Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adults Living with Type 1 Diabetes, Reflections of their Youth: A Phenomenological Study.

Type 1 diabetes is a chronic medical condition. Effective illness management requires numerous, continuous self-care procedures to ensure a healthy life free of complications. This study asks, what do adults with type 1 diabetes recall about living with a chronic health condition during their youth? By interviewing adults about the different types of relationships and the experiences they had in their youth, the research examines if relationships influence diabetes self-care. Using a phenomenological approached called the Vancouver School of Phenomenology, the researcher drew themes from nine participant interviews. These include: diabetes knowledge, the impacts of diabetes, constructive and deconstructive factors in relationships, and self-awareness and identity in youth and adults with type 1 diabetes. In the sample, this particular composition of participants displayed characteristics that were not consistent with the majority of literature findings regarding persons living with type 1 diabetes. As a result, the data in this study revealed that relationships, and being highly motivated, organized, capable, cognitively intact and functional within the realities of daily life plays a critical role in diabetes self-care and this role changes and evolves over time.
Juvenile Gang Delinquency and Its Origin: Multifaceted Approach

Many Social factors are frequently used to explain juvenile delinquency and the emergence and persistence of juvenile gangs. Sociological theories, such as social control, containment, differential association, anomie, and labeling reflect different levels of predictive utility relative to delinquent conduct and are invoked to account for juvenile offending behavior. A survey of literature discloses that it is necessary to employ various sociological factors simultaneously to gain a better understanding of the cause of juvenile gang delinquency. Based on the findings of this research with the meticulous statistical analysis, thus, it is suggested that using a strategy from several theoretical explanations simultaneously to account for delinquent conduct and gang formation has greater predictive utility as opposed to using single-theoretical explanations.
Postprandial plasma 5-hydroxytryptamine in diarrhoea predominant irritable bowel syndrome: a pilot study

Background—Increased concentrations of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) can be detected in the systemic circulation after a meal and may be involved in the physiological control of gastrointestinal motility. Abnormalities of 5-HT release after a meal might explain some of the postprandial symptoms associated with the irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Aim—To investigate the effect of a standard meal on plasma 5-HT and urinary 5-hydroxyindole acetic acid (5-HIAA) concentrations in patients with diarrhoea predominant IBS and in healthy volunteers. Methods—After an overnight fast, six volunteers and five patients with IBS were given a carbohydrate-rich meal. Blood and urine samples were taken before and for four hours after the meal. Platelet-poor plasma 5-HT and urinary 5-HIAA were analysed by reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography with fluorometric detection. 5-HIAA was expressed as a ratio with urinary creatinine concentration, which was measured by spectrophotometry. Results—During the four hour postprandial period, 5-HT concentrations were significantly higher in patients with IBS than in healthy volunteers at 0.5 hours (p<0.05), 2 hours (p<0.05) and 2.5 hours (p<0.05). 5-HT was not detected in the plasma in the fasting state in patients or volunteers. Median peak 5-HT in patients with IBS (359 (198–796) nmol/l) was significantly greater than volunteers (83 (7–190)) (p<0.05). “Area under the curve” for 5-HT detection was greater for patients with IBS (317 (138–771)) than for healthy volunteers (51 (4–129); p<0.05). The duration of the 5-HT peak was significantly longer in patients with IBS (3 (1–3) hours) than in the healthy volunteers (1 (1–1) hours; p<0.01). Postprandial urinary median 5-HIAA values in controls (5.6 (5.5–5.8) μmol/mmol creatinine) and patients with IBS (3.0 (2.5–6.8) μmol/mmol creatinine) were not significantly different from preprandial values (controls: 5.9 (5.5–6.6) μmol/mmol creatinine; patients with IBS: (6.2 (2.4–9.3) μmol/mmol creatinine). Conclusion—These findings indicate that there may be a difference in the way that 5-HT is released in patients with diarrhoea predominant IBS, and could suggest a possible role for 5-HT in the postprandial symptoms of these patients.
Scaling laws for frequency domain controllers of dynamically equivalent single flexible link manipulators

