Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Current Capabilities and Limitations of Stable Isotope Techniques and Applied Mathematical Equations in Determining Whole-Body Vitamin A Status

Background: Retinol isotope dilution (RID) methodology provides a quantitative estimate of total body vitamin A (VA) stores and is the best method currently available for assessing VA status in adults and children. The methodology has also been used to test the efficacy of VA interventions in a number of low-income countries. Infections, micronutrient deficiencies (eg, iron and zinc), liver disease, physiological age, pregnancy, and lactation are known or hypothesized to influence the accuracy of estimating total body VA stores using the isotope dilution technique. Objective: Our objectives were to review the strengths and limitations of RID methods, to discuss what is known about the impact of various factors on results, and to summarize contributions of model-based compartmental analysis to assessing VA status. Methods: Relevant published literature is reviewed and discussed. Results: Various equations and compartmental modeling have been used to estimate the total body VA stores using stable isotopes, including a newer 3-day equation that provides an estimate of total body VA stores in healthy adults. At present, there is insufficient information on absorption of the isotope tracer, and there is a need to further investigate how various factors impact the application of RID techniques in field studies. Conclusions: Isotope dilution methodology can provide useful estimates of total body VA stores in apparently healthy populations under controlled study conditions. However, more research is needed to determine whether the method is suitable for use in settings where there is a high prevalence of infection, iron deficiency, and/or liver disease.
Legal information access on the Web. A project for an information system model

Due to the developments in informatics and telematics technologies, the documentary material needed for the legal theorist and practitioner is available on the Web, but there is a complex process for modelling and standardizing data yet to be done. Some proposals related to these problems in particular, to legal information organisation and diffusion on the Web are outlined.
Linking face images captured from the optical phenomenon in the wild for forensic science

This paper discusses the possibility of use of some challenging face images scenario captured from optical phenomenon in the wild for forensic purpose towards individual identification. Occluded and under cover face images in surveillance scenario can be collected from its reflection on a surrounding glass or on a smooth wall that is under the coverage of the surveillance camera and such scenario of face images can be linked for forensic purposes. Another similar scenario that can also be used for forensic is the face images of an individual standing behind a transparent glass wall. To investigate the capability of these images for personal identification this study is conducted. This work investigated different types of features employed in the literature to establish individual identification by such degraded face images. Among them, local region based featured worked best. To achieve higher accuracy and better facial features face image were cropped manually along its close bounding box and noise removal was performed (reflection, etc.). In order to experiment we have developed a database considering the above mentioned scenario, which will be publicly available for academic research. Initial investigation substantiates the possibility of using such face images for forensic purpose.
Predicting Vacation Activity Preferences on the Basis of Value-System Segmentation

Personal values have long been considered an important variable for market segmentation. Single values may be grouped on the basis of their importance ratings into higher-order value domains, and the differential weighting of these domains represents an individual's value system. Value systems serve to maintain an individual's self-esteem and consistent behavior in those situations where one or more values may be in conflict. Thus, value-system segments derived from the rating of personal values reflect the fact that multiple values affect behavior. The purpose of this study was to examine whether vacation activity importance ratings differed across segments comprised of tourists homogeneously grouped on the basis of personal value systems. The sample included 394 English-speaking tourists visiting Scandinavia. Four mutually exclusive higher-order value-system segments were identified and found to differ on activity importance ratings. Implications for tour ism marketers are discussed.
Absence of Antiretroviral Therapy and Other Risk Factors for Morbidity and Mortality in Malaysian Compulsory Drug Detention and Rehabilitation Centers

Background Throughout Asia, people who use drugs are confined in facilities referred to as compulsory drug detention and rehabilitation centers. The limited transparency and accessibility of these centers has posed a significant challenge to evaluating detainees and detention conditions directly. Despite HIV being highly prevalent in this type of confined setting, direct evaluation of detainees with HIV and their access to medical care has yet to be reported in the literature. Methods We evaluated the health status of 100 adult male detainees with HIV and their access to medical care in the two largest Malaysian compulsory drug detention and rehabilitation centers holding HIV-infected individuals. Results Approximately 80% of all detainees with HIV were surveyed in each detention center. Most participants reported multiple untreated medical conditions. None reported being able to access antiretroviral therapy during detention and only 9% reported receiving any HIV-related clinical assessment or care. Nearly a quarter screened positive for symptoms indicative of active tuberculosis, yet none reported having been evaluated for tuberculosis. Although 95% of participants met criteria for opioid dependence prior to detention, none reported being able to access opioid substitution therapy during detention, with 86% reporting current cravings for opioids and 87% anticipating relapsing to drug use after release. Fourteen percent of participants reported suicidal ideation over the previous two weeks. Conclusion We identified a lack of access to antiretroviral therapy in two of the six compulsory drug detention and rehabilitation centers in Malaysia designated to hold HIV-infected individuals and found significant, unmet health needs among detainees with HIV. Individuals confined under such conditions are placed at considerably high risk for morbidity and mortality. Our findings underscore the urgent need for evidence-based drug policies that respect the rights of people who use drugs and seek to improve, rather than undermine, their health.
Automatic parallelization for graphics processing units

