Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Biofeedback for Cognitive and Motor Deficits: A Case Report

Purpose: Clinicians often find it challenging to choose the best intervention for individuals with severe cognitive disability. Biofeedback may be an intervention to consider with this population. The purpose of this case report was to describe two motor responses obtained with biofeedback. Method: The participant was a 19 year old male with cerebral palsy, who was functioning at level V of the Gross Motor Function Classification System. Physical therapy sessions occurred weekly with biofeedback and a mechanical toy. The participant’s motor responses were measured by: (1) time holding the seated position and (2) number of upper extremity reaches. Results: When the biofeedback was used, the mean sitting time was 71.1 seconds and the mean number of reaches was 10.3. When the toy was used, the means were 38.8 seconds and . 92 reaches respectively. Conclusion: There were positive motor responses found with the use of biofeedback; significant for the number of reaches, warranting further investigation.
Pharmacognostical phytochemical and anti-ulcer activity of Andrographis echioides (Acanthaceae)

The present studies to determine the antiulcer activity of the ethanol extract from the leaves of Andrographis echioides. The preliminary phytochemical investigation showed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenoids, tannins, cardiac glycosides, gums and phytosteroids. The pharmacological and acute toxicity studies of ethanol extract were performed by following, OECD-423 guidelines (Acute toxic class method). No mortality or acute toxicity was observed (3 days) up to 2000 mg/kg of body weight. The phytoconstituents like flavonoids, tannins and terpenoids, have been reported in several anti-ulcer literatures as possible gastroprotective agents. Flavonoids, tannins and triterpenes are among the cytoprotective active materials for which antiulcerogenic efficacy has been extensively confirmed [1] The ethanol extract of Andrographis echioides showed the presence flavonoids and their glycosides, tannins and triterpenoids. These phytoconstituents present in the extract could be the possible agents involved in the prevention of gastric lesions induced by pylorus ligation. Andrographis echioides showed a dose dependent curative ratio compared to ulcer control groups. The extracts exhibited an inhibition percentage of 26.50 and 53.06 at doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg doses respectively. The ulcer protective action of extracts at 400 mg/kg was good to that of standard drugs, Ranitidine, which exhibited an inhibition percentage of 77.50.
Analysis of intention toward halal products: an empirical study of young consumers

The purpose of this paper is to determine the intention of consumer in choosing halal products, particularly for food products. The three main elements in the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) consisting of attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control is connected to the intention to consume halal products, particularly halal food. This study refers to the two studies both in the Malaysian context. This is a survey-based research. It used a questionnaire for collecting the data taken from 151 active students of Faculty of Economics and Business in Unpad who participated as the respondents in this research. The data were analysed using a descriptive statistics, correlation, chi-square. and multiple regression. The findings show that the three main elements have a significance effect on the intention. This study is unique since it was conducted in Indonesia’s context and the results is slightly different from the findings of the previous one.
Emotional Intelligence , Emotional Self-regulation and Dispositional Mindfulness in High School Gifted Students

The aim of current investigation was to study the relationship among emotional intelligence, mindfulness and emotional self-regulation in high school gifted students. in line with the objectives of the study, using sectional method 144 gifted students (77male and 67 female) of gifted schools were selected in random sampling method. They were asked to fill Bar-On EQ-i, FFMQ, and Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SRQ) Data were analyzed using chi square, t-test, and Pearson‟s moment correlation and multivariate regression statistical tests. chi square tests revealed that the two studied male and female gifted students have no significant difference in the demographic variables. Moreover results of the t-test indicated that the two groups have significant difference in emotional intelligence. Results of stepwise regression indicated that variables of acting with awareness and no reaction from mindfulness variable explains about 17% of emotional self-regulation variance. Moreover, the components of problem solution and optimism about emotional intelligence explain 38% 2 HESHMATI, AHMADKHANLO of emotional self-regulation. According to the results, it can be concluded that from components of mindfulness, acting with awareness and no mental reaction and from components of emotional intelligence, problem solution and optimism play a major role in emotional self-regulation of the gifted students. Hence it seems necessary to pay much attention to the role of such components in emotional self-regulation and decreasing negative emotions of such students.
Large Scale Carbon Dioxide Release: Short-Cut Analytical Modelling and Application

Large Scale Carbon Dioxide Release: Short-Cut Analytical Modelling and Application Emilio Palazzi, Erika Lunghi, Andrea P. Reverberi, Bruno Fabiano DICCA Civil, Chemical and Environmental Engineering Department Polytechnic School, University of Genoa, via Opera Pia 15, 16145 Genoa, Italy DCCI –Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry Dept.– Genoa University, via Dodecaneso 31, 16146 Genoa, Italy. brown@unige.it
Climatology in Asian dust activation and transport based on MISR 
satellite observations and trajectory analysis

