Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of Age on Learning to Drive a Virtual Coal Mine Shuttle Car

Many control devices produce movements that can be described as compatible, that is, movement of the control in one direction results in a congruent movement in the system. However, not all devices adhere to this direct relationship between control movement and system response. This study investigates age and practice effects on error and reaction times for a real-world vehicle steering system in which steering is not consistently compatible. A virtual reality simulation analogous to an underground coal mine shuttle car was used to collect short term (experiment 1) and longer term (experiment 2) practice where trials alternate between compatible and incompatible, and then changed to consistently compatible. Fifteen young and 15 older male adults participated in experiment 1, and 7 young and 7 older male adults participated in experiment 2. Younger adults made fewer errors in incompatible trials than older adults in experiment 1. Error rate increased for both groups when the trials changed to consistently compatible. No differences in reaction time were found. With more practice, no differences in error rate were found between the groups (experiment 2). Both errors and reaction time increased when the the trials changed to consistently compatible. This research suggests that performance differences between male adults close to retirement age and younger male adults may dissipate after practice. Performance decrements were found when the control-response relationship changed from alternating compatibility to consistently compatible, therefore, care must be taken in redesigning incompatible controls when operators may have achieved a high level of expertise.
Who are the kids who self-harm ? An Australian self-report school survey

Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention, Griffith University, Mt Gravatt, QLD. Diego De Leo, MD, PhD, FRANZCP, Director; Travis S Heller, BSc(Hons), BA, Researcher. Reprints: Professor D De Leo, Australian Institute for Suicide Research and Prevention, Griffith University, Messines Ridge Road, Mt Gravatt, QLD 4122. d.deleo@griffith.edu. au The Medical Journal of Australia ISSN: 0025-729X 2 August 2004 181 3 140144 ©The Medical Journal of Australia 2004 www.mja. com.au Research In recent years, community surveys have been conducted to assess suicidal behaviours in Australian youth. This method of data collection allows for population-based comparisons between people who report selfharm and those who do not. In a Queensland study, more than 60% of university-age Main psych lifest Resu with meth respo
Corpus callosum atrophy is associated with mental slowing and executive deficits in subjects with age-related white matter hyperintensities: the LADIS Study

Background: Previous research has indicated that corpus callosum atrophy is associated with global cognitive decline in neurodegenerative diseases, but few studies have investigated specific cognitive functions. Objective: To investigate the role of regional corpus callosum atrophy in mental speed, attention and executive functions in subjects with age-related white matter hyperintensities (WMH). Methods: In the Leukoaraiosis and Disability Study, 567 subjects with age-related WMH were examined with a detailed neuropsychological assessment and quantitative magnetic resonance imaging. The relationships of the total corpus callosum area and its subregions with cognitive performance were analysed using multiple linear regression, controlling for volume of WMH and other confounding factors. Results: Atrophy of the total corpus callosum area was associated with poor performance in tests assessing speed of mental processing—namely, trail making A and Stroop test parts I and II. Anterior, but not posterior, corpus callosum atrophy was associated with deficits of attention and executive functions as reflected by the symbol digit modalities and digit cancellation tests, as well as by the subtraction scores in the trail making and Stroop tests. Furthermore, semantic verbal fluency was related to the total corpus callosum area and the isthmus subregion. Conclusions: Corpus callosum atrophy seems to contribute to cognitive decline independently of age, education, coexisting WMH and stroke. Anterior corpus callosum atrophy is related to the frontal-lobe-mediated executive functions and attention, whereas overall corpus callosum atrophy is associated with the slowing of processing speed.
Calogero–Sutherland eigenfunctions with mixed boundary conditions and conformal field theory correlators

