Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cramer-Rao Bound Analysis of Localization Using Signal Strength Difference as Location Fingerprint

In this paper, we analyze the Cramer-Rao Lower Bound (CRLB) of localization using Signal Strength Difference (SSD) as location fingerprint. This analysis has a dual purpose. Firstly, the properties of the bound on localization error may help to design efficient localization algorithm. For example, utilizing one of the properties, we propose a way to define weights for a weighted K-Nearest Neighbor (K-NN) scheme which is shown to perform better than the K-NN algorithm. Secondly, it provides suggestions for a positioning system design by revealing error trends associated with the system deployment. In both cases, detailed analysis as well as experimental results are presented in order to support our claims.
Effect of 393T>C Polymorphism of GNAS1 Gene on Dobutamine Response in Chinese Healthy Subjects

The purpose of this study was to characterize the functional consequences of the 393T>C polymorphism of the GNAS1 gene in vivo. PCR‐RFLP assays were used to identify GNAS1 and β1‐adrenoceptor genotypes. The heart rate (HR), blood pressure, left ventricular fractional shortening (LVFS), and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were determined in different genotypes through a modified dobutamine stress echocardiography protocol. Our results showed that individuals with homozygous or heterozygous C393 had an increased cardiovascular agonistic response to dobutamine, and the increases from baseline in LVFS at the 3 dosage levels of dobutamine were 19.3% ± 1.0% versus 32.0% ± 2.9%, 36.7% ± 3.1% versus 41.3% ± 4.1%, and 51.7% ± 3.3% versus 58.7% ± 2.6% in T393 homozygotes and C393 homozygotes or heterozygotes, respectively (P = .026). Significant differences were also found between these 2 groups with the increases from baseline in LVEF (P = .007) and SBP (P = .048). In addition, there were significant differences in the increases from atopine in LVFS (P = .011), LVEF (P = .004), and SBP (P = .046) between the T393 homozygotes and C393 homozygotes or heterozygotes. The change of LVEF in C393 homozygous was higher than that in T393 homozygous at the dose of 40 μg/kg/min (28.9% ± 4.0% vs 36.4% ± 2.1%; 95% CI, 18.8%‐38.9%; P = .046). These data suggested that the 393T>C polymorphism of GNAS1 was functionally relevant in vivo.
Tagset Design and Inflected Languages

An experiment designed to explore the relationship between tagging accuracy and the nature of the tagset is described, using corpora in English, French and Swedish. In particular, the question of internal versus external criteria for tagset design is considered, with the general conclusion that external (linguistic) criteria should be followed. Some problems associated with tagging unknown words in inflected languages are briefly considered.
Engaging New Migrants in Infectious Disease Screening: A Qualitative Semi-Structured Interview Study of UK Migrant Community Health-Care Leads

Migration to Europe - and in particular the UK - has risen dramatically in the past decades, with implications for public health services. Migrants have increased vulnerability to infectious diseases (70% of TB cases and 60% HIV cases are in migrants) and face multiple barriers to healthcare. There is currently considerable debate as to the optimum approach to infectious disease screening in this often hard-to-reach group, and an urgent need for innovative approaches. Little research has focused on the specific experience of new migrants, nor sought their views on ways forward. We undertook a qualitative semi-structured interview study of migrant community health-care leads representing dominant new migrant groups in London, UK, to explore their views around barriers to screening, acceptability of screening, and innovative approaches to screening for four key diseases (HIV, TB, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C). Participants unanimously agreed that current screening models are not perceived to be widely accessible to new migrant communities. Dominant barriers that discourage uptake of screening include disease-related stigma present in their own communities and services being perceived as non-migrant friendly. New migrants are likely to be disproportionately affected by these barriers, with implications for health status. Screening is certainly acceptable to new migrants, however, services need to be developed to become more community-based, proactive, and to work more closely with community organisations; findings that mirror the views of migrants and health-care providers in Europe and internationally. Awareness raising about the benefits of screening within new migrant communities is critical. One innovative approach proposed by participants is a community-based package of health screening combining all key diseases into one general health check-up, to lessen the associated stigma. Further research is needed to develop evidence-based community-focused screening models - drawing on models of best practice from other countries receiving high numbers of migrants.
Immune-enhancing enteral diet selectively augments ileal blood flow in the rat.

