Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Mood and Anxiety Disorders on Incident Hypertension at One Year

Background. Studies assessing the association between psychological factors and hypertension have been equivocal, which may reflect limitations in the assessment of psychological factors. Purpose. To assess the relationship between mood and anxiety disorders, measured using a psychiatric interview, and 1-year incident hypertension. Methods. 197 nonhypertensive individuals undergoing exercise stress testing at baseline provided follow-up data at 1 year. Baseline assessments included a structure psychiatric interview (PRIME-MD), physician diagnosis of hypertension, and measured blood pressure. At follow-up, hypertension status was assessed via self-reported physician diagnosis. Results. Having an anxiety disorder was associated with a 4-fold increase in the risk of developing hypertension (adjusted OR = 4.14, 95% CIs = 1.18–14.56). In contrast, having a mood disorder was not associated with incident hypertension (adjusted OR = 1.21, 95% CIs = 0.24–5.86). Conclusions. There are potential mechanisms which could explain our differential mood and anxiety findings. The impact of screening and treatment of anxiety disorders on hypertension needs to be explored.
Multi-camera systems for rehabilitation therapies: a study of the precision of Microsoft Kinect sensors

This paper seeks to determine how the overlap of several infrared beams affects the tracked position of the user, depending on the angle of incidence of light, distance to the target, distance between sensors, and the number of capture devices used. We also try to show that under ideal conditions using several Kinect sensors increases the precision of the data collected. The results obtained can be used in the design of telerehabilitation environments in which several RGB-D cameras are needed to improve precision or increase the tracking range. A numerical analysis of the results is included and comparisons are made with the results of other studies. Finally, we describe a system that implements intelligent methods for the rehabilitation of patients based on the results of the tests carried out.
A Factor Analysis and Further Validation of the Shepherd Scale

This study attempted to add to the psychometric data available on the Shepherd Scale, an instrument developed by Bassett et al. (1981) to differentiate between Christians and non-Christians for research purposes. Relatively strong internal consistency and validity data were obtained from a sample of 238 subjects. Although failing to confirm the subscales proposed by Bassett et al., a factor analysis of the Shepherd Scale suggested a general Christianity dimension which seemed to subdivide into two correlated factors, Christian Beliefs, Values, and Behaviors, and Identification/Relatedness with the Christian Community. Overall, the present data pointed to the Shepherd Scale as worthy of serious consideration in studies addressing Christianity. Suggestions for further research on the Shepherd Scale are offered.
Social cognition and adjustment in children at risk for psychopathology.

This study tested two models of how social cognition affects the link between child adjustment and two family risk factors, maltreatment and parental psychopathology. The mediation model proposed that social cognition mediates the link between the risk factors and maladjustment. The compensation model proposed that social cognition compensates for the risk factors. Social cognitive measures were social problem-solving competency and hostile attributional and response biases
Information system experts: definition, identification, and application

Experts’ views and commentary have been highly respected in every discipline. However, unlike traditional disciplines like medicine, mathematics and engineering, Information System (IS) expertise is difficult to define. Despite seeking expert advice and views is common in the areas of IS project management, system implementations and evaluations. This research-in-progress paper attempts to understand the characteristics of IS-expert through a comprehensive literature review of analogous disciplines and then derives a formative research model with three main constructs. A validated construct of expertise of IS will have a wide range of implications for research and practice.
Proposal of minimization problem based lightness modification for protanopia and deuteranopia

Color is important for the visual information. However, sometimes the information of color cannot be correctly received by some humans. Those visually impaired humans (protanopes, deuteranopes, and so on) cannot recognize some color information. In our paper, a lightness modification method which can convey the information of color to protanopes and deuteranopes is proposed. Considering differences of colors in an input image, the proposed method adjusts the output lightness for protanopes and deuteranopes. Experimental results show effectiveness of our proposed method.
Direct Iterative Closest Point for real-time visual odometry

In RGB-D sensor based visual odometry the goal is to estimate a sequence of camera movements using image and/or range measurements. Direct methods solve the problem by minimizing intensity error. In this work a depth map obtained from a RGB-D sensor is considered as a new measurement which is combined with a direct photometric cost function. The minimization of the bi-objective cost function produces 3D camera motion parameters which registers two 3D surfaces within a same coordinate system. The given formulation does not require any predetermined temporal correspondencies nor feature extraction when having a sufficient frame rate. It is shown how incorporating the depth measurement robustifies the cost function in case of insufficient texture information and non-Lambertian surfaces. Finally the method is demonstrated in the Planetary Robotics Vision Ground Processing (PRoVisG) competition where visual odometry and 3D reconstruction results are solved for a stereo image sequence captured using a Mars rover.
Discovering relations among discriminative training objectives [speak recognition applications]

