Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gender differences in autonomic functional status in response to stress

Introduction: Men and women are similar in their cognitive appraisal of a stress. But their behavior is different when exposed to stress. As stress responses and cognitive abilities are closely associated with autonomic nervous system, an attempt had been made to evaluate the behavioral pattern of autonomic functional status in males and females under stressed conditions. Methodology: 30 normal young male and female students (15 each) participated in this study. Systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), heart rate (HR) and heart rate variation (HRV) were recorded before and after postural change, Valsalva maneuver and cold exposure. Results: SBP and DBP decreased and HR increased after standing from lying posture (p < 0.000) in both the genders. But the changes were less in males than in females (SBP and HR – non significant, DBP p < 0.008,) 30:15 ratio was higher in males (p < 0.001) upon standing. After Valsalva maneuver, SBP decreased (p < 0.05) and DBP increased (p < 0.000) with a higher Valsalva ratio (p < 0.002) in females than in males. After exposure to cold, males showed more decrease in SBP and DBP and less increase in HR (non-significant) than females. Discussion: Results reveal more sympathetic activity in males than in females when exposed to stress. This may be because of the altered baroreceptor mechanism, male-female type of fat distribution, difference in vascular bed resistance, influence of cortisol and hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis. Conclusion: The fact that females have less tolerance to stress may help us in understanding the sex linked pathophysiology of cardiovascular diseases and developing a different approach in treating the similar cardiovascular disease in men and women.
Exploring reader response to minority ethnic fiction

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present findings of a study investigating the reading of, and engagement with minority ethnic fiction in UK public libraries, with a particular focus on Black British fiction and Asian fiction in English.Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative study of the reading behaviour of a large population of public library users (n=1,047) from the East Midlands region. A survey was distributed at issue points in 16 libraries in nine participating local authorities, to investigate respondents' reading choices, and factors that may affect these choices.Findings – Findings have emerged regarding the readers and non‐readers of Black British and Asian fiction in English. Social identity theory and reader response theory, whilst initially appearing contradictory, are helpful in understanding patterns of reading behaviour.Research limitations/implications – The paper provides a valuable starting point for future research in materials portraying, and originating from, minority.
Effects of maternal handling training at home, on development of fine motor skills in the children with cerebral palsy: A randomized clinical trial

ABSTRACT Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common physical disability in children. These children require long-term therapy for achieving better motor function. It seems that treatment and training at home is necessary. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of handling training of mothers at home on fine motor skill development of children with CP. In this single-blind randomized clinical trial study, 40 children (ages 5–12 years old) with CP were recruited from some of Tehran’s rehabilitation clinics based on predetermined inclusion criteria and randomly assigned to intervention groups (with handling training of mothers at home) and control (without handling training) groups. Data were collected using the Gross Motor Function Classification System, Manual Ability Classification System, and the fine-motor component of the Bruninks-Oseretsky Test of motor proficiency. Although both groups showed improvement in fine motor skill development (p < 0.001), improvement in the intervention group was significantly higher than in the control group (p < 0.001). Mothers handling training at home improved fine motor skills development of children with CP.
Screening for Depression After Stroke: Occupational Therapists' Performance to Protocols

The ability of occupational therapists to enact post-stroke depression screening protocols was considered. The medical notes of 12 patients admitted to an in-patient stroke unit over a 3-month period were consulted to assess timely, appropriate administration, interpretation, and recording of the results of administering the protocols. Post-stroke depression screening by occupational therapists occurred for 83% of patients. Of the screens conducted, all of the patients were administered the correct tool. In 100% of cases screened, the outcome was recorded and in at least 80% clinicians had provided feedback to the patient on the results of the screen.
EVALUASI KUALITAS WEBSITE SMA NEGERI 4 LUBUKLINGGAU MENGGUNAKAN METODE WEBQUAL

