Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Health and Quality of Life Outcomes

Background: The Pediatric Quality of Life InventoryTM (PedsQLTM) is a child self-report and parent proxy-report instrument designed to assess health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in healthy and ill children and adolescents. It has been translated into over 70 international languages and proposed as a valid and reliable pediatric HRQOL measure. This study aimed to assess the psychometric properties of the Korean translation of the PedsQLTM 4.0 Generic Core Scales. Methods: Following the guidelines for linguistic validation, the original US English scales were translated into Korean and cognitive interviews were administered. The field testing responses of 1425 school children and adolescents and 1431 parents to the Korean version of PedsQLTM 4.0 Generic Core Scales were analyzed utilizing confirmatory factor analysis and the Rasch model. Results: Consistent with studies using the US English instrument and other translation studies, score distributions were skewed toward higher HRQOL in a predominantly healthy population. Confirmatory factor analysis supported a four-factor and a second order-factor model. The analysis using the Rasch model showed that person reliabilities are low, item reliabilities are high, and the majority of items fit the model's expectation. The Rasch rating scale diagnostics showed that PedsQLTM 4.0 Generic Core Scales in general have the optimal number of response categories, but category 4 (almost always a problem) is somewhat problematic for the healthy school sample. The agreements between child self-report and parent proxy-report were moderate. Conclusion: The results demonstrate the feasibility, validity, item reliability, item fit, and agreement between child self-report and parent proxy-report of the Korean version of PedsQLTM 4.0 Generic Core Scales for school population health research in Korea. However, the utilization of the Korean version of the PedsQLTM 4.0 Generic Core Scales for healthy school populations needs to consider low person reliability, ceiling effects and cultural differences, and further validation studies on Korean clinical samples are required. Published: 2 June 2008 Health and Quality of Life Outcomes 2008, 6:41 doi:10.1186/1477-7525-6-41 Received: 11 June 2007 Accepted: 2 June 2008 This article is available from: http://www.hqlo. com/content/6/1/41 © 2008 Kook and Varni; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Influencia social en las comunidades de cine: filmaffinity como caso de estudio

espanolLas comunidades de cine online son redes sociales que promueven la interaccion entre usuarios interesados en la cinematografia. A traves de las evaluaciones numericas, los comentarios y las recomendaciones de las peliculas, se genera un contenido capaz de influir en la eleccion de los usuarios. A partir del caso Filmaffinity, la mayor comunidad de cine de habla hispana, este trabajo analiza la influencia social informacional que se ejerce en las comunidades de cine. Se exponen los mecanismos de influencia identificando a los actores y diferenciando los tipos de contenidos: informativos, sociales y comerciales. El trabajo concluye con una agenda de investigacion. EnglishOnline film communities are social networks that promote the interaction between users interested in cinema. Through average ratings, verbal reviews and recommendations of films, content is generated capable of influencing the choice of users. Drawing from Filmaffinity case study, the largest Spanish-speaking film community, this paper analyzes the social informational influence exerted in film communities. The study shows the mechanisms of influence identifying the actors and differentiating the types of contents: informational, social and commercial. The paper ends with a research agenda.
Performance Comparison of RSC-RSC and RS-RSC Concatenated Codes Using Non-iterative Concatenated Viterbi Decoding Technique

In this paper, we conduct performance comparison of RS-RSC concatenated system with RSC-RSC concatenated system. Two models of serially concatenated codes are simulated and tested over AWGN channel using Mat lab simulations. The first model uses Reed-Solomon (RS) code as outer encoder and Recursive convolution code (RSC) as inner one & decoding is performed by concatenation of Viterbi decoder & Berklelamp-Massey decoder. The second model uses Concatenation of Recursive systematic convolution codes (RSC) as outer and inner codes with the help of interleaver. For decoding of RSC-RSC system, we have proposed & implemented a non-iterative decoding scheme which includes two Viterbi decoders in concatenation with de-interleaver. We show that the performance of RSC-RSC concatenated code is better than RS-RSC concatenated code in terms of bit error rate (BER).
Dependence and independence of survival parameters on linear energy transfer in cells and tissues

