Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Urban Dynamics, Fractals and Generalized Entropy

We explore the relation between the local fractal dimension and the development of the built-up area of the Northern Margin of the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon (NMAL), for the period between 1960 and 2004. To this end we make use of a Generalized Local Spatial Entropy (GLSE) function based on which urban areas can be classified into five different types. Our analysis of NMAL shows how some of the growth dynamics encountered can be linked to the plethora of social, economic and political changes that have taken place in NMAL (and Portugal), during the last 40 years, allowing for the establishment of urban planning measures to either inhibit or promote sprawl in urban areas.
Speech-gesture driven multimodal interfaces for crisis management

Emergency response requires strategic assessment of risks, decisions, and communications that are time critical while requiring teams of individuals to have fast access to large volumes of complex information and technologies that enable tightly coordinated work. The access to this information by crisis management teams in emergency operations centers can be facilitated through various human-computer interfaces. Unfortunately, these interfaces are hard to use, require extensive training, and often impede rather than support teamwork. Dialogue-enabled devices, based on natural, multimodal interfaces, have the potential of making a variety of information technology tools accessible during crisis management. This paper establishes the importance of multimodal interfaces in various aspects of crisis management and explores many issues in realizing successful speech-gesture driven, dialogue-enabled interfaces for crisis management. This paper is organized in five parts. The first part discusses the needs of crisis management that can be potentially met by the development of appropriate interfaces. The second part discusses the issues related to the design and development of multimodal interfaces in the context of crisis management. The third part discusses the state of the art in both the theories and practices involving these human-computer interfaces. In particular, it describes the evolution and implementation details of two representative systems, Crisis Management (XISM) and Dialog Assisted Visual Environment for Geoinformation (DAVE/spl I.bar/G). The fourth part speculates on the short-term and long-term research directions that will help addressing the outstanding challenges in interfaces that support dialogue and collaboration. Finally, the fifth part concludes the paper.
The Turkey Maiden Educational Computer Game

An educational computer game project underway in the Digital Media department of the University of Central Florida is the subject of this article. It is based on a folktale called “The Turkey Maiden,” collected in Ybor City, Florida, in the 1930s. A game mod (user-created addition and modification to an existing commercial off-the-shelf computer game) has been created that integrates specific tasks the heroine must successfully complete in order to advance in the game. These tasks are based on lessons to be learned by the player about Ybor City history and culture. Adapting an oral folktale with an active female protagonist into a heritage-based computer game involved experimenting with feminist game design principle (gender differences in play), and understanding how features of digital environments, like spatiality and interactivity, affect storytelling and game play.
International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity Does Parenting Affect Children's Eating and Weight Status?

which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Abstract Background: Worldwide, the prevalence of obesity among children has increased dramatically. Although the etiology of childhood obesity is multifactorial, to date, most preventive interventions have focused on school-aged children in school settings and have met with limited success. In this review, we focus on another set of influences that impact the development of children's eating and weight status: parenting and feeding styles and practices. Our review has two aims: (1) to assess the extent to which current evidence supports the hypothesis that parenting, via its effects on children's eating, is causally implicated in childhood obesity; and (2) to identify a set of promising strategies that target aspects of parenting, which can be further evaluated as possible components in childhood obesity prevention. that assessed the association between some combination of parenting, child eating and child weight variables were included. Results: A total of 66 articles met the inclusion criteria. The preponderance of these studies focused on the association between parenting and child eating. Although there was substantial experimental evidence for the influence of parenting practices, such as pressure, restriction, modeling and availability, on child eating, the majority of the evidence for the association between parenting and child weight, or the mediation of this association by child eating, was cross-sectional. Conclusion: To date, there is substantial causal evidence that parenting affects child eating and there is much correlational evidence that child eating and weight influence parenting. There are few studies, however, that have used appropriate meditational designs to provide causal evidence for the indirect effect of parenting on weight status via effects on child eating. A new approach is suggested for evaluating the effectiveness of intervention components and creating optimized intervention programs using a multiphase research design. Adoption of approaches such as the Multiphase Optimization Strategy (MOST) is necessary to provide the mechanistic evidence-base needed for the design and implementation of effective childhood obesity prevention programs.
GTEM cell method based comparative analysis of performance degradation in integer and fractional frequency synthesizer based direct conversion CDMA transmitters

