Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differential evolution with a species-based repair strategy for constrained optimization

Evolutionary Algorithms (EAs) with gradient-based repair, which utilize the gradient information of the constraints set, have been proved to be effective. It is known that it would be time-consuming if all infeasible individuals are repaired. Therefore, so far the infeasible individuals to be repaired are randomly selected from the population and the strategy of choosing individuals to be repaired has not been studied yet. In this paper, the Species-based Repair Strategy (SRS) is proposed to select representative infeasible individuals instead of the random selection for gradient-based repair. The proposed SRS strategy has been applied to εDEag which repairs the random selected individuals using the gradient-based repair. The new algorithm is named SRS-εDEag. Experimental results show that SRS-εDEag outperforms εDEag in most benchmarks. Meanwhile, the number of repaired individuals is reduced markedly.
Platelet Shape Changes and Cytoskeleton Dynamics as Novel Therapeutic Targets for Anti-Thrombotic Drugs

Platelets play an essential role in hemostasis through aggregation and adhesion to vascular injury sites but their unnecessary activation can often lead to thrombotic diseases. Upon exposure to physical or biochemical stimuli, remarkable platelet shape changes precede aggregation or adhesion. Platelets shape changes facilitate the formation and adhesion of platelet aggregates, but are readily reversible in contrast to the irrevocable characteristics of aggregation and adhesion. In this dynamic phenomenon, complex molecular signaling pathways and a host of diverse cytoskeleton proteins are involved. Platelet shape change is easily primed by diverse pro-thrombotic xenobiotics and stimuli, and its inhibition can modulate thrombosis, which can ultimately contribute to the development or prevention of thrombotic diseases. In this review, we discussed the current knowledge on the mechanisms of platelet shape change and also pathological implications and therapeutic opportunities for regulating the related cytoskeleton dynamics.
History of abuse and the experience of homelessness: a framework for assisting women overcome housing instability

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the lived experiences of women without children experiencing housing instability and homelessness in Calgary, Canada; and narratives of what triggered their journeys were constructed according to the tenets of hermeneutic phenomenology, and suggest a framework for assisting these women. Design/methodology/approach – The design for this study is qualitative, approached through hermeneutic phenomenology rooted in Gadamerian philosophical hermeneutics (Gadamer, 2004). Hermeneutic phenomenology, as a research method has provided insight into understanding phenomena and human experiences that are important to human science professionals. Findings – The experience of homelessness for women without children started while they still lived at home, but after they lost all sense of “being at home” as a consequence of identifiable negative home experiences, such as abuse. The effects or impacts of stable childhood or adult home experiences and the implications of such in contributing to the feelings of homelessness were pervasive in the stories told by these women. Practical implications – Access to housing does not mean getting out of the feeling of homelessness, because the trauma that triggers the experience for the clients often last for a life time. Long-term engagement with the client will be synonymous to increasing the possibility that they can be stabilized permanently. Resources dedicated to these clients must be tailored to each client’s needs, with strong agency collaboration with the mainstream systems. Social implications – Community health nurses and other support workers for individuals experiencing homelessness need to build bridges with inter-professional groups to close the gap created by societal attitudes toward women and domestic abuse survivors through advocacy and education, especially in countries where women are still treated as second class citizens. Originality/value – Although there has been a considerable amount of research conducted on the determinants of homelessness and housing instabilities in women or their pathways into homelessness, the plight of women without children and their experiences while homeless have received little attention in literature. This study explored the lived experiences of women without children experiencing homelessness and narratives of what triggered their journeys were constructed according to the tenets of hermeneutic phenomenology, and suggest a framework for assisting these women.
Psychotic symptoms in Alzheimer's disease

The case notes of 37 patients with neuropathologically confirmed Alzheimer's disease were studied for non‐cognitive psychiatric features occurring during the course of the illness. Four (11%) exhibited delusions, five (14%) had visual hallucinations and one (3%) had auditory hallucinations. Two (6%) developed a misidentification syndrome, five (14%) developed non‐delusional paranoid thinking and six (16%) had significant depressive symptoms with two (5%) developing major depression. Possible explanations for the wide variation in reported rates of psychotic symptoms in Alzheimer's disease in the literature are discussed.
Deterrents to knowledge-sharing in the pharmaceutical industry: a case study

