Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Changes in Functional Coupling between Neural Networks in the Brain during Maturation Revealed by Omega Complexity

To study age-dependent changes in coupling between cortical neural networks we applied a new method (omega complexity) to determine overall coherence of EEGs of 34 subjects ranging in age from 3 months to 16 years. We found that the functional coupling between different brain regions is low at birth and increases significantly in the first two decades of life. We suggest that this coupling depends critically upon the system of associational and callosal fibers which is unmyelinated at birth, and which only finishes myelinization in the second or third decade. Thus age-dependant changes in omega complexity may reflect maturation of brain structures underlying higher cerebral functions. If these results can be replicated, preferably in prospective, cohort rather than transectional type studies, omega complexity might prove to be clinically useful as an objective, quantitative measure of brain maturation.
Transforming Pedagogies: Integrating 21st Century Skills and Web 2.0 Technology.

According to (P21), Partnership for 21st Century Skills (n.d.), unless the gap is bridged between how students learn and how they live, today’s education system will face irrelevance. The way people work and live has been transformed by demographic, economic, political, technological, and informational forces. Schools must adapt to these changing conditions in order to thrive. Students must be equipped to live in a multifaceted, multitasking, technology-driven world. And, regardless of their economic background, we must also ensure that all students have equal access to this new technological world. Collaborative learning theory which is connected to constructivism pedagogy requires students to work together to solve problems. Students need lifelong learning skills i.e., communication and information skills, problem-solving and thinking skills, and interpersonal and self-directional skills. The challenge becomes to deliberately incorporate learning skills into classrooms strategically and broadly. In this digital age, students must learn to use tools essential to everyday life and workplace productivity. They live in a world of almost unlimited streams of profound information, difficult choices and enormous opportunity. Teachers can create a 21st century context for learning by taking students out into the world, by bringing the world into the classroom, and by creating opportunities for students to collaboratively interact with each other (Learning for the, n.d.). One way of accomplishing this task is by employing the use of the Internet to connect Web 2.0 technology and 21st century skills. These skills are essential due to increased global competition, rising workforce capabilities, and accelerated technological change (Learning for the, n.d.).
EXPROS : Tools for exploratory experimentation with prosody

This demo paper presents EXPROS , a toolkit for experimentation with prosody in diphone voices. Although prosodic features play an important role in human-human spoken dialogue, they are largely unexploited in current spoken dialogue systems. The toolkit contains tools for a number of purposes: for example extraction of prosodic features such as pitch, intensity and duration for transplantation onto synthetic utterances and creation of purpose-built customized MBROLA mini-voices.
RELIABILITY OF BARR, LEECH, AND BLETHYN SCORE IN USING OF PLAIN RADIOGRAPHY IN DETERMINING FECAL IMPACTION IN CHILDREN WITH AND WITHOUT CONSTIPATION.

BACKGROUND - Several scoring was developed for evaluation of children with fecal retention using plain radiograph. There are controversies about specificity and sensitivity of these scoring system. OBJECTIVES - The aim of this study was to evaluate Barr, Blethyn, and Leech score in evaluation of fecal load in plain radiograph. METHODS - This case control study was conducted on children aged 2-14 years old with abdominal pain who visited Abuzar children's Hospital of Ahvaz University of Medical Sciences. This study was conducted in fall season. Children with history of previous abdominal surgery, any systemic illness including sickle cell anemia were excluded. Children with constipation were placed in case group. Subjects without constipation were placed in control group. Subjects without exclusion criteria were examined by physician who is blind to aim of the study. Careful history and physical examination was done. Demographic features, history of gastrointestinal problem, duration of abdominal pain, defecation habit, stool consistency (loose, hard), and results of physical examination were recorded. Rome III criteria was used for definition of constipation. Abdominal x-ray was ordered for each patients. Abdominal radiography was reviewed by radiologist. Barr, Leach, and Blethyn scores were calculated for each case. RESULTS - In this study 102 children with functional constipation and 102 children without constipation as a control were included. Mean ±SD for case and control group was 68.39±34.88 and 69.46±32.60 (P=0.82). Leech score (mean ±SD) was 11.05±2.177 and 5.67±3.228 for case and control group respectively (P<0.0001). Barr score (mean ±SD) was 14.86±3.54 and 7.16±5.59 for case and control group respectively (P=<0.0001). Blethyn (mean ±SD) score was 1.97±0.667 and 1.04±0.900 for case and control group respectively (P=0.000). Sensitivity and specificity of Barr score was 83% and 79% respectively. Sensitivity and specificity of Leech score was 92% and 80% respectively. Sensitivity and specificity of Blethyn score was 79% and 92% respectively. CONCLUSION - Barr, Blethyn and Leech scores were significantly higher in children with abdominal pain and constipation in contrast to children with abdominal pain and without constipation. Sensitivity of Leech score was more than Barr and Blethyn scoring systems. Specificity of Blethyn score was more than Barr and Leech score.
Painting photolization

