Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A half century of longitudinal methods in social gerontology: evidence of change in the journal.

OBJECTIVES With a focus on the use of longitudinal data, this study reviews trends in the quantitative analysis of social science data on aging during the past half century. METHODS A content analysis was performed on 227 articles from 12 volumes that were systematically sampled from the Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences to examine change in the type of data and quantitative methods used (1946-2000). RESULTS Cross-sectional analysis remains the single most frequent type of study, but the publication of analyses based on longitudinal panel data increased appreciably over the five decades studied. There was little increase in the use of repeated cross-sectional analysis. DISCUSSION Despite the widespread use of cross-sectional analysis, interest in data with more than one occasion of measurement has grown among social scientists who are reviewing for and publishing in the JOURNAL. Given the longitudinal data now available, social science research on aging should give more explicit attention to three issues: attrition, change in repeated measures of independent variables, and models to account for many waves of data.
Laboratory Determined Sugar Content and Composition of Commercial Infant Formulas, Baby Foods and Common Grocery Items Targeted to Children

Excess added sugar consumption is tied to poor health outcomes in children. The sugar content of beverages and foods children are exposed to is mostly unknown, yet this information is imperative for understanding potential risks from overconsumption of sugars in early life. We determined actual sugar content by conducting a blinded laboratory analysis in infant formulas, breakfast cereals, packaged baked goods and yogurts. One hundred samples were sent to an independent laboratory for analysis via gas chromatography. Sugar content and composition was determined and total sugar was compared against nutrition labels. Of the 100 samples analyzed, 74% contained ≥20% of total calories per serving from added sugars. Nutrient label data underestimated or overestimated actual sugars and ~25% of all samples had actual total sugar values that were either <10% or >10% of labeled total sugar. Many products that are frequently marketed to and consumed by infants and young children contain sugars in amounts that differ from nutrition labels and often in excess of recommended daily levels. These findings provide further support for adding more comprehensive sugar labeling to food and beverage products, specifically those marketed to, or commonly consumed by, children.
calculating turbo-decoding performance characteristics for adaptive channel coding

Low complexity performance characterizations of error-correcting codes are needed to better exploit their potential when adapting a communication system to channel conditions or to service requirements. For the case of turbo-codes, existing performance characterizations are often too complex or not flexible enough to be used for real-time adaptation. This paper presents a new technique for evaluating the performance of turbo-codes, that may fit the need for flexibility and low-complexity. It enables the determination of the error-free decoding threshold and of the number of iterations to achieve error-free decoding. Its complexity is far lower than that of existing methods and its accuracy is very satisfying.
A specialized multibaseline stereo technique for obstacle detection

This paper presents a multibaseline stereo technique specially suited to detecting obstacles. A method is described for weakly calibrating a set of multibaseline stereo cameras with high accuracy. This method is then used to tailor the stereo search space to the special case where the world in front of the cameras consists mainly of nearly horizontal planar surfaces (the ground), where we are interested in deviations from those planar surfaces (obstacles). The resulting disparity maps are presented and compared to the output of a traditional stereo algorithm.
Activity- and Target-Dependent Regulation of Large-Conductance Ca2+-Activated K+ Channels in Developing Chick Lumbar Motoneurons