Purpose – This study aims to explore deterrents to knowledge-sharing in pharmaceutical manufacturing. Effective knowledge-sharing is fundamental to stimulation of the process of knowledge absorption. The limited proximal communication between the employees in the pharmaceutical industry stifles their knowledge-sharing behaviour significantly. Design/methodology/approach – A cross-sectional case study, consisting of semi-structured interviews with managers and scientists, was conducted in a multinational pharmaceutical company in Australia. Respondents were asked to answer questions regarding their current knowledge-sharing practices and to identify organisational deterrents to knowledge-sharing. The data were condensed into themes according to the thematic analysis method. Findings – The pharmaceutical industry is extensively regulated and its excessive competitiveness is cultivating organisational reticence towards the development of a knowledge-sharing culture. Nine categories of deterrents to intra- (w.
The Periscope: An Experience Design Case Study

The Periscope is an interactive device supporting passengers in a car to explore the outside environment. Following an experience design process, we trigger positive emotions by addressing psychological needs: (a) The exploration of interesting places around the car addresses the need for stimulation. (b) When passing the Periscope on to others, discoveries can be shared and discussed, creating a feeling of relatedness among the group. We provide insights on the importance of the experience story throughout the design process and details on the interaction concept for the Periscope. Based on the story and a storyboard, we built three hardware prototypes at different early stages of the process, allowing to evaluate whether the story can be experienced during the interaction with the Periscope. Results show that early experience prototypes, implemented with regards to the story, are essential to maintain the designed experience throughout the development. With this case study, we continue the quest of introducing the car as a design space to create meaningful experiences.
Skill rating by Bayesian inference

Systems Engineering often involves computer modelling the behaviour of proposed systems and their components. Where a component is human, fallibility must be modelled by a stochastic agent. The identification of a model of decision-making over quantifiable options is investigated using the game-domain of Chess. Bayesian methods are used to infer the distribution of players' skill levels from the moves they play rather than from their competitive results. The approach is used on large sets of games by players across a broad FIDE Elo range, and is in principle applicable to any scenario where high-value decisions are being made under pressure.
Including Item Characteristics in the Probabilistic Latent Semantic Analysis Model for Collaborative Filtering

We propose a new hybrid recommender system that combines some advantages of collaborative and content-based recommender systems. While it uses ratings data of all users, as do collaborative recommender systems, it is also able to recommend new items and provide an explanation of its recommendations, as do content-based systems. Our approach is based on the idea that there are communities of users that find the same characteristics important to like or dislike a product. This model is an extension of the probabilistic latent semantic model for collaborative filtering with ideas based on clusterwise linear regression. On a movie data set, we show that the model is competitive to other recommenders and can be used to explain the recommendations to the users.
Experimental Evaluation of an Indoor MIMO-OFDM System at 60 GHz Based on the IEEE802.15.3c Standard

This letter presents an experimental study of an indoor environment regarding the performance of a multiple-input-multiple-output orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (MIMO-OFDM) millimeter-wave system based on the standard IEEE 802.15. 3c. Channel matrices are measured with a vector network analyzer, and in a first step, the intrinsic propagation characteristics are analyzed such as the path loss, capacity, and correlation. In a second step, the performance is studied using different space-time coding strategies. Finally, all this analysis is conducted with respect to different configurations of the MIMO antenna elements.
Vegowelt: A smart virtual playroom

This paper describes VegoWelt a smart virtual environment that supports human design activities. The research combines Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques and Virtual Reality (VR) technology. In particular the approach of Conceptual Analogy (Borner, 1997) is applied to provide generative and adaptive design support for human problem solving in an assistant-like fashion.
Vitamin D, parathyroid hormone, serum calcium and phosphorus in patients with schizophrenia and major depression

Abstract Objective. Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with an increased risk of depression and schizophrenia. The aim was to compare serum levels of vitamin D, calcium, phosphorus and parathyroid hormone in schizophrenics, depressed patients and healthy subjects in an Iranian population. Methods. In a cross-sectional study, 100 patients with schizophrenia and 100 with major depression were enrolled. A questionnaire was filled by using medical records of patients. After that a serum sample was taken and levels of vitamin D, calcium, phosphorus and parathyroid hormone were assessed and then compared between the three groups. Results. Post-hoc analysis of Tukey showed that vitamin D level in healthy participants was significantly higher than depressed patients and schizophrenics while there was no significant difference between vitamin D level in depressed and schizophrenic patients. Conclusion. The findings suggest that vitamin D affects the brain independent of hormonal pathways which regulate serum level of calcium. Non-significant difference in the serum level of vitamin D between the schizophrenics and the depressed patients suggests that the independent effect of vitamin D in brain is a general effect and is not specialized to a specific region or pathway in the brain; however, differences between psychiatric and non-psychiatric patients might be resulted from differences in psychosocial backgrounds.
New Deal Liberalism and Racial Liberalism in the Mass Public, 1937–1968

