Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Summer learning experience for girls in grades 7--9 boosts confidence and interest in computing careers

Academic exposure to computer science, encouragement to study computer science, and connecting personal interests to computing areas influence women to pursue degrees in computer science. Guided by these recommendations, we designed and offered a summer learning experience for girls in grades 7--9 in summer 2016. The goal of the program was to improve girls' perceptions of learning computer science through academic exposure in the informal setting of a girls-only summer camp. In this paper we present a study of the girls' perceptions of CS learning. Four constructs were used to develop pre- and post-survey items: computing confidence, intent to persist, social supports, and computing outcomes expectations. The camp appeared to have positively influenced the girls on two of the four constructs, by improving computing confidence and positive perceptions of computing careers.
Nasal odorant metabolism: enzymes, activity and function in olfaction

Abstract The nasal tissues have the main consecutive roles of moistening and heating the air entering the respiratory tract and detecting odor via the activation of olfactory receptors in the neuro-olfactory epithelium. Initially, nasal toxicology was investigated to better assess the risk of nasal injuries caused by environmental toxicants or their active metabolites. Later, the characterization of the nasal toxicological barrier was a research concern for the purposes of intranasal drug delivery. Both fields allowed for an increase in our knowledge of the nasal xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes and transporters that are highly expressed in this tissue. In addition to airborne toxicants or drugs, the main substrates for these proteins are natural volatiles known as odorants that emanate from our daily environment (food, perfume, plants, materials, congeners, etc.). Accordingly, another emerging field of interest has been developed that aims to understand the function of odorant-metabolizing enzymes (OMEs) in olfaction. Early in this field of research, OMEs were suspected to participate in the clearance of odorants from the receptor environment to avoid their saturation and thus maintain the sensitivity of neuronal detection. Other roles of OMEs that could significantly modulate olfaction were also considered, such as the involvement of odorant primary metabolites in the olfactory response. By combining enzymatic, physiological and sensory experimental approaches, recent advances have markedly improved our understanding of the contributions of OMEs to the olfactory process. This review combines recent data from the literature regarding nasal OME identification, localization, and activity and highlights the function of OMEs in olfaction.
Shaping Ability of ProTaper Universal, ProTaper NEXT and WaveOne Primary in Severely Curved Resin Blocks.

AIM Complex anatomy of roots requires endodontic rotary instruments that respect and follow that anatomy. The purpose of this study was to compare the shaping ability of three engine-driven nickel-titanium instruments in severely curved simulated canals. MATERIALS AND METHODS Forty-eight severely curved simulated canals in resin blocks were prepared to an apical size of 25 using the following systems (n = 16 per group): ProTaper Universal (PTU), ProTaper NEXT (PTN), and WaveOne Primary (WO) (all Dentsply Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland). Composite images were made from the superimposition of pre- and post-instrumentation images. The amount of resin removed by each system was measured by using a digital template and image analysis software. Shaping ability of each system was compared using different parameters: total resin removal, centering ability, canal transportation in the apical, middle and coronal third of canal. Preparation times were also recorded. The data were statistically analyzed by using analysis of variance, paired t-test, and Tukey's post hoc test. RESULTS Canals prepared with PTN were better centered in the apical part than those prepared with WO and PTU (p < 0.05). WO removed significantly more resin at the outer aspect of the maximum point of curvature. WO and PTU caused similar canal transportations at 7 points out of 11 measuring points. At measuring points 3, 4, and 5 WO caused more canal straightening than PTU. Instrumentation with PTU required more time than with the two other instruments (p <0.05). No preparation error or instrument separation occurred. CONCLUSION In the apical part of the canals PTN obtained the best results with regard to canal transportation. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE All of the rotary instruments were safe in preparing severely curved canals and PTN showed better preparation of apical part of the canal.
Dispositional factors, perceived social support and happiness among prison inmates in Nigeria: A new look

This study contributed to happiness literature by exploring the extent to which the big five personality (extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness to experience), emotional intelligence, and social support predict happiness among less explored sample such as prison inmates in Nigeria. The study also investigated whether perceived social support will predict happiness beyond and above dispositional factors after demographic variables such as age, gender, and religion were controlled for. Two hundred and fifty one (251) prison inmates randomly selected from 3 prisons in three South-western States in Nigeria participated in the study. Data were collected by Oxford happiness questionnaires, Big Five Personality Inventory, Self-report Emotional Intelligence Test, and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support and were analysed using hierarchical multiple regression analysis. Results showed that extraversion, neuroticism, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness, emotional intelligence, and perceived social support collectively and relatively contributed to prison inmates’ level of happiness. Moreover, social support predicted happiness above and beyond big five personality and emotional intelligence. The results were discussed in line with past findings. Practical implications of the findings were also highlighted.
Milnor's invariants and self $C_{k}$-equivalence