AbstrakMasalah pada penelitian adalah website ini perlu evaluasi kualitas dalam penyampaian informasi dan layanan berdasarkan sudut pandang pengguna dengan menggunakan penilaian dari variabel-variabel yang ada pada metode webqual. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode pengumpulan data, dengan cara melakukan pengamatan secara langsung pada tempat penelitian (observasi), metode wawancara, menyebar kuesioner kepada responden, metode dokumentasi dan metode perpustakaan. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa dari 4 variabel webqual, hanya 2 variabel yang berpengaruh signifikan terhadap kepuasan siswa terhadap website, yaitu variabel ussability dan overall.Dapat disimpulkan bahwa siswa kurang setuju terhadap variabel informasi kualitas dan informasi pelayanan, sehingga variabel servqual yang perlu diperbaiki dalam pengembangan selanjutnya yaitu variabel informasi quality dan informasi pelayanan. Kata kunci— Evaluasi, kualitas website, metode webqual AbstractThe problem in this study is that this website needs quality evaluation in delivering information and services based on the user's point of view by using an assessment of the variables that exist in the webqual method. This study uses data collection methods, by observing directly the place of research (observation), interview methods, distributing questionnaires to respondents, documentation methods and library methods. The results showed that of the 4 webqual variables, only 2 variables had a significant effect on student satisfaction on the website, namely ussability and overall variables. It could be concluded that students did not agree on the variables of quality information and service information, so that servqual variables needed to be improved in subsequent development namely quality information information and service information. Keywords— Evaluation, website quality , webqual method
Variation in vowel duration depending on voicing in American, British, and New Zealand English

It is well known that vowels are shorter before voiceless consonants than voiced ones in English, as in many other languages. Research has shown that the ratio of vowel durations in voiced and voiceless contexts in English is in the range of 0.6~0.8. However, little work has been done as to whether the ratio of vowel durations varies depending on English variety. In the production experiment in this paper, seven speakers from three varieties of English, New Zealand, British, and American English, read 30 pairs of (C)VC monosyllabic words which differ in coda voicing (e.g. beat-bead). Vowel height, phonemic vowel length, and consonant manner were varied as well. As expected, vowel-shortening effects were found in all varieties: vowels were shorter before voiceless than before voiced codas. Overall vowel duration was the longest in American English and the shortest in New Zealand (NZ) English. In particular, vowel duration before voiceless codas is the shortest in New Zealand English, indicating the most radical degree of shortening in this variety. As a result, the ratio of vowel durations in varying voicing contexts is the lowest in NZ English, while American and British English do not show a significant difference each other. In addition, consonant closure duration was examined. Whereas NZ speakers show the shortest vowel duration before a voiceless coda, their voiceless consonants have the longest closure duration, which suggest an inverse relationship between vowel duration and closure duration.
Transfection of endothelial nitric oxide synthase gene improves angiogenic efficacy of endothelial progenitor cells in rabbits with hindlimb ischemia

Background: The present study explored the effect of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) gene transfer on the angiogenic potential of ex vivo expanded endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) in a rabbit model of hindlimb ischemia. Methods: Rabbit peripheral blood EPCs were cultured and transfected with mammalian expression vector pcDNA3.1-eNOS containing full-length human eNOS gene. Ischemia was induced in the right hind limb of three groups of rabbits by ligation of the distal external iliac artery and excision of the common and superficial femoral arteries. In one group of animals, ten days after the surgery, autologous eNOS-EPCs were transplanted intramuscularly in the ischemic limb. Two other groups received an equivalent number of unmodified EPCs or phosphate buffered saline (PBS) respectively. Results: Two weeks after cell transplantation, the in vivo expression of eNOS was detected in limb tissue sections of eNOS-EPCs treated animals. Animals treated with eNOS-EPCs had a significant reduction in ischemic muscle necrosis and inflammation, augmentation in the capillary density (P< 0.05) and angiographic scores demonstrating distal arterial reconstitution and enhanced angiogenesis in comparison to animals transplanted with EPCs or PBS (P< 0.05). Conclusion: We conclude that modification of EPCs by eNOS constitutes an effective strategy to improve the efficacy of EPCs for therapeutic angiogenesis.
Real-Time Speech Enhancement by Adaptive Spectral Subtraction Method

Non-stationary noise and strong background noise is difficult to extract the actual audio signal problem, an adaptive spectral reduction algorithm is proposed. A dynamic threshold algorithm is devised, iterative update mechanism and the specific implementation are contrived in the clean speech spectrum and noise spectrum estimating. Simulation experiments show that the algorithm can effectively de-noising filter, significantly improve the intelligibility of speech recognition system performance and read, and the method is robust in different noise environments and SNR. The algorithm complexity low, the computational cost is small, real-time, easy to implement, so that the effectiveness and real-time dual meet.
Making Sense of Large-Group Discussion Using Automatically Generated RST-Based Explanations

With the advances in social media technology, it became possible to involve large group in deliberations. Online discussion environments, such as forums and argumentation maps websites, allow solutions to be outsourced and bred from the crowd. Nevertheless, as a discussion develops, making sense of its content represents a big challenge for newcomers, thus impairing their potential participation. We claim a rhetorically organized text, automatically generated, fosters understanding by guiding participants though the content within chronological, logical and social dimensions of a discussion. An empirical experiment supports our claim. The experiment involved three groups of 16 people whose task was to answer a questionnaire on reading comprehension of a previous debate presented in one of three formats: forum, argumentation map or rhetorically organized text. We discuss the reasons that might explain the results and the implications for the design of large groups’ interaction tools.
School based reproductive health education programmes and teenage pregnancy in Mtwara region, Tanzania

