Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Determining the Number of Common Factors in Factor Analysis: A Review and Program

Determining the number of common factors is one of the most important decisions which must be made in the application of factor analysis. Several different approaches and techniques are reviewed here along with associated strengths and weaknesses. It is argued that a combination of approaches will lead to the best judgment regarding the number of factors to retain. A computer program is available which presents the number of factors to retain as suggested by both discontinuity and parallel analyses. Utilization of the program removes the negative aspect associated with the use of each technique.
Cross domain web information extraction with multi-level feature model

One of the key problems of information extraction is to design a cross domain extraction procedure that can adapt different domain topics and text formats. However, most information extraction methods focus on specific areas or only have limited scalability for semi-structured texts. We argue that the problem of cross domain information extraction is basically introduced by domain related features. For example, the features used for price extraction in e-commerce websites cannot be directly applied in the case of extracting salary for recruiting websites. In worst case, a whole extraction model is required to be implemented despite the fact that there are common characters for price and salary. In this paper we propose a cross domain solution by dismantling domain relevant features into sub-features that are less domain related. The sub-features include composite features (those can be represented with a combination of several other features) and atomic features (features that can't be dismantled). To manage the features effectively we propose a multi-level feature model by organizing the features as well as their relations. With this model, we give an information extraction method that can be quickly shifted when the extraction domain changes.
Automatic Generation of Test Models for Model Transformations

The model driven architecture (MDA) is a software design approach initiated by OMG. MDA is intended to support model driven engineering of software systems. Under MDA, the central artifacts are models which are transformed to include platform-specific detail, and eventually to source code. Therefore, model transformations play a key role in making MDA succeed. However, much less attention has been given to the need to ensure that model transformations generate the intended results. This paper explores validation and verification of model transformations using testing techniques. The paper describes the steps for generating test input models from a given set of transformation rules and the corresponding source metamodel(s). The process of testing model transformations has been implemented in a prototype tool that is built using the eclipse modeling framework (EMF).
Effectiveness of Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy in Patients with Bipolar Affective Disorder: A Case Series

The present investigation was undertaken to examine the effects of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) on interepisodic symptoms, emotional regulation, and quality of life in patients with bipolar affective disorder (BPAD) in remission. The sample for the study comprised a total of five patients with the diagnosis of BPAD in partial or complete remission. Each patient was screened to fit the inclusion and exclusion criteria and later assessed on the Beck Depressive Inventory I, Beck Anxiety Inventory, Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II, and The World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment-BREF. Following preassessments, patients underwent 8–10 weeks of MBCT. A single case design with pre- and post-intervention assessment was adopted to evaluate the changes. Improvement was observed in all five cases on the outcome variables. The details of the results are discussed in the context of the available literature. Implications, limitations, and ideas for future investigations are also discussed.
Viewing Pain and Happy Faces Elicited Similar Changes in Postural Body Sway

Affective facial expressions are potent social cues that can induce relevant physiological changes, as well as behavioral dispositions in the observer. Previous studies have revealed that angry faces induced significant reductions in body sway as compared with neutral and happy faces, reflecting an avoidance behavioral tendency as freezing. The expression of pain is usually considered an unpleasant stimulus, but also a relevant cue for delivering effective care and social support. Nevertheless, there are few data about behavioral dispositions elicited by the observation of pain expressions in others. The aim of the present research was to evaluate approach–avoidance tendencies by using video recordings of postural body sway when participants were standing and observing facial expressions of pain, happy and neutral. We hypothesized that although pain faces would be rated as more unpleasant than the other faces, they would provoke significant changes in postural body sway as compared to neutral facial expressions. Forty healthy female volunteers (mean age 25) participated in the study. Amplitude of forward movements and backward movements in the anterior-posterior and medial-lateral axes were obtained. Statistical analyses revealed that pain faces were the most unpleasant stimuli, and that both happy and pain faces were more arousing than neutral ones. Happy and pain faces also elicited greater amplitude of body sway in the anterior-posterior axes as compared with neutral faces. In addition, significant positive correlations were found between body sway elicited by pain faces and pleasantness and empathic ratings, suggesting that changes in postural body sway elicited by pain faces might be associated with approach and cooperative behavioral responses.
Estimation of longitudinal and lateral tire forces in a commercial vehicle

