Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mindfulness, health symptoms and healthcare utilization: Active facets and possible affective mediators

Prior work has linked mindfulness with superior physical and psychological health outcomes. However, studies to date have infrequently tested the unique contributions of individual mindfulness facets, inadequately tested links between facets and healthcare utilization, and have not tested whether depression or anxiety may influence these links. In the current report, 40 young, middle aged and older adults (N = 121) completed measures of dispositional mindfulness, health, healthcare utilization and depression/anxiety. As expected, global trait mindfulness did not predict outcomes while individual mindfulness facets predicted both objective and subjective health as well as healthcare utilization. Across models, observe scores – the tendency to attend to thoughts, sensations and feelings – predicted poorer, and non-reactivity scores better, outcomes even when controlling for demographic and health confounds. Depressed and anxious emotion reduced some but not all mindfulness-health links. Results are discussed in terms of the mechanisms by which greater mindfulness may facilitate better health and health behaviour.
Multi-objective differential evolution based on the summation of normalized objectives and improved selection method

In this paper, an improved selection method is proposed and integrated with summation of normalized objectives based multi-objective differential evolution to solve multi-objective optimization problems. The summation of normalized objectives and diversified selection is used to replace the non-domination sorting and reduce the simulation time of the multi-objective evolutionary algorithm. However, the diversified selection may keep some bad individuals as parents which lead to poor performance. With the proposed method, a pre-selection is applied to filter the bad solutions and improve the convergence. The algorithm is tested on 15 commonly used benchmark problems and compared with a number of multi-objective evolutionary algorithms in literature. The results show that the proposed algorithm is effective and efficient.
A uniform approach to configuration and communication in distributed systems

This paper describes the design and implementation of extensions to the Regis distributed programming platform which add protocol stacks to communication endpoints. Although the initial goal was to extend Regis to support multiple transport protocols, groupcast and multimedia communication, the dynamic nature of the protocol framework allowed new approaches to the design of communication protocol software. Transient protocol layers provide support for binding establishment and connection management in a manner which is largely transparent to the user of the endpoint. The paper describes this approach through examples and shows how it leads to greater efficiency and a greater degree of code reuse.
Diffusion-weighted imaging of ovarian torsion: usefulness of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values for the detection of hemorrhagic infarction.

PURPOSE We undertook this study to evaluate the need for diffusion-weighted (DW) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in detecting hemorrhagic infarction following ovarian torsion. METHODS The study included 14 consecutive patients aged 12 to 74 years (average age, 36 years) with surgical confirmation of ovarian torsion who underwent 1.5-tesla MR imaging. Pathologically, hemorrhagic infarction was found in 7 patients. We retrospectively reviewed signal intensity on T1-, T2-, and diffusion-weighted images and apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) in swollen ovarian stroma. RESULTS Fallopian tube thickening was seen in all patients. In patients with ovarian cystic lesion, maximum cyst wall thickness was significantly higher in patients with hemorrhagic infarction (mean, 13.5 ± 4.1 mm) than those without (mean, 5.0 ± 1.0 mm) (P < .05). Signal intensity did not differ significantly on T1-weighted, T2-weighted, and DW images between patients with and without hemorrhagic infarction. ADCs were significantly lower in patients with hemorrhagic infarction (1.20 ± 0.50 [× 10(-3) mm(2)/s]) than those without (2.04 ± 0.26 [× 10(-3) mm(2)/s]) (P < .01). With an ADC threshold of 1.80 [× 10(-3) mm(2)/s], sensitivity for hemorrhagic infarction was 0.88 (7 of 8), and specificity was 1.00 (6 of 6). CONCLUSION ADC measurements were useful for detecting hemorrhagic infarction in patients with ovarian torsion.
NIGERIAN POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS’ ATTITUDE AND PERCEIVED COMPETENCE IN USING ICT RESOURCES FOR RESEARCH PURPOSE

