Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of electrical stimulation pattern on quadriceps isometric force and fatigue in individuals with spinal cord injury

Variable frequency trains (VFT) or train combinations have been suggested as useful strategies to offset the rapid fatigue induced by constant frequency trains (CFT) during electrical stimulation. However, most studies have been of short duration with limited functional application in those with spinal cord injury (SCI). We therefore tested force and fatigue in response to VFT, CFT, and combined patterns in strength training‐like conditions (6‐s contractions).
Testing the executability of scenarios in general inhibitor nets

In this paper we introduce executions of place/transition Petri nets with weighted inhibitor arcs (PTI-net) as enabled labeled stratified order structures (LSOs) and present a polynomial algorithm to decide, whether a scenario given by an LSO is an execution of a given PTI-net. The algorithm is based on an equivalent characterization of enabled LSOs called token flow property. Although the definition of the token flow property involves exponentially many objects in the size of the LSO, there is a nontrivial transformation into a flow optimization problem which can be solved in polynomial time.
The Development of New Scales for Assessing Health Belief Model Constructs in Adulthood

The present investigation reports on the reliability and validity of several scales derived from the Health Belief Model (HBM). Both their internal consistency and their ability to predict self-reported sport and physical activity participation among younger and older adults are examined. As an exploratory endeavor, new, internally consistent scales were developed to assess several HBM factors. Results of age-group comparisons as well as comparisons across levels of diversity in several types of self-reported physical activity suggest that the newly developed measures differentiate between individuals on the basis of age and degrees of diversity in activity.
Cognitive training for supported employment: 2-3 year outcomes of a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE To address cognitive impairments that limit the effectiveness of supported employment services for patients with schizophrenia, a cognitive training program, the Thinking Skills for Work Program, was developed and integrated into supported employment services. METHOD Patients with severe mental illness (N=44) and prior histories of job failures who were enrolled in supported employment programs at two sites in New York City were randomly assigned to receive either supported employment alone or supported employment with cognitive training. Measures at baseline and 3 months included a brief cognitive and symptom assessment. Work outcomes were tracked for 2-3 years. RESULTS Patients in the supported employment with cognitive training program demonstrated significantly greater improvements at 3 months in cognitive functioning, depression, and autistic preoccupation. Over 2-3 years, patients in the supported employment with cognitive training program were more likely to work, held more jobs, worked more weeks, worked more hours, and earned more wages than patients in the program offering supported employment alone. CONCLUSIONS The findings support the feasibility of integrating cognitive rehabilitation into supported employment programs and suggest that more research is warranted to evaluate the effects of the Thinking Skills for Work Program.
Color conversion algorithm for color blindness using self-organizing map

The symptoms of “color blindness” are due to an innate lack or deficit of cone cells that recognize colors. People with color blindness have difficulty discriminating combinations of specific colors. In this paper, we propose a novel color conversion algorithm for color blindness. In the proposed method, the difficult colors for discrimination by color blindness are detected and converted for the legibility. This color conversion is consist of a color clustering using self-organizing map (SOM) and a analysis of the map structure. To validate the effectiveness of proposed method, it is applied to a image have various color combinations.
Real-time interaction between a neuromorphic electronic circuit and the spinal cord

We present a novel demonstration of real-time dynamic interaction between an oscillatory spinal cord (isolated lamprey nervous system) and electronic hardware that mimics the spinal motor pattern generating circuitry. The spinal cord and the neuromorphic circuit were interfaced in unidirectional and bidirectional modes. Bidirectional coupling resulted in stable, persistent oscillations. This experimental platform offers a unique paradigm to examine the intrinsic dynamics of neural circuitry. The neuromorphic analog very large scale integration (aVLSI) design and real-time capabilities of this approach may provide a particularly powerful means of restoring complex neuromotor function using neuroprostheses.
Risk Factors for Poor Adherence to Betaferon® Treatment in Patients with Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis or Clinically Isolated Syndrome

Introduction Adherence to treatment, including early treatment discontinuation, in patients with multiple sclerosis or clinically isolated syndrome can be affected by: treatment tolerability, route of drug administration, patient age, disease duration, comorbidities, medical care, and support from their caregivers. Aim This study aimed to identify the risk factors for poor adherence to Betaferon® treatment, including early discontinuation and omitting doses. Materials and Methods 852 adult patients treated with Betaferon participated in this 24-month study. All patients were interviewed using the Risk of Drop-out Questionnaire, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale and the Kurtzke Expanded Disability Status Scale. Results Patients who stopped therapy were younger (p = 0.003) had a higher mean EDSS score (p = 0.022), higher mean number of relapses (p = 0.017), and reported more often fear of injection (p = 0.027) and adverse events (p = 0.007) than those who did not stop treatment. Comparing patients who stopped therapy in the first and the second year, patients who stopped therapy in the first year of treatment more frequently reported flu-like symptoms and fever, and those who stopped therapy in the second year reported—ineffectiveness of treatment and disease progression. Multivariable logistic regression models confirmed that young age, short disease duration, advanced and progressing disease, and poor Betaferon tolerability were related to premature treatment discontinuation. The risk of omitting a dose during therapy was increased in patients who were working or studying, who had more advanced disease or more adverse events, and in patients who received less support from their caregivers. Conclusions Several reasons may lead to problems with adherence to Betaferon treatment. Patients at higher risk of discontinuing treatment need to be identified early to make caregivers’ support available to them.
Delusions of grandeur? Marketing’s contribution to “meaningful” Western political consumption

