Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
“Out of sight, out of mind”: a qualitative study of visual impairment and dementia from three perspectives

ABSTRACT Background: Dementia and visual impairment are among the most common medical conditions in later life. Almost nothing is known about the experiences and needs of older adults with both conditions. Method: In this qualitative study using in-depth individual interviews, multiple perspectives were sought through a case-study approach. Fifty-two interviews were conducted: 17 with older adults with visual impairment and dementia, 17 with family caregivers, and 18 with care professionals. Results: Impaired memory and a lack of visual cues created profound disorientation and distress, which could be manifested in disruptive behavior. Visual hallucinations compounded older adults' disorientation, and caregivers were uncertain about how to manage them. Visual impairments reduced the ability of older adults to perform certain activities safely, while dementia impaired their ability to assess the risks accurately. Concerns about safety prompted family members to limit their relatives' activities even in early stages of dementia. Low-vision services perceived themselves to be ill equipped to manage dementia-related needs, while visual needs were accorded a low priority by dementia services. A lack of joint working by the two services led to an overcautious approach. Conclusions: The research identified considerable unmet needs and opportunities to improve care. The provision of clear verbal communication and optimized visual inputs is likely to reduce disorientation, distress and agitated behavior, while one-to-one contact is needed to overcome feelings of isolation. Family caregivers require additional respite services and advice on managing hallucinations. Increased sharing of information and skills between mental health and low-vision professionals would help maximize older adults' independence.
In Vitro Fluorogenic Real‐Time Assay of the Repair of Oxidative DNA Damage

The repair of oxidative damage to DNA is essential to avoid mutations that lead to cancer. Oxidized DNA bases, such as 8‐oxoguanine, are a main source of these mutations, and the enzyme 8‐oxoguanine glycosylase 1 (OGG1) is the chief human enzyme that excises 8‐oxoguanine from DNA. The activity of OGG1 has been linked to human inflammation responses and to cancer, and researchers are beginning to search for inhibitors of the enzyme. However, measuring the activity of the enzyme typically requires laborious gel‐based measurements of radiolabeled DNAs. Here we report the design and properties of fluorogenic probes that directly report on the activity of OGG1 (and its bacterial homologue Fpg) in real time as the oxidized base is excised. The probes are short, modified DNA oligomers containing fluorescent DNA bases and are designed to utilize 8‐oxoguanine itself as a fluorescence quencher. Screening of combinations of fluorophores and 8‐oxoguanine revealed two fluorophores, pyrene and tCo, that are strongly quenched by the damaged base. We tested 42 potential probes containing these fluorophores: the optimum probe, OGR1, yields a 60‐fold light‐up signal in vitro with OGG1 and Fpg. It can report on oxidative repair activity in mammalian cell lysate and with bacterial cells overexpressing a repair enzyme. Such probes might prove useful in quantifying enzyme activity and performing competitive inhibition assays.
Known-item Search (KIS) in video: Survey, experience and trend

This paper provides a survey on the notable performers submitted to TRECVid 2010, under Known-item Search (KIS) task. It also gives an insight as well as the lessons learnt discovered by the top ranked system. Most systems used multi-modal features include: low level feature (color and SIFT feature), high level feature (HLF — of which 130 concepts have been released by participants taking part under HLF task), and the metadata given as well as ASR from the audio track of each video. As for the video search approaches, machine learning such as Support Vector Machine (SVM) was employed such as the work done by Dublin City University (DCU). The work reported by the National University of Singapore (NUS), used a slightly different method for video search process. Upon receiving a query from the user, the system submitted the query to YouTube to get initial result. Tag and comments of these videos are then collected. Among these, the top performer employed query to modality mapping approach, of which each query is segmented into sub-queries (classes of visual-cue, audio-cue, and main-concept), each of which will be handled by different detectors. The method achieved the best performing system under this task with a mean inverted rank of 0.454 for automatic search and 0.727 for interactive search. The system is able to scale to handle online and real-time search with cloud environment.
A Preconditioned Hierarchical Algorithm for Impedance Extraction of Three-Dimensional Structures With Multiple Dielectrics

This paper presents the first boundary element method (BEM) impedance extraction algorithm for interconnects with multiple dielectrics. Multiple dielectrics are common in integrated circuits and packages. However, previous BEM algorithms, including FastImp and FastPep, assume uniform dielectric due to their limitation, thus causing considerable errors. Our algorithm introduces a circuit formulation which makes it possible to utilize either multilayer Green's function or equivalent charge method to extract impedance in multiple dielectrics. The novelty of the formulation is the reduction of the unknowns and the application of hierarchical data structure. The hierarchical data structure permits efficient sparsification transformation and preconditioners to accelerate the linear equation solver. Experimental results demonstrate that the new algorithm is accurate and efficient. For uniform dielectric problems, our algorithm is more accurate than FastImp while its number of unknowns is ten times less than that of FastImp. For multiple dielectric problems, its relative error with respect to HFSS is below 3%.
Using a Child-Specific Social Story to Improve Communication and Social Skills in Two Preschoolers with Cochlear Implants: An Exploratory Classroom Case Study