The design of a robotic vehicle of Autonomous Mobility Laboratory (LMA) at UNICAMP is developed invehicle platform FIAT-PUNTO. In addition to a set of sensors, actuators, mechanism and components (hardware and software), new technologies should be developed to support the Automation, Control, Perception, Localization and Navigation. The purposes of this work is to present a non-linear vehicle model with a tire dynamic model, and the design of virtual sensors applying a stochastic estimation technique for acquiring indicators of the intrinsic safety of the vehicle. The virtual sensors allow to estimate several critical parameters of the vehicle dynamics. The tests simulations of the vehicle model are executed applying the extended Kalman filter (EKF). The estimated responses data are evaluated with the simulated vehicle and tires model, allowing the validation of the vehicle model and the virtual sensors proposed.
EFFECT OF BAY 41‐2272 IN THE PULMONARY HYPERTENSION INDUCED BY HEPARIN–PROTAMINE COMPLEX IN ANAESTHETIZED DOGS

1 BAY 41‐2272 is a potent activator of the nitric oxide‐independent site of soluble guanylate cyclase and has been recently introduced as a new therapeutic agent to treat chronic pulmonary hypertension (PH) in neonatal sheep. Because the in vivo heparin–protamine interaction may lead to severe PH, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of BAY 41‐2272 in the PH induced by heparin–protamine interaction in anaesthetized dogs. 2 Sixteen male dogs (10 mongrel dogs and six Beagles) were anaesthetized and instrumented for acquisition of mean arterial blood pressure (MABP), mean pulmonary arterial pressure (MPAP), heart rate (HR), pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP), cardiac index (CI) and indices of systemic and pulmonary vascular resistance (ISVR and IPVR, respectively). Plasma cGMP levels and Spo2 were evaluated. 3 Intravenous administration of heparin (500 IU/kg) followed 3 min later by protamine (10 mg/kg) caused marked PH, as evaluated by the increase in MPAP, PCWP and IPVR. This was accompanied by a significant fall in MABP and a transient increase in HR. Infusion of BAY 41‐2272 (10 µg/kg per h, starting 10 min before heparin administration) augmented plasma cGMP levels and slightly and significantly increased HR and CI, without affecting the other cardiovascular parameters. The elevation in IPVR, MPAP and PCWP triggered by the heparin–protamine interaction was significantly reduced in animals exposed to BAY 41‐2272. 4 In vehicle‐treated dogs, the Spo2 values decreased significantly at the peak of the PH and this was significantly attenuated by treatment with BAY 41‐2272. In addition, BAY 41‐2272 (10 µmol/L) had no effect on the activated partial thromboplastin time of citrated plasma after the addition of heparin–protamine. 5 In conclusion, BAY 41‐2272 was effective in reducing canine PH induced in vivo by the heparin–protamine interaction, thus indicating its potential in the treatment of this type of disorder.
Targeted drug delivery strategies to treat lung metastasis

Background: Most cancer patients die of metastatic disease, and in a high proportion of cases, from lung metastasis. Methods to target therapy to metastatic disease in general and specifically to lung metastasis are required. Objective: To describe the current and potential tools for the treatment of lung metastasis. Methods: Literature search tools were used with no predefined limitations to encompass the main tumor targeting methods. Methods in standard clinical use, in clinical trials and in preclinical development are reviewed. Data about treatment of lung metastasis and solid tumors are emphasized. Results: Physically targeting therapies to lung metastasis is feasible by aerosol-carried agents, magnetic targeting and intravascular devices. Biological targeting includes methods such as polymers and liposomes, which are based on the principle of enhanced permeability and retention of large molecules in tumor vascular field. Ligand-targeted treatments depend on cancer-specific antibodies or receptors. Few of these methods are in clinical trials or in standard clinical use. However, promising techniques are in advanced preclinical or early clinical studies. The authors believe that targeted treatments will be one the major anticancer tools in the near future.
Cash transfers and child well-being in Singapore: an exploratory study of the School Pocket Money Fund