Abstract. Asian dust, primarily emitted from the Taklamakan and Gobi Deserts, has been reported to reach remote destinations, such as North America. However, the relative contribution of the Taklamakan and Gobi Deserts to dust loadings through long-range transport remains unaddressed in any observational study. Here, the climatology of Asian dust activation and transport is investigated using stereo observations of dust sources from the Multiangle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument combined with observation-initiated trajectory modeling. MISR-derived dust injection height and dust plume motion vectors confirm the peak of dust activation and transport potential in spring over the Gobi Desert and in both spring and summer over the Taklamakan Desert. The long-range transport patterns of Asian dust, including the influence on North America through trans-Pacific transport, are assessed using extensive forward trajectories initiated by MISR dust plume observations. The trajectory analysis reveals latitude-dependent influence of dust from the Taklamakan and Gobi deserts, with Taklamakan dust dominantly affecting to the south of 50° N and Gobi dust primarily affecting to the north of 50° N in North America. The Asian dust activation and transport exhibit substantial seasonal and interannual variability, motivating future studies on the potential drivers.
Prevalence of Depression/Anxiety among Medicare Beneficiaries with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Association with Acute Exacerbations

Objective: To assess the association of exacerbations with depression/anxiety among Medicare beneficiaries with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Methods: A prevalent cohort of Medicare beneficiaries aged 65+ with COPD (chronic bronchitis, emphysema, bronchiectasis, chronic airway obstruction) was constructed from a 5% sample of Medicare beneficiaries. Existence of depression/anxiety was identified via healthcare services or prescription drug claims. Baseline characteristics were assessed (1/1/2006-6/31/2006) and patients followed from first depression/anxiety claim until 12/31/2007 for all-cause and respiratory-related healthcare cost and utilization. Prevalence estimates of co-occurring COPD and depression/ anxiety were approximated. The occurrence and frequency of moderate (outpatient encounter with an oral corticosteroid and/or an antibiotic claim, or COPD-related emergency department visit) or severe (COPD-related hospital admission) COPD exacerbation was compared between patients with and without comorbid depression/anxiety using binary logistic and negative binomial regression models, respectively. Results: 137,275 subjects met inclusion criteria. Depression/ anxiety was present in 45% (61,900). After controlling for sex, age, region, race, Charlson comorbidity score, use of COPDrelated medications, and moderate and severe exacerbations in the baseline period, enrollees with depression/anxiety were 54% more likely to have a moderate COPD exacerbation (OR 1.54, 95% CI 1.42-1.67) and 82% more likely to have a severe COPD exacerbation (OR 1.82, 95% CI 1.54-2.16). Conclusion: Over half of Medicare beneficiaries with COPD also have depression/anxiety. Depression/anxiety is associated with a greater likelihood of COPD exacerbations. More attention to the co-existence and management of depression/anxiety among COPD patients may help reduce the occurrence and frequency of COPD exacerbations. Future research should explore the impact of managing depression/anxiety on reducing COPD exacerbations.
Developing Strategic Capability Through Business Intelligence Applications

Company performance can be measured at all levels across an organization, and in the German healthcare industry, business intelligence systems play a crucial role in achieving this. For one major health insurance company (discussed here as an alias – AK Healthcare), the deployment of business intelligence applications has supported sustained growth in turnover and market share in the past five years. In this chapter, these tools are classified within an appropriate conceptual framework which encompasses the organization's information infrastructure and associated processes. Different components of the framework are identified and examples are given: systems infrastructure, data provision/access control, the BI tools and technologies, report generation, and information users. The use and integration of business intelligence tools in the strategy development process is then analyzed, and the key functions and features of these tools for strategic capability development are discussed. Research findings encompass system access, report characteristics, and end-users' capabilities.
Determination of the Occurrence and Elimination of Endocrine Disrupting Compounds (EDCs) in Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTP)

In recent years, many research and development activities have focussed on endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) in rivers, lakes and surface waters as the potential cause of reproductive disturbances in different aquatic organisms e.g. fish and mollusk. The effluent of wastewater treatment plants was identified as main source for EDCs entering the aquatic environment. The purpose of the present study was to determine the estrogenic activity of wastewater and the elimination efficiency of various WWTPs in the different purification steps using the E-screen assay, an in-vitro test system based on the increasing proliferation of human breast cancer cells (MCF-7) in response to the presence of hormonal active substances. In contrast to expensive and time-intensive targeted instrumental single substance analysis an effect-related biological testing provides a sum parameter for the entirety of compounds contributing to the total estrogenic activity (agonists and antagonists, anti-estrogenic and also toxic compounds) in concentration units of the reference substance 17b-estradiol. The current standard purification methods of biological wastewater treatment in particular the activated sludge process significantly reduce estrogenicity (average 95%). Sorption on activated carbon and subsequent precipitation leads to a further reduction of the overall estrogenic activity up to 99%.
Generational Differences and Job Satisfaction in University Library Professionals, Sri Lanka