The study aims to investigate the attitudes of Nigerian postgraduate students towards information and communication technology (ICT) and their perceived competence in using ICT resources for research purpose. The influence of field of studies on their competence and attitude were also examined. A total of 77 Nigerian postgraduate students at a university in Malaysia were randomly selected for the study. Data collected through questionnaires were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistic approaches. The analysis reveals that majority of the postgraduate students have positive attitude towards ICT and they perceive that they are competent in using several basic ICT tools. There is no significant difference between science and non-science based postgraduate students’ attitudes, however, there is significant difference in their perceived competence. This paper concludes that the postgraduate students require more hands-on experiences and special training programs so that they can maximize the use of ICT for research purpose. It is hoped that the findings revealed in this study will help the policy makers in designing necessary courses to improve the quality of postgraduates in the country. Keywords: Information and communication technology, Malaysia, Nigerian student, postgraduate, students’ attitude Cite as: Bichi, A.A. , Embong, R. , & Rashid, R.A. (2017). Nigerian postgraduate students’ attitude and perceived competence in using ICT resources for research purpose. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 2 (2), 224-230. http://dx.doi. org/10.24200/jonus.vol2iss2pp224-230
In vitro synthesis and integration into mitochondria of porin, a major protein of the outer mitochondrial membrane of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

We have isolated an outer mitochondrial membrane (OMM) fraction from baker's yeast. Saccharomyces cerevisiae, that possesses porin activity and contains a major polypeptide of 29,000 daltons. By analogy to similar data for an OMM fraction from rat liver and mung bean [Zalman, L. S. , Nikaido, N. & Kagawa, Y. (1980) J. Biol. Chem. 255, 1771-1774], the 29,000-dalton polypeptide of the isolated yeast OMM fraction has been tentatively identified as porin. Evidence to substantiate this identification was provided by the finding that both the porin activity and the 29,000-dalton polypeptide were entirely resistant when the OMM fraction was exposed to trypsin digestion, with the 29,000-dalton polypeptide being virtually the only polypeptide in the OMM fraction to be unaffected by trypsin digestion. There was no protection when trypsin digestion was carried out in the presence of detergent. Using monospecific antibodies, we have shown that yeast porin is apparently not synthesized as a larger precursor in a cell-free translation system. In vitro-synthesized porin could not be integrated into dog pancreas microsomal vesicles or into an isolated OMM fraction from yeast, either co- or posttranslationally. In vitro-synthesized porin, however, could be integrated posttranslationally into whole isolated mitochondria. This membrane specificity suggests that integration does not proceed by unassisted partitioning. The integration of porin into whole mitochondria occurred with fidelity by the criterion of its resistance to trypsin. Moreover, integration was not inhibited in the presence of the protonophore carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenyl-hydrazone whereas translocation into the mitochondrial matrix of the in vitro-synthesized gamma subunit of F1-ATPase was inhibited.
The postnatal skull of the extant North American turtle Pseudemys texana (Cryptodira: Emydidae), with comments on the study of discrete intraspecific variation

This study describes the postnatal morphology of the skull in the extant testudinoid turtle Pseudemys texana. The material basis of this study is drawn from a single population and therefore provides the opportunity to document cranial variation expressed at multiple levels of inference (e.g., ontogeny, sexual dimorphism, individual) within a taxonomically restricted sample. Such descriptions are exceedingly rare for reptiles but are important for evaluating the inherent biological information that skeletal morphology provides to more inclusive biological questions. Results indicate that postnatal variation in Pseudemys texana for discrete cranial characters is considerable, especially when recognizing the taxonomically conservative nature of the sample and the fact that most of the examined characters were drawn from published phylogenetic analyses. Results demonstrate a complex relationship between size, skeletal maturity, and the expression of discrete skeletal characters in this sexually dimorphic reptile. Such complexity potentially could affect our interpretation of evolutionary history based on discrete characters. This study emphasizes the need for increasing the numbers and taxonomic breadth of morphological descriptions based on expanded samples so that a better understanding of the phylogenetic distribution and modular expression of anatomical variability can be achieved. The available empirical data lag seriously behind recent theoretical advances that broaden the application of intraspecific variation data for discrete characters to phylogenetic and evolutionary questions. J. Morphol. , 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Application and evaluation of augmented reality user interface to a card game “Mate”

