Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effectiveness of spaced retrieval combined with Montessori-based activities in improving the eating ability of residents with dementia.

AIMS To explore the long-term effects of standardized and individualized spaced retrieval combined with Montessori-based activities on the eating ability of residents with dementia. BACKGROUND Eating difficulty is common in residents with dementia, resulting in low food intake, followed by eating dependence, weight loss and malnutrition. DESIGN A single-blinded and quasi-experimental design with repeated measures. METHODS Ninety residents with dementia from four veterans' homes in Taiwan took part in this study. The intervention consisted of spaced retrieval combined with Montessori-based activities. Twenty-five participants in the standardized group received 24 intervention sessions over 8 weeks. Thirty-eight participants in the individualized group received tailored intervention sessions. The number of intervention sessions was adjusted according to the participant's recall responses in spaced retrieval. Twenty-seven participants in the control group received no treatment. The Chinese version of the Edinburgh Feeding Evaluation in Dementia was used, and eating amounts and body weight were measured pre-test, posttest and at 1-, 3- and 6-month follow-ups. Data were collected between July 2008-February 2010. Repeated measures of all dependent variables for the three groups were analysed by the linear mixed model. RESULTS The standardized and individualized interventions could significantly decrease the scores for the Chinese version of the Edinburgh Feeding Evaluation in Dementia and increase the eating amount and body weight over time. CONCLUSION Trained nurses in institutions can schedule the standardized or individualized intervention in usual activity time to ameliorate eating difficulty and its sequels.
Corner detection based on estimated eigenvalues

Corner detection is important part of many image analysis methods and the result of corner detection is essential for performance of stereo vision, augmented reality, etc. This paper proposes a new method of corner detection based on autocorrelation matrix estimated eigen-values and compares the new method with several frequently used methods The new method is superior to the more traditional ones as it is one-pass, robust, and also because it is easy to implement in programmable hardware. The main novel part of the method is that for determination of corner maxima it directly estimates eigen-values of autocorrelation matrix. Exact eigen-values computation is time consuming and it is obtained by solving the second order polynomial. However, estimation of eigen-values can be obtained through solving first order polynomial which gives good results and is faster than the known methods.
Monitoring and Assessing Symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: Use of Time Series Regression

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome's principal symptoms are severe and include prolonged fatigue and a number of other minor symptoms. Behavioral data collection methods were used in a case study to show some of the benefits that can be derived from monitoring symptoms hourly and daily. Using time series regression, several statistically significant correlates of fatigue were found both within days and between days. Perceived energy, physical exertion, and mental exertion were significantly related to fatigue in both analyses. Collection of such data may help resolve a number of theoretical and methodological problems in research on the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
SRI International FASTUS SystemMUC-6 Test Results and Analysis

SRI International participated in the MUC-6 evaluation using the latest version of SRI's FASTUS system [1] . The FASTUS system was originally developed for participation in the MUC-4 evaluatio n [3] in 1992, and the performance of FASTUS in MUC-4 helped demonstrate the viability of finit e state technologies in constrained natural-language understanding tasks . The system has undergon e significant revision since MUC-4, and it is safe to say that the current system does not share a singl e line of code with the original . The fundamental ideas behind FASTUS, however, are retained i n the current system: an architecture consisting of cascaded finite state transducers, each providin g an additional level of analysis of the input, together with merging of the final results .
Expression of Jak3, STAT1, STAT4, and STAT6 in inflammatory arthritis: unique Jak3 and STAT4 expression in dendritic cells in seropositive rheumatoid arthritis

Background: Modulation of Jak-STAT signalling may provide an effective therapeutic strategy in inflammatory arthritis. Objective: To document Jak-STAT expression in a cohort of patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA), spondyloarthritis (SpA), and osteoarthritis (OA) and compare these subsets with normal synovial tissue. Methods: Synovial tissue biopsy specimens from patients with RA, OA, and SpA and histologically normal tissue (n = 10 in each arthritis group) were examined for the presence of Jak3, STAT1, STAT4, and STAT6 expression using immunohistochemistry. Phenotyping was performed using immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence. Clinical and serological characteristics of patients with RA expressing Jak3-STAT4 were assessed. Results: STAT1, STAT4, and Jak3 protein expression was generally increased in inflammatory arthritis. In contrast, STAT6 expression was relatively heterogeneous. A subpopulation of CD1a positive dendritic cells unique to seropositive patients with RA was detected. These cells showed intense protein expression for Jak3, STAT4, and STAT6. Conclusion: CD1a positive dendritic cells intensely express Jak3, STAT4, and STAT6 in seropositive RA tissue and may be an alternative marker for dendritic cells in their early stages of activation as well as providing a tool for identifying RA at the level of the synovium. Jak3 inhibition may be a potential therapeutic target to prevent dendritic cell maturation in RA. STAT1 expression is increased in inflammatory arthritis, suggesting that its pro-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory effects cannot effectively counteract inflammation. STAT6 expression is heterogeneous in synovium, suggesting a possible homoeostatic role in addition to any anti-inflammatory effects.
Innovation Strategy, Process and Performance in the Commercial Banking Industry

