Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
SMILE Visualization with Flash Technologies

The principles of decision-analytic decision support, implemented in GeNIe (Graphical Network Interface) and SMILE (Structural Modeling, Inference, and Learning Engine) can be applied in practical decision support systems (DSSs). GeNIe plays the role of a development environment and SMILE plays the role of a reasoning engine. A decision support system based on SMILE can be equipped with a customized user interface. GeNIe's name and its uncommon capitalization originate from the name Graphical Network Interface, given to the original simple interface to SMILE which is a library of functions for graphical probabilistic and decision-theoretic models. GeNIe only runs under one of the most popular computing platform,: the Windows operating systems, which makes it not easily portable. GeNIe is therefore limited in its graphical representation across multiple system platforms. This paper is composed of two parts. The first part discusses a development environment for building graphical decision-theoretic models, an influence diagram, on a website by using an newly developed engine called "SMILE". The second part of the paper discusses the visualization of SMILE decision-theoretic models on a website using Flash technologies.
Communication Anonymizers: Personality, Internet Privacy Literacy and their Influence on Technology Acceptance

Despite the fact that many individuals are concerned about privacy issues on the Internet and know about the existence of communication anonymizers, very few individuals actually use them. This discrepancy can only partially be explained by evident factors such as a small degree of knowledge about Internet privacy issues, or the latency of the Internet connection caused by communication anonymizers. In this study, we determine factors that influence the acceptance of communication anonymizers: the role of personality traits of individuals, the actual knowledge about privacy issues on the Internet and how much individuals really know about them, as well as the time an individual is willing to wait when using a communication anonymizer. Our study shows that the personality traits ‘Agreeableness,’ ‘Extroversion’ and ‘Conscientiousness’ do not influence an individual’s acceptance of communication anonymizers. Further, we can show that individuals with a strong personality trait of neuroticism are more likely to have strong privacy concerns and that individuals that can be characterized as ‘open’ are more likely to use communication anonymizers. With regard to the knowledge about privacy issues on the Internet, we find that individuals generally possess a low knowledge. Surprisingly, we find a negative correlation between an individual’s ‘stated’ and his/her‘actual’ knowledge of privacy issues. Last, we find that individuals are willing to wait slightly longer (3.5 seconds) when using communication anonymizers.
Comparison of Simulation Methods for Power System Reliability Indexes and Their Distributions

In this paper, Latin hypercube sampling (LHS) is investigated in connection with reliability evaluation of a power system. A new sampling technique called discrete Latin hypercube (DLHS) is also proposed. Distributions of reliability indexes resulting from two sampling techniques are presented and analyzed along with those from Monte Carlo (MC) sampling. A comparison among LHS, DLHS and traditional MC for reliability analysis is made. The LHS and DLHS are shown to be more effective than MC for obtaining distributions of indices that are close to the real distributions. The distributions of indices are useful in risk analysis and certain stochastic optimization problems. The test system is a 12-area power system which is based on the data from an actual multi-area system.
Robot Therapy: A New Approach for Mental Healthcare of the Elderly – A Mini-Review

Mental healthcare of elderly people is a common problem in advanced countries. Recently, high technology has developed robots for use not only in factories but also for our living environment. In particular, human-interactive robots for psychological enrichment, which provide services by interacting with humans while stimulating their minds, are rapidly spreading. Such robots not only simply entertain but also render assistance, guide, provide therapy, educate, enable communication, and so on. Robot therapy, which uses robots as a substitution for animals in animal-assisted therapy and activity, is a new application of robots and is attracting the attention of many researchers and psychologists. The seal robot named Paro was developed especially for robot therapy and was used at hospitals and facilities for elderly people in several countries. Recent research has revealed that robot therapy has the same effects on people as animal therapy. In addition, it is being recognized as a new method of mental healthcare for elderly people. In this mini review, we introduce the merits and demerits of animal therapy. Then we explain the human-interactive robot for psychological enrichment, the required functions for therapeutic robots, and the seal robot. Finally, we provide examples of robot therapy for elderly people, including dementia patients.
Exploiting system configurability towards dynamic accuracy-power trade-offs in sensor front-ends

Analog-to-information converters and Compressed Sampling (CS) sensor front-ends try to only extract the relevant, information-bearing elements of an incoming data stream. Information extraction and recognition tasks can run directly on the compressed data stream without needing full signal reconstruction. The accuracy of the extracted information or classification is strongly determined by the front-end settings and tolerated level of hardware impairments. Exploiting this, allows to dynamically tune accuracy for power consumption. This paper discusses this trade-off and introduces a theoretical framework to guide the selection of optimal hardware settings under given power or accuracy constraints. This is illustrated with two circuit realizations: 1) an analog-to-information converter for voice activity detection (VAD), and 2) a CS photopletysmographic (PPG) heart rate (HR) extraction application.
The Origin of Wealth - Evolution, Complexity, and the Radical Remaking of Economics