Our research aims to evaluate the effectiveness of augmented reality (AR) user interface for an entertainment application - playing card games. Beginner players cannot play games by themselves until they learn game rules well. Our idea to solve this problem is a computer system with AR user interface which intuitively guides game plays in the beginnerspsila view. The authors have applied our idea to a card game called Mate, and evaluated the effectiveness by an experiment with Mate beginner players, It is found that the system could guide beginners with no rule knowledge: they could play Mate games by themselves and won the games at the rate of 64%.
Direct detection of bacterial biofilms on the middle-ear mucosa of children with chronic otitis media.

CONTEXT Chronic otitis media (OM) is a common pediatric infectious disease. Previous studies demonstrating that metabolically active bacteria exist in culture-negative pediatric middle-ear effusions and that experimental infection with Haemophilus influenzae in the chinchilla model of otitis media results in the formation of adherent mucosal biofilms suggest that chronic OM may result from a mucosal biofilm infection. OBJECTIVE To test the hypothesis that chronic OM in humans is biofilm-related. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS Middle-ear mucosa (MEM) biopsy specimens were obtained from 26 children (mean age, 2.5 [range, 0.5-14] years) undergoing tympanostomy tube placement for treatment of otitis media with effusion (OME) and recurrent OM and were analyzed using microbiological culture, polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based diagnostics, direct microscopic examination, fluorescence in situ hybridization, and immunostaining. Uninfected (control) MEM specimens were obtained from 3 children and 5 adults undergoing cochlear implantation. Patients were enrolled between February 2004 and April 2005 from a single US tertiary referral otolaryngology practice. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Confocal laser scanning microscopic (CLSM) images were obtained from MEM biopsy specimens and were evaluated for biofilm morphology using generic stains and species-specific probes for H influenzae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Moraxella catarrhalis. Effusions, when present, were evaluated by PCR and culture for evidence of pathogen-specific nucleic acid sequences and bacterial growth, respectively. RESULTS Of the 26 children undergoing tympanostomy tube placement, 13 (50%) had OME, 20 (77%) had recurrent OM, and 7 (27%) had both diagnoses; 27 of 52 (52%) of the ears had effusions, 24 of 24 effusions were PCR-positive for at least 1 OM pathogen, and 6 (22%) of 27 effusions were culture-positive for any pathogen. Mucosal biofilms were visualized by CLSM on 46 (92%) of 50 MEM specimens from children with OME and recurrent OM using generic and pathogen-specific probes. Biofilms were not observed on 8 control MEM specimens obtained from the patients undergoing cochlear implantation. CONCLUSION Direct detection of biofilms on MEM biopsy specimens from children with OME and recurrent OM supports the hypothesis that these chronic middle-ear disorders are biofilm-related.
Self-Reported Versus Objective Measures of Health in Retirement Models

Labor supply models are sensitive to the measures of health used. When self-reported measures are used, health seems to play a larger role and economic factors a smaller one than when more objective measures are used. While this may indicate biases inherent in using self-reported measures, there are reasons to be suspicious of more objective measures as well. A statistical model incorporating both self-reported and objective measures of health shows the potential biases involved in using either measure or in using one to instrument the other. The model is initially unidentified, but incorporating outside information on the validity of self-reported measures confirms fears about both the self-reported and objective measures available on such data sets as the Retirement History Survey or the National Longitudinal Survey of Older Men.
DC to AC 3 phase modular multilevel conversion using Chireix outphasing method

This paper describes application of the Chireix outphasing method of the Linear Amplification using Non-Linear Components (LINC) to the design of DC to 3 Phase AC modular multilevel inverters with fully controlled amplitude and phase. Synthesizing sine voltages with low harmonic content while using power switches operating at fundamental line frequency keeps switching losses low and allows using of the highest power and the highest voltage rated but slow switching components. Stacking DC inputs of individual inverter modules in series fits requirements for HVDC line converter to AC 3 phase outputs with minimum output voltage waveform filtering. A unique capability of controlling output voltages from zero to maximum may be useful for such inherently unstable renewable sources of energy as wind and solar.
An Approach for Modeling the Effects of Video Resolution and Size on the Perceived Visual Quality

