Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cannabidiol: An Overview of Some Pharmacological Aspects

Over the past few years, considerable attention has focused on cannabidiol (CBD), a major nonpsychotropic constituent of cannabis. The authors present a review on the chemistry of CBD and discuss the anticonvulsive, antianxiety, antipsychotic, antinausea, and antirheumatoid arthritic properties of CBD. CBD does not bind to the known cannabinoid receptors, and its mechanism of action is yet unknown. It is possible that, in part at least, its effects are due to its recently discovered inhibition of anandamide uptake and hydrolysis and to its antioxidative effect.
Who, what, when, where, why and how in video analysis: an application centric view

This paper presents an end-user application centric view of surveillance video analysis and describes a flexible, extensible and modular approach to video content extraction. Various detection and extraction components including tracking of moving objects, detection of text, faces, and face based soft biometric for gender, age and ethnicity classification are described within the general framework for real-time and post event analysis applications Panoptes and VideoRecall. Some end-user applications that are built on this framework are discussed.
Cross‐cultural adaptivity and expatriate performance in the United Arab Emirates

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to find out if Australian project managers who are working in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) receive cross‐cultural training and if this training helps them to adapt to the new environment and perform better.Design/methodology/approach – The information on which this paper is based was obtained through semi‐structured interviews conducted with Australian expatriates who were working the UAE in 2009.Findings – The findings suggest that cross‐cultural training is very important in that it helps minimise, although not eradicate, misunderstandings and inappropriate behaviours. Specific cross‐cultural training provides expatriates with information and guidance that is relevant and particular to the culture in which they will be working. The information provided should be on the destination country and its people and that country's specific culture, values, attitudes and appropriate behaviours.Research limitations/implications – Providing expatriates with the appropriate c.
The Moderating Role of Place Attachment on the Relationship Between Attitudes Toward Fees and Spending Preferences

The variable, place attachment, has recently been used by investigators to assist in understanding visitor responses to fee programs on public lands. This paper examines the relationship between place attachment (i.e., place identity and place dependence), attitudes toward paying fees, and visitor preferences for spending fee revenue within the context of social judgment theory. It was hypothesized that both place dependence and place identity would moderate the relationship between recreationists' attitudes toward the site's fee program and visitor support for spending revenue generated by the fee program in the areas of facilities and service development, environmental protection, and environmental education. Data were collected at Mono Basin Scenic Area over the summer of 1998. Results indicated that only place identity was a statistically significant moderator, such that it magnified the relationship between recreationists' attitudes toward the fee program and spending support. As place identity increased and recreationists' attitudes toward the fee program became more positive, support for spending fee revenue also increased. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.
Applications of generalized pair hidden Markov models to alignment and gene finding problems

Hidden Markov models (HMMs) have been successfully applied to a variety of problems in molecular biology, ranging from alignment problems to gene finding and annotation. Alignment problems can be solved with pair HMMs, while gene finding programs rely on generalized HMMs in order to model exon lengths. In this paper we introduce the generalized pair HMM (GPHMM), which is an extension of both pair and generalized HMMs. We show how GPHMMs, in conjunction with approximate alignments, can be used for cross-species gene finding, and describe applications to DNA-cDNA and DNA-protein alignment. GPHMMs provide a unifying and probabilistically sound theory for modeling these problems.
Women and games: technologies of the gendered self

This study examines how individual differences in the consumption of computer games intersect with gender and how games and gender mutually constitute each other. The study focused on adult women with particular attention to differences in level of play, as well as genre preferences. Three levels of game consumption were identified. For power gamers, technology and gender are most highly integrated. These women enjoy multiple pleasures from the gaming experience, including mastery of game-based skills and competition. Moderate gamers play games in order to cope with their real lives. These women reported taking pleasure in controlling the gaming environment, or alternately that games provide a needed distraction from the pressures of their daily lives. Finally, the non-gamers who participated in the study expressed strong criticisms about game-playing and gaming culture. For these women, games are a waste of time, a limited commodity better spent on other activities.
Current perspectives on pharmacotherapy of Alzheimer's disease