Accelerated graphics cards, or Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), have become ubiquitous in recent years. On the right kinds of problems, GPUs greatly surpass CPUs in terms of raw performance. However, because they are difficult to program, GPUs are used only for a narrow class of special-purpose applications; the raw processing power made available by GPUs is unused most of the time. This paper presents an extension to a Java JIT compiler that executes suitable code on the GPU instead of the CPU. Both static and dynamic features are used to decide whether it is feasible and beneficial to off-load a piece of code on the GPU. The paper presents a cost model that balances the speedup available from the GPU against the cost of transferring input and output data between main memory and GPU memory. The cost model is parameterized so that it can be applied to different hardware combinations. The paper also presents ways to overcome several obstacles to parallelization inherent in the design of the Java bytecode language: unstructured control flow, the lack of multi-dimensional arrays, the precise exception semantics, and the proliferation of indirect references.
Self-care in health.

Self-care in health in this paper refers to those activities individuals under­ take in promoting their own health, preventing their own disease, limiting their own illness, and restoring their own health. These activities are under­ taken without professional assistance, although individuals are informed by technical knowledge and skills derived from the pool of both professional and lay experience. This broad definition is consistent with definitions com­ monly applied to the term self-care [(C. Smith, unpublished paper; P. Crawshaw and B. Wong, unpublished paper; (1-3)]. The generic attribute of self-care is its nonprofessional, nonbureaucratic, nonindustrial character; its natural place in social life (4). Operational definitions of self-care have more narrowly reflected various emphases on the spiritual aspect of health and health care, wellness behavior, self-medication, healing potential, self­ administered primary medical care, management of chronic disease, and protection in use of professional services (5-18). The concept of self-care also remains within the traditional health education literature as focused on risk reduction and disease prevention at the level of personal action (19). Self-care as a political concept involving individual skills in collective action on structural issues had its early expression in the consumer health move­ ment of the last two decades. Currently, the collective action perspective on self-care is found largely within the broader frame of lay initiatives in health, particularly through neighborhood voluntary organizations (15) and mutual aid groups.
Changing Meanings of "the Europe of Knowledge" and "Modernizing the University," from Bologna to the "New Lisbon"

No European country is large enough or strong enough to step into the knowledge era by itself. Given the scale of operations of our global competitors, it is not logical or efficient for any individual EU member to go it alone. The challenge is global; the response has to be European. Only if Europe plays as a team will we regain the lead in the world knowledge league…. Of course, it is important to uphold the principle of subsidiarity: education and research policies are, and will remain, mainly national responsibilities. However, you will agree that there is a lot we can do together. Education, research, and the drive toward innovation are textbook cases in which the European whole is larger than the sum of its national parts. The most compelling example is the drive to establish genuine European areas in higher education, research, and innovation. (Barroso 2007)
Integrated health programme: a workplace randomized controlled trial.

AIM This paper is the report of a pilot study to assess if an Integrated Health Programme would reduce sick leave and subjective health complaints, and increase coping in a population of nursing personnel. BACKGROUND. The work group in Norway with most sick leave is healthcare workers. More than 50% of the sick leave is because of subjective health complaints. Work place physical exercise interventions have a documented positive effect on sick leave. METHOD After baseline screening, employees who had agreed to participate (n=40) were randomized to an intervention or control group. The intervention group participated in an Integrated Health Programme twice weekly during working hours. The programme consisted of physical exercise, stress management training, health information and an examination of the participants' workplace. The control group was offered the same intervention after the project was finished. This study was carried out from 2001 to 2002. FINDINGS There were no statistically significant effects on sick leave or health-related quality of life. The intervention group reported fewer neck complaints compared to the control group, but otherwise there were no effects on subjective health complaints. However, the subjective effects were large and highly statistically significant, the intervention group reporting improvement in health, physical fitness, muscle pain, stress management, maintenance of health and work situation. CONCLUSION The Integrated Health Programme was not effective in reducing sick leave and subjective health complaints, but may be of use to employers wanting to increase employee job satisfaction and well-being.
Source of Work Area Reduction Following Hemiparetic Stroke and Preliminary Intervention Using the ACT 3D System

