Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Videojuegos medio de ocio : cultura popular y recurso didáctico para la enseñanza y aprendizaje de las matemáticas escolares

En el marco teorico de esta investigacion se analizan los videojuegos como medio cultural del nuevo entorno tecnosocial, constatando hasta que punto comparten con este la estetica de la simulacion y el bricolaje que generan otros modos informales de conocimiento, de posmodernismo, en donde el juego, la intuicion, el dominio de lo blando, definen nuevas formas de actuacion con las que aprender a aprender, y que cobran todo su esplendor en las experiencias con videojuegos. Bajo esta perspectiva tambien se escudrina dicho nuevo entorno tecnosocial, para comprender los cambios profundos que esta produciendo por lo que respecta a la transmision de conocimientos y a las experiencias de ensenanza y aprendizaje. Cambios que en la mayoria de los casos estan definidos sobre la convergencia de distintas teorias sobre la ensenanza y el aprendizaje, que tienen un respaldo en practicas educativas formuladas hace mas de un siglo desde la Escuela Nueva y los movimientos de renovacion pedagogica, y entre los que destaca de modo sobresaliente el potencial uso educativo de los videojuegos. Finalmente, se profundiza en el analisis de las investigaciones existentes que relacionan el uso de videojuegos con determinados perjuicios psicologicos (agresividad, violencia, adiccion, aislamiento, multiplicidad, distanciamiento, etc.), y con ciertos contravalores educativos; concluyendo que no existen razones objetivas que relacionen el uso racional del videojuegos con esos efectos, y que las precauciones que se han de tomar para su uso no se diferencian de las que hemos de contemplar con cualquier otro medio de ocio. Ello permite posteriormente analizar los videojuegos desde un punto de vista educativo, y relacionar su uso con la adquisicion de determinadas competencias. Por su parte, el marco empirico contempla: el diseno de investigacion, la elaboracion del instrumento para la recogida de datos y el trabajo de campo llevado a cabo para verificar la bondad del uso didactico de videojuegos en el aula como medio para la ensenanza y aprendizaje de las matematicas, y el analisis de los datos obtenidos. En particular, el problema principal de investigacion ha consistido en conocer si la utilizacion del videojuego Pokemon Diamante en el aula en 4o curso de Educacion Primaria favorece que los alumnos adquieran la competencia para trabajar con tablas alfanumericas y graficos de barras. Para ello se ha utilizado una metodologia cuantitativa, con grupos control (n=145) y experimental (n=131) posttest no equivalentes, y en el diseno cuasiexperimental se ha controlado (ANCOVA) tanto la tipologia del centro (publico-concertado-privado, y nivel sociocultural alto-medio-bajo) como la competencia matematica previa de los alumnos. El analisis inferencial de los datos obtenidos ha permitido afirmar un mejor comportamiento significativo del grupo experimental frente al de control.
Interaction Unit Analysis: A New Interaction Design Framework

ABSTRACT A pragmatic approach to interaction modeling is presented by which a designer can describe how the user gets tasks done with a newly developing system. The notation proposed allows an interaction designer to make explicit both how user actions cause visible or noticeable changes in the state of the machine and how the user is expected to use this feedback to generate the next action. Interaction Unit (IU) scenarios are constructed where each IU specifies one step in the cycle of interaction. Each IU specifies the visible system state that leads the user to take some action. In addition, the IU makes explicit the state of the goal stack at the start and end of the unit and the mental processes (recall, recognition, or affordance) required. In this way one can describe the intimate connection between goal, action, and the environment in user–machine interaction. To demonstrate the completeness of IU scenario analysis, IU models are presented for some well-known problems in interaction design: hidden and partially hidden modes leading to unexpected system effects, insufficient cues for subgoal construction, insufficient cues for subgoal elimination, and inappropriate affordances for action. These scenarios are accompanied by procedures that designers can use to detect similar problems in putative interaction designs. To demonstrate the feasibility of using IU scenario analysis in design, 4 graduate students were taught to use IU scenario analysis in a 3-hr session. They then worked as a group to evaluate a prototype handheld warehouse application. A comparable group was taught and then applied Cognitive Walkthrough. Both groups successfully completed the task and detected several problems rated as being of high severity by the designers of the prototype. Analysis of the problems detected by each group suggests that the two techniques are complimentary. IU scenario analysis may be most cost-effective for devices using new interaction paradigms, whereas Cognitive Walkthrough may be most cost-effective for designs using established interaction paradigms.
Visual Tracking via Random Walks on Graph Model