Introduction: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a daunting public health threat that has prompted the scientific community's ongoing efforts to decipher the underlying disease mechanism, and thereafter, target this therapeutically. Although basic research in AD has made remarkable progress over the past two decades, currently available drugs can only improve cognitive symptoms temporarily; no treatment can reverse, stop, or even slow this inexorable neurodegenerative process. Numerous disease-modifying strategies targeting the production and clearance of Aβ, as well as modulation of abnormal aggregation of tau filaments, are currently in clinical trials . Areas covered: This review provides an overview of a wide array of therapeutic approaches under investigation, and the perspectives developed in the last 10 years. Expert opinion: While it is not possible to predict the success of any individual program, one or more are likely to prove effective. Indeed, it seems reasonable to predict that in the not-too-distant future, a synergistic combination of agents will have the capacity to alter the neurodegenerative cascade and reduce the global impact of this devastating disease. The scientific community must acknowledge that Alzheimer's disease is a complex multifactorial disorder, and thus a single target or pathogenic pathway is unlikely to be identified. The major aim should be to design ligands with pluripotent pharmacological activities.
Emotion regulation in incarcerated young offenders with psychopathic traits

Core features of psychopathic personality in adults are shallow affectivity and generally low levels of emotional distress. Several studies suggest that these features are also in young people with psychopathic personality traits. The concept of emotion regulation refers to a person's ability to regulate negative emotions to reduce feelings of emotional distress. Since maladaptive emotion regulation has been associated with high levels of emotional distress it may be expected that individuals withpsychopathic personality traits show particularly adaptive strategies for the regulation of negative emotionality. On the basis of these expectations, the current study investigated the relationship between psychopathic traits, self-reported degree of emotional problems, and emotion regulation strategies in 104 incarcerated young offenders. Psychopathic traits were not associated with emotional problems or with adaptive emotion-regulation but were positively related to maladaptive emotion regulation strategies. When scores for each psychopathy factorwere investigated separately, significant disparities were found in emotional symptoms and emotion regulation.
On Using the Roofline Model with Lower Bounds on Data Movement

The roofline model is a popular approach for “bound and bottleneck” performance analysis. It focuses on the limits to the performance of processors because of limited bandwidth to off-chip memory. It models upper bounds on performance as a function of operational intensity, the ratio of computational operations per byte of data moved from/to memory. While operational intensity can be directly measured for a specific implementation of an algorithm on a particular target platform, it is of interest to obtain broader insights on bottlenecks, where various semantically equivalent implementations of an algorithm are considered, along with analysis for variations in architectural parameters. This is currently very cumbersome and requires performance modeling and analysis of many variants. In this article, we address this problem by using the roofline model in conjunction with upper bounds on the operational intensity of computations as a function of cache capacity, derived from lower bounds on data movement. This enables bottleneck analysis that holds across all dependence-preserving semantically equivalent implementations of an algorithm. We demonstrate the utility of the approach in assessing fundamental limits to performance and energy efficiency for several benchmark algorithms across a design space of architectural variations.
Dynamic Load Modulation With a Reconfigurable Matching Network for Efficiency Improvement Under Antenna Mismatch

This brief presents the application of a reconfigurable matching network (RMN) to improve the efficiency of an RF power amplifier (PA) using dynamic load modulation techniques under different antenna mismatch conditions. By changing the RMN state, a near-optimal output impedance is presented to the PA, achieving high efficiency for all input-driven levels. Simulations show efficiency enhancement, while nonlinear distortion can be mitigated using digital predistortion. It will be also shown that under severe mismatch conditions, using an RMN, significant efficiency and linearity improvements can be achieved.
Prevalence and risk factor analysis of GBV‐C/HGV infection in prostitutes

GB virus‐C (GBV‐C) and Hepatitis G virus (HGV) are variants of a recently cloned virus transmitted parenterally. It is unclear if sexual contact also transmits this virus. In this study, we detected serum GBV‐C/HGV RNA in 140 prostitutes by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) using different primers. Thirty (21%) were found with GBV‐C RNA by nested PCR although only 22 (73%) had HGV RNA by single round RT‐PCR. Both assays had a nearly perfect agreement (kappa value, 0.812). The prevalence of GBV‐C RNA in prostitutes was significantly higher than the control group (30/140 vs. 2/40, P < 0.02). Multivariate analysis revealed that a frequency of paid sex more than 120 times per month was the only factor significantly associated with positive GBV‐C RNA in prostitutes (P < 0.003). In summary, prostitutes are a high risk group and reservoir of GBV‐C/HGV infection due to high frequency of paid‐sex. J. Med. Virol. 52:83–85, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Employees' perception of the organizational climate: Its effect on service quality

