Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Incarceration and injection drug use in Baltimore, Maryland.

AIMS There is limited longitudinal research examining incarceration and subsequent changes in drug use among people who inject drugs (PWID) in the United States. The objective of the current study was to characterize the frequency of incarceration and estimate the association between incarceration and subsequent injection drug use among current and former PWIDs in one US city. DESIGN ALIVE (AIDS Linked to the Intravenous Experience) is a prospective cohort study of current and former PWIDs, with semi-annual follow-up occurring since 1988. SETTING Baltimore, Maryland, USA. PARTICIPANTS A total of 3245 participants with 48 738 study visits were included. Participants enrolled from 1988 to 2012 with a median of 13 follow-up visits per participant (Interquartile range = 7-25). MEASUREMENTS Incarcerations were defined as any self-reported jail or prison stays in the previous 6 months that were ≥7 days or longer. The primary outcome was defined as any self-reported injection drug use in the previous 6 months. FINDINGS At baseline, 29% were female, 90% African American and 33% HIV-positive. Fifty-seven per cent of participants experienced at least one incarceration episode. After adjusting for confounders, there was a positive association between incarceration and subsequent injection drug use [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.48, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.37-1.59]; however, stratified analysis showed that the effect was restricted to those who were not injecting at the time of incarceration (AOR = 2.11, 95% CI = 1.88-2.37). CONCLUSIONS In the United States, incarceration of people who had previously stopped injecting drugs appears to be associated with an increased risk of subsequent injecting.
[Hippocampus as interaction sites between cerebral memory systems].

Most of the current theories assume that there are multiple forms of memory that are supported by separate brain systems and have different characteristics. Animals studies on the various dual-memory theories have been carried out mainly on the basis of hippocampal system function. Specifically, they have focused on aspects of learning and memory that are impaired (vs. spared) by lesions of the hippocampal formation. However, there are several instances in the animal literature showing that hippocampal lesions actually produced enhanced learning and memory function. Moreover, the acquisition of tasks that are facilitated by hippocampal lesions (or dysfunction) is nevertheless associated, in intact subjects, with specific neurobiological alterations in the hippocampus. This problem has been analysed using two different tasks in mice: a bar-press conditioning and a spatial discrimination task. Results showed that, depending on the task considered, the same pharmacological treatment produced either a facilitation or an impairment of acquisition. Moreover, each task induced significant alterations in hippocampal adenylate cyclase activity but in opposite directions. Together with previous findings, these results suggest that the hippocampus is involved in both the so-called "hippocampal-dependent" and "hippocampal-independent" forms of memory. It is postulated that some of the observed training-induced neurobiological alterations might reflect the interaction between two (or more) competing memory systems at the hippocampal level. Thus, in addition to its proposed specific information processing functions (i.e., relational), the hippocampus would play a role in addressing information to the brain memory system that, in a given situation, has the best adaptive value. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
ASSENTO ADAPTÁVEL PARA PORTADORES DE PARALISIA CEREBRAL E SEQÜELA DE ESCOLIOSE: estudo de caso aplicando design ergonômico Adaptable seat to people with cerebral palsy and scoliosis: ergonomic design a case report

The spinal curvature deviation of the scoliosis-type is one of the main sequels of the cerebral palsy (CP). The project of intervention with application of a principles of the ergonomic design, on purpose to evaluate and validate clinical and physiotherapeutic practical techniques with the use of special seats for rehabilitation. Was the objective proposed in this study using a vertical tuning modulated seat so that the resulting problems of the manifestation of the illness could be prevented and minimized. Methods: Ethic approaches were considered for three CP patients with scoliosis, considering that one of them has used the vertical tuning modulated seat, while two of them have used ordinary seats. Evaluations before and after the use of the product were envolved 90-day interval considering psychological, neurological, orthopedical and radiological analisys of a daily life activities (DLAs) beyond Computerized Biophotogrametry. Results: Positive results were found specially concerning the patient that has used the adapted seat detecting improvements in evaluated aspects. The analysis shown by Computerized Biophotogrametry was significant for postural spine conditions of the this patient (p d” 0,01). Discussion and Conclusion: The efficiency of the vertical tuning modulated seat has been certificated and suggests a new alternative for a better quality of life to CP patients and expressively contributies the ergonomic design metodologies.
Epidural recordings of electrical events produced in the spinal cord by segmental, ascending and descending volleys.

