Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Detecting Predeath Grief in Family Caregivers of Persons With Dementia: Validity and Utility of the Marwit-Meuser Caregiver Grief Inventory in a Multiethnic Asian Population

Abstract Background and Objectives Coping with predeath grief (PDG) is an unmet need in caregivers of persons with dementia (PWD). The Marwit-Meuser Caregiver Grief Inventory (MM-CGI) and its abbreviated MM-CGI-Short-Form (MM-CGI-SF) are among the few empirically developed scales that detect PDG, yet they have not been substantially validated outside United States. We evaluated the reliability and validity of the PDG scales in a multiethnic Asian population distinct from that of United States. Research Design and Methods Family caregivers of community-dwelling PWD (n = 300) completed self-administered questionnaires containing MM-CGI and other scales of related construct. Sixty percent of the participants repeated the questionnaires 1 week later for test-retest reliability. Internal-consistency reliability was assessed by Cronbach’s α, test-retest reliability by intraclass-correlation-coefficient, construct validity by Spearman’s correlation-coefficient, and factorial validity by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Cohen’s κ was used to compare the agreement between MM-CGI and a commonly-used caregiver burden scale (Zarit Burden Interview). Results MM-CGI and MM-CGI-SF demonstrated internal-consistency reliability, test-retest reliability, construct validity, and known-group validity. In CFA, MM-CGI showed modest model-fit (comparative-fit-index, CFI = .80; Tucker-Lewis-index, TLI = .79), whereas MM-CGI-SF showed better model-fit (CFI = .91; TLI = .90). Eighty-six percent of the caregivers reported average or high levels of PDG, with 18% reporting high PDG. High scores in the caregiver burden scale only showed modest agreement with high scores in MM-CGI (κ = .47). Discussion and Implications MM-CGI and MM-CGI-SF demonstrated adequate psychometric properties and utility, beyond that of a caregiver burden scale, in detecting high PDG in a multiethnic Asian population. They open the way for PDG intervention in clinical care, as well as further exploration in caregiver research.
Decay resistance of laminated veneer lumbers from European oaks.

Natural durability of oaks depends mainly on the concentration of ellagotannins and some other polyphenols. Durability of oak-composite products (plywood, particleboard, laminated veneer lumber, etc.) is influenced also by the characteristics of wooden particles, e.g. their dimensions, hydrothermal pre-treatments, portion and localization of sapwood and heartwood particles in the composite structure, further by the applied glues, waxes and other additives, and by the pressing processes (temperature, time, pressure, etc.). In this work, decay resistance of the hydrothermal treated oaks and the Laminated Veneer Lumbers (LVL-s) prepared under various experimental conditions from European oaks Quercus pedunculata and Quercus sessiliflora was analysed. Mycological tests, by modified standard EN 113 using wood-destroying fungi Coniophora puteana and Trametes versicolor, shoved that the decay resistance of massive oaks and LVL-s was not influenced by the type of hydrothermal treatments or by the oak species. On the other hand, resistance of LVL-s against rot was significantly influenced by the zone of oak wood (poor from sapwood, better from medium heartwood, and good from young or old heartwood), respectively individually also by the veneer’s thickness (1, 2 or 3 mm) and the type of glue (melamine-urea-formaldehyde, phenolresorcinol-formaldehyde, polyurethane or PRF-tannin).
Validation and Comparison of Accelerometers Worn on the Hip, Thigh, and Wrists for Measuring Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior

Background Recent evidence suggests that physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior (SB) exert independent effects on health. Therefore, measurement methods that can accurately assess both constructs are needed. Objective To compare the accuracy of accelerometers placed on the hip, thigh, and wrists, coupled with machine learning models, for measurement of PA intensity category (SB, light-intensity PA [LPA], and moderate- to vigorous-intensity PA [MVPA]) and breaks in SB. Methods Forty young adults (21 female; age 22.0 ± 4.2 years) participated in a 90-minute semi-structured protocol, performing 13 activities (three sedentary, 10 non-sedentary) for 3–10 minutes each. Participants chose activity order, duration, and intensity. Direct observation (DO) was used as a criterion measure of PA intensity category, and transitions from SB to a non-sedentary activity were breaks in SB. Participants wore four accelerometers (right hip, right thigh, and both wrists), and a machine learning model was created for each accelerometer to predict PA intensity category. Sensitivity and specificity for PA intensity category classification were calculated and compared across accelerometers using repeated measures analysis of variance, and the number of breaks in SB was compared using repeated measures analysis of variance. Results Sensitivity and specificity values for the thigh-worn accelerometer were higher than for wrist- or hip-worn accelerometers, > 99% for all PA intensity categories. Sensitivity and specificity for the hip-worn accelerometer were 87–95% and 93–97%. The left wrist-worn accelerometer had sensitivities and specificities of > 97% for SB and LPA and 91–95% for MVPA, whereas the right wrist-worn accelerometer had sensitivities and specificities of 93–99% for SB and LPA but 67–84% for MVPA. The thigh-worn accelerometer had high accuracy for breaks in SB; all other accelerometers overestimated breaks in SB. Conclusion Coupled with machine learning modeling, the thigh-worn accelerometer should be considered when objectively assessing PA and SB.
MODELING CONCORD GRAPES WITH "VITISIM", A SIMPLIFIED CARBON BALANCE MODEL: UNDERSTANDING PRUNING EFFECTS

