Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Design and implementation of an elderly tracker system

With the science development, human longevity becomes longer, but it brings about an aging population for this reason. Thus, it is extremely important to nurse and care for the aged. When the aged go out without the companion of their children, they may have no way to call for help, if there is any fortuitous event. In this situation, it is urgent to have a kind of product, which can inform children of the aged in time about the current location information of the aged and physical conditions. In the paper, a solution of an elderly tracker (hereinafter referred to as the terminal) is introduced to acquire the current location information of the aged through GSM/GPRS functional module SIM900 and GPS functional module SIM28. Moreover, SOS key is set up to inform their children by dialing an emergency call. BP neural network algorithm is applied to analyze a frequented place of the aged by using the cloud server and to remind them by playing the warning beep at the accident prone location. In addition, the frequented location information of the aged can be provided for elderly service agencies, so as to help these agencies to provide service quality. The solution proposed in the paper had the biggest drifting for 5m by testing actually. Average consumption is about 2.8mA and it is enough to satisfy application demands.
Elite migrations in modern Italy: patterns of settlement, integration and identity negotiation

Italy has been always considered a country of emigrants. During the nineteenth and twentieth century, millions of people left Italy in different waves and settled in the USA, Latin America or various European countries such as Germany, France, Belgium, Britain and Switzerland. There is now an extensive literature on both these departures and arrivals that demonstrates the important role played by Italy and the Italians over the last two centuries in nourishing migratory flows, participating in transnational movements and contributing to the foundation of an Atlantic labour market (Gabaccia 2000; Bevilacqua et al. 2001–2002; O’Rourke and Williamson 1999). It is less known, however, that throughout the Old Regime and more intensively during the eighteenth and in the first half of the nineteenth century, the Italian peninsula was home for consistent ‘internal’ migration flows (from the countryside to the towns, from the North to the South, and vice versa, from the mountains to the plains and, of course, between the different states in which the peninsula was divided) (Arru and Ramella 2003) and for short and long-distance immigrations, which had a long-term and frequently permanent character. Europe was on the move, and Italy, especially its Northern regions, was part of more than one migration system (Moch 1992). Since the 1980s, a huge literature has shown that Europe was far from sedentary, that these movements were not unidirectional and that human mobility cannot be explained solely in terms of economic variables (Hoerder and Moch 1996; Green 2002). This special issue of the Journal of Modern Italian Studies is devoted to the analysis of some of these movements and flows. The five articles deal in particular with élite migration and with foreigners. In conceiving this issue we wanted to understand how and why people moved to Italy; to what degree the migrants integrated in the host society; how they were received. We wanted to analyze, on the one hand, how they used their national, ethnic or religious identity and sense of belonging to negotiate space and privileges for themselves, their families, their group and their activities; and, on the other hand, analyze how their national identities were shaped by their new status as aliens in a host country. We have tried to understand how and to what extent they transferred Journal of Modern Italian Studies 13(2) 2008: 141 – 151
Modulation of the transcription factor NF-κB in antigen-presenting cells by bovine respiratory syncytial virus small hydrophobic protein

Bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) is an important cause of respiratory disease in young cattle and is closely related to human RSV (HRSV), which causes severe respiratory disease in infants and the elderly. The RSV genome encodes a small hydrophobic (SH) protein with viroporin activity. Previous studies have shown that recombinant BRSV lacking the SH gene (rBRSVΔSH) is attenuated in the lungs, but not in the upper respiratory tract, of calves and mucosal vaccination with rBRSVΔSH induced long-lasting protective immunity. Attenuation of rBRSVΔSH may be due to the ability of this virus to induce an early innate response as rBRSVΔSH induces higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines than wild-type (wt) rBRSV. In this study, we investigated the effects of the BRSV SH protein on NF-κB p65 phosphorylation, a master step in the regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Expression of SH resulted in the inhibition of NF-κB p65 phosphorylation in response to BRSV infection and extracellular lipopolysaccharide, and a reduction in the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. In contrast, rBRSVΔSH does not inhibit NF-κB p65 phosphorylation in bovine antigen-presenting cells, including monocytes, macrophages and dendritic cells, resulting in increased expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and increased activation of T cells compared to cells infected with wt BRSV. These findings highlight an important role for the BRSV SH protein in immune modulation.
Resetting the Nominal Mapping Parameter in L2 English: Definite article use and the count–mass distinction*

