Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The longitudinal effects of accessible email for individuals with severe cognitive impairments

Background: Electronic communication has provided an unprecedented means of networking people for business, educational, and social purposes (eMarketer, 2001; Madden & Rainie, 2003). However, this mainstream form of communication remains largely inaccessible to individuals with severe cognitive-communicative disabilities (Elman, 2001; Lenhart et al., 2003). This report describes the longitudinal effects of using an adapted email interface by individuals with severe cognitive disabilities due to acquired brain injury.Aims: Research questions included: (1) Can people with severe cognitive impairments learn to email independently using an adapted interface? (2) If participants successfully learn to email, what types of supports are needed to maintain long-term use of email? (3) What, if any, are the psychosocial effects of long-term email participation? Methods & Procedures: A combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches was used to address the above questions for four participants with acquired brain injury, one female and three males, ranging in age from 37 to 65 years, all of whom reported significant social isolation due to their cognitive disabilities. Following assessment (e.g., mock email assessment, goal attainment scaling, neuropsychological testing), they were trained to use a simplified email program using an explicit instructional methodology. Weekly email statistic reports and activity logs were generated to measure frequency, efficiency, topic parameters, and satisfaction related to using email.Outcomes & Results: All four participants became independent, satisfied emailers in their home environments and continued to engage in social email after 9 months. The weekly metrics and email logs showed progressive improvements in efficiency, complexity of written expression, and range of topics discussed. All participants endorsed the social benefits of email and achieved the “most successful outcome” possible for several of their individual goals, including learning a new skill, feeling more connected with friends and family, and increasing their list of email partners.Conclusions: This study is one of the first longitudinal reports on the use of assistive technology by people with severe acquired cognitive impairments, and demonstrates the potential of adapted email as a means of increasing their social communication with friends and family. Issues related to the need to decrease the intensity of human support required to establish long-term use of assistive technology are discussed.
Noise Tolerance of Attractor and Feedforward Memory Models

Abstract In short-term memory networks, transient stimuli are represented by patterns of neural activity that persist long after stimulus offset. Here, we compare the performance of two prominent classes of memory networks, feedback-based attractor networks and feedforward networks, in conveying information about the amplitude of a briefly presented stimulus in the presence of gaussian noise. Using Fisher information as a metric of memory performance, we find that the optimal form of network architecture depends strongly on assumptions about the forms of nonlinearities in the network. For purely linear networks, we find that feedforward networks outperform attractor networks because noise is continually removed from feedforward networks when signals exit the network; as a result, feedforward networks can amplify signals they receive faster than noise accumulates over time. By contrast, attractor networks must operate in a signal-attenuating regime to avoid the buildup of noise. However, if the amplification of signals is limited by a finite dynamic range of neuronal responses or if noise is reset at the time of signal arrival, as suggested by recent experiments, we find that attractor networks can outperform feedforward ones. Under a simple model in which neurons have a finite dynamic range, we find that the optimal attractor networks are forgetful if there is no mechanism for noise reduction with signal arrival but nonforgetful (perfect integrators) in the presence of a strong reset mechanism. Furthermore, we find that the maximal Fisher information for the feedforward and attractor networks exhibits power law decay as a function of time and scales linearly with the number of neurons. These results highlight prominent factors that lead to trade-offs in the memory performance of networks with different architectures and constraints, and suggest conditions under which attractor or feedforward networks may be best suited to storing information about previous stimuli.
Relationship of Schizophrenia to the Environment

Attention was first drawn to the importance of this topic by Schneider (1957) when he proposed that some of his first-rank symptoms could be grouped together under the concept of ‘permeability’ of the barrier between the individual and his/her environment — the ‘loss of ego boundaries’. Similarly, in a recent series of papers (Strauss et al, 1987), the essence of schizophrenia was conceptualised in the processes of interaction between biology, behaviour, and environment. The two main syndromes — acute and chronic — can each be precipitated or made worse by environmental factors, and although most patients with the negative syndrome appear to show some irreducible impairment, poverty of the social environment has been found to worsen their condition, while on the other hand, a moderate degree of social stimulation promotes relative improvement (Wing, 1987).
La inserción en el mercado laboral de los inmigrantes latinos en España y en los Estados Unidos: Diferencias por país de origen y estatus legal

This paper compares economic outcomes among Latin American migrants to Spain and the United States. We detect a selection effect whereby the majority of Latin American migrants to Spain originate in South America from middle-class backgrounds, whereas most migrants to the United States are Central Americans of lower class origins. This selection effect accounts for cross-national differences in the probability of employment, occupational attainment, and wages earned. Despite differences in the origins and characteristics of Latino immigrants to the each country, demographic and human and social capital factors appear to operate similarly in both places; and when models are estimated separately by legal status, we find that effects are more accentuated for undocumented compared with documented migrants, especially in the United States.
Prosody in contact in French: A case study from a heritage variety in the USA

