Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effects of occupational therapy with sensory integration emphasis on preschool-age children with autism.

OBJECTIVE Using single-subject research design, the effects of an occupational therapy intervention emphasizing sensory integration with five preschool children with autism were examined. METHOD In the AB design, nonengagement, mastery play, and interaction were measured, using videotape clips of each child's free play in the preschool. Following a 3-week baseline, an occupational therapist provided one-on-one sessions and consultation to teachers for 10 weeks. RESULTS When baseline and intervention phases were compared, four children demonstrated decreased frequency of nonengaged behavior, and three demonstrated increased frequency of mastery (goal-directed) play. Improvements in frequency of interaction were minimal. CONCLUSION The results support descriptions in the literature regarding the behavioral changes that children with autism can make when participating in intervention using a sensory integration approach.
Spinning Dragging Strings

We use the AdS/CFT correspondence to compute the drag force experienced by a heavy quark moving through a = 4 SU(N) super Yang-Mills plasma at nonzero temperature and R-charge chemical potential and at large 't Hooft coupling. We resolve a discrepancy in the literature between two earlier studies of such quarks. In addition, we consider small fluctuations of the spinning strings dual to these probe quarks and find no evidence of instabilities. We make some comments about suitable D7-brane boundary conditions for the dual strings.
Study design considerations in a large COPD trial comparing effects of tiotropium with salmeterol on exacerbations

Currently available long-acting inhaled bronchodilators (tiotropium, salmeterol, formoterol) have demonstrated beneficial effects on exacerbations in placebo-controlled trials. However, there have been no direct comparisons of these drugs with exacerbations as the primary outcome and consequently COPD treatment guidelines do not indicate a preference for either bronchodilator. Therefore, an international, randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, parallel-group clinical trial has been designed to investigate the comparative efficacy of 2 long-acting bronchodilators tiotropium 18 μg daily and salmeterol 50 μg bid on exacerbations. The trial will include at least 6800 randomized patients with diagnosis of COPD, ≥ 10 pack-year history of smoking, post-bronchodilator FEV1 ≤ 70% predicted, and a history of exacerbations in the previous year. The primary endpoint is time to first COPD exacerbation. Secondary endpoints include number of exacerbations and time to premature discontinuation of trial medication. The trial has been designed to address several of the challenges in studying exacerbations in a controlled trial by a symptom and event-based definition of exacerbations, frequent follow-up contacts, selection of time to first event as the primary endpoint and using exposure adjusted analysis when examining number of events. Other challenges in designing exacerbation trials such as differential discontinuation and follow-up of discontinued patients are discussed.
Are Gangs a Social Problem

This study examined definitions of social problems and gangs, and sought to determine whether they lead to the conclusion that gangs are a social problem. Findings suggest that gangs are perceived by the general public, and by local and Federal agencies, as a problem worthy of attention. There is a strong correlation between gang membership and criminality supported by empirical research. The study's hypothesis is that gangs can be defined as a social problem. Using the Socratic method, several questions are posed and examined: what is a social problem; how are definitions developed; are definitions always right; what is a gang; what are gang-related activities; what is a criminal gang; and how are gangs perceived? The results, and answers to the questions, demonstrated that gangs are a social problem, a private issue that has risen to the level of a public issue based on perceptions (public opinion/collective definition) of its harmfulness to society.
Relation of Stroke Risk Factors with Specific Stroke Subtypes and Territories

Background: Although the risk factors of ischemic strokes are well defined, there is slight information about their relations with the etiologies of ischemic strokes. This study investigated the distribution of ischemic stroke risk factors and their connections to diverse etiologies of cerebrovascular attack (CVA) and specific ischemic regions of brain. Methods: In this cross sectional study, we analyzed the data of patients with definite diagnosis of CVA, excluding hemorrhagic strokes, registered in Imam Hossein Medical Center in Tehran, Iran. The data were collected from entire archived medical records from March 2010 until September 2012, retrospectively. Results: Out of 1696 cases a total of 1011 subjects, 487 (48.2%) males and 524 (51.8%) females with mean age of 68.91±13.54 yr were included in the study. Patients suffering from atrial fibrillation (AF), valvular heart disease (VHD), and dilated cardiomyopathy were more prone to develop cardioembolic stroke. Those with diabetes mellitus (DM), carotid artery stenosis and dyslipidemia (DLP) had a higher prevalence of macroangiopathic stroke. Ischemic heart disease (IHD), AF, and VHD were associated with stroke in the brain territory supplied by middle cerebral artery (MCA) while DM and carotid artery stenosis were correspondent with posterior cerebral artery (PCA) stroke. Conclusion: The diagnosis of the weight of each risk factor of ischemic strokes on different etiologies and territories of ischemia can assist care providers for a more efficient prevention of strokes. The results of this study can also be a basis for further investigations to corroborate the pathophysiology of such relations.
Functional patterns of exogenous enzymes in different feed ingredients

