Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Epidemiological studies of the association between tea drinking and primary liver cancer: a meta-analysis

Many in-vitro and animal studies have provided evidence that tea has many possible anticarcinogenic mechanisms, but epidemiological evidence for the effect of tea consumption on the primary liver cancer risk remains controversial and, to date, there have been no quantitative meta-analyses reported regarding this topic. The aim of this meta-analysis is to evaluate the association between tea consumption and the risk of primary liver cancer from case–control and cohort studies. Epidemiological studies of tea consumption in relation to primary liver cancer were identified by searching MEDLINE, EMBASE, Chinese Bio-medicine Database, and Chinese Wanfang Database, from January 1979 to December 2009. The language of publication was restricted to English and Chinese. Heterogeneity and publication bias were evaluated and the pooled relative risks (RRs) were calculated using a fixed-effect model. A random-effect model was used when statistically significant heterogeneity existed. All data analyses were carried out using R software and the package ‘meta’. A total of 13 epidemiological studies consisting of six case–control and seven prospective cohort studies were included. An inverse association with a borderline significance [RR=0.77; 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.57–1.03] was found between tea consumption and primary liver cancer. The studies with higher quality showed a similar finding with pooled RR of 0.79 (95% CI=0.61–1.01). Both men (RR=0.86; 95% CI=0.77–0.95) and women (RR=0.54; 95% CI=0.37–0.79) showed the preventive effects of tea intake on the development of primary liver cancer. Eight studies conducted on green tea consumption suggested that it was associated with a moderate reduction in risk for primary liver cancer (RR=0.79; 95% CI=0.68–0.93). No publication bias was found either from funnel plot visualization or the Egger-weighted regression (P value=0.34) and the Begg rank correlation (P value=0.12) methods. These results provide more evidence for a protective effect of tea consumption against the development of primary liver cancer. More well-conducted and large-scale epidemiological studies are needed.
Ethanol contributes to neurogenic pancreatitis by activation of TRPV1

Alcohol abuse is a major cause of pancreatitis in people, but the mechanism is unknown. It has been recently demonstrated that transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) activation causes neurogenic inflammation and plays an important role in acute pancreatitis. Moreover, TRPV1 is activated by ethanol. We examined the direct effects of ethanol on acute pancreatitis. Acute inflammation of the pancreas was produced by injection of ethanol and palmitoleic acid (POA), a nonoxidative metabolite of ethanol, in wild‐type C57BL/6J mice and Trpv1‐knockout C57BL/6J mice. Inflammatory indexes were analyzed 24 h later. Injection of ethanol + POA produced acute pancreatitis indicated by significant increases in histopathological damage, serum amylase levels, and pancreatic MPO concentrations (P<0.05–0.001). All parameters of pancreatitis were blocked by pretreatment with the TRPV1 antagonist drug AMG9810. In addition, ethanol + POA administration to Trpv1knockout mice did not produce pancreatic inflammation. Treatment with vehicle, ethanol alone, or POA alone had no inflammatory effects. TRPV1 partially mediates inflammation induced by ethanol + POA in the mouse pancreas, consistent with the ability of ethanol to activate TRPV1. We propose that ethanol may contribute to alcohol‐induced pancreatitis by a neurogenic mechanism. —Vigna, S. R. , Shahid, R. A. , and Liddle, R. A. Ethanol contributes to neurogenic pancreatitis by activation of TRPV1. FASEB J. 28, 891–896 (2014). www.fasebj. org
Increasing the self-efficacy of individuals with a disability through a theory-based curriculum applied to playing golf

Abstract Project GAIN (Golf: Accessible and Inclusive Networks) is a theory-based curriculum developed to promote an active life-style and inclusion of individuals with disabilities by enhancing their self-efficacy through golf. Over a 5-year period (2004–2008), 814 participants with and without disabilities from six cities across the USA formally enrolled in Project GAIN. Mentors were used to increase lesson participation, engagement between lessons, and inclusion in golf-related activities. For this study, data from 327 individuals with disabilities and 295 mentors with and without disabilities were used for analysis purposes. Data included measures of perceived self-efficacy in golf, future plans in golf, and a weekly log of golf-related activities. Paired-samples t-tests and repeated measures ANOVA were utilized to examine the effects of Project GAIN on participants’ intention to participate and actual participation in golf-related activities. Results indicated that both study groups (individuals with disabilities and mentors) significantly increased their self-efficacy in golf as well as their intention to play golf in future. Significant increases in golf-related activity were reported in weekly logs over the 5 weeks of data collection. Bonferroni post hoc tests were employed to examine mean differences between weekly observations. Significant mean differences between weeks 1 and 3, and 1 and 5 were found. The Project GAIN curriculum successfully contributed to improving participants’ belief that they could play golf. The study findings support the effectiveness of Project GAIN in increasing golf-related activities that may lead to increased inclusion and physical activity.
RETEST RELIABILITIES AND INTERRELATIONSHIP OF THE ANNETT HAND PREFERENCE QUESTIONNAIRE AND THE EDINBURGH HANDEDNESS INVENTORY

