Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Exploring the Social Experience of Adults on the Autism Spectrum: Views on Friendships, Dating and Partnerships

This article reports on the social and intimate relationships of autistic adults. The results describe both negative and positive experiences, as well as possible insights into how their communities can be more inclusive and provide better social opportunities specific to this population. The methodology for this study includes both quantitative and qualitative data and utilizes participatory action techniques. The purpose of the research is to provide an opportunity for autistic adults to discuss their social experiences and aspirations, as much of the existing research on this topic comes from parents, family members, professionals and service providers, yet rarely from the individuals themselves. This study attempts to address this disparity by focusing on the perspectives of autistic people – by sharing their stories and by including the participants in the research process itself.
Improved and Opportunistic Interference Alignment Schemes for Multi-Cell Interference Channels

We study precoder optimization gains and multiuser diversity gains with interference alignment in a two-cell wireless network. In this paper, we propose algorithms to improve the achievable sum rate by optimizing alignment directions. The proposed iterative algorithm can provide a substantial gain in the achievable rate while it requires only a few iterations. In addition, we investigate interference alignment to exploit multiuser diversity gains. A new criterion of user selection scheduling is proposed. This user selection can be done independently in different cells. Therefore, both the searching space and the information exchanged between base stations are significantly reduced compared to joint user scheduling over two cells.
R ESPONSABILIDADE SOCIAL EMPRESARIAL NO CAMPO DAS CORRETORAS DE SEGUROS BRASILEIRAS

Tendo por tema a Responsabilidade Social Empresarial (RSE), este estudo foi desenvolvido no segmento brasileiro de corretagem de seguros que representa significativo papel na economia do pais. Para o referencial teorico, sao utilizados como parâmetro os Indicadores do Instituto Ethos de Empresas e Responsabilidade Social (ETHOS, 2007), sendo este um dos organismos que incentivam as praticas de responsabilidade social com maior visibilidade no pais e no exterior. O objetivo da pesquisa e investigar o estagio de desenvolvimento das praticas de responsabilidade social no âmbito das corretoras de seguros, pertinentes aos indicadores relacionados aos temas Valores, Transparencia e Governanca e Publico Interno, que constituem parte do grupo de sete temas que compoem o questionario do Instituto Ethos. Visa a pesquisa, portanto, mensurar em que nivel se encontram tais acoes. O recorte feito no rol dos sete temas disponiveis reflete a relevância dos dois temas e de seus respectivos subtemas para o campo em foco, dada a conectividade que ambos tem em relacao a atividade desenvolvida pelas organizacoes.
Neural control of locomotion

Locomotion is a particularly richly studied but frustrating aspect of biology. Much is known about individual components of the process, but there is no general hypothesis for how it works. Vertebrate locomotion is distinguished from invertebrate locomotion by the conjunction of two features. The skeletal movements are complex but they are usually regular, repeating sequences (see Hildebrand page 766 this issue), and most of the organisms are massive enough that the amount of energy and force invested in moving the whole animal constitutes a significant percentage of its metabolic economy and is a significant determinant of the details of its body plan (see Biewener page 776 this issue). At the phenomenological level, we have good descriptions of the movements and even the mechanics involved in walking, swimming, and flying. At reductionistic and comparative levels, we have catalogued and differentiated the properties of skeletons (see Gordon page 784 this issue), muscles (see Weeks page 791 this issue), and sensory and motor neurons. We even know that the critical
Biological Activity of Nerve Growth Factor Precursor Is Dependent upon Relative Levels of Its Receptors*

Nerve growth factor (NGF) is produced as a precursor called pro-nerve growth factor (proNGF), which is secreted by many tissues and is the predominant form of NGF in the central nervous system. In Alzheimer disease brain, cholinergic neurons degenerate and can no longer transport NGF as efficiently, leading to an increase in untransported NGF in the target tissue. The protein that accumulates in the target tissue is proNGF, not the mature form. The role of this precursor is controversial, and both neurotrophic and apoptotic activities have been reported for recombinant proNGFs. Differences in the protein structures, protein expression systems, methods used for protein purification, and methods used for bioassay may affect the activity of these proteins. Here, we show that proNGF is neurotrophic regardless of mutations or tags, and no matter how it is purified or in which system it is expressed. However, although proNGF is neurotrophic under our assay conditions for primary sympathetic neurons and for pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells, it is apoptotic for unprimed PC12 cells when they are deprived of serum. The ratio of tropomyosin-related kinase A to p75 neurotrophin receptor is low in unprimed PC12 cells compared with primed PC12 cells and sympathetic neurons, altering the balance of proNGF-induced signaling to favor apoptosis. We conclude that the relative level of proNGF receptors determines whether this precursor exhibits neurotrophic or apoptotic activity.
Guest Editorial: Colour in a Larger Perspective: The Rebirth of Gestalt Psychology