We construct certain eigenfunctions of the Calogero–Sutherland Hamiltonian for particles on a circle, with mixed boundary conditions. That is, the behaviour of the eigenfunction, as neighbouring particles collide, depend on the pair of colliding particles. This behaviour is generically a linear combination of two types of power laws, depending on the statistics of the particles involved. For fixed ratio of each type at each pair of neighbouring particles, there is an eigenfunction, the ground state, with lowest energy, and there is a discrete set of eigenstates and eigenvalues, the excited states and the energies above this ground state. We find the ground state and special excited states along with their energies in a certain class of mixed boundary conditions, interpreted as having pairs of neighbouring bosons and other particles being fermions. These particular eigenfunctions are characterized by the fact that they are in direct correspondence with correlation functions in boundary conformal field theory. We expect that they have applications to measures on certain configurations of curves in the statistical O(n) loop model. The derivation, although completely independent of results of conformal field theory, uses ideas from the ‘Coulomb gas’ formulation.
Targets and procedures for altering ruminant meat and milk lipids

Beef and dairy products suffer from a negative health image, related to the nature of their lipid fraction. Rumen lipid metabolism involves the presence of saturated lipids in ruminant tissues. Lipolysis, fatty acid biohydrogenation and formation of microbial fatty acids in the rumen and their effects on rumen outflow of fatty acids are discussed. Special emphasis is given to the formation of trans-fatty acids and the possibilities of decreasing biohydrogenation. Small differences in intestinal digestibilities of fatty acids are mentioned, followed by a discussion on transfer of absorbed fatty acids into milk and adipose tissue lipids. The preferential retention of polyunsaturated fatty acids as well as the balance between synthesis and incorporation of fatty acids in tissues is described. Dietary means for the modification of milk fat are listed, with special emphasis on the possibilities for enrichment in polyunsaturated fatty acids and the presence of conjugated linoleic acids. A description of the nature and development of fat depots in beef cattle is followed by a discussion of breed, conformation and feed effects on adipose tissue distribution and fatty acid composition. Special emphasis is given to the very lean Belgian Blue double-muscled breed. The review ends with a consideration of the limits to the modification of ruminant fats, involving considerations of consumer acceptance as well as animal welfare and environmental effects.
A genetic-based neuro-fuzzy generator: NEFGEN

This paper is concerned with the design of a new generation of intelligent systems. These systems or machines are intelligent if they are able to improve their performance or maintain an acceptable level of performance in the presence of uncertainty. The ability of these systems to examine and modify their behaviors in a limited sense is usually achieved by using techniques such as knowledge-based systems (KBS), artificial neural networks (NNs), fuzzy systems (FSs), and genetic algorithms (GAs). We propose a novel technique called NEFGEN or Neuro-Fuzzy Generator. This hybrid neuro-fuzzy generator is based on the knowledge oriented design (KOD) concept, cooperative neuro-fuzzy systems and genetic algorithms. A classification through a competitive neural network of data examples of the application to be performed provides efficient inference rules as well as adequate fuzzy partitions of the input/output variable domains. The resulting fuzzy system is then optimized using random techniques and genetic algorithm techniques. NEFGEN is proved to be very efficient in designing powerful fuzzy expert systems (FESs) especially in classification and approximation. It is also shown that NEFGEN performance exceeds that of known hybrid neuro-fuzzy systems such as ANFIS, NEFPROX, and NEFCLASS.
Recurrent Neural Network Based Personalized Language Modeling by Social Network Crowdsourcing

Voice interface on smartphones has been accepted and used by many people nowadays, which boosts the need for a personalized language model to better model the linguistic patterns and wording habits of that particular smartphone owner. Thanks to the popularity of social networks in recent years, personal texts and messages are no more unaccessible. However, data sparseness is still a unsolved problem. In this paper, we propose a three-step adaptation approach to personalize recurrent neural network language models (RNNLMs). We believe its capability of modeling word histories as distributed representation and arbitrary length can help to mitigate the data sparseness problem. Furthermore, additional user oriented features were also proposed to empower RNNLMs stronger capabilities for personalization. The experiments on Facebook dataset showed that the proposed method not only drastically reduced the model perplexity in preliminaries, but also moderately reduced the word error rate in n-best rescoring tests.
Because I’m Also Part of the Family. Children’s Participation in Rituals After the Loss of a Parent or Sibling