Teenage pregnancy is one of the complex health and development problems facing the world. In Tanzania, teenage pregnancy has been identified as one of the reasons for girls dropping out from school. The purpose of this study was to determine the contribution of school based reproductive health education programme on teenage pregnancy. The study adopted a cross-sectional exploratory design and was conducted in Mtwara District and Mtwara Municipality, Tanzania. Simple random sampling was used to select the participating schools from the Prevention and Awareness in schools of HIV and AIDs (PASHA) intervention schools and non-intervention schools. The respondents were randomly selected to participate in the study from four schools. Data were collected using a questionnaire, focus group discussions and key informant interviews. A total of 156 people participated in the study. Results from the study show that teenage pregnancy is a major problem in Mtwara. Attributing factors included poverty, culture, desire for money, lack of education on reproductive health issues, peer pressure and poor parental support. The study found that school based reproductive health education was effective in terms of knowledge creation. Results from the reproductive health test administered between intervention and non-intervention schools were significant (P ≤ 0.001). The study also found a significant difference at (P ≤ 0.001) between rural and urban non-intervention schools. The study therefore concludes that school based reproductive health education programmes are effective in knowledge dissemination among adolescent girls and recommends that comprehensive School based Reproductive Health Education programme (SBRHEP) be expanded in more schools.
Practising Co-production or Endorsing The Logic of Value Co-creation: How Marketers’ Legitimacy Seeking Influences Co-creation Adoption

While many papers have studied co-creation from the side of consumers, few research has been conducted from the side of organizations. In particular, the reasons why marketers are adopting co-creation are still unclear, as previous literature identified that those methods are not always beneficial to firms. Adopting an Institutionalist framework, and owing to 17 interviews with senior managers in FMCG industry, our research unveils the influence of tacit and cultural factors in co-creation adoption by managers. We show how professionals are navigating through three diverse “institutional logics” pervading the field of marketing, each leading to different a stance and practice of consumers’ collaboration. By identifying two distinct approaches – co-creation as a “camouflage” technique within marketing management paradigm vs co-creation as a logic aiming at empowering consumers our results underline the necessity to maintain a clear-cut distinction between two conceptualizing: collaborative practices, also called “co-production”, and value co-creation paradigm.
Brain Computer Interface Game Controlling Using Fast Fourier Transform and Learning Vector Quantization

Brain Computer Interface (BCI) is a direct communication pathways which enables our brain to real time control a robotic movement or a game, which uses EEG signal to capture information of a human mind. In this research, we developed an arcade game that are controlled by BCI. Player sat and used their imagination to move the object in the game, in this case, they moved up or down. To achieve that, a wireless EEG device was used to record electrical activity in the player’s brain; each action was segmented by two seconds per frame, and then extracted using Fast Fourier Transform. Continuously, the output was passed to Learning Vector Quantization networks to classify two different motor imagery-related brain patterns (imagination of limb movements: upward and downward). Before the game was used, we conducted training for ten people (subjects) with four repetitions of each thinking type. Then, it was tested with 10 other subjects in which resulted in 70% accuracy. The game was tested and then compared between the movement of the mouse and BCI of the same subject and great results were found in both conditions.
Brief report: Motivations for HIV testing among young men who have sex with men in Los Angeles County

ABSTRACT Despite current prevention efforts, HIV incidence continues to rise among young men who have sex with men (YMSM) in the United States. Identification of new infections through routine testing is an important first step in the HIV treatment cascade; behavioral assessment among those who test negative may prompt deployment of new biomedical prevention efforts. The present study interviewed 100 YMSM (mean age 25) in Los Angeles, California, with the goal of identifying and understanding HIV testing beliefs and behaviors. Analysis of responses to brief semistructured interviews was conducted using content analysis. Findings highlight high rates of testing (91% lifetime tested; 59% in past 6 months) but reveal a disconnect between HIV testing and risk assessment. Partnerships between academic institutions, community-based organizations, and individual practitioners may facilitate community-wide HIV testing complemented by biomedical interventions. Further exploration of YMSM’s attitudes toward HIV testing is warranted.
A reinforcement-learning approach to robot navigation