A simplified grape carbon balance model, called VitiSim, was adapted from the simplified apple carbon balance model developed earlier. The model uses a daily time step, a big-leaf daily canopy photosynthesis light response and respiration of organs based on mass and specific respiration rates. Weather inputs are only daily max and min temperatures and radiation. Partitioning is based on the balance of total supply to total demand with relative sink strength partitioning coefficients if the carbon supply is less than total demand. Root growth and respiration and berry set submodel have been initially developed and are being tested. Validation studies indicate that simulated total dry matter production and seasonal dry matter patterns are very realistic in behavior and amount. Seasonal dynamics of simulated carbon supply to demand suggests that the period of greatest carbon deficit is around or shortly after bloom. The period of greatest positive carbon balance appears to be just before veraison when the canopy is complete, but the crop growth is slow. The model is used to simulate the seasonal variation of carbon supply to demand in minimally and balance pruned Concord vines. In field experiments minimally-pruned vines had more stable year-to-year yields, yet could not ripen any more crop than balance-pruned vines. Simulations suggest that earlier and more rapid completion of canopy development of the minimally-pruned vines gave more positive carbon supply during the early fruit set and flower bud development period. However, later during ripening, the carbon supply was no better.
High-Speed and Area-Efficient Reconfigurable Multiplexer Bank for RAM-Based Finite State Machine Implementations

This work is focused on the problem of designing efficient reconfigurable multiplexer banks for RAM-based implementations of reconfigurable state machines. We propose a new architecture (called combination-based reconfigurable multiplexer bank, CRMUX) that use multiplexers simpler than that of the state-of-the-art architecture (called variation-based reconfigurable multiplexer bank, VRMUX). The performance (in terms of speed, area and reconfiguration cost) of both architectures is compared. Experimental results from MCNC finite state machine (FSM) benchmarks show that CRMUX is faster and more area-efficient than VRMUX. The reconfiguration cost of both multiplexer banks is studied using a behavioral model of a reconfigurable state machine. The results show that the reconfiguration cost of CRMUX is lower than that of VRMUX in most cases.
The APHID parallel αβ search algorithm

This paper introduces the APHID (Asynchronous Parallel Hierarchical Iterative Deepening) game-tree search algorithm. APHID represents a departure from the approaches used in practice. Instead of parallelism based on the minimal search tree, APHID uses a truncated gametree and all of the leaves of that tree are searched in parallel. APHID has been programmed as an easy to implement, game-independent library, and has been tested on several game-playing programs. Results for an Othello program are presented here. The algorithmyields good parallel performance on a network of workstations, without using a shared transposition table.
Performance and cavitation characteristics of bi-directional hydrofoils

PERFORMANCE AND CAVITATION CHARACTERISTICS OF BI-DIRECTIONAL HYDROFOILS by Ivaylo Nedyalkov University of New Hampshire, May, 2015 Hydrofoils have a wide range of applications – from hydro-power generation to marine propulsion. Bi-directional hydrofoils have (comparatively) identical performance when operating in both directions of reversing flows. A typical application of such foils is tidal current power generation; where by using bi-directional blades the need for aligning the rotor (yaw) or blades (pitch) of the turbines to account for the changing flow direction is eliminated. This leads to lower initial, and more importantly, maintenance costs. A numerical test-bed was developed for studying bi-directional hydrofoils, and foils in general. The test-bed generates all necessary files for flow simulations in OpenFOAM, an open-source Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) framework. These include files for geometry, mesh, boundary conditions, simulation parameters, and codes for automatic postprocessing of the data. In the interest of shorter simulation times for studying a wide range of foils, the turbulence model used in the present study was k−ω SST. However, the test-bed can be set up to utilize (almost) any feature of OpenFOAM, including a variety of turbulence models. Mesh convergence studies were performed for three reference foils (NACA 0015, NACA 63-424, and a bi-directional version of the NACA 63-424 – NACA 63-424B); then 3D numerical data for the foils were compared to experimental results obtained for the same flow configurations. Eleven classes of bi-directional foils were developed and by varying geometric parameters, approximately 700 new foils were designed and studied numerically. Based on
The Theory of Colour-Vision