It has long been known that a Milnor invariant with no repeated index is an invariant of link homotopy. We show that Milnor invariants with repeated indices are invariants not only of isotopy, but also of self Ck-equivalence. Here self C k -equivalence is a natural generalization of link homotopy based on certain degree k clasper surgeries, which provides a filtration of link homotopy classes.
Isolated nocturnal and isolated daytime hypertension associate with altered cardiovascular morphology and function in children with chronic kidney disease: findings from the Cardiovascular Comorbidity in Children with Chronic Kidney Disease study.

INTRODUCTION Prevalence of isolated nocturnal hypertension (INH) and isolated daytime hypertension (IDH) is around 10% in adults. Data in children, especially in chronic kidney disease (CKD), are lacking. The aim of this cross-sectional multicenter cohort study was to define the prevalence of INH and IDH and its association with cardiovascular morphology and function, that is, pulse wave velocity (PWV), carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), or left ventricular mass index (LVMI) in children with CKD. METHODS Ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring profiles were analyzed in 456 children with CKD stages III-V participating in the Cardiovascular Comorbidity in Children with Chronic Kidney Disease Study (64.3% males, 71.3% congenital anomaly of the kidney and urinary tract, age 12.5 ± 3.2 years, estimated glomerular filtration rate 29 ± 12 ml/min per 1.73 m). Baseline PWV, cIMT, and LVMI were compared in normotension, INH, IDH, or sustained 24-h hypertension. RESULTS Prevalence of sustained hypertension was 18.4%, of INH 13.4%, and of IDH 3.7%. PWV SDS (SD score) and cIMT SDS were significantly higher in sustained hypertension and INH, and PWV SDS was significantly higher in IDH, compared with normotension. LVMI was significantly increased in sustained hypertension, but not in INH or IDH. Determinants of INH were smallness for gestational age, older age, higher height SDS and parathyroid hormone, and shorter duration of CKD. In logistic regression analysis, day/night-time hypertension or ambulatory BP monitoring pattern (normal, INH, IDH, sustained hypertension) were independently associated with cardiovascular outcome measures: elevated night-time BP was associated with increased cIMT, PWV, and left ventricular hypertrophy; INH was associated with cIMT. CONCLUSION INH is present in almost one out of seven children with predialysis CKD; INH and nocturnal hypertension in general are associated with alterations of arterial morphology and function.
Improved protein identification using a species-specific protein/peptide database derived from expressed sequence tags

The use of peptide mass fingerprinting data obtained by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry in conjunction with protein database searching is a fast, high-throughput method that is widely used to identify proteins in a proteome. The success of a search is limited, however, by the number of proteins represented in the database. When the fully sequenced genome of an organism is not available, cross-species databases are usually used, which can compromise the reliability of the results. Databases containing expressed sequence tag sequences are available and are potentially invaluable resources for proteomic studies. For the study reported herein, we developed a proteomic approach that incorporates a species-specific protein/peptide database constructed from expressed sequence tag sequences, and we validated this approach by accurately retrieving proteins from this database that matched, on the basis of the masses of their in silico-generated tryptic peptides, experimentally isolated proteins derived from a wheat stem proteome. We also compared the results obtained using the wheat database with those obtained using the same peptide mass fingerprints and a cross-species protein database search. Given the reliability of the results and the improved scoring obtained with the wheat database study in comparison with the cross-species database study, species-specific databases derived from expressed sequence tags may replace cross-species databases for proteomic studies involving organisms for which a completely sequenced genome is unavailable.
Cognitive Profile, Emotional-Behavioral Features, and Parental Stress in Boys With 47,XYY Syndrome

Objective: To describe (a) the observed cognitive, emotional, and behavioral phenotype in a cohort of male children with 47,XYY syndrome and (b) stress levels in their parents. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional observational study of 11 boys diagnosed with 47,XYY syndrome and compared them with 11 age-matched boys with normal karyotype (46,XY). The participants performed standardized assessments of cognitive function, emotional state, and behavioral features; the parents completed a questionnaire evaluating parental stress. All data were analyzed using parametric and nonparametric statistical methods. Results: All of the boys exhibited a normal cognitive profile. However, emotional-behavioral profiling revealed that internalizing and externalizing problems were more prevalent in the 47,XYY group. In addition, the stress levels of the parents of the 47,XYY group were reportedly higher than those of the parents of the 46,XY group. We also found that the time of the diagnosis had an effect on the mothers’ stress levels; that is, postnatal fetal 47,XYY diagnosis was associated with higher maternal stress, whereas prenatal fetal 47,XYY diagnosis was not. Conclusions: Generally, 47,XYY syndrome is associated with certain cognitive, emotional, and behavioral features. High stress levels have been reported by the mothers of 47,XYY boys who had been diagnosed postnatally because of unexpected developmental delay and/or learning difficulties. The present study highlights the need to better define the neuropsychiatric phenotype of 47,XYY children; namely, the effect of the chromosomal abnormality on their cognitive function and emotional-behavioral (internalizing and externalizing) features. This study could improve prenatal counseling and pediatric surveillance.
Surface plasmons and effects of losses in propagating modes in a chain of silver nanoparticles

