Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prevalence of Addiction to the Internet, Computer Games, DVD, and Video and Its Relationship to Anxiety and Depression in a Sample of Iranian High School Students

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of addiction to the Internet, computer games, DVD, and video and its relationship to anxiety and depression in a sample of Iranian high school students. Methods: In this cross-sectional study 1020 high school students (males and females) were selected randomly from different areas of Shiraz city in southern Iran. They were interviewed according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed (DSM-IV) criteria. Results: About 50% of the students were females, 277 students (27.2%) were studying in the first year of high school, 242 (23.7%) were in the second year, and others in the third year. The prevalence of anxiety was significantly higher in females than in males (p < 0.05). The prevalence of anxiety was lower among students of the third year (p < 0.05). The prevalence of depression was significantly higher in students with lower economic status defined as family monthly income. Internet dependence was seen only in 5 students. The prevalence of anxiety was significantly higher in the students who used internet for chatting, amusement, and reading news (p < 0.05). The prevalence of anxiety was significantly higher in students who were DVD or video CD dependents (p < 0.05). The students who used especial drugs or had especial diseases had higher rates of depression and anxiety (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Internet addiction may cause depression and anxiety in high school students. It seems necessary to develop an Internet addiction prevention program for adolescents taking into account the psychological factors such as depression and Internet use habits.
Die Arbeit an Fällen als Medium der Professionalisierung von Lehrenden

Zum Aufbau der für professionelles pädagogisches Handeln bedeutsamen Deutungskompetenz gilt die Arbeit an Fällen in der Erwachsenenbildung im Besonderen und der Lehrerbildung im Allgemeinen als eine geeignete Methode. Der Beitrag stellt etablierte Konzepte der Nutzung von Fällen für die Professionalisierung (von Lehrenden) in unterschiedlichen Kontexten vor. Dafür werden der Diskurs in der Erziehungswissenschaft – speziell der Erwachsenenbildung – und derjenige der psychologisch orientierten Lehr-Lern-Forschung skizziert und aufeinander bezogen. Trotz anderer Schwerpunktsetzung und Anwendung von Fällen bei letzterer eröffnen die dortigen Diskussionen u.a. zu digitalen Lehr-Lern-Umgebungen Hinweise zur Fallgestaltung in der Erwachsenenbildung.
Spectral Characterization and 3D Molecular Modeling Studies of Metal Complexes Involving the O, N-Donor Environment of Quinazoline-4(3H)-one Schiff Base and Their Biological Studies

A simple condensation of 3-amino-2-methylquinazoline-4-one with 2-hydroxy-1-naphthaldehyde produced new tridentate ONO donor Schiff base ligand with efficient yield. The structural characterization of ligand and its Cu(II), Ni(II), Co(II), Mn(II), Zn(II), and Cd(II) complexes were achieved by the aid of elemental analysis, spectral characterization such as (UV-visible, IR, NMR, mass, and ESR), and magnetic data. The analytical and spectroscopic studies suggest the octahedral geometries of Cu(II), Co(II), Ni(II) and Mn(II) complexes and tetrahedral geometry of Zn(II) and Cd(II) complexes with the tridentate ONO Schiff base ligand. Furthermore, the conclusions drawn from these studies afford further support to the mode of bonding discussed on the basis of their 3D molecular modeling studies by considering different bond lengths, bond angles, and bond distance. The ligand and its metal complexes evaluated for their antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (MTCC number 7443), Bacillus subtilis (MTCC number 9878), Escherichia coli (MTCC number 1698), Aspergillus niger (MTCC number 281), and Aspergillus flavus (MTCC number 277). The MIC of these compounds was found to be most active at 10 μg/mL concentration in inhibiting the growth of the tested organisms. The DNA cleavage activity of all the complexes was studied by gel electrophoresis method.
Evaluation of the clinical competency level among nurses working in Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences affiliated hospitals