In 1889 I put forward the theory that light perception and colour perception were quite distinct and were distinguished by different cells in the brain, and that colour-blindness was a defect in the evolution of colour perception. This theory enabled me to predict a large number of new facts, and with my experience as special examiner and adviser to the Board of Trade on colour vision and eyesight for fourteen years, with the very fine apparatus in my laboratory, no fact has been discovered which is not in agreement with the theory.
Liquid crystalline polymers under shear

The rheological behaviour of main-chain thermotropic liquid crystalline polymers (LCPs) have been studied extensively as a result of their versatility as moulding compounds. In-situ microscopic observations of complex fluids under shear has proved to be a very convenient technique because such methods are an ideal tool to establish the connection between rheology, morphology and microstructure of polymeric materials under controlled shear and thermal histories. The present study focuses on an in-situ WAXS study on main-chain aromatic thermotropic copolyesters, subjected to steady-shear flow. In order to gain more insight in the underlying mechanisms of flow, several parameters are varied. They include shear rate, temperature and molecular mass. We find different flow behaviour in thermotropic random copolyesters. Depending on the strain rate, temperature and molecular mass the molecular director will display orientation either orthogonal (log-rolling) or parallel (flow-aligning) to the flow direction. It is believed that regions of local register between chain sequences present in the melt phase, and therefore, forming smectic-like entities, is the factor which stabilises the log-rolling mode.
Analysis of DNA Methylation in Young People: Limited Evidence for an Association Between Victimization Stress and Epigenetic Variation in Blood.

OBJECTIVE DNA methylation has been proposed as an epigenetic mechanism by which early-life experiences become "embedded" in the genome and alter transcriptional processes to compromise health. The authors sought to investigate whether early-life victimization stress is associated with genome-wide DNA methylation. METHOD The authors tested the hypothesis that victimization is associated with DNA methylation in the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Study, a nationally representative 1994-1995 birth cohort of 2,232 twins born in England and Wales and assessed at ages 5, 7, 10, 12, and 18 years. Multiple forms of victimization were ascertained in childhood and adolescence (including physical, sexual, and emotional abuse; neglect; exposure to intimate-partner violence; bullying; cyber-victimization; and crime). RESULTS Epigenome-wide analyses of polyvictimization across childhood and adolescence revealed few significant associations with DNA methylation in peripheral blood at age 18, but these analyses were confounded by tobacco smoking and/or did not survive co-twin control tests. Secondary analyses of specific forms of victimization revealed sparse associations with DNA methylation that did not replicate across different operationalizations of the same putative victimization experience. Hypothesis-driven analyses of six candidate genes in the stress response (NR3C1, FKBP5, BDNF, AVP, CRHR1, SLC6A4) did not reveal predicted associations with DNA methylation in probes annotated to these genes. CONCLUSIONS Findings from this epidemiological analysis of the epigenetic effects of early-life stress do not support the hypothesis of robust changes in DNA methylation in victimized young people. We need to come to terms with the possibility that epigenetic epidemiology is not yet well matched to experimental, nonhuman models in uncovering the biological embedding of stress.
Pregabalin Rectifies Aberrant Brain Chemistry, Connectivity, and Functional Response in Chronic Pain Patients

Background:Chronic pain remains a significant challenge for modern health care as its pathologic mechanisms are largely unknown and preclinical animal models suffer from limitations in assessing this complex subjective experience. However, human brain neuroimaging techniques enable the assessment of functional and neurochemical alterations in patients experiencing chronic pain and how these factors may dynamically change with pharmacologic treatment. Methods:To identify the clinical action of pregabalin, a proven analgesic, the authors performed three complementary brain neuroimaging procedures: (proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy, functional magnetic resonance imaging, and functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging) in 17 chronic pain patients diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Results:The authors found that pregabalin but not placebo reduces combined glutamate + glutamine levels within the posterior insula (pregabalin P = 0.016; placebo P = 0.71). Interestingly, reductions in clinical pain were associated with reductions in brain connectivity of this structure to brain regions within the default mode network during pregabalin (r = 0.82; P = 0.001) but not placebo (r = −0.13; P = 0.63). Response of default mode network regions to experimental pain was also reduced with pregabalin (P = 0.018) but not placebo (P = 0.182). Perhaps most importantly, baseline values for all three neuroimaging markers predicted subsequent analgesic response to pregabalin but not placebo. Conclusions:The results of this study suggest that pregabalin works in part by reducing insular glutamatergic activity, leading to a reduction of the increased functional connectivity seen between brain regions in chronic pain states. The study also supports a role for human brain imaging in the development, assessment, and personalized use of central-acting analgesics.
Improving diagnosis, prognosis and prediction by using biomarkers in CRC patients