Retest reliabilities of the Annett hand preference questionnaire and the Edinburgh Handedness Inventory were obtained over a mean test-retest period of 14 weeks using 73 subjects. Both questionnaires showed significant reliability coefficients, although these were perhaps not as high as would have been expected. The interrelationship of the questionnaires based on data from 617 subjects is described and the relative advantages and disadvantages of the questionnaires discussed.
Use of Combat Simulations and Wargames in Analytical Studies

DSTO has invested considerable time and money in establishing a capability to conduct the analysis of complex problems using combat simulations and wargames. This paper covers the systems CAEN, CASTFOREM and Janus, addressing their characteristics, the prerequisites (such as scenarios, force structures and specific equipment performance data) for their use and how they can contribute to a study methodology. The requirement for algorithm, data and overall performance validation is addressed as are limitations and assumptions inherent in using these complex simulation systems. The method for their use involves identifying aspects of the problem to be studied through simulation and wargames, the study itself and how the results are integrated into the overall evaluation. Methods of improving the systems to enhance their utility are also covered.
Fast ICP Algorithm Using a One-Dimensional Search

To automatically construct a three-dimensional (3-D) object model, it is necessary to merge a set of range images acquired from different views. The iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm has been widely used to find the transformation parameters between a pair of images. In this paper, a fast ICP algorithm is proposed by restricting the search space to one-dimensional (1-D) orthogonal lines to find transformation parameters such as rotations and translations between the reference model and the object model. The experimental result shows that the proposed algorithm is fast and accurate for estimation of the transformation parameters compared with the original ICP algorithm.
Cognitive Learning, Monitoring and Assistance of Industrial Workflows Using Egocentric Sensor Networks

Today, the workflows that are involved in industrial assembly and production activities are becoming increasingly complex. To efficiently and safely perform these workflows is demanding on the workers, in particular when it comes to infrequent or repetitive tasks. This burden on the workers can be eased by introducing smart assistance systems. This article presents a scalable concept and an integrated system demonstrator designed for this purpose. The basic idea is to learn workflows from observing multiple expert operators and then transfer the learnt workflow models to novice users. Being entirely learning-based, the proposed system can be applied to various tasks and domains. The above idea has been realized in a prototype, which combines components pushing the state of the art of hardware and software designed with interoperability in mind. The emphasis of this article is on the algorithms developed for the prototype: 1) fusion of inertial and visual sensor information from an on-body sensor network (BSN) to robustly track the user’s pose in magnetically polluted environments; 2) learning-based computer vision algorithms to map the workspace, localize the sensor with respect to the workspace and capture objects, even as they are carried; 3) domain-independent and robust workflow recovery and monitoring algorithms based on spatiotemporal pairwise relations deduced from object and user movement with respect to the scene; and 4) context-sensitive augmented reality (AR) user feedback using a head-mounted display (HMD). A distinguishing key feature of the developed algorithms is that they all operate solely on data from the on-body sensor network and that no external instrumentation is needed. The feasibility of the chosen approach for the complete action-perception-feedback loop is demonstrated on three increasingly complex datasets representing manual industrial tasks. These limited size datasets indicate and highlight the potential of the chosen technology as a combined entity as well as point out limitations of the system.
Teaching and Learning of Citizenship Education at the Junior Secondary Level in Botswana

This paper explores the extent to which the objectives of citizenship education has been realized in Botswana. The authors draw on data from interviews and observations of thirty-two social studies teachers drawn from eighteen junior secondary schools. The majority of the teachers felt that the objective of working to produce good citizens had either been minimally or satisfactorily achieved. The use of inquiry methods and group work were perceived as particularly effective methods of teaching citizenship. About half of the social studies teachers thought they had undergone sufficient training to effectively teach the concepts involved in citizenship education but they highlighted the challenges of irrelevant instructional materials, job dissatisfaction and large class size. The authors recommend providing regular workshops, restructuring pre-service and in-service education programmes in order to improve the present situation and to bridge the gap between theory and practice.
An improved uniform design-based genetic algorithm for multi-objective bilevel convex programming