This exploratory study aimed to identify the extent to which a nationwide cash transfer programme, The Straits Times' School Pocket Money Fund (SPMF), was associated with the education performance of children from low-income families in Singapore. Data were collected from 400 pairs of parents and children of SPMF, 172 school reports, and 35 in-depth interviews. Descriptive and correlation analyses were run. We found that SPMF may be a supporting factor in helping children stay in school. Additionally, receipt of SPMF was positively related to children's performance, level of engagement in school, and a higher level of confidence in achieving educational goals.
REGIONAL DIFFERENCES OF SURFACE TEMPERATURE OF NAKED NECK LAYING HENS IN SEMIARID ENVIRONMENT

This study aimed to evaluate the regional variation of the surface temperature of naked neck hens in semi-arid environment using infrared thermography. The surface temperature was measured (776 observations) in four body regions (face, neck, legs and body) of 60 laying hens Label Rouge (naked neck). Were Measured environmental variables in the center of the shed: black globe temperature (TG), air temperature (TA), wind speed (U) and relative humidity (RH). TA was divided into three classes: Class 1 (24.0°C to 26°C), Class 2 (26.1°C to 28.9°C) and Class 3 (29.0°C to 31.0°C). Analysis of variance was performed by the least squares method and comparison of means by Tukey-Kramer test (p<0.05). Results showed significant effect of class TA, body region and the interaction between these two effects on surface temperature. There was no statistical difference between the TA classes for the face and neck. Legs and body presented difference between the TA classes. Averages between the body regions in the same TA class, there was statistical difference among all regions in the three TA classes. The neck presented the highest average in all TA classes studied, followed by the face and legs. The body presented the lowest average in the differents TA classes. It is concluded from this study that there are regional differences in the surface temperature of naked neck hens, where the legs act as thermal windows. Laying hens Label Rouge have advantage compared to other birds, since they have a greater surface area without feathers, facilitating heat dissipation.
Calcium absorption in postmenopausal Chinese women: a randomized crossover intervention study

The Ca intake and food sources of Chinese postmenopausal women are quite different from those of their Western counterparts. But, little information on Ca metabolism is available in Chinese populations. We determined true fractional calcium absorption (TFCA), true Ca absorption ( = TFCA × Ca intake, Va), urinary Ca excretion (Vu) and the difference between Va and Vu (Va − u), in response to three dietary Ca intake levels. Twenty-one healthy postmenopausal Chinese women aged 49–64 years were recruited for this randomized crossover trial from a general community, Guangzhou, China. Subjects were randomly assigned to receive 0, 500 and 1000 mg Ca/d for 5 weeks separated by 2-week washout periods. TFCA using Ca stable isotopes, total urinary Ca excretion and Ca intake were determined after 4 weeks of adaptation. Mean values for total Ca intake (Vi) of the three phases were 391 (sd 197), 880 (sd 130) and 1382 (sd 160) mg/d. On usual diet, TFCA, Vu, Va and Va − u were 0·57 (sd 0·12), 175 (sd 59) mg/d, 216 (sd 98) mg/d and 41 (sd 99) mg/d, respectively. With the supplementations of 500 and 1000 mg Ca/d, TFCA significantly decreased to 0·52 (sd 0·12) and 0·43 (sd 0·13) (P < 0·001); whereas urinary Ca (P = 0·003), Va and Va − u increased significantly (P < 0·001). Using a mixed-effects nonlinear regression model, it was estimated that Va − u was approaching a plateau when mean Ca intake reached 1300 mg/d. In conclusion, the present findings suggest postmenopausal Chinese women have high Ca absorption efficiency and a mean Ca intake of about 1300 mg/d is required to maximize the Va − u.
Extreme cost of rivalry in a monandrous species: male–male interactions result in failure to acquire mates and reduced longevity