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is among the most common cancers. In fact, it is placed in the third place among the most diagnosed cancer in men, after lung and prostate cancer, and in the second one for the most diagnosed cancer in women, following breast cancer. Moreover, its high mortality rates classifies it among the leading causes of cancer-related death worldwide. Thus, in order to help clinicians to optimize their practice, it is crucial to introduce more effective tools that will improve not only early diagnosis, but also prediction of the most likely progression of the disease and response to chemotherapy. In that way, they will be able to decrease both morbidity and mortality of their patients. In accordance with that, colon cancer research has described numerous biomarkers for diagnostic, prognostic and predictive purposes that either alone or as part of a panel would help improve patient's clinical management. This review aims to describe the most accepted biomarkers among those proposed for use in CRC divided based on the clinical specimen that is examined (tissue, faeces or blood) along with their restrictions. Lastly, new insight in CRC monitoring will be discussed presenting promising emerging biomarkers (telomerase activity, telomere length and micronuclei frequency).
Qlusty: Quick and Dirty Generation of Event Videos from Written Media Coverage

Qlusty generates videos describing the coverage of the same event by diﬀerent news out-lets automatically. Throughout four modules it identiﬁes events, de-duplicates notes, ranks according to coverage, and queries for images to generate an overview video. In this manuscript we present our preliminary models, including quantitative evaluations of the former two and a qualitative analysis of the latter two. The results show the potential for achieving our main aim: contributing in breaking the information bubble, so common in the current news landscape.
Microscopical and Chemical Study of Cannabis sativa

Now a day’s cannabis is enormously using as for the drug abuse in India including other developing countries. The plant Cannabis sativa is also known as marijuana, presents unique issues in our justice system, not the least of which is its identification both by law enforcement officers as well as Forensic Crime Laboratories. Present work is aimed for identification of that biological evidence of Cannabis plant, which can enhance the suitability of identification. Comprehensive studies of both chemical and morphological methods have led investigators to conclude that the two approaches are complementary [1]. In this morphological study was performed by using trinoccular biological research microscope while chemical study by colour/spot tests and Thin Layer Chromatography due to its ease of availability and handling. A combination of the two provides experienced analysts with a very reliable means for identifying Cannabis fragments. If any of the residue/fragments of Cannabis plant found at the crime scene, a Forensic Analyst (investigator) can adopt any of the identification technique as suitable as for their reliability [2]. Some of the researchers have been already qualified these types of techniques but present study included the anatomy of root, stem, with their visual feature followed by chemical and instrumental techniques which can provide accuracy of identification.
Estimating the off resonance thermal noise in mirrors, Fabry-Perot interferometers, and delay lines: The Half infinite mirror with uniform loss

We present an analysis comparing the thermal noise in Fabry-Perot and delay-line interferometers with half-infinite mirrors. With a center to center spot spacing of at least twice the Gaussian beam spot size a delay line produces significantly less phase noise than a comparable Fabry-Perot interferometer for the case of half infinite mirrors at frequencies where test mass thermal noise usually dominates. When the delay-line spots overlap substantially the delay-line produces approximately the same noise as the Fabry-Perot interferometer. For a single bounce these results agree with those based on the method of Levin.
Performance comparison of space shift keying MIMO techniques for visible light communication

We compare various space shift keying multiple input multiple output (SSK-MIMO) techniques such as generalized space shift keying (GSSK), hamming code aided space shift keying (HSSK) and variable generalized space shift keying (VGSSK) for visible light communication (VLC) system. In addition, we analyze the bit error rate (BER) performance of these schemes for channels with different correlations. The BER expressions of these schemes are analytically approximated and used for the performance comparison. The suitability of VGSSK-MIMO for VLC is justified by its performance gain obtained over the other better performing SSK-MIMO systems. From the simulations, it is observed that the performance gain of 1 dB is achievable steadily under both high and less correlated channels for 3 bit/s/Hz by VGSSK over HSSK.
Development of road sign recognition for ADAS using OpenCV

Real time Road sign recognition technology of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) provide necessary information and instructions to help the driver to drive safely. Road sign recognition is the technology of driver assistance system which interprets the signs to the driver. Recognition is dependent on the combination of detection and classification. Among the various available methods the most efficient one is chosen. Thus detection of region of interest is performed by using Histogram of oriented gradient and classification by using support vector machine. Training data is generated from our own database. This paper represents a study to recognize road signs using OpenCv techniques. This is implemented in visual studio and ported on NVIDIA's TK1 platform. The experimental results shows good performance for recognition of ideogram based signs with an average speed of 25 frames per second having accuracy up to 94%.
Spectrographic Analysis of Animal Tissues.

IN NATURE of April 20, 1929 (123, p. 601), one of us (H. R.) described a method of spectrographic analysis of mineral and organic substances and pointed out the value of the method for biological purposes. Since then we have undertaken a survey of the animal kingdom with the purpose of detecting and analysing quantitatively those of the less common elements contained in protoplasm and its products which can be investigated by this method.