Bilevel programming problems have a nested structure in which two optimisation programming problems are involved, one is the constraints of the other. Among bilevel programming problems, multiobjective bilevel programming problems are applicable but seldom studied. In this paper, a multi-objective bilevel convex programming is considered. To deal with this problem effectively, the lower level is transformed into a single optimisation problem by multiplying by a weighted vector. The vector is generated by scheme of uniform design. By designing a pattern of encoding, initial population generation, uniform design-based crossover, mutation, selection operator and fitness function, an improved uniform design-based genetic algorithm is proposed. Numerical experiments are implemented to test the efficiency of the proposed algorithm with the known results.
Intensional interpretations of functionals of finite type I

T0 will denote Gödel's theory T[3] of functionals of finite type (f.t.) with intuitionistic quantification over each f.t. added. T1 will denote T0 together with definition by bar recursion of type o, the axiom schema of bar induction, and the schema of choice. Precise descriptions of these systems are given below in §4. The main results of this paper are interpretations of T0 in intuitionistic arithmetic U0 and of T1 in intuitionistic analysis is U1. U1 is U0 with quantification over functionals of type (0,0) and the axiom schemata AC00 and of bar induction.
Rescoring n-best lists for Russian speech recognition using factored language models

In this paper, we present a research of factored language model (FLM) for rescoring N-best lists for Russian speech recognition task. As a baseline language model we used a 3gram language model. Both baseline and factored language models were trained on a text corpus collected from recent news texts on Internet sites of online newspapers; total size of the corpus is about 350 million words (2.4 GB data). For FLMs creation, we used five factors: word, its lemma, stem, part-of-speech, and morphological tag. We investigate the influence of factor set on language model perplexity and word error rate (WER). Experiments on large vocabulary continuous Russian speech recognition showed that FLM can reduce WER.
Analysis of novel alleles of brother of tout‐velu, the drosophila ortholog of human EXTL3 using a newly developed FRT42D ovoD chromosome

The FLP/FRT system permits rapid phenotypic screening of homozygous lethal mutations in the context of a viable mosaic fly. Combining this system with ovoD dominant female‐sterile transgenes enables efficient production of embryos derived from mutant germline clones lacking maternal contribution from a gene of interest. Two distinct sets of FRT chromosomes, carrying either the mini‐white (w + mW.hs), or rosy (ry+) and neomycin (neoR) transgenes are in common use. Parallel ovoD lines were developed using w + mW.hs FRT insertions on the X and chromosomes 2R and 3L, as well as ry+, neoR FRT insertions on 2L and 3R. Consequently, mutations isolated on the X, 2R and 3L chromosomes in a ry+, neoR FRT background, are not amenable to germline clonal analysis without labor‐intensive recombination onto chromosome arms containing a w + mW.hs FRT. Here we report the creation of a new ovoD line for the ry+, neoR FRT insertion at position FRT42D on chromosome 2R, through induced recombination in males. To establish the developmental relevance of this reagent we characterized the maternal‐effect phenotypes of novel brother of tout‐velu alleles generated on an FRT42D chromosome in a somatic mosaic screen. We find that an apparent null mutation that causes severe defects in somatic tissues has a much milder effect on embryonic patterning, emphasizing the necessity of analyzing mutant phenotypes at multiple developmental stages.
Neurois: Challenges and solutions

Consistent with the ICIS conference theme “Gateway to the Future,” this panel will debate the advantages of pursuing NeuroIS – an emerging area in the IS discipline that offers a new lens into IS phenomena by looking into the brain’s functionality – relative to the challenges inherent in adopting a new set of neuroscience theories and tools . The panelists will debate whether the difficulties involved in conducting NeuroIS studies outweigh their benefits, and whether it is possible to overcome these challenges. Izak Benbasat will outline the process of conducting NeuroIS studies, including identifying interesting IS research problems, designing experiments, and presenting results. Kai Lim and Eric Walden will focus on the challenges of NeuroIS studies, while Angelika Dimoka will seek to counteract these challenges with a set of solutions. From an editor’s perspective, Detmar Straub will discuss the challenges in editing and reviewing manuscripts that rely on novel (neuroscience) theories and (neurophysiological) tools, offering guidelines for authors for publishing in this new area. The panel seeks to have a broad appeal to IS researchers who may be interested in NeuroIS but may be impeded by its challenges. The panel’s ultimate goal is to assess if these challenges could be overcome and give IS researchers a set of actionable solutions to conduct high-quality studies.
A Generic Approach For Obtaining Higher Entertainment In Predator/Prey Games

This paper constitutes a sequel to our previous work focused on investigating cooperative behaviors, adaptive learning and on-line interaction towards the generation of entertainment in computer games. A human-verified metric of interest (i.e. player entertainment) of predator/prey games and a neuroevolution on-line learning (i.e. during play) approach are used to serve this purpose. Experiments presented here demonstrate the generality of the proposed approach, in its ability to overcome the difficulties of learning in real-time and generate interesting predator/prey games, over game type, complexity, topology, initial opponent behavior and player type.
Comparison of software repositories for their usability in software process reconstruction