Few transformations have been as important in American politics as the incorporation of African Americans into the Democratic Party over the course of the 1930s–60s and the Republican Party's growing association with more conservative positions on race-related policies. This paper traces the relationship between New Deal economic liberalism and racial liberalism in the mass public. A key finding is that by about 1940, economically-liberal northern white Democratic voters were substantially more pro-civil rights than were economically-conservative northern Republican voters. While partisanship and civil rights views were unrelated among southern whites, economic conservatives were more racially conservative than their economically liberal counterparts, even in the south. These findings suggest that there was a connection between attitudes towards the economic programs of the New Deal and racial liberalism early on, well before national party elites took distinct positions on civil rights. Along with grassroots pressure from African American voters who increasingly voted Democratic in the 1930s–40s, this change among white voters likely contributed to northern Democratic politicians' gradual embrace of civil rights liberalism and Republican politicians' interest in forging a coalition with conservative white southerners. In attempting to explain these linkages, I argue that the ideological meaning of New Deal liberalism sharpened in the late 1930s due to changes in the groups identified with Roosevelt's program and due to the controversies embroiling New Dealers in 1937–38.
A predictive nature for tactile awareness? Insights from damaged and intact central-nervous-system functioning

In the present paper, we will attempt to gain hints regarding the nature of tactile awareness in humans. At first, we will review some recent literature showing that an actual tactile experience can emerge in absence of any tactile stimulus (e.g., tactile hallucinations, tactile illusions). According to the current model of tactile awareness, we will subsequently argue that such (false) tactile perceptions are subserved by the same anatomo-functional mechanisms known to underpin actual perception. On these bases, we will discuss the hypothesis that tactile awareness is strongly linked to expected rather than actual stimuli. Indeed, this hypothesis is in line with the notion that the human brain has a strong predictive, rather than reactive, nature.
Multichannel signal separation: methods and analysis

The problem of multichannel signal separation has attracted considerable interest in recent literature. A variety of methods and criteria have been proposed to solve the problem based on statistical independence between the source signals. Most of these criteria involve the computation of high-order statistics of the observed signals. We present a unified framework for many of these criteria and analyze their statistical variance.
Design Method for Wideband Circularly Polarized Slot Antennas

A compact ultrawideband (UWB) circularly polarized (CP) slot antenna is proposed with a methodology for automated reoptimization for packaging with proprietary devices. The slot structure employs a dual-feed with an integrated compact UWB phase shifter. The design process involves an advanced optimization algorithm and demonstrates the use of spline curves for generation of CP signals. These allow easy optimization, while preserving phase coherency across a wideband. The prototyped antenna has a CP bandwidth of 54% (from 3.2 to 6.1 GHz).
2.5GHz slot antenna array — Prototype applicator for heating applications

This paper describes a pragmatic approach for design, characterization and test of a low cost microstrip slot applicator with 140×140cm aperture, running at 2.5GHz, in the near field approximation. The applicator structure, designed on glass-reinforced epoxy copper clad (FR406), can handle 100-200W microwave power. The applicator is designed to heat lossy high dielectric liquids. A thermal map produced by the applicator on an absorbing material (Natrosol-water solution 0.4%w/v) is revealed using a low cost thermochromic crystal liquid sheet. The applicator is prepared to be equipped in the very near future with infrared (IR) thermopile array.
Prevalence and prognostic implications of dysphagia in elderly patients with pneumonia.

BACKGROUND oropharyngeal dysphagia is a common condition among the elderly but not systematically explored. OBJECTIVE to assess the prevalence and the prognostic significance of oropharyngeal dysphagia among elderly patients with pneumonia. DESIGN a prospective cohort study. SETTING an acute geriatric unit in a general hospital. SUBJECTS a total of 134 elderly patients (>70 years) consecutively admitted with pneumonia. METHODS clinical bedside assessment of oropharyngeal dysphagia and aspiration with the water swallow test were performed. Demographic and clinical data, Barthel Index, Mini Nutritional Assessment, Charlson Comorbidity Index, Fine's Pneumonia Severity Index and mortality at 30 days and 1 year after admission were registered. RESULTS of the 134 patients, 53% were over 84 years and 55% presented clinical signs of oropharyngeal dysphagia; the mean Barthel score was 61 points indicating a frail population. Patients with dysphagia were older, showed lower functional status, higher prevalence of malnutrition and comorbidities and higher Fine's pneumonia severity scores. They had a higher mortality at 30 days (22.9% vs. 8.3%, P = 0.033) and at 1 year of follow-up (55.4% vs. 26.7%, P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS oropharyngeal dysphagia is a highly prevalent clinical finding in elderly patients with pneumonia and is an indicator of disease severity in older patients with pneumonia.
Chronic and acute alterations in the functional levels of Frequenins 1 and 2 reveal their roles in synaptic transmission and axon terminal morphology