Epidural electrodes implanted for a percutaneous trial of therapeutic spinal cord stimulation were used to record electrical events evoked by the stimulation of peripheral nerves or of the spinal cord itself. The data collected in patients with no neurological deficit were analyzed in order (1) to check the consistency between epidural and surface recordings, (2) to get information on the genesis of such potentials, and (3) to demonstrate the feasibility of complex neurophysiological studies by means of epidural electrodes. Spinal cord potentials evoked by segmental volleys were recorded at cervical levels with the recording electrodes anterior, lateral and posterior to the spinal cord. The refractory period of the evoked potentials has been studied as well. Responses to stimulation of the tibial nerve were obtained at T11-12 vertebral level with posterior epidural electrodes. Segmental cervical potentials were characterized by a P10, N11, N13/P13 followed by a slow positivity/negativity. A response of similar waveform, but with different peak latencies, was recorded at segmental levels following tibial nerve stimulation. Such a response showed an increasing number of spikes while ascending along the spinal cord. Maximum conduction velocities in the cord were between 65 and 85 m/s. Our epidural recordings are similar to those obtained from the skin, but with a greater amplitude and waveform resolution. Furthermore, the use of epidural electrodes made it feasible to perform complex examinations of sensory function (i.e., the study of orthodromic and antidromic conduction along the dorsal cord and of the influence of a single dorsal cord volley on the segmental cervical potential). Finally, the genesis of the potentials recorded is discussed.
Increased circulating endothelial microparticles in COPD patients: a potential biomarker for COPD exacerbation susceptibility

Rationale The influence of COPD exacerbation on the endothelium is not completely understood. Circulating endothelial microparticles (EMPs) are membrane vesicles in circulating blood that are shed by activated or apoptotic endothelial cells. Objective To compare EMP numbers in stable COPD patients with those during and after exacerbation. Methods We examined the EMP numbers in 80 stable COPD patients, 27 patients with exacerbated COPD, and 20 healthy non-COPD volunteers. EMPs were defined as CD144+ MPs (VE-cadherin EMPs), CD31+/CD41− MPs (PECAM EMPs), CD146 MPs (MCAM EMPs) and CD62E+ EMPs (E-selectin EMPs) as analysed by FACS. Von Willebrand factor (vWF) expression was utilised to identify the origins of the EMPs. Results VE-cadherin, PECAM and E-selectin EMP numbers were significantly higher in the stable COPD patients than in the non-COPD volunteers, and they were significantly higher in the patients with exacerbated COPD than in the stable COPD patients. The majority of these increased EMPs were vWF-negative, indicating a pulmonary capillary origin. Baseline E-selectin EMP levels were significantly higher in COPD patients who experienced frequent exacerbations than in those who did not have frequent exacerbations (p<0.001). Twenty-eight days after the onset of exacerbation, E-selectin EMP levels returned to those observed in stable COPD patients, whereas PECAM EMP levels remained high. MCAM EMP numbers were not elevated in stable or exacerbated-COPD patients. Conclusions Endothelial damage, mainly in pulmonary capillaries, occurs during exacerbation and continues even after clinical symptoms disappear. Higher baseline E-selectin EMP levels may indicate COPD patients who are susceptible to exacerbation.
AF relaying for FBMC signals

An AF relay splits an FBMC transmission link into a two-hop channel. The receiver implements a parallel multistage FBMC demodulator/equalizer that is suitable for fading channels whose frequency response cannot be considered flat over the subcarriers. The signal quality at the output of such a receiver is characterized in terms of signal-to-noise-plus-distortion ratio (SNDR), that takes into account the residual interference after equalization and the effect of the noise collected on both hops. The SNDR is then used to estimate the spectral efficiency of the link. The comparison with the direct link shows that the AF-relay scheme offers some gain, especially in lossy environments with high path-loss exponent.
The geology of Mars: new insights and outstanding questions

Introduction The major dynamic forces shaping the surfaces, crusts, and lithospheres of planets are represented by geological processes (Figures 1.1–1.6) which are linked to interaction with the atmosphere (e.g., eolian, polar), with the hydrosphere (e.g., fluvial, lacustrine), with the cryosphere (e.g., glacial and periglacial), or with the crust, lithosphere, and interior (e.g., tectonism and volcanism). Interaction with the planetary external environment also occurs, as in the case of impact cratering processes. Geological processes vary in relative importance in space and time; for example, impact cratering was a key process in forming and shaping planetary crusts in the first one-quarter of Solar System history, but its global influence has waned considerably since that time. Volcanic activity is a reflection of the thermal evolution of the planet, and varies accordingly in abundance and style. The stratigraphic record of a planet represents the products or deposits of these geological processes and how they are arranged relative to one another. The geological history of a planet can be reconstructed from an understanding of the details of this stratigraphic record. On Mars, the geological history has been reconstructed using the global Viking image data set to delineate geological units (e.g., Greeley and Guest, 1987; Tanaka and Scott, 1987; Tanaka et al ., 1992), and superposition and cross-cutting relationships to establish their relative ages, with superposed impact crater abundance tied to an absolute chronology (e.g., Hartmann and Neukum, 2001).
Design of UPnP based cooperative network connectivity proxy