Before the widespread of modern capture devices, painting served an important role in recording and depicting the real world for human. These painting artworks not only preserve the immediate depiction but also with good aesthetic sense. However, most of the the depictions in the painting are impossible to be reproduced in modern devices. In this extend abstract, we present a method that photolizes an input painting artwork. Our method generates an image which resembles the scene of the painting and has a photo-realistic appearance. A user provides a number of photos which are partly similar to the painting, and specifies a number of corresponding edge strokes in the painting and one of the photos indicating corresponding object edges. Our method automatically deforms these corresponding edges and composites these photos together.
Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Ranitidine in Neonates Treated with Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation

The pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of ranitidine were studied in 13 term neonates with stable renal and hepatic function who were treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Ranitidine was initially administered as a single 2 mg/kg dose over 10 minutes and intragastric pH was monitored to determine response. Within 90 minutes after administration of ranitidine, intragastric pH for all of the patients whose initial reading was ≤ 4 had increased to > 5. Intragastric pH remained < 4 for a minimum of 15 hours. Mean ± 1 standard deviation elimination half‐life was 6.61 ± 2.75 hours, and 41.5 ± 22.2% of the single dose was eliminated in urine within 24 hours. Total plasma clearance of ranitidine correlated well with estimated glomerular filtration rate. Twenty‐four hours after the initial dose, a continuous infusion of ranitidine (2 mg/kg/24 hr) was started and continued for 72 hours or until ECMO was discontinued. Eleven patients completed 48 hours of continuous infusion and seven completed all 72 hours. Plasma clearance and elimination half‐life were determined from steady‐state plasma ranitidine concentrations 24, 46, and 72 hours after the start of the infusion. There were no significant differences in clearance between these intervals. These data suggest that for term neonates with stable renal and hepatic function, ranitidine does not need to be administered more frequently than every 12 hours. A continuous infusion of 2 mg/kg/24 hours maintained intragastric pH above 4 in more than 90% of our patients, and in our opinion is the preferred method for delivering ranitidine to term neonates undergoing ECMO who require H2 antagonists. Response to therapy should be monitored by repeated measurement of gastric pH and the dose should be adjusted accordingly.
Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century

Many teens today who use the Internet are actively involved in participatory cultures -- joining online communities (Facebook, message boards, game clans), producing creative work in new forms (digital sampling, modding, fan videomaking, fan fiction), working in teams to complete tasks and develop new knowledge (as in Wikipedia), and shaping the flow of media (as in blogging or podcasting). A growing body of scholarship suggests potential benefits of these activities, including opportunities for peer-to-peer learning, development of skills useful in the modern workplace, and a more empowered conception of citizenship. Some argue that young people pick up these key skills and competencies on their own by interacting with popular culture; but the problems of unequal access, lack of media transparency, and the breakdown of traditional forms of socialization and professional training suggest a role for policy and pedagogical intervention.This report aims to shift the conversation about the "digital divide" from questions about access to technology to questions about access to opportunities for involvement in participatory culture and how to provide all young people with the chance to develop the cultural competencies and social skills needed. Fostering these skills, the authors argue, requires a systemic approach to media education; schools, afterschool programs, and parents all have distinctive roles to play.The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Reports on Digital Media and Learning
Social View Based User Modeling for Recommendation in Tagging Systems by Association Rules

Social tagging systems such as Facebook, YouTube, del.icio. us, Flickr become popular recent years and have achieved widespread success. State-of-art user modeling approaches in tagging systems usually use a vector of weighted tags. Unfortunately, typical user modeling methods using a vector of weighted tags which are based on personal view only and ignore the social view, have some inherent drawbacks. As in a social network like collaborative tagging system, it is subjective and incomplete to profile using only personal view. In this paper, a novel approach applying association rules is proposed to extend user profiles from the social view. The enriched user profile is a harvest from both personal view and social view. Algorithms of personalized recommendations for tags and items are presented. Also experimental results of using the profile we proposed are discussed.
The Assessment of Spouse Abuse: Two Quantifiable Dimensions.

