Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Distress and body image disturbances in women with breast cancer in the immediate postsurgical period: The influence of attachment insecurity

The aim of this study was to assess, in the immediate postsurgical period, the influence of attachment avoidance and anxiety on distress and body image disturbances in women facing breast cancer. Seventy-five women participated in the study 3 weeks after surgery. Questionnaires were used to assess study variables. To predict distress and body image disturbances, we controlled for several variables known to influence adjustment to the stress of breast cancer. The results of hierarchical regression analyses show that attachment explains the outcomes above and beyond other influential variables. Insecurely attached women are especially vulnerable to the stress of the disease.
Incorporating the freeform haptic modelling system into new product development

The work presented in this paper is taken from a research project that investigates modelling and design with particular reference to industrial design and the use of different media and tools for product form-giving. The paper draws on collaborative work with product development teams at Procter & Gamble, set up to evaluate the FreeForm haptic modelling system in an industrial context. One aspect of the research has been to investigate the integration of the FreeForm haptic modelling system into new product development (NPD). In relation to this, this paper reports on potential uses and weaknesses of the system, and suggests how it could be best integrated into product development.
Differential Protein Kinase C-dependent Modulation of Kv7.4 and Kv7.5 Subunits of Vascular Kv7 Channels*

Background: Kv7 potassium channels are regulated by protein kinase C (PKC) and may assemble as Kv7.4/Kv7.5-heteromers. Results: Kv7.4/Kv7.5-heteromers are endogenously expressed in artery myocytes; both subunits are differentially regulated by PKC. Conclusion: Regulation of Kv7 channels by PKC depends on its subunit composition. Significance: Insights into the mechanisms controlling Kv7 currents are important to understand how membrane potential is regulated. The Kv7 family (Kv7.1–7.5) of voltage-activated potassium channels contributes to the maintenance of resting membrane potential in excitable cells. Previously, we provided pharmacological and electrophysiological evidence that Kv7.4 and Kv7.5 form predominantly heteromeric channels and that Kv7 activity is regulated by protein kinase C (PKC) in response to vasoconstrictors in vascular smooth muscle cells. Direct evidence for Kv7.4/7.5 heteromer formation, however, is lacking. Furthermore, it remains to be determined whether both subunits are regulated by PKC. Utilizing proximity ligation assays to visualize single molecule interactions, we now show that Kv7.4/Kv.7.5 heteromers are endogenously expressed in vascular smooth muscle cells. Introduction of dominant-negative Kv7.4 and Kv7.5 subunits in mesenteric artery myocytes reduced endogenous Kv7 currents by 84 and 76%, respectively. Expression of an inducible protein kinase Cα (PKCα) translocation system revealed that PKCα activation is sufficient to suppress endogenous Kv7 currents in A7r5 rat aortic and mesenteric artery smooth muscle cells. Arginine vasopressin (100 and 500 pm) and the PKC activator phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (1 nm) each inhibited human (h) Kv7.5 and hKv7.4/7.5, but not hKv7.4 channels expressed in A7r5 cells. A decrease in hKv7.5 and hKv7.4/7.5 current densities was associated with an increase in PKC-dependent phosphorylation of the channel proteins. These findings provide further evidence for a differential regulation of Kv7.4 and Kv7.5 channel subunits by PKC-dependent phosphorylation and new mechanistic insights into the role of heteromeric subunit assembly for regulation of vascular Kv7 channels.
Linguistic influences on categorization in preschool children: a crosslinguistic study

ABSTRACT Research on categorization suggests that information conveyed by language may be a guide for children performing classification tasks. In our study we asked whether differences between languages in linguistic form influence this performance. Thirty-five three- and four-year-old monolingual speakers of Spanish and English, languages differing in the way they encode gender, were tested in their native countries on a classification task of familiar objects. This task assessed strategies used in (1) a free sort, (2) a sort with instructions to use natural gender, and (3) one (for the Spanish speakers) with specific instructions to use grammatical gender. Half of both the Spanish and the English groups used animacy as a sorting strategy in the first sort, whereas the majority of both groups sorted by natural gender in the second sort. Most Spanish speakers also used grammatical gender as a categorizing strategy in at least one of the sorts. Results suggest that both instructional context and language-specific experience can influence the ways children classify familiar referents.
INVESTIGATION ON MAMMOGRAPHIC IMAGE COMPRESSION AND MICROCALCIFICATION ANALYSIS USING MULTIWAVELETS AND NEURAL NETWORKS