In this paper, the relations among several discriminative training objectives for speech and speaker recognition, language processing, and dynamic pattern recognition are derived and discovered through theoretical analysis. Those objectives are the minimum classification error (MCE), maximum mutual information (MMI), minimum error rate (MER), and a recently proposed generalized minimum error rate (GMER) objectives. The results show that all the objectives are related to the a posteriori probability and error rates, and the MCE and GMER objectives are more general and flexible than the MMI and MER objectives. These results can help in understanding the discriminative objectives, in improving recognition performances, and in discovering new training algorithms jointly with objectives.
Increasing Fruit and Vegetable Consumption during Elementary School Snack Periods Using Incentives, Prompting and Role Modeling.

Purpose/Objectives American c hildren’s consumption of fruits and vegetables (FVs) does not meet current recommendations. Hence, several federally funded, school-based programs have been initiated over the last several years. One such program is the United States Department of Agriculture Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP), which provides FVs free of charge to elementary school children 2-4 days per week. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of several behavioral and environmental interventions to increase the proportion of students bringing and consuming FV snacks from home on days when they are not provided through the FFVP. Methods This study was a pre-, post-experimental intervention conducted with 4 th and 5 th grade students ( N = 76) at a FFVP elementary school in Wisconsin. The intervention consisted of three distinct conditions in which teachers provided students with several types of incentives contingent upon bringing and consuming FVs for snack periods on non-FFVP days. Researchers assessed the combined effects of incentives, praise, prompting and modeling. Results Results indicated the use of small incentives (stickers) had little impact; however, larger and more varied prizes (e.g., toys, coupons for computer time) and also prompting and modeling strategies increased FV consumption from 7% during baseline to nearly 40%. The interventions increased participants’ FV consumption by an estimated 768 items over the course of the study.
Pathophysiological mechanisms in Parkinson's Disease related dementia: an MEG study.

136 Parkinson's disease (PD) is a true multisystem disorder, characterized by degenerative changes in many neurotransmitter systems and brain areas, including the cerebral cortex, and leading to the classical motor as well as a variety of non-motor symptoms, such as olfactory disturbances, autonomic dysfunction, depression, sleep disorders and importantly also cognitive deficits and dementia, often accompanied by psychotic symptoms. 1 This thesis aims to contribute to our knowledge of the pathophysiology of cognitive dysfunction and especially dementia in PD, using magnetoencephalography (MEG) as a research tool. In chapter 2, a review is given of cognitive dysfunction and dementia in PD and the possible pathophysiological mechanisms involved. A recent study has confirmed that impairments on neuropsychological tests are present in most PD patients in the earliest stages of disease, especially disturbances in executive function. 2 In about 20 percent of patients, impairment is more prominent in at least one cognitive domain, which some authors refer to as mild cognitive impairment in PD (PD-MCI), defined as a deficit of at least 1.5 standard deviations below the expected age corrected mean score on a neuropsychological test loading on a specific domain. 3,4 In a considerable number of patients dementia develops, generally consisting of a prominent dysexecutive syndrome with attentional deficits, fluctuating cognition and memory disturbances, often accompanied by psychotic symptoms, mainly visual hallucinations. 5 At the time of publication of our review, dementia was thought to occur in 25 to 40% of PD patients. These figures were based on cross-sectional data. More recent publications based upon studies with extensive follow up periods, have provided data on the cumulative incidence of dementia in PD. Buter et al found that 60% of PD patients had become demented after 12 years of follow up. 6 In a study with a follow up period of 20 years, Hely et al established that dementia had developed in 75% of patients before they died. 7 In early stage PD, disease-specific pathology is concentrated in the brain stem involving among others the locus coeruleus, dorsal raphe nuclei and substantia nigra. Hence, dopaminergic, noradrenergic and serotonergic ascending cortical (and striatal) projections degenerate and the loss of these projections might be involved in the subtle cognitive dysfunction present in the early clinical stages of PD. In advanced stage PD patients, monoaminergic corticopetal projection systems continue to degenerate but other systems are also prominently involved, including the cholinergic system as well as the …
Pressure-Overload Cardiac Hypertrophy Is Associated with Distinct Alternative Splicing Due to Altered Expression of Splicing Factors