This paper presents a new short-form scale called the Index of Spouse Abuse or ISA that was designed for use in clinical settings to monitor and evaluate progress in treatment. The ISA can be used on a regular or periodic basis with a single client in order to evaluate change in the degree or severity of both physical and nonphysical abuse as perceived by female respondents. The paper presents detailed findings concerning the reliability and validity of the ISA, along with details concerning the administration, scoring, and interpretation of the scale.
Possibilidade de inserção do cuidado cultural congruente nas práticas de humanização na atenção à saúde

This essay aims to reflect upon the coherency of insertion of cultural care within basic nursing practice, following the Health Ministry Humanization Policy. Therefore, looks for an insertion of Culture and Humanization in Health Care practice in force. It considers the possibility of development of culture coherency, being necessary the professional responsibility and compromise. A viewpoint that would promote one’s integrity and autonomy. Key words : Community Health Nursing; Humanization of Assistance; Culture.
Gang activity in English prisons: The prisoners’ perspective

Abstract Gang activity in American prisons has resulted in serious problems for prisoners and staff. This study assessed prisoners’ perceptions of gang-event frequency in the UK. Interviews with 360 prisoners from nine prisons in England and Wales indicated gang-related events were perceived as more frequent in all male categories of prison than they were in female institutions. Prisoners reported drug possession and prisoner groups being formed along regional origins as the most frequent gang-related activities. Recidivists perceived higher levels of gang-related activity than did first-time prisoners. Gang-related variables also predicted prisoners’ perceptions that groups of prisoners have more control over events in the prison than do staff and that order in the prison may not be maintained. The merits of interviewing prisoners and the implications of the results for maintaining order in prison are discussed.
The Prognostic Significance of Various 13q14 Deletions in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Purpose: To further our understanding of the biology and prognostic significance of various chromosomal 13q14 deletions in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Experimental Design: We analyzed data from SNP 6.0 arrays to define the anatomy of various 13q14 deletions in a cohort of 255 CLL patients and have correlated two subsets of 13q14 deletions (type I exclusive of RB1 and type II inclusive of RB1) with patient survival. Furthermore, we measured the expression of the 13q14-resident microRNAs by quantitative PCR (Q-PCR) in 242 CLL patients and subsequently assessed their prognostic significance. We sequenced all coding exons of RB1 in patients with monoallelic RB1 deletion and have sequenced the 13q14-resident miR locus in all patients. Results: Large 13q14 (type II) deletions were detected in approximately 20% of all CLL patients and were associated with shortened survival. A strong association between 13q14 type II deletions and elevated genomic complexity, as measured through CLL-FISH or SNP 6.0 array profiling, was identified, suggesting that these lesions may contribute to CLL disease evolution through genomic destabilization. Sequence and copy number analysis of the RB1 gene identified a small CLL subset that is RB1 null. Finally, neither the expression levels of the 13q14-resident microRNAs nor the degree of 13q14 deletion, as measured through SNP 6.0 array-based copy number analysis, had significant prognostic importance. Conclusions: Our data suggest that the clinical course of CLL is accelerated in patients with large (type II) 13q14 deletions that span the RB1 gene, therefore justifying routine identification of 13q14 subtypes in CLL management. Clin Cancer Res; 17(21); 6778–90. ©2011 AACR.
Towards decision support for a home care services platform

It is believed that ICT-mediation for home care services increases patient empowerment, independency, self-efficacy and quality of life. Providing elderly people with tailored care services allows us to learn from patient data to predict future care needs. In this article, we demonstrate the contribution of machine learning to homecare services, using data collected by a home care services platform. As an actual case, we show how simulated medication compliance can be measured and modeled using clustering and regression techniques. The approach is validated using data from French nursing home databases. The results show that it is possible to classify situations in elderly healthcare, and schedule resource planning according to expected health problems.
Muscle synergies may improve optimization prediction of knee contact forces during walking.

The ability to predict patient-specific joint contact and muscle forces accurately could improve the treatment of walking-related disorders. Muscle synergy analysis, which decomposes a large number of muscle electromyographic (EMG) signals into a small number of synergy control signals, could reduce the dimensionality and thus redundancy of the muscle and contact force prediction process. This study investigated whether use of subject-specific synergy controls can improve optimization prediction of knee contact forces during walking. To generate the predictions, we performed mixed dynamic muscle force optimizations (i.e., inverse skeletal dynamics with forward muscle activation and contraction dynamics) using data collected from a subject implanted with a force-measuring knee replacement. Twelve optimization problems (three cases with four subcases each) that minimized the sum of squares of muscle excitations were formulated to investigate how synergy controls affect knee contact force predictions. The three cases were: (1) Calibrate+Match where muscle model parameter values were calibrated and experimental knee contact forces were simultaneously matched, (2) Precalibrate+Predict where experimental knee contact forces were predicted using precalibrated muscle model parameters values from the first case, and (3) Calibrate+Predict where muscle model parameter values were calibrated and experimental knee contact forces were simultaneously predicted, all while matching inverse dynamic loads at the hip, knee, and ankle. The four subcases used either 44 independent controls or five synergy controls with and without EMG shape tracking. For the Calibrate+Match case, all four subcases closely reproduced the measured medial and lateral knee contact forces (R2 ≥ 0.94, root-mean-square (RMS) error < 66 N), indicating sufficient model fidelity for contact force prediction. For the Precalibrate+Predict and Calibrate+Predict cases, synergy controls yielded better contact force predictions (0.61 < R2 < 0.90, 83 N < RMS error < 161 N) than did independent controls (-0.15 < R2 < 0.79, 124 N < RMS error < 343 N) for corresponding subcases. For independent controls, contact force predictions improved when precalibrated model parameter values or EMG shape tracking was used. For synergy controls, contact force predictions were relatively insensitive to how model parameter values were calibrated, while EMG shape tracking made lateral (but not medial) contact force predictions worse. For the subject and optimization cost function analyzed in this study, use of subject-specific synergy controls improved the accuracy of knee contact force predictions, especially for lateral contact force when EMG shape tracking was omitted, and reduced prediction sensitivity to uncertainties in muscle model parameter values.
Speech enhancement based on sparse representation under color noisy environment