In this work a chain of 4000 silver nanoparticles embedded in a glass medium is considered, and its leftmost particle is excited by an electric field pulse of Gaussian shape. Considering Drude’s model, losses of the system are taken into account by γ factor, which stands for the Ohmic losses, and different quantities, such as frequencies of excited modes and group velocities are calculated. Besides, these results are compared to those obtained from the dispersion relation of an infinite chain. The increase of losses affects the lifetime and propagation length of the plasmon; besides, although the response dispersion relation for an infinite chain seems to remain invariable, this is not the case for a finite chain. The mismatches are bigger for higher losses. Furthermore, plasmon propagation velocities are analysed, and an explanation for the mismatch of longitudinal modes close to the intersection point with the dispersion of light is suggested. Finally, some concepts to treat this problem from the energy transport point of view are introduced.
Factors other than medical acuity that influence hospitalisation: a scoping review protocol

Introduction There is evidence that patients are admitted to the hospital with low-acuity medical issues, though delineation of the underlying factors has not been comprehensively explored. This scoping review will provide an overview of the existing literature regarding factors outside of acute medical illness that influence hospitalisation of adults. The review will also seek to provide a review of common language and definitions used in the research on this phenomenon. Methods and analysis The scoping review framework, outlined by Arksey and O’Malley and expanded on by Levac et al, will be used as the basis for this study. A systematic search of seven databases (PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO, EMBASE, Web of Science, Sociological Abstracts and Social Science Abstracts) will be conducted to identify existing literature followed by a standardised two-phase, two-reviewer process to select relevant papers for inclusion. Relevant studies will investigate adult non-psychiatric hospital admission plus at least one additional factor unrelated to medical acuity. Details of the work will be extracted, including the terminology used and perspectives included. An assessment of methodological quality will be performed using a tool designed for mixed-methods systematic review. Ethics and dissemination The scoping review protocol delineates a transparent and rigorous review process, the results of which will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication and presentation at relevant local or national meetings. The study does not require ethics approval as the data will be accumulated through the review of published, peer-reviewed literature and grey literature.
Armoured exogenous internal control for real-time PCR diagnosis of avian influenza

ABSTRACT An exogenous “armoured” PCR internal control (IC) short RNA was analyzed in conjunction with real-time RT-PCR method for diagnosis of avian influenza. The resistance to nucleases and increased physical stability of the IC was ensured using branched polyethyleneimine (PEI) which was in complex with IC-RNA. The option to add the IC directly to pathological material suspensions allows measurement of the nucleic acids extraction efficiency. Stability of armoured RNA-IC during storage and tissue suspension preparation was shown. The advantage of exogenous “armoured” IC was demonstrated in the experiment with AIV genome detection by qPCR in samples from different species of wild birds. The exogenous IC gave reproducible homogeneous Ct values in all tests.
Validation of Radar Image Tracking Algorithms with Simulated Data

Collision avoidance is one of the high‐level safety objectives and requires a complete and reliable description of the maritime traffic situation. The radar is specified by the IMO as the primary sensor for collision avoidance. In this paper we study the performance of multi‐target tracking based on radar imagery to refine the maritime traffic situation awareness. In order to achieve this we simulate synthetic radar images and evaluate the tracking performance of different Bayesian multi‐target trackers (MTTs), such as particle and JPDA filters. For the simulated tracks, the target state estimates in position, speed and course over ground will be compared to the reference data. The performance of the MTTs will be assessed via the OSPA metric by comparing the estimated multi‐object state vector to the reference. This approach allows a fair performance analysis of different tracking algorithms based on radar images for a simulated maritime scenario.
A Novel Grey Game-Theoretic Model for Intrusion Detection in Vehicular Ad Hoc Network

