Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Predictors of Health-Promoting Behaviors in Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery Patients: An Application of Pender’s Health Promotion Model

Background Advances in coronary artery surgery have reduced patient morbidity and mortality. Nevertheless, patients still have to face physical, psychological, and social problems after discharge from hospital. Objectives The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of Pender’s health promotion model in predicting cardiac surgery patients’ lifestyles in Iran. Methods This cross-sectional study comprised 220 patients who had undergone coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery in Mazandaran province (Iran) in 2015. The subjects were selected using a simple random sampling method. The data were collected via (1) the health-promoting lifestyle profile II (HPLP II) and (2) a self-designed questionnaire that included two main sections: demographic characteristics and questions based on the health-promoting model constructs. Results Spiritual growth (28.77 ± 5.03) and physical activity (15.79 ± 5.08) had the highest and lowest scores in the HPLP II dimensions, respectively. All the health promotion model variables were significant predictors of health-promoting behaviors and explained 69% of the variance in health-promoting behaviors. Three significant predictors were estimated using regression coefficients: behavioral feelings (β = 0.390, P < 0.001), perceived benefits (β = 0.209, P < 0.001), and commitment to a plan of action (β = 0.347, P < 0.001). Conclusions According to the results of the study, health-promoting model-based self-care behaviors can help identify and predict cardiac surgery patients’ lifestyles in Iran. This pattern can be used as a framework for discharge planning and the implementation of educational interventions to improve the lifestyles of CABG patients.
Freedom within Reason

Philosophers typically see the issue of free will and determinism in terms of a debate between two standard positions. Incompatibilism holds that freedom and responsibility require causal and metaphysical independence from the impersonal forces of nature. According to compatibilism, people are free and responsible as long as their actions are governed by their desires. In Freedom Within Reason, Susan Wolf charts a path between these traditional positions: We are not free and responsible, she argues, for actions that are governed by desires that we cannot help having. But the wish to form our own desires from nothing is both futile and arbitrary. Some of the forces beyond our control are friends to freedom rather than enemies of it: they endow us with faculties of reason, perception, and imagination, and provide us with the data by which we come to see and appreciate the world for what it is. The independence we want, Wolf argues, is not independence from the world, but independence from forces that prevent or preclude us from choosing how to live in light of a sufficient appreciation of the world. The freedom we want is a freedom within reason and the world.
Neutral leucocyte proteases and elastase inhibited by plasma alpha 1 -antitrypsin.

Ohlsson, K. Neutral Leucocyte Proteases and Elastase Inhibited by Plasma α1-Antitrypsin. Scand. J. clin. Lab. Invest. 28 251–253, 1971.Elastase and neutral protease purified from human polymorphonuclear leucocytes are inhibited by plasma α1-antitrypsin. The elastase α1-antitrypsin complexes migrated as a β-globulin and the corresponding complexes with neutral protease as α3-globulins on agarose gel electrophoresis.
Delayed match‐to‐sample performance in autistic children

The involvement of temporal lobe structures in autism has found support in several animal and human studies. The delayed match‐ and nonmatch‐to‐sample paradigms are two tasks that are sensitive to temporal lobe and frontal lobe development and damage and may be useful in the study of autism. High and low‐functioning autistic disordered (HAD, LAD) subjects and developmental language‐disordered (DLD) and mentally retarded (MR) control subjects were tested on a two stimuli matching paradigm. Both trial‐unique and repeated‐stimuli procedures were used. All subjects performed equally well with both procedures. Performances of HAD subjects and controls of similar nonverbal intelligence (DLD subjects) were not significantly different. The LAD group performed at chance levels and scored significantly lower than all other groups, but covarying for nonverbal intelligence eliminated all significant group differences. These results indicate successful performance on a visual recognition memory task by HAD subjects. T.
SOCIAL WORKER PERCEPTIONS OF THE PORTRAYAL OF THE PROFESSION IN THE NEWS AND ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY

This exploratory study describes social workers' perceptions of the depiction of the social work profession found in the news and entertainment media. A random sample of 665 MSW social workers who were members of the Florida Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers were surveyed regarding how they felt the profession was depicted in the news and entertainment media on a set of paired adjectives comprising 9 semantic differential scales. Findings showed that these social workers perceived the profession to be depicted negatively in both news and entertainment media. Implications for social work educators are discussed.
N-variant IC design: Methodology and applications