This article focuses on the prosody of heritage speakers of a minority variety of French, spoken in Frenchville, Pennsylvania, since the 1830s. Specifically, this case study focuses on three distinct supra-segmental phenomena: (i) penultimate prominence, (ii) focus via prominence in situ, and (iii) the prosody of left dislocation. Although all three phenomena appear to be convergent with the speakers’ dominant language, American English, I argue that penultimate prominence cannot be unambiguously attributed to English influence but may instead be an inheritance from the 19th-century source dialect for Frenchville. Prominence at the higher discourse levels, for the expression of information structure, can much more clearly be interpreted as contact induced. As is demonstrated here, these bilinguals use pitch accents and tonal contours for a variety of pragmatic and discursive functions in ways that are very similar to English but impossible in any attested variety of French. Despite the influence of the structure of the dominant language on the heritage language, these data cannot be easily interpreted as evidence of attrition since the usual syntactic means for the expression of information structure in French are still very much intact in this variety. This implies that contact-influenced prosodic innovations among heritage speakers may serve as additional communication resources for the expression of discourse-pragmatic distinctions rather than as mere replacement strategies.
A research on perceived value and satisfactory of female online purchasing

Starting with discussing the relationship between perceived value dimensions and satisfactory of female online purchasing, this paper formulates the model based on the relationship between the perceived value dimensions and satisfaction of female online purchasing, which is validated through a questionnaire survey with the cosmetics as the research object, the results as followed : (1) the perceived value of female online purchasing has five respective dimensions, which are the after-sales services, the site core competencies, the core product value and network security, the online purchasing interaction, marketing services; (2) of the five dimensions the influence on satisfaction, the core product value and network security is of the greatest impact on satisfaction, followed by interaction, and then the after-sales services, and then the marketing services, the site core competencies as the last.
Nevirapine (NVP) resistance in women with HIV-1 subtype C, compared with subtypes A and D, after the administration of single-dose NVP.

OBJECTIVE In the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Network for Prevention Trials (HIVNET) 012 trial in Uganda, 6-8 weeks after single-dose nevirapine (SD-NVP), NVP resistance mutations were detected at a higher rate in women with HIV-1 subtype D than in women with subtype A. Here, we evaluate the rate of NVP resistance mutations in women with subtype C. METHODS NVP resistance mutations were detected using the ViroSeq HIV-1 Genotyping System. RESULTS The portion of women with any NVP resistance mutation was higher in those with subtype C (45/65 [69.2%] in the NVP and zidovudine trial, Malawi) than in those in the HIVNET 012 trial with either subtype A (28/144 [19.4%]; P<.0001) or subtype D (35/97 [36.1%]; P<.0001). In a multivariate model, subtype (C vs. A: odds ratio [OR], 8.73 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 4.29-17.76]; C vs. D: OR, 3.38 [95% CI, 1.65-6.93]) and viral load at delivery (OR, 2.35 [95% CI, 1.62-3.40]) independently predicted NVP resistance mutations, but maternal age, parity, and time between SD-NVP and the 6-8-week visit did not. CONCLUSIONS The rate of NVP resistance mutations after SD-NVP was significantly higher in women with HIV-1 subtype C than in women with subtype A or D. Studies are needed to assess the clinical significance of this finding.
Sentiment as a Predictor of Wikipedia Editor Activity*

—We perform sentiment analysis on messages exchanged between Wikipedia editors in the so-called “user talk pages,” to predict future user editing behavior. We found a reasonably well-performing model to predict the number of edits next week on a per-user level by applying the GBM algorithm, and we discuss the relatively limited impact our sentiment scores had for this model. Our ﬁndings could be used better engage editors, potentially resulting in better article quality.
Tracking Down Skype Traffic

Skype is beyond any doubt the most popular VoIP application in the current Internet application spectrum. Its amazing success drawn the attention of telecom operators and the research community, both interested in knowing Skype's internal mechanisms, characterizing traffic and understanding users' behavior. In this paper, we dissect the following fundamental components: data traffic generated by voice and video communication, and signaling traffic generated by Skype. We use both active and passive measurement techniques to gather a deep understanding on the traffic Skype generates. From extensive testbed experiments, we devise a source model which takes into account: (i) the service type, i.e., voice or video calls (ii) the selected source Codec, (iii) the adopted transport-layer protocol, and (iv) network conditions. Furthermore, leveraging on the use of an accurate Skype classification engine that we recently proposed, we study and characterize Skype traffic based on extensive passive measurements collected from our campus LAN.
Regional Cerebral Blood Flow in the Rat as Determined by Particle Distribution and by Diffusible Tracer 39

