Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Female Caregivers' Experiences With Intimate Partner Violence and Behavior Problems in Children Investigated as Victims of Maltreatment

OBJECTIVE. We examined the relationship between women's experiences with intimate partner violence and their reports of child behavior problems. METHODS. Data were from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being, a national probability study of children who were the subjects of child abuse and neglect investigations. The sample consisted of 2020 female caregivers of children between the ages of 4 and 14 years who were interviewed about demographic characteristics, child behavior problems, female caregiver mental health, parenting behaviors, experiences with intimate partner violence, and community characteristics. Information on child abuse and neglect was obtained in interviews with child protective services workers. Multiple-regression analyses were used to investigate the association between caregiver victimization and child behavior problems while controlling for the effects of child, family, and environmental characteristics. The potential moderating effects of caregiver depression and parenting practices on the relation between intimate partner violence and child behavior problems were examined also. RESULTS. Severe intimate partner violence was associated with both externalizing and internalizing behavior problems when other risk factors were controlled. Use of corporal punishment and psychological aggression were significant moderators, but maternal depression did not moderate the relation between intimate partner violence and behavior problems. CONCLUSIONS. This study adds to the evidence that maternal caregivers' experiences with intimate partner violence are related to child functioning. The findings suggest that systematic efforts are needed to ensure that mental health needs are identified and addressed appropriately in children exposed to this violence.
Zero-Configuration Identity-Based Signcryption Scheme for Smart Grid

The success of future intelligent power deliver and transmission systems across the globe relies critically on the availability of a fast, calable, and most importantly secure communication infrastructure between the energy producers and consumers. One major obstacle to ensure secure communication among various parties in a smart grid network hinges on the technical and implementation difficulties associated with key distribution in such large-scale network with often-time disinterested consumers. This paper proposes the use of an identity-based signcryption (IBS) system to provide a zero-configuration encryption and authentication solution for end-to-end secure communications. The suitability of employing such identity-based cryptosystems in the context of smart grids is studied from the perspective of security requirements, implementation overhead and ease of management. Using the design and implementation experience of our proposed system as an example, we illustrate that IBS is a viable solution to providing a secure and easy-to-deploy solution with close to zero user setup required.
Selective labeling of pulmonary surfactant protein SP-C in organic solution.

Pulmonary surfactant protein SP-C has been isolated from porcine lungs and treated with dansyl isothiocyanate in chloroform:methanol 2:1 (v/v) solutions,under conditions optimized to introduce a single dansyl group covalently attached to the N-terminalamine group of the protein without loss of its native thioesther-linked palmitic chains. The resulting derivative Dans-SP-C conserves the secondary structure of native SP-C as well as the ability to promote interfacial adsorption of DPPC suspensions and to affect the thermotropic behavior of DPPC bilayers. This derivative can be used to characterize lipid-protein and protein-protein interactions of a native-like SP-C in lipid/protein complexes.
Interfering effects of the task demands of grip force and mental processing on isometric shoulder strength and muscle activity

The purpose of this study was to examine the interfering effects of physical and mental tasks on shoulder isometric strength in different postures. Fifteen volunteers (seven women, eight men) performed a series of isometric shoulder exertions at 30°, 60° and 90° of both shoulder flexion and abduction alone and with the addition of a 30% grip force, a mental task (Stroop test) and both additional tasks simultaneously. The shoulder tasks were completed either at maximal intensity, or while maintaining a shoulder posture without any additional effort. Surface electromyography (EMG) from seven muscles of the shoulder girdle and shoulder moment were collected for each 6 s shoulder exertion. When normalized to maximum exertion, no differences were found between genders and no differences existed between conditions when subjects maintained each posture without exerted force. In the maximal shoulder exertion trials, an increase in shoulder angle (in either plane) resulted in an increase in EMG in most muscles, while shoulder moment decreased in flexion and remained constant in abduction. Shoulder moments and muscle activation were greatest in the shoulder exertion alone condition followed by adding a 30% grip and the Stroop test, with the addition of both tasks further reducing the exerted shoulder moment and EMG. However, muscle activity did not always decrease with shoulder strength and remained elevated, indicating a complex coactivation pattern produced by an interfering role of the tasks. Overall, it was found that a mental task can have the same or greater effect as a concurrent grip and should be considered when assessing muscular loading in the workplace, as typical biomechanical modelling may underestimate internal loads. The results not only provide valuable shoulder strength data but also practical strength values, depending on additional tasks.
Long‐term, inducible gene loss‐of‐function in the chicken embryo