BACKGROUND Clinical studies show that immune-enhancing enteral diets (IED; with L-arginine, fish oil, and RNA fragments) decrease the rate of sepsis and shorten the length of hospital stay after the start of enteral feeding. These beneficial effects are dependent on the route of administration (enteral vs parenteral) and on the nutrient composition (IED vs standard diets). Gut exposure to an IED seems to preserve and/or augment intestinal mucosal immunity. However, nutrient absorption stimulates gut blood flow in a nutrient-specific manner (i.e., postprandial hyperemia). We hypothesized that an IED would initiate a different pattern of whole organ blood flow compared to a standard diet. This suggests that a mechanism for the protective effect of IED might be the preferential augmentation of gut blood flow to gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) or mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT). METHODS Male Sprague-Dawley rats (200-225 g) were anesthetized and cannulated for colorimetric microsphere determination of blood flow distribution (with the phantom organ technique). Animals received gastric gavage (2 ml) of an IED (Impact; Novartis) or an isocaloric, isonitrogenous control diet (Boost; Mead-Johnson). Blood flow to the antrum, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, colon, liver, kidneys, and spleen was determined at baseline and 30, 60, 90, and 120 min after gavage. RESULTS Baseline blood flows to the left and right kidneys were within 10%, indicating the technical integrity of the microsphere technique and assay. Control diet augmented blood flow compared to IED in the antrum, duodenum, jejunum, and spleen. Conversely, IED gavage stimulated a delayed and sustained hyperemic response in the ileum. IED also increased hepatic blood flow early (30 min). IED increased blood glucose levels compared to control diet at 30, 60, and 90 min, suggesting enhanced nutrient absorption. CONCLUSIONS These data show that blood flow distribution depends on nutrient composition and that IED preferentially augments blood flow to the ileum. Since the terminal jejunum and ileum contain much of the GALT, our data suggest that a mechanism for enterally stimulated mucosal immunity involves selective perfusion of the terminal ileum during IED nutrient absorption.
Circadian Rhythms and Clock Genes in Inter-episode Bipolar Disorder

Objectives: Circadian rhythms are hypothesized to be disturbed in bipolar disorder (BD). However, the empirical evidence for this hypothesis is mixed. Hence, the goals of the current investigation were to extend and contribute to clarifying the literature on circadian rhythms in inter-episode BD by comparing proxies for circadian rhythm functioning in BD I and II individuals, relative to healthy controls.Methods: Thirty-five adults diagnosed with inter-episode BD I and II were compared to 37 healthy controls of similar age and gender. All participants completed a questionnaire assessing chronotype, reported daily sleep and wake times for four weeks, and wore wrist actigraphy for four weeks in order to assess objective estimates of sleep and wake timing and to calculate the cosinor variables, MESOR, amplitude and acrophase, as proxies for circadian modulation of activity. Participants also provided a saliva sample in order to analyze DNA for polymorphisms of the clock genes PER3 and CLOCK.Results: There were no significant differences between the BD and control groups on questionnaire reported chronotype, although there was a trend for significance such that BD individuals were more likely to report an evening chronotype. BD individuals exhibited more instability in sleep and wake timing as assessed by both sleep diary and actigraphy. There were no significant differences between the BD and control groups on any of the cosinor analysis variables; namely, MESOR, amplitude and acrophase. There was a trend for differences in MESOR among BD individuals who were carriers of the C-allele of the CLOCK gene. There were no differences in circadian cosinor variables for any of the genotype groups of PER3. Conclusions: The current findings are not consistent with previous hypotheses that abnormal circadian activity rhythms are enduring (trait) characteristics of BD individuals. However, instability in sleep timing may be characteristic of the inter-episode period.
Renin-Angiotensin System Gene Polymorphisms and Atrial Fibrillation: A Regression Approach for the Detection of Gene-Gene Interactions in a Large Hospitalized Population