The functional expression of large-conductance (BK-type) Ca2+-activated K+(KCa) channels was examined in developing chick lumbar motoneurons (LMNs) between embryonic day 6 (E6) and E13 using patch-clamp recording techniques. The macroscopic KCacurrent of E13 LMNs is inhibited by iberiotoxin and resistant to apamin. The average macroscopic KCa density was low before E8 and increased 3.3-fold by E11, with an additional 1.8-fold increase occurring by E13. BK-type KCa channels could not be detected in inside-out patches from E8 LMNs but were readily detected at E11. The density of voltage-activated Ca2+currents did not change between E8 and E11. Surgical ablation of target tissues at E5 caused a significant reduction in average KCadensity in LMNs measured at E11. Conversely, chronic in ovo administration of d-tubocurarine, which causes an increase in motoneuron branching on the surface of the muscle target tissue, evoked a 1.8-fold increase in average LMN KCadensity measured at E11. Electrical activity also contributed to developmental regulation of LMN KCa density. A significant reduction in E11 KCa density was found after chronicin ovo treatment with the neuronal nicotinic antagonist mecamylamine or the GABA receptor agonist muscimol, agents that reduce activation of LMNs in ovo. Moreover, 3 d exposure to depolarizing concentrations of external K+ to LMNs cultured at E8 caused an increase in KCa expression. Conversely, tetrodotoxin caused a decrease in KCaexpression in cultured E8 LMNs developing for 3 d in the presence of neurotrophic factors that promote neuronal survival in the absence of target tissues.
Binary, shortened projective reed muller codes for coded private information retrieva

The notion of a Private Information Retrieval (PIR) code was recently introduced by Fazeli, Vardy and Yaakobi [1] who showed that this class of codes permit PIR at reduced levels of storage overhead in comparison with rephcated-server PIR. In the present paper, the construction of an (n, k) τ-server binary linear PIR code having parameters n = <sup>ℓ</sup>Σ<inf>i=0</inf>(<sup>m</sup><inf>i</inf>), k = (<sup>m</sup><inf>i</inf>) and τ = 2<sup>ℓ</sup> for any integer m ≥ ℓ ≥ 0 is presented. These codes are obtained through homogeneous-polynomial evaluation and correspond to the binary. Projective Reed Muller (PRM) code. The construction can be extended to yield PIR codes for any τ = ∊ {2<sup>ℓ</sup>, 2<sup>ℓ</sup> − 1 | ℓ ∊ Z, ℓ ≥ 0} and any value of k, through a combination of single-symbol puncturing and shortening of the PRM code. Each of these code constructions above, have smaller storage overhead in comparison with known short block length codes in [1]. For the particular case of τ = 3,4, we show that the codes constructed here are optimal, systematic PIR codes by providing an improved lower bound on the block length n{k, τ) of a systematic PIR code. It follows from a result by Vardy and Yaakobi [2], that these codes also yield optimal, systematic primitive multi-set {n, k, τ)<inf>B</inf> batch codes for τ = 3,4. The PIR code constructions presented here also yield upper bounds on the generahzed Hamming weights of binary PRM codes.
Current Applications of Liquid Chromatography / Mass Spectrometry in Pharmaceutical Discovery After a Decade of Innovation

Coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy is a label-free imaging technique that is capable of real-time, nonperturbative examination of living cells and organisms based on molecular vibrational spectroscopy. Recent advances in detection schemes, understanding of contrast mechanisms, and developments of laser sources have enabled superb sensitivity and high time resolution. Emerging applications, such as metabolite and drug imaging and tumor identification, raise many exciting new possibilities for biology and medicine. 883 Click here for quick links to Annual Reviews content online, including: Other articles in this volume Top cited articles Top downloaded articles rehensive search Further ANNUAL REVIEWS ${ jo ur na l.a bb re v} 2 00 8. 1: 88 390 9. D ow nl oa de d fr om a rjo ur na ls . a nn ua lre vi ew s.o rg by H A R V A R D U N IV ER SI TY o n 10 /1 4/ 08 . F or p er so na l u se o nl y.
Neurobiological evaluation of thin-film longitudinal intrafascicular electrodes as a peripheral nerve interface

Longitudinal intrafascicular electrodes (LIFEs) designed to be placed inside a peripheral nerve seem adequate devices for constituting a nerve-prosthesis interface. In this study we evaluated the functional and morphological effects of newly designed polyimide-based thin-film (tf-)LIFEs implanted in the rat sciatic nerve for 3 months. The tf-LIFEs used are highly flexible, and have 8 regularly spaced contacts, 4 at each side of the folded structure. Functional results at 1 month showed a mild decline in nerve conduction velocity and amplitude of muscle responses, which recovered during the following 2 months. Histological results showed a mild scar response around the intraneural electrode, but no signs of axonal loss and degeneration. Longitudinally implanted LIFEs behaved slightly better than transversally inserted LIFEs. Acute experiments proved that selective neural signal recording and nerve stimulation could be achieved from the different active sites in one tf-LIFE.
Human Action Recognition Using APJ3D and Random Forests