The Internet connected edge devices require active participation by generating and responding to routine applications/protocols heart-beat messages. Failing to do this will result in loss of their presence over the Internet. A huge amount of energy is wasted every year to keep idle or unused network hosts powered-up 24/7 only to maintain the network presence for remote access, file sharing and other administrative management reasons. Thus, reducing the energy waste of ICT is becoming increasingly important due to rising costs of electricity, limited natural resources and environmental concerns. This extended abstract presents a new design of cooperative Network Connectivity Proxy (NCP) to reduce the network energy consumption. The NCP uses a low power entity that can maintain the network presence for the high power devices and smartly allows them to transition into low power sleep/active modes. The Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) protocol, that allows seamless discovery and communication between the network hosts can be well-suited approach for the design of NCP. All the hosts in the local network can seamlessly interact and use the services offered by the NCP. The UPnP based NCP includes a connectivity management service that implements the key network presence and management protocols like DHCP, ICMP, ARP etc. Thus, the NCP can reduce the network energy consumption by 60 to 70% depending on the network host's time usage model.
On-the-Fly Encryption Security in Remote Storage

Development of distributed storage, cell phones, furthermore, removable hard drives have expanded the versatility of usage of information. On the other hand, there emerges a few issues of how to figure out if information may be so delicate it would be impossible leave a clients gadget, and, how to secure it from unauthorized access. Information Leakage Prevention applications perform this assignment, commonly by diverting possibly vulnerable documents to a protected distant repository, examining them, and at that point doing a last duplicate to remote storage if the output meets the constraints defined in the policy enforced, at that point the output is copied to distant repository. The extra work needed to basically serially write the document twice, once to local repository and lastly to the distant repository is the main issue with local repository isolation. This paper introduces a substitute technique for Information Leakage Prevention is introduced in this paper utilizing a transient cryptographic key. By utilizing a transient key, encoded information can be securely checked on distant repository and safely deleted in case it fails the policy while scanning. This direct procedure brings about better productivity and reduces the time delay than a local repository isolation.
Reliability and Validity of Judgments of Sound Quality in Elderly Hearing Aid Wearers

Objective The aim of the present study was to evaluate a particular sound-quality rating procedure, referred to here as the Judgments of Sound Quality (JSQ) test, for potential use as an outcome measure with elderly hearing aid wearers. The validity and reliability of the JSQ as an outcome measure were determined for unaided and aided listening conditions. Design A repeated-measures design was employed with two primary independent variables, each with two values: 1) aided condition (aided versus unaided listening); and 2) trial (test versus retest). Sixteen elderly, hearing-impaired hearing aid users participated in the study. The participants provided ratings on eight dimensions of sound quality (softness, brightness, clarity, fullness, nearness, loudness, spaciousness, and total impression) under four stimulus conditions (speech at 65 dB SPL with a +8 dB signal-to-noise ratio, speech at 65 dB SPL in quiet, music at 90 dB SPL, and music at 75 dB SPL). Test and retest ratings were obtained in both unaided and aided conditions Results No significant differences were found between median test and retest scores on the JSQ. The median ratings for each sound-quality dimension were found to have moderate test-retest reliability, with test-retest correlations (r) ranging from 0.20 to 0.73 (median r value = 0.58) for the unaided listening condition, and from 0.23 to 0.85 (median r value = 0.51) for the aided listening condition. Test validity was established through significant differences in JSQ ratings for various stimulus pairs (e.g., speech in quiet versus speech in noise). In addition, significant differences were observed between unaided and aided ratings for the dimensions of clarity, nearness, loudness, and total impression with aided JSQ ratings approaching normative “ideal” values established previously. Conclusions The JSQ appears to be a potentially useful measure of hearing aid outcome, especially when using group data to document the benefits of amplification. Additional efforts should be directed at improving the reliability of the JSQ, however, before application to hearing aid wearers on an individual basis.
Building wide-area applications with the ARToolkit

We show how splitting the ARToolkit in several functional components leads to an extension of its capabilities. We present how these ARToolkit components can be used to extend the functionality of the Toolkit to wide area indoor tracking. The marker detection gets reconfigured whenever the system's user comes near so-called transitional markers, resulting in the possibility of integrating several ARToolkit based applications within a single system. The cost of a wide area tracking infrastructure based on optical marker detection is very low, as only some markers have to be printed out and attached to known places. The ARToolkit provides all features necessary for this application, but has a limited number of markers that can be stored in and distinguished by the system at a given point in time. Wide area tracking usually requires many known features in the environment. Splitting the ARToolkit library in several components (image acquisition, marker detection and processing of the marker information) allows the realization of this wide area tracking scenario. Every component gets implemented in a separate process, communicating with each other using the DWARF system. As a result, the output of every component can be used by several others. To solve the problem of a limited number of markers we attach transitional markers at prominent places like entrance doors to buildings.
Convective Bursts, Downdraft Cooling, and Boundary Layer Recovery in a Sheared Tropical Storm