Software development process is like any other business process composed of activities carried out by process participants in order to achieve a certain goal. In contrast to a typical business process that is relatively deterministic and thus repeatable, software processes are much more dynamic in nature and dependent on a number of circumstances. This explains why actual software development practice in organizations defer from what these organizations prescribe within their adopted software development methods. The research that is reported in this paper aims at analyzing the suitability of software repositories to support de facto software process reconstruction. We examine most common utility tools that are used in software development and analyze the information they capture (we do that for a number of open source and commercial projects). We than suggest what would be a reasonable level of documentation for a software process so that this information would adequately facilitate project managers and developers at their work. Finally, based on our findings, we provide guidelines on how organizations should use software repositories to support the process reconstruction.
Operator value creation through technological convergence: The case of VoIP

During the past few years there have been numerous reports and articles from the telecommunications sector, focusing on technological convergence and aiming at presenting managerial implications for operators active in the industry. This paper adds to the discussion by suggesting that there lies value-creation potential in convergence processes. The case of VoIP is discussed and analysed as an example of a market, where incumbent operators are most likely not winners, but are rather defeated by new entrants (allowed by industry convergence) and other providers with more customer-focused strategies (such as pure VoIP providers, ISPs and cable companies). The paper raises questions concerning technological convergence and its role in the telecommunications landscape, which is characterized by increasing competition and technological development. The paper thus suggests that technological convergence may be used as a tool in order to create value for incumbent and service operators in telecommunications Based on this study, one could assume that challengers and attacker’s possess an advantage when it comes to converging markets such as the VoIP market, and creating value for both the firm and the end-customers. Incumbent operators entering the VoIP market are likely to cannibalize their own revenues and missing out on value-creation.
Privacy-preserving Top-K Query in Two-tiered Wireless Sensor Networks

In a two-tiered wireless sensor network, storage nodes act as an intermediate tier between sensors and the sink for storing data and processing queries. This architecture has been widely adopted because of the benefits of power and storage saving for sensors as well as the efficiency of query processing. On the other hand, the importance of storage nodes also makes them attractive targets for compromise. A compromised storage node may leak sensitive information and breach data privacy. In this paper, we propose a privacy-preserving protocol specializing for top-k queries that prevents attackers from gaining sensitive information from sensor collected data. To preserve privacy, an orderpreserving encryption is employed to encrypt sensor data such that a storage node can correctly process top-k queries over encrypted data without knowing their actual values. Detailed theoretical and quantitative results confirm the high efficacy and efficiency of the proposed scheme.
Taiwan student engagement model:Conceptual framework and overview of psychometric properties

The US’s National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) have long shown that students’ engagement such as the level of academic challenge, active and collaborative learning, student-faculty interaction, enriching educational experiences, and supportive campus environment, have all contributed to the desired outcomes in college. In Taiwan, a national dataset called the Freshman-Junior Student Survey (FJSS); wherein 49,609 students were surveyed, was used to gather information regarding students’ learning experiences. Using the NSSE as a model, this paper details the quantitative analysis of the FJSS with the aim of developing a Taiwan student engagement model (TSEM). Results show that the TSEM both contains conceptual factors derived from the NSSE and contextual issues that are only found in Taiwan. Lastly, the psychometric properties of the TSEM were validated using the confirmatory factor analysis.
An improved algorithm for rotational motion artifact suppression in MRI

An improved algorithm for planar rotational motion artifact suppression in standard two-dimensional Fourier transform magnetic resonance images is presented. It is shown that interpolation of acquired view data on the uncorrupted k-space create data overlap and void regions. The authors present a method of managing overlap data regions, using weighted averaging of redundant data. The weights are assigned according to a priority ranking based on the minimum distance between the data set and the k-space grid points. An iterative estimation technique for filling the data void regions, using projections onto convex sets (POCS), is also described. The method has been successfully tested using computer simulations.
Antecedents and Consequences of Personal Attachment in Cross-Cultural Cooperative Ventures

This study examines how personal attachments between boundary spanners within cross-cultural international cooperative ventures (ICVs) are established and their association with venture performance. Results of analysis of 282 ICVs in an emerging market (People's Republic of China) show that the development of personal attachment depends on factors at three levels. At the individual level, attachment is an increasing function of overlap in tenure between boundary spanners. At the organizational level, attachment is heightened by goal congruity between the parent firms but is impeded by cultural distance. At the environmental level, market disturbance and regulatory deterrence lead to strong attachments. Such attachments stimulate an ICV's process performance and increase financial returns.