Oscillator injection pulling as presented in R. Adler (1973) and K. Kurokawa (1973), is a phenomena that may have significant impact on the performance of modern direct conversion transmitters, that is today almost exclusively applied for the architecture in the cell phone design. Oscillator injection pulling affects crucial CDMA transmitter parameters like waveform quality factor (rho) and in severe cases adjacent channel power ratio (ACPR), due to the in-channel integrated phase noise degradation and increased phase noise at adjacent channel frequency offset. Comparative study presents analysis of rho, ACPR and phase noise parameters degradation obtained in measurements of fractional and integer N synthesizers based direct conversion CDMA transmitters. Relations between phase noise, rho and ACPR parameters are formulated. Advantages of fractional N frequency synthesizer are explained based on measurements result analysis. Assuring repeatable and consistent measurement of oscillator injection pulling in ASIC based transmitters is challenging. In order to assure consistent and repeatable measurements of oscillator pulling, a method based on GTEM as stated in J. Nadolny (1995) and A. Nothofer et al. (2003) cell - variety of transverse electromagnetic mode cell, was developed. Details of the measurement method are presented in this study
Evaluation of Late Radiation Side Effects in Nasopharyngeal Cancer Patients

The prolongation of survival in cases with nasopharynx cancer has made quality of life after treatment more important. The aim of this study is to consider late toxicity developing after treatment in order to maintain a high quality of life. Thirty-two patients receiving radiotherapy (RT) to the neck region 1-10 years ago due to nasopharyngeal carcinoma were included in the study. Neck ultrasonography (USG), thyroid function tests and dynamic brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were carried out for carotid artery stenosis, hypothyroidism, and necrosis of the temporal lobe. Obtained data were analyzed with the SPSS 11.5. Intima-media thickness of below 60 Gy and above 60 Gy doses administered to the neck were similar. Intima-media thickness was greater in patients with a period longer than 5 years after RT than with a period shorter than 5 years (p< 0.001). Intima-media thicknesses of the patients above 40 years, with high cholesterol values, a history of smoking and hypertension were higher than those without them (p< 0.001). There was hypothyroidism in five (15%) of the 32 patients. Necrosis of the temporal lobe was not seen in any of the patients. Carotid artery stenosis after treatment depends more on the duration of the period after treatment and the patient’s being in the age group when atherosclerotic risk factors are present than on the amount of dose administered.
Effect of bone strain on cortical bone structure in macaques (Macaca mulatta)

It has recently been shown that the consistency of food significantly affects levels of bone strain in the mandible during mastication (Hylander, '79a). Mandibular bone histology was examined to test the effects of a diet of hard food compared to a diet of soft food in two group of monkeys. One group of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) was fed a diet of commercially prepared hard biscuits. The second group was fed a soft diet the consistency of fudge. Both diets were nutritionally adequate for normal growth and development. As a control for other factors influencing cortical bone structure, fibular morphology was also examined. At the end of the test period, mandibular and fibular tissue samples from the two groups were prepared to determine the amount of secondary Haversian bone present. Mandibular depth at M2 and fibular anteroposterior diameter were also measured and compared between the two dietary groups.
Twenty years after. The legacy of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. The dangers of difference.

It has been sixty years since the beginning of the Tuskegee syphilis experiment and twenty years since its existence was disclosed to the American public. The social and ethical issues that the experiment poses for medicine, particularly for medicine's relationship with African Americans, are still not broadly understood, appreciated, or even remembered. [1] Yet a significant aspect of the Tuskegee experiment's legacy is that in a racist society that incorporates beliefs about the inherent inferiority of African Americans in contrast with the superior status of whites, any attention to the question of differences that may exist is likely to be pursued in a manner that burdens rather than benefits African Americans.
Genomic Survey of Gene Expression Diversity in Arabidopsis thaliana

Differential gene expression controls variation in numerous plant traits, such as flowering time and plant/pest interactions, but little is known about the genomic distribution of the determinants of transcript levels and their associated variation. Affymetrix ATH1 GeneChip microarrays representing 22,810 genes were used to survey the transcriptome of seven Arabidopsis thaliana accessions in the presence and absence of exogenously applied salicylic acid (SA). These accessions encompassed ∼80% of the moderate- to high-frequency nucleotide polymorphisms in Arabidopsis. A factorial design, consisting of three biological replicates per accession for the two treatments at three time points (4, 28, and 52 hr post-treatment), and a total of 126 microarrays were used. Between any pair of Arabidopsis accessions, we detected on average 2234 genes (ranging from 1428 to 3334) that were significantly differentially expressed under the conditions of this experiment, using a split-plot analysis of variance. Upward of 6433 genes were differentially expressed between at least one pair of accessions. These results suggest that analysis of additional genetic, developmental, and environmental conditions may show that a significant fraction of the Arabidopsis genome is differentially expressed. Examination of sequence diversity demonstrated a significant positive association with diversity in gene expression.
The epidemiology and attributable outcomes of candidemia in adults and children hospitalized in the United States: a propensity analysis.

