Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Glass Is Filling: An Examination of Employee Assistance Program Evaluations in the First Decade of the New Millennium

Five electronic databases were searched using the key words Employee Assistance, research, and evaluation for articles published from 2000 to 2009 along with a manual search of the two prominent journals in the Employee Assistance field. Forty-two evaluations were found that were categorized using Macdonald's structure into four groups: needs assessments (n = 2), program development (case study) (n = 21), outcome (n = 10), and process (n = 9). Although the majority of evaluations were conducted in the United States (n = 29), there was a distinct international component with studies from Australia (n = 1), Canada (n = 5), Israel (n = 1), Japan (n = 1), South Africa (n = 2), South Korea (n = 1), and the United Kingdom (n = 2) also being published during the first 10 years of the new millennium. Evaluations were conducted upon programs delivered across the entire helping continuum: by peers, professionals working for the organization, and external providers as well as joint internal-external service delivery models. A broad range of methodologies were employed that demonstrated in general that the Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) that were reviewed produced positive outcomes including saving organizations money as well as in producing positive change in those who sought counseling through their auspices. However, as well as describing new initiatives, program evolution, and offering insights into how specific programs could be further enhanced, broader themes were also examined such as who is and is not availing themselves of EAP services and the stigma that some still feel in seeking help through EAPs.
Improving Scalability with the Use of the Overlay Multicast Protocol (OMP)

Demands to increase network usage efficiency and scalability do exist. IP and overlay multicast provide multicasting services by enabling data to be sent to several recipients simultaneously over a network. Although MPLS, a high performance method for forwarding packets, has many benefits, implementation of multicast on MPLS still suffers from IP multicast limitations. This paper proposes the Overlay Multicast Protocol (OMP) in which the overlay approach is applied on MPLS networks to improve the scalability of multicasting. Comparisons of OMP with Protocol Independent Multicast-Sparse Mode and Protocol Independent Multicast-Source Specific Multicast are presented, showing improved scalability when using OMP.
Plasma Inflammation Markers of the Tumor Necrosis Factor Pathway but Not C-Reactive Protein Are Associated with Processed Meat and Unprocessed Red Meat Consumption in Bavarian Adults.

BACKGROUND High consumption of red and processed meats has been linked to higher chronic disease risk. It has been hypothesized that inflammation markers may mediate part of this association. Most previous studies on the association of red meat intake with circulating inflammation markers used C-reactive protein (CRP) but rarely other markers, and not all differentiated between processed meat and unprocessed red meat. OBJECTIVE We investigated the cross-sectional association of processed meat and unprocessed red meat consumption with plasma concentrations of CRP, interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, soluble TNF receptor (sTNF-R) 1, and sTNF-R2 in German adults. METHODS Inflammation markers were quantified in the plasma of 553 adults (233 men and 320 women) aged 18-80 y within the cross-sectional Bavarian Food Consumption Survey II. Dietary intake was estimated from three 24-h dietary recalls. The association between red meat consumption and inflammation markers was analyzed with the use of multivariable-adjusted linear regression. RESULTS Processed meat consumption was borderline significantly associated with higher IL-6 [relative difference per 50-g increment: 5% (95% CI: -1%, 10%)] but not with CRP (2%; 95% CI: -6%, 10%), and it was inversely associated with total TNF-α (-3%; 95% CI: -6%, -1%), sTNF-R1 (-3%; 95% CI: -4%, -1%), and sTNF-R2 (-2%; 95% CI: -4%, 0%) concentrations. Unprocessed red meat consumption was not associated with CRP (-5%; 95% CI: -15%, 5%) or IL-6 (-1%; 95% CI: -9%, 7%) but was inversely associated with sTNF-R1 (-3%; 95% CI: -5%, -1%) and sTNF-R2 (-4%; 95% CI: -7%, -2%). CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest an inverse association between both processed meat and unprocessed red meat with inflammation markers of the TNF pathway in Bavarian adults but no association with CRP. Further research on the role of TNF pathway markers in chronic inflammation is warranted.
Maternal Supplementation with Small-Quantity Lipid-Based Nutrient Supplements Compared with Multiple Micronutrients, but Not with Iron and Folic Acid, Reduces the Prevalence of Low Gestational Weight Gain in Semi-Urban Ghana: A Randomized Controlled Trial123