Economics is changing radically. This paradigm shift, the biggest in the field for over a century, will have profound implications for business, government and society for decades to come. In this groundbreaking book, economic thinker and writer Eric Beinhocker surveys the cutting-edge ideas of the leading economists, physicists, biologists and cognitive scientists who are fundamentally reshaping economics, and brings their work alive for a broad audience. These researchers argue that the economy is a 'complex adaptive system', more akin to the brain, the internet or an ecosystem than to the static picture of economic systems portrayed by traditional theory. They claim it is the evolutionary process of differentiation, selection and amplification, acting on designs for technologies, social institutions and businesses that drives growth in the economy over time. If Adam Smith provided the inspiration for economics in the twentieth century, it is Charles Darwin who is providing it in the twenty-first. If we can understand how evolution creates wealth, then we can better answer the question 'How can we create more wealth for the benefit of individuals, businesses and society? ' Beinhocker shows how 'Complexity Economics' turns conventional wisdom on its head in areas such as business strategy, the design of organisations, the workings of stock markets and public policy. As sweeping in scope as its title, "The Origin of Wealth" is a landmark book that shatters orthodox economic theory, and will rewire our thinking about how we came to be here - and where we are going.
Salmonella Interaction with and Passage through the Intestinal Mucosa: Through the Lens of the Organism

Salmonella enterica serotypes are invasive enteric pathogens spread through fecal contamination of food and water sources, and represent a constant public health threat around the world. The symptoms associated with salmonellosis and typhoid disease are largely due to the host response to invading Salmonella, and to the mechanisms these bacteria employ to survive in the presence of, and invade through the intestinal mucosal epithelia. Surmounting this barrier is required for survival within the host, as well as for further dissemination throughout the body, and subsequent systemic disease. In this review, we highlight some of the major hurdles Salmonella must overcome upon encountering the intestinal mucosal epithelial barrier, and examine how these bacteria surmount and exploit host defense mechanisms.
Evaluation of Computer Games' Impact upon Cognitively Impaired Frail Elderly

Summary The authors of-this article discuss the value of computer-use among older adults. It Is suggested that older adults can benefit significantly from ongoing education and that computers can be a valuable tool in this process. The cognitive capacities of older adults are discussed, with particular attention paid to long- and short-term memory functioning. The use of computers for memory skills training is highlighted. A study was undertaken using the computer game “Memory of Goblins” at the Seattle Day Center for Adults. This article describes both the game and how the project was conducted. Limitations of the study are presented. Although the authors acknowledge that conclusions are difficult to draw from this particular study, there is evidence to suggest that the impact of computer use among the elderly population can be profound. Implications for future research are presented.
Anti-Oxidants, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, and Cognitive Decline with Aging

A nti - oxidants , O mega -3 F atty A cids , and C ognitive D ecline with A ging Tanu Ashok Patel B S J Mental capabilities have become an increasingly valuable commodity, especially in recent years with the bursting of the dot-com bubble, the general economic downturn, and the advent of competition for jobs with rising countries such as China and India. The focus on increasing and retaining cognitive abilities such as memory and executive functions has risen over the past couple of years. In the year 2006 the release and popularity Figure 1. A list of the most common anti-oxidant ruch foods. Graphic by Tanu Ashok Patel of the book, IQ and Global Inequality by Richard Lynn and Tatu Vanhanen captured precisely this fascination with cognitive abilities. For some, this interest has meant adopting the “tiger mom” tactics of Yale law professor Amy Chua (Chua, 2011), while for others, this has meant turning to less rigorous tactics, such as the consumption of herbal concoctions involving fish oils and anti-oxidants simply because they’ve heard of the benefits these foods have on cognition, an idea that has become urban lore of late. The popularity of supposedly mind-sharpening anti-oxidants and fish oils has only increased over the years, and the foods containing these ingredients continue to fly off the shelves of small herbal shops and big corporate stores alike. Children in homes across the US are encouraged to eat foods rich in these compounds. But is there a real correlation between these foods and mental capabilities? As we shall see, research has shown both sides of the coin. While the consumption of anti- oxidants has been commonly shown to increase cognitive abilities, there has also been research illustrating that consumption of anti-oxidants has a minimal effect on the aged brain. Similarly polar findings can easily be found for the prevention of cognitive decline and Omega-3 Fatty Acids. Studies showing a positive correlation between cognitive impairment and oxidative stress have been replicated many times over and the correlation between the two is relatively trusted. The human brain is placed under as much oxidative stress as the rest of the body, but has been found to be more sensitive to damage from the free radicals that result from oxidative stress. (Butterfield et al., 2005) The body incurs oxidative stress simply by carrying out normal functions like breathing. Oxidation has the harmful effect of producing free radicals, which are highly reactive molecules that react readily with lipids, proteins, and DNA causing them to become radicals, and altering their natural 1 • B erkeley S cientific J ournal • S cience of F ood • V olume 16 • I ssue 1
Approches géométriques pour l'estimation des fractions d'abondance en traitement de données hyperspectrales. Extensions aux modèles de mélange non linéaires