This overview takes the reader from the classical contrast and assimilation studies of the past to today's colour research, in a broad sense, with its renewed emphasis on the phenomenological qualities of visual perception. It shows how the shift in paradigm from local to global effects in single-unit recordings prompted a reappraisal of appearance in visual experiments, not just in colour, but in the perception of motion, texture, and depth as well. Gestalt ideas placed in the context of modern concepts are shown to inspire psychophysicists, neurophysiologists, and computational vision scientists alike. Feedforward, horizontal interactions, and feedback are discussed as potential neuronal mechanisms to account for phenomena such as uniform surfaces, filling-in, and grouping arising from processes beyond the classical receptive field. A look forward towards future developments in the field of figure–ground segregation (Gestalt formation) concludes the article.
Magneto-Optic Effects and Enhancement Methods

The magneto-optic (MO) effects, including Faraday Effect and magneto-optic Kerr Effect (MOKE), are widely used in many applications, such as imaging of magnetic domains, MOKE magnetometer, optical isolator and circulator. However, since the MO quality factor Q, which determines the strength of MO effect, is quite small for bare magnetic materials, great efforts have been devoted to improve the MO effects. In this work, we briefly summarize several methods that have been proposed by researchers to improve the MO performance, and also come up with our own designs, based on their methods, to enhance the MO effects.
3DRC: a novel technique in evaluating stakeholders project views

In recent years there has been a growth in size and complexity of the projects managed by public or private organizations. This leads to increased probability of project failures, frequently due to the difficulty and the ability to achieve the objectives such as on-time delivery, cost containment, expected quality achievement. In particular, one of the most common causes of project failure is the very high degree of uncertainty that affects the expected performance of the project, especially when different stakeholders with divergent aims and goals are involved in the project. In this paper we present a new visualization technique, called 3DRC, that addresses the prevention and proactive handling of the potential controversies among project stakeholders. The approach is based on the 3D radar charts, to allow easier and more immediate analysis and management of the project views giving a contribution in reducing the project uncertainty and, consequently, the risk of project failure.
Study on multi-attribute group decision making under the information of linguistic fuzzy numbers

The problem of multi-attribute group decision making with the attribute values are given in the forms of linguistic fuzzy numbers, is studied. First of all, a scale of the linguistic assessments is defined, and the corresponding representation of trapezoidal fuzzy numbers are given, then a new TOWA operator is presented to aggregate the trapezoidal fuzzy numbers. Furthermore, a new method is presented for the problems of fuzzy multi-attribute group decision maldng based on the TOWA operator and projection method. Finally, a decision making example is given to demonstrate the feasibility and effectivity of this new method.
On the difficulty of improving hand-crafted rules in chat-oriented dialogue systems

In this work, we explore the difficulty of improving hand-crafted rules in chat-oriented dialogue systems. We first created an initial rule set in artificial intelligence markup language and revised it through an iterative cycle. Then, we tested the initial and revised rule sets by using human participants. The dialogue experiment showed that, despite the intensive revision process, the overall performance had little improvement. We investigated the errors made by the systems with each of the two rule sets, leading to the conclusion that it is the tracking of the context and the coverage of questions that are hindering the improvement of hand-crafted rules.
Optimizing Replenishment Intervals for Two-Echelon Distribution Systems with Fixed Order Costs

We consider a periodic-review inventory system with one warehouse and N non-identical retailers. Each location has a positive lead time and orders according to a base-stock policy in fixed time interval. A fixed cost is incurred for each inventory reorder. The warehouse fills the retailers’ orders in the same sequence as the original demand. The objective is to minimize the long-run average system cost per period. This paper provides an approach to obtain the optimal base-stock levels and reorder intervals. Specifically, for fixed reorder intervals, we show that the optimal base-stock levels can be obtained by generalizing a result in the literature. To find the optimal reorder intervals, we propose a complete enumeration on feasible solutions. The feasible region is determined based on two analytical results: (1) We decouple the total system cost into each stage and construct a lower bound on the decoupled stage cost; (2) we construct a lower bound on the total system cost by converting the distribution system into a single-location model with the original problem data. These stage and system lower bounds together generate bounds for the optimal reorder intervals. Since the computation of the optimal reorder intervals is quite extensive, we further suggest a simple heuristic by solving a set of serial systems. The heuristic appears to be near-optimal in the tested problems. The primary findings from a numerical study are that the optimal reorder intervals tend to follow integer-ratio relations and that the optimal reorder interval of the warehouse is no less than the minimum of the optimal reorder intervals of the retailers.
Displacement and Wage Effects of Welfare Reform

An improved paper feed arrangement wherein a low vertical profile is attained through utilizing trained driven belts for picking paper from a hopper, and wherein picking reliability is enhanced both by the broad-expanse area contact offered by such belts, and by a unique coefficient to friction differential area downstream from a hopper wherein inadvertently plural picked paper sheets are easily separated.
MACHS: An authoring tool to create serious games for machine-tool operator training

In this paper, we present the project MACHS, a platform for the generation of serious games, i.e. courses in 3D environments for machine-tool training. The platform consists of two applications: an easy-to-use authoring tool for editing the courses and a 3D simulator for running them. In this paper, we describe the features and the functionalities of each part of the platform. We also describe the structure of the XML files designed for the storage of the information about courses, machines, cameras, interaction, etc. and how we use them to link the editor and the simulator.
Rapid assessment of avoidable blindness and needs assessment of cataract surgical services in Satkhira District, Bangladesh