In digital mammography, the resulting electronic image is very large in size, which poses a significant challenge to the transmission, storage, and manipulation of images. Microcalcification is one of the earliest signs of breast cancer, and it tends to appear in small-sized, low-contrast radiopacities in the high-frequency spectrum of a mammographic image. Scalar wavelets excel multiwavelets in terms of peak-signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), but fail to capture high-frequency information. This study proposes mammographic image compression and microcalcification detection in original and compressed reconstructed images using multiwavelets and neural networks. It also details the classification results obtained through the multiwavelet-based scheme in comparison with the existing scalar wavelet-based scheme. For a testing sample of 30 images, the proposed classification scheme outperforms the scalar wavelet-based classification by a sensitivity of 2.23% and specificity of 3.4% for original (uncompressed) images. Also, it increases the sensitivity by 2.72% and specificity by 8.4% for compressed reconstructed images. This increase in sensitivity and specificity demonstrates a better performance of the proposed detection scheme.
Framework for automatic generation of ontology mappings

Some of the most outstanding problems in Computer Science (e.g. access to heterogeneous information sources, use of different e-commerce standards, ontology translation, etc.) are often approached through the identification of ontology mappings. A manual mapping generation slows down, or even makes unfeasible, the solution of particular cases of the aforementioned problems via ontology mappings. Some algorithms and formal models for partial tasks of automatic generation of mappings have been proposed. However, an integrated framework to solve this problem is still missing. In this paper, we present a framework for automatic ontology mapping generation, and a partial implementation of it. Our proposal is that this integrated vision can guide, not only our future work, but also the future work of other researchers. In the implementation carried out, we have built a mapping ontology with knowledge on ontology mappings.
The Parkes Elvis revival festival: economic development and contested place identities in rural Australia

This paper discusses the annual Elvis Revival Festival in the small town of Parkes, 350 km to the west of Sydney, in rural Australia. It explores the way in which a remote place with few economic prospects has created a tourism product, and subsequently captured national publicity, through a festival based around commemoration of the birthday of Elvis Presley, a performer who had never visited Australia, and certainly not Parkes. The Festival began in the early 1990s, when a keen Elvis fan rallied promoters (and other fans) around the idea of bringing Elvis impersonators to the town for an annual celebration. Since then, the Festival has grown in size, with notable economic impact. The town now partly trades on its association with Elvis, constituting an ‘invented’ tradition and place identity. Yet the festival is not without tensions. The images of Elvis and the traditions generated by the festival challenge those who wish to promote Parkes through more austere, staid notions of place and identity. For some, Elvis is a means for the town to generate income and national notoriety, while others prefer less ‘kitsch’ tourism attractions such as a nearby (and nationally famous) radio telescope. Results from interviews with key players and surveys of visitors demonstrate how ‘tradition’ is constructed in places (rather than being innate), and how small places, even in remote areas, can develop economic activities through festivals, and create new identities – albeit contested ones.
You Say you Had a Revolution: Methodological Foundations of Closed-Loop Psychology

To the extent that a scientific revolution represents a fundamental change in a discipline, the cognitive revolution in psychology was not particularly revolutionary. What changed least in this revolution was methodology. The experimental methods used in cognitive psychology are the same as those used in the behaviorism it overthrew. This methodological continuity results from the fact that both behaviorism and cognitive psychology are based on the same paradigm, which is also the basis of experimental psychology: the open-loop causal model of behavioral organization. A truly revolutionary approach to understanding the mind has been largely ignored because it is built on a paradigm that is inconsistent with conventional research methods. This new approach to psychology, called Perceptual Control Theory (PCT), is based on a closed-loop control model of behavioral organization that is tested using control engineering methods that are unfamiliar to most psychologists. This paper introduces the methodological foundations of closed-loop psychology, explains why the closed-loop revolution has not happened yet, and suggests what psychology might look like after the revolution has occurred.
Effect of Skew on Join Performance in Parallel Architectures

Skew in the distribution of values taken by an attribute is identified as a major factor that can affect the performance of parallel architectures for relational joins. The effect of skew on the performance of two parallel architectures is evaluated using analytic models. In one architecture, called database machine (DBMC), data as well as processing power are distributed; while in the other architecture, called Single Processor Parallel Input/output (SPPI), data is distributed but the processing power is concentrated in one processor. The two architectures are compared in terms of the ratio of MIPS used by DBMC and SPPI to deliver the same throughput and response time. In addition, the horizontal growth potential of DBMC is evaluated in terms of maximum speedup achievable by DBMC relative to SPPI response time. The MIPS ratio as well as speedup are found to be very sensitive to the amount of skew. These suggest, careful thought should be given in parallelizing database applications and in the design of algorithms and query optimizer for parallel architectures.
Designing a Micro-Volunteering Platform for Situated Crowdsourcing

