Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessing a groupware implementation of a manual participatory design process

Our attempt to implement a groupware version of a manual participatory design process (Muller, Miller, Smith, White, and Wildman, 1992) has revealed several constmints that may apply to other groupware systems for collaboration — especially those that involve skills from outside the computer domain. The Manual PICTIVE Process. PICTIVE1 is a deliberately low-tech approach to the participatory design of systems (Muller, 1991, 1992). It was developed to bring users, developers, human factors workers, and other stakeholders in a product, directly into the design process as peer co-designers (e.g., Mtdler, 1991). PICTIVE uses a simple objec[ model of office tools, such as colored pens, Post-Itm notes, scissors, and so on, slightly customized for the intended computer domain. This facilitates the PICTIVE parficipafion model: Diverse stakeholders need a common language (Dykstra, 1991) or “equal opportunity” design environment (Mttller, 1992) for which (a) their skills are roughly equal within the environment, and (b) their domain knowledge can be easily expressed through the environment.
Static Test Compaction for Low-Power Test Sets by Increasing the Switching Activity

This brief describes a static test compaction procedure for low-power test sets, which is based on the observation that a higher switching activity leads to a smaller number of tests. To use this observation in the context of low-power test sets, this brief makes the following new observations. First, considering the number of tests in a given test set where a line g makes a 0 → 1 or a 1 → 0 transition, there are large variations in this number between different lines. Increasing the switching activity only for a subset G of lines that make the smallest numbers of signal transitions is sufficient for achieving test compaction. Second, the switching activity for the subset G can be increased in a way that the specific values that the lines assume can occur during functional operation, and the maximum switching activity for the test set does not increase. These observations allow the compacted test set to remain a low-power test set. Experimental results demonstrate significant reductions in the numbers of tests in low-power test sets for transition faults in benchmark circuits.
Ad hoc routing protocol by taking the communication quality into account between adjacent links

In an ad hoc network, communication distance is limited by the need to minimize the power consumption of the communication nodes. To deal with this, we usually employ multi-hop relaying functions that use the number of hops as a routing metric. But in an environment where traffic density is high, the same relaying node may be used by multiple sending nodes due to their spatial distribution. Data packets sent from such nodes may collide and cause packet loss at the relaying node, causing degradation of data transmission throughput. To improve this situation, we propose ad hoc on-demand distance vector (AODV) using TCP with cache function and CM (Cross-layered Multipath)-AODV using SINR (Signal to Interference and Noise Ratio) to determine the next hop. However, in both methods the alternate path is determined based on AODV when the current path fails. It usually takes a long time to establish the new path, varying in proportion to the number of hops. So we need to invent a method that can realize high throughput even if communication failures are frequent. In this paper, we propose a method in which hello packets are used to generate the routing metric by monitoring the communication quality between adjacent links in AODV. We also describe the evaluation results of simulation experiments demonstrating the avoidance of throughput degradation when data traffic density is high.
Scintillation Properties of LuAG:Ce, YAG:Ce and LYSO:Ce Crystals for Gamma-Ray Detection

The scintillation properties of LuAG:Ce and YAG:Ce crystals were compared with LYSO:Ce crystal under ¿ -ray excitation. Light yield non-proportionality and energy resolution were measured with a Photonis XP5500B PMT. The energy resolution, obtained in this work for 662 keV ¿ -rays, was 6.7, 7.0 and 8.7%, respectively, for LuAG:Ce, YAG:Ce and LYSO:Ce detectors. The values reflect the influence of the light yield non-proportionality on the measured energy resolution. A fast component in the scintillation decay of LuAG:Ce crystal is faster than that of the YAG:Ce crystal, whereas the relative intensity of a fast component for YAG:Ce crystal is higher than that of LuAG:Ce crystal. The coincidence time resolution, obtained in this work for 511 keV annihilation quanta, was 660, 583 and 222 ps, respectively, for YAG:Ce, LuAG:Ce and LYSO:Ce detectors in coincidence experiment together with a BaF2 detector. Time resolution was also discussed in terms of a number of photoelectrons and decay time of the light pulse.
Pitfalls, Problems, and Progress in Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia is a chronic lung disease associated with premature birth and characterized by early lung injury. In this review we discuss some pitfalls, problems, and progress in this condition over the last decade, focusing mainly on the last 5 years, limited to studies in human neonates. Changes in the definition, pathogenesis, genetic susceptibility, and recent biomarkers associated with bronchopulmonary dysplasia will be discussed. Progress in current management strategies, along with novel approaches/therapies, will be critically appraised. Finally, recent data on long-term pulmonary and neurodevelopmental outcomes of infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia will be summarized.
Is a Large Number of Sputum Specimens Necessary for the Bacteriological Diagnosis of Tuberculosis?