Aims: To estimate the magnitude and causes of blindness in people aged ⩾50 years in Satkhira district, Bangladesh, and to assess the availability of cataract surgical services. Methods: 106 clusters of 50 people aged ⩾50 years were selected by probability-proportionate to size sampling. Households were selected by compact segment sampling. Eligible participants had their visual acuity measured. Those with visual acuity <6/18 were examined by an ophthalmologist. A needs assessment of surgical services was conducted by interviewing service providers. Results: 4868 people were examined (response rate 91.9%). The prevalence of bilateral blindness was 2.9% (95% confidence interval (CI) 2.4% to 3.5%), that of severe visual impairment was 1.6% (95% CI 1.2% to 2.0%) and that of visual impairment was 8.4% (95% CI 7.5% to 9.3%). 79% of bilateral blindness was due to cataract. The cataract surgical coverage was moderate; 61% of people with bilateral cataract blindness (visual acuity <3/60) had undergone surgery. 20% of the 213 eyes that had undergone cataract surgery had a best-corrected poor outcome (visual acuity <6/60). The cataract surgical rate (CSR) in Satkhira was 547 cataract surgeries per million people per year. Conclusions: Although the prevalence of blindness and visual impairment was lower than expected, the CSR is inadequate to meet the existing need, and the quality of surgery needs to be improved.
Evidence of unexpected oxidative stress in airways of adolescents born very pre-term

Prematurity and its main respiratory complication, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), are potentially associated with lifelong respiratory morbidities and/or lung function abnormalities. The mechanisms behind these long-term respiratory problems are still unclear. We assessed airway oxidative stress in adolescents born very pre-term (≤32 gestational weeks) by measuring 8-isoprostane concentration in exhaled breath condensate (EBC). In addition, the study protocol included spirometry and measurement of exhaled nitric oxide fraction (FeNO). The study groups included 34 ex-pre-term adolescents with BPD, 18 ex-pre-term adolescents without BPD and 34 healthy controls born at term. Regardless of a history of BPD, the ex-premature adolescents had higher EBC 8-isoprostane levels (median (interquartile range) BPD 9.5 (7.3–12.2) pg·mL−1; pre-term non-BPD 10 (8.1–16) pg·mL−1) than the controls (3.2 (1.9–6.5) pg·mL−1) (p<0.001). Forced expiratory volume in 1 s was lower in the BPD group (mean±sd Z-score -2.1±1.58) than in the pre-term non-BPD individuals (-1.13±1.15), who showed in turn significantly lower values than the controls (0.18±0.83; p<0.001). FeNO was similar in the three groups (p=0.55). Our data show that, after premature birth, evidence of oxidative stress in the airways may be detected into adolescence, suggesting that long-term respiratory abnormalities after pre-term birth may be associated with an ongoing airway disease and not just a stabilised structural lung damage.
The Impact of Enterprise Social Networking Use on Team Performance: transactive Memory System as an Explanation Mechanism

Enterprise social networking (ESN) is widely used to facilitate employees’ communication and collaboration in today’s competitive business environment. However, the underlying mechanism through which ESN improves team performance is not clear. To address this gap, we propose that the ESN use may affect the building of transactive memory systems (TMS), which in turn influence team performance. Specifically, we differentiate task-oriented and relationship-oriented ESN use and try to identify their differential influence on TMS. We plan to conduct this study in China via a survey. This study will help link the research area of ESN to TMS, which will extend our understanding about the role of ESN.
Effects of Low-Dose Microwave on Healing of Fractures with Titanium Alloy Internal Fixation: An Experimental Study in a Rabbit Model

Background Microwave is a method for improving fracture repair. However, one of the contraindications for microwave treatment listed in the literature is surgically implanted metal plates in the treatment field. The reason is that the reflection of electromagnetic waves and the eddy current stimulated by microwave would increase the temperature of magnetic implants and cause heat damage in tissues. Comparing with traditional medical stainless steel, titanium alloy is a kind of medical implants with low magnetic permeability and electric conductivity. But the effects of microwave treatment on fracture with titanium alloy internal fixation in vivo were not reported. The aim of this article was to evaluate the security and effects of microwave on healing of a fracture with titanium alloy internal fixation. Methods Titanium alloy internal fixation systems were implanted in New Zealand rabbits with a 3.0 mm bone defect in the middle of femur. We applied a 30-day microwave treatment (2,450MHz, 25W, 10 min per day) to the fracture 3 days after operation. Temperature changes of muscle tissues around implants were measured during the irradiation. Normalized radiographic density of the fracture gap was measured on the 10th day and 30th day of the microwave treatment. All of the animals were killed after 10 and 30 days microwave treatment with histologic and histomorphometric examinations performed on the harvested tissues. Findings The temperatures did not increase significantly in animals with titanium alloy implants. The security of microwave treatment was also supported by histology of muscles, nerve and bone around the implants. Radiographic assessment, histologic and histomorphometric examinations revealed significant improvement in the healing bone. Conclusion Our results suggest that, in the healing of fracture with titanium alloy internal fixation, a low dose of microwave treatment may be a promising method.