Situated crowdsourcing has emerged to overcome the limitations of online and mobile crowdsourcing to allow people to perform a task by embedding an interface in a physical space. However, crowdsourcing for non-profits is a challenge in situated crowdsourcing platform. My dissertation investigates whether micro-volunteering can be applied successfully to a situated crowdsourcing platform for contributing problem-solving efforts with high-quality results.
Quality of qualitative studies centred on patients in family practice: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND Qualitative research is often used in the field of general medicine. Our objective was to evaluate the quality of published qualitative studies conducted using individual interviews or focus groups centred on patients monitored in general practice. METHODS We have undertaken a review of the literature in the PubMed and Embase databases of articles up to February 2014. The selection criteria were qualitative studies conducted using individual interviews or focus groups, centred on patients monitored in general practice. The articles chosen were analysed and evaluated using a score established from the Relevance, Appropriateness, Transparency and Soundness (RATS) grid. RESULTS The average score of the 52 studies chosen was 28 out of 42. The criteria least often present were the description of the patients who chose not to participate in the study, the justification of the end of data collection, the discussion of the influence of the researchers and the discussion of the confidentiality of the data. The criteria most frequently described were an explicit research question, justified and in relation to existing knowledge, the agreement of the ethical committee and the presence of quotations. The number of studies and the score increased from year-to-year. The score was independent of the impact factor of the journal. CONCLUSIONS Even though the qualitative research was published in reviews with a low impact factor, our results suggest that this research responded to the quality criteria of the RATS grid. The evaluation scored using RATS could be useful for authors or reviewers and for literature reviews.
Selecting the best taste: A group decision-making application to chocolates design

Creation and design of products based on human sensory perceptions, such as color, smell or taste, require the participation of professionals or experts with highly developed sensory abilities. When a group of experts is involved in such creative process as a team, consensus and group decision-making (GDM) techniques able to deal with qualitative descriptions and uncertainty, can be required. In this paper we consider a methodology based upon qualitative reasoning techniques for representing and synthesizing the information given by a group of experts in order to capture the sensorial aspects of the alternatives. A real application of the proposed GDM method to chocolates design has been conducted throughout 2012 with the Chocolate Chef Oriol Balaguer's team. We present the results obtained by applying the proposed methodology to aggregate experts' opinion during a creative session. In this session, some members of Oriol Balaguer's team tested and evaluated combinations of black chocolate with six different fruits, considered as alternatives, to select the best combination for the design and creation of a new cake.
A robust backpropagation learning algorithm for function approximation

The backpropagation (BP) algorithm allows multilayer feedforward neural networks to learn input-output mappings from training samples. Due to the nonlinear modeling power of such networks, the learned mapping may interpolate all the training points. When erroneous training data are employed, the learned mapping can oscillate badly between data points. In this paper we derive a robust BP learning algorithm that is resistant to the noise effects and is capable of rejecting gross errors during the approximation process. The spirit of this algorithm comes from the pioneering work in robust statistics by Huber and Hampel. Our work is different from that of M-estimators in two aspects: 1) the shape of the objective function changes with the iteration time; and 2) the parametric form of the functional approximator is a nonlinear cascade of affine transformations. In contrast to the conventional BP algorithm, three advantages of the robust BP algorithm are: 1) it approximates an underlying mapping rather than interpolating training samples; 2) it is robust against gross errors; and 3) its rate of convergence is improved since the influence of incorrect samples is gracefully suppressed.
Insulin Signaling in Health and Disease

The signaling pathways used by insulin have been identified [M. White, Insulin Signaling Pathway, Sci. STKE (Connections Map, as seen November 2003), http://stke.sciencemag. org/cgi/cm/cmp_12069]. Now our challenge is to understand how the failure of these signals is associated with obesity and the progressive failure of pancreatic beta cells that leads to diabetes. Whether better management of chronic inflammation can improve insulin action is an important area of investigation. Drugs that stimulate IRS2 (insulin receptor substrate protein 2) synthesis or signaling might be a good starting point. This knowledge will lead to rational strategies that prevent or cure diabetes.
Drosophila Casein Kinase I Alpha Regulates Homolog Pairing and Genome Organization by Modulating Condensin II Subunit Cap-H2 Levels