The recent increase in tuberculosis (TB) incidence ([7][1]) has further focused interest on efforts to design more effective diagnostic procedures to improve classical diagnostic methodologies for the disorder ([1][2], [2][3], [5][4], [6][5]). The recent paper by Nelson and coworkers ([3][6]),
PHYLOGENY AND THE EVOLUTION OF HOST PLANT ASSOCIATIONS IN THE LEAF BEETLE GENUS OPHRAELLA (COLEOPTERA, CHRYSOMELIDAE)

Species of Ophraella, a North American genus of leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae), feed variously on eight genera in four tribes of Asteraceae. A phylogenetic analysis, based on morphological features and allozymes, was undertaken to deduce the history of host affiliation within the genus. The two data sets are combined to arrive at a provisional phylogeny of the species, onto which host associations are parsimoniously mapped. Among and within the 12 species studied, at least two shifts are postulated to have occurred among congeneric plant species, five between genera in the same tribe, and four between different tribes of Asteraceae.
Molecular Basis of Clinical Heterogeneity in Neuroblastoma

Neuroblastomas are heterogeneous in terms of both their genotype and their clinical behavior. Recent studies suggest that these two features are related, and that the genotype frequently is predictive of response to treatment or the outcome of the patient. The genetic abnormalities that are characteristic of certain neuroblastomas include: (a) loss of heterozygosity (LOH) for the short arm of chromosome 1, including band 1p36; (b) amplification of the N-myc protooncogene; and (c) hyperdiploidy, or near-triploidy, determined either by flow cytometry or by karyotype. Hyperdiploidy is associated with lower stages of the tumor and with a favorable outcome in infants. However, LOH for chromosome 1 (band p36) and N-myc amplification are more common in patients over 1 year of age who have advanced stages of the tumor. Based on analysis of neuroblastomas for these genetic abnormalities, three distinct genetic subsets can be identified. The first is characterized by a hyperdiploid or near-triploid modal karyotype, with few, if any, cytogenetic rearrangements. These patients are generally less than 1 year of age, they have localized tumors, and have a good prognosis. The second genetic subset has a near-diploid karyotype, but with no consistent abnormality identified to date. They are generally older patients with tumors in the more advanced stages that progress slowly and are often fatal. Patients in the third group of genetic abnormalities have a near-diploid or tetraploid karyotype, with deletions or loss of heterozygosity for 1p36, amplification of N-myc, or both. These patients are generally older; they have advanced stage tumors that are rapidly progressive. Thus, genetic analysis of neuroblastoma cells provides prognostic information beyond that provided by age and stage alone. Consideration of the genotype of neuroblastomas can help to direct the choice of treatment more appropriately.
Application of a Prediction Model for Identification of Individuals at Diabetic Risk

Summary As a follow-up to our preceding paper, we attempted to extract features of health risk progression for diabetes in Sequential Multi Layered Perceptron (SMLP) via inverse processing of the learned structure. The time-varying risk progress was assessed with risk trajectory and conditional mixture model. Overall risk cut along with the prediction was stable over time and high body mass index (BMI) tops the health behavioral risks predicting the onset of diabetes. For the initial prediction, high BMI (obesity), high blood pressure (BP), high cholesterol, and diet in fatty food were significant. Over time, variations in trajectory were due to changes in BMI, stress, BP, cholesterol, and fatty food intake. We tested the effectiveness of identifying prediabetics by the SMLP by applying the implemented SMLP to a test population of employees from a large manufacturing company, where an early worksite health promotion was initiated (1984). This resulted in a potential sensitivity (71.4%) although there were issues like mapping corresponding risks and large time lags. A secondary test on the similar population as in the previous paper showed a promising sensitivity (86.5%) over 3 years. When combining with targeted screening such as impaired glucose tolerance test only for those predicted to be diabetics, the presented prediction model and extracted features can be used in implementing an effective disease prevention and management program.
Improving SVM by Modifying Kernel Functions for Speaker Identification Task

Support vector machine (SVM) was the first proposed kernel-based method. It uses a kernel function to transform data from input space into a high-dimensional feature space in which it searches for a separating hyperplane. SVM aims to maximise the generalisation ability that depends on the empirical risk and the complexity of the machine. SVM has been widely adopted in real-world applications including speech recognition. In this paper, an empirical comparison of kernel selection for SVM were used and discussed to achieve performance on text-independent speaker identification using the TIMIT corpus. We were focused on SVM trained using linear, polynomial and radial basis function (RBF) kernels. Results showed that the best performance had been achieved by using polynomial kernel and reported a speaker identification rate equal to 82.47%.
Retiming and clock scheduling for digital circuit optimization