Background: It is unclear whether maternal supplementation with small-quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements (SQ-LNSs; 118 kcal/d) affects maternal weight. Objective: We compared several secondary anthropometric measures between 3 groups of women in the iLiNS (International Lipid-based Nutrient Supplements)-DYAD trial in Ghana. Methods: Women (n = 1320; <20 wk of gestation) were randomly assigned to receive 60 mg Fe + 400 μg folic acid/d (IFA), 18 vitamins and minerals/d [multiple micronutrients (MMNs)], or 20 g SQ-LNSs with 22 micronutrients/d (LNS) during pregnancy and a placebo (200 mg Ca/d), MMNs, or SQ-LNSs, respectively, for 6 mo postpartum. Weight, midupper arm circumference (MUAC), and triceps skinfold (TSF) thickness at 36 wk of gestation and 6 mo postpartum were analyzed, as were changes from estimated prepregnancy values. We assessed the adequacy of estimated gestational weight gain (GWG) by using Institute of Medicine (IOM) and International Fetal and Newborn Growth Standards for the 21st Century (INTERGROWTH-21st) guidelines. Results: The estimated prepregnancy prevalence of overweight or obesity was 38.5%. By 36 wk of gestation, women (n = 1015) had a mean ± SD weight gain of 7.4 ± 3.7 kg and changes of −1.0 ± 1.7 cm in MUAC and −2.8 ± 4.1 mm in TSF thickness. The LNS group had a lower prevalence of inadequate GWG on the basis of IOM guidelines (57.4%) than the MMN (67.2%) but not the IFA (63.1%) groups (P = 0.030), whereas the prevalence of adequate (26.9% overall) and excessive (10.4% overall) GWG did not differ by group. The percentages of normal-weight women (in kg/m2: 18.5 < body mass index < 25.0; n = 754) whose GWG was less than the third centile of the INTERGROWTH-21st standards were 23.0%, 28.7%, and 28.5% for the LNS, MMN, and IFA groups, respectively (P = 0.36). At 6 mo postpartum, the prevalence of overweight or obesity was 45.3%, and the risk of becoming overweight or obese did not differ by group. Conclusion: SQ-LNS supplementation is one potential strategy to address the high prevalence of inadequate GWG in women in settings similar to Ghana, without increasing the risk of excessive GWG. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00970866.
Physicians' acceptance of telemedicine technology: an empirical test of competing theories

The purpose of this study is to compare two theories of technology adoption, the technology acceptance model and the theory of planned behaviour, to explain and predict physicians' acceptance and use of the telehomecare technology. We administered a two-part survey to 40 physicians using telemedicine. We constructed two structural equation models to examine the association between perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, social norms, attitudes, perceived behavioural control, intentions, and actual use of telemedicine. The results of this study suggest that the theory of planned behaviour better explains physicians' actual use of telemedicine.
Supervised, edge adaptive maps

This paper describes a supervised, edge adaptive map. The map is defined similar to a SOM consisting of neurons connected by edges. In contradiction to a SOM it is not the positions of the neurons which are adapted, rather it is the distance between them. Thus, after the learning process the neurons represent a mapping of the input data while the neurons are soleley trained using the distances between the input data points. A supervised, edge adaptive map can be used to learn lower dimensional representations of high dimensional input data. Furthermore, it can be applied to determine the positions of landmarks when only the distances between the landmarks are known.
Promoting smoking cessation in pregnancy with Video Doctor plus provider cueing: a randomized trial