From a survey of a matched sample of bank employees and customers, it was ascertained that the employees' perception of the organizational climate [OCLIM] is positively associated with the customers' perception of the overall service quality [SQUAL] but not with the customers' perception of the employee service quality [EQUAL]. This implies that service firm managers should regularly survey their employees to determine their perceptions of the organization, and take necessary remedial measures to correct any misperceptions. Opsomming 'n Steekproef onder bankamptenare en kliente toon dat amptenare se persepsie van die organisatoriese klimaat (OCLIM) positief korreleer met kliente se persepsie van algehele diensgehalte (SQUAL), maar me met kliente se persepsie van die amptenare se diensgehalte (EQUAL) nie. Dit impliseer dat diensfirma-bestuurders hul amptenare se persepsies van organisasie gereeld moot monitor, en die nodige regstellende stappe meet neem om wanpersepsies reg te stel.
Micromechanical modelling of skeletal muscles based on the finite element method

In the present paper, a new concept for the modelling of skeletal muscles is proposed. An important aspect is the fact that the concept is micromechanically motivated. At the level of the contractile muscle fibres we incorporate the behaviour of the smallest possible unit, the so-called sarcomere, also known as microbiological engine. The contractile fibres (active part of the material) are surrounded by a soft tissue network (passive part of the material). One fundamental advantage of micromechanical approaches in general is the fact that the number of material parameters can be noticeably reduced and the remaining parameters can be usually interpreted physically. The chosen modelling strategy enables the efficient transport of the known information about physiological processes in the fibre to the 3D macroscopic level where, e.g. the dependence of muscle contraction on the stimulus rate is studied. The paper closes with investigations of quasistatic as well as dynamic simulation applied on idealised and non-idealised muscle geometries.
A PUBLIC AUDIO IDENTIFICATION EVALUATION FRAMEWORK FOR BROADCAST MONITORING

This paper presents the first public framework for the evaluation of audio fingerprinting techniques. Although the domain of audio identification is very active, both in the industry and the academic world, there is at present no common basis to compare the proposed techniques. This is because corpuses and evaluation protocols differ among the authors. The framework we present here corresponds to a use-case in which audio excerpts have to be detected in a radio broadcast stream. This scenario, indeed, naturally provides a large variety of audio distortions that makes this task a real challenge for fingerprinting systems. Scoring metrics are discussed with regard to this particular scenario. We then describe a whole evaluation framework including an audio corpus, together with the related groundtruth annotation, and a toolkit for the computation of the score metrics. An example of an application of this framework is finally detailed, that took place during the evaluation campaign of the Quaero project. This evaluation framework is publicly available for download and constitutes a simple, yet thorough, platform that can be used by the community in the field of audio identification to encourage reproducible results.
Synthesis of Switching Functions by Threshold Elements

In this paper, two general methods of determining a separating surface f(x)= ? n-1 i=0 ? i? i(x) = 0 will be developed for any switching problem in terms of threshold elements ? i (x). First, a polynomial decision function f(x) is synthesized so that it has no more than N terms in it where N is the total number of pattern vectors of the switching problem. This decision function is easily amenable for mechanization since it needs the solution of a triangular system of N equations in N unknowns. In addition, a method of deriving aminimal polynomial solution f(x) will also be given. Second, a decision function f(x) involving general threshold elements ? i (x) is derived from the polynomial solution so that it has fewer terms than the polynomial solution. Examples will be given to illustrate the methods and compare these results with those obtained by the traditional method of prime implicants.
Combining Topological and Metric: A Natural Integration for Simultaneous Localization and Map Building

In this paper the metric and topological paradigm are integrated in a single system for both localization and map building. A global topological map connects local metric maps, allowing a compact environment model, which does not require global metric consistency and permits both precision and robustness. Furthermore, the approach permits to handle loops in the environment by automatic mapping using the information of the multimodal topological localization. The system uses a 360 degree laser scanner to extract corners and openings for the topological approach and lines for the metric method. This hybrid approach has been tested in a 50 x 25 m2 portion of the institute building with the fully autonomous robot Donald Duck. Experiments are of three types: Maps created by a complete exploration of the environment are compared to estimate their quality; Test missions are randomly generated in order to evaluate the efficiency of the localization approach; The third type of experiments shows the practicability of the approach for closing the loop.
Prognostic factors affecting disease-free survival in early-stage cervical cancer patients undergoing radical hysterectomy and pelvic-paraaortic lymphadenectomy.