This paper explores the contribution of marketing to Western politics. Moving away from traditional views of marketing located in means‐end relationships, it examines contemporary views of marketing that focus on consumption as a process of signification and representation. This more radical perspective offers contemporary insight into the many manifestations of political consumption, and the meanings the electorate ascribe to them, both individually and socially. This contemporary approach challenges critics’ claims that marketing encourages politics to be shallow. It offers far more in‐depth insight into the electorate and their appreciation, understanding and relationship with politics.
Challenges of Professional Development: Balancing the Demands of Employers and Professions in Federal Natural Resource Agencies

Effectiveness of government natural resource agencies depends on the capabilities of their employees. These capabilities may be maintained or enhanced through professional development activities, including involvement in scientific societies. The authors studied factors that influence whether U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Geological Survey biologists participate in a variety of professional development activities. Previous research has indicated that a tension sometimes exists between employees’ commitment to their professions (professional commitment) and their commitment to their employing organizations (organizational commitment). The authors explored how these two orientations related to professional development. The authors found that increases in engagement in a number of types of professional development activities were associated with increases in professional commitment and education. Decreases in engagement in some types of professional development were associated with increases in organizational commitment, however, suggesting that engaging in professional development may involve a trade-off between meeting one’s professional needs and satisfying obligations to one’s agency.
Process Improvement Roadmapping - How to Max Out Your Process

Process improvement is the most value-adding activity in the BPM lifecycle. Despite the mature body of knowledge related to process improvement, there is a lack of prescriptive knowledge that takes a single-process/multi-project perspective, covers a broad range of improvement opportunities, and accounts for the characteristics of the process in focus. Against this background, we propose a decision model that helps determine an optimal process improvement roadmap in line with the principles of project portfolio selection and value-based management. A process improvement roadmap is a set of improvement projects scheduled to multiple planning periods, each of which enhances the performance of the process in focus. The decision model particularly considers process characteristics that reflect how work is performed and organized. These characteristics are inspired by established industrialization strategies, i.e., automation, sourcing, flexibility, and standardization. As for evaluation, we report on feature comparison, an expert interview, prototype construction, and a demonstration example.
cis elements that contribute to geminivirus transcriptional regulation and the efficiency of DNA replication

The A genomic component of the geminivirus tomato golden mosaic virus (TGMV) contains a 5' intergenic sequence that includes the overlapping AL61 promoter and positive-strand origin of DNA replication. The TGMV AL1 protein negatively regulates its own transcription and mediates origin recognition by binding to a repeated motif shared by the AL61 promoter and the viral origin. We examined a series of truncated or mutated 5' intergenic regions in transient expression and replication assay to identify other DNA sequences that contribute to TGMV promoter and origin function. These experiments revealed that negative regulation of the AL61 promoter is complex, involving multiple cis-acting sequences and the AL1 and AL4 proteins, which acted through different DNA elements. We also found that mutation of the TATA box motif in the AL61 promoter reduced overall transcriptional activity and AL1-mediated repression, confirming the importance of this sequence in promoter function. Mutation of a G-box consensus sequence was highly detrimental to AL61 transcription and abolished AL1 sensitivity, suggesting that AL1 interferes with transcriptional activation. Cotransfection experiments showed that the TATA box and G-box motif mutations also impaired viral DNA replication in the presence of a wild-type origin but had no effect in its absence, demonstrating that these transcriptional motifs also function as replication efficiency elements.
Saturation Probabilities of Continuous-Time Sigmoidal Networks

From genetic regulatory networks to nervous systems, the interactions between elements in biological networks often take a sigmoidal or S-shaped form. This paper develops a probabilistic characterization of the parameter space of continuous-time sigmoidal networks (CTSNs), a simple but dynamically-universal model of such interactions. We describe an efficient and accurate method for calculating the probability of observing effectively M-dimensional dynamics in an N-element CTSN, as well as a closed-form but approximate method. We then study the dependence of this probability on N, M, and the parameter ranges over which sampling occurs. This analysis provides insight into the overall structure of CTSN parameter space.
Female Sex Hormone Augmentation is Effective for Menopausal Psychosis