This paper investigates the application of simultaneous retiming and clock scheduling for optimizing synchronous circuits under setup and hold constraints. Two optimization problems are explored: (1) clock period minimization and (2) tolerance maximization to clock-signal delay variations. Exact mixed-integer linear programming formulations and efficient heuristics are given for both problems. When both long and short paths are considered, circuits optimized by the combined application of retiming and clock scheduling can achieve shorter clock periods or demonstrate greater tolerance to clock-signal delay variations than circuits optimized by retiming or clock scheduling. Experiments with benchmark circuits demonstrate the effectiveness of the combined optimization. In comparison with the best result obtained by either of the two optimizations, the joint application of retiming and clock scheduling increased operating speeds by more than 8% on the average. It also increased tolerance to clock delay variations by an average of 12% over a broad range of target clock frequencies. Larger relative improvements were achieved for shorter clock periods, thus suggesting that simultaneous retiming and clock scheduling can play an important role in high-speed design.
Novel mechanisms of protection against acetaminophen hepatotoxicity in mice by glutathione and N‐acetylcysteine

Acetaminophen (APAP) overdose is a major cause of acute liver failure. The glutathione (GSH) precursor N‐acetylcysteine (NAC) is used to treat patients with APAP overdose for up to 48 hours. Although it is well established that early treatment with NAC can improve the scavenging of the reactive metabolite N‐acetyl‐p‐benzoquinone imine, protective mechanisms at later times remain unclear. To address this issue, fasted C3Heb/FeJ mice were treated with 300 mg/kg APAP and then received intravenously 0.65 mmol/kg GSH or NAC at 1.5 hours after APAP. The animals were sacrificed at 6 hours. APAP alone caused severe liver injury with peroxynitrite formation and DNA fragmentation, all of which was attenuated by both treatments. However, GSH (−82%) was more effective than NAC (−46%) in preventing liver injury. Using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to measure tissue adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels and the substrate flux through the mitochondrial Krebs cycle, it was observed that the reduced liver injury correlated with accelerated recovery of mitochondrial GSH content, maintenance of ATP levels, and an increased substrate supply for the mitochondrial Krebs cycle compared with APAP alone. NAC treatment was less effective in recovering ATP and mitochondrial GSH levels and showed reduced substrate flux through the Krebs cycle compared with GSH. However, increasing the dose of NAC improved the protective effect similar to GSH, suggesting that the amino acids not used for GSH synthesis were used as mitochondrial energy substrates. Conclusion: Delayed treatment with GSH and NAC protect against APAP overdose by dual mechanisms—that is, by enhancing hepatic and mitochondrial GSH levels (scavenging of reactive oxygen and peroxynitrite)—and by supporting the mitochondrial energy metabolism. (HEPATOLOGY 2009.)
Book Review: Econophysics and Companies—Statistical Life and Death in Complex Business Networks

Hideaki Aoyama, Yoshi Fujiwara, Yuchi Ikeda, Hiroshi Iyetomi and Wataru Souma, Econophysics and Companies—Statistical Life and Death in Complex Business Networks, 2011, New York, USA: Cambridge University Press, 234 pp., $114.
The crystal structures of macrophage migration inhibitory factor from Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium berghei

Malaria, caused by Plasmodium falciparum and related parasites, is responsible for millions of deaths each year, mainly from complications arising from the blood stages of its life cycle. Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), a protein expressed by the parasite during these stages, has been characterized in mammals as a cytokine involved in a broad spectrum of immune responses. It also possesses two catalytic activities, a tautomerase and an oxidoreductase, though the physiological significance of neither reaction is known. Here, we have determined the crystal structure of MIF from two malaria parasites, Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium berghei at 2.2 Å and 1.8 Å, respectively. The structures have an α/β fold and each reveals a trimer, in agreement with the results of analytical ultracentrifugation. We observed open and closed active sites, these being distinguished by movements of proline‐1, the catalytic base in the tautomerase reaction. These states correlate with the covalent modification of cysteine 2 to form a mercaptoethanol adduct, an observation confirmed by mass spectrometry. The Plasmodium MIFs have a different pattern of conserved cysteine residues to the mammalian MIFs and the side chain of Cys58, which is implicated in the oxidoreductase activity, is buried. This observation and the evident redox reactivity of Cys2 suggest quite different oxidoreductase characteristics. Finally, we show in pull‐down assays that Plasmodium MIF binds to the cell surface receptor CD74, a known mammalian MIF receptor implying that parasite MIF has the ability to interfere with, or modulate, host MIF activity through a competitive binding mechanism.
A case of thyroid storm with cardiac arrest

A 23-year-old man became unconscious while jogging. He immediately received basic life support from a bystander and was transported to our hospital. On arrival, his spontaneous circulation had returned from a state of ventricular fibrillation and pulseless electrical activity. Following admission, hyperthyroidism led to a suspicion of thyroid storm, which was then diagnosed as a possible cause of the cardiac arrest. Although hyperthyroidism-induced cardiac arrest including ventricular fibrillation is rare, it should be considered when diagnosing the cause of treatable cardiac arrest.
Degendering Psyche: Considerations for a Movement to Queer Jungian and Archetypal Thought