The use of shRNAmir to down‐regulate the expression of genes of interest is a powerful tool for studying gene function during early chick development. However, because of the limitations of electroporation‐mediated transgenesis, the down‐regulation of genes expressed at late stages of development in specific tissues is difficult to perform. By combining electroporation of a doxycycline‐inducible, miR30‐based shRNA plasmid with the Tol2 genomic integration system, we are now able to down‐regulate the expression of any gene of interest at defined stage of chicken development. genesis 51:372–380. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Impact of smoking status on weight loss and cardiovascular risk factors

Smoking and obesity are prevalent health risks, each of which has important effects on morbidity and mortality.1 2People who both smoke and are obese are at particularly high risk for cardiovascular disease and need to tackle both of these issues. Smoking cessation can be difficult to achieve in obese people because of concerns over weight gain.3 4 However, it is unclear whether weight loss among smokers produces the same cardiovascular benefits as in non-smokers. In this study we attempt to: (1) determine whether smokers and non-smokers entering a weight loss programme differ with respect to cardiovascular risk factors and (2) determine whether smokers and non-smokers obtain the same level of benefit from a weight loss programme with respect to cardiovascular risk factor improvement. The Weight Management Clinic at the Ottawa Hospital-Civic Campus offers a …
Identification of biomarkers that predict response to treatment of lupus nephritis with mycophenolate mofetil or pulse cyclophosphamide

There is a need to identify clinical characteristics and/or biomarkers that can predict treatment outcome in lupus nephritis. To this end, we utilized data from the Aspreva Lupus Management Study to identify possible baseline and early predictors of renal response to mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) or intravenous (IV) cyclophosphamide (CYC).
Bison processing at the Rush site, 41TG346, and evidence for pemmican production in the Southern Plains

A discrete, 375-year-old, late fall bison processing event of the Toyah phase in west central Texas yielded quantities of cultural materials, including fragmented bison bones. The estimated number of bison procured, ca. 50 animals, plus the association of at least three point types (Perdiz, Garza, and Harrell) and two ceramic styles imply a communal bison procurement event of a type not previously recognized on the Southern Plains. This single occupation produced a stone tool assemblage and bone breakage pattern emphasizing smashing of large limb elements for marrow and grease extraction. The intensively burned hearths, thousands of bone fragments less than 3 cm long, and presence of ceramic vessels reflect the production of large quantities of bone grease. Projected volumes of meat imply pemmican production. Comparison with other excavated and reported sites in Texas indicates this bone processing technique and pemmican production is restricted in time and space.
Working for an Anthropomorphic Robot: A Study on the Effects of Workload on Robot Anthropomorphism

In this research the relationship between workload of a participant and human-likeness of a robot is explored. The experienced shared reality between robot and human is also looked at in relation to workload. This research involves a user study which places the participants in a direction receiving memory game. In this game the participants have to repeat the directions given by the robot. During the experiment the animation of the robot and the diculty of the game were varied between participants. The amount of correct answers given by participants and a NASA TLX score, a subjective workload questionnaire, were used to evaluate workload. Participants also lled in a questionnaire regarding human-likeness and shared reality. Results show no statistical signicant correlation between perceived human-likeness subjective workload score. This is also true regarding human-likeness having a statistical signicant correlation with the amount of correct answers given to the robot. The results on shared reality between human and robot also show no statistical significant correlation with that shared reality and subjective task load. Regarding the amount of correct answers given by participants this is also true.
Control of the Utah/MIT dextrous hand: Hardware and software hierarchy

This article describes a hardware and software hierarchy for the control of manipulation with the Utah/MIT Dextrous Hand (UMDH). Control algorithms execute within a multiprocessing, shared memory computer environment partitioned into a three tiered hierarchy. Joint level servo algorithms are executed at the lowest level, trajectory generation and communication at the middle level and at the highest level, a new programming language called HPL (Hand Programming Language) is implemented. A functional approach to the control of manipulation is described and the functional philosophy is embedded within HPL. Tasks are specified by the concatenation and linear combination of small functional units called motor primitives. HPL provides an abstraction of the process of manipulation through its use of motor primitives. Hand control programs can be written and easily refined within the HPL programming environment and the resulting programs act as a conveniently annotated description of manipulation tasks.
Efficient, high brightness, high dynamic range projection