Background: Perimenopausal women may have an increased vulnerability to psychosis. Antipsychotic drugs are considered effective for acute and maintenance treatment of menopausal psychosis. In those patients who respond poorly to antipsychotic agents, estrogen augmentation may be also beneficial. Case report: We present a 50-year-old woman experiencing psychotic symptoms with onset one year after the menopause. The patient with positive psychotic symptoms did not respond well to three different antipsychotic drugs at adequate dosage and duration. But she responded with a combination of antipsychotic drug and Premelle 2.5 (conjugated estrogen 0.625+medroxyprogesterone 2.5mg) daily, and achieved a satisfactory treatment response. The patient’s psychotic symptoms were re-emerged after discontinuation of Premelle and were resolved after resuming Premelle treatment. Conclusion: Estrogen modulates the dopamine system in a mechanism similar to neuroleptic drugs and is an effective augmentation treatment for menopausal psychosis.
The expanding universe of inflammatory bowel disease genetics

Purpose of review Genetic factors play an important role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease. In this review, we will provide an update on the rapid advances in the discovery of inflammatory bowel disease, primarily Crohn's disease, associated genes. Recent findings Seven recently published Crohn's disease genome-wide association studies have confirmed prior findings related to the nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain 2 (NOD2) gene and the IBD5 locus. In addition, 10 novel loci have been identified and well replicated. Summary Several promising associations between Crohn's disease and gene variants have been identified and replicated, the two most widely replicated being variants in the IL23R and ATG16L1 genes. These findings highlight and further support the importance of the immune system and its interactions with the intestinal microflora in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease.
Is the United States Experiencing a "Matrilineal Tilt?": Gender, Family Structures and Financial Transfers to Adult Children

Furstenberg et al. (1995) suggested that one unanticipated consequence of current high levels of divorce might be a "matrilineal tilt" in intergenerational wealth flows. This research uses six waves of the Health and Retirement Survey (1992 to 2002) to investigate this possibility with respect to financial transfers from parents to their adult children. We find that although divorced single fathers continue to make transfers to their adult biological children, remarriage substantially reduces fathers' transfers while it increases mothers' transfers to their biological children. Our findings are consistent with both socio-evolutionary and exchange theories predicting women's vs. men's investments in biological vs. stepchildren.
Detection of Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli by Use of Melting-Curve Analysis and Real-Time Multiplex PCR

ABSTRACT Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli strains are important causes of diarrhea in children from the developing world and are now being recognized as emerging enteropathogens in the developed world. Current methods of detection are too expensive and labor-intensive for routine detection of these organisms to be practical. We developed a real-time fluorescence-based multiplex PCR for the detection of all six of the currently recognized classes of diarrheagenic E. coli. The primers were designed to specifically amplify eight different virulence genes in the same reaction: aggR for enteroaggregative E. coli, stIa/stIb and lt for enterotoxigenic E. coli, eaeA for enteropathogenic E. coli and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), stx1 and stx2 for STEC, ipaH for enteroinvasive E. coli, and daaD for diffusely adherent E. coli (DAEC). Eighty-nine of ninety diarrheagenic E. coli and 36/36 nonpathogenic E. coli strains were correctly identified using this approach (specificity, 1.00; sensitivity, 0.99). The single false negative was a DAEC strain. The total time between preparation of DNA from E. coli colonies on agar plates and completion of PCR and melting-curve analysis was less than 90 min. The cost of materials was low. Melting-point analysis of real-time multiplex PCR is a rapid, sensitive, specific, and inexpensive method for detection of diarrheagenic E. coli.
Monetary Policy under Zero Interest Rate --- Viewpoints of Central Bank Economists ---

Various proposals have been raised with respect to a desirable framework of monetary policy under the zero interest rate in Japan. By taking due account of such proposals, this paper intends to examine monetary policy options under the environment of the zero interest rate. In so doing, we first describe the policy framework of the "zero interest rate policy," which was in place from February 1999 to August 2000, and its transmission mechanism. Then, in view of the problems intrinsic to the zero interest rate, we address three important questions: (1) the policy options that might be available in response to future economic developments, (2) the major risks associated with these policy options; and (3) how such risks might change under varying economic conditions. On this basis, we finally consider the medium- and long-term "style" of monetary policy in Japan in order to improve its effectiveness and efficiency.
Inositol polyphosphate 5-phosphatase-controlled Ins(1,4,5)P3/Ca2+ is crucial for maintaining pollen dormancy and regulating early germination of pollen