Human action recognition is an important yet challenging task. In this paper, a simple and efficient method based on random forests is proposed for human action recognition. First, we extract the 3D skeletal joint locations from depth images. The APJ3D computed from the action depth image sequences by employing the 3D joint position features and the 3D joint angle features, and then clustered into K-means algorithm, which represent the typical postures of actions. By employing the improved Fourier Temporal Pyramid, we recognize actions using random forests. The proposed method is evaluated by using a public video dataset, namely UTKinect-Action dataset. This dataset is constituted of 200 3D sequences of 10 activities performed by 10 individuals in varied views. Experimental results show that the robustness of 3D skeletal joint location estimation display very well results, and the proposed method performs very well on that dataset. In addition, due to the design of our method and the robust 3D skeletal joint locations estimation from RGB-D sensor, our method demonstrates significant reliability against noise on 3D action dataset.
An ultra wideband antenna with proximity-coupled multiple shallow cavities for uniform gain

Using a novel concept of proximity coupled multiple shallow cavities an ultra wideband antenna with uniform gain is designed. Its operating bandwidth is from 4 GHz to 12 GHz. A parametric analysis and design guidelines, highlighting the gain enhancement over a broad range of frequency, is presented. A significant improvement of 2 to 3 dB gain over the whole frequency range is demonstrated. This antenna has a theoretical gain of 6.24 dBi and a very small maximum gain variation of 1.17 dB over a bandwidth of 8 GHz.
Aperture-angle optimization problems in 3 dimensions

Let a; b] be a line segment with end points a, b and a point at which a viewer is located, all in R 3. The aperture angle of a; b] from point , denoted by (), is the interior angle at of the triangle (a; b;). Given a convex polyhedron P not intersecting a given segment a; b] we consider the problem of computing max () and min (), the maximum and minimum values of () as varies over all points in P. We obtain two characterizations of max (). Along the way we solve several interesting special cases of the above problems and establish linear upper and lower bounds on their complexity under several models of computation.
There might be a role for CD200 in the pathogenesis of autoimmune and inflammatory skin disorders

Background Soluble CD200 (sCD200) is a novel immuno-effective molecule, which acts to regulate inflammatory and acquired immune responses. Recently, our study group showed that sCD200 was present in serum and blister fluid in a patient with bullous pemphigoid and a patient with toxic epidermal necrolysis. We therefore planned this study to evaluate the sCD200 levels of autoimmune and inflammatory skin disorder patients and to compare them with that of healthy controls. Maleral/Methods Our study included 30 consecutive patients with psoriasis vulgaris, 15 with pemphigus vulgaris, and 15 healthy controls. Clinical examination and laboratory tests were performed on the same day. Psoriasis patients were also assessed with the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) and pemphigus patients were assessed using the Pemphigus Disease Area Index (PDAI). Levels of sCD200 in the serum samples were quantified using ELISA kits. Results The serum sCD200 level was observed to be statistically significantly higher in patients with psoriasis vulgaris (96.7±15.8) compared to patients with pemphigus vulgaris (76.2±14.6), (p<0.001) and healthy controls (26.8±7.0) (p<0.001). The serum sCD200 levels were observed to be statistically significantly higher in patients with pemphigus vulgaris compared with that in healthy controls (p<0.001). In addition, there was a statistically significant correlation between serum sCD200 levels and PDAI (r=0.987, p=0.001). Nevertheless, there was no statistically significant correlation between serum sCD200 levels and PASI (r=0.154, p=0.407). Conclusions sCD200 might play a role in immune response in the pathogenesis of autoimmune and inflammatory skin disorders. However, it remains to be fully elucidated how sCD200 can orchestrate inflammatory response in psoriasis and pemphigus.
Efficacy of Single-dose, Multilevel Paravertebral Nerve Blockade for Analgesia after Thoracoscopic Procedures