Recently, sparse algorithm for signal enhancement is more and more popular issues. In this paper, we apply it to enhance speech signal. The process of sparse theory is classified into two parts, one is for dictionary training part and the other is signal reconstruction part. We focus environment on both white Gaussian noise and color noise filtering based on sparse. The orthogonal matching pursuit (OMP) algorithm is used to optimize the sparse coefficients X of clean speech dictionary, where clean speech dictionary is trained by K-SVD algorithm. Then, we multiply these two matrixes D' and X' to reconstruct the clean speech signal. Denoising performance of the experiments shows that our proposed method is superior to other state of art methods in four kinds of objective quality measures as SNR, LLR, SNRseg and PESQ.
Political Blogs and Blogrolls in Canada

Several theorists have entertained the possibility that the egalitarian nature of Internet-based discussion may facilitate meaningful democratic deliberative discussions amongst citizens. This article provides a preliminary empirical test of these claims by examining the extent to which blogs and blogroll communities act as forums for such deliberations. The analysis uses a dataset derived from a content analysis performed on blogs from three Canadian partisan blogrolls in October 2005. We perform three tests of the deliberative qualities of blog-based discussions: (a) whether discussion is characterized by equality of participation; (b) whether bloggers discuss substantive issues; and (c) whether bloggers engage constructively in discussions with political opponents. We find that this online discussion does exhibit some deliberative characteristics but that this discussion is often characterized by inequality of discussion, a focus on non-substantive issues, and unconstructive engagement between bloggers.
Evaluation of the 17-kDa Prenyl-binding Protein as a Regulatory Protein for Phototransduction in Retinal Photoreceptors*

The mammalian rod photoreceptor phosphodiesterase (PDE6) holoenzyme is isolated in both a membrane-associated and a soluble form. Membrane binding is a consequence of prenylation of PDE6 catalytic subunits, whereas soluble PDE6 is purified with a 17-kDa prenyl-binding protein (PDEδ) tightly bound. This protein, here termed PrBP/δ, has been hypothesized to reduce activation of PDE6 by transducin, thereby desensitizing the photoresponse. To test the potential role of PrBP/δ in regulating phototransduction, we examined the abundance, localization, and potential binding partners of PrBP/δ in retina and in purified rod outer segment (ROS) suspensions whose physiological and biochemical properties are well characterized. The amphibian homologue of PrBP/δ was cloned and sequenced and found to have 82% amino acid sequence identity with mammalian PrBP/δ. In contrast to bovine ROS, all of the PDE6 in purified frog ROS is membrane-associated. However, addition of recombinant frog PrBP/δ can solubilize PDE6 and prevent its activation by transducin. PrBP/δ also binds other prenylated photoreceptor proteins in vitro, including opsin kinase (GRK1/GRK7) and rab8. Quantitative immunoblot analysis of the PrBP/δ content of purified ROS reveals insufficient amounts of PrBP/δ (<0.1 PrBP/δ per PDE6) to serve as a subunit of PDE6 in either mammalian or amphibian photoreceptors. The immunolocalization of PrBP/δ in frog and bovine retina shows greatest PrBP/δ immunolabeling outside the photoreceptor cell layer. Within photoreceptors, only the inner segments of frog double cones are strongly labeled, whereas bovine photoreceptors reveal more PrBP/δ labeling near the junction of the inner and outer segments (connecting cilium) of photoreceptors. Together, these results rule out PrBP/δ as a PDE6 subunit and implicate PrBP/δ in the transport and membrane targeting of prenylated proteins (including PDE6) from their site of synthesis in the inner segment to their final destination in the outer segment of rods and cones.