This paper presents two experiments in the acquisition of the nominal domain in English by Japanese and Spanish second language (L2) learners. The first experiment tests the L2 learners' ability to distinguish between count and mass nouns using a grammaticality judgement task and the second experiment tests learners on different types of definite (based on J. Hawkins's 1978 taxonomy) in count and mass contexts by means of a forced-choice elicitation task. The claim by Chierchia (1998a, b) is that there is a Nominal Mapping Parameter and the three languages discussed in this paper each have a different parametric value. The aim of the paper is to test Japanese and Spanish L2 learners of English to see whether they can reset the parameter to the English setting.
Luminance And Chrominance Contrast In Emissive Display

This study of luminance and chrominance contrast comes from a need to solve a display problem associated with visual clutter. Tactical display systems often call for high densities of background, vehicular track, and alphanumeric information. Luminance and chrominance contrast color difference techniques offer an approach to decluttering information display through the psychophysics of color difference. To apply a model of color perception space for light emitting display devices, a measure of photometric luminance, Y, is employed in place of a psychophysical measure of achromatic surface lightness, L*. The CIE 1976 UCS coordinate system is used. A measure of color difference employing Y, u', v' is correlated with reading speed of three, four, and five-element character strings. The correlations between color difference, AE, and reading speed are high with color difference providing a significant but lesser contribution to reading speed than character type and string length. Color difference is metered into image display generation to achieve visual declutter and improved information extraction efficiency as measured by reading speed. This study shows that luminance and chrominance contrast, in excess of that needed to achieve legibility and visual declutter, does not contribute further to performance improvement.
Arbeitspapiere When Institutions Matter : Union Growth and Decline in Western Europe , 1950-95

During the early post-war period, Western trade union movements grew in membership and achieved an institutionalized role in industrial relations and politics. However, during the last decades, many trade unions have seen their membership decline as they came increasingly under pressures due to the social, economic and political changes. This article reviews the main structural, cyclical and institutional factors explaining union growth and decline. Concentrating on Western Europe, the empirical analysis compares cross-national union density data for 13 countries over the first period (1950-75) and for 16 countries over the second, „crisis“ period (1975-95). The quantitative correlation and regression analysis indicates that structural and cyclical factors fail explain the level and changes in unionization across Western Europe, while institutional variables fare better. In a second, qualitative comparative analysis, the authors stress the need to explain cross-national differences in the level or trend of unionization by a set of institutional arrangements: the access of unions to representation in the workplace, the availability of a selective incentive in the form of a union-administered unemployment scheme, recognition of employers through nation-wide and sectoral corporatist institutions, and closed shop arrangements for forced membership. Such institutional configurations support membership recruitment and membership retention, and define the conditions for the strategic choice of trade unions in responding to structural social-economic, political and cultural changes.
Švec : On Vibration Properties of Human Vocal Folds 11 Introduction

Theses: 1. Švec J.: Mechanismus rezonanční soustavy hlasového ústrojí. [Mechanism of the resonance system of the human voice]. (Master Thesis, in Czech). ortotropního modelu hlasivky. [Finite element model of vocal fold tissues with orthotropic material properties]
Comparative Proteomic Analysis of Embryos between a Maize Hybrid and Its Parental Lines during Early Stages of Seed Germination