Faced with rapidly changing markets and deregulations, most commercial banks are increasingly relying on new product development for growth and profitability. However, the success of a new product may depend on choosing the right mix of new product strategy and the development process. Extant literature has examined these two key factors individually rather than investigating their interrelationships. Likewise, the focus of the literature has been on the overall financial services rather than banking services alone. This study addresses these gaps in the literature by conducting a survey of 138 product managers of the major commercial banks and proposing that a bank’s choice of new product strategy and product development process are interrelated as are the impacts of those choices on new product performance. The findings reveal that the moderately innovative products are likely to be more successful than highly innovative and low innovative products. Idea generation and screening efforts, forming a cross-functional team and proficiency in commercialisation activities are essential to the success of a banking product.
Selection of internet assessment vendor using TOPSIS method in fuzzy environment

In recent days an explosion in demand is being resulted for internet-based assessment solutions. The number of internet assessment vendors has increased dramatically, and they differ widely in offerings, capabilities, technology, assessment expertise, customer support and other factors. Choosing an appropriate vendor capable of fulfilling various needs and become a value-added partner can seem somewhat daunting. Conventional approaches for selection and evaluation of vendors separately tend to be less effective in dealing with the imprecise of attributes assessment individually. Hence, this study aims to propose an effective integrated fuzzy multi-attribute group decision making (FMAGDM) approach to deal both qualitative and quantitative attributes associated with internet assessment vendor selection criteria's. In this paper, a technique for order preference by similarity to ideal
Beyond superscalar using FPGAs

A superscalar processor with three execution units is described in details in this paper. The execution units are implemented using reprogrammable field-programmable gate array (FPGA) chips, allowing the user to configure them to best fit the application. Each instruction, composed of 128 bits, directly controls all the processor resources, in a horizontal microprogramming way. <<ETX>>
Retail internationalisation: Marks and Spencer in Hong Kong

Purpose – A case study of Marks and Spencer (M&S) in Hong Kong is used to explore aspects of the retail internationalisation process.Design/methodology/approach – The case study is developed from four main sources. First, national and trade press commentary on M&S's internationalisation. Secondly, M&S's publications and statements about their international activities. Thirdly, previous research on M&S in Hong Kong, including work by the authors. Finally, informal interviews with current and former M&S management involved in the Hong Kong development. The case study is organised into a description of phases of exporting, store development and crises. This is followed by a discussion of the key internationalisation issues raised in terms of market entry, maintenance and exit. Conclusions follow.Findings – The study emphasises that internationalisation is a non‐linear, ongoing, dynamic activity involving developments, impacts and retrenchment at a variety of levels. Implications for future research in the ar.
Caudal anesthesia in pediatrics: an update.

AIM Caudal anesthesia is one of the most used-popular regional blocks in children. This technique is a useful adjunct during general anesthesia and for providing postoperative analgesia after infraumbilical operations. The quality and level of the caudal blockade is dependent on the dose, volume, and concentration of the injected drug. Although it is a versatile block, one of the major limitations of the single-injection technique is the relatively short duration of postoperative analgesia. The most frequently used method to further prolong postoperative analgesia following caudal block is to add different adjunct drugs to the local anesthetics solution. Only few studies evaluated quality and duration of caudal block against the volume of the local anaesthetic applied. After reviewing recent scientific literature, the authors compare the duration of postoperative analgesia in children scheduled for hypospadia repair when 2two different volumes and concentrations of a fixed dose of ropivacaine are used. METHODS After informed parental consent, 30 children (ASA I, 1-5 years old) were enrolled in a multicentre, perspective, not randomized, observational study conducted in two 2 children hospitals. After premedication with midazolam, anesthesia was induced with thiopental and maintained with sevoflurane in oxygen/air. After induction, patients received a caudal blockade either with ropivacaine 0.375% at 0.5 mL/kg (Low Volume High Concentration Group, LVHC; n = 15), or ropivacaine 0.1% at 1.8 mLl/kg (High Volume Low Concentration Group, HVLC; n = 15). Surgery was allowed to begin 10ten minutes after performing the block. MAC-hour was calculated. In the recovery room, pain was assessed using the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Pain Scale (CHEOPS). In addition, the motor block was scored. After transferral to the ward, the patients were observed for 24 hours for signs of postoperative pain. The time period to first supplemental analgesic demand, i.e., from establishment of the block until the first registration of a CHEOPS score = or > 9, was considered the primary endpoint of the study. The time periods were compared using analysis of variance adjusted for age, weight and duration of surgical procedure as covariates. RESULTS All patients were judged to have sufficient intraoperative analgesia, and none of them received additional analgesics intraoperatively. Patients' characteristics were similar, besides the age (32+/-10 vs 24 +/- 9 months; P < 0.05) and weigh (15.13 +/- 3.92 vs 11.93 +/- 1.83; P = 0.08). Analgesics were needed after 520 +/- 480 min in the LVHC and 952 +/- 506 min in the HVLC group (P < 0.05). Motor block was less in the HVLC group. CONCLUSIONS In children undergoing hypospadia repair, caudal block with a ''high volume, low concentration'' regimen produces prolonged analgesia and less motor block, compared to a ''low volume, high concentration'' regimen.
Strategic Talent Management: A resource-based view of talent management