The nondimensional groups which characterize a group of dynamically equivalent single flexible link (SFL) manipulators are determined. A scaling law for linear rational controllers is developed for dynamically equivalent SFL systems. As an example of the applicability of this theoretical scaling law to even sophisticated control techniques, it is verified experimentally for an H/sub /spl infin// control strategy.
A randomized multicenter phase II trial on the efficacy of a hydrocolloid dressing containing ceramide with a low-friction external surface for hand-foot skin reaction caused by sorafenib in patients with renal cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to investigate the usefulness of a hydrocolloid dressing containing ceramide for hand-foot skin reaction (HFSR) on the soles of the feet in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) patients treated with sorafenib. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients with grade 1 HFSR on the soles of the feet were randomly assigned in to two groups. One group received a hydrocolloid dressing containing ceramide (arm A) and the other received 10% urea cream (arm B). Patients in both groups applied treatment to the affected sites on the soles of the feet, but not to the hands. The primary end point was the incidence of grade 2 or 3 HFSR on the soles of the feet in the first 4 weeks. RESULTS Thirty-three patients were assessed (17 in arm A and 16 in arm B), and there were no significant differences in baseline characteristics between the two groups. During the observation period of this study, grade 2 or 3 HFSR on the soles of the feet was found in 29% of patients in arm A and was significantly less than the 69% in arm B (P=0.03). The incidence of HFSR on the hands, however, was similar in both arms. The median time to grade 2 or 3 HFSR on the soles of the feet was also significantly longer in arm A than in arm B (P=0.03). CONCLUSIONS These results indicate that a hydrocolloid dressing containing ceramide prevented the worsening of HFSR caused by sorafenib in metastatic RCC patients. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER UMIN000002016.
The effect of the social environment on the parental care and offspring performance of burying beetles, Nicrophorus vespilloides.

Mating traits and parental care are closely connected. For example, an increase in mating rate by males can be costly to females, resulting in a reduction in their parental care behaviour. Costs of mating traits and parental behaviour can sometimes differ between sexes and depend on resource availability. A recent study on burying beetles, Nicrophorus vespilloides, by Head et al. (2014) found that artificial selection for a high mating rate did not result in males providing more parental care under biparental conditions, as would be expected due to their higher perceived paternity. However, females from lines selected for high mating rate expressed lower levels of parental care than those from lines selected for low mating rate. This suggests that under biparental conditions, the costs to mating are greater for females than males in this species. However, male burying beetle parental care is known to be highly plastic, with more care provided under uniparental conditions. It is therefore unknown how the costs of mating impact parental care and offspring performance when parents care for larvae on their own, which commonly occurs in the wild. The aim of this current study therefore was to investigate the costs of a high mating rate in burying beetles under uniparental conditions, to determine whether they lead to a reduction in parental care or offspring performance. I also investigated whether these costs differ between males and females, and whether they are dependent on carcass size, a key resource for breeding for burying beetles. Individuals from lines selected for high mating rate produced fewer larvae initially, and had a lower proportion of larvae survive to dispersal, than those from lines selected for low mating rate. However, individuals from the high mating rate line spent more time providing parental care, suggesting there may be a trade-off between egg production and parental care in females. Unexpectedly, high mating rate line individuals raised larvae of greater mass than those from the low mating rate line. There was evidence for the costs of a high mating rate being greater for females than males; there was a significant effect of an interaction between the sex of the parent providing care and selection line on the proportion of time the parent spent providing direct care and on mean larval mass. There was also 24 a significant effect of an interaction between carcass size and selection line on the proportion of time the parent spent providing direct care and the proportion of larvae surviving to dispersal, suggesting the costs of a high mating rate are greater when breeding on a larger carcass. This study demonstrates how sex differences in the cost of mating traits, and the effect of the non-social environment on these costs, can have important consequences for parental care and offspring performance, including the coevolution of mating and parental care traits in males and females.
Possible Involvement of P2Y2 Metabotropic Receptors in ATP-Induced Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid Receptor 1-Mediated Thermal Hypersensitivity

The capsaicin receptor transient receptor potential V1 (TRPV1; also known as vanilloid receptor 1) is a sensory neuron-specific ion channel that serves as a polymodal detector of pain-producing chemical and physical stimuli. It has been reported that extracellular ATP potentiates the TRPV1 currents evoked by capsaicin or protons and reduces the temperature threshold for its activation through metabotropic P2Y receptors in a PKC-dependent pathway, suggesting that TRPV1 activation could trigger the sensation of pain at normal body temperature in the presence of ATP. Here, we show that ATP-induced thermal hyperalgesia was abolished in mice lacking TRPV1, suggesting the functional interaction between ATP and TRPV1 at a behavioral level. However, thermal hyperalgesia was preserved in P2Y1 receptor-deficient mice. Patch-clamp analyses using mouse dorsal root ganglion neurons indicated the involvement of P2Y2 rather than P2Y1 receptors. Coexpression of TRPV1 mRNA with P2Y2 mRNA, but not P2Y1 mRNA, was determined in the rat lumbar DRG using in situ hybridization histochemistry. These data indicate the importance of metabotropic P2Y2 receptors in nociception through TRPV1.
Robotics Challenges for Robotic and Human Mars Exploration