The use of carbohydrases and proteases in poultry production occasionally results in inconsistent physiological responses that are difficult to explain. However, it has previously been demonstrated that a substantial portion of the variation in enzyme efficacy is associated with the inherent ileal digestibility of starch, protein and lipid, and so an appreciation for the concentration of the undigested fractions of these nutrients in a diet may help to determine the magnitude and consistency of feed enzyme responses. Considering that the expense of in vivo physiological assays for the assessment of enzyme functional pattern is high, it is crucial to develop suitable in vitro methods to predict the magnitude of enzyme response. The purpose of the current paper is to describe inherent characteristics of poultry diets and feed ingredients in response to carbohydrases and proteases in order to aid the development of in vitro assays to predict feed enzyme functional patterns.
Profiles of communicative abilities in Hong Kong autistic children

This study investigated profiles of communicative means and functions in Hong Kong autistic children at a beginning stage of language development From six autistic and six normal children matched with language stages, communication samples were obtained and analysed using the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales (CSBS; Wetherby & Prizant, 1990), with little cultural adaptation. The results showed that,, despite both groups used gestures to regulate the behavior of another person most often, autistic children at earlier language stages showed relative weakness to communicate with verbal means and the joint attentional function, comparing to autistic children with more advanced language and all normal children. The weakness in joint attention was especially significant in female, rather than male, autistiG children. Moreover, in autistic children, communicative functions vary according to stages of language development while in normal children, this correlation was not significant. Implications of the data for assessment and treatment arejaiscussed.
O GOVERNO ESTADUAL NA EXPERIÊNCIA POLÍTICA BRASILEIRA: OS DESEMPENHOS LEGISLATIVOS DAS ASSEMBLÉIAS ESTADUAIS

Este artigo analisa o volume e a dinamica da producao legislativa em 12 assembleias legislativas estaduais brasileiras durante duas legislaturas, 1999-2002 e 2002-2006. Em primeiro lugar, constatamos que a dinâmica legislativa das assembleias estaduais depende dos recursos institucionais conferidos constitucionalmente aos atores politicos pela Carta de 1988 que restringe a legislacao proposta pelos deputados estaduais e limita a autonomia legislativa do Governador. Apesar de indicios claros da existencia de uma dinâmica partidaria relevante e um jogo efetivo entre governo e oposicao nas assembleias que explica as variacoes encontradas entre os estados. Em segundo lugar, sinalizamos uma dinâmica legislativa estadual diversificada que nao se restringe ao predominio do poder executivo. O volume de propostas apresentadas pelos deputados estaduais que nao distribuem beneficios concentrados sinaliza para uma agenda pelo menos “desejada”, principalmente direcionada a definir normas e diretrizes das politicas publicas estaduais. Por outro lado, e evidente que o sucesso legislativo dos deputados estaduais e elevado se comparado ao dos deputados federais, mas basicamente restrito a uma categoria de norma: a concessao de beneficios concentrados, destacando-se a categoria das declaracoes de utilidades publicas. O esforco de pesquisa aqui empreendido e os dados apresentados chamam a atencao para a necessidade de futuras pesquisas sobre as assembleias estaduais em busca de uma melhor compreensao do funcionamento das instituicoes brasileiras no âmbito subnacional.
Cantonese Sociolinguistic Patterns: Correlating Social Characteristics of Speakers with Phonological Variables in Hong Kong Cantonese

Cantonese Sociolinguistic Patterns: Correlating Social Characteristics of Speakers with Phonological Variables in Hong Kong Cantonese By Robert Stuart Bauer A.B. (Southwest Missouri State College) 1969 M.A. (University of California) 1975 C.Phil. (University of California) 1979 DISSERTATION Submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OE PHILOSOPHY in Linguistics in the GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY Approved t-—\ Chairman , x? Date i J, 4 (A DOCTORAL DEGREE COiU JUNE 19, 1982
Model-order reduction of biochemical reaction networks

In this paper we propose a model-order reduction method for chemical reaction networks governed by general enzyme kinetics, including the mass-action and Michaelis-Menten kinetics. The model-order reduction method is based on the Kron reduction of the weighted Laplacian matrix which describes the graph structure of complexes in the chemical reaction network. We apply our method to a yeast glycolysis model, where the simulation result shows that the transient behaviour of a number of key metabolites of the reduced-order model is in good agreement with those of the full-order model.
NUTRITION, FEEDING