In this paper, we formulate visual tracking as random walks on graph models with nodes representing superpixels and edges denoting relationships between superpixels. We integrate two novel graphs with the theory of Markov random walks, resulting in two Markov chains. First, an ergodic Markov chain is enforced to globally search for the candidate nodes with similar features to the template nodes. Second, an absorbing Markov chain is utilized to model the temporal coherence between consecutive frames. The final confidence map is generated by a structural model which combines both appearance similarity measurement derived by the random walks and internal spatial layout demonstrated by different target parts. The effectiveness of the proposed Markov chains as well as the structural model is evaluated both qualitatively and quantitatively. Experimental results on challenging sequences show that the proposed tracking algorithm performs favorably against state-of-the-art methods.
Brain potentials distinguish new and studied objects during working memory

We investigated brain responses to matching versus nonmatching objects in working memory (WM) with a modified delayed match‐to‐sample task using event‐related potentials (ERPs). In addition, ERP correlates of new items (new matches/new nonmatches) and previously studied items (studied matches/studied nonmatches) were examined in the WM task. Half of the common visual objects were initially studied until 95% accuracy was attained and half were new. Each memory trial began with the presentation of a sample object followed by nine test objects. Participants indicated whether each test item was the same as the object held in mind (i.e., match) or a nonmatch. Compared to studied matches, new matches evoked activity that was 50 ms earlier and largest at frontal sites. In contrast, P3 activity associated with studied nonmatches was larger than for new nonmatches at mostly posterior sites, which parallels previously reported old–new ERP effects. The ERP source analysis further confirms that the cortical mechanisms underlying matching objects and rejecting irrelevant objects during the task are both temporally and spatially distinct. Moreover, our current findings suggest that prior learning affects brain responses to matching visual items during a WM task. Hum Brain Mapp 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
ALDH1A3 correlates with luminal phenotype in prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is the most common male malignancies in the United States. The specific characteristics of different disease stages have been deeply investigated. We present our data on ALDH1A3 as a potential therapeutic target for the prostate cancer based on several functional investigations. Also, we used The Cancer Genome Atlas datasets for primary prostate cancer to detect the relevance of ALDH1A3 and prostate cancer luminal phenotype. We found that ALDH1A3 correlated with androgen receptor signaling pathway in primary prostate cancer, which is consistent with its luminal layer localization. Then, from the genetic manipulation assay, we knocked out the ALDH1A3 in PC-3 cells and found significantly reduced proliferation rate as well as the invasion ability. Furthermore, we looked up our single center primary prostate cancer post-operative follow-up data and suggested that the high level ALDH1A3 expression could predict the poor progression-free survival in a 158-patient cohort. We concluded that ALDH1A3, localized in luminal layer in prostate epithelium, is highly expressed in prostate cancer. It played important role in maintaining the proliferation, invasion, and cell cycle. It can also become the potential biomarker in the future to guide the therapeutic manipulations for primary prostate cancer.
An assessment of Movement Disorder Society Task Force diagnostic criteria for mild cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease

Cognitive impairment is one of the most disabling non‐motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Mild cognitive impairment constitutes a major risk for the development of Parkinson's disease dementia in the course of the disease. A Movement Disorder Society Task Force proposed diagnostic criteria for mild cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease (PD‐MCI), comprising two operational levels: Level I and Level II. The objective of our study was to test the accuracy of Level I versus Level II diagnostic criteria.
Multi-Modality Medical Image registration Using Support Vector Machines

The registration of multi-modality medical images is an important tool in surgical application. We presented a method of computing different modality medical images registration of the same patient. It incorporates prior joint intensity distribution between the two imaging modalities based on registered training images. The prior joint intensity distribution is modeled by support vector machine. Results aligning CT/MR and PET/MR scans demonstrate that it can attain sub-voxel registration accuracy. Furthermore, it is a fast registration method because support vector machine solution is sparse
Toxicokinetic Differences and Toxicities of Silver Nanoparticles and Silver Ions in Rats After Single Oral Administration

Blood levels, tissue distributions, and excretion of silver (Ag) were measured in male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 5) up to 24 h after a single oral administration of silver nanoparticles (AgNP) and silver ions (Ag+), respectively. The AUC24hr of Ag+ was 3.81 ± 0.57 μg/d/ml when rats were treated with a single dose of 20 mg/kg, whereas that of AgNP was 1.58 ± 0.25 μg/d/ml. Tissue distribution of Ag in liver, kidneys, and lungs was higher when Ag+ was administered compared to AgNP. Orally administered AgNP were predominantly excreted through feces, suggesting low bioavailability. Death or body weight changes were not observed in the Ag+- or AgNP-treated groups. However, decreased red blood cell counts, hematocrit, and hemoglobin were found in the Ag+-treated groups, while increased platelet counts and mean platelet volume were noted in the AgNP-treated rats. A serum biochemical analysis showed that aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) rose significantly following Ag+ treatment (20 mg/kg). AgNP treatment (2 or 20 mg/kg) also elevated AST, whereas infiltration of mononuclear cells with liver necrosis was found only in the 20 mg/kg Ag+-treated animals.
Design of High Speed Adders Using CMOS and Transmission Gates in Submicron Technology: A Comparative Study