Background:Although video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery for pulmonary resection is increasingly chosen over thoracotomy, the optimal analgesia regimen for thoracoscopy is unknown. The purpose of this trial was to compare the efficacy of analgesia from preoperative bupivacaine paravertebral nerve blockade with that from placebo injections. Methods:Eighty adult patients undergoing unilateral thoracoscopic procedures were enrolled in a prospective, double-blinded, randomized clinical trial of preoperative, multilevel, single-dose paravertebral nerve blockade. Patients received six paravertebral injections with 5 ml of either 0.5% bupivacaine with 0.0005% epinephrine (treated, n = 40) or preservative-free saline (control, n = 40). Cumulative weight-adjusted intraoperative fentanyl and postoperative patient-controlled morphine usage, visual analog pain scores, and spirometry were used to compare efficacy of analgesia between groups. Results:The treated group received significantly less intraoperative fentanyl compared with the control group (P = 0.003) and had a 31% smaller cumulative patient-controlled morphine dose (P = 0.03) in the 6 h after block placement. Within 6 h, treated patients also reported lower maximum pain scores (P = 0.02) and demonstrated less pain score variability (P = 0.01). No statistically significant difference in cumulative morphine usage existed at 12 or 18 h after block placement. No significant difference in spirometry, cortisol levels, or cytokine production was found between treatments. Conclusions:Single-dose paravertebral nerve blockade with bupivacaine is effective in reducing pain after thoracoscopic surgery, but only during the first 6 h after nerve blockade. Because of the limited duration of effect with currently available local anesthetic agents, the current data suggest that, at present, this technique is not indicated in the setting of thoracoscopic surgery.
Computer-Assisted Regulation of Emotional and Social Processes

Imagine a person who has a fear of other people. Let us call her Anna. She is afraid of people watching her every move as she stands in a line or walks down the street. Meeting new people is almost impossible as she always feels stared at and judged by everyone. This fear, or maybe even a phobia, can make Anna’s life very complicated. It is difficult for her to travel through public spaces in order to get to work, to deal with a bus or taxi driver, shop for groceries, etc. Anna’s leisure time activities are also very limited. The situation is indeed a vicious cycle, as it is even difficult for her to seek treatment and go to a therapist. In USA alone, there are approximately 15 million people like Anna who suffer from social anxiety disorder (Anxiety Disorders Association of America, 2008). A total of 40 million people suffer from different anxiety disorders. The associated yearly costs of mental health care exceed 42 billion U.S. dollars. Thus, emotional disorders are a significant public health issue. There is a need for demonstrably effective and efficient new methods for therapy. Computer systems have recently been applied to the treatment of many emotional disorders, including different phobias (Krijn et al., 2004; Wiederhold & Bullinger, 2005). These systems provide controlled virtual exposure to the object of the disorder, for example, a computer simulation of a spider or a room filled with other people. In this form of behavioural therapy, patients are systematically desensitized by gradual exposure to a computer generated representation of the object of their fear (Weiten, 2007; Krijn et al., 2004). At first, the level of exposure is kept mild and constant, for example, by keeping the object of the fear visually distant and far away. Then, the level of exposure is increased little by little, for example, by moving a virtual spider closer or increasing the number of virtual people. The underlying theory is that such exposure replaces anxiety provoking memories and thoughts with more neutral ones that are acquired in a safe, controlled environment. It has been shown that people react to computer generated stimuli in the same manner as to authentic, real-life stimuli. For example, socially anxious people are cautious about disturbing embodied artificial characters in virtual reality (Garau et al., 2005). People have also reported higher anxiety and shown increased somatic responses when speaking to negative as compared to neutral and positive audiences consisting of virtual agent characters (Pertaub et al., 2002). As these studies have shown that virtual characters are able to evoke emotions or anxiety, computer generated stimuli show clear potential as a new method for treating different social and emotional disorders by enabling controlled exposure to anxiety provoking stimuli.
Kinematic Constraint Method for Human Gesture Recognition Based on Weighted Dynamic Time Warping