Two trials were conducted with lactat ing dairy cows to detennine effects on intake. perfonnance, and chewing ac tivity of supplemental fat in early lacta tion diets that differed in fiber level and particle size. In trial I, whole raw soy beans were added at 11.6% of ration DM to alfalfa silage-based TMR containing either finely chopped silage or the same silage with 8.1% coarsely chopped al falfa hay. Each combination of soybeans (0 or 11.6%) and silage (fine or hay added) was fed as an isocaloric, isonitrogenous TMR to eight Holstein cows in early lactation in a replicated Latin square design with 4-wk periods. Addition of soybeans decreased DMI for fine silage. With silage plus hay, soy bean addition decreased milk yield and protein content but increased fat test so that FCM was unchanged. Silage plus hay promoted chewing activity with no interaction of forage particle size with fat addition on chewing activity. In trial 2, TMR based on alfalfa and com silage contained either 25 or 29% NDF and 0 or 11.6% soybeans. Otherwise, trials 1 and 2 were similar. Soybean addition decreased DMI with low NDF diets. Ad dition of fat from soybeans had no effect on milk yield or composition, but low fiber decreased fat test and chewing ac tivity. When . 4 to . 5 kgld of supplemen tal fat from whole raw soybeans was fed,
The contextual performance of masculinity and caring by men nurses : an exploration of men's caring within a profession numerically dominated by women

The transcripts of 21 individual interviews and three focus groups of Canadian men in nursing generated by the SSHRC funded study "Contradictions and Tensions in the Lives of Men: Exploring Masculinities in the Numerically Female Dominated Professions of Nursing and Elementary School Teaching," underwent secondary qualitative thematic analysis. Informed by the theoretical framework of masculinity theory, the study's purpose was to describe how men nurses' caring was conceptualized and expressed in their interviews. The contextual performance of masculinity and caring constituted the core theme, and a thematic map illustrated the relationships between eight performance sub-themes, two contextual sub-themes, and eight contextual elements accounted by this overarching theme. -- Consideration of the generated themes in the context of existing literature demonstrated considerable support for the study findings, and clearly identified the performance of masculinity as a significant influence on expression of caring by men nurses.
On the Complexity of Query Result Diversification

Query result diversification is a bi-criteria optimization problem for ranking query results. Given a database D, a query Q, and a positive integer k, it is to find a set of k tuples from Q(D) such that the tuples are as relevant as possible to the query, and at the same time, as diverse as possible to each other. Subsets of Q(D) are ranked by an objective function defined in terms of relevance and diversity. Query result diversification has found a variety of applications in databases, information retrieval, and operations research. This article investigates the complexity of result diversification for relational queries. (1) We identify three problems in connection with query result diversification, to determine whether there exists a set of k tuples that is ranked above a bound with respect to relevance and diversity, to assess the rank of a given k-element set, and to count how many k-element sets are ranked above a given bound based on an objective function. (2) We study these problems for a variety of query languages and for the three objective functions proposed in Gollapudi and Sharma [2009]. We establish the upper and lower bounds of these problems, all matching, for both combined complexity and data complexity. (3) We also investigate several special settings of these problems, identifying tractable cases. Moreover, (4) we reinvestigate these problems in the presence of compatibility constraints commonly found in practice, and provide their complexity in all these settings.
Practical Experiences with ATM Encryption

CellCase is a commercial high-speed encryptor for Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) networks, available since 1997. It provides data confidentiality and entity authentication at the ATM layer, encrypting ATM cell payloads at rates from T1 (1.5 Mb/s) to OC-12c (622 Mb/s). Though deployed prior to the adoption of the ATM Forum Security Specification (1999), CellCase implements many of the mechanisms defined by that standard. In this paper, we describe how CellCase is deployed in actual networks, as well as customer experience with services such as counter-mode encryption, key exchange, and key update. Based on this experience, we also discuss possible changes to the ATM Forum specification.
Objectively evaluating entertainment technology

Emerging technologies offer new ways of using entertainment technology to foster interactions between players and connect people. Evaluating entertainment technology is challenging because success isn't defined in terms of productivity and performance, but in terms of enjoyment and interaction. Current subjective methods of evaluating entertainment technology aren't robust. This research uses previous literature and empirical results to create a methodology for objective evaluation of entertainment technology. By gathering physiological data in the context of game play, we intend to correlate physiological responses with subjective reports and with game events. This framework would be a powerful tool used by designers, developers, and researchers to inform their design and evaluate their decisions.
Nasopalatine Duct cyst: A Clinical Deception

The nasopalatine cyst is the most frequently occurring developmental, non- odontogenic epithelial cyst of the oral cavity that usually occurs in the maxilla. These cysts are usually asymptomatic unless they are secondarily infected. Symptomatic lesions can be associated with pain and swelling. Radiographically, it appears as a well-defined oval, round or Heart shaped radiolucency located in the midline of maxilla. The treatment of choice is complete enucleation of cyst with its lining. Histopathology shows a mixture of stratified non-Keratinized with pseudostratifiedepithelium. Here we report a rare case of Nasopalatine cyst in a 30 year old female patient found incidentally on routine clinical examination.
Ideas in the sciences