The core of every microprocessor, digital signal processor (DSP), and data-processing application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) is its data path. At the heart of data-paths and addressing units are arithmetic units, such as comparators, adders, and multipliers and at the heart of arithmetic circuits are adders. The main constraints of all adders are their speed, performance, power consumption and die area. Parallel-prefix adders offer a highly efficient solution to the binary addition problem and are well-suited for VLSI implementations. This paper involves the design of high speed, parallel-prefix adders such as Brent-Kung, Sklansky, Kogge-Stone and Ling adders, by Kogge-Stone implementation, using CMOS logic and transmission gate logic. The design and simulations are done using deep sub micron technology file. The power, area and delay for the two implementations are compared and it is found that the power, area and delay in the transmission gate logic is much lower than those in CMOS logic. This is done for 8, 16 and 32 bit adders. All the circuits are implemented using Tanner EDA and simulated in 130nm using TSMC MOSIS Level-49 model in TSPICE simulator.
In vivo comparison of hemocompatibility of materials used in mechanical heart valves.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS OF THE STUDY Most studies of mechanical heart valve prostheses in recent years have focused on the hydrodynamic and clinical performance of different valve designs. Little attention has been paid to the hemocompatibility (thrombogenicity) of materials used in the prostheses. METHODS In the present study, three materials currently used in mechanical heart valves, titanium, cobalt-chromium alloy (Haynes 25) and pyrolytic carbon (Pyrolite), together with a surface-modified (methylated) titanium, were evaluated and compared for their hemocompatibility in a sheep model. The test materials in the form of discs were glued to plastic buttons and implanted into the intrathoracic venae cavae of anesthetized sheep. Four different materials were tested simultaneously in each animal: two in the superior and two in the inferior vena cava. Eight animals were used. After two hours of exposure to flowing blood, the discs were explanted and evaluated for their hemocompatibility using close-up photography and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Thrombus formation and blood cell adhesion were studied quantitatively. RESULTS The results showed that there was significantly more thrombus on pyrolytic carbon and methylated titanium than on titanium and cobalt-chromium (p < 0.05). More leukocytes adhered on pyrolytic carbon and cobalt-chromium than on titanium and methylated titanium (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION The results indicate that titanium and cobalt-chromium under the present condition were more hemocompatible than pyrolytic carbon. The clinical significance of the finding remains to be investigated.
Cross-layer analysis of downlink V-BLAST MIMO transmission exploiting multiuser diversity

We develop a queuing analytic model to study cross-layer effects on quality of service (QoS) performance for downlink transmission in a Vertical Bell Laboratories Layered Space-Time Architecture (V-BLAST) multiple input multiple output (MIMO) wireless system exploiting multiuser diversity. As in multiuser single input single output (SISO) systems, multiuser diversity has been shown to have a great potential in improving system throughput in multiuser MIMO systems as well. In a V-BLAST MIMO system, the transmit antennas can carry parallel streams and multiple users can be scheduled for transmissions at the same time. We consider a multiuser diversity scheme that can effectively exploit this extra dimension in multiuser scheduling. To investigate the cross-layer aspect of the performance improvement, we perform a queuing analysis to derive buffer statistics, queuing delay distribution, packet throughput and loss rate experienced in the data link layer when this multiuser diversity technique is deployed in the system. We also present selected numerical results to show how the queuing model can help us to relate these important QoS measures to relevant physical layer and traffic parameters. Usefulness of the developed analytical model is also demonstrated through example applications.
An improved self-adaptive differential evolution algorithm in single objective constrained real-parameter optimization

In this paper we describe an improved version of self-adaptive differential evolution algorithm. Our algorithm uses more strategies, ageing mechanism to reinitialize an individual which stagnates in local optima, an ∊ level controlling of constraint violation. The performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated on the set of 18 scalable benchmark functions provided for the CEC 2010 competition and special session on single objective constrained real-parameter optimization, when the dimension of decision variables is set to 10 and 30, respectively. The obtained results show that our algorithm is suitable for solving constrained optimization problems.
The Art of Expectations Management

One of the most valuable skills a software professional can develop, expectations management is something surprisingly few people know or practice. The author has witnessed more than 100 stakeholder software requirements negotiations in which inflated expectations about the simplicity of the problem or ease of providing a solution have caused the most difficulty. Expectations management holds the key to providing winwin solutions to these situations. The author explains how clear communication, careful estimation, and precise planning can help you shape and meet realistic expectations.
Perioperative Management of Chronic Heart Failure