We propose the first method for designing N-variant sequential circuits. The flexibility provided by the N-variants enables a number of important tasks, including IP protection, IP metering, security, design optimization, self-adaptation and fault-tolerance. The method is based on extending the finite state machine (FSM) of the design to include multiple variants of the same design specification. The state transitions are managed by added signals that may come from various triggers depending on the target application. We devise an algorithm for implementing the N-variant IC design. We discuss the necessary manipulations of the added signals that would facilitate the various tasks. The key advantage to integrating the heterogeneity in the functional specification of the design is that we can configure the variants during or post-manufacturing, but removal, extraction or deletion of the variants is not viable. Experimental results on benchmark circuits demonstrate that the method can be automatically and efficiently implemented. Because of its lightweight, N-variant design is particularly well-suited for securing embedded systems. As a proof-of-concept, we implement the N-variant method for content protection in portable media players, e.g., iPod. We discuss how the N-variant design methodology readily enables new digital rights management methods.
Activity energy expenditure assessment system based on activity classification using multi-site triaxial accelerometers

Wireless networked multisite triaxial accelerometry system was proposed to estimate activity energy expenditure during daily life. Proposed system used different estimation algorithms according to activity classification based on measured acceleration signals. The estimation results showed higher correlation (R2 = 0.98) and smaller standard errors of estimation (SEE = 0.66 kcal) than any other system in preceding reports.
VISUAL-FIXATION RESPONSES OF INFANTS TO STIMULI OF VARYING COMPLEXITY

Stimulus complexity as a mediator of the visual fixation responses of infants was investigated by testing two hypotheses: (1). The distribution of visual fixations among a set of differentially complex stimuli will impose an ordered relationship upon the stimuli. (2). The infants' visual fixations to the stimuli will change with increasing age. Older Ss are expected to fixate more complex stimuli, younger Ss less complex ones. Forty-nine infants were presented with all pairs of four differentially complex stimuli to which fixation times were recorded. Level of stimulus complexity was defined by the judgments of nine students. After parametric analysis for two age groups, Younger (25 Ss, 2-14 weeks old) and Older (24 Ss, 15-26 weeks old). It was concluded that the second hypothesis received partial support and the first hypothesis good support. The results were interpreted within complexity theory, after which comparisons were made with some of Fantz's findings.
Error analysis of 3D motion estimation algorithms in the differential case

We put forth in this paper a geometrically motivated 3D (three-dimensional) motion error analysis, which is capable of supporting investigation of global effect such as inherent ambiguities. The error expression that we derive allows us to predict the exact conditions likely to cause ambiguities and how these ambiguities vary with motion types such as lateral or forward motion. Our formulation, though geometrically motivated, is employed to model the effect of noise.
Using Innovative Learning Technologies to Promote Learning and Engagement in an Urban Science Classroom

Recent reform movements within the United States have called for science for all and educational reforms to support this goal. In light of these reform movements and concerns regarding learning within urban schools, science educators and policy makers have pushed for the incorporation of learning technologies within schools as a way of creating equity and promoting learning among diverse learners. The Center for Learning Technologies in Urban Schools has been working to create and adopt standards and project-based science curricula in a large systemic reform effort. A core challenge of this partnership has been to embed learning technologies within these units to support active and engaged learning. This article examines how two interactive learning technologies embedded within an extended project-based science curriculum unit are capable of engaging urban students in actively learning key science concepts.
Associative Learning Changes the Organization of Functional Excitatory Circuits Targeting the Supragranular Layers of Mouse Barrel Cortex

In primary sensory cortices, neuronal circuits change throughout life as a function of learning. During associative learning a neutral sensory stimulus acquires the emotional valence of an aversive event or a reward after repetitive contingent pairing. One important consequence is the enlargement of the representational area of the conditioned stimulus in the cortical map of its sensory modality. The details of this phenomenon at the circuit level are still largely unknown. Here, mice were trained in a differential conditioning paradigm where the deflections of one whisker row were paired with tail shocks and the deflections of two others were not. Changes occurring in excitatory circuits of barrel cortex were then examined in brain slices with laser scanning photostimulation mapping. We found that learning affected the projections targeting the supragranular layers in the columns of unpaired whiskers: Pyramidal cells located in layer (L) 3 received enhanced inputs from L5A cells located in their home column and new inputs from L2/3 and L4 cells located in the neighboring column of the paired whisker. In contrast, the excitatory projections impinging onto L2/3 cells in the column of the paired whisker were not altered. Together, these data reveal that associative learning alters the canonical columnar organization of functional ascending L4 projections and strengthens transcolumnar excitatory projections in barrel cortex. These phenomena could participate to the transformation of the whisker somatotopic map induced by associative learning.
Associations between dairy consumption and body weight: a review of the evidence and underlying mechanisms