Abstract This case study explored the efficacy of reading the same child-specific social story prior to a five-minute unstructured play session with two four-year-old children with cochlear implants. Results revealed that after the social story was read one participant produced a moderate–high increase in initiated verbal comments while the other child manifested a slight increase, both used vocabulary from the story in their play, and that play turns increased. This strategy may offer promise for educators in separate and inclusive classrooms, although more research is needed.
High-Energy Photon Emission in the Early Afterglow of GRBs

We consider the emission within the fireball model framework of very high energy, ~1 GeV to >1 TeV photons, on a minute timescale, during the onset of fireball deceleration due to interaction with surrounding medium. Our time-dependent numerical model includes exact treatment of electron synchrotron emission, inverse Compton scattering, pair production, and evolution of electromagnetic cascades (initiated by pair production or photoproduction of pions). We find the following: (1) The 1-10 GeV flux is not sensitive to model parameters and is ~10-7 ergs cm-2 s-1 for z = 1 bursts, well within the detection capabilities of GLAST. (2) The sub-TeV flux depends on the surrounding medium density and on the fraction of thermal energy carried by the magnetic field, ϵB. It ranges from ~10-7 ergs cm-2 s-1 in the case of typical ISM density and ϵB ≲ 10-4, to 10-10 ergs cm-2 s-1 in the case of a source surrounded by a wind and ϵB ~ 10-0.5. (3) The sub-TeV flux is detectable by high-energy γ-ray experiments such as HESS, MAGIC, Milagro, and VERITAS. (4) Combined ~1 keV, ~1 GeV, and sub-TeV observations will allow determination of both ϵB and the ambient medium density. (5) The spectra depend only weakly on the spectral index of the energy distribution of the accelerated electrons. Pion production energy loss of high-energy protons may contribute significantly in the wind case to the luminosity of high-energy photons. However, it is difficult to distinguish in this case between the electron and proton contributions, since the spectral shape is determined primarily by the energy dependence of the pair production optical depth.
The Effects of Early Years’ Childcare on Child Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties in Lone and Co-Parent Family Situations

Abstract With targeted childcare initiatives and welfare-to-work programmes policy-makers have sought to address employment activation of lone mothers and negative outcomes for children in lone parent households. The present study examines non-parental childcare use and maternal employment among children living in lone and co-parent family situations at ages three and four and emotional and behavioural difficulties at ages four and five. The results demonstrate that negative outcomes associated with lone motherhood are explained largely by mother's age, education, material circumstances and area deprivation; and that maternal employment does not relieve lone mothers’ disadvantages in a way that alleviates the risks of difficulties to their children. However, in any family constellation, mainly group-based formal pre-school childcare does have a positive impact on child difficulties compared to drawing on informal childcare arrangements as main provider. In addition, and specifically for the difficulties of children in lone mother family situations, any non-parental childcare – formal or informal − for at least twenty-five hours per week is beneficial. Study findings support policy agendas which tackle families’ material hardship beyond promoting mothers’ employment, and through investment in formal childcare provision, and also through arrangements allowing lone mothers to divide their weekly load of childcare with another main provider.
Maximum Likelihood SLAM in Dynamic Environments

Simultaneous Localization and Mapping in dynamic environments is an open issue in the field of robotics. Traditionally, the related approaches assume that the environment remains static during the robot's exploration phase. In this work, we overcome this assumption and propose an algorithm that exploits the dynamic nature of the environment during robot exploration so as to improve the localization process. We use a Histogram Grid to store all the past occupancy values of every cell and thus to select the most probable pose of the robot based on the occupancy evolution. Experiments on a simulated robot indicate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Socioscientific Argumentation: The effects of content knowledge and morality

Broad support exists within the science education community for the incorporation of socioscientific issues (SSI) and argumentation in the science curriculum. This study investigates how content knowledge and morality contribute to the quality of SSI argumentation among high school students. We employed a mixed‐methods approach: 56 participants completed tests of content knowledge and moral reasoning as well as interviews, related to SSI topics, which were scored based on a rubric for argumentation quality. Multiple regression analyses revealed no statistically significant relationships among content knowledge, moral reasoning, and argumentation quality. Qualitative analyses of the interview transcripts supported the quantitative results in that participants very infrequently revealed patterns of content knowledge application. However, most of the participants did perceive the SSI as moral problems. We propose a “Threshold Model of Knowledge Transfer” to account for the relationship between content knowledge and argumentation quality. Implications for science education are discussed.
Studies on a Strain of Vaccinia Virus Defective in Surface Antigen Production