Heart failure (HF) is one of the few cardiac conditions that is increasing. Despite a better understanding of how hormones and other signaling systems underlie the pathophysiology, and despite improved outcomes from pharmacologic therapy, many HF patients receive no effective treatment. Patients with HF commonly require medical diagnosis and management in operating rooms and critical care units; thus anesthesiologists are obliged to remain up-to-date both with advances in outpatient (chronic) medical management and with inpatient treatments for acute exacerbations of HF. Accordingly, we reviewed angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers, β-adrenergic receptor blockers, and aldosterone antagonists because these drugs prolong life and are included in current clinical practice guidelines for treating patients with chronic HF. We also reviewed the implications of chronic HF for patients undergoing surgery and anesthesia and discuss how best to provide intensive treatment for acute exacerbations of symptoms, such as might be caused by excessive intravascular volume, inappropriate drug “holidays,” or worsening of the underlying cardiac disease.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Findings of Fatty Infiltrate in the Cervical Flexors in Chronic Whiplash

Study Design. Retrospective investigation of muscle changes in patients suffering from chronic whiplash-associated disorders (WAD). Objectives. To quantitatively compare the presence of muscle alterations (fatty infiltrate [MFI] and cross-sectional area [CSA]) in the anterior musculature of the cervical spine in a cohort of chronic whiplash patients (WAD II) and healthy control subjects across muscle and cervical segmental level. Summary of Background Data. Magnetic resonance imaging can be regarded as the gold standard for muscle imaging. There is little knowledge about in vivo features of anterior neck muscles in patients suffering from chronic WAD and how muscle structure differs across the factors of muscle, vertebral level, age, self-reported pain and disability, body mass index, and duration of symptoms. Methods. Reliable magnetic resonance imaging measures for MFI and CSA were performed for the anterior cervical muscles bilaterally in 109 female subjects (78 WAD, 31 healthy control; 18–45 years, 3 months to 3 years postinjury). The measures were performed on all subjects for the longus capitis and colli and the sternocleidomastoid muscles. Results. The WAD subjects had significantly larger MFI and CSA for the anterior muscles compared to healthy control subjects (all P < 0.0001). In addition, the amount of MFI varied by both cervical level and muscle, with the longus capitis/colli having the largest amount of fatty infiltrates at the C2–C3 level (P < 0.0001). MFI was inversely related to age, self-reported pain/disability, and body mass index but directly proportional to duration of symptoms. Conclusion. There is significantly greater MFI and CSA in the anterior neck muscles, especially in the deeper longus capitis/colli muscles, in subjects with chronic WAD when compared to healthy controls. Future studies are required to investigate the relationships between muscular morphometry and symptoms in patients suffering from acute and chronic WAD.
Evaluation of Motion-Based Touch-Typing Biometrics for Online Banking

This paper presents a bimodal scheme - the mechanism which exploits the way the user enters her 8-digit PIN/password and the phone-movements while doing so, for user authentication in mobile banking/financial applications (apps). The scheme authenticates the user based on the timing differences of the entered strokes. Additionally, it provides an enhanced security by adding an unobservable layer based on the phone-movements. The scheme is assumed to be highly secure as mimicking the invisible touch-timings and the phone-movements could be extremely difficult. Our analysis is based on 2850 samples collected from 95 users through a 3-day unsupervised field experiment and using 3 multi-class classifiers. Random Forest (RF) classifier out-performed other two classifiers and provided a True Acceptance Rate (TAR) of 96%.
An MILP model for the analysis of operation of energy storage devices in distribution systems

This paper presents a mixed-integer linear programming model to define the optimal operation of energy storage devices in radial distribution systems. The objective considered is the reduction of the energy purchase cost from the distribution substation. The modeling of the energy storage devices determines both the charging and discharging periods, and the injected and extracted power. In addition, the number of daily charge/discharge cycles of the storage devices is limited to avoid an excessive reduction of their lifespan. The proposed model was used to analyze the influence of the location of energy storage devices in the operation of a system. The efficiency of the methodology was tested in several cases, using a 136-node distribution system.
Observation of ultrasonic emission from edges of therapeutic X-ray beams

Describes the observation of acoustic pulses generated solely by the dose gradient at the edges of a therapeutic X-ray beam in a medium consisting only of water. This effect might find application when soft-tissue regions of patients receive therapeutic X-ray doses, either to verify precisely the position of the delivered X-ray dose relative to critical tissue which must be spared as much as possible during a course of treatments, or to measure a physical characteristic of the tissue.