This paper presents a constraint method based on the kinematics to improve the accuracy of gesture recognition using a weighted dynamic time warping (DTW) algorithm. The traditional approaches of gesture recognition using 2D images are some limitations to detect the certain actions of human due to the lack of the full motion data. As the development of 3D depth sensors, it is possible for the gesture recognition technology to use the 3D motion data of human. In particular, the weighted DTW method is commonly used for the gesture recognition using 3D motion data since it can consider the sequential changes of the motion in a timeline. The weighted DTW, however, is an accuracy problem that is frequently identifying the false- positive and the true-negative about the complex gestures based on the timely stream of motions only. In this paper, we proposed the kinematic constraints generating the certain gestures so that we could improve the accuracy of gesture recognition using the weighted DTW algorithm. Finally, we carried out the experimental test with four types of gestures to evaluate the performance of the proposed kinematic constraints. The experimental results showed that the proposed method can enhance the precision of gesture detection compared to the standard weighted DTW algorithm even though the motion data captured by the 3D sensors include a lot of noises such as the occlusive movements and the ambiguous 3D measurements.
An Operant Intra-/Extra-dimensional Set-shift Task for Mice

Alterations in executive control and cognitive flexibility, such as attentional set-shifting abilities, are core features of several neuropsychiatric diseases. The most widely used neuropsychological tests for the evaluation of attentional set-shifting in human subjects are the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and the CANTAB Intra-/Extra-dimensional set shift task (ID/ED). These tasks have proven clinical relevance and have been modified and successfully adapted for research in animal models. However, currently available tasks for rodents present several limitations, mainly due to their manual-based testing procedures, which are hampering translational advances in psychiatric medicine. To overcome these limitations and to better mimic the original version in primates, we present the development of a novel operant-based two-chamber ID/ED "Operon" task for rodents. We demonstrated the effectiveness of this novel task to measure different facets of cognitive flexibility in mice including attentional set formation and shifting, and reversal learning. Moreover, we show the high flexibility of this task in which three different perceptual dimensions can be manipulated with a high number of stimuli cues for each dimension. This novel ID/ED Operon task can be an effective preclinical tool for drug testing and/or large genetic screening relevant to the study of executive dysfunction and cognitive symptoms found in psychiatric disorders.
Explaining ERP Implementation Effort and Benefits With Organizational Integration 1

Many ERP implementations fail to achieve their hoped-for benefits and efforts invested in ERP implementations are often much larger than originally estimated. In addition, research on ERP implementation is still in its early stages and needs to be grounded in theory. To provide a theoretical foundation for ERP implementation research, the present paper first develops a definition and a framework for the construct of organizational integration. Subsequently, the paper presents a research model that explains ERP implementation efforts and benefits using the construct of organizational integration and its framework. Finally, the paper discusses the research and practical implications of the framework.
Comparison and performance evaluation of different adaptive beam forming algorithms in wireless communications with smart antenna

Many current modern wireless communication applications still rely on older electronic scanning technologies. Recent efforts are being exerted to modify wireless communication systems to include digital beam forming and adaptive beam forming techniques.The fixed beam forming approaches, which included the maximum SIR, the ML methods, and the MV method, were assumed to apply to fixed direction of arrival angle emitters.If the desired direction of arrival angles change with time, it is necessary to devise an optimization scheme that keeps recalculating the optimum array weights.The receiver signal processing algorithm then must allow for the continuous adaptation to an ever-changing electromagnetic environment.The adaptive algorithm allows for the calculation of continuously updated weights. The popular optimization techniques like LMS(least mean square), SMI(sample matrix inversion) andRLS(recursive least square) algorithms can take into consideration, it is desired to find their adaptive weights and finally comparison of performance evaluation needs to be considered with