In spite of commercial use of heterosis in agriculture, the molecular basis of heterosis is poorly understood. It was observed that maize hybrid Zong3/87-1 exhibited an earlier onset or heterosis in radicle emergence. To get insights into the underlying mechanism of heterosis in radicle emergence, differential proteomic analysis between hybrid and its parental lines was performed. In total, the number of differentially expressed protein spots between hybrid and its parental lines in dry and 24 h imbibed seed embryos were 134 and 191, respectively, among which 47.01% (63/134) and 34.55% (66/191) protein spots displayed nonadditively expressed pattern. Remarkably, 54.55% of nonadditively accumulated proteins in 24 h imbibed seed embryos displayed above or equal to the level of the higher parent patterns. Moreover, 155 differentially expressed protein spots were identified, which were grouped into eight functional classes, including transcription & translation, energy & metabolism, signal transduction, disease & defense, storage protein, transposable element, cell growth & division and unclassified proteins. In addition, one of the upregulated proteins in F1 hybrids was ZmACT2, a homolog of Arabidopsis thaliana ACT7 (AtACT7). Expressing ZmACT2 driven by the AtACT7 promoter partially complemented the low germination phenotype in the Atact7 mutant. These results indicated that hybridization between two parental lines can cause changes in the expression of a variety of proteins, and it is concluded that the altered pattern of gene expression at translational level in the hybrid may be responsible for the observed heterosis.
PERCEPTION AND ALERTNESS

Abstract Many of the published results of laboratory studios of vigilance do not indicate what occurs in practical watchkeeping tasks. Thus, for example, the ‘ fatigue ’ effects which Mack worth studied intensively, are seldom found in the more important military watchkeeping tasks. Again the relationship between rate of stimulation and probability of response appears to be more nebulous in protracted practical tasks than it is in a closely controlled laboratory study such as Dcese's. Furthermore we find that performance in practical tasks is generally very poor compared with what seems to be theoretically possible. This effect can be seen also in some of the well known laboratory results, but there has been little discussion devoted to it. This paper reformulates current ideas of perceptual organization in watchkeeping, and attempts to explain why there are discrepancies of the kind just mentioned. Particular emphasis is placed upon the typo of investigation which needs to be pursued in order to resolve .
A Simple Method for Assessment of Human Anti-Neu5Gc Antibodies Applied to Kawasaki Disease

N-Glycolylneuraminic acid (Neu5Gc) is an immunogenic sugar of dietary origin that metabolically incorporates into diverse native glycoconjugates in humans. Anti-Neu5Gc antibodies are detected in all human sera, though with variable levels and epitope-recognition profiles. These antibodies likely play a role in several inflammation-mediated pathologies including cardiovascular diseases and cancer. In cancer, they have dualistic and opposing roles, either stimulating or repressing disease, as a function of their dose, and some of these antibodies serve as carcinoma biomarkers. Thus, anti-Neu5Gc antibodies may signify risk of inflammation-mediated diseases, and changes in their levels could potentially be used to monitor disease progression and/or response to therapy. Currently, it is difficult to determine levels of anti-Neu5Gc antibodies in individual human samples because these antibodies recognize multiple Neu5Gc-epitopes. Here we describe a simple and specific method for detection and overall estimation of human anti-Neu5Gc antibodies. We exploit the difference between two mouse models that differ only by Neu5Gc-presence (wild-type) or Neu5Gc-absence (Cmah−/− knockout). We characterize mouse serum from both strains by HPLC, lectin and mass-spectrometry analysis and show the target Neu5Gc-epitopes. We then use Cmah−/− knockout sera to inhibit all non-Neu5Gc-reactivity followed by binding to wild-type sera to detect overall anti-Neu5Gc response in a single assay. We applied this methodology to characterize and quantify anti-Neu5Gc IgG and IgA in sera of patients with Kawasaki disease (KD) at various stages compared to controls. KD is an acute childhood febrile disease characterized by inflammation of coronary arteries that untreated may lead to coronary artery aneurysms with risk of thrombosis and myocardial infarction. This estimated response is comparable to the average of detailed anti-Neu5Gc IgG profile analyzed by a sialoglycan microarray. Both assays revealed an elevated response in acute KD patients with normal coronaries compared to patients with aneurysm or dilated coronaries. Implications of these findings are discussed.
Calling for Service: Mobilization of the Police Across Sociocultural Environments