Objective. This study examined the use of a Video Doctor plus provider cueing to promote provider advice and smoking cessation outcomes in pregnancy. Design. A randomized clinical trial was conducted from 2006 to 2008. Setting. Five community prenatal clinics in the San Francisco Bay Area of the United States. Participants. A total of 410 pregnant patients completed screening for behavioral risks including tobacco use in the past 30 days. Pregnant smokers (n = 42) were randomized regardless of their intention to quit smoking. Methods. Participants were assigned to either usual care or intervention. Intervention participants received 15‐minute Video Doctor sessions plus provider cueing, at baseline and one month, prior to their routine prenatal visit. The Video Doctor delivered interactive tailored messages, an educational worksheet for participants, and a cueing sheet for providers. Main outcome measures. Receipt of advice from the provider and 30‐day smoking abstinence, both by self‐report. Results. Intervention participants were more likely to receive provider advice on tobacco use at both prenatal visits during the intervention period (60.9 vs. 15.8%, p = 0.003). The intervention yielded a significantly greater decrease in the number of days smoked and in cigarettes smoked per day. The 30‐day abstinence rate at two months post baseline was 2.5 times greater in the intervention group; the difference was not significant (26.1 vs. 10.5%, p = 0.12). Conclusions. The Video Doctor plus provider cueing is an efficacious adjunct to routine prenatal care by promoting provider advice and smoking reduction among pregnant smokers.
Foundation of an affective tutoring system: learning how human tutors adapt to student emotion

The developing field of Affective Tutoring Systems (ATSs) has created a need to understand how such tutoring systems should adapt to the emotional state of students. To this end, an observational study of human tutors was conducted to learn how human tutors adapt to the affective state of students. This knowledge can then be used to implement the tutoring strategies of an ATS and is hence a critical foundation in its development. This paper presents the methodology and results of this observational study of human tutors and looks ahead to the future development of an animated pedagogical agent capable of detecting, expressing and adapting to emotion.
MANOVA modelling of a chiropractic longitudinal study using multiple imputation

The purpose of this report is to present the detailed statistical analysis of a randomised, placebo-controlled trial comparing two different treatment modalities to an intervention of no known benefit for people with acute or subacute thoracic spine pain. The therapy arms consist of Spinal Manipulative Therapy (SMT) and Graston Technique (GT) and the placebo is a non-functional ultrasound. A placebo group was utilised because at present there are no proven treatments for non-specific thoracic pain. This trial is registered with the Australia and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry. Ethics approval has been granted by Murdoch University Human Research and Ethics Committee, number 2007/274. The aim of this three arm trial was to test the efficacy of SMT and GT as independent modalities compared to detuned ultrasound for the outcomes of pain and disability. The latter were measured using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and a modified Oswestry Back Pain Disability Index. The study was conducted at the Murdoch University Chiropractic student clinic in Perth, Australia, and the protocol published in Crothers et al (2008). In this report, Section 2 provides an initial exploratory analysis of the data, Section 3 outlines the statistical models used in the final analysis, Section 4 defines these models in mathematical terms, Section 5 discusses the management of missing values via multiple imputation and Section 6 presents the results of the statistical modelling and hypothesis tests. The clinical study will be published in full elsewhere.
A bistatic simulation approach for a high-resolution 3D PMD (Photonic Mixer Device)-camera

This paper presents a bistatic simulation approach for a high resolution 3D Photonic Mixer Device (PMD) camera. The developed simulator allows calculating the theoretical response of a PMD sensor for a given 3D scene, referenced an absolute coordinates, so that the output of the simulator is comparable to real PMD sensor data. Furthermore sensor parameters such as resolution, modulation frequency, fill factor, lens characteristics, sensor inclination and tilt, etc. can be easily modified by the user. Especially the modelling, simulation and generation of bistatic reference 3D data can be very helpful and in some applications indispensable for adaptive correction of bistatic deformation caused by spatially separated illuminator and receiver position.
Intelligent speed controller for a Switched Reluctance Motor drive using FPGA

