established in online work and, in addition, therapist responsiveness seems to have a worthy helpful impact, beyond any established CBT techniques or strategies.
Throughput performance of a WCDMA system supporting tele-echography services

In this paper, we evaluate the performance of a Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) cellular system supporting tele-echography services. The application of the WCDMA system to the mobile tele-echography robotic system is introduced, and the functional modalities of the tele-echography service are defined. We investigate the throughput performance of the system with a channel simulator that can investigate and demonstrate the effects of a UMTS radio link on multimedia applications in terms of user perceived quality of service (QoS). A slow fading multipath Rayleigh channel is assumed. Two types of traffic are transmitted with different source coding and QoS schemes over the WCDMA air interface in the system simulation. The results show that the best throughput is reached when transmitting the less highly compressed image data. With E/sub b//N/sub 0/ of -0.6dB, the real average throughput can reach 333.5kbit/s whilst the theoretical channel bandwidth is 384kb/s.
Time Normal Running Obstacle Detected Modified Running Modified Running Obstacle Clearance Landing Normal Running

This paper presents a new framework for the generation of high-speed running jumps to clear terrain obstacles in quadrupedal robots. Our methods enable the quadruped to autonomously jump over obstacles up to 40 cm in height within a single control framework. Specifically, we propose new control system components, layered on top of a low-level running controller, which actively modify the approach and select stance force profiles as required to clear a sensed obstacle. The approach controller enables the quadruped to end in a preferable state relative to the obstacle just before the jump. This multi-step gait planning is formulated as a multiple-horizon model predictive control problem and solved at each step through quadratic programming. Ground reaction force profiles to execute the running jump are selected through constrained nonlinear optimization on a simplified model of the robot that possesses polynomial dynamics. Exploiting the simplified structure of these dynamics, the presented method greatly accelerates the computation of otherwise costly function and constraint evaluations that are required during optimization. With these considerations, the new algorithms allow for online planning that is critical for reliable response to unexpected situations. Experimental results, for a stand-alone quadruped with on-board power and computation, show the viability of this approach, and represent important steps towards broader dynamic maneuverability in experimental machines.
The impact of effective continuous positive airway pressure on homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance in non‐diabetic patients with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea

Previous studies on the effects of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on homeostasis model assessment insulin resistance (HOMA‐IR) in obstructive sleep apnea patients have yielded conflicting results. Therefore, we conducted this meta‐analysis to evaluate the impact of effective CPAP on HOMA‐IR in non‐diabetic patients with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea. We searched PubMed, HighWire Press, Ovid Medline (R), Cochrane library and EMBASE before December 2011 on original English language studies. The data on HOMA‐IR and body mass index (BMI) were extracted from these studies. As compared with baseline values, 8 to 24 weeks of effective CPAP (>4 h/night) treatment significantly reduced HOMA‐IR by an average of 0.75(95% CI, from −0.96 to −0.53; p < 0.001). However, in subjects with irregular CPAP (<4 h/night), this effect was not observed (−0.22; 95%CI, from −2.24 to 1.80; p = 0.83). There were no intervention‐related changes in BMI in both regular and irregular CPAP. Our analysis showed that 8 to 24 weeks of effective CPAP could significantly improve HOMA‐IR in non‐diabetic patients with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea, while no significant changes in BMI were detected. Further large scale, randomized and controlled trials are needed to evaluate the longer treatment and its possible effects on weight control and cardiovascular disease. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Information based source number estimation for probabilistic common spatial pattern in motor imagery BCI system

Common Spatial Pattern (CSP) is one of the popular and effective methods for discriminating two class electroencephalogram (EEG) measurements. Its probabilistic counterpart by resolving the problem of overfitting as the main limitation of CSP attracted much attention, especially in the motor imaginary based brain computer interface (BCI) applications. Since the computational efficiency is a paramount issue in real-time EEG classification, in this paper, assuming additive isotropic noise, maximum a posteriori (MAP)-based iterative updating algorithm is applied. However, the performance of this algorithm depends on the model size which must be predetermined. To this end, three information based source number estimations including Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), Minimum Description Length (MDL) and Bayesian Information Criteria (BIC) were used. The experimental results on a publicly available Ilia dataset from BCI competition III demonstrate higher classification accuracy compared to CSP and existing Tikhonov regularized CSP (TR-CSP) models. In addition, a significant decrease in run-time was achieved using the proposed method.
MAGNETOSTRICTIVE DELAY LINE THIN FILMS AS SENSING ELEMENTS