The opening chapter has introduced the field of talent management, its evolution, and the core practices it involves. In this chapter we take the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm and use it as a lens to explore and critique talent-management practices. We begin with a brief summary of the RBV and use this to highlight a number of implications for the talent debate. We then summarize some of the assumptions to identify nine tenets inherent in the talent perspective, and use ideas from an RBV perspective to challenge and critique this paradigm. This critique, we argue, should make us question the idea of “manageability” within the talent agenda. Many of the assumptions of a talent-management perspective are antithetical to the key principles and notions that underpin the RBV. We conclude by suggesting six developments to practice that should be made by adopting a more strategic RBV-influenced approach to talent management. The RBV perspective The RBV tries to explain how some firms are able to sustain competitive advantage, and as a consequence they can continually earn superior profits compared to rival firms (Rumelt, 1984; Wernerfelt, 1984; Barney, 1986, 1991; Dierickx and Cool, 1989; Conner, 1991; Kogut and Zander, 1992; Amit and Schoemaker, 1993; Peteraf, 1993; Teece, Pisano, and Shuen, 1997). The RBV locates these sources of advantage in the firm’s special assets and capabilities. These assets and capabilities have qualities, referred to as “isolating mechanisms” (Rumelt, 1984), that make it difficult for rival firms to replicate them and compete with the firm that has built these qualities. These isolating mechanisms include situations where: it is hard or even impossible to relate the consequences or effects of a phenomenon to its initial states or causes, and decision makers find it hard to understand the relationship between organizational inputs and outputs, referred to as “causal ambiguity” the set of decisions one faces for any given circumstance is limited by the decisions one has made in the past, even though past circumstances may no longer be relevant (path dependency) interconnected social relationships and macro- and micro-factors of a social system create new properties (social complexity) knowledge is created that is difficult to capture, codify, or transfer, and people may not be aware of the knowledge they possess or how it can be valuable to others (tacit knowledge) complex synergies exist between assets, infrastructure, or capabilities.
PrivateRide: A Privacy-Preserving and Secure Ride-Hailing Service

In the past few years, we have witnessed a rise in the popularity of ride-hailing services (RHSs), as an online marketplace that enables accredited drivers to use their own cars to drive ride-hailing users. Unlike other transportation services, RHSs raise significant privacy concerns, as providers are able to track the precise mobility patterns of millions of riders worldwide. RHSs also raise concerns about the integrity of the fares of the trips, as the fares are computed based on information reported by the drivers. In this paper, we present the first survey and analysis of the privacy and security threats in RHSs. Our analysis exposes high-risk privacy threats that do not appear in conventional taxi services. As a result, we propose PrivateRide, a privacy-enhancing and practical solution that offers anonymity and location privacy for riders, and protects drivers’ information from harvesting attacks. PrivateRide lowers the high-risk privacy threats in RHSs to a level that is at least as low as that of taxi services. Using real data-sets from Uber and taxi rides, we show that PrivateRide significantly enhances riders’ privacy, while preserving tangible accuracy in ride matching and fare calculation with only negligible effects on convenience. Moreover, by using our Android implementation for experimental evaluation, we show that PrivateRide’s overhead during ride setup is negligible. In short, we enable privacy-conscious riders to achieve levels of privacy that are not possible in current RHSs and even conventional taxi services, thereby offering a potential business differentiator.
MobileWorks : A Crowd Platform That Works ( Against Poverty )