Introduction:Nurses form build up the greatest portion of health care providers and play a central role in maintaining medical care. Determining the clinical competence level of nurses is an important issue in maintaining standards of care, identifying the educational needs and professional development of nurses. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the clinical competency level of nurses who work in Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences affiliated hospitals, in 2014. Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted on 204 nurses working in five educational hospitals affiliated to Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences. Samples were selected based on cluster randomization. The study instruments included demographic information questionnaire and Benner Clinical Competence Questionnaire (CCQ). Data analysis was performed using the SPSS v 16 software. Results: The mean and standard deviation for age and work experience of the subjects were 33.55 ± 6.17 and 9.31 ± 5.74 years, respectively. The mean and standard deviation of the total clinical competency score was 69.56 ± 10.74. The mean score for helping the patient component was 68.11 ± 14.06, training and guidance component was 69.81 ± 11.63, diagnostic measures component was 70.65 ± 15.5, management skills component was 71.04 ± 12.63, therapeutic measures component was 70.56 ± 12.47, quality assurance was 68.32 ± 14.59, and occupational and organizational tasks component was 70.85 ± 11.81. Conclusion: The clinical competence of most samples was categorized as good. According to the results of this study, researchers suggest that clinical competency assessment of nurses should be programmed and performed annually.
Unlinkable serial transactions: protocols and applications

We present a protocol for unlinkable serial transactions suitable for a variety of network-based subscription services. It is the first protocol to use cryptographic blinding to enable subscription services. The protocol prevents the service from tracking the behavior of its customers, while protecting the service vendor from abuse due to simultaneous or cloned use by a single subscriber. Our basic protocol structure and recovery protocol are robust against failure in protocol termination. We evaluate the security of the basic protocol and extend the basic protocol to include auditing, which further deters subscription sharing. We describe other applications of unlinkable serial transactions for pay-per-use trans subscription, third-party subscription management, multivendor coupons, proof of group membership, and voting.
Coarse-grained sense annotation of Danish across textual domains

We present the results of a coarse-grained sense annotation task on verbs, nouns and adjectives across six textual domains in Danish. We present the domain-wise differences in intercoder agreement and discuss how the applicability and validity of the sense inventory vary depending on domain. We find that domain-wise agreement is not higher in very canonical or edited text. In fact, newswire text and parliament speeches have lower agreement than blogs and chats, probably because the language of these text types is more complex and uses more abstract concepts. We further observe that domains differ in their sense distribution. For instance, newswire and magazines stand out as having a high focus on persons, and discussion fora typically include a restricted number of senses dependent on specialized topics. We anticipate that these findings can be exploited in automatic sense tagging when dealing with domain shift.
Protective Effect of Quercetin on Melphalan-Induced Oxidative Stress and Impaired Renal and Hepatic Functions in Rat

One major challenge with the use of anticancer agents is the phenomenon of drug-induced toxicity. Melphalan (MPLN) is an alkylating anticancer agent, while quercetin (QCT) is an antioxidant. We investigated the protective role of quercetin against MPLN-induced toxicity. Twenty-five male Wistar rats (160–170 g) were randomized into five treatment groups; (I) control, (II) MPLN (0.2 mg/kg b.w.), (III) pre-treated with QCT (20 mg/kg b.w.) for 7 days followed by MPLN (0.2 mg/kg b.w.) for 7 days, (IV) cotreated with QCT (20 mg/kg b.w.) and MPLN (0.2 mg/kg b.w.) for 7 days, and (V) QCT (20 mg/kg b.w.) alone. MPLN caused a significant increase in plasma bilirubin, urea, and creatinine by 122.2%, 102.3%, and 188%, respectively (P < 0.05). Similarly, plasma ALP, ALT, AST, and γ-GT activities increased significantly by 57.9%, 144.3%, 71.3%, and 307.2%, respectively, relative to control. However, pre or cotreatment with QCT ameliorated the levels of renal and hepatic function indices. Hepatic ascorbic acid and GSH and activities of glutathione-S-transferase, SOD, and catalase decreased significantly by 36.2%, 188%, 46.5%, 34.4%, and 55.2%, respectively, followed by increase in MDA content by 46.5% relative to control. Pre- and cotreatment with QCT reestablished the hepatic antioxidant status and lipid peroxidation. Overall, quercetin protected against MPLN-induced renal and hepatic toxicity in rats.
Bibliometrics of tropical soil sciences: some reflections and orientations.