A miniaturized arrangement based on magnetostrictive delay line (MDL) mechanism, able to be used as sensor, is realized using thin films technology. In order to obtain high-performance miniaturized magnetostrictive delay line arrangement we used Fe, Ni and Fe70B20Si6C4 amorphous thin films as magnetostrictive sensing element because of their better magnetic and magnetoelastic characteristics than conventional magnetostrictive thin films. A monolithic design has been achieved with the electric equipment and sensing element contained onto the same silicon substrate.
Morphometry of Orthopantomographic Mandibular Bone Changes during Radiation Therapy

It is generally considered that mineral loss in the bone must amount to 30 per cent or more before any changes become visible to the naked eye in conventional radiography of the skeleton. Early changes in the mandibular bone during radiation therapy are therefore difficult to detect. Abnormalities of the bone caused by irradiation are vascular and cellular in nature. Morphometry detects the changes earlier than conventional radiography. Nineteen patients with a malignant process in the oral cavity or the naso- or hypopharynx but with no evidence of metastases in the mandibular periosteum or bone marrow were given radiation therapy. They were investigated using morphometry together with orthopantomography. The investigation demonstrated a decrease in the number of trabeculae and an increase in the amount of marrow space and compact bone during irradiation. Thus it is possible to detect early radiographic changes by morphometry, but this method is more laborious than scintigraphy. The abnormalities of the mandibular bone were reversible, which signifies the recovery of bone after irradiation with therapeutic doses.
Meniscal tears: The effect of meniscectomy and of repair on intraarticular contact areas and stress in the human knee

The role of the meniscus in load transmission across the knee has long been a subject of debate. In this study, we examined the biomechanical consequences of the operative treatments for bucket-handle and pe ripheral meniscal tears. Contact areas and instanta neous intraarticular pressure distributions were meas ured in two groups of human cadaver knees. In Group I, consisting of four knees, we created a bucket-handle tear involving the inner one-third of the meniscus, followed by partial, and then total meniscec tomy. Knees were tested in an Instron testing machine after each procedure, using a 400 pound load at 0° or 30° flexion. Contact areas and local stresses were measured using Prescale, a pressure-sensitive film. After partial meniscectomy, contact areas decreased approximately 10%, and peak local contact stresses (PLCS) increased approximately 65%. After total men iscectomy, contact areas decreased approximately 75%, and PLCS increased approximately 235%. In Group II, consisting of three additional knees, we created a 2 cm peripheral tear of the posterior meniscal horn, followed by open repair, arthroscopic repair, seg mental, and then total meniscectomy. Repair of the tear was accomplished with either vertically placed sutures by an open technique or horizontally placed sutures by an arthroscopic technique. Knees were tested in the neutral position in the Instron machine and contact areas and local stresses measured using Prescale. PLCSs and contact areas were found to be the same using either repair technique. There was, however, a 110% increase in PLCS after segmental meniscectomy of that portion of the meniscus involved in the peripheral tear. These data suggest that the meniscus does have a weightbearing role. Contact stresses increased in pro portion to the amount of meniscus removed and the degree to which the structure of the meniscus was disrupted. Furthermore, there was no difference in the weightbearing characteristics of the meniscus when repaired by open versus arthroscopic technique when the knee is loaded at 0° flexion.
Tuberculosis in New York City--turning the tide.

BACKGROUND From 1978 through 1992, the number of patients with tuberculosis in New York City nearly tripled, and the proportion of such patients who had drug-resistant isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis more than doubled. METHODS We reviewed, confirmed, and analyzed data obtained during the surveillance of patients with tuberculosis. RESULTS From 1992 through 1994, there was a 21 percent decrease in reported cases of tuberculosis in New York City. An evaluation of the surveillance system revealed very few unreported cases. The number of cases decreased by more than 20 percent among blacks and Hispanics, persons with documented human immunodeficiency virus infection, homeless persons, and patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis; in all these groups, tuberculosis is likely to result from recent transmission. In contrast, the number of cases of tuberculosis increased among elderly and foreign-born persons, in whom the disease is likely to result from the reactivation of an infection acquired many years earlier. Enrollment in a program of directly observed therapy, in which health workers watch patients take their medications, increased from fewer than 100 patients to nearly 1300, with more than 32,000 patient-months of observation from 1992 through 1994. CONCLUSIONS Epidemiologic patterns strongly suggest that the decrease in cases resulted from an interruption in the ongoing spread of M. tuberculosis infection, primarily because of better rates of completion of treatment and expanded use of directly observed therapy. Another contributing factor may have been efforts to reduce the spread of tuberculosis in institutional settings, such as hospitals, shelters, and jails. Expansion of measures to prevent and control tuberculosis and support of international control efforts are needed to ensure continued progress.
Differential effects of protein kinase C inhibitors on fibronectin‐induced interleukin‐β gene transcription, protein synthesis and secretion in human monocytic cells