Carbon-ion radiotherapy has been used to treat more than 9000 cancer patients in the world since 1994. Spreading of the Bragg peak is necessary for carbon-ion radiotherapy, and is designed based on the linear–quadratic model that is commonly used for photon therapy. Our recent analysis using in vitro cell kills and in vivo mouse tissue reaction indicates that radiation quality affects mainly the alpha terms, but much less the beta terms, which raises the question of whether this is true in other biological systems. Survival parameters alpha and beta for 45 in vitro mammalian cell lines were obtained by colony formation after irradiation with carbon ions, fast neutrons and X-rays. Relationships between survival parameters and linear energy transfer (LET) below 100 keV/μm were obtained for 4 mammalian cell lines. Mouse skin reaction and tumor growth delay were measured after fractionated irradiation. The Fe-plot provided survival parameters of the tissue reactions. A clear separation between X-rays and high-LET radiation was observed for alpha values, but not for beta values. Alpha values/terms increased with increasing LET in any cells and tissues studied, while beta did not show a systematic change. We have found a puzzle or contradiction in common interpretations of the linear-quadratic model that causes us to question whether the model is appropriate for interpreting biological effectiveness of high-LET radiation up to 500 keV/μm, probably because of inconsistency in the concept of damage interaction. A repair saturation model proposed here was good enough to fit cell kill efficiency by radiation of wide-ranged LET. A model incorporating damage complexity and repair saturation would be suitable for heavy-ion radiotherapy.
The Orbital Dynamics Environment of 433 Eros: A Case Study for Future Asteroid Missions

The Near-Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR)–Shoemaker mission was a milestone in that it represented the practical navigation of a spacecraft in the most severely perturbed orbital environment (relative to the standard two-body problem) ever experienced by a spacecraft. Furthermore, all future asteroid orbital missions will encounter environments similar, in some way, to the environment encountered by NEAR at Eros. Thus, it is of interest to discuss the orbital dynamics that the NEAR-Shoemaker spacecraft was subject to at Eros. This article first provides a brief review of the measured force and model parameters of Eros. Next, an evaluation of the resulting orbital dynamics environment in the vicinity of Eros is made using these estimated values. The Eros dynamical environment is discussed in the region relatively far from the asteroid, where solar effects are the dominant perturbation, and in the region close to the asteroid, where the gravity field and rotation of Eros are most important. In particular, we give limits for stable motion about Eros and provide analytical descriptions of the dynamical environment found there. Many of the methods discussed and introduced in this article can be used for future asteroid missions as well. I. Introduction While the force environment at asteroids is unique for each separate body, the analysis and evaluation of these environments can be formulated in a general manner that can be equally applied to each new situation. Thus, in this article we consider a somewhat detailed discussion of the dynamical environment about Eros, formulated in such a fashion as to be applicable to most asteroids. Specifically, we consider the dynamical environment far from and close to an asteroid, where strong perturbation forces exist. Far from an asteroid, the perturbations arise from solar radiation pressure and solar tidal forces. Close to an asteroid, the perturbations arise from the gravity field and rotation state of the body. The one case that is not explicitly covered in the current analysis is when the solar radiation pressure and asteroid gravity-field spheres of influence overlap. This situation can lead to interesting interactions between these competing perturbations and is an area of practical interest as future missions to near-Earth asteroids likely would fall into this regime.
Slip pulses at a sheared frictional viscoelastic/nondeformable interface

We study the possibility for a semi-infinite block of linear viscoelastic material, in homogeneous frictional contact with a nondeformable one, to slide under shear via a periodic set of "self-healing pulses," i.e., a set of drifting slip regions separated by stick ones. We show that, contrary to existing experimental indications, such a mode of frictional sliding is impossible for an interface obeying a simple local Coulomb law of solid friction. We then discuss possible physical improvements of the friction model which might open the possibility of such dynamics, among which slip weakening of the friction coefficient, and stress the interest of developing systematic experimental investigations of this question.
A Comparison of Stereovision and Infrared as Sensors for an Anti-Collision Powered Wheelchair for Older Adults with Cognitive Impairments