This chapter is a précis of the authors‘ Stratégies Scientifiques et Développement: Sols et Agriculture des Régions Chaudes (Paris: ORSTOM Editions, 1988). IFRSDC is a division of the Office de la Recherche Scientifique et Technique Outre-mer (ORSTOM). l . For a global introduction to bibliometrics, see J. P. Courtial. Introduction ci la Scientométrie (paris: Anthropos, 1990). 2. The first bibliometric analysis of soil sciences was Daniel Yaalon, “Publication as a Measure of a Nation’s Research Effort,” Geotimes I 1 (3) (1966): 20-21. To our knowledge, our 1988 study is the only more recent one. Lea M. Velho has also worked on the scientific production of Brazilian University soil scientists (Ph.D. diss., 1985). ,~ ,
A statistical analysis of the ABC music notation corpus: exploring duplication

This paper presents a statistical analysis of the abc music notation corpus. The corpus contains around 435,000 transcriptions of which just over 400,000 are folk and traditional music. There is significant duplication within the corpus and so a large part of the paper discusses methods to assess the level of duplication and the analysis then indicates a headline figure of over 165,000 distinct folk and traditional melodies. The paper also describes TuneGraph, an online, interactive user interface for exploring tune variants, based on visualising the proximity graph of the underlying melodies.
Approximability of TSP on Power Law Graphs

In this paper we study the special case of Graphic TSP where the underlying graph is a power law graph (PLG). We give a refined analysis of some of the current best approximation algorithms and show that an improved approximation ratio can be achieved for certain ranges of the power law exponent $\beta$. For the value of power law exponent $\beta=1.5$ we obtain an approximation ratio of $1.34$ for Graphic TSP. Moreover we study the $(1,2)$-TSP with the underlying graph of $1$-edges being a PLG. We show improved approximation ratios in the case of underlying deterministic PLGs for $\beta$ greater than $1.666$. For underlying random PLGs we further improve the analysis and show even better expected approximation ratio for the range of $\beta$ between $1$ and $3.5$. On the other hand we prove the first explicit inapproximability bounds for $(1,2)$-TSP for an underlying power law graph.
Aesthetic Terrain Programs database for creativity assessment

To speed up content creation video game industry is increasingly turning to procedural content generation methods. However, creating and fine tuning procedural algorithms is a time consuming task. To address this issue several Search-Based Procedural Content Generation (SBPCG) techniques have been devised. They propose to automatically search the right input parameters or to generate the procedure itself to produce content with the desired characteristics. In this paper we present a database with 17820 procedures generated by Genetic Terrain Programming (GTP), a SBPCG technique. Those procedures were evolved using the weighted sum of two morphological metrics to generate terrains with aesthetic appeal for video games. With this database we aim to establish a comparison base for future research regarding creativity of GTP and aesthetic terrains diversity.
Uncut Roux-en-Y Reconstruction after Laparoscopic Distal Gastrectomy Can Be a Favorable Method in Terms of Gastritis, Bile Reflux, and Gastric Residue