OBJECTIVE This study was performed to identfy surgical and histopathologic prognostic factors that could predict 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) after patients underwent radical hysterectomy and pelvic-paraaortic lymphadenectomy for FIGO Stage I-II cervical carcinoma. METHODS A retrospective review was performed for all patients undergoing primary radical hysterectomy and pelvic-paraaortic lymphadenectomy for Stage I-II cervical cancer at Ankara Oncology Hospital from 1995 to 2000. Clinical and pathologic variables including age, tumor size (TS), clinical stage, depth of invasion (DI), lymphovascular space involvement (LVSI), cell type, tumor grade, lymph node metastases (LNM), parametrial involvement, surgical margin involvement and pattern of adjuvant therapy were analyzed using univariate analyses. DFS was performed by the Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test. Independent prognostic and predictive factors affecting DFS were assessed by the Cox proportional hazard method. RESULTS Ninety-three patients underwent primary type III radical hysterectomy and pelvic-paraaortic lymphadenectomy. Five-year DFS was 87.1%. LVSI, parametrial involvement and grade were the prognostic factors that independently affected survival. DFS was not significantly different for age, disease status of the surgical margins, tumor size, depth of invasion, cell type, pelvic lymph node metastases and adjuvant radiotherapy. CONCLUSIONS LVSI, parametrial invasion and histologic grade 2-3 were independent prognostic factors in early-stage cervical cancer patients. Adjuvant radiotherapy in these patients provides no survival advantage.
Rheumatoid Arthritis, Anti–Cyclic Citrullinated Peptide Positivity, and Cardiovascular Disease Risk in the Women's Health Initiative

To evaluate the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality over the course of 10 years among the more than 160,000 postmenopausal women in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) in relation to self‐reported rheumatoid arthritis (RA), taking disease‐modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), anti–cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti‐CCP) positivity, rheumatoid factor (RF) positivity, CVD risk factors, joint pain, and inflammation (white blood cell count and interleukin‐6 levels).
RF energy harvester with sub-threshold step-up converter

An UHF RF energy harvester with integrated step-up converter is presented. This system is designed to overcome the limits of standard RF harvesters (namely low output voltage). This objective is obtained with an extra DC/DC converter that provides an extra voltage boost, with less than 10 nW of power consumption. The accurate sub-threshold analysis of this converter allowed a start-up voltage as low as 200 mV, without compromising the overall power efficiency. The final system is intended to provide an output voltage high enough to power standard common loads (ex. microcontroller) and, more in general, any IoT wireless sensor node, with a limited amount of received power. This is confirmed by experimental results: an output voltage above 1.2 V is obtained starting from a received power of about -24 dBm. The step-up converter area is only 230 μm × 375 μm.
Empirical research in accounting: alternative approaches and a case for “middle‐range” thinking

Empirical research in accounting is of considerable importance to the academic community yet it is surprising to note that it is only since the early 1970s that this concern has gained centre stage. Since this time multiple studies have been undertaken from a variety of different theoretical and methodological perspectives. The literature is now replete with empirical studies from perspectives as far apart as the “positivism” of the Rochester School to the expanding Foucauldian studies of accounting practice. While this eclecticism is commendable at one level it is also confusing at another. Reduces some of this confusion by bringing an overview and much needed order into this variety highlighting the underlying features of these multiple approaches to accounting research. Points out the need for choices to be made on the perspective to be adopted along three continuums concerning “theory”, “methodology” and “change”. Presents a case for “middle‐range” thinking for empirical research in accounting. While .
Adaptation across the Cortical Hierarchy: Low-Level Curve Adaptation Affects High-Level Facial-Expression Judgments

Adaptation is ubiquitous in sensory processing. Although sensory processing is hierarchical, with neurons at higher levels exhibiting greater degrees of tuning complexity and invariance than those at lower levels, few experimental or theoretical studies address how adaptation at one hierarchical level affects processing at others. Nevertheless, this issue is critical for understanding cortical coding and computation. Therefore, we examined whether perception of high-level facial expressions can be affected by adaptation to low-level curves (i.e., the shape of a mouth). After adapting to a concave curve, subjects more frequently perceived faces as happy, and after adapting to a convex curve, subjects more frequently perceived faces as sad. We observed this multilevel aftereffect with both cartoon and real test faces when the adapting curve and the mouths of the test faces had the same location. However, when we placed the adapting curve 0.2° below the test faces, the effect disappeared. Surprisingly, this positional specificity held even when real faces, instead of curves, were the adapting stimuli, suggesting that it is a general property for facial-expression aftereffects. We also studied the converse question of whether face adaptation affects curvature judgments, and found such effects after adapting to a cartoon face, but not a real face. Our results suggest that there is a local component in facial-expression representation, in addition to holistic representations emphasized in previous studies. By showing that adaptation can propagate up the cortical hierarchy, our findings also challenge existing functional accounts of adaptation.