Mating system variation is profound in animals. In insects, female willingness to remate varies from mating with hundreds of males (extreme polyandry) to never remating (monandry). This variation in female behaviour is predicted to affect the pattern of selection on males, with intense pre-copulatory sexual selection under monandry compared to a mix of pre- and post-copulatory forces affecting fitness under polyandry. We tested the hypothesis that differences in female mating biology would be reflected in different costs of pre-copulatory competition between males. We observed that exposure to rival males early in life was highly costly for males of a monandrous species, but had lower costs in the polyandrous species. Males from the monandrous species housed with competitors showed reduced ability to obtain a mate and decreased longevity. These effects were specific to exposure to rivals compared with other types of social interactions (heterospecific male and mated female) and were either absent or weaker in males of the polyandrous species. We conclude that males in monandrous species suffer severe physiological costs from interactions with rivals and note the significance of male–male interactions as a source of stress in laboratory culture.
ErbB2 requires integrin α5 for anoikis resistance via Src regulation of receptor activity in human mammary epithelial cells

ErbB2, a receptor tyrosine kinase highly expressed in many tumors, is known to inhibit apoptotic signals. Overexpression of ErbB2 causes anoikis resistance that contributes to luminal filling in three-dimensional mammary epithelial acinar structures in vitro. Given that integrins and growth factor receptors are highly interdependent for function, we examined the role of integrin subunits in ErbB2-mediated survival signaling. Here, we show that MCF-10A cells overexpressing ErbB2 upregulate integrin α5 via the MAP-kinase pathway in three-dimensional acini and found elevated integrin α5 levels associated with ErbB2 status in human breast cancer. Integrin α5 is required for ErbB2-mediated anoikis resistance and for optimal ErbB2 signaling to the Mek-Erk-Bim axis as depletion of integrin α5 reverses anoikis resistance and Bim inhibition. Integrin α5 is required for full activation of ErbB2 tyrosine phosphorylation on Y877 and ErbB2 phosphorylation is associated with increased activity of Src in the absence of adhesion. Indeed, we show that blocking elevated Src activity during cell detachment reverses ErbB2-mediated survival and Bim repression. Thus, integrin α5 serves as a key mediator of Src and ErbB2-survival signaling in low adhesion states, which are necessary to block the pro-anoikis mediator Bim, and we suggest that this pathway represents a potential novel therapeutic target in ErbB2-positive tumors.
Hippocampal Glutamate NMDA Receptor Loss Tracks Progression in Alzheimer’s Disease: Quantitative Autoradiography in Postmortem Human Brain

Early Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by memory loss and hippocampal atrophy with relative sparing of basal ganglia. Activation of glutamate NMDA receptors in the hippocampus is an important step in memory formation. We measured the density of NMDA receptors in samples of hippocampus, entorhinal cortex and basal ganglia obtained from subjects who died with pathologically confirmed AD and age- and sex- matched non-demented controls. We found significant decreases in NMDA receptor density in the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex but not in the basal ganglia. Loss of NMDA receptors was significantly correlated with neuropathological progression as assessed by Braak staging postmortem. The same samples were probed for neuroinflammation by measuring the density and gene expression of translocator protein 18kDA (TSPO), an established marker of microglial activation. Unlike NMDA receptor loss, increased densities of TSPO were found in all of the brain regions sampled. However hippocampal, but not striatal TSPO density and gene expression were inversely correlated with NMDA receptor density and positively correlated with Braak stage, suggesting NMDA receptors exacerbate neuroniflammatory damage. The high correlation between hippocampal NMDA receptor loss and disease progression supports the use of non invasive imaging with NMDA receptor tracers and positron emission tomography as a superior method for diagnosis, staging and treatment monitoring of AD in vivo.
Grieving for a Lost Network: Collective Action in a Wired Suburb Special Issue: ICTs and Community Networking