As the incidence of obesity is reaching ‘epidemic’ proportions, there is currently widespread interest in the impact of dietary components on body-weight and food intake regulation. The majority of data available from both epidemiological and intervention studies provide evidence of a negative but modest association between milk and dairy product consumption and BMI and other measures of adiposity, with indications that higher intakes result in increased weight loss and lean tissue maintenance during energy restriction. The purported physiological and molecular mechanisms underlying the impact of dairy constituents on adiposity are incompletely understood but may include effects on lipolysis, lipogeneis and fatty acid absorption. Furthermore, accumulating evidence indicates an impact of dairy constituents, in particular whey protein derivatives, on appetite regulation and food intake. The present review summarises available data and provides an insight into the likely contribution of dairy foods to strategies aimed at appetite regulation, weight loss or the prevention of weight gain.
Anti-cancer drug discovery and development

Deregulated apoptosis is a hallmark of cancer, and the B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) family of proteins is pivotal to mediating the intrinsic pathway of this process. Recent advances have yielded both pan-Bcl-2 small molecule inhibitors (SMIs) that inhibit both the Bcl-2 and the Mcl-1 arm of the Bcl-2 family anti-apoptotic proteins, as well as selective SMIs to differentially target the two arms. Of these SMIs, ABT-263 (navitoclax), AT-101 [(-)-gossypol], and obatoclax (GX15-070) are currently in clinical trials for multiple cancers. While pan-Bcl-2 inhibitors such as AT-101 and obatoclax can be more toxic for inhibiting all members of the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family of proteins, resistance can quickly develop for ABT-263, a selective Bcl-2 inhibitor. In this article, we discuss the current status of Bcl-2 family SMIs in preclinical and clinical development. As Mcl-1 upregulation is a major mechanism of ABT-263 resistance, Mcl-1-specific inhibitors are expected to be efficacious both in combination/sequential treatments and as a single agent against cancers resistant to ABT-263.
Perceptions of marital interaction and change during pregnancy: A typological approach

Much of the literature on the transition to parenthood suggests that pregnancy and childbirth arc associated with decreases in marital satisfaction. Recent developments, however, demonstrate that this decrease in couples' satisfaction may be complicated by a number of factors. Among other things, the way couples interact may play a central role in their adjustment to the changes typically associated with pregnancy and childbirth. The purpose of this study was to examine whether couples who espouse varying patterns of interaction also have differing experiences of changes in marital needs and concerns during pregnancy. Couples (N= 190) enrolled in childbirth classes completed a series of questionnaires including Fitzpatrick's Relational Dimensions Instrument and a measure assessing perceived changes in their marital needs and concerns. Results indicated that husbands and wives differed in terms of the amount of nurturance they felt they gave and received, their tendency to worry since pregnancy, and their views concerning their sexual relationship. When changes in needs and concerns were compared across the various couple types, a number of patterns emerged. Wives in Traditional, Separate/Traditional, and Separate/Independent marriages felt they received significantly more nurturance since pregnancy than did wives in Independent marriages. Husbands in Separate/Traditional relationships noted greater increases in worrying than did other husbands. Finally, although couples varied in the frequency of conflict reported, they did not differ with regard to changes in conflict or the influence of such changes on their marriages.
Edith Penrose's (1959) Contributions to the Resource‐based View of Strategic Management

We argue that Rugman and Verbeke (2002) underestimate the importance of Penrose's (1959) contributions to the modern resource-based view of the firm. In particular, we take issue with Rugman and Verbeke's (2002) arguments concerning Penrose's (1959) contributions to our knowledge of: (1) the "creation" of competitive advantage, (2) "sustaining" competitive advantage, (3) isolating mechanisms, and (4) competitive advantage and economic rents. In our response, we show that Penrose (1959) has both "directly" and indirectly influenced the modern resource-based view of strategic management. Copyright Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2004.
A bridgeless totem-pole interleaved PFC converter for plug-in electric vehicles