Measurements of total and regional cerebral blood flow in paralyzed rats maintained on 70 % NiO/30 % O, obtained by a diffusible tracer technique, iodoantipyrine, and by a particle distribution method, microspheres, hare been compared. Total CBF rallies were in good agreement, 0.86 ± 0.07 ml/g/mln (Paco, 37J ± 1.5, iodoantipyrine method) and 0.88 ± 0.02 (Paco, 36.2 ± 0.8, mlcrosphere method). Regional cerebral blood flows showed good agreement with the 2 methods, with highest flow in the colliculi, striatum and cerebral cortex and lowest flows in the bypothalamiis, pons medulla and cerebellum. The iodoantipyrine method is technically easier to perform and had a higher precision. Stroke, Vol 11, No 1, 1980
Lock-in driven quality factor enhancement with parasitic effect compensation of a self-actuated piezoelectric MEMS cantilever

State of the art quality factor amplification for resonant MEMS cantilevers requires either complex electronics like highly sensitive analogue circuits or optical read-out to extract a resonance peak shaped feedback signal. In this investigation, a lock-in amplifier is used to extract the Q-control feedback signal which is proportional to the piezoelectric current. Due to influences related e.g. to the layered device architecture and fabrication intolerances of piezoelectric driven MEMS resonators the resonance peak shaped conductance can have an additional offset and a slope in the baseline as well as a dominant susceptance. All these parasitic effects are getting more dominant with higher frequencies by increasing the complex feedback signal. Hence, a higher lock-in input range has to be used leading in an inferior resolution when determining the real part. In this study, an approach for the compensation of these parasitic effects is presented, which gives the possibility to decrease the offset as well as the dominant suceptance leading to increased measurement sensitivity. Using this Q-factor enhancement technique this important device parameter was increased from 1766 to about 9679 in air.
Perceptual discrimination of Shona lexical tones and low-pass filtered speech by left and right hemisphere damaged patients

Background: While the role of the right hemisphere (RH) in prosodic processing is prominent, research on the perception of lexical tones has shown that left hemisphere damaged (LHD) patients are more impaired than right hemisphere damaged (RHD) patients. Dichotic listening and imaging studies with healthy speakers of tone languages demonstrate that at least at the phonemic and lexical level, prosody is processed in the left hemisphere (LH) when the variations in pitch are phonemically distinctive. There is no report available yet on the perceptual discrimination of a Bantu language in patients after unilateral brain damage. Aims: We addressed the question of how well Shona aphasic patients and right hemisphere damaged patients perceive pitch contrasts in Shona lexical words and also in their homologous low-pass filtered counterparts. We also sought to discover the validity of the current hypotheses on hemispheric lateralisation particularly the hypothesis on hemispheric lateralisation based on language function to account for the Shona data. Methods & Procedures: A total of 7 LHD and 7 RHD patients and 14 healthy controls participated in two discrimination tasks that examined perception of lexical tone in (a) bisyllabic Shona words and (b) low-pass filtered stimuli. In both tasks the participants were tasked with judging the pitch as the same or different in 120 bisyllabic words and 120 low-pass filtered stimuli. Outcomes & Results: The results demonstrated that the tonal discrimination of the LHD group was more reduced in comparison to the RHD group and control participants. However, the performance of the RHD patients was not error free relative to the control participants, although significantly better than the LHD patients in both tasks. Conclusions: At least for the phonemic and lexical levels, brain damage to the dominant hemisphere results in lexical tone impairment for LHD patients, and cognitive load processing results in a subdued but good performance for RHD patients. The LH is therefore dominant for processing tone when it is lexically distinctive.
Development and Validation of the International Knee Documentation Committee Subjective Knee Form *

A committee of international knee experts created the International Knee Documentation Committee Subjective Knee Form, which is a knee-specific, rather than a disease-specific, measure of symptoms, function, and sports activity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the new International Knee Documentation Committee Subjective Knee Form. To provide evidence for reliability and validity, we administered the final version of the form, along with the Short Form-36, to 533 patients with a variety of knee problems. Analyses were performed to determine reliability, validity, and differential item function related to age, sex, and diagnosis. Factor analysis revealed a single dominant component, making it reasonable to combine all questions into a single score. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were 0.92 and 0.95, respectively. Based on test-retest reliability, the value for a true change in the score was 9.0 points. The International Knee Documentation Committee Subjective Knee Form score was related to concurrent measures of physical function (r = 0.47 to 0.66) but not to emotional function (r = 0.16 to 0.26). Analysis of differential item function indicated that the questions functioned similarly for men versus women, young versus old, and for those with different diagnoses. In conclusion, the International Knee Documentation Committee Subjective Knee Form is a reliable and valid knee-specific measure of symptoms, function, and sports activity that is appropriate for patients with a wide variety of knee problems. Use of this instrument will permit comparisons of outcome across groups with different knee problems.
Is a telepresence-system an affective alternative to manned missions?