Long-term care (LTC) residents with cognitive impairments are often not permitted to use powered wheelchairs due to safety concerns, which results in a loss of mobility and independence. The authors have developed two prototypes of an anti-collision system for a powered wheelchair; one employs a 3D infrared sensor while the other uses stereovision. Both systems are designed to stop the wheelchair if a collision with an object is imminent and provide verbal prompts to help the user navigate around the obstacle. This paper presents an overview of both designs as well as a comparison of performance testing under controlled lighting conditions. Future work includes more advanced planning and scheduling capabilities, as well as the development of a pervasive network of intelligent wheelchairs.
Prevalence of asthma and allergic rhinitis among adult population in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Background Mongolia is changing lifestyle, unhealthy habits, increase of air pollution, increasing life expectancy have led to an up rise of chronic respiratory diseases. Over 10 years ago, the prevalence of asthma and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis in Mongolia were in the lower range reported from previous studies. Objective The main aim of the survey is to know the prevalence of asthma and allergic rhinitis among adult population of Ulaanbaatar city, Mongolia and their risk factors. Methods Total of approximately 1,200 adults aged 20 years and over were planned to be randomly selected. The questionnaire was developed on the basis of WHO Protocol for Assessment of Prevalence of Major Respiratory Diseases and modified by local risk factors assessment and by other international survey approach including Global Initiative for Asthma and European Community Respiratory Health Survey. Results Prevalence of current wheezer in all age group was 15.7% (95% CI: 14.7-16.8). Age and sex segregated distribution of current wheezer were defined among male and female and prevalence was 14.5% (95% CI: 13.3-16.2) in male and female 16.6% (95% CI: 15.2-18.3) respectively. Prevalence of diagnosed asthma among adults was 4.7% (95% CI: 4.3-5.6) in all age group, 3% (95% CI: 2.4-3.7) in male and 6.8% (95% CI: 5.8-7.9) in female. Prevalence of rhinoconjunctivitis was 14.6% in all age group. 28.4% out of subjects with allergic rhinitis has current asthma, while 11.6% of subjects without allergic rhinitis has asthma (p < 0.01). Conclusion The prevalence of asthma increased for one decade in Ulaanbaatar. Prevalence of diagnosed asthma is approximately 5% and current wheezer is approximately 15% in adults of population, which is close to other Asia and European countries. Allergic rhinitis is a risk factor for asthma.
MR-LEACH: Multi-hop Routing with Low Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy

In this paper, we present a Multi-hop Routing with Low Energy Adaptive Clustering Hierarchy (MR-LEACH) protocol. In order to prolong the lifetime of Wireless Sensor Network (WSN), MR-LEACH partitions the network into different layers of clusters. Cluster heads in each layer collaborates with the adjacent layers to transmit sensor’s data to the base station. Ordinary sensor nodes join cluster heads based on the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI). The transmission of nodes is controlled by a Base Station (BS) that defines the Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) schedule for each cluster-head. BS selects the upper layers cluster heads to act as super cluster heads for lower layer cluster heads. Thus, MR-LEACH follows multi-hop routing from cluster-heads to a base station to conserve energy, unlike the LEACH protocol. Performance evaluation has shown that MR-LEACH achieves significant improvement in the LEACH protocol and provides energy efficient routing for WSN.
Auxin Response Factor2 (ARF2) and Its Regulated Homeodomain Gene HB33 Mediate Abscisic Acid Response in Arabidopsis

The phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA) is an important regulator of plant development and response to environmental stresses. In this study, we identified two ABA overly sensitive mutant alleles in a gene encoding Auxin Response Factor2 (ARF2). The expression of ARF2 was induced by ABA treatment. The arf2 mutants showed enhanced ABA sensitivity in seed germination and primary root growth. In contrast, the primary root growth and seed germination of transgenic plants over-expressing ARF2 are less inhibited by ABA than that of the wild type. ARF2 negatively regulates the expression of a homeodomain gene HB33, the expression of which is reduced by ABA. Transgenic plants over-expressing HB33 are more sensitive, while transgenic plants reducing HB33 by RNAi are more resistant to ABA in the seed germination and primary root growth than the wild type. ABA treatment altered auxin distribution in the primary root tips and made the relative, but not absolute, auxin accumulation or auxin signal around quiescent centre cells and their surrounding columella stem cells to other cells stronger in arf2-101 than in the wild type. These results indicate that ARF2 and HB33 are novel regulators in the ABA signal pathway, which has crosstalk with auxin signal pathway in regulating plant growth.
Course Notes: Probability on Trees and Networks, Fall 2004

Disclosed herein is an emulsifier or emulsifying composition which comprises one or more of the hydroxyalkyl or hydroxyalkenyl phosphates represented by the general formula (I) and/or (II): (I) (II) in which R represents an alkyl or alkenyl group of 5-21 carbon atoms, X1 and X2 independently represent a pair ion selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, alkali metal, ammonium, etc. The emulsifying composition according to the invention is highly safe to skin and widely usable in the emulsification of either W/O or O/W type.
Web Pages Clustering and Concepts Mining: An approach towards Intelligent Information Retrieval

The amount of information on the Web is growing at an exponential rate. Information overload has brought a heavy burden for modern life. Keyword based search engines no long fill the needs of many people. This paper introduces an approach towards intelligent information retrieval by providing clustered Web pages and minded concepts based on results of search engines. Web page clustering is based on SVD (singular value decomposition), concepts mining is implemented with a revision of Apriori algorithm. Experiments on three different kinds of keyword as queries to information retrieval have showed a promising result
Noncanonical Cell-to-Cell DNA Transfer in Thermus spp. Is Insensitive to Argonaute-Mediated Interference