Appropriate pollen germination is crucial for plant reproduction. Previous studies have revealed the importance of dehydration in maintaining pollen dormancy; here, we show that phosphatidylinositol pathway-controlled Ins(1,4,5)P3/Ca2+ levels are crucial for maintaining pollen dormancy in Arabidopsis thaliana. An interesting phenotype, precocious pollen germination within anthers, results from a disruption of inositol polyphosphate 5-phosphatase 12 (5PT12). The knockout mutant 5pt12 has normal early pollen development and pollen dehydration, and exhibits hypersensitive ABA responses, indicating that precocious pollen germination is not caused either by abnormal dehydration or by suppressed ABA signaling. Deficiency of 5PT13 (a close paralog of 5PT12) synergistically enhances precocious pollen germination. Both basal Ins(1,4,5)P3 levels and endogenous Ca2+ levels are elevated in pollen from 5pt12 mutants, and 5pt12 5pt13 double mutants show an even higher precocious germination rate along with much higher levels of Ins(1,4,5)P3/Ca2+. Strikingly, exogenous Ca2+ stimulates the germination of wild-type pollen at floral stage 12, even in very low humidity, both in vitro and in vivo, and treatment with BAPTA, a [Ca2+]cyt inhibitor, reduces the precocious pollen germination rates of 5pt12, 5pt13 and 5pt12 5pt13 mutants. These results indicate that the increase in the levels of Ins(1,4,5)P3/Ca2+ caused by deficiency of inositol polyphosphate 5-phosphatases is sufficient to break pollen dormancy and to trigger early germination. The study reveals that independent of dehydration, the control of Ins(1,4,5)P3/Ca2+ levels by Inositol polyphosphate 5-phosphatases is crucial for maintaining pollen dormancy.
Force and displacement analysis of a haptic touchscreen

This paper presents the result of an analysis of the operating characteristics of a haptic touchscreen. The haptic touchscreen was fabricated by mounting an electrostatic parallel plate actuator between a touch panel and a display module. The operating characteristics of the haptic touchscreen were examined in terms of the force and displacement in the vertical direction. The results show that even in the case of the minimum force (near 10 mN), the haptic touchscreen is able to produce sufficient force to perceive the vibration for a wide range of frequencies, considering the threshold at which the user detects the vibration through the fingertips.
Time course of beta 2-integrin CD11b/CD18 (Mac-1, alpha M beta 2) upregulation on neutrophils and monocytes after coronary artery bypass grafting. CD11b upregulation after CABG surgery.

Although upregulation of CD11b/CD18 receptor, i.e. activation of neutrophils and monocytes, during cardiopulmonary bypass is well documented, the duration of the active state after uncomplicated operation is less understood. We therefore investigated CD11b expression of phagocytes in blood samples collected 2-4, 24, 48 and 72 h after coronary artery bypass grafting. CD11b expression on neutrophils was significantly elevated at 2-4 and 24 hours after operation as compared with baseline. On monocytes, expression peaked at 24 h and returned to baseline by 72 h. Because CD11b is a sensitive marker, effects of different sampling techniques on its expression were also studied. CD11b expression was similar in samples collected with a syringe from arterial or central venous catheter or with open technique from cubital vein. On neutrophils from healthy subjects, sampling with syringe caused small (10%) but statistically significant increase of expression. We conclude that activated neutrophils disappear from circulation within hours after CABG surgery while activated monocytes may continue circulating for 2-3 days, and that CD11b sampling can be done with a syringe.
Method of ensuring eye-to eye contact in multi-view video conference

Eye-to-eye contact is considered to be important in understanding each other in immersive video conference in the future. In this letter, a new method to guarantee participants eye-to-eye contact is presented. In the method, it is supposed that the listener is directly facing the display screen. So the technique of ensuring eye-to-eye contact can be alternatively carried out by detecting which camera the speaker's face directs to. The frontal-view face image from the camera is determined by the location of eyes in the face region. The face regions and eyes location both are detected in each camera image. In the eye detection, the analysis of the mean of gray levels, the variance of gray levels, the mean of gradients of the gray levels and chroma information in the eye window are combinatively used. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithms can detect eyes location in real-time, correctly determine which camera image is the frontal-view face image, thereby providing an effect of eye-to-eye contact.
Inward journeys : spiritual seeking in the new millennium : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Social Anthropology at Massey University

This thesis proposes that there is a significant trend shaping itself as more and more people see themselves on inward or spiritual journeys in search of greater meaning; in search of their 'truth', an often highly personalised and eclectic mix of spiritual beliefs. Centred on interviews with some of these seekers, this thesis looks at why spiritual seeking in this new millennium could be described as 'the art of redesigning lives'. It also argues that although this is about individuality, a search for greater autonomy and Self awareness, it is inevitably unfolding in a social context. It looks at why, what I choose to call a (r)evolution of consciousness is happening, and how this trend is influenced by cultural transformations of the 20h century such as the 60's counter-culture and the New Age Movement. It is, I propose, part of an emerging world view, one that impacts, and is impacted by, globalisation and the move from modernity to postmodernity in the western world.