Critics have argued that information and communication technologies (ICTs) disconnect people from their social networks and reduce public participation. Research in support of this perspective has been biased by two assumptions. The first is a tendency to privilege the Internet as a social system removed from the other ways people communicate. The second is a tendency to favor broadly supportive strong social ties. Survey and ethnographic observations from Netville, a 2-year community networking experiment, suggest that weak, not strong ties experience growth as a result of ICTs. By examining a unique and underexplored stage in the life cycle of a community networking project, the end of a networking trial, this article demonstrates how ICTs facilitate community participation and collective action (a) by creating large, dense networks of relatively weak social ties and (b) through the use of ICTs as an organizing tool.
Plasma Apolipoprotein Levels Are Associated with Cognitive Status and Decline in a Community Cohort of Older Individuals

Objectives Apolipoproteins have recently been implicated in the etiology of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In particular, Apolipoprotein J (ApoJ or clusterin) has been proposed as a biomarker of the disease at the pre-dementia stage. We examined a group of apolipoproteins, including ApoA1, ApoA2, ApoB, ApoC3, ApoE, ApoH and ApoJ, in the plasma of a longitudinal community based cohort. Methods 664 subjects (257 with Mild Cognitive Impairment [MCI] and 407 with normal cognition), mean age 78 years, from the Sydney Memory and Aging Study (MAS) were followed up over two years. Plasma apolipoprotein levels at baseline (Wave 1) were measured using a multiplex bead fluorescence immunoassay technique. Results At Wave 1, MCI subjects had lower levels of ApoA1, ApoA2 and ApoH, and higher levels of ApoE and ApoJ, and a higher ApoB/ApoA1 ratio. Carriers of the apolipoprotein E ε4 allele had significantly lower levels of plasma ApoE, ApoC3 and ApoH and a significantly higher level of ApoB. Global cognitive scores were correlated positively with ApoH and negatively with ApoJ levels. ApoJ and ApoE levels were correlated negatively with grey matter volume and positively with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) volume on MRI. Lower ApoA1, ApoA2 and ApoH levels, and higher ApoB/ApoA1 ratio, increased the risk of cognitive decline over two years in cognitively normal individuals. ApoA1 was the most significant predictor of decline. These associations remained after statistically controlling for lipid profile. Higher ApoJ levels predicted white matter atrophy over two years. Conclusions Elderly individuals with MCI have abnormal apolipoprotein levels, which are related to cognitive function and volumetric MRI measures cross-sectionally and are predictive of cognitive impairment in cognitively normal subjects. ApoA1, ApoH and ApoJ are potential plasma biomarkers of cognitive decline in non-demented elderly individuals.
The European Union in the World Community.

the German peace movement in the 1980s, her professed pacifism, and her deep knowledge of German political culture. While Mushaben's focus on the dynamics of generational change and its effect on German security policy is an intriguing starting point, the author does not adequately account for either intragenerational competition to capture political power and control the national security agenda or the demonstrable continuity between those generations, at least with respect to the security policy of successive German governments. Germany and Russia remain the marquee actors on the European stage. Each author argues that the trajectory of the domestic political landscape in both nations, particularly the search for a new national identity, will largely shape their foreign policy aspirations and Europe's future. The domestic discontinuities manifest in post-Soviet Russia and a unified Germany strongly suggest, however, that the United States cannot yet leave Europe to its own devices.
An adaptive display to treat stress-related disorders: EMMA's World

ABSTRACT Most of the virtual environments currently available in the field of psychological treatments were designed to solve a specific problem. Our research group has developed a versatile virtual reality system (an adaptive display) called ‘EMMA's world’, which can address a wide range of problems. It was designed to assist in clinical situations where a person has suffered a stressful experience, for example post-traumatic stress disorder, adjustment disorder, and pathological grief. To accomplish therapeutic goals, a series of emotional virtual elements are used and personalised so that they are meaningful to the user and contain the fundamental emotional elements that the person must confront. Effectiveness data relating to the system for stress-related disorders are presented.