Objectives: To test the association between renin-angiotensin system gene variants and atrial fibrillation (AF) using a regression approach. Methods: A total of 1,236 consecutive patients (227 with AF and 1,009 with normal sinus rhythm as controls) were recruited. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene I/D polymorphism; T174M, M235T, G–6A, A–20C, G–152A and G–217A polymorphisms of the angiotensinogen (AGT) gene, and A1166C polymorphism of the angiotensin II type I receptor (AT1R) gene were genotyped. We used a regression approach based on a generalized linear model to evaluate haplotype effects and to detect gene-gene interactions by incorporating interaction terms in the model. Results: In single-locus analyses, no locus was associated with AF. After adjustment for AF risk factors, we found significant differences in the global AGT gene haplotype profile (the global score statistic = 30.364, p = 0.001) and individual haplotype frequencies between AF patients and controls. Furthermore, significant 2-way gene-gene interactions between ACE I/D polymorphism and AGT gene haplotypes and between AT1R A1166C polymorphism and AGT gene haplotypes, and 3-way interaction between ACE I/D, AT1R A1166C and AGT gene haplotypes were detected. Conclusions: These results are compatible with the concept of multilocus and multigene effects in determining the risk of complex diseases such as AF, which would be missed with conventional single-locus approaches.
DUSP6 (MKP3) Null Mice Show Enhanced ERK1/2 Phosphorylation at Baseline and Increased Myocyte Proliferation in the Heart Affecting Disease Susceptibility*

The strength and duration of mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling is regulated through phosphorylation and dephosphorylation by dedicated dual-specificity kinases and phosphatases, respectively. Here we investigated the physiological role that extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2 (ERK1/2) dephosphorylation plays in vivo through targeted disruption of the gene encoding dual-specificity phosphatase 6 (Dusp6) in the mouse. Dusp6-/- mice, which were viable, fertile, and otherwise overtly normal, showed an increase in basal ERK1/2 phosphorylation in the heart, spleen, kidney, brain, and fibroblasts, but no change in ERK5, p38, or c-Jun N-terminal kinases activation. However, loss of Dusp6 did not increase or prolong ERK1/2 activation after stimulation, suggesting that its function is more dedicated to basal ERK1/2 signaling tone. In-depth analysis of the physiological effect associated with increased baseline ERK1/2 signaling was performed in cultured mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) and the heart. Interestingly, mice lacking Dusp6 had larger hearts at every age examined, which was associated with greater rates of myocyte proliferation during embryonic development and in the early postnatal period, resulting in cardiac hypercellularity. This increase in myocyte content in the heart was protective against decompensation and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy following long term pressure overload and myocardial infarction injury in adult mice. Dusp6-/- MEFs also showed reduced apoptosis rates compared with wild-type MEFs. These results demonstrate that ERK1/2 signaling is physiologically restrained by DUSP6 in coordinating cellular development and survival characteristics, directly impacting disease-responsiveness in adulthood.
Challenges and Diversity Issues Working With Multilingual and Bilingual Couples and Families

The United States continues to become linguistically more diverse every year, with currently 21% of the population speaking a language other than English in the home. Multilingualism/bilingualism is often documented as a component of cultural diversity, yet there is limited literature of how this impacts the dynamics of couples and family therapy. Multilingualism/bilingualism can be an enriching experience for couples and families, and it can raise unique dynamics in the therapeutic process. This can be especially challenging for the monolingual clinician who is working within a multilingual system and trying to navigate cultural diversity. Thus, clinicians ought to: (a) be aware of personal assumptions and biases, (b) assume a nonjudgmental/curious stance to multilingualism, and (c) discuss with the couple/family how the use of language impacts their relationship. The purpose of this article is to distinctly identify the unique dynamics of multilingual/bilingual couples and families; implications for couples and family counselors are also discussed.
Transnational Twist: Pecuniary Remittances and the Socioeconomic Integration of Authorized and Unauthorized Mexican Immigrants in Los Angeles County 1