Summary A strain of vaccinia, V1-010, was discovered which is defective in surface antigen production as detected by mixed agglutination. Evidence for existence of major and minor surface antigens on vaccinia-infected cells was obtained. Minor surface antigen could be distinguished from the major antigen serologically as well as by the pattern of mixed agglutination reactions. V1-010 was capable of producing minor surface antigen and hemagglutinin.
Adoption of Web Based Applications to Enhance Communication and Interaction Between Higher Learning Institutions and Alumni A Study Conducted at University of Dar es Salaam

— The improvement of web based technologies over recent years and implementation of web based communication and interaction applications has been key in communication and interaction simplicity. Currently, face to face and phone based communication means are mostly used at the University of Dar es Salaam. However, a rapid increase in the number of enrolled students, transport and phone accounts recharge costs are among the challenges complicating these two means. Online communication is rarely used due to the inaccessibility of electronic mail contacts for most University members and alumni and the absence of an effective and reliable web based communication and interaction application where only authentic University members and alumni can effectively communicate and interact. Social networks are also used, though the anonymity problem makes it hard for University members and alumni to be sure if they are communicating with authentic University members and alumni. This paper explores the challenges, approaches and recommends appropriate solutions that can be adopted to enhance communication and interaction in higher learning institutions. Both; qualitative and quantitative methods recommended in computing field were used with object oriented approach. An interaction model between University members and alumni was designed as a framework to guide the analysis and design of the desired effective communication and interactive model. Based on the designed model, a web based communication and interaction application was developed under human centred approach, implemented, tested and evaluated. From 260 participants targeted, 243 evaluated the implemented application. The findings confirm that communication means evaluation, human factors and participants’ involvement are key in effective and reliable web based applications adoption between higher learning institutions and their respective alumni.
Imputation-Based Population Genetics Analysis of Plasmodium falciparum Malaria Parasites

Whole-genome sequencing technologies are being increasingly applied to Plasmodium falciparum clinical isolates to identify genetic determinants of malaria pathogenesis. However, genome-wide discovery methods, such as haplotype scans for signatures of natural selection, are hindered by missing genotypes in sequence data. Poor correlation between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the P. falciparum genome complicates efforts to apply established missing-genotype imputation methods that leverage off patterns of linkage disequilibrium (LD). The accuracy of state-of-the-art, LD-based imputation methods (IMPUTE, Beagle) was assessed by measuring allelic r2 for 459 P. falciparum samples from malaria patients in 4 countries: Thailand, Cambodia, Gambia, and Malawi. In restricting our analysis to 86k high-quality SNPs across the populations, we found that the complete-case analysis was restricted to 21k SNPs (24.5%), despite no single SNP having more than 10% missing genotypes. The accuracy of Beagle in filling in missing genotypes was consistently high across all populations (allelic r2, 0.87-0.96), but the performance of IMPUTE was mixed (allelic r2, 0.34-0.99) depending on reference haplotypes and population. Positive selection analysis using Beagle-imputed haplotypes identified loci involved in resistance to chloroquine (crt) in Thailand, Cambodia, and Gambia, sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (dhfr, dhps) in Cambodia, and artemisinin (kelch13) in Cambodia. Tajima’s D-based analysis identified genes under balancing selection that encode well-characterized vaccine candidates: apical merozoite antigen 1 (ama1) and merozoite surface protein 1 (msp1). In contrast, the complete-case analysis failed to identify any well-validated drug resistance or candidate vaccine loci, except kelch13. In a setting of low LD and modest levels of missing genotypes, using Beagle to impute P. falciparum genotypes is a viable strategy for conducting accurate large-scale population genetics and association analyses, and supporting global surveillance for drug resistance markers and candidate vaccine antigens.
Gain scheduled control of perturbed standing balance

This paper develops full-state parametric controllers for standing balance of humanoid robots in response to impulsive and constant pushes. We also explore a hypothesis that postural feedback gains in standing balance should change with perturbation size. From an engineering point of view this is known as gain scheduling. We use an optimization approach to see if feedback gains should scale with the perturbation for a simulated robot. We simulate models in the sagittal and lateral plane and in 3-dimensions, use a horizontal push of a given size, direction and location as a perturbation, and optimize parametric controllers for different push sizes, directions and locations. During a simulated perturbation experiment, the appropriate controller is continuously selected based on the current push. For an impulse, the simulated robot recovers back to the initial state; for a constant push, the robot moves to an equilibrium position which leans into the push and has zero joint torques. We show the performance of optimized parametric controllers in response to different external pushes.
Skeletal bone diseases impact the periodontium: a review of bisphosphonate therapy