Ensuring security plays a significant role in main- taining the stable operation of vehicular ad hoc network (VANET). Actually, it's impracticable to evaluate the precise value of packets' transmission success rate within a short time due to the uncertainty of environmental information collected. To reduce the influence of these errors on detection scheme, we develop the two-person zero-sum classical game into a two- person zero-sum intrusion detection grey game for formulating the confrontation behavior between intrusion detection system (IDS) and malicious node. Finally, we introduce an implement- ation architecture of our intrusion detection scheme and illustrate the feasibility of our model by simulation. Simulation results reflect some properties of our model, which conclude that IDS can resist malicious attacks more effectively through modifying some parameters.
A 1.25-GHz 0.35-μm monolithic CMOS PLL based on a multiphase ring oscillator

A general ring oscillator topology for multiphase outputs is presented and analyzed. The topology uses the interpolating inverter stages to construct fast subfeedback loops for long chain rings to obtain both multiphase outputs and higher speed operation. There exists an optimum number of inverter stages inside a subfeedback loop which gives the highest oscillation frequency. A fully integrated 1.25-GHz 0.35-/spl mu/m CMOS phase-locked-loop clock generator that incorporates the proposed voltage-controlled oscillator topology was designed and implemented for a data transceiver. It provides eight-phase outputs and achieves RMS tracking jitter of 11 ps from a 3.3-V power supply.
A dissertation submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy NEW APPROACHES TO OPTIMAL FILTER DESIGN

The filtering problem is a particular case of the so-called generalized estimation problem, whose aim is to infer, at each time instant, the value assumed by an internal signal of a dynamic system, driven by both known and unknown inputs, using past and possibly current samples of the known inputs and the available outputs. Most of the existent available filter design techniques assume the availability of a mathematical model of the dynamic system generating the data. However, in many practical applications, this assumption does not hold and, typically, a two-step procedure is followed, where a model of the system is identified from experimental data and then a filter is designed on the basis of this model. In this Ph.D. Thesis new approaches to filter design are investigated. First, an approach to filter design for Linear Time-Varying (LTV) systems is presented, for the case of norm bounded disturbances, the optimal filter is selected within the set of all Finite Impulse Response (FIR) systems with fixed length and assigned exponential decay. Then, a novel approach to filter design when the system under study is (partially) unknown is presented. This approach uses the available experimental data, not for the identification of a model of the system dynamics, but for the direct design of the filter. The filter design from data procedure is investigated in different contexts, for linear time invariant (LTI) and linear parameter-varying (LPV) systems. A Set Membership formulation is followed and, for classes of filters with exponentially decaying impulse response, approximating sets are determined that guarantee to contain all the solutions to the optimal filtering problem. Methods are proposed for designing almost-optimal filters with finite impulse response, whose worst-case filtering error is at most twice the lowest achievable one. In the case of LTI H-infinity SISO filters, an efficient technique is derived, able to provide convergent bounds on the guaranteed worst-case estimation error of the designed filter. In the case of LPV systems, nonlinear identification techniques are used to approximate the optimal filter and the resulting filter is shown to be optimal. Numerical examples, taken from literature and automotive applications, illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed solutions.
Musculoskeletal Ultrasound in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Systematic Literature Review by the Lupus Task Force of the OMERACT Ultrasound Working Group

Objective. To identify and synthesize the best available evidence on the application of musculoskeletal (MSK) ultrasound (US) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and to present the measurement properties of US in different elementary lesions and pathologies. Methods. A systematic literature search of PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library was performed. Original articles were included that were published in English between August 1, 2014, and December 31, 2018, reporting US, Doppler, synovitis, joint effusion, bone erosion, tenosynovitis, and enthesitis in patients with SLE. Data extraction focused on the definition and quantification of US-detected synovitis, joint effusion, bone erosion, tenosynovitis, enthesitis, and the measurement properties of US according to the OMERACT Filter 2.1 instruments selection. Results. Of the 143 identified articles, 15 were included. Most articles were cross-sectional studies (14/15, 93%). The majority of the studies used the OMERACT definitions for ultrasonographic pathology. Regarding the measurement properties of US in different elementary lesions and pathologies, all studies dealt with face validity, content validity, and feasibility. Most studies achieved construct validity. Concerning the reliability of image reading, 1 study (1/15, 7%) assessed both intraobserver and interobserver reliability. For image acquisition, 4 studies (4/15, 27%) evaluated interobserver reliability and none had evaluated intraobserver reliability. Criterion validity was assessed in 1 study (1/15, 7%). Responsiveness was not considered in any of the studies. Conclusion. This literature review demonstrates the need for further research and validation work to define the involvement of US as an outcome measurement instrument for the MSK manifestations in patients with SLE.