Projection is a popular form of imaging but suffers from dim peak light levels and poor contrast, limiting effective use to dark and controlled viewing environments like the cinema (Figure 1). We introduce a novel High Dynamic Range (HDR) projection technique that achieves both dark black levels and very bright peak luminance in an energy and cost efficient implementation.
Cervical spine image retrieval with semantic shape features

The objective of the proposed approach is to narrow down the semantic gap between the query and retrieval primitives in a spine image retrieval system. The proposed retrieval technique is based on a geometric eight-point model to enable formation of semantic query. The geometric eight-point model is uniform for all vertebrae, not biased by human experts and thus free from ambiguity. The features are extracted after automatically locating contour points of eight-point geometric model of spine vertebra. Then, vertebra is represented in feature space using region-based shape features, indicative of pathology (at two anterior corners). The proposed retrieval scheme uses Euclidean distance as similarity measure in feature space. It yields better result than an existing whole shape-based matching method for retrieval of spine images that uses Procrustes metric, in term of accuracy and parsimony of model. The approach is simple and computationally efficient.
Colloidal Systems with both a Short-Range Attraction and a Long-Range Repulsion

Even though the Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek theory has been used to describe the interactions between charged colloidal particles for over half a century, research on systems with a weak short-range attraction and long-range repulsion (SALR) has begun receiving the intensive attention from the colloidal community only very recently. Systems with a SALR interaction include micrometer sized colloidal particles in nonpolar solvents and many protein solutions. It has been demonstrated that with the right balance between the short-range attraction and long-range repulsion, cluster phases can be formed in solution. This provides a way to control the structure of solutions and gels. Also, an understanding of protein clusters is important for many applications such as protein crystallization, and the formulation of pharmaceutical drugs. There have been many theoretical, computational, and experimental works with a focus on understanding the mechanisms of cluster formation and the structural/ dynamical properties of clusters. In this mini-perspective article, some current works related to protein clusters in solution are briefly reviewed. And some personal thoughts are presented about the key questions/challenges we need to solve for a colloidal system with a SALR interaction in future.
Scaling ansatz for the jamming transition

Significance Central to the theory of phase transitions is the fact that the free energy can be written in a scale-invariant form that captures scaling exponent relations. Our work shows that, for the jamming transition, the elastic energy is the relevant free energy and can be expressed in a scale-invariant form consistent with known exponent relations. This result places jamming in the context of the theory of critical phenomena, suggesting the potential for a theoretical description of jamming on par with that of Ising criticality. It also provides powerful support for the idea that the observed commonality in the mechanical and thermal responses of disordered solids can be understood as a manifestation of universality associated with the critical jamming transition. We propose a Widom-like scaling ansatz for the critical jamming transition. Our ansatz for the elastic energy shows that the scaling of the energy, compressive strain, shear strain, system size, pressure, shear stress, bulk modulus, and shear modulus are all related to each other via scaling relations, with only three independent scaling exponents. We extract the values of these exponents from already known numerical or theoretical results, and we numerically verify the resulting predictions of the scaling theory for the energy and residual shear stress. We also derive a scaling relation between pressure and residual shear stress that yields insight into why the shear and bulk moduli scale differently. Our theory shows that the jamming transition exhibits an emergent scale invariance, setting the stage for the potential development of a renormalization group theory for jamming.
Personal and service mobility in ubiquitous computing environments

Ubiquitous computing environment is defined by the shift of computing technology from the desktop to the background. One of its most notable attributes is its potential to extend the scope of service and personal mobility. This paper describes an agent-based architecture that brings personal and service mobility to the ubiquitous computing environment. A software agent, running on a portable device carried by the user, leverages the existing service discovery protocols to learn about all services available in the vicinity of the user. Short-range wireless technology such as Bluetooth can be used to build a personal area network connecting only devices that are close enough to the user. Acting on behalf of the user and based on a number of aspects, the software agent runs a quality of service (QoS) negotiation and selection algorithm to select the most appropriate available service(s) to be used for a given communication session. The software agent selects as well the configuration parameters for each service. The proposed architecture supports also service hand-off to recompense for service volatility during user movement. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Design of a compact ultra wideband 3 dB microstrip-slot coupler with high return losses and isolation