Healthcare professionals should be aware that systemic bone conditions impact the periodontium. Bisphosphonate drugs used for systemic bone loss affect the maxilla and mandible. Alveolar bone loss in periodontitis and skeletal bone loss share common mechanisms. At present, bisphosphonates are in wide use for prevention and treatment of osteoporosis, Paget’s disease and metastatic bone conditions. This therapy is linked to a negative side effect called osteonecrosis of the jaws. At the same time, bisphosphonate therapy is also reported to be beneficial to the periodontium. In fact, periodontal therapy using bisphosphonates to modulate host response to bacterial insult may develop into a potential strategy in populations in which periodontal therapy is not convenient. Unlocking the full potential of bisphosphonates involves understanding the mechanisms of action of different classes of bisphosphonates, limiting unwanted side effects and expanding its indications. Developing bisphosphonates to slow the progression of periodontal disease depends on identifying an effective dosage regimen and delivery system that would reach the target site in the periodontium, while limiting unwanted side effects.
Histochemical and immunohistochemical evidence of tumor heterogeneity in colorectal cancer.

INTRODUCTION Intratumoral heterogeneity implies the existence of differences between tumor cells, which can best be shown by histochemical and immunohistochemical techniques. The histological study is a mandatory step in any research aimed at characterizing tumor heterogeneity. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) also plays an important role in the differentiation of tumor types, assessing aggressiveness. MATERIALS AND METHODS Investigated group consisted of 50 patients with colorectal adenocarcinoma, for each were recorded clinicopathological data and harvested samples intraoperatively, which were included in paraffin blocks. We perform Hematoxylin-Eosin staining for histological grade and other indices. IHC study used Avidin-Biotin-Peroxidase (ABC), with the markers: CK7, CK20, MUC1, MUC2, Ki-67, PCNA, p53, KRAS, BCL2, PTEN, EGFR. The resulting data were analyzed by statistical methods. RESULTS Most of colorectal adenocarcinoma studied had no special histological features and had G2 grade. IHC detected in most cases the CK20+÷CK7- phenotype (78%) and MUC1 (74%) protein expression. The proliferation markers (Ki-67 and PCNA) were present in all tumor mass with a variable index, which shows high intratumoral heterogeneity, but p53 and KRAS were distributed more uniformly, showing low intratumoral heterogeneity. PTEN was expressed nuclearly in 86% of the cases and EGFR in 42%. CONCLUSIONS The expression profiles of cytokeratins and mucins in the colorectal adenocarcinomas are useful in defining tumor phenotypes with different prognosis and therapy. We found a significant positive correlation between KRAS protein expression and BCL2 and TP53 expression. The study demonstrated the intratumoral and intertumoral heterogeneity, expressed at phenotypic level.
The Janus Face of Stress on Reproduction: From Health to Disease

Parenthood is a fundamental feature of all known life. However, infertility has been recognized as a public health issue worldwide. But even when the offspring are conceived, in utero problems can lead to immediate (abortion), early (birth), and late (adulthood) consequences. One of the most studied factors is stress. However, stress response is, per se, of adaptive nature allowing the organism to cope with challenges. Stressors lead to deterioration if one is faced with too long lasting, too many, and seemingly unsolvable situations. In stress adaptation the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenocortical axis and the resulting glucocorticoid elevation are one of the most important mechanisms. At cellular level stress can be defined as an unbalance between production of free radicals and antioxidant defenses. Oxidative stress is widely accepted as an important pathogenic mechanism in different diseases including infertility. On the other hand, the goal of free radical production is to protect the cells from infectious entities. This review aims to summarize the negative and positive influence of stress on reproduction as a process leading to healthy progeny. Special emphasis was given to the balance at the level of the organism and cells.
National collegiate athletic association injury surveillance system: review of methods for 2004-2005 through 2013-2014 data collection.

BACKGROUND Since 1982, the National Collegiate Athletic Association has used the Injury Surveillance System (ISS) to collect injury and athlete-exposure data from a representative sample of collegiate institutions and sports. At the start of the 2004-2005 academic year, a Web-based ISS replaced the paper-based platform previously used for reporting injuries and exposures. OBJECTIVE To describe the methods of the Web-based National Collegiate Athletic Association ISS for data collection as implemented from the 2004-2005 to 2013-2014 academic years. DESCRIPTION The Web-based ISS monitored National Collegiate Athletic Association-sanctioned practices and competitions, the number of participating student-athletes, and time-loss injuries during the preseason, regular season, and postseason in 25 collegiate sports. Starting in the 2009-2010 academic year, non-time-loss injuries were also tracked. Efforts were made to better integrate ISS data collection into the workflow of collegiate athletic trainers. Data for the 2004-2005 to 2013-2014 academic years are available to researchers through a standardized application process available at the Datalys Center Web site. CONCLUSIONS As of February 2014, more than 1 dozen data sets have been provided to researchers. The Datalys Center encourages applications for access to the data.