The spatial organization of chromosomes within interphase nuclei is important for gene expression and epigenetic inheritance. Although the extent of physical interaction between chromosomes and their degree of compaction varies during development and between different cell-types, it is unclear how regulation of chromosome interactions and compaction relate to spatial organization of genomes. Drosophila is an excellent model system for studying chromosomal interactions including homolog pairing. Recent work has shown that condensin II governs both interphase chromosome compaction and homolog pairing and condensin II activity is controlled by the turnover of its regulatory subunit Cap-H2. Specifically, Cap-H2 is a target of the SCFSlimb E3 ubiquitin-ligase which down-regulates Cap-H2 in order to maintain homologous chromosome pairing, chromosome length and proper nuclear organization. Here, we identify Casein Kinase I alpha (CK1α) as an additional negative-regulator of Cap-H2. CK1α-depletion stabilizes Cap-H2 protein and results in an accumulation of Cap-H2 on chromosomes. Similar to Slimb mutation, CK1α depletion in cultured cells, larval salivary gland, and nurse cells results in several condensin II-dependent phenotypes including dispersal of centromeres, interphase chromosome compaction, and chromosome unpairing. Moreover, CK1α loss-of-function mutations dominantly suppress condensin II mutant phenotypes in vivo. Thus, CK1α facilitates Cap-H2 destruction and modulates nuclear organization by attenuating chromatin localized Cap-H2 protein.
THE EFFECT OF CHANGING CALL DURATION AND CALLING BOUTS ON VIGILANCE IN BRANTS' WHISTLING RAT, PAROTOMYS BRANTSII

Summary The function of variation in single call duration and alarm calling bouts was investigated in Brants’ whistling rat, Parotomys brantsii, by means of playback experiments and video analyses of the vigilance displayed. Short calls are produced in high-risk situations, and long calls in low-risk encounters, but these calls apparently do not communicate this variance in risk to conspecie cs. Both short and long single calls induced heightened vigilance in receivers, but rats did not respond differentially to the two call types, and it was concluded that P. brantsii alarm calls are not functionally referential. Multiple calls maintained a state of increased alertness in receivers for a longer period than single calls, even after the bouts had ended, but long bouts (duration: 64 s) did not lead to longer periods of vigilance than short bouts (29 s). Thus the tonic communication hypothesis is only partially supported by our study.
Effective multicultural project management: the role of human interdependence

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to look at human interdependence and its significance in project management. Design/methodology/approach – The paper focuses solely on human interaction in the context of a short-term project consisting of preparing a small “international” fair in Gatineau, Quebec (Canada). For this purpose, an established questionnaire was used which aimed to evaluate the predator-prey dynamic between team members (as described by Mesly in a recent paper). Findings – Human interdependence indeed plays a key role in the functioning of short-lived projects (and, this paper assumes, of long-term projects as well). Originality/value – The paper places emphasis on considering the human power-game factor (predator-prey) more strongly in future project endeavors.
Effect of pressure on the optical-absorption edges of CsGeBr3 and CsGeCl3.

We have investigated the effect of hydrostatic pressure on the optical-absorption edges of the ferroelectric compounds ${\mathrm{CsGeBr}}_{3}$ and ${\mathrm{CsGeCl}}_{3}$. The absorption edge energies of the ambient pressure modifications (trigonally distorted cubic perovskite) are ${\mathit{E}}_{\mathit{G}}$ = 2.32(5) eV and 3.67(5) eV, respectively. We find extraordinary large redshifts of the absorption edges under pressure for the distorted modifications (e.g., -0.61 eV/GPa for the bromine compound) as well as high-pressure cubic phases. Experimental results are interpreted on the basis of Hartree-Fock band structure calculations for ${\mathrm{CsGeBr}}_{3}$ in the cubic primitive structure. The absorption edges are attributed to the lowest direct gap transition at the R point of the Brillouin zone. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.
Bio-conventional bleaching of kraft-AQ pulp of A. cadamba by crude xylanases from Coprinellus disseminatus MLK-03 and effect of residual enzyme on effluent load

A new thermo-alkali-tolerant crude xylanase from Coprinellus disseminatus decreased kappa number by 34.38% and improved brightness and viscosity by 1.6 and 6.47% respectively after XE1-stage during prebleaching of Anthocephalus cadamba kraft-AQ pulp. At 2.4% chlorine demand, crude xylanase in a XECEHH (X= enzymatic prebleaching stage, E= extraction stage, C= chlorination stage, H= hypochlorite stage) bleaching sequence improved pulp brightness, tensile index, burst index, and double fold numbers by 3.66%, 4.78%, 6.38%, and 11.11%, respectively with a reduction in viscosity (10.59%) and tear index (10.77%) compared to the control. Combined bleach effluent of the XECEHH sequence mitigated adsorable organic halides (AOX) by 21% and increased chemical oxygen demand (COD), bio-chemical oxygen demand (BOD), and colour by 67.18%, 84.78%, and 97.53%, respectively, compared to the control. Residual enzymes that entered during enzymatic prebleaching stage decreased AOX, COD, BOD, and colour of combined effluent of the XECEHH bleaching sequence progressively and on 6th day, and these were reduced by 23.78%, 0.04%, 15.00%, and 0.61%, respectively, compared to the control.