De nombreuses etudes ont recemment montre l'avantage de l'approche geometrique en demelange de donnees hyperspectrales. Elle permet d'identifier les signatures spectrales des composants purs. Jusqu'ici, l'estimation des fractions d'abondance a toujours ete realisee dans un second temps, par resolution d'un probleme inverse generalement. Dans cet article, nous montrons que les techniques geometriques d'extraction des composants purs de la litterature permettent d'estimer conjointement les fractions d'abondance, pour un cout calculatoire supplementaire negligeable. Pour ce faire, un socle commun d'interpretations geometriques du probleme est propose, que l'on peut decliner pour mieux l'adapter a la technique d'extraction de composants purs retenue. Le caractere geometrique de l'approche proposee lui confere une flexibilite tres appreciable dans le cadre de techniques de demelange geometrique, illustree ici avec N-Findr, SGA, VCA, OSP et ICE.
Humoral Pattern Recognition and the Complement System

In the context of immunity, pattern recognition is the art of discriminating friend from foe and innocuous from noxious. The basis of discrimination is the existence of evolutionarily conserved patterns on microorganisms, which are intrinsic to these microorganisms and necessary for their function and existence. Such immutable or slowly evolving patterns are ideal handles for recognition and have been targeted by early cellular immune defence mechanisms such as Toll‐like receptors, NOD‐like receptors, RIG‐I‐like receptors, C‐type lectin receptors and by humoral defence mechanisms such as the complement system. Complement is a proteolytic cascade system comprising around 35 different soluble and membrane‐bound proteins. It constitutes a central part of the innate immune system, mediating several major innate effector functions and modulating adaptive immune responses. The complement cascade proceeds via controlled, limited proteolysis and conformational changes of constituent proteins through three activation pathways: the classical pathway, the alternative pathway and the lectin pathway, which converge in common effector functions. Here, we review the nature of the pattern recognition molecules involved in complement activation, as well as their close relatives with no or unknown capacity for activating complement. We proceed to examine the composition of the pattern recognition complexes involved in complement activation, focusing on those of the lectin pathway, and arrive at a new model for their mechanism of operation, supported by recently emerging evidence.
Glucose Modulation of the Septo-Hippocampal System: Implications for Memory

Extensive evidence suggests that glucose has both positive and negative effects on memory and these effects likely involve an influence on the brain. For instance, direct infusions of glucose into the septum (MS) or hippocampus can enhance or impair memory. The present set of experiments attempted to determine the different conditions that dissociate the memory-enhancing and -impairing effects of glucose in rats. Specifically, these experiments examined the effects of glucose in spontaneous alternation, a measure of spatial working memory and shock avoidance, an index of emontional long-term memory. The results showed that the memory-impairing effects of MS infusions of glucose are not concentration-dependent. These data also indicated that the memory-impairing effects of MS glucose elevations are specific to _-aminobuytric acid (GABA) receptor activation but do not depend on increases in MS GABA synthesis or release. Importantly, we showed that the memory-impairing interaction between MS glucose and GABA agonists does not generalize to the hippocampus, suggesting the memory-modulating effects of glucose are brain region-dependent. We showed further that these brain region-dependent effects of glucose are not due to difference in basal extracellular glucose levels. Moreover, these findings showed that the memory-enhancing effects of hippocampus glucose override the memory-impairing interaction between MS glucose and GABA. These findings are important because they are the first to show that the memory-modulating effects of glucose are both neurotransmitterand brain regiondependent. Furthermore, these findings provide preliminary evidence suggesting that the memoryimpairing effects of MS glucose may involve compromised hippocampal function. These data also suggest the memory-impairing effects of MS co-infusions of glucose with GABA agonists likely involve an influence on the GABAergic SH projection. Finally, these findings demonstrate the mnemonic and neurochemical consequences of glucose in the MS and hippocampus, two brain regions affected by normal aging, Alzheimer’s disease, and diabetes. INDEX WORDS: Septum, Hippocampus, Glucose, GABA, Acetylcholine, Spontaneous Alternation, Continuous Multiple Trial Inhibitory Avoidance (CMIA), Memory, Metabolism GLUCOSE MODULATION OF THE SEPTO-HIPPOCAMPAL SYSTEM: IMPLICATIONS FOR MEMORY
Queering Reproduction: Achieving Pregnancy in the Age of Technoscience