Human monocytic cells express interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β) when stimulated with the extracellular matrix glycoprotein, fibronectin (FN). Protein kinase C (PKC) activation is considered important for this process; however, the metabolic steps at which PKC acts upon to mediate the FN‐induced IL‐1β response remain unclear. We performed an analysis of the mechanisms by which two PKC inhibitors, Calphostin C and Staurosporine, prevent the FN‐induced IL‐1β response. Both inhibitors blocked the secretion of IL‐1β protein into the media of peripheral blood mononuclear cells exposed to FN. Immunoprecipitation analysis revealed that under these circumstances, Calphostin C inhibited the production of IL‐1β protein, whereas Staurosporine allowed protein production, but inhibited its secretion. To determine the mechanisms responsible for these differences, we turned to human U937 promonocytic cells. U937 cells transfected with the human full‐length IL‐1β promoter connected to a luciferase reporter gene were submitted to transcription assays, Northern blotting, and DNA electrophoresis mobility gel shift assays. These studies revealed that Calphostin C inhibited the nuclear translocation of the transcription factor activator protein‐1 (AP‐1) which is considered necessary for FN induction of IL‐1β gene transcription, and prevented the transcription of the IL‐1β gene. In contrast, Staurosporine alone induced AP‐1 translocation and stimulation of the gene. Overall, our data indicate that Calphostin C prevents the transcription of the IL‐1β gene thereby inhibiting protein synthesis. Based on the high specificity of this compound for PKC, we conclude that PKC is necessary for FN‐induced IL‐1β protein production. In contrast, Staurosporine prevented secretion of IL‐1β by unknown mechanisms.
Metallothionein-mediated antioxidant defense system and its response to exercise training are impaired in human type 2 diabetes. Diabetes 2005;54:3089–3094

At the request of the authors, the above-mentioned article has been withdrawn from Diabetes . The letter below from Flemming Dela, MD, DMSci, and Celena Scheede-Bergdahl, BSc, MSc, PhD, explains the authors’ reasons for withdrawing the article: In November 2005, our group published the above-mentioned article. At the root of the paper was a series of immunohistochemical stains for metallothionein (MTI+II), which one of the co-authors, …
Development of an emergency department work score to predict ambulance diversion.

OBJECTIVES The authors sought to develop and validate an emergency department (ED) work score that could be used in real time to quantify crowding and staff workload in an ED. This work score could be used by public health officials to direct ambulance traffic based on an objective measure of ED status and to track ED conditions over time. In addition, the authors sought to determine which portion of ED care was most responsible for crowding. METHODS The setting was a tertiary teaching hospital with an emergency medicine residency. A number of ED parameters were measured throughout 2003 and then matched to times that an ED was on diversion status. Odd months of the year were used to develop the standard and even months to validate the standard. A marginal logistic regression analysis was used to develop the standard. The decision to divert ambulances was used as the criterion for ED crowding. RESULTS The logistic regression demonstrated excellent correlation between the work score and diversion status. At the point of maximum inflection of the receiver operating characteristic curve, the work score predicted diversion status with 86% sensitivity and 80% specificity. CONCLUSIONS An ED work score was successfully developed and internally validated. External validation should be performed before widespread use.
Beyond coherence: Recovering structured time-frequency represenatations

We consider the problem of recovering a structured sparse representation of a signal in an overcomplete time-frequency dictionary with a particular structure. For inﬁnite dictionaries that are the union of a nice wavelet basis and a Wilson basis, suﬃcient conditions are given for the Basis Pursuit and (Orthogonal) Matching Pursuit algorithms to recover a structured representation of an admissible signal. The suﬃcient conditions take into account the structure of the wavelet/Wilson dictionary and allow very large (even inﬁnite) support sets to be recovered even though the dictionary is highly coherent.
The Adansonian taxonomy and the deoxyribonucleic acid base composition of some gram negative, yellow pigmented rods.

Summary: The numerical taxonomy technique of Sneath (1957) was used to differentiate types of Gram negative, yellow pigmented rods isolated from food products. DNA base ratios were determined for representative isolates from each of the major groups formed. A determinative scheme using features extracted from the data has been suggested. The problems of nomenclature of organisms of this type are discussed.
Application of a multiplex polymerase chain reaction assay for the simultaneous confirmation of Listeria monocytogenes and other Listeria species in turkey sample surveillance.