Infrastructure support for robotic colonies, Mars habitat for humans, and/or robotic exploration of planetary surfaces will need to rely on the field deployment of multiple robust robots. This support includes such tasks as the deployment and servicing of power systems and in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) generators, establishing long-life robotic science stations for measurement and communications, construction of beaconed roadways, and the site preparation and deployment of human habitat modules. Precursor robotic missions to Mars that involve teams of multiple cooperating robots to accomplish some of these tasks is a cost effective solution to the possible long timeline necessary for the deployment of a human habitat. Ongoing work at JPL in the area of robot colonies is investigating many of the technology developments necessary for such an ambitious undertaking. Some of the issues that are being addressed include behavior-based control systems for multiple cooperating robots , development of autonomous robotic systems for the repair of disabled robots, and the design and development of robotic platforms for construction tasks such as material transport and surface clearing. This paper presents the results of an examination of requirements for robotic precursor missions to Mars.
The Soundness and Completeness of ACSR (Algebra of Communicating Shared Resources)

Recently, significant progress has been made in the development of timed process algebras for the specification and analysis of real-time systems; one of which is a timed process algebra called ACSR. ACSR supports synchronous timed actions and asynchronous instantaneous events. Timed actions are used to represent the usage of resources and to model the passage of time. Events are used to capture synchronization between processes. To be able to specify real systems accurately, ACSR supports a notion of priority that can be used to arbitrate among timed actions competing for the use of resources and among events that are ready for synchronization. Equivalence between ACSR terms is defined in terms of strong bisimulation. The paper contains a set of algebraic laws that are proven sound and complete for finite ACSR agents. Comments University of Pennsylvania Department of Computer and Information Science Technical Report No. MSCIS-93-59. This technical report is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn. edu/cis_reports/309 The Soundness and Completeness of ACSR (Algebra of Communicating Shared Resources) MS-CIS-93-59 GRASP LAB 350 Patrice Br6mond-Grdgoire Jin-Young Choi Insup Lee University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science Computer and Information Science Department Philadelphia, PA 19104-6389
Video-Based Interactive Storytelling

Lima, Edirlei Everson Soares de. Video-Based Interactive Storytelling. Rio de Janeiro, 2014. 218p. DSc Thesis Departamento de Informática, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro. The generation of engaging visual representations for interactive storytelling represents a key challenge for the evolution and popularization of interactive narratives. Usually, interactive storytelling systems adopt computer graphics to represent the virtual story worlds, which facilitates the dynamic generation of visual content. Although animation is a powerful storytelling medium, live-action films still attract more attention from the general public. In addition, despite the recent progress in graphics rendering and the wide-scale acceptance of 3D animation in films, the visual quality of video is still far superior to that of realtime generated computer graphics. In the present thesis, we propose a new approach to create more engaging interactive narratives, denominated “VideoBased Interactive Storytelling”, where characters and virtual environments are replaced by real actors and settings, without losing the logical structure of the narrative. This work presents a general model for interactive storytelling systems that are based on video, including the authorial aspects of the production phases, and the technical aspects of the algorithms responsible for the real-time generation of interactive narratives using video compositing techniques.
Socioeconomic factors and mortality in urban settings: the case of Barcelona, Spain.

STUDY OBJECTIVE--This study aimed to describe the relationship between health and socioeconomic indicators in the 38 neighbourhoods of the city of Barcelona, Spain. DESIGN--Mortality data for 1983-89 and socioeconomic data for each of the 38 neighbourhoods of Barcelona were used. Mortality indicators used were the comparative mortality figure, the ratio of potential years of life lost, and life expectancy at birth. Socioeconomic indicators were the percentage of unemployed, the percentage of illiteracy, monthly telephone usage, the average power and age of cars, and the average rateable value of buildings and of land. The statistical correlation between socioeconomic indicators and mortality indicators was studied by Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. SETTING--The 38 neighbourhoods of Barcelona, Spain. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS--The comparative mortality figure ranged from 87.41-152.43 and the ratio of potential years of life lost from 74.94-237.31 in both sexes. Both the absolute difference and the ratio of the value for the neighbourhood with lowest mortality and that with highest mortality were larger when premature mortality was examined. Life expectancy at birth ranged from 64.77-75.32 years in men and 75.04-81.51 in women. All correlations between mortality and socioeconomic indicators were high and statistically significant: the higher the unemployment and illiteracy levels and the older the cars, the greater the comparative mortality figure and ratio of potential years of life lost, and the lower the life expectancy (negative correlations). Conversely, the higher the telephone use, the more powerful the cars, and the greater the rateable value, the lower the mortality (negative correlations) and the greater the life expectancy. These correlations were greater in males than in females. The highest correlations were with illiteracy. CONCLUSIONS--This study has detected significant differences in mortality in a large town in the Mediterranean region of Europe.
Polar , bipolar and copolar varieties : Real solving of algebraic varieties with intrinsic complexity 1