The objective of this study was to examine how Norwegian children today are included in death-related rituals after the loss of a parent or sibling, how they experienced their own participation, and to explore the meaning the rituals had for them. Our study indicates that it was very important for the children to be included in the rituals and accordingly be recognized as grievers alongside adults. Being included contributes to legitimating their status as a “full” member of the family system, with an equal status to adult grievers in an important and vulnerable phase of the family’s life. The children were pleased that they through ritual performances were given the opportunity to “see for themselves,” both in order to better comprehend and accept the reality of the loss and to take farewell with their loved ones.
Discrete Composite Control of Piezoelectric Actuators for High-Speed and Precision Scanning

The scanning accuracy of piezoelectric mechanisms over broadband frequencies is limited due to inherent dynamic hysteresis. This phenomenon has been a key bottleneck to the use of piezoelectric mechanisms in fast and precision scanning applications. This paper presents a systematic model identification and composite control strategy without hysteresis measurement for such applications. First, least squares estimation using harmonic signals is applied to achieve the Preisach density function. Next, the hysteresis output is estimated, such that the non-hysteretic dynamics can be identified. The discrete composite control strategy is proposed with a feedforward-feedback structure. The feedforward controller is the primary component designed for the performance. The secondary proportional-integral (PI) feedback controller is employed to suppress disturbances for robustness. Finally, the identification and composite control strategy is implemented with a dSPACE 1104 board for a real piezoelectric actuator setup. The experimental results indicate that adequate scanning performance can be sustained at a rate higher than the first resonant frequency.
Evaluation of a community-based intervention to increase breastfeeding prevalence.

BACKGROUND The aim of the study was to determine whether peer counselling in the antenatal and post-natal period would increase the prevalence and duration of breastfeeding among low-income women in Glasgow. METHODS The study was designed as a quasi-experimental evaluation of a community-based breastfeeding promotion programme. The intervention comprised peer counselling of pregnant women, support of breastfeeding mothers and local awareness-raising activities. The study subjects were all women attending the antenatal booking clinic resident in either the intervention or control area. Data were collected by means of four self-completion questionnaires, two administered antenatally and two post-natally. The proportions intending to breastfeed or breastfeeding in the intervention and control groups were compared at each assessment and over time. RESULTS Of the 995 women enrolled in the study, data were available for analysis on 919 (92 per cent) to 6 weeks postnatally. At booking, 18 per cent of the intervention group and 21 per cent of the control group stated an intention to breastfeed. At delivery, the proportions initiating breastfeeding were 23 per cent of the intervention subjects and 20 per cent of the controls, and by 6 weeks post-natally, the proportion providing any breast milk had declined to 10 per cent of the intervention group and 8 per cent of the control group. Using multivariate analysis to adjust for factors (such as socio-economic status) known to influence breastfeeding, the breastfeeding prevalence was significantly higher in the intervention group relative to the controls at delivery [odds ratio (OR) 2.0; 95 per cent confidence interval (CI) 1.2-3.1, p = 0.006]. By 6 weeks post-natally the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant (OR 1.8; 95 per cent CI 1.0-3.4, p=0.07). CONCLUSIONS As the impact of the intervention was not sustained even for the modest duration of 6 weeks postnatally, it would be premature to justify widespread use of peer support programmes to increase the prevalence of breastfeeding in socially disadvantaged communities.
NBTI-aware design of NoC buffers