This paper discusses findings of a study that has been launched to identify the level of job satisfaction of library professionals by generational cohorts. The aim of this study is to evaluate the level of job satisfaction among three generations (i.e. Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y) of the professional staff of the university libraries of Sri Lanka in terms of five job satisfaction parameters namely; work, coworkers, compensation, promotion and supervision. The population of the current study consisted of 125 library professionals of 15 universities under University Grants Commission in Sri Lanka. A semi structured questionnaire was used as the main data collection instrument. The results of the study indicated that there are some differences and similarities of job satisfaction of university library professionals in perceptions associated with three generations. There is a significant difference of job satisfaction in perception of both "work" and "supervision" among three generations. Guidelines have been developed to enhance the level of job satisfaction of university library professionals. Job satisfaction of library professionals is essential and a fundamental determinant of the development and organization of the service.
Resilience abilities of urban squares: A study in Istanbul’s peripheral districts

Urban open public spaces have a special significance in terms of resilience in cities. They work as extra room to move (Walker et al. 2004) in any case of environmental variability, such as flood, earthquake, etc. Resilience is also related with diversity, which refers to the degree of capacity for a system to adopt to a wide range of different and sometimes unpredictable circumstances (ibid). In urban morphology studies, diversity is measured by the variety of land-use, block sizes, and density. This study focuses on resilience abilities of four peripheral “urban squares” in Istanbul, Turkey. These areas have retained their peripheral characteristics yet at the same time served as sub-centers for the surrounding regions. Is it possible to calculate resilience ability by morphological and space syntax analyses? Do landuse patterns affect resilience? Are there any associations between diversity in landuse and user behaviors and cognitions related to that urban public open space (spending more time, using frequently, etc.)? The paper defines two variables to measure resilience in context of urban morphology: diversity and connectivity. The methodology applied in the study then includes a synthesis of three types of expertise: 1) behavioral mapping of areas (through the analysis of patterns of use based on direct observation), 2) cognitive evaluation of spaces based on perceived factors (through user questionnaires), and 3) quantifying urban public spaces objectively (through the methodology of space syntax). The results identify associations between objective characteristics of public spaces designed at the peripheral districts, patterns of use and users’ perception of these areas.
Are Twitter Users Equal in Predicting Elections? A Study of User Groups in Predicting 2012 U.S. Republican Primaries

Existing studies on predicting election results are under the assumption that all the users should be treated equally. However, recent work [14] shows that social media users from diﬀerent groups (e.g., “silent majority” vs. “vocal minority”) have signiﬁcant diﬀerences in the generated content and tweeting behavior. The eﬀect of these diﬀerences on predicting election results has not been exploited yet. In this paper, we study the spectrum of Twitter users who participate in the on-line discussion of 2012 U.S. Republican Presidential Primaries, and examine the predictive power of diﬀerent user groups (e.g., highly engaged users vs. lowly engaged users, right-leaning users vs. left-leaning users) against Super Tuesday primaries in 10 states. Speciﬁcally, we characterize users across four dimensions, including three dimensions of user participation measured by tweet-based properties (engagement degree, tweet mode, and content type) and one dimension of users’ political preference. We study diﬀerent groups of users in each dimension and compare them on the task of electoral prediction. The insights gained in this study can shed light on improving the social media based prediction from the user sampling perspective and more.
The Writing-Pal tutoring system: Development and design

Writing-Pal is an intelligent tutoring system designed to offer high school students writing strategy instruction and guided practice to improve their essay-writing skills. Students are taught to use writing strategies via interactive lessons, games, and essay-writing practice. This paper presents an overview of Writing-Pal’s foundations and design, which are based on key pedagogical and educational-technology, and design principles. These considerations are important for the efficacy of the system, as well as its stability and portability in diverse settings, such as the laboratory, classroom, or students’ homes. We expect this paper to be of interest to educational developers, as well as other developers who may face similar goals and challenges. Key words: Writing-pal, writing strategy training, architecture, design, intelligent tutoring system, essay-writing skills, vicarious learning, pedagogy, strategy instruction
The 'Jorani Project': Incorporating Principles of Sustainable Rural Development into the Education System of Cambodia