Frequenin (Frq) and its mammalian homologue, neuronal calcium sensor 1 (NCS‐1), are important calcium‐binding proteins which enhance neurotransmitter release and facilitation. Here, we report the discovery of a second Frq‐encoding gene (frq2) in Drosophila. The temporal and spatial expression patterns of the two genes are very similar, and the proteins they encode, Frq1 and Frq2, are 95% identical in amino acid sequence. Frq1 is more abundant than Frq2, and is most highly expressed in larva. Loss‐of‐function phenotypes were studied using dominant negative peptides to prevent Frq target binding, RNAi to reduce gene transcription, or both methods. To discriminate chronic from acute loss‐of‐function effects, we compared the effects of transgenic expression and forward‐filling the dominant‐negative peptide into presynaptic terminals. In both cases, a 70% reduction in quantal content per bouton occurred, demonstrating that this trait does not result from homeostatic adaptations of the synapse during development. The chronic treatment also produced more synaptic boutons from MNSNb/d‐Is motorneurons, but fewer active zones per bouton. By contrast, excess‐of‐function conditions yielded a 1.4‐ to 2‐fold increase in quantal content and fewer boutons in the same motorneuron. These synaptic effects resulted in behavioural changes in the Buridan locomotion assay, showing that walking speed is dependent on Frq activity in the nervous system. All the effects were identical for both Frqs, and consistent with excess‐ and loss‐of‐function genotypes. We conclude that Frqs have two distinct functions: one in neurotransmission, regulating the probability of release per synapse, and another in axonal growth and bouton formation.
Minimum Classification Error Training to Improve Isolated Chord Recognition

Audio chord detection is the combination of two separate tasks: recognizing what chords are played and determining when chords are played. Most current audio chord detection algorithms use hidden Markov model (HMM) classifiers because of the task similarity with automatic speech recognition. For most speech recognition algorithms, the performance is measured by word error rate; i.e., only the identity of recognized segments is considered because word boundaries in continuous speech are often ambiguous. In contrast, audio chord detection performance is typically measured in terms of frame error rate, which considers both timing and classification. This paper treats these two tasks separately and focuses on the first problem; i.e., classifying the correct chords given boundary information. The best performing chroma/HMM chord detection algorithm, as measured in the 2008 MIREX Audio Chord Detection Contest, is used as the baseline in this paper. Further improvements are made to reduce feature correlation, account for differences in tuning, and incorporate minimum classification error (MCE) training in obtaining chord HMMs. Experiments demonstrate that classification rates can be improved with tuning compensation and MCE discriminative training.
Outcomes Assessment and the Paradox of Nonprofit Accountability

Leaders of nonprofit organizations face a particular bind in responding to the demands for results-based accountability. If they focus only on the project level outcomes over which they have the most control or for which indicators are readily available, they risk default on the larger question of accountability to publicly valued goals. On the other hand, if they try to demonstrate the impact of their particular projects on community-wide outcomes, they risk taking credit inappropriately or shouldering the blame for indicators beyond their control. In this paper I present findings from a research project—conducted in collaboration with economic development organizations on the north coast of California—that explored the practical demands and dynamics associated with this paradox. The key challenges are more civic and political than technical. 1 An earlier version of this paper was presented on a panel at the November 16-19, 2000 meeting of ARNOVA in New Orleans, Louisiana. In addition to the author, members of the research team for this project included Joan Wright, an evaluation specialist; Deborah Giraud, County Director with Humboldt County Cooperative Extension with expertise in plant sciences and community development; and Dan Ihara, a nonprofit director with expertise in environmental economic development. The authors wish to thank Kim Rodrigues for her help in getting the project started, and Sommer Mateu who served as a research assistant. Special thanks go to the members of the local steering committee, who spent many hours with us sharing their project ideas, trying out different assessment approaches, and providing honest feedback on what worked and what didn’t. These include: Georgiana Matthews, Kathy Moxon, Barbara O’Neal, Patty Visser, and Jude Wait.