A multiplex polymerase chain reaction was developed to simultaneously identify Listeria monocytogenes and species of the genus Listeria. Two sets of primers were used, with the first amplifying a 938-bp region of the 16S rRNA gene that is highly conserved in all Listeria species and the second amplifying a 174-bp region of the listeriolysin (hlyA) gene of L. monocytogenes. Thus, isolates of Listeria spp. yield a single 938-bp product, whereas L. monocytogenes isolates yield both the 938-bp product and a 174-bp product. The specificity of the assay was verified with all six Listeria species and 11 serotypes of L. monocytogenes, as well as nonrelated bacteria. The multiplex PCR assay was used to determine the incidence of Listeria spp. , especially L. monocytogenes, in mechanically separated turkey samples (n = 150 samples). L. monocytogenes strains were selected by using the University of Vermont two-step enrichment protocol and plating to selective Palcam agar. The multiplex PCR assay was used for verification of presumptive Listeria colonies. Approximately 38% of mechanically separated turkey samples (57 of 150) yielded L. monocytogenes; an additional 18% of these samples (27 of 150) harbored other Listeria spp. Fifty-one percent (29 of 57) of the L. monocytogenes isolates were of serogroup 1, 44% (25 of 57) were of serogroup 4, and 2% (1 of 57) were assigned to serogroups other than 1 and 4.
Caeruloplasmin sterilized by γ‐irradiation in the presence of l‐tyrosine maintains structural and catalytic characteristics

It was previously shown that protein aggregation induced by γ‐irradiation can be prevented by l‐tyrosine, even when irradiation was done in solution at doses as high as 10 kGy. It is now reported that caeruloplasmin irradiated at low to moderate doses appears more resistant to trypsin‐mediated proteolysis than native caeruloplasmin. Ceruloplasmin presents an irradiation‐dose‐dependent decrease of oxidase activity and a slight increase of ferroxidase activity at low irradiation doses (2 kGy), followed by a decrease at high doses (4–8 kGy). In all cases, the catalytic activities are higher when caeruloplasmin is irradiated under tyrosine protection. Irradiated caeruloplasmin in the presence of tyrosine preserves its oxidase and ferroxidase activities. Caeruloplasmin irradiated in solution at a dose of 2–3 kGy and higher, in the presence and absence of l‐tyrosine, remained sterile during at least 8 weeks of storage at 4 °C, as evaluated by the plate‐count‐agar method for assessing total viable lactic acid bacteria content after incubation for 48 h at 30 °C.
Bayesian Inference in Wavelet-Based Models

In today’s electronic age, it would be nice to have access to the examples: data or program downloads from a web site or a diskette/CD with the book. Software solutions are outlined but not provided. The author uses his own custom APL programs. Exercises are included at the end of each chapter. The author’s intention is to have practitioners consider the kind of problem and kind of data under study, in order to select an appropriate model that will adequately answer the questions of interest. He is correct in stating that this book is for people with experience in survival data and analysis. The book does provide a condensed introductory chapter on univariate survival analysis. He also intends this work to be a toolbox and not a cookbook. This means that the reader should be comfortable with reading mathematical statistics, but siting and proving theorems is not expected, nor is it part of the content. The annotated bibliography at the end of each chapter compliments the chapter material, particularly for those interested in the purely theoretical aspects of the material.
D-Taxi: Adaptive area recommendation system for taxis by using DiRAC

In this paper, we present a recommendation system, D-Taxi, which informs taxi drivers on where to find the next passenger using the latest picking-up/dropping-off and positional information from other taxis. D-Taxi works in terms of the global optimization of the total vacancy time of taxis without any deep analysis of the historical logs by using our control mechanism named DiRAC. D-Taxi can adapt to the real-time situation such as an unexpected increase of passengers. The experimental results show that the proposed system can adapt to the aforementioned situation, and can improve the occupancy rate by 20% compared with a greedy algorithm.
A receiver-based vertical handover mechanism for TCP congestion control

We propose and evaluate a vertical handover mechanism for TCP, based on receiver bandwidth delay product (BDP) measurement and congestion control using the receiver's advertised window. It addresses the negative impact of abrupt changes in link capacity and latency on TCP performance during make-before-break vertical handover in heterogeneous networks, enabling TCP to seamlessly adapt to new conditions. It resolves the problem of buffer overflow in a low capacity network on handover from a high capacity network, and the under-utilisation problem on handover in the reverse direction. All modifications are restricted to the mobile device, and the proposed technique is fully interoperable with existing TCP and mobile IP infrastructure. It maintains end-to-end semantics, supports IP security, and can be easily deployed