This survey covers a decade and a half of joint work with L. Lehmann, G. M. Mbakop, and L. M. Pardo. We address the problem of finding a smooth algebraic sample point for each connected component of a real algebraic variety, being only interested in components which are generically smooth locally complete intersections. The complexity of our algorithms is essentially polynomial in the degree of suitably defined generalized polar varieties and is therefore intrinsic to the problem under consideration.
Internet Pajama : A Mobile Hugging Communication System

Internet Pajama is a novel wearable system aimed at promoting physical interaction in remote communication between parent and child. This system enables parent and child to hug one another through a novel hugging interface device and a wearable, hug reproducing jacket connected through the Internet. The hugging device is a small, mobile doll with embedded pressure sensing circuit that is able to sense varying levels of human force. This device sends hug signals to a haptic jacket that simulates the feeling of being hugged to the wearer. It features high fidelity, air pockets actuating to reproduce hug, heating elements to produce warmth that accompanies hug and color changing display to indicate distance of separation and to display emoticons. In this paper, we present the system design of Internet Pajama and propose a design space table to guide in exploring various configurations by looking at the variables.
Spectral Similarity Measure Edge Detection Algorithm in Hyperspectral Image

Hyperspectral remote sensing is a new and fast growing remote sensing technology that currently being widely investigated by researchers and scientists. Much of hyperspectral image analysis is focused on information extraction within a single pixel. However, information about the geometrical shape can improve the capability of recognizing ground truth as different kinds of targets with similar spectral. This paper focused on edge detection in hyperspectral image. Spectral similarity measures were introduced for the spectral feature variations in neighborhood and spectral similarity measure edge detectors were proposed. Then a spectral similarity edge detection algorithm was developed to extract edge information from hyperspectral image, which extends the traditional edge detection technique to high dimension of hyperspectral image. In experiments, spectral similarity edge detection algorithm demonstrated excellent performance in a real hyperspectral image.
Random Projection for Fast and Efficient Multivariate Correlation Analysis of High-Dimensional Data: A New Approach

In recent years, the advent of great technological advances has produced a wealth of very high-dimensional data, and combining high-dimensional information from multiple sources is becoming increasingly important in an extending range of scientific disciplines. Partial Least Squares Correlation (PLSC) is a frequently used method for multivariate multimodal data integration. It is, however, computationally expensive in applications involving large numbers of variables, as required, for example, in genetic neuroimaging. To handle high-dimensional problems, dimension reduction might be implemented as pre-processing step. We propose a new approach that incorporates Random Projection (RP) for dimensionality reduction into PLSC to efficiently solve high-dimensional multimodal problems like genotype-phenotype associations. We name our new method PLSC-RP. Using simulated and experimental data sets containing whole genome SNP measures as genotypes and whole brain neuroimaging measures as phenotypes, we demonstrate that PLSC-RP is drastically faster than traditional PLSC while providing statistically equivalent results. We also provide evidence that dimensionality reduction using RP is data type independent. Therefore, PLSC-RP opens up a wide range of possible applications. It can be used for any integrative analysis that combines information from multiple sources.
A theory and its metatheory in FS 0

Feferman has proposed FS0, a theory of finitary inductive systems, as a framework theory that allows a user to reason both in and about an encoded theory. I look here at how practical FS0 really is. To this end I formalise a sequent calculus presentation of classical propositional logic, and show this can be used for work in both the theory and the metatheory. the latter is illustrated with a discussion of a proof of Gentzen’s Hauptsatz.
Magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the brain

Proton magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy of the brain is a non-invasive, in vivo technique that allows investigation into regional chemical environments. Its complementary use with MR imaging sequences provides valuable insights into brain tumour characteristics, progression and response to treatment. Additionally, its sensitivity to brain dysfunction in the presence of apparently normal structural imaging has galvanised interest in its use as a biomarker of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. Accordingly, its integration into clinical imaging protocols within many neuroscience centres throughout the world is increasing. This growing attention is encouraging but if the potential of MR spectroscopy is to be realised, fundamental questions need to be addressed, such as reproducibility of the technique and the biochemistry that underpins the neurometabolites measured. Failure to resolve these issues will continue to hinder the extent and accuracy of conclusions that can be drawn from its data. In this review we discuss the issues regarding MR spectroscopy in the brain with particular attention paid to its technique. Key examples of current clinical applications are provided and future directions are discussed.