Annual U.S.-Mexico pecuniary remittances are estimated to have more than doubled recently to at least $10 billion – augmenting interest among policymakers, financial institutions, and transnational migrant communities concerning how relatively poor expatriate Mexicans sustain such large transfers and the impact on immigrant integration in the United States. We employ the 2001 Los Angeles County Mexican Immigrant Residency Status Survey (LAC-MIRSS) to investigate how individual characteristics and social capital traditionally associated with integration, neighborhood context, and various investments in the United States influenced remitting in 2000. Remitting is estimated to have been inversely related to conventional integration metrics and influenced by community context in both sending and receiving areas. Contrary to straight-line assimilation theories and more consistent with a transnational or nonlinear perspective, however, remittances are also estimated to have been positively related to immigrant homeownership in Los Angeles County and negatively associated with having had public health insurance such as Medicaid.
Linking student evaluations to institutional goals: a change story

For the past 30 years, beginning with the seminal work of Herbert Marsh in Australia and New Zealand, institutions of higher education have developed internal practices and procedures to collect and analyse student evaluations of teaching and learning. However, the question remains: has this development resulted in the achievement of institutional goals that maximise learning across all teaching contexts? As is the case in many other countries, a recent review of Australian national student evaluation data failed to conclude that student evaluations have improved overall teaching. However, these data have made student perceptions of teaching and learning more salient in the minds of tertiary educators. Certainly, teaching staff are aware of the impacts of student evaluations on informed decision-making, such as the continuation or discontinuation of courses, and on their promotion processes. This paper will review student evaluation practices according to criteria used in change theories, such as the transtheoretical change model (TTM). TTM construes organisational change as a process involving progress through a series of five stages: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action and maintenance. This paper will focus on organisational and behavioural outcomes that can be linked to the use of student data. It will recommend strategies for better aligning evaluation results to the stages of change.
Neural Network Vision-Based Visual Servoing And Navigation for KSU-IMR Mobile Robot Using Epipolar Geometry

Mobile robots visual control system does suffer from a number of issues, as due to speed and complexity. Complicated kinematics relations, in addition, the needed computational time to execute a task, are also some related issues. This manuscript highlights a mechanism through which to approximate an inter-related visual kinematics relations that are part of visual servo closed loop system through an Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) system for a mobile robot visual servoing. The methodology followed and being applied to KSU-IMR mobile robot project, is based on the concept of integration of Neural Networks with an Image Based Visual Servoing system. ANN have been fully employed here to learn and approximate relations that relate a target movements to the mobile robot movement (POWERROB,[1]), through a visual servo. Keywords-component; Visual Servoing; ANN; Epipolar Gemetry; KSU-IMR Robotics System.
The Scarlet Letter Study: Five Days of Social Ostracism

Abstract Over the course of 5 consecutive days, each author agreed to be ostracized for a day at work by the other four coauthors. All coauthors’ offices were in close proximity and were located solely on a single floor and wing of their academic building. Each morning, the name of that day's ostracized individual was drawn, and a scarlet letter “O” was placed above that individual's office door. Ostracizers were instructed to ignore the “Os” by not looking at them, speaking to them, or responding to anything they said. Open-ended individual event-contingent diaries were kept to record participants’ thoughts, feelings, and behaviors each time they were reminded of the ostracism. Despite foreknowledge and consent, attributional confusion surfaced and strong aversive reactions were reported. Findings are framed in terms of Williams's (1997) model of ostracism
PROGNOSIS IN "PROCESS" AND "NON-PROCESS" SCHIZOPHRENIA