Telepresence-systems have the potential to take on an important role in on-orbit servicing scenarios. In comparison to manned missions, these systems offer a safer way to operate in outer space. One of the main goals of telepresence research is to learn whether immersive telepresence systems can achieve the efficiency of astronauts in typical mounting tasks, considering that astronauts' mobility is restricted by a range of factors including microgravity and space suits. In order to determine whether a telepresence system is more efficient in performing tasks compared to suited astronauts, an experimental study comparing both scenarios was accomplished.
Isolation and primary culture of rat hepatocytes.

OBJECTIVE To find out an optimal condition for isolation and primary culture of hepatocytes. METHOD Rat hepatocytes were isolated by a two-step collagenase perfusion, and cultured in hepatozyme-SFM. The reduction of MTT to formazan salt was examined. Supernatant medium was collected for analysis of alanine amino transferase (ALT) and ureagenesis. RESULTS The two-step collagenase perfusion yielded 39+/-12x10(6) cells/g liver tissue with a viability of 88%+/-2%. Fine morphology and stable urea synthesis for one week could be achieved when hepatocytes were cultured in hepatozyme-SFM. CONCLUSION High yield of hepatocytes can be isolated with two-step collagenese perfusion. Hepatozyme-SFM is suitable for sustained growth of hepatocytes.
A Methodology for the Offset- Simulation of Comparators

Version 1, October 1, 2006 A methodology for determining the input referred offset voltage of comparators is presented. This in general is difficult as the output of a comparator is discrete valued. The method relies on a Monte-Carlo-Simulation with certain comparator input values and some postprocessing of the comparator output data. The comparator is always operated in its intended environment, there is no modification of the comparator itself nor some unusual stimuli required. There is also no known restriction for the type of comparators to be analyzed.
Supply Voltage Adjustment Technique with Process-Voltage Conversion Table for Low Power Consumption

An energy-saving system for SOCs using multiple threshold voltage CMOS was developed. It uses process sensors and process-voltage conversion tables generated from static timing analysis results to adjust the supply' voltage according to die-to-die process variation. We applied this system to an embedded dual-core microprocessor using 90 nm triple threshold voltage CMOS technology. When the microprocessor executes three video stream decoding programs, 33% power reduction was measured at worst process comer.
The impact of mobile information systems on the behaviour of tourists: Results from a field study

Mobile tourist guides shall help tourists to discover sights off the beaten tracks and therewith spread them over the destination more equally. Mobile information systems complement more traditional means of information provision, e.g. printed maps, guide booklets or simply signage at the destination. The most important question is: “How are mobile information systems accepted by ordinary tourists? ” In case of a yes the next question is: “How does an information system impacts the visit of the tourists? ” These questions were studied in a field study with real tourists in the city of Görlitz in August. A control group received a GPS logger whereas the other two groups received mobile devices with two different mobile information systems. All three groups explored the city on their own. The first mobile application displays the current location of the tourist and attractions in a map. The tourist can request multi-media information about each attraction. The second application elicits the generic preferences of the tourist, ranks the attractions, computes a tour, supports the execution via audio navigation instructions and adapts the tour plan as necessary. For each group some basic data was collected before the tour, e.g. computer literacy. During the tour the positions and interactions were logged and after the tour a questionnaire gathered additional data. The spatial behaviour and interaction logs was analysed to determine the impact of a mobile information system on the behaviour of tourists during a city tour. 1 Presented at EVA 2006 – Electronics Imaging and the Visual Arts, Berlin, November 8-10, 2006
Transcriptional activation of the Epstein-Barr virus latency C promoter after 5-azacytidine treatment: evidence that demethylation at a single CpG site is crucial

The Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) latency C promoter (Cp) is the origin of transcripts for six viral proteins. The promoter is active in lymphoblastoid B-cell lines but silent in many EBV-associated tumors and tumor cell lines. In these latter cell lines, the viral episome is hypermethylated in the vicinity of this promoter. We show that in such a cell line (Rael, a Burkitt's lymphoma line), 5-azacytidine inhibits DNA methyltransferase, brings about demethylation of EBV genomes, activates Cp transcription, and induces the expression of EBNA-2. Investigation of the phenomenon demonstrates the importance of the methylation status of a particular CpG site for the regulation of the Cp: (i) genomic sequencing shows that this site is methylated when the Cp is inactive and is not methylated when the promoter is active; (ii) methylation or transition mutation at this site abolishes complex formation with a cellular binding activity (CBF2) as determined by electrophoretic mobility shift analyses, competition binding analyses, and DNase I footprinting; and (iii) a single C --> T transition mutation at this site is associated with a marked reduction (> 50-fold) of transcriptional activity in a reporter plasmid. Thus, the CBF2 binding activity is shown to be methylation sensitive and crucial to EBNA-2-mediated activation of the Cp.