AbstractTropical Storm Edouard (2002) experienced episodic outbreaks of convection downshear within the storm core in the presence of 11–15 m s−1 of ambient vertical wind shear. These outbreaks lasted 2–6 h and were followed by long periods with no deep convection. Flights from U.S. Air Force reconnaissance aircraft within the boundary layer were used to investigate the cause of one such oscillation. Low equivalent potential temperature θe air filled the boundary layer as convection ceased, creating a 4–6-K deficit in θe within the convective region. Soundings within 110 km of the center were supportive of convective downdrafts, with midlevel relative humidity below 15% and large downdraft CAPE. Deep convection ceased within 75 km of the center for more than 8 h. Tangential velocity reached hurricane force locally during the convective outbreak, then became nearly symmetric after convection stopped, arguably as a result of axisymmetrization, and the storm weakened. Nevertheless, the corresponding lack of .
Supporting Adaptive Services in a Heterogeneous Mobile Environment

Future computer environments will include mobile computers which will eiUler be disconnected, weakly interconnected by low speed wireless networks such as GSM, or fully inter-connected by high speed networks ranging from Ethernet to ATM. While the transition between networks is currently a heavyweight operation we believe that developments in network interface technology will soon enable mobile computers to dynamically select their network service based on cost and performance requirements. Such flexibility, coupled with tile inherent unreliability of mobile communications, means that system services and applications will be subject to rapid and massive fluctuations in tile quality-of-service provided by their underlying communications infrastructure. In this paper we discuss the design of a distributed systems platform to support tile development of services which are able to tolerate this environment by dynamically adapting to changes in tile available communications quality-of-service.
Exploring communication between social workers, children and young people

A key issue for the social work profession concerns the nature, quality and content of communicative encounters with children and families. This article introduces some findings from a project funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) that took place across the United Kingdom between 2013 and 2015, which explored how social workers communicate with children in their everyday practice. The Talking and Listening to Children (TLC) project had three phases: the first was ethnographic, involving observations of social workers in their workplace and during visits; the second used video stimulated recall with a small number of children and their social workers; and the third developed online materials to support social workers. This paper discusses findings from the first phase. It highlights a diverse picture regarding the context and content of communicative processes; it is argued that attention to contextual issues is as important as focusing on individual practitioners’ behaviours and outlines a model for so doing.
IITP: Multiobjective Differential Evolution based Twitter Named Entity Recognition

In this paper we propose a differential evolution (DE) based named entity recognition (NER) system in twitter data. In the first step, we develop various NER systems using different combinations of the features. We implemented these features without using any domain-specific features and/or resources. As a base classifier we use Conditional Random Field (CRF). In the second step, we propose a DE based feature selection approach to determine the most relevant set of features and its context information. The optimized feature set applied to the training set yields the precision, recall and Fmeasure values of 60.68%, 29.65% and 39.84%, respectively for the fine-grained named entity (NE) types. When we consider only the coarse-grained NE types, it shows the precision, recall and F-measure values of 63.43%, 51.44% and 56.81%, respectively.
Asymmetrical Neural Adaptation in Lower Leg Muscles as a Consequence of Stereotypical Motor Training

ABSTRACT Despite well-authorized facts regarding asymmetrical architectural changes between different limbs after persistent participation in particular motor training, no studies have addressed the neural aspects to the present. The authors undertook the study to elucidate the possibility of neural adaptation on a limb-by-limb basis after repetitive engagement in a particular motor training routine. We investigated lower leg muscles in endurance-trained track runners who have been trained by routinely running on a track in counterclockwise direction on curved paths. Stretch reflex responses in the plantarflexor muscles (soleus [SOL], medial [MG], and lateral head of the gastrocnemius muscle) were evaluated bilaterally with participants sitting at rest. Comparisons were made between homonymous muscles of the right (corresponding to outside leg for track running) and left leg (inside leg, likewise) and with a group of nontrained controls. The result clearly demonstrated that the responses were prominently different between the legs (thus, asymmetrical) in the MG muscles and partially in the SOL muscles in the trained group. In contrast, no such differences were obtained in the nontrained control group. The result demonstrated that neural adaptation took place asymmetrically and that could be attributable to their repetitive engagement in the stereotypical motor task.