In this paper, an FPGA-based digital speed control scheme is presented to overcome the drawbacks in the previous speed control schemes, proposed for Switched Reluctance Motor (SRM) drives. It is based on discrete control algorithm, and requires simple mathematical models. The real-time experimental results given in this paper show that the closed-loop speed control method proposed could provide accurate speed control upto 6.2 rpm depending on the needed operating speed range, with a step response settling time of 0.25-1.05 s. It can also perform accurately at different operating conditions and over a wide range of speeds. Complete descriptions of the experimental system along with FPGA implementation are presented.
Visual estimation of wheel sinkage for rough-terrain mobile robots

For mobile robots driving across natural terrains, it is critical that the dynamic effects occurring at the wheel-terrain interface be taken into account. One of the most prevalent of these effects is wheel sinkage. Wheels can sink to depths sufficient to prevent further motion, possibly leading to danger of entrapment. This paper presents an algorithm for visual estimation of sinkage. We call it the visual sinkage estimation (VSE) method. It assumes the presence of a monocular camera and an artificial pattern, attached to the wheel side, to determine the terrain contact angle. This paper also introduces an analytical model for wheel sinkage in deformable terrain based on terramechanics. To validate the VSE module, firstly, several tests are performed on a single-wheel test bed, under different operating conditions. Secondly, the effectiveness of the proposed approach is proved in real contexts, employing an all-terrain rover travelling on a sandy beach.
The Use of Massive Allografts in the Treatment of Knee Tumors

Over the past 32 years the authors have performed 548 cadaveric knee allografts, most often following resection of part or all of the distal femur or proximal tibia after marginal or wide resection of a malignant or aggressive connective tissue tumor. The success rate of these procedures varied with the type of graft inserted, the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society Stage of the tumor, and the allograft complications. The overall figure is 67% for patients followed for a mean time of 7 ± 6 years (ranging up to 27 years). Currently fewer allografts are being performed because of improved modular prostheses, but there are still some important indications for these devices, which, barring complications, are effective treatment of bone tumors about the knee.
The analysis of research fields of Chinese natural science fund based on text classification

This paper applies text classification to mining research proposals for Chinese natural science funds. By using vector-space model to represent the proposals, the centroid-based classification has been carried out. Then the change of category members is analysed through three variables defined to measure the stability, variability and overlapping of research fields, as the research field Management Science and Engineering is taken as a case study. The resulting figures give a direct representation of characteristics of research fields, which are helpful to find out the interrelationship of research fields and to adjust the field code system to reflect the real status more accurately.
Analysing the influence of headline news on the stock market in Japan

This research analysed the relationship between headlines in the news and the stock market in Japan through text mining technology. As a result of intensive analyses, we found a significant relationship between the stock index return changes and the negative or positive news classified by keywords. At the same time, we also found that the measure of constructing a keyword list has a significant impact on the performance of this classification.
Search algorithm for optimal execution of incident commander guidance in macro action planning