The effect of gravity increases the expression elbow/shoulder synergy patterns results in discoordination during movements following stroke. The Arm Coordination Training 3-D (ACT3D) robotic system is a novel way of recording movement patterns while a subject generates varying amounts of shoulder abduction torque. This system is used to provide preliminary data that show reduced elbow extension and shoulder flexion capabilities as shoulder abduction requirements increase resulting in reduced work area at high shoulder abduction levels. Single subject data is highlighted to illustrate the application of an intervention aimed at progressively training subjects to overcome the effects of abnormal joint torque coupling on reaching abilities
The strategic role of language abstraction in achieving symbolic and practical goals

This article addresses the role of linguistic abstraction in the achievement of symbolic and practical goals. Reviewing evidence from laboratory studies, we first elaborate on the power of language as a means of ingroup enhancement or outgroup derogation under different intergroup conditions. We then report several experimental and archival studies that showed how language serves the achievement of different practical goals such as initiating, maintaining, and ending romantic relations, accounting for individual and group decisions, maintaining or obtaining political and gender power, and persuading others. The analysis of open-ended language measures—which represents a methodological thread of the reviewed studies—shows how language is strategically moulded according to individual and group goals in laboratory as well as in real-life contexts. The implications of the interplay among language, cognition, and action are addressed.
When metabolism meets topology: Reconciling metabolite and reaction networks

The search for a systems‐level picture of metabolism as a web of molecular interactions provides a paradigmatic example of how the methods used to characterize a system can bias the interpretation of its functional meaning. Metabolic maps have been analyzed using novel techniques from network theory, revealing some non‐trivial, functionally relevant properties. These include a small‐world structure and hierarchical modularity. However, as discussed here, some of these properties might actually result from an inappropriate way of defining network interactions. Starting from the so‐called bipartite organization of metabolism, where the two meaningful subsets (reactions and metabolites) are considered, most current works use only one of the subsets by means of so‐called graph projections. Unfortunately, projected graphs often ignore relevant biological and chemical constraints, thus leading to statistical artifacts. Some of these drawbacks and alternative approaches need to be properly addressed.
Endoscopic Antireflux Procedures

The pathophysiologic hallmark of gastroesophageal reflux disease is loss of the physical barrier at the gastroesophageal junction (GEJ). In recent years, endoscopic techniques that augment or enhance the barrier have emerged. The various techniques include the injection of polymers at the GEJ, delivery of radiofrequency energy to the cardia, and by simple suturing or plication the gastroesophageal junction endoscopically. Results show significant symptomatic improvement, reduction in antacid medication usage, improvement in patient satisfaction, and modest reductions in esophageal acid exposure. Safety, feasibility, and efficacy have been shown with these endoscopic techniques. Future refinements and improvements are expected in this emerging field. Copyright © 2001 by W.B. Saunders Company.
Fulgeo -- Towards an Intuitive User Interface for a Semantics-Enabled Multimedia Search Engine

Multimedia documents like PowerPoint presentations or Flash documents are widely adopted in the Internet and exist in context of lots of different topics. However, so far there is no user friendly way to explore and search for this content. The aim of this work is to address this issue by developing a new, easy-to-use user interface approach and prototype search engine. Our system is called fulgeo and specifically focuses on a suitable multimedia interface for visualizing the query results of semantically-enriched Flash documents.
Leading with her Life: An African American Feminist (Re)Interpretation of Leadership for an Urban High School Principal

What is the relationship between the meanings of personal and professional acts of leading, the creation of a school culture that honors diversity, and what we know about effective schools? This case study of an African American female urban school principal explores and reinterprets traditional conceptualizations of effective leadership, given the increasing diversity of today's schools.
The effect of short duration heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback on cognitive performance during laboratory induced cognitive stress