Purpose Laparoscopic distal gastrectomy (LDG) is a well-established procedure for the treatment of early gastric cancer. Several reconstruction methods can be adopted after LDG according to tumor characteristics and surgeon preference. This study aimed to compare the remnant gastric functions after different reconstructions. Materials and Methods In total, 221 patients who underwent LDG between March 2005 and October 2013 were reviewed retrospectively. The patients were classified into four groups based on the reconstructive procedure: Billroth I (BI) anastomosis, Billroth II (BII) with Braun anastomosis, Roux-en-Y (RY) reconstruction, or uncut RY reconstruction. Patient demographics, surgical outcomes, and postoperative endoscopic findings were reviewed and compared among groups. Results Endoscopic evaluations at 11.8±3.8 months postoperatively showed less frequent gastritis and bile reflux in the remnant stomach in the RY group compared to the BI and BII groups. There was no significant difference in the gastric residue among the BI, BII, and RY groups. The incidence of gastritis and bile reflux in the uncut RY group was similar to that in the RY group, while residual gastric content in the uncut RY group was significantly smaller and less frequently observed than that in the RY group (5.8% versus 35.3%, P=0.010). Conclusions RY and uncut RY reconstructions are equally superior to BI and BII with Braun anastomoses in terms of gastritis and bile reflux in the remnant stomach. Furthermore, uncut RY reconstruction showed improved stasis compared to conventional RY gastrojejunostomy. Uncut RY reconstruction can be a favorable reconstructive procedure after LDG.
Sputum PGP is reduced by azithromycin treatment in patients with COPD and correlates with exacerbations

Rationale Proline–glycine–proline (PGP), a neutrophil chemoattractant derived from the enzymatic breakdown of collagen, is elevated in sputum of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and may contribute to disease progression. Whether sputum levels of PGP respond to therapy for COPD or predict outcomes is unknown. Objectives We conducted a study ancillary to a multicenter trial of the efficacy of azithromycin treatment for 1 year in preventing COPD exacerbations to test whether sputum levels of PGP were altered by treatment or associated with exacerbation frequency. Methods We collected remnant sputa from trial participants and assayed them in a blinded fashion for PGP, myeloperoxidase and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 and for the ability to generate PGP from collagen ex vivo. Once the parent trial was unblinded, the results were correlated with use of azithromycin or placebo and exacerbations in participants. Results Azithromycin treatment significantly reduced sputum levels of PGP and myeloperoxidase in patients with COPD, particularly with increased duration of therapy. We found no difference in sputum MMP-9 or PGP generation between participants taking azithromycin or placebo. Sputum PGP levels were highest around the time of an exacerbation and declined with successful treatment. Conclusions These data support a role for PGP in the airway and parenchymal neutrophilic inflammation that drives COPD progression and exacerbations, and provide new information on the anti-inflammatory properties of macrolides. PGP may have potential as a target for novel anti-inflammatory therapies in COPD and as a biomarker for clinical trials.
Nonuniform Contribution of Internal Variability to Recent Arctic Sea Ice Loss

Over the last half century, the Arctic sea ice cover has declined dramatically. Current estimates suggest that, for the Arctic as a whole, nearly one-half of the observed loss of summer sea ice cover is not due to anthropogenic forcing but rather is due to internal variability. Using the 40 members of the Community Earth System Model Large Ensemble (CESM-LE), our analysis provides the first regional assessment of the role of internal variability on the observed sea ice loss. The CESM-LE is one of the best available models for such an analysis, because it performs better than other CMIP5 models for many metrics of importance. Our study reveals that the local contribution of internal variability has a large range and strongly depends on the month and region in question. We find that the pattern of internal variability is highly nonuniform over the Arctic, with internal variability accounting for less than 10% of late summer (August–September) East Siberian Sea sea ice loss but more than 60% of the Kara Sea sea ice loss. In contrast, spring (April–May) sea ice loss, notably in the Barents Sea, has so far been dominated by internal variability.
Lung sound localization using array of acoustic sensors

This paper presents a localization algorithm to detect lung sounds using a circular array of microphones. We use the natural basis functions of propagation waves in height invariant wavefields to form a spatial minimum variance (MV) problem in eigen space. We also derive a Nyquist criteria for localizing sources within a circular region. This Nyquist criteria shows that the radius of the region where sources can be localized is inversely proportional to the frequency of sound. The modified Nyquist criteria can be used for determining the number of sensors required for a given frequency range and radius of region for which sources need to be localized. The results are corroborated by computer simulations.
Contoulet denoising of natural images