This paper proposes a bidirectional bridgeless totem-pole interleaved power-factor-correction (PFC) converter using SiC MOSFETs as the front-end stage of an onboard charger for plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs). The proposed converter provides bidirectional operation enabling both grid-to-vehicle (G2V) charging and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) ancillary services. The converter is suitable for efficient G2V V2G onboard charging due to its superiorities in terms of bidirectional operation, smaller current ripple, lower EMI, lower conduction losses and switching losses. A 3.3kW PFC converter is designed and developed, using Silicon-Carbide MOSFETs with fast recovery body diodes, for validation of and V2G operating modes. Utilizing SiC MOSFETs enables continuous current mode (CCM) operation of the totem-pole PFC converter in high-power applications. The converter is capable of converting 85Vac-265Vac line voltages into a regulated dc voltage in the range of 300V to 600V. The maximum efficiency of converter reaches up to 99.2% with 0.99 power factor.
An ASIC for the measurement of low frequency noise in MOS transistors

Cyclostationary (switched) operation of the MOS transistor has been proposed in recent years as a technique for reducing the flicker noise at the device level itself. Nevertheless accurate noise measurements covering a wide range of operation regions for the transistor are still required to support the proposed cyclostationary noise models. In this work, several noise measurement issues are discussed, and the development of an integrated circuit aimed at switched flicker noise measurements in different types/sizes of test transistors and at different bias conditions is presented. The proposed ASIC is a matrix of differential pairs (DUTs) connected to a GmC chopper-amplifier. The chopper modulators are disposed to amplify flicker noise from the DUTs while the remaining flicker noise sources in the circuit are cancelled.
Self-animating images: illusory motion using repeated asymmetric patterns

Illusory motion in a still image is a fascinating research topic in the study of human motion perception. Physiologists and psychologists have attempted to understand this phenomenon by constructing simple, color repeated asymmetric patterns (RAP) and have found several useful rules to enhance the strength of illusory motion. Based on their knowledge, we propose a computational method to generate self-animating images. First, we present an optimized RAP placement on streamlines to generate illusory motion for a given static vector field. Next, a general coloring scheme for RAP is proposed to render streamlines. Furthermore, to enhance the strength of illusion and respect the shape of the region, a smooth vector field with opposite directional flow is automatically generated given an input image. Examples generated by our method are shown as evidence of the illusory effect and the potential applications for entertainment and design purposes.
Number recognition using salient features of beta rhythmic EEG signal

Development of visual recognition system using electroencephalogram (EEG) signal is the most challenging task in the present computational neuroscience. The goal of this work is to recognize different numbers using salient features of EEG signal. Using data acquisition system, EEG signal is recorded applying visual stimulation. Visual stimulation of different numbers produces different patterns in human brain that are basically reflected in EEG signal as well as its different rhythms. EEG signal with different rhythms is collected using Microsoft PowerPoint and significant features are extracted using frequency domain and time-frequency domain analysis. It is observed that the analysis of beta rhythmic EEG signal gives better results than other rhythms for number recognition. Wavelet transform analysis of beta rhythm can't distinguish different numbers whereas fast Fourier transforms and power spectral density can provide unique pattern for each number. Finally, power spectral density provides superior features than fast Fourier transform for number recognition. Beta rhythmic EEG signal based number recognition has direct impacts in neurologically disorder persons as well as in robotics.
Helicobacter pylori Infection and the Pathogenesis of Duodenal Ulceration

ABSTRACT: Helicobacter pylori is a gram‐negative spiral bacterium confined to the habitat of gastric‐type epithelium. H. pylori causes duodenal ulceration by a cumulative effect of antral predominant gastritis with increased acid secretion, consequent gastric metaplasia in the duodenum (a site of further colonization by H. pylori), duodenitis, reduced duodenal bicarbonate secretion, and mucosal damage. Bacterial factors influence outcome. Major determinants are the production of a vacuolating toxin and the presence of CagA, an immunodominant product of a nonconserved gene cagA, a marker for the cag pathogenicity island that encodes virulence genes involved in induction of epithelial chemokine responses. In ulcer patients the mucosal immune response is polarized to a T‐helper‐1 (Th1) cell‐mediated response, which may contribute to mucosal damage. Eradication of H. pylori restores acid output to normal. Loss of both acid and bacteria halts gastroduodenitis and allows ulcer healing. Gastric metaplasia does not regress in the short term.