The paper presents the configuration and design method of a compact ultra wideband 3 dB directional coupler with high return loss and isolation. The proposed device is formed by two elliptically shaped microstrip lines, which are broadside coupled through an elliptically shaped slot. In order to improve this coupler's return loss and isolation characteristics a small conducting disk of elliptical shape is included between the two microstrip lines. Results of the full electromagnetic simulations show that the coupler exhibits a coupling of 3.4 dB ± 1.2 dB accompanied by the isolation and return loss of more than 28 dB across the frequency band of 3.0 to 12.0 GHz.
Processor: A 64-Core SoC with Mesh Interconnect

Centralized monolithic processor designs, such as single core and shared bus structures, are not scaling, leading to multicore designs becoming the norm [1-3]. Research highlights the benefits of mesh networks connecting these cores. [4,5]. The TILE64TM processor [6] is a multicore SoC targeting the high-performance demands of a wide range of embedded applications across networking and digital multimedia applications. Figure 4.4. 1 shows a block diagram with 64 tile processors arranged in an 8×8 array. These tiles connect through a scalable 2D mesh network with high-speed I/Os on the periphery. Each general-purpose processor is identical and capable of running SMP Linux. Chip peak memory bandwidth is over 25GB/s using four 72-bit 800MHz DDR2 interfaces. Two PCI-e ×4 interfaces, two XAUI interfaces and two RGMII interfaces supply over 40Gb/s of I/O bandwidth. Flexible general purpose I/O ports and low-speed interfaces provide seamless integration with a variety of systems.
Categorization and Reorientation of Images Based on Low Level Features

A hierarchical system to perform automatic categorization and reorientation of images using content analysis is pre-sented. The proposed system first categorizes images to some a priori defined categories using rotation invariant features. At the second stage, it detects their correct orientation out of {0o, 90o, 180o, and 270o} using category specific model. The system has been specially designed for embedded devices applications using only low level color and edge features. Machine learning algorithms optimized to suit the embedded implementation like support vector machines (SVMs) and scalable boosting have been used to develop classifiers for categorization and orientation detection. Results are presented on a collection of about 7000 consumer images collected from open resources. The proposed system finds it applications to various digital media products and brings pattern recognition solutions to the consumer electronics domain.
Metabolic syndrome and serum fatty acid patterns in serum phospholipids in hypertriglyceridemic persons with human immunodeficiency virus.

BACKGROUND HIV infection and its treatment are associated with abnormal lipid profiles. High triglyceride concentrations and low HDL-cholesterol concentrations are the most common health abnormalities and raise concerns about an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. OBJECTIVE We compared the fatty acid patterns of serum phospholipids between persons with HIV and non-HIV controls to determine whether there are differences that explain the elevated triglyceride concentrations, insulin resistance, and inflammation that are part of the metabolic syndrome in patients with HIV. DESIGN Thirty-nine persons with HIV and elevated serum triglycerides (>150 mg/dL) and/or indicators of insulin resistance were recruited to examine fatty acid profiles in serum phospholipid fractions relative to those of 2 control groups without HIV (n = 31). RESULTS Higher concentrations of 16:1 and 18:0 fatty acids in the phospholipid fraction indicated increased lipogenesis in the HIV patients and in the non-HIV controls at risk of the metabolic syndrome. However, the subjects with HIV had higher concentrations of both n-6 (omega-6) and n-3 fatty acids of higher elongation and desaturation levels, which indicated a greater promotion of these pathways in this population. The nanomolar percentage (%nmol) arachidonic acid was the same in all 3 groups. CONCLUSIONS Persons with and without HIV, at risk of the metabolic syndrome, show indications of increased lipogenesis, more so in subjects with HIV taking medication. Higher proportions of distal elongation and desaturation fatty acid products were seen only in the phospholipids fatty acid fraction of the subjects with HIV.
Determinants of the Size and Structure of Corporate Boards: 1935-2000

We argue that the size and composition of corporate boards are determined by tradeoffs involving the information that directors bring to boards versus the coordination costs and free rider problems associated with their additions to boards. Our hypotheses lead to predictions that firm size and growth opportunities are important determinants of these board characteristics. Using a sample of 82 U.S. firms that survived over the period of 1935 through 2000, we find strong support for the hypotheses. The hypotheses also find support in the relation between changes in board size and firms' merger and divestiture activity, and changes in the geographical diversification of firms. We find no robust relation between firm performance and either board size or composition after accounting for the determinants of these board characteristics.