An illustrated children's book "Jorani and the Green Vegetable Bugs" has been published in Khmer language to teach children and teachers in rural areas about integrated pest management (IPM) in upland crops and the positive impacts on the environment and human health in Cambodia. The project involves introducing the Jorani Project to school directors and teachers; development of a teacher guide; implementation in schools; and celebration and public launch. Further books in the series are planned to teach the benefits of other sustainable land management practices. The project targets five primary schools in northwestern Cambodia in the district of Samlout in Battambang Province where the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation (MJP), in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS) is working to strengthen primary education for all school-aged boys and girls. The potential to achieve the stated agricultural extension and primary education objectives will be evaluated after completion of the pilot project. Social network analysis will be used to test the effectiveness of the proposed learning environment model. Depending on the findings, a Life Skills framework for rural primary schools will presented to the MoEYS for endorsement and roll-out to primary schools in other Districts and Provinces in Cambodia.
Insight in sight : studying insight and the effects of giving hints on insight

There are many ways to solve a problem. A unique way is insightful problem solving when the solution promptly comes into your mind. It is interesting to take a look inside one's brain to understand more about this intriguing phenomenon, particularly since brain responses appear to signal insight before subjects report it. The electroencephalogram of 20 participants was recorded during a verbal insight task. In part of the trials different types of hints were provided. The analyses of the EEG-data revealed more brain activity related to breaking one’s mental impasse without providing the subjects with a hint and more activity related to the subjective aha-experience when no hint was given. The results suggest that giving a hint during insightful problem solving has an advantage when people can not proceed in solving a problem. On the other hand the actual experience of insight weakens when a hint is provided.
The OSOAD Methodology for Open Complex Agent Systems

Open complex agent systems (OCAS) are middle-size or large-scale open agent organization. To engineer OCAS, agentcentric organization-oriented analysis, design and implementation, namely organization-oriented methodology (OOM), has emerged as a highly promising direction. A number of OOM-related approaches have been proposed; while there are some intrinsic issues hidden in them. For instance, some fundamental system attributes, such as system dynamics, are not covered by almost all of the existing approaches. In this paper, we summarize our investigation of existing approaches, and report a new OOM approach called OSOAD. The OSOAD approach consists of organizational abstraction (OA), organization-oriented analysis (OOA), agent service-oriented design (ASOD), and Java agent service-based implementation. OSOAD provides complete and deployable mechanisms for all software engineering phases. Specifically, we notice the transition supports from OA to OOA and ASOD. This approach has been built and deployed with the practical development of agent service -based financial trading and mining applications.
Atomic entanglement versus visibility of photon interference for quantum criticality of a hybrid system

We use the two-atom concurrence and the visibility of interference fringes of photons to characterize a quantum phase transition for a hybrid system consisting of an array of coupled cavities and each cavity doped with a two-level atom. We compare them with the total excitation number fluctuation. Analytical and numerical simulation results show quantum critical phenomena similar to the Mott insulator to superfluid transition. Here, the contour lines of the atomic concurrence, the visibility of interference fringes of photons, and the excitation number fluctuation in the phase diagram are consistent in the vicinity of the nonanalytic locus of the atomic concurrence.
PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF LEARNING AND CLASSIFICATION ALGORITHMS

There are different learning and classification algorithms that are used to learn patterns and categorize data according to the frequency and relationship between attributes in a given dataset. The desired result has always been higher accuracy in predicting future values or events from the given dataset. These algorithms are crucial in the field of knowledge discovery and data mining and have been extensively researched and improved for accuracy. In this paper we first review the literature survey of the common learning algorithms. Then, we analyse and compare common and popular learning algorithms like Neural Net and SVM. Classifying algorithms like Naive Bayes, BFT, Decision Stump have also been compared. The analysis has been made on the basis of precision and accuracy in prediction and classification of data. The comparison helps us know the performance of these algorithms under certain conditions.
Prediction of Freeway Incident Duration based on Classification Tree Analysis

How to provide accurate travel time under incidents is one of the most important premises for highway safety management. Although there was an increase in the studies of predicting incident duration recently, predicting incident duration accurately is currently still a challenging technology due to the quality of incident dataset. Additionally, the previous studies still have some limitations for empirical implication, such as pre-defined function form and strict statistical assumptions. This study employed the huge incident data, recorded accurately from Taiwan freeway systems, to develop predicting incident duration model without the disadvantages of traditional statistical techniques. The analysis results represented that the most two important variables are number of large-sized vehicles and incident type, and provided decision rules to predict incident duration. Therefore, the motorists will avoid traffic jam by changing travel route while the traffic management organization makes decisions timely to mitigate traffic congestion and clear the incident effectively.