Video-telephony and mobile TV are typical multimedia services which are becoming a part of the everyday life due to the increase in bandwidth availability and also viewing devices with larger screen sizes (smart phone, PDA, etc). To ensure high quality, packet layer parametric quality prediction models for audio-visual services like video-telephony and IPTV video streaming have emerged and are still under development. Those parametric models depend on a set of parameters which have to be tuned for every specific application. In this work, we carry out an experiment to analyze the impact of video resolution and up scaling operation on perceived quality. We could show that the current parametric models can be modified to explicitly integrate the joined effect of resolution and display video size.
A Framework for Artificial Knowledge Creation in Organizations

Recent advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) have increased the ability of organizations to analyze data to support decisions. However, there is little focus to date, on the potential role of AI in organizational knowledge creation. This paper develops a framework of organizational artificial knowledge creation based on a synthesis of the literature, and the implementation of a multi-agent AI in an organization. We identify five stages for developing organizational artificial knowledge: 1) Extracting and Collecting, 2) Curating, 3) Ingesting, 4) Training and Testing, 5) Analyzing and Predicting. We also identified two main practices triggered by the development of the AI multi-agent that distinguish them from traditional IS: the ability to initiate a dialogue between the different actors which can lead to the consolidation and aggregation of the organizational knowledge, and the ability to establish recursive and reflexive relation between individual knowledge and the organizational artificial knowledge.
The cDNA Cloning and Molecular Characterization of a Snake Venom Platelet Glycoprotein Ib-binding Protein, Mamushigin, from Agkistrodon halys blomhoffii Venom

Summary The entire cDNA sequences of a novel snake venom platelet glyco-protein (GP) Ib-binding protein (BP) composed of an α/β heterodimeric structure, termed mamushigin, from Agkistrodon halys blomhoffii were determined, that include the leader peptides (21/23 amino acid residues) and mature subunits (136/123 amino acid residues). The mature subunits of mamushigin are 37.5% identical, and showed a high degree of similarity (37.7-67.5% identity) with the respective subunits of group VII C-type lectins (19). The sequences of the leader peptides of the mamusigin subunits showed the highest similarity (α-73.9/ β-82.6%) with those of factor IX/X-BP from Trimeresurus flavoviridis, and the cleavage site residue in both proteins was the same Ala–1. The GPIb-binding specificity of mamushigin is strongly supported by several lines of evidence, but mamushigin can directly aggregate normal platelets, similar to alboaggregin-B (AL-B) (1). This differs from other GPIb-BP’s. In mamushigin-treated platelets, serotonin was not released, and flow cytometric analysis using a monoclonal antibody PAC-1 totally excluded platelet GPIIb/IIIa activation. Mamushigin enhanced platelet aggregation at low-shear stress, and this effect totally disappeared in the presence of GPIb-receptor blockers specific for von Willebrand factor binding, but not by GPIIb/IIIa-receptor blockers. At high-shear stress, mamushigin blocked platelet aggregation in a dose-dependent manner, as seen with other GPIb-BP’s. This paper, therefore, describes the cDNA cloning and molecular characterization of mamushigin which has a different effect on platelet aggregation under different shear stress.
Resistance of Streptococcus sanguis biofilms to antimicrobial agents