Online labor marketplaces offer the potential to automate a variety of tasks too difficult for computers, but present requesters with significant difficulties in obtaining accurate results. We share experiences from building MobileWorks, a crowd platform that departs from the marketplace model to provide robust, high-quality results. Three architectural contributions yield measurably improved accuracy on input tasks. A dynamic work routing system identifies expertise in the crowd and ensures that all work posted into the system is completed with bounded completion times and at fair worker prices. A peer management system ensures that incorrect answers are prevented by experienced members of the crowd. Last, social interaction techniques give the best workers the ability and incentives to manage, teach and supervise other members of the crowd, as well as to clarify tasks. This process filters worker error and allows the crowd to collaboratively learn how to solve unfamiliar tasks. INTRODUCTION Human computation platforms are online services that allow software systems to subcontract portions of their functionality to a large crowd of human workers over the web. These systems have become increasingly popular in recent years, and new applications are discovered on an ongoing basis in problem domains ranging from vision and artificial intelligence to software development and business process outsourcing. Because they require software systems to interact with humans on a paid basis, human computation platforms provide an interesting set of challenges at the interface of economics, HCI, and theoretical computer science. Human computation systems are typically assessed on their ability to provide accurate results. In human computation systems accuracy refers to the correct completion of tasks posted by a requester, by the requester’s assessment of correctness. Quality control in terms of accuracy is a central challenge in all types of human computation platforms. Human computation systems may provide inaccurate results for one of several reasons. We classify some of these below. 1) Online workers may not want to do what they are being asked to do in exchange for the rewards offered, due to lack of motivation or malice. This is the incentive problem. 2) Even when workers are properly motivated to do a task correctly, the task may be ambiguous or not clarify what to do in all cases. This is the task specification problem. 3) Workers may make errors despite wanting to carry out a properly specified task. This is the human error problem. The first two challenges are intertwined: when workers do not understand a task due to ambiguous design, they are likely to
Impact of inspection errors on the lot size problem

Optimal production and product inspection policies for a deteriorating production system are considered. In theoretical investigations and practical applications using simplified models, inspection results may be assumed to be perfect. In this study, two kinds of inspection errors are considered. We first show that an inspection policy that does not inspect the first s produced items but inspects only those items from the ( s +1)th till the end of the production run is optimal. Two commonly used inspection strategies, no inspection and full inspection, are discussed. Next, we show how the optimal products inspection policy are incorporated into the determination of optimal lot size. Under the optimal inspection policy, the optimal production lot size is shown to be unique and bounded above by the traditional economic manufacturing quantity. Based on these findings, an efficient solution procedure is provided for the simultaneous determination of the optimal production lot size and its corresponding product inspection policy. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the model. Sensitivity analyses are performed to examine the effect of inspection errors on the solution.
ON THE ESTIMATION OF THE INVESTMENT POTENTIAL OF INFORMAL INVESTORS: A CAPTURE/RECAPTURE APPROACH

ABSTRACT The potential amount of informal risk capital available in a particular geographic region depends on the amount of capital which individual investors plan to commit and on the number of investors in that region. The first of these aspects is evaluated by means of structured direct interviews; the population size is estimated by using a capture/recapture statistical methodology.
A distributed relay selection method for relay assisted Device-to-Device communication system

Relay assisted transmission could efficiently enhance the performance of Device-to-Device (D2D) communication when D2D user equipments (UEs) are too far away from each other or the quality of D2D channel is not good enough for direct communication. The relay selection problem for D2D communication underlaying cellular network is studied in this paper. We proposed a distributed relay selection method for relay assisted D2D communication system. The method firstly coordinates the interference caused by the coexistence of D2D system and cellular network and eliminates improper relays correspondingly. Next, the best relay is chosen among the optional relays using a simple distributed method. Numerical results show that performance of the proposed method is close to the optimal (centralized) method.
Genetic Architecture of Sexual Dimorphism in Humans

Males and females differ across a broad spectrum of morphological, physiological, and behavioral characters. In fact, sexually dimorphic traits typically contribute the largest component of phenotypic variance in most taxa that use sex to reproduce. However, we know very little about the mechanisms that maintain these dimorphic states and how these sexually dimorphic traits evolve. Here, we review our current knowledge of the underlying genetic basis of sexual dimorphism in humans. First, we briefly review the etiology of sex differences starting from sex determination's initial switch early in embryogenesis. We then survey recent sex‐biased transcriptomic expression literature in order to provide additional insight into the landscape of sex‐biased gene expression in both gonadal and non‐gonadal tissues: from overall prevalence to tissue specificity to conservation across species. Finally, we discuss implications of sex‐biased genetic architecture to human health and disease in light of the National Institute of Health's recently proposed initiative to promote study samples from both sexes. J. Cell. Physiol. 230: 2304–2310, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.