Chronic pressure-overload cardiac hypertrophy is associated with an increased risk of morbidity/mortality, largely due to maladaptive remodeling and dilatation that progresses to dilated cardiomyopathy. Alternative splicing is an important biological mechanism that generates proteomic complexity and diversity. The recent development of next-generation RNA sequencing has improved our understanding of the qualitative signatures associated with alternative splicing in various biological conditions. However, the role of alternative splicing in cardiac hypertrophy is yet unknown. The present study employed RNA-Seq and a bioinformatic approach to detect the RNA splicing regulatory elements involved in alternative splicing during pressure-overload cardiac hypertrophy. We found GC-rich exonic motifs that regulate intron retention in 5′ UTRs and AT-rich exonic motifs that are involved in exclusion of the AT-rich elements that cause mRNA instability in 3′ UTRs. We also identified motifs in the intronic regions involved in exon exclusion and inclusion, which predicted splicing factors that bind to these motifs. We found, through Western blotting, that the expression levels of three splicing factors, ESRP1, PTB and SF2/ASF, were significantly altered during cardiac hypertrophy. Collectively, the present results suggest that chronic pressure-overload hypertrophy is closely associated with distinct alternative splicing due to altered expression of splicing factors.
A general framework for the management of transportation systems affected by recurrent adverse weather conditions

In the paper, an integrated approach is presented, able to support the decision makers in the planning phase and in preventive/real time phases relevant to transportation systems subject to recurrent severe weather conditions. In the planning phase regressive models are carried out in order to measure the impact of adverse weather conditions on the efficiency of the traffic network, aiming at identifying the links most heavily responsive to such conditions. Besides, a weather responsive traffic management system (WRTMS), based on dynamic models and optimisation, is presented and discussed. Such a system has the purpose of supporting traffic managers in all decisions concerning the preventive location/allocation of resources able to mitigate the effect of weather conditions on the traffic infrastructures, as well as the real-time traffic management.
Analysis of new current mode sense amplifier

Sense amplifiers are one of the most vital circuits in the margin of CMOS memories. Their performance influences both memory access time and overall memory power dissipation. The existing Current-Mode Sense Amplifier coupled with a simplified read-cycle-only memory system has the ability to quickly amplify a small differential signal on the Bit-Lines (BLs) and Data-Lines (DLs) to the full CMOS logic level without requiring a large input voltage swing. The Current-Mode Sense Amplifier has two levels of sensing schemes. This hierarchical two-level sensing scheme helps in reducing both power consumption and sensing delay imposed by the bit-lines and the data-lines on high density SRAM designs. This type of Current-Mode Sense Amplifier improves the sensing speed and reliability of the previously published designs and at the same time reduces the power consumption to a considerable extent. In order to further improve the performance of the existing current-mode sense amplifier, an efficient current-mode sense amplifier is proposed in this research. The proposed research work uses the clamped bit-line sense amplifier.
Using Meta-code Generation to Realize Higher-order Model Transformations

Model-driven engineering is a wide-spread paradigm in modern software engineering. During the last couple of years, many tools and languages have been developed, which are especially designed for model transformations — a discipline which is needed in many model-driven engineering approaches. While most of the existing model-to-model tools and languages are tailored towards batch transformations for specific model instances, they lack support for generic transformation problems, where the metamodel is unknown beforehand. In this paper we present a two-step meta-code generation approach that derives a metamodel-specific modelto-model transformation from a model-to-text transformation. The approach has been successfully applied to the problem of product derivation in model-driven software product lines.
Secure Communication in 802.11 Networks with a Novel Protocol Using Quantum Cryptography

It is the fact that wireless local area networks are increasingly deployed by businesses, government and SOHO users as they offer many advantages to its customers with mobility, flexibility, convenience etc. It opened a wide range of new commercial areas for hardware vendors, at low cost. This justifies why wireless networks have become one of the most widely used communication systems in the world. However, since there are no boundaries in wireless networks, they are vulnerable to security threats than wired networks. Therefore, providing secure communication for wireless networks has become one of the prime concerns. Quantum cryptography, to be precise, Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), offers the promise of unconditional security. In this paper, we extend our previous research work of how QKD can be used in IEEE 802.11 wireless networks to ensure secure key distribution. Our contributions in this paper are as follows: (1) We discussed how QKD can be used in IEEE 802.11 wireless networks to securely distribute the keys. (2) We use new protocol QKD. (3) We introduced a method that take the advantage of mutual authentication features offered by some EAP variants of 802.1X Port-Based Network Access Control. (4) Finally, we present a new code called Quantum Message Integrity Code (Q-MIC) which provides mutual authentication between the two communication parties. Also experimental results are presented with Simulink Model.
Service Chaining for NFV and Delivery of Other Applications in a Global Multi-cloud Environment