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of 10 minutes of heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback on cognitive performance and affect scores during induced stress. Eighteen healthy male volunteers (aged 23–41 years) exposed to work-related stress, were randomised into an HRV biofeedback intervention (BIO) and a comparative intervention group (COM). Subjects completed a modified Stroop task, which included having to mentally count 18 white squares randomly presented between colour words, before and after a 10-minute intervention. Subjects also completed questionnaires to rate their anxiety. BIO subjects improved their reaction times and consistency of responses, and made fewer mistakes in counting squares during the modified Stroop task. They also felt more relaxed, less anxious and less sleepy than the COM subjects. In conclusion our results suggest that short duration HRV biofeedback is associated with improved cognitive performance while concurrently aiding relaxation. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Selecting film bus link capacitors for high performance inverter applications

For years design engineers have chosen electrolytic capacitor technology for use as the bus link capacitor on inverter designs. The main attraction has always been the low cost per farad associated with electrolytic capacitors. This paper will present a practical mathematical approach on how to properly size a bus link capacitor for a high performance hard switched DC to AC inverter using film capacitors and will show how film capacitors are advantageous over electrolytic capacitors in terms of size, weight, lifetime, inverter efficiency and cost.
ATEMU: a fine-grained sensor network simulator

In this paper we describe the design and implementation of ATEMU, a fine grained sensor network simulator. ATEMU is intended to bridge the gap between actual sensor network deployments and sensor network simulations. We adopt a hybrid strategy, where the operation of individual sensor nodes is emulated in an instruction by instruction manner, and their interactions with each other via wireless transmissions are simulated in a realistic manner. A unique feature of ATEMU is its ability to simulate a heterogeneous sensor network. Using ATEMU it is possible to not only accurately simulate the operation of different application on the MICA2 platform but also a complete sensor network where the sensor nodes themselves maybe based on different hardware platforms. In addition we also describe our implementation of XATDB, our front-end debugger/GUI for ATEMU. XATDB provides an excellent educational tool for people to start learning about the operation of sensor nodes and sensor networks, without requiring the purchase of actual sensor node hardware. The accuracy and emulation capabilities provided by ATEMU ensure that when and if actual hardware is used, the software will already have undergone rigorous testing and debugging on an accurate platform. This would provide the sensor network deployment community with a much more accurate estimate of the performance of various algorithms and protocols in realistic scenarios and platforms.
Clinicoetiological Characterization of Infectious Vaginitis amongst Women of Reproductive Age Group from Navi Mumbai, India

Vaginitis is one of the commonest reproductive tract infections in sexually active women. In the present study clinicoetiological characterization of infectious vaginitis amongst 380 women of reproductive age group (18–45 years) was done. Bacterial vaginosis (BV) was detected by Nugent's scoring, Candida infection by culture, and trichomoniasis (TV) by wet mount. One hundred and ten (28.9%) women presented with symptoms of vaginitis. The presenting symptoms were vaginal discharge 106 (96.4%), vulval itching/irritation 19 (17.3%), malodor 5 (4.5%), pain in abdomen 3 (2.7%), and dysuria 1 (0.9%). The commonest etiology detected was Candida in 33 (30%) cases, of which 18 (54.5%) were C. albicans and 15 (45.5%) non-albicans Candida (NAC) infections. The NAC isolates were C. glabrata (n = 10), C. tropicalis (n = 3), and C. krusei (n = 2). BV and TV were observed in 19 (17.3%) and 2 (1.8%) cases, respectively. A statistically significant association between Candida infection and presence of curdy-white discharge (p = 0.001) and vulval itching/irritation (p = 0.007) was noted. To conclude, we observed the etiological predominance of Candida infection, with considerable prevalence of NAC, indicating the need for microbiological investigation up to species level in cases of Candida infections, to ensure appropriate management.
Superconductivity in Bismuth. A New Look at an Old Problem

To investigate the relationship between atomic topology, vibrational and electronic properties and superconductivity of bismuth, a 216-atom amorphous structure (a-Bi216) was computer-generated using our undermelt-quench approach. Its pair distribution function compares well with experiment. The calculated electronic and vibrational densities of states (eDOS and vDOS, respectively) show that the amorphous eDOS is about 4 times the crystalline at the Fermi energy, whereas for the vDOS the energy range of the amorphous is roughly the same as the crystalline but the shapes are quite different. A simple BCS estimate of the possible crystalline superconducting transition temperature gives an upper limit of 1.3 mK. The e-ph coupling is more preponderant in a-Bi than in crystalline bismuth (x-Bi) as indicated by the λ obtained via McMillan’s formula, λc = 0.24 and experiment λa = 2.46. Therefore with respect to x-Bi, superconductivity in a-Bi is enhanced by the higher values of λ and of eDOS at the Fermi energy.