The paper investigates the image denoising utilizing a new discrete transform, contourlet transform through thresholding technique for natural images. We investigate the new transform with varied amount of noise for three sigma thresholding on a block of four natural images. Signal to noise ratio and visual judgement are made to assess the denoised images. The method displays improved signal to noise ratio for noisy images, but with observable artifacts.
Chapter 1 INFOSTATIONS : NEW PERSPECTIVES ON WIRELESS DATA NETWORKS

We discuss file delivery issues for a new approach to inexpens iv , high rate wireless data called Infostations. As opposed to ubiquitous coverage, infostations offer geographically intermittent coverage at high speed ( 1Mbps to 1Gbps) since data, as compared to voice, can often tolerate significant de lay. The infostations paradigm flips the usual “slow-radio/fast-network” scenar io upside down and offers intriguing new design problems for wireless data netwo rks. Collectively, we at WINLAB believe that the infostations scenario, especial ly with the emergence of the World Wide Web as both a communications medium and defa cto standard is one way to obtain low cost wireless data. And perhaps c ontroversially, we offer arguments that currently proposed extensions to ce llular systems (such as the coming Third Generation) will not be able to offer data s inexpensively. In this chapter we describe the infostations concept and then concentrate on issues above the physical layer. Specifically, we worry abou t delay bounds on information delivery for variety of simple user mobility sc enarios and infostation geometries. We then provide heuristic algorithms which clo se y approach these bounds.
Silicon photodetectors based on internal photoemission effect: The challenge of detecting near infrared light

In this paper an advance overview of our activity in the field of near-infrared silicon photodetectors, is presented. Proposed photodetectors are based on the internal photoemission effect through a Schottky junction and their fabrication results completely compatible with the silicon technology. Taking advantages by both new structures and new two-dimensional emerging materials a progressive increase in device performance has been demonstrated along the last years. Our insights show that silicon devices based on the internal photoemission effect are already suitable for power monitoring application and they could play a key role in the telecommunications opening new frontiers in the field of low-cost silicon photonic.
Informative Interventions

Causal discovery programs have met with considerable enthu siasm in the AI and data mining communities. Amongst philoso phers they have met a more mixed response, with numerous skeptics point ing out weaknesses in their assumptions. Some criticize the reliance up on faithfulness (the idea that every causal connection will result in probab ilistic dependence), since the true model may in fact be unfaithful (Cartwright, 2 001). Despite a common, self-imposed restriction to observational data in causal discovery, the intervention account of causality (Pearl, 2000; Spirte s et al., 2000) suggests that the inclusion of intervention data may alleviate this concern. Korb and Nyberg (2006) established that, for linear network s, even underwhelming interventions (that never overwhelm other infl uences) have sufficient power to overcome unfaithfulness and go beyond the li mits of observational data to identify the true model. Here we extend those r e ults to discrete networks, which present the added difficulty that they can be unfaithful along a single path (as noted, e.g., by Hitchcock, 2001). In doing s o, we illustrate both unfaithful chains and unfaithful collisions, give mat hematical criteria for such interactions, make some recommendations for diagnosi ng unfaithfulness and designing informative interventions, and finally, demo nstrate the power of both one andN − 1 underwhelming interventions.
Asymptotic Stability Analysis of Particular Classes of Linear Time-Delay Systems : A New Approach

Lyapunov’s direct method. Two matrix equations have been derived: matrix polynomial equation and continuous (discrete) Lyapunov matrix equation. Also, modifications of the existing sufficient conditions of convergence of Traub and Bernoilli algorithms for computing the dominant solvent of the matrix polynomial equation are derived. These results have been extended to large scale systems as well. Numerical computations are performed to illustrate the results obtained.