The relative success in dividing a group of patients into subgroups with varying outcomes depends in part, of course, on the nature of the original group and the criteria by which the diagnosis of schizophrenia was first made. In the group we have studied it was found that the risk of deterioration was very light in the "non-process" patients whereas the prognosis was grave in the "process" group. Nevertheless, although about half of the "process" patients were badly deteriorated on follow-up, we were unable to predict which particular "process" patients would either improve or worsen after discharge. Thus fatalistic pessimism about a particular schizophrenic patient is unwarranted. We cannot say on the basis of our study whether we are dealing with discrete kinds of disease processes or different points on a continuum. However, our findings do support, for practical purposes, Bleuler's concept of "groups of schizophrenias" rather than an entity "schizophrenia"(7). Our findings are thus in agreement with .
Dust production from collisions in extrasolar planetary systems. The inner beta Pictoris disc

Dust particles observed in extrasolar planetary discs originate from undetectable km-sized bodies but this valuable information remains uninteresting if the theoretical link between grains and planetesimals is not properly known. We outline in this paper a numerical approach we developed in order to address this issue for the case of dust producing collisional cascades. The model is based on a particle-in-a-box method. We follow the size distribution of particles over eight orders of magnitude in radius taking into account fragmentation and cratering according to dierent prescriptions. Particular attention is paid to the smallest particles, close to the radiation pressure induced cut-o size Rpr, which are placed on highly eccentric orbits by the stellar radiation pressure. We applied our model to the case of the inner (<10 AU) Pictoris disc, in order to quantitatively derive the population of progenitors needed to produce the small amount of dust observed in this region ('10 22 g). Our simulations show that the collisional cascade from kilometre-sized bodies to grains significantly departs from the classical d N/ R 3:5 dR power law: the smallest particles (R' Rpr) are strongly depleted while an overabundance of grains with size2Rpr and a drop of grains with size100Rpr develop regardless of the disc's dynamical excitation, Rpr and initial surface density. However, the global dust to planetesimal mass ratio remains close to its d N / R 3:5 dR value. Our rigorous approach thus confirms the depletion in mass in the inner Pictoris disc initially inferred from questionable assumptions. We show moreover that collisions are as ucient source of dust in the inner Pictoris disc. They are actually unavoidable even when considering the alternative scenario of dust production by slow evaporation of km-sized bodies. We obtain an upper limit of0.1 M for the total disc mass below 10 AU. This upper limit is not consistent with the independent mass estimate (at least 15 M) in the frame of the Falling Evaporating Bodies (FEB) scenario explaining the observed transient features activity. Furthermore, we show that the mass required to sustain the FEB activity implies a so important mass loss that the phenomena should naturally end in less than 1 Myr, namely in less than one twentieth the age of the star (at least 2 10 7 years). In conclusion, these results might help converge towards a coherent picture of the inner Pictoris system: a low-mass disc of collisional debris leftover after the possible formation of planetary embryos, a result which would be coherent with the estimated age of the system.
The Artist‐Teacher Scheme as Postgraduate Professional Development in Higher Education

The Artist-Teacher scheme has been established in recent years to encourage, revive and maintain the creative practice of visual arts teachers. Higher education institutions providing postgraduate qualifications have completed their pilot phases of the scheme, and the first postgraduate certificates and degrees have been awarded. This paper describes and illustrates work of students on these courses, and the relationship of their renewed creativity to their experience as professional teachers. The information was drawn from interviews with students, staff and initiators of the scheme, as well as student evaluations. There is a summary of the history of the scheme and a description of its recent manifestation in the pilot postgraduate programmes. The paper also includes a discussion and analysis of features of the Artist-Teacher scheme: the gallery collaborations, the relationship of theory to practice and to pedagogy. Students' responses to the scheme are discussed and, finally, emerging evidence of the positive impact that the Artist-Teacher scheme is having on classroom performance is considered. Although ATS continues to exist in a number of forms, such as summer schools and day/evening classes and part-time postgraduate certificate/Masters degrees, it is the mainly latter that is the focus of this paper.