BACKGROUND Candida species are the fourth most common cause of bloodstream infection and are the leading cause of invasive fungal infection among hospitalized patients in the United States. However, the frequency and outcomes attributable to the infection are uncertain. This retrospective study set out to estimate the incidence of candidemia in hospitalized adults and children in the United States and to determine attributable mortality, length of hospital stay, and hospital charges related to candidemia. METHODS We used the Nationwide Inpatient Sample 2000 for adult patients and the Kids' Inpatient Database 2000 for pediatric patients. We matched candidemia-exposed and candidemia-unexposed patients by the propensity scores for the probability of candidemia exposure, which were derived from patient characteristics. Attributable outcomes were calculated as the differences in estimates of outcomes between propensity score-matched patients with and without candidemia. RESULTS In the United States in 2000, candidemia was diagnosed in an estimated 1118 hospital admissions of pediatric patients and 8949 hospital admissions of adult patients, yielding a frequency of 43 cases per 100,000 pediatric admissions (95% confidence interval [CI], 35-52 cases per 100,000 pediatric admissions) and 30 cases per 100,000 adult admissions (95% CI, 26-34 cases per 100,000 adult admissions). In pediatric patients, candidemia was associated with a 10.0% increase in mortality (95% CI, 6.2%-13.8%), a mean 21.1-day increase in length of stay (95% CI, 14.4-27.8 days), and a mean increase in total per-patient hospital charges of 92,266 dollars (95% CI, 65,058 dollars-119,474 dollars). In adult patients, candidemia was associated with a 14.5% increase in mortality (95% CI, 12.1%-16.9%), a mean 10.1-day increase in length of stay (95% CI, 8.9-11.3 days), and a mean increase in hospital charges of 39,331 dollars (95% CI, 33,604 dollars-45,602 dollars). CONCLUSION The impact of candidemia on excess mortality, increased length of stay, and the burden of cost of hospitalization underscores the need for improved means of prevention and treatment of candidemia in adults and children.
Speech as a Personality Trait

Speech in intuitively interpreted by normal human beings as an index of personal expression. Its actual analysis, however, from this standpoint is difficult. Several distinct strands may be detected in what looks at first sight like an integral phenomenon. The social norm is always to be distinguished from the individual increment of expression, which is never discernible in itself, but only as measured against this norm. Moreover, "speech" consists of at least five levels of behavior, the expressive value of any one of which need not be confirmed by all the others. These levels are the voice as such, speech dynamics, the pronunciation, the vocabulary, and the style of connected utterance. Owing to the possibility of detecting conflict and other symptomatic reactions in speech, language behavior becomes a suggestive field for research in problems of personality.
Genetic polymorphism of glutathione S‐transferase genes (GSTM1, GSTT1 and GSTP1) and susceptibility to prostate cancer in Northern India

To examine the association of glutathione‐S‐transferase (GST) gene polymorphisms in patients with sporadic prostate cancer, in a North Indian population, as GSTs are active in detoxifying a wide variety of endogenous or exogenous carcinogens, and genetic polymorphisms of GSTM1, GSTT1 and GSTP1 have been assessed to evaluate the relative risk of various cancers.
Energy Metabolism Response to Low-Temperature and Frozen Conditions in Psychrobacter cryohalolentis

ABSTRACT Studies of cold-active enzymes have provided basic information on the molecular and biochemical properties of psychrophiles; however, the physiological strategies that compensate for low-temperature metabolism remain poorly understood. We investigated the cellular pools of ATP and ADP in Psychrobacter cryohalolentis K5 incubated at eight temperatures between 22°C and −80°C. Cellular ATP and ADP concentrations increased with decreasing temperature, and the most significant increases were observed in cells that were incubated as frozen suspensions (<−5°C). Respiratory uncoupling significantly decreased this temperature-dependent response, indicating that the proton motive force was required for energy adaptation to frozen conditions. Since ATP and ADP are key substrates in metabolic and energy conservation reactions, increasing their concentrations may provide a strategy for offsetting the kinetic temperature effect, thereby maintaining reaction rates at low temperature. The adenylate levels increased significantly <1 h after freezing and also when the cells were osmotically shocked to simulate the elevated solute concentrations encountered in the liquid fraction of the ice. Together, these data demonstrate that a substantial change in cellular energy metabolism is required for the cell to adapt to the low temperature and water activity conditions encountered during freezing. This physiological response may represent a critical biochemical compensation mechanism at low temperature, have relevance to cellular survival during freezing, and be important for the persistence of microorganisms in icy environments.
Crystal structure of N-ethyl-2-(1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalen-1-ylidene)hydrazinecarbothioamide

There are two molecules in the asymmetric unit of the title compound, one of them being disordered over the methyl group. The molecules are linked by weak H⋯S interactions into chains with graph-set motifs C(4) along [100] and and (10) rings. The Hirshfeld surface calculation suggests that the most important contribution for the crystal structure are the H⋯H interactions (64.20%).
Vicarious Function of Remote Cortex following Stroke: Recent Evidence from Human and Animal Studies