Winner in the category of Psychology in the 1987 Professional/Scholarly Publishing Annual Awards Competition presented by the Association of American Publishers, Inc. This monumental work traces the rise, the transformation, and the diffusion of probabilistic and statistical thinking in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The contributors - scientists, historians, and philosophers of science from eight countries make it possible for readers trained in many disciplines to see why the probabilistic revolution has been so complete and so successful. Lorenz KrA ger, and Michael Heidelberger are philosophers of science at Gottingen University. Lorraine J. Daston is a historian at Brandeis University. Gerd Gigerenzer is a psychologist at the University of Constance, and Mary S. Morgan is an economist at York University.
Development of Tools for Genetic Analysis of Phenanthrene Degradation and Nanopod Production by Delftia sp. Cs1-4

The bacterium Delftia sp. Cs1-4 produces novel extracellular structures (nanopods) in conjunction with its growth on phenanthrene. While a full genome sequence is available for strain Cs1-4, genetic tools that could be applied to study phenanthrene degradation/nanopod production have not been reported. Thus, the objectives of this study were to establish such tools, and apply them for molecular analysis of nanopod formation or phenanthrene degradation. Three types of tools were developed or validated. First, we developed a new expression system based on a strong promoter controlling expression of a surface layer protein (NpdA) from Delftia sp. Cs1-4, which was ca. 2,500-fold stronger than the widely used lactose promoter. Second, the Cre-loxP system was validated for generation of markerless, in-frame, gene deletions, and for in-frame gene insertions. The gene deletion function was applied to examine potential roles in nanopod formation of three genes (omp32, lasI, and hcp), while the gene insertion function was used for reporter gene tagging of npdA. Lastly, pMiniHimar was modified to enhance gene recovery and mutant analysis in genome-wide transposon mutagenesis. Application of the latter to strain Cs1-4, revealed several new genes with potential roles in phenanthrene degradation or npdA expression. Collectively, the availability of these tools has opened new avenues of investigation in Delftia sp. Cs1-4 and other related genera/species with importance in environmental toxicology.
The impact of drop-out in cardiac rehabilitation on outcome among coronary artery disease patients

Background The effect of adherence to cardiac rehabilitation (CR) on outcome is not clear. Therefore, we aimed to assess the impact of drop-out for non-medical reasons of CR on event-free survival in coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods A total of 876 patients who attended CR after acute coronary syndrome (ACS), percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) were included. Drop-out was defined as attending ≤50% of the training sessions. A combined endpoint of all-cause mortality and rehospitalization for a cardiovascular event was used to specify event-free survival. Differences in clinical characteristics were assessed and parameters with p < 0.10 were entered in a multiple Cox regression analysis. Results A total of 15% died or had a cardiovascular event during a median follow-up period of 33 months (interquartile range 24, 51). Overall, 17% dropped out before finishing half of the program. Patients who withdrew prematurely had a risk twice as high for a cardiovascular event or death (hazard ratio 1.92, 95% confidence interval 1.28–2.90) than those who attended more than half of the sessions. Both ACS (2.36, 1.47–3.58) and PCI (2.20, 1.22–3.96), as primary indicators for CR, were associated with an adverse outcome and also a prior history of chronic heart failure (CHF) remained negatively associated with event-free survival (3.67, 1.24–10.91). Finally, the presence of hyperlipidemia was independently related to a worse outcome (1.48, 1.02–2.16). Conclusions Drop-out for non-medical reasons was independently associated with a negative outcome in CAD. Therefore, underlying factors for drop-out should gain more attention in future research and should be taken into account when organizing CR.
Statistical Design Optimization of FinFET SRAM Using Back-Gate Voltage

In this paper, an optimal approach for the design of 6-T FinFET-based SRAM cells is proposed. The approach considers the statistical distributions of gate length and silicon thickness and their corresponding statistical correlations due to process variations. In this method, a back-gate voltage is used as the optimization knob. With the help of particle swarm optimization (PSO), the back-gate voltages that maximize the yield of the SRAM array against read, write, and access time failures are found. It will be shown that, with this method, a very high yield is achieved.
Self-organized flocking in mobile robots based on frontal interaction and leadership rules

Self-organized flocking in a robotic swarm has been investigated for approximately twenty years, and is exemplified by the Boid model. This paper proposes a behavioral model by which robots can be externally guided without consensus on their heading direction. Conventionally the heading direction is determined by alignment rules, but such rules are difficult to implement in real robots because of mechanical/electrical factors. To tackle this challenge, we implement two bio-inspired rules: (1) a frontal-sector interaction rule observed in surf scoters, and (2) a leader rule for passing directional information from the leader to its flockmates. The effectiveness of the proposed method is quantitated in simulations and physical experiments.