Network-on-Chips (NoC) play a central role in determining performance and reliability in current and future multi-core architectures. Continuous scaling of CMOS technology enable widespread adoption of multi-core architectures but, unfortunately, poses severe concerns regarding failures. Process variation (PV) is worsening the scenario, decreasing device lifetime and performance predictability during chip fabrication. This paper proposes two solutions exploiting power-gating to cope with NBTI effects in NoC buffers. The techniques are evaluated with respect to a variable number of virtual channels (VCs), in the presence of process variation. Moreover, power gating delay overhead is accounted. Experiments reveal a net NBTI Vth saving up to 54.2% against the baseline NoC, with an area overhead below 5%.
COINCIDENCES AMONG SKEW GROTHENDIECK POLYNOMIALS

The question of when two skew shapes are Schur-equivalent has been wellstudied. We investigate the same question in the case of Grothendieck polynomials. We prove a necessary condition for two skew shapes to give rise to the same dual stable Grothendieck polynomial. We also provide a necessary and sufficient condition in the case where the two skew shapes are ribbons.
A novel control method of boost and buck-boost converters with a hysteretic PWM controller

A new control method for boost and buck-boost converters employing a hysteretic PWM controller is presented. The triangular voltage obtained from a simple RC network connected to an auxiliary winding of the inductor is superimposed to the output voltage and fed to a hysteretic comparator as a feedback signal. The presented control method provides no steady-state error voltage on the output and excellent dynamic performances for the variations of the input voltage and the load current
Reduction of speckle noise from medical images using principal component analysis image fusion

Images captured by different medical devices contain intrinsic artefacts, like ultrasound, CT, MRI images often contain speckle noise, which is the result of the destructive and constructive coherent summation of echoes. In these images, the speckle noise must be reduced cautiously as it also contains diagnostic information. Thus the despeckling algorithms should reduce speckle in homogeneous areas of the image and edges in the image should be preserved. In this paper a method to reduce the speckle noise is proposed which uses the concept of fusion. The performance of the proposed algorithm is quantified by calculating measures like MSE, SNR, PSNR and MSSI, which gives information about the extent of feature preservation and denoising.
Computer-Aided Diagnostic System Based on Liver CT Image

This paper proposes an automatic system which can perform the entire diagnostic process from the extraction of the liver to the recognition of a tumor. In particular, the proposed technique uses shape information to identify and recognize a lesion adjacent to the border of the liver, which can otherwise be missed. In addition, since the intensity of a lesion can vary greatly according to the patient and the slice taken, a decision on the threshold for extraction is not easy. Accordingly, the proposed method extracts the lesion by means of a Fuzzy cMeans clustering technique, which can determine the threshold regardless of a changing intensity. Based on experimental results, these processes produced a high recognition rate above 92%.
Color Image Enhancement Using Retinex Algorithm

Images we seen through a camera and direct observation of it is slightly different due to the calibration and less dynamic range of camera. In this paper we are proposing a method called Retinex method which models the human vision system. Through this we can interpret the actual image without any discrepancy between the two. So here the enhancement is done through Retinex Algorithm
Passive dynamic walking with torso

Biped walking with torso has been achieved by approaches based on actuation or special mechanism to keep the torso upright, however, these methods more or less lose some natural dynamics of biped walker. In this paper, a solution of building a totally passive walker with torso is proposed and confirmed. A fully passive torso is articulated to the biped passive dynamic walking model with two torsion springs placed between torso and legs. The elastic elements are used to help the torso maintain upright and keep the passive dynamic characteristics at the same time. Stable gait has been found and a special dynamic phenomenon of two stable limit cycles is observed by numerical simulation. The extent to which the slope and torsion springs affect the performance of walking is shown by speed, step length and local stability.
Search for massive protostar candidates in the southern hemisphere. II. Dust continuum emission