Originally developed to help heterosexual couples, fertility treatments such as in vitro fertilization and sperm donation have provided lesbians with new methods for achieving pregnancy during the past two decades. Queering Reproduction is an important sociological analysis of lesbians’ use of these medical fertility treatments. Drawing on in-depth interviews with lesbians who have been or are seeking to become pregnant, Laura Mamo describes how reproduction has become an intensely medicalized process for lesbians, who are transformed into fertility patients not (or not only) because of their physical conditions but because of their sexual identities. Mamo argues that this medicalization of reproduction has begun to shape queer subjectivities in both productive and troubling ways, destabilizing the assumed link between heterosexuality and parenthood while also reinforcing traditional, heteronormative ideals about motherhood and the imperative to reproduce. Mamo provides an overview of a shift within some lesbian communities from low-tech methods of self-insemination to a reliance on outside medical intervention and fertility treatments. Reflecting on the issues facing lesbians who become parents through assisted reproductive technologies, Mamo explores questions about the legal rights of co-parents, concerns about the genetic risks of choosing an anonymous sperm donor, and the ways decisions to become parents affect sexual and political identities. In doing so, she investigates how lesbians navigate the medical system with its requisite range of fertility treatments, diagnostic categories, and treatment trajectories. Combining moving narratives and insightful analysis, Queering Reproduction reveals how medical technology reconfigures social formations, individual subjectivity, and notions of kinship.
GPU accelerated high-dimensional compressed sensing MRI

Recently, we have developed a tensor-decomposition based compressed sensing (CS) method for dynamic magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) [1]. The proposed CS-dMRI method exploits the sparsity of the multi-dimensional MRI signal using Higher-order singular value decomposition (HOSVD). Our preliminary study indicates that, compared with conventional approaches, the proposed CS method offers further acceleration in acquisition and also improves image quality. To further enhance the algorithm efficiency, in this work, we present a parallelized implementation of the HOSVD-based CS reconstructions using a graphics processing unit (GPU). The cine cardiac MRI study indicated the efficiency and accuracy of the GPU-accelerated high-dimensional CS-dMRI method.
Validation of the Welch Allyn Spot Vital Signs blood pressure device according to the ANSI/AAMI SP10: 2002. Accuracy and cost-efficiency successfully combined

ObjectivesTo validate a significantly lower priced, new-generation blood pressure device by using the ANSI/AAMI SP10:2002 Standard evaluation. MethodsThe Spot Vital Signs device evaluation was performed using the procedure specified in the SP10: 2002 American National Standard. Both obese and hypertensive participants were overrepresented in the study population. ResultsThe mean±standard deviation for the device readings compared with auscultation by paired, trained, blinded observers for systolic blood pressure was −1.0±4.1 mmHg; for diastolic blood pressure it was −0.4±6.1 mmHg. These passed AAMI criteria. The device, at a cost well below those of comparable professional-quality (vs. self measurement) electronic blood pressure devices, was extremely accurate. ConclusionsThe Welch Allyn Spot Vital Signs device provides a cost-effective alternative for medical-care delivery sites where accuracy and cost are both high priorities. The study population was oversampled for obese and hypertensive patients, the major target groups in whom blood pressure must be able to be recorded accurately to optimize diagnosis and management of cardiovascular disease.
Crochemore's Repetitions Algorithm Revisited: Computing Runs

Crochemore's repetitions algorithm introduced in 1981 was the first O(n log n) algorithm for computing repetitions. Since then, several linear-time worst-case algorithms for computing runs have been introduced. They all follow a similar strategy: first compute the suffix tree or array, then use the suffix tree or array to compute the Lempel-Ziv factorization, then using the Lempel-Ziv factorization compute all the runs. It is conceivable that in practice an extension of Crochemore's repetitions algorithm may outperform the linear-time algorithms, or at least for certain classes of strings. The nature of Crochemore's algorithm lends itself naturally to parallelization, while the linear-time algorithms are not easily conducive to parallelization. For all these reasons it is interesting to explore ways to extend the original Crochemore's repetitions algorithm to compute runs. We present three variants of extending the repetitions algorithm to compute runs: two with a worsen complexity of O(n (log n)2), and one with the same complexity as the original algorithm. The three variants are tested for speed of performance and their memory requirements are analyzed. The third variant is tested and analyzed for various memory-saving alterations. The purpose of this research is to identify the best extension of Crochemore's algorithm for further study, comparison with other algorithms, and parallel implementation.
The Religion of Law: Race, Citizenship and Children's Belonging

Introduction 1. Conceptualising Law's Religion: Socio-Legal Perspectives 2. Interrogating Law's Religion: Critical Perspectives 3. Non-Christianness in Adoption and Child Welfare Cases: Prioritising Racialised Religion 4. Orientalism, Belonging and Nationhood 5. Religion in Education: Christian legacy, Orientalist Positioning and Common Values 6. Faith in Schools: Racialised Religion, Community Cohesion and Belonging Conclusion