ABSTRACT Horizontal gene transfer drives the rapid evolution of bacterial populations. Classical processes that promote the lateral flow of genetic information are conserved throughout the prokaryotic world. However, some species have nonconserved transfer mechanisms that are not well known. This is the case for the ancient extreme thermophile Thermus thermophilus. In this work, we show that T. thermophilus strains are capable of exchanging large DNA fragments by a novel mechanism that requires cell-to-cell contacts and employs components of the natural transformation machinery. This process facilitates the bidirectional transfer of virtually any DNA locus but favors by 10-fold loci found in the megaplasmid over those in the chromosome. In contrast to naked DNA acquisition by transformation, the system does not activate the recently described DNA-DNA interference mechanism mediated by the prokaryotic Argonaute protein, thus allowing the organism to distinguish between DNA transferred from a mate and exogenous DNA acquired from unknown hosts. This Argonaute-mediated discrimination may be tentatively viewed as a strategy for safe sharing of potentially “useful” traits by the components of a given population of Thermus spp. without increasing the genome sizes of its individuals.
Collaborative Experiences of Teacher Candidates in a Dual, Mild/Moderate and General Education Program

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Low-Frequency Stimulation Cancels the High-Frequency-Induced Long-Lasting Effects in the Rat Medial Vestibular Nuclei

In rat brainstem slices, we investigated the effects of low-frequency stimulation (LFS) of the primary vestibular afferents on the amplitude of the field potentials evoked in the medial vestibular nuclei (MVN). LFS induced long-term effects, the sign of which depended on whether the vestibular neurons were previously conditioned by HFS. In unconditioned slices, LFS evoked modifications of the responses that were similar to those observed after HFS but had a smaller extension. In fact, LFS caused long-lasting potentiation of the N1 wave in the MVN ventral portion (Vp) and long-lasting depression of the N2 wave in the MVN dorsal portion (Dp), whereas it provoked small and variable effects on the N1 wave. By contrast, when the synaptic transmission was already conditioned, LFS influenced the synaptic responses oppositely, reducing or annulling the HFS long-term effects. This phenomenon was specifically induced by LFS, because HFS was not able to cause it. The involvement of NMDA receptors in mediating the LFS long-term effects was supported by the fact that AP-5 prevented their induction. In addition, the annulment of HFS long-term effects by LFS was also demonstrated by the shift in the latency of the evoked unitary potentials after LFS. In conclusion, we suggest that the reduction of the previously induced conditioning could represent a cancellation mechanism, useful to quickly adapt the vestibular system to continuous different needs and to avoid saturation.
Multimodal Face-Gait Fusion for Biometric Person Authentication

In this paper we propose a novel multimodal fusion approach based on PCA-LDA processing for person identification from low resolution surveillance video with cues extracted from gait and face biometrics. The experimental evaluation of the proposed scheme on a publicly available database [2] showed that the combined PCA-LDA face and gait when fused in either hierarchical or holistic fusion, can lead to powerful identity verification that can capture the inherent multimodality in walking gait patterns and ascertain the identity from low resolution surveillance videos
Jaechun No File System-Based Data Protection Approach

As data to be stored in storage subsystems tremendously increases, data protection techniques have become more important than ever, to provide data availability and reliability. In this paper, we present the file system-based data protection (WOWSnap) that has been implemented using WORM (Write-Once-Read-Many) scheme. In the WOWSnap, once WORM files have been created, only the privileged read requests to them are allowed to protect data against any intentional/accidental intrusions. Furthermore, all WORM files are related to their protection cycle that is a time period during which WORM files should securely be protected. Once their protection cycle is expired, the WORM files are automatically moved to the general-purpose data section without any user interference. This prevents the WORM data section from being consumed by unnecessary files. We evaluated the performance of WOWSnap on Linux cluster. Keywords—Data protection, Protection cycle, WORM
Secured Client Server Communication in Cloud Environment

— It’s smarter to rent than to buy such kind of service is provided by cloud computing. It is a model that is used for delivering resources that can be either Software or Hardware. Its means getting resources through network and more over that charges based only on the amount of computing resources used. Cloud service such as infrastructure as a service is caught for a security issue because by nature it is dynamic and multi tenancy. The common threats to the data in cloud are access to the data by any unauthorized user or cloud provider himself may not be trustworthy. In this paper traditional cryptography techniques are adopted by the client to achieve the user’s control over the entire data. Security aspects such as integrity, confidentiality and authentication are considered to have secure data storage. Through advanced encryption scheme and hashing for user’s data to preserve it from the security breach in data storage where it is stored in a large data centre.