Although researchers have investigated the nature and distribution of routine police activity over the past 30 years, surprisingly few analyses have explained the observed variation in these activities over time and even fewer have examined variations across jurisdictions. This research explores the nature and distribution of police activity through citizen calls for service in three developing nations of the Caribbean region. It is argued that the social and political context of the jurisdiction determines, at the margins, the nature of citizen calls for police service. That is, for non‐serious crime and other services, citizens’ calls for police services are predicated upon the nature of the relationship between the citizenry and the police. This study analyzes calls for service data from three Caribbean nations: Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica. The nature and distribution of the calls are analyzed in relationship to the constables’ perceptions of their legitimacy in the eyes of the citizenry. The findings indicate that the nature of citizen calls for service are related to these perceptions of legitimacy. That is, the more the sensed legitimacy of the police, the greater the citizens’ tendency to initiate calls for services that do not involve serious criminal incidents. The policy implications of these findings for police work in developing nations are presented and discussed.
Self-Regulation and Recovery: Approaching an Understanding of the Process of Recovery from Stress

Stress has been studied extensively in psychology. Only recently, however, has research started to address the question of how individuals manage to recover from stress. Recovery from stress is analyzed as a process of self-regulation. Several individual difference variables which affect the efficiency of self-regulation have been integrated into a structured model of the recovery process. Such variables are action versus state orientation (a tendency to ruminate, e.g., about a past experience) and volitional components, such as self-determination, self-motivation, emotion control, rumination, and self-discipline. Some of these components are assumed to promote recovery from stress, whereas others are assumed to further the perseverance of stress. The model was supported by the empirical findings of three independent studies (Study 1, N = 58; Study 2, N = 221; Study 3, N=105). Kuhl's Action Control Scale measured action versus state orientation. Volitional components were assessed with Kuhl and Fuhrmann's Volitional Components Questionnaire. The amounts of experienced stress and recovery from stress was assessed with Kellmann and Kallus's Recovery-Stress Questionnaire. As hypothesized in the model, the disposition towards action versus state orientation was a more distant determinant of the recovery from stress and perseverance of stress. The volitional components are more proximal determinants in the recovery process. Action orientation promotes recovery from stress via adequate volitional skills, e.g., self-determination, self-motivation, emotion control, whereas state orientation furthers a perseverance of stress through rumination and self-discipline.
Peer observation of teaching in university departments: a framework for implementation

Academics in an engineering school at an Australian university participated in peer observation of a teaching program using a partnership approach. The present case study explains and discusses program aims, design, process and outcomes. The success of the program was dependent on four critical elements: educational leadership; a staged, voluntary, opt-in/out-out process involving a hands-on preparatory workshop and trial observation; partnering early-career and experienced academic staff; and an ‘external to faculty’ coordinator. The importance of these four elements, the stages of the program and the impact on the development of collegiality within the school and aspects of the teaching role are discussed. This case offers further insights into the complexities of peer observation of teaching and a tested framework for introducing peer observation of teaching programs within schools and departments.
Renal Hemodynamics and Urinary Excretion of 6-Keto-Prostaglandin F1α and Thromboxane B2 in Newly Diagnosed Type I Diabetic Patients