Bacteria living in biofilms as dental plaque on tooth surfaces are generally more resistant to antimicrobial agents than bacteria in batch culture normally used for in vitro susceptibility testing. In order to compare the resistance of free‐living and surface‐grown oral bacteria, the MIC of Streptococcus sanguis 804 and ATCC 10556 to amoxicillin, doxycycline and chlorhexidine was determined by a broth dilution method. Subsequently, S. sanguis biofilms established in an in vitro flow model were perfused with the antimicrobial agents for 48 h at concentrations equal to and up to 500 times the MIC, and biofilm cell number was determined during this period. The antibiotics at the MIC did not affect the cell number of S. sanguis biofilms compared to the starting point, and only after 48 h at 500 times the MIC were the biofilm bacteria eliminated. At intermediate concentrations biofilm cell number gradually decreased. Chlorhexidine also gradually reduced biofilm cell number, but was inhibitory at concentrations closer to the MIC than was the case for the antibiotics. Thus S. sanguis in biofilms survived up to 500 times the MIC found in batch culture for up to 48 h.
Protein Expression Profiling Reveals Distinctive Changes in Serum Proteins Associated With Chronic Pancreatitis

Objective: Testing of serum for protein patterns to monitor progression of suspected to definite chronic pancreatitis (CP). Methods: Serum samples of CP patients and healthy volunteers were fractionated on anion exchange columns and analyzed by surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry to elucidate CP-related protein alterations and to identify biomarkers for this disease. Potential biomarkers were purified and identified by mass spectrometry. Results: In total, 258 protein peaks were found that discriminated between the 2 groups. Analysis revealed 28 most prominent peaks on immobilized metal affinity capture coupled with Cu and CM10 protein chips, covering the m/z range between 3.3 and 33.3 kd. Performing multivariate pattern analysis, the best pattern model was obtained using fraction 6 on immobilized metal affinity capture coupled with Cu arrays with a sensitivity of 96% and a specificity of 84%. Using a combination of matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry and immunodepletion, we identified 14-m/z peaks. The proteins were found to be significantly decreased in CP serum and were identified as retinol-binding protein, serum amyloid-α, apolipoprotein A-II (Apo A-II), Apo C-I, Apo C-II, Apo C-III, and transthyretin and truncated forms thereof. Conclusions: Distinct protein profile differences exist between normal and CP serum and reflect the metabolic and inflammatory condition in CP patients. The identified protein panel may eventually serve as a diagnostic marker set for CP.
A low-cost hybrid coordinated checkpointing protocol for mobile distributed systems

Mobile distributed systems raise new issues such as mobility, low bandwidth of wireless channels, disconnections, limited battery power and lack of reliable stable storage on mobile nodes. In minimum-process coordinated checkpointing, some processes may not checkpoint for several checkpoint initiations. In the case of a recovery after a fault, such processes may rollback to far earlier checkpointed state and thus may cause greater loss of computation. In all-process coordinated checkpointing, the recovery line is advanced for all processes but the checkpointing overhead may be exceedingly high. To optimize both matrices, the checkpointing overhead and the loss of computation on recovery, we propose a hybrid checkpointing algorithm, wherein an all-process coordinated checkpoint is taken after the execution of minimum-process coordinated checkpointing algorithm for a fixed number of times. Thus, the Mobile nodes with low activity or in doze mode operation may not be disturbed in the case of minimum-process checkpointing and the recovery line is advanced for each process after an all-process checkpoint. Additionally, we try to minimize the information piggybacked onto each computation message. For minimum-process checkpointing, we design a blocking algorithm, where no useless checkpoints are taken and an effort has been made to optimize the blocking of processes. We propose to delay selective messages at the receiver end. By doing so, processes are allowed to perform their normal computation, send messages and partially receive them during their blocking period. The proposed minimum-process blocking algorithm forces zero useless checkpoints at the cost of very small blocking.
Evaluation of Serial Casting for Boys with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: A Case Report

ABSTRACT Aim: To report the effects of below-knee serial casting in two boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy who presented with well-preserved strength and calf shortening. Methods: Bilateral below-knee serial casts were applied over two weeks with follow-up of daily stretching and wearing of customized night splints. Outcome measures were performed at baseline, 1, 3, 6, and 12 months post-casting. These included measures of calf length, leg strength, motor function, endurance, and spatio-temporal gait parameters. Results: Both boys completed serial casting with gains in muscle length. No adverse effects on strength or motor function were observed over a 12-month follow-up period.