This paper presents a state space search algorithm that solves the optimal execution problem of incident commander's guidance during disaster emergency management. To achieve a joint goal, the IC should select the best choice, as an optimal strategic decision, from available alternatives in a definite time. A strategic decision coordinates/controls macro actions of a team of field units by constraining a subteam to a subgoal in sublocation in a time window; moreover a sequence of strategic decisions generates a macro action plan that defines howto reach the goal. Three results are achieved by running this algorithm for a scenario: 1 calculate an optimal macro action plan; 2 estimate a minimum total time to achieve a joint goal and 3 reason about the best choice. We applied our approach to develop an intelligent software system autonomous agent for assisting the human in crisis response to earthquake disaster.
Pathogenesis and immunogenicity of an avian H9N2 influenza virus isolated from human.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the pathogenesis and immunogenicity of H9N2 influenza virus A/Guangzhou/333/99 (a reassortant of G1 and G9 viruses isolated from a female patient in 1999) in a mouse model of infection. METHODS Mice were infected with increasing virus titers. Viral load in the lungs and trachea was determined by EID50 assay. Pulmonary histopathology was assessed by hematoxylin-eosin staining. Anti-HI antibody titers and T-cell responses to viral HA were determined by ELISPOT and confirmed by flow cytometry. RESULTS Mice presented a mild syndrome after intranasal infection with A/Guangzhou/333/99 (H9N2) influenza virus. Virus was detected in the trachea and lungs of mice harvested on days 3, 6, and 9 post-infection. A T-cell response to viral HA was detected on day 6 and H9 HA-specific CD(4+) T-cells predominated. Seroconversion was detected after 14 days and antibody persisted for at least 28 weeks. CONCLUSION Our results suggest that H9N2 (A/Guangzhou/333/99) can replicate in the murine respiratory tract without prior adaptation, and both humoral and cell-mediated immunity play an important role in the immune response.
An autonomous moving heuristic for mobile sink based on feasible sojourn regions to maximise network lifetime in wireless sensor networks

Most of the research in wireless sensor networks (WSN) concerns the maximisation of network lifetime by avoiding the formation of energy hole in the sink neighbourhood. The energy hole formation incurs heavy casualties on network lifetime which results in early failure of the entire network. This is because of the premature death of sensors in the sink’s immediate locality which can be postponed by exploiting sink mobility. In this work, first we have given an analytical formulation of the problem, a centralised approach. Second, a distributed and localised LED (load, energy and density) heuristic is proposed where an energy-wise region for the mobile sink to sojourn is decided based on a collective formula derived from load, energy and density profiles of a sensor and its neighbours. Extensive simulations in MATLAB reveals that the proposed method effectively increases the network lifetime by 300% over other conventional strategies thus creating uniform energy distribution and load balance among the nodes in the network. Finally, extensions to the heuristic are provided to further enhance network lifetime.
Thermo-mechanical degradation of composite restoration photoactivated by modulated methods—a SEM study of marginal and internal gap formation

Abstract Objective. To evaluate the influence of thermal-mechanical degradation on superficial and internal gap formation of composite restorations photoactivated using modulated methods. Materials and methods. An experimental composite was prepared using a resin matrix containing 65wt% Bis-GMA and 35wt% TEGDMA. Camphorquinone (0.5wt%) and dimethylaminoethyl-methacrylate (0.5wt%) were dissolved in the resin as a photo-initiator system and 65wt. % silanized glass fillers were added to the matrix. Ground buccal surfaces of bovine lower incisors were used to make 160 preparations (3 mm × 3 mm × 2 mm in depth). An adhesive system (Adper Single Bond 2) was applied and the specimens were assigned into 16 groups (n = 10), according to the photoactivation method [high intensity (HI), low intensity (LI), soft-start (SS) and pulse-delay (PD)] and the degradation protocol [(control/no degradation; thermal cycling (TC); mechanical loading (ML); thermo-mechanical loading (TC+ML)]. Marginal and internal interfaces of bonded restorations were replicated in epoxy resin and analyzed by SEM. Gaps were expressed as a percentage of the total length of the margins. Data were submitted to 2-way ANOVA and Tukey's test (α = 0.05). Results. For the control group no significance was noted among the photoactivation methods. TC had no effect in gap formation. ML and TC+ML increased the incidence of superficial gaps for both HI and SS groups as well as increased the internal gaps for all groups. Conclusion. Although photoactivation methods do not influence gap formation at first, composite restoration photoactivated by low intensity or modulated methods showed improved resistance to thermo-mechanical degradation. Mechanical loading is determinant for interfacial degradation of composite restorations, while thermal cycling has no effect on gap formation.