Degendering Psyche: Considerations for a Movement to Queer Jungian and Archetypal Thought by Jennifer L. Kerns The depth psychological traditions have yet to fully acknowledge and recognize queer theory’s fundamental premises in relationship to Jungian and archetypal thought. Utilizing hermeneutic and heuristic methodology, this thesis joins a depth-psychological approach with contemporary queer theory to investigate the possibilities and limitations for initiating a depth psychological posture toward psyche informed by American feminist and gender expert Judith Lorber’s tenets on social degendering. Queering Jungian and archetypal thought challenges and dismantles notions of a divided gender archetypal structure of masculine and feminine principles and corresponding assumptions about the essential male and female natures while inviting the field to imagine notions of archetypal gender deviance and multiple gender categories and principles. Clear evidence is presented indicating that degendering suggests archetypes and archetypal images as being performative in nature, rather than expressing a naturalized and objective psyche, which in turn makes for a queer-affirmative and culturally responsive therapeutic process.
Combination Artificial Ant Clustering and K-PSO Clustering Approach to Network Security Model

A Computer system now operate in an environment of near ubiquitous connectivity, whether tethered to an Ethernet cable or connected via wireless technology. While the availability of always on communication has created countless new opportunities for web based businesses, information sharing, and coordination, it has also created new opportunities for those that seek to illegally disrupt, subvert, or attack these activities. We present natural based data mining algorithm approach to data clustering. Artificial ant clustering algorithm is used to initially create raw clusters and then these clusters are refined using k-mean particle swarm optimization (KPSO). KPSO that has been developed as evolutionary-based clustering technique. The algorithm uses hybridization the k-means algorithm and PSO principle to find good partitions of the data. Certain unnecessary complications of the original algorithm are discussed and means of overcoming these complexities are proposed. We propose k-means particle swarm optimization clustering algorithm in the second stage for refinement mean of overcoming these complexities is proposed. Our approach allows us to recognize not only known attacks but also to detect suspicious activity that may be the result of a new, unknown attack. The experimental results on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining-(KDDCup 1999.
A Role for Mental Imagery in the Experience and Reduction of Food Cravings

The term “craving” refers to a strong motivational state, which compels an individual to seek and ingest a particular substance (1). It usually refers to alcohol, tobacco, or drugs, but has become increasingly applied to food. Thus, food cravings refer to an intense desire or urge to eat a specific food (2). It is this specificity that distinguishes a craving from ordinary food choices and hunger (3). In Western societies, the most commonly craved foods are those high in fat, sugar, and salt, such as cake, chips, pizza, ice-cream, and in particular chocolate (4). Most people experience cravings for such palatable foods on occasion without any problem (5). However, food cravings can pose significant health risks for some people. Most notably, they can contribute to the development of obesity (6) and disordered eating (7), increasingly serious global health issues (8, 9). This has prompted a surge of investigations into the mechanisms that underlie the experience of food craving with a view to developing effective craving reduction techniques. The present paper focuses specifically on cravings for food, and the role of mental imagery in the experience and reduction of such cravings. For excellent reviews of the theoretical underpinnings of craving and addiction more broadly, we refer the reader to recent works by May and colleagues (10, 11). We take a more applied perspective here and critically evaluate the practical significance of imagery-based craving reduction interventions.
Rules based event extraction from natural language text

The notion of events plays a crucial role in narrative texts. Events are the situations that happen or occur at a particular place and time. Extraction and representation of event has a significant role in many of the natural language text and applications like text summarization, question answering systems etc. Several methods were developed so far but they addressed the problem in domain aspect point of view. In this paper we demonstrate a rule based system for event extraction which is generic in nature. A generic rules based event extraction algorithm was developed that maps the framed rules to derive the events from natural language text. Experiments were conducted on the MUC data set and the results are found to be encouraging.
Establishing Equivalence of Exercise Intensities

Introduction: Research trials that involve testing of physiological response to exercise and that include tests from more than one institution, or tests across long time periods, may be required to include tests from different ergometer types, mainly treadmill or leg cycle ergometer. The purpose of this study was to establish equivalence of metabolic de- mand when comparing treadmill to cycle ergometer protocols. Methods: Published equations were used to derive external power output performed on a cycle ergometer and treadmill to match external power output performance across the range of typical body weights for subjects. Results: When comparing a submaximal walking versus 10-watt incremental cycling protocol, the percent difference in metabolic demand ranged from -35% to 39% across the range of body weights from 50 kg to 150 kg. For the modified Bruce treadmill protocol, watts on the cycle had to be increased to match metabolic demand as body weight of the subject increases. Conclusion: To match estimated external power output performed on a treadmill, external power output on a leg cycle er- gometer must be increased as body weight increases.