This paper presents a reinforcement-learning approach to a navigation system which allows a goal-directed mobile robot to incrementally adapt to an unknown environment. Fuzzy rules which map current sensory inputs to appropriate actions are built through the reinforcement learning. Simulation results illustrate the performance of the proposed navigation system. In this paper, ACSNFIS is used as the main network architecture to implement the reinforcement-learning based navigation system.
Moving beyond basics: from CALL coursework to classroom practice and professional development

This chapter addresses the issue of transfer from computer-assisted language learning (CALL) coursework to language teaching practice and teacher professional development. The study reported in this chapter specifically looks at and examines a formal CALL course offered as an optional course for postgraduate students at an Australian university. It employs surveys and follow-up interviews to investigate how language teachers, who had previously completed the CALL course, use CALL in their teaching situations and how they continue their professional development in CALL. The results of the study indicate that the teachers valued the CALL knowledge and skills they gained in the CALL course as the coursework opened their eyes to the potential of CALL in the classroom and the evaluation of CALL materials. The teachers expressed a desire for more knowledge on how best to integrate CALL as well as for further professional development and training in CALL. Findings enhance our understanding of the impact of CALL coursework on CALL practice in situated contexts and provide practical implications for language teacher education.
Grande messe des morts: Hector Berlioz's Romantic Interpretation of the Roman Catholic Requiem Tradition

Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) was commissioned by the French government in 1836 to compose a requiem mass for a state ceremony and to restore sacred music to a respected position in France. Berlioz envisioned a requiem that both continued the Roman Catholic requiem tradition and expanded it in context of the Romantic era and Kunstreligion. Berlioz conceived his Grande messe des morts (Requiem) as a “music drama,” in which the thirteenth-century Latin prose was used as secular poetry rather than an immutable sacred text. Berlioz’s Requiem is not religious in strict theological terms but relates more closely to what Frank Heidlberger calls an artistic statement of his “secular moral philosophy. ” Berlioz devised a first-person physiological narrative which presented the listener with a private emotional experience. He achieved this psychological journey, in part, through a Romantic interpretation: textual alterations, programmatic orchestration, and the innovative use of antiphonal brass orchestras. The text was freely edited and rearranged to produce a libretto-type program, which Edward Cone deems a “dramatic portrayal of an imaginary progress through this world and the next. ” Berlioz enhanced his interpretation by shifting from the traditional third-person perspective to the first-person. This adjustment required minimal changes to the text but maximum changes for the listener, who experienced a personal journey focused on the individual. I present a detailed textual analysis to shed light upon how Berlioz’s complex relationship with the Roman Catholic Church is reflected in the Requiem using the orchestration, scoring, structure, and literary connections to support my evidence. In what ways does Berlioz’s Requiem reveal connections to his religious and political views? How is his artistic and psychological interpretation presented in the changes to the text? To understand Berlioz’s conception of the text, I detail his experiences with the Church, childhood and adult life, and the political, social, and cultural influences of nineteenth-century France. This thesis will revisit the scholarship of Jacques Barzun, Peter Bloom, David Cairns, Edward Cone, Pierre Citron, Frank Heidlberger, and D. Kern Holoman in combination with my textual analysis and agnostic reading of the narrative to present a secular interpretation of the Requiem.
Collective Re-Excavation and Lost Media from the Last Century of British Prehistoric Studies

There are thousands of forgotten archaeological archives hidden away in repositories all over the world, lost worlds where many scholars have toiled away for years, trying to record every detail and bit of information available about rare and precious archaeological objects in an attempt to bring order and understanding to an almost incomprehensible past. This paper discusses how these archives can be approached through Huhtamo’s definition of media archaeology as a ‘historically-attuned enterprise’ that involves ‘excavating forgotten media-cultural phenomena’, focusing on the MicroPasts digitization project. It is shown that greater utilization of digital media simply changes and extends the terms of engagement, accessibility, and flow of information from antiquated archaeological archives to the community and back again.
The Local Role of Southern Tourism Plantations in Defining a Larger Southern Regional Identity as Reflected in Tourists’ Surveys*

ABSTRACT To what extent does local variation exist in the expressed interests of planta- tion museum tourists? While the study of plantation museums is of growing importance in the tourism literature, these existing studies have tended to focus on a single site or a single region. This study examines data collected at several southern plantations across multiple smaller areas in the U.S. Southeast. Specifically, we are curious about tourists’ interests in select topics, such as slavery and the role of women on the plantation, among others in three regions: River Road, Louisiana; Charleston, South Carolina; and James River, Virginia. We hypothesize that each region has absorbed different local identities and histories that constitute multiple Souths. Employing conditional inference trees on plantation museum tourist interest ratings and rankings, we find varying social representations by in these local communities, with interest in Enslaved playing an important role in the variation of these imaginings.