Following a lesion, the adult central nervous system undergoes dramatic structural and physiological reorganization in diverse subcortical and cortical areas. Our knowledge of the events that parallel recovery within the tissue surrounding the lesion and other distant cortical areas has evolved greatly in the past few years. Particularly, recent efforts have increased our understanding of the potential implication of premotor areas in recovery from lesions disturbing the primary motor cortex (M1) and its corticospinal outputs. Because these areas share extensive connections with M1 and have direct access to the spinal cord through corticospinal projections, they are particularly well positioned to take over the role of M1 in a vicarious manner and thus compensate for the neuronal loss resulting from M1 lesions. The impressive postlesional reorganization known to occur in many areas of the CNS including the premotor cortex traditionally has been assumed to play a beneficial role in recovery. However, recent experiments suggest that in some cases, reorganization of distant cortical areas correlates with poor recovery, raising the concept of maladaptive vicarious process. This concept might be particularly critical in the development of new treatment approaches favoring postlesion plasticity and even more so for interventions targeting specific area(s). Here, the author reviews human and animal studies that show the plastic potential of the adult CNS after stroke, highlighting the vicarious role of the premotor cortex in the recovery of motor control.
Effectiveness of home rehabilitation for ischemic stroke

The objective of this study was to develop and examine the effectiveness of an individual home rehabilitation program for patients with ischemic stroke. This was a randomized controlled trial in 60 patients with recent middle cerebral artery infarction. After hospital discharge for acute stroke care, they were randomly assigned to receive either a home rehabilitation program for three months (intervention group) or usual care (control group). We collected outcome data over three months after their discharge from the hospital. The Barthel Index (BI), the Modified Rankin Scale (MRS), the health-related quality-of-life index (EQ-5D), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression score (HADs), and the Thai Mental State Examination (TMSE) were used to analyze the outcomes. In the intervention group, all outcomes were significantly better (p<0.05) than in the control group, except in the case of TMSE. A favorable outcome, which was defined as minimal or no disability as measured by BI (score 95–100), was achieved by 93.33% of patients in the intervention group, and 90% had favorable scores (0 or 1) on the MRS. This showed a benefit in reducing disability, with two being the number of patients considered as needed-to-treat (NNT) (95% CI, 1.0–1.2). All dimensions of EQ-5D in the intervention group were significantly better for quality of life and generic health status than in the control group (p=0.001). Depression was found in one patient (3.33%) in the intervention group and in two patients (6.67%) in the control group. Dementia was found in three patients (10%) in the intervention group and in four patients (13.33%) in the control group. We concluded that an early home rehabilitation program for patients with ischemic stroke in the first three-month period provides significantly better outcomes in improving function, reducing disability, increasing quality of life, and reducing depression than a program of usual care does.
Arms, Conflicts, Structures, and Values

2. The dominance-dependence structure If we assume that no one likes to be exploited, then dominance values are inherently conflictful. Given conflicts generated by structures of inequality between and within nations established by dominance values, force of arms is necessarily required to resolve them, since their self-contradiction (lack of logic) makes them resistant to reasonable resolution.
Investigation of oesophageal photoplethysmographic signals and blood oxygen saturation measurements in cardiothoracic surgery patients.

Pulse oximeter probes attached to the finger may fail to estimate blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) in patients with compromised peripheral perfusion (e.g. hypothermic cardiopulmonary bypass surgery). The measurement of SpO2 from a central organ such as the oesophagus is suggested as an alternative to overcome this problem. A reflectance oesophageal pulse oximeter probe and a processing system implemented in LabVIEW were developed. The system was evaluated in clinical measurements on 50 cardiothoracic surgery patients. Oesophageal photoplethysmographic (PPG) signals with large amplitudes and high signal-to-noise ratios were measured from various depths within the oesophagus from all the cardiothoracic patients. The oesophageal PPG amplitudes from these patients were in good agreement with previous oesophageal PPG amplitude measurements from healthy anaesthetized patients. The oesophageal pulse oximeter SpO2 results agreed well with the estimated arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) values inferred from the oxygen tension obtained by blood gas analysis. The mean (+/- SD) of the differences between the oesophageal pulse oximeter SpO2 readings and those from blood gas analysis was 0.02 +/- 0.88%. Also, the oesophageal pulse oximeter was found to be reliable and accurate in five cases of poor peripheral perfusion when a commercial finger pulse oximeter probe failed to estimate oxygen saturation values for at least 10 min. These results suggest that the arterial blood circulation to the oesophagus is less subject to vasoconstriction and decreased PPG amplitudes than are the peripheral sites used for pulse oximetry such as the finger. It is concluded that oesophageal SPO2 monitoring may be of clinical value.