Network Function Virtualization (NFV) allows Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to implement key function modules, such as, BRAS (Broadband Remote Access Server), IMS (Internet Multimedia System), etc. in virtual machines in a cloud environment. One of the key problems in NFV implementation is the placement of virtual machines (VMs) in clouds managed by different cloud service providers each with its own management interface. It would be helpful if the clients can implement their policies in a multi-cloud environment using a single interface. Our proposed solution is a modular multi-cloud management system called OpenADN that provides a common interface for resource allocation in a multi-cloud environment. The solution is also applicable to non-ISP applications, such as, banking, financial, and other sectors that need to use globally distributed multi-cloud resources. This paper presents a brief overview of the OpenADN architecture. The key feature of OpenADN is that multiple tenants can share the resources and all resource owners keep complete control over their resources. The data plane module of OpenADN is called OpenADN (Open Application Delivery Network). OpenADN has been implemented and brief details of implementation are also presented in this paper.
Reducing Response Time in Network Management Tasksby Using Mobile Agent

This paper aims to investigate mobile agent tradeoos in network management by performing management task simulations. The mobile agent performs better than the SNMP when the number of managed network elements ranges between two limits: an inferior bound, associated with the number of messages that traverse backbone links, and a superior bound, related to the incremental size of the mobile agent, which turns migration diicult. This paper focuses on the performance analysis of two unload strategies to reduce the response time for the mobile agent: in the rst approach, the mobile agent returns to the management station; in the second one, the mobile agent just sends data to the management station, both after visiting a xed number of nodes. Results show that the response time decreases by 62, and 64%, for the rst and second strategies, when compared with gathering all data without returning or sending these data to management station before nishing the task.
New directions in interconnect performance optimization

It is now admitted that interconnects represent a bottleneck for delay, power consumption and area on chips. To face these problems some works have been realized around performance optimizations. However results, presented in this paper, show that optimization techniques do not always face good criteria for interconnect performance optimizations. We therefore have developed a high-level estimation tool based on transistor-level characterizations, which provides users fast and precise results for time and power consumption estimation. Estimation results allowed us to determine a new interconnect consumption model and also enabled to find some new key issues that have to be pointed out for future performance optimizations.
Expression of Mineralocorticoid and Glucocorticoid receptors in Pre‐autonomic Neurons of the Rat Paraventricular Nucleus

Plasma aldosterone levels that are inappropriately high for the sodium intake increases sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity and the hypertension and increased SNS activity in experimental mineralocorticoid‐salt excess is abrogated by lesions of the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) or antagonists of the mineralocorticoid receptors (MR). It is uncertain whether physiological concentrations of aldosterone bind MR in the PVN; corticosterone and cortisol bind both MR and glucocorticoid (GR) receptors at physiological concentrations and MR and GR influence each other at transcriptional and functional levels. The retrograde tracer Fast Blue was injected into the IMLCC at the level of T4 and T10 of spinal cord after laminectomy to locate preautonomic neurons in the PVN. Immunofluorescent histochemistry was done in frozen modified STF‐fixed brains using specific anti‐bodies against the MR and GR to determine colocalization of these two receptors within pre‐autonomic neurons. Three different pseudo‐colors were assigned by Image‐Pro for better visualization. Expression of GR and MR varied in different parts of the PVN. Most colocalization was in mid‐PVN parvocellular neurons. Very few magnocellular pre‐autonomic neurons were found to express GR and/or MR. Adrenocortical steroids could have direct effects on sympathetic activity by binding MR and/or GR in pre‐autonomic neurons of the mid‐PVN. This limited area of expression may explain the inconsistent results of studies on the effect of PVN microinjections of MR and GR agonists and antagonists on sympathetic drive.
Identification of retroviral gp70 and anti-gp70 antibodies involved in circulating immune complexes in NZB X NZW mice

Retroviral gp70 and anti-gp70 antibodies were isolated from circulating immune complexes (IC) of 7-10-mo-old (NZB X NZW)F1 mice, after which the nature and origin of this gp70 (IC-gp70) and the immunologic characteristics of these anti-gp70 antibodies (IC-anti-gp70) were investigated. Immunochemical and structural analyses of IC-gp70 demonstrated that among multiple immunologically related gp70 expressed in all mice, the IC-gp70 had characteristics similar to those of NZB xenotropic viral gp70 (NZB-X1 gp70) that is commonly present in sera of virtually all strains of mice. The study of binding by IC-anti-gp70 antibodies to retroviral gp70 from various sources showed that the IC- anti-gp70 were primarily directed to NZB-X1 gp70 as well as serum gp70. These data strongly suggest that the abnormality of murine strains with systemic lupus erythematosus causing them to produce antibodies to their own xenotropic viral gp70 and to form IC with serum gp70 is not based on their expression of an unusual type of gp70, but rather their ability to make an antibody to NZB-X1 gp70, probably as a result of their immunologic dysfunction.