We have studied the functional importance of renal eicosanoids in renal hemodynamics of seven newly diagnosed insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) patients by treatment with two structurally unrelated inhibitors of cyclooxygenase (i.e., piroxicam and sulindac). Glomerular filtration rate (GFR), renal plasma flow (RPF), daily urinary excretion of 6-keto-prostaglandin F1α (6-keto-PGF1α, the stable hydrolysis product of prostacyclin), and thromboxane B2 (TXB2, the stable hydrolysis product of thromboxane A2) were measured before, during, and after piroxicam (all patients) or sulindac (3 patients) treatment. Urinary excretion of 6-keto-PGF1α was significantly increased (P < .01) in diabetic patients compared with seven healthy subjects, whereas urinary excretion of TXB2 was unchanged. The baseline value of GFR was significantly (P < .01) higher in diabetic compared with normal volunteers, whereas baseline RPF was comparable in both groups. Piroxicam (20 mg/day) reduced urinary excretion of 6-keto-PGF1α and TXB2 by 65.7 ± 26 and 64.6 ± 33%, respectively. These biochemical changes were temporally associated with the ∼ 19% decrease in GFR (P < .01). A week after discontinuation of the drug, GFR and urinary excretion of 6-keto-PGF1α were still significantly (P < .05) reduced, whereas urinary excretion of TXB2 returned to control values. In contrast, urinary excretion of eicosanoids and renal function were not affected by sulindac (0.4 g/day) treatment. No functional changes were detected in healthy subjects despite a similar suppression of renal cyclooxygenase activity when they were treated with piroxicam.We conclude that altered GFR in newly diagnosed IDDM patients may depend, at least partially, on altered renal synthesis of vasodilator prostacyclin.
Is color patchy

In many natural scenes, shadows and shading, which are primarily luminance-defined features, proliferate. Hence one might expect that the chromatic variations of natural scenes, which more faithfully represent the layout of object surfaces, will contain relatively fewer and larger uniform regions than the luminance variations, i.e., will be more “patchy. ” This idea was tested using images of natural scenes that were decomposed into chromatic and luminance layers modeled as the responses of the red‐green, blue‐yellow, and luminance channels of the human visual system. Patchiness was defined as the portion of pixels falling within a ± threshold in the bandpass-filtered image, averaged across multiple filter scales. The red‐green layers were found to be the most patchy, followed by the blue‐yellow layers, with the luminance layers the least patchy. The correlation between image-layer patchiness and the slope of the Fourier amplitude spectrum was small and negative for all layers, the maximum value being for red‐green 0.48. We conclude that the chromatic layers of natural scenes contain more uniform areas than the luminance layers and that this is unpredicted by the slope of the Fourier amplitude spectrum. © 2008 Optical Society of America OCIS codes: 330.0330, 330.1720.
Gonadal function, fertility, and reproductive medicine in childhood and adolescent cancer patients: a national survey of Japanese pediatric endocrinologists

Abstract. An increasing number of pediatric cancer patients survive, and treatment-related infertility represents one of the most important issues for these patients. While official guidelines in Japan recommend long-term follow-up of childhood cancer survivors (CCSs), their gonadal function and fertility have not been clarified. To address this issue, we organized a working panel to compile evidence from long-term survivors who received treatments for cancer during childhood or adolescence. In collaboration with members of the CCS Committee of the Japanese Society for Pediatric Endocrinology (JSPE), we conducted a questionnaire survey regarding reproductive function in pediatric cancer patients. A cross-sectional survey was sent to 178 JSPE-certified councilors who were asked to self-evaluate the medical examinations they had performed. A total of 151 responses were obtained, revealing that 143 endocrinologists were involved in the care of CCSs. A quarter of the respondents reported having experienced issues during gonadal or reproductive examinations. Several survivors did not remember or fully understand the explanation regarding gonadal damage, and faced physical and psychological distress when discussing the risk of becoming infertile. Pediatric endocrinologists had anxieties regarding their patients’ infertility and the risk of miscarriage, premature birth, and delivery problems. Only a limited number of endocrinologists had experience with managing childbirth and fertility preservation. Many councilors mentioned the necessity for inter-disciplinary communication among healthcare providers. Both endocrinologists and oncologists should set and follow a uniform clinical guideline that includes management of fertility of CCSs.