In an ongoing effort to identify and study high-mass protostellar candidates we have observed in various tracers a sample of 235 sources selected from the IRAS Point Source Catalog, mostly with $\delta Low sources and 93 High , which are believed to be in different evolutionary stages. Both sub-samples have been studied in detail by comparing their physical properties and morphologies. Massive dust clumps have been detected in all but 8 regions, with usually more than one clump per region. The dust emission shows a variety of complex morphologies, sometimes with multiple clumps forming filaments or clusters. The mean clump has a linear size of ~$ 0.5$ pc, a mass of ~$ 320~M_\odot$ for a dust temperature $T_{\rm d} = 30$ K, an H 2 density of $9.5\times10^5$ cm -3 , and a surface density of 0.4 g cm -2 . The median values are 0.4 pc, $102~M_\odot$, $4\times10^4$ cm -3 , and 0.14 g cm -2 , respectively. The mean value of the luminosity-to-mass ratio, $L/M \simeq 99~L_\odot/M_\odot$, suggests that the sources are in a young, pre-ultracompact Hii phase. We have compared the millimeter continuum maps with images of the mid-IR MSX emission, and have discovered 95 massive millimeter clumps non-MSX emitters, either diffuse or point-like, that are potential prestellar or precluster cores. The physical properties of these clumps are similar to those of the others, apart from the mass that is ~3 times lower than for clumps with MSX counterpart. Such a difference could be due to the potential prestellar clumps having a lower dust temperature. The mass spectrum of the clumps with masses above $M \sim 100~M_\odot$ is best fitted with a power-law d$N/{\rm d}M \propto M^{-\alpha}$ with $\alpha = 2.1$, consistent with the Salpeter (1955) stellar IMF, with $\alpha=2.35$. On the other hand, the mass function of clumps with masses $10~M_\odot\la M \la 120~M_\odot$ is better fitted with a power law of slope $\alpha = 1.5$, more consistent with the mass function of molecular clouds derived from gas observations.
Pointwise generalized algebraic data types

In the GADT (Generalized Algebraic Data Types) type system, a pattern-matching branch can draw type information from both the scrutinee type and the data constructor type. Even though the type system can handle complex interactions between the two types, most programs require only simple interactions in the form of parametric instantiation and type indexing. To explore the tradeoffs related to GADT patterns, we define the Pointwise GADT type system, which restricts GADTs to the common case of parametric instantiation and type indexing. The Pointwise GADT type system still accepts a wide range of GADT programs, while rejecting a pathological function whose pattern-matching branches can make arbitrarily different assumptions about the type environment. We also state and prove several properties of the type system, which we speculate might be useful in helping researchers design better type inference algorithms.
Social Pathways for Ebola Virus Disease in Rural Sierra Leone, and Some Implications for Containment

The current outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease in Upper West Africa is the largest ever recorded. Molecular evidence suggests spread has been almost exclusively through human-to-human contact. Social factors are thus clearly important to understand the epidemic and ways in which it might be stopped, but these factors have so far been little analyzed. The present paper focuses on Sierra Leone, and provides cross sectional data on the least understood part of the epidemic—the largely undocumented spread of Ebola in rural areas. Various forms of social networking in rural communities and their relevance for understanding pathways of transmission are described. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between marriage, funerals and land tenure. Funerals are known to be a high-risk factor for infection. It is suggested that more than a shift in awareness of risks will be needed to change local patterns of behavior, especially in regard to funerals, since these are central to the consolidation of community ties. A concluding discussion relates the information presented to plans for halting the disease. Local consultation and access are seen as major challenges to be addressed.
Generation of Broadside Transition-Fault Test Sets That Detect Four-Way Bridging Faults

Generation of n-detection test sets is typically done for a single fault model. This paper investigates the generation of n-detection test sets by pairing each fault of a target fault model with n faults of a different fault model. Tests are generated such that they detect both faults of a pair. To facilitate test generation, the faults included in a single pair are selected such that they have overlapping requirements for their detection. The advantage of this approach is that it ensures the detection of additional faults that would not be targeted during the n-detection test generation process for a single fault model. Experimental results with transition faults as the first fault model and four-way bridging faults as the second fault model are presented.