Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ecological assessment of executive dysfunction in anxiety

Introduction: The specialized literature states that anxiety can interfere with cognition, particularly in complex cognitive processes such as those related to executive functioning. Neuropsychological studies in anxiety disorders have confirmed the presence of deficits in executive functions, with significant changes in its components. The main aim of this study was to compare the executive performance of a sample with anxiety disorder to a control group, using an instrument that differs from the others by high ecological validity, revealing a higher predictive evidence on daily tasks. Methods: This study included 60 participants aged between 18 and 53 years that were allocated to an experimental group (n=30; mean = 31.93; standard deviation [SD] =10.99) and a control group (n=30; mean = 29.63; SD=9.07). Anxiety symptoms and the executive functioning were assessed using the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) and the Behavioural Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome (BADS), respectively. Results: Participants with anxiety disorders presented a significant impairment on executive functioning in general. However, we found a significant impact in tasks that involve control inhibition, design of action strategies according to the functionality and probability of success, the ability to predict or estimate and the ability to plan the action. In addition, the EG required significantly more time to execute all the tests (mean = 440.33, SD = 97.17), compared to the CG (mean = 320.90; SD = 51.27). Conclusions: Individuals with anxiety disorders have a significant impairment in their executive functioning in general, which is reflected in activities of daily living. Keywords : Anxiety disorders; executive functions; BADS; cognitive and affective evaluation
PHASE SYNCHRONISATION IN MEG FOR BRAIN-COMPUTER INTERFACES

This paper aims to show that phase synchronisation features can be used successfully in BrainComputer Interfaces (BCI) based on magnetoencephalography (MEG). While the MEG is not portable, short preparation time, high spatial resolution and signal quality make it simple to test new algorithms. This can increase motivation for patients who are still mobile. Phase synchronisation has been associated with mental tasks previously [1]. Results in the field of BCIs based on EEG have been published by Gysels et al. [2] and others. Gysels found that synchronisation measures combined with the classical power spectral density (PSD) estimates can lead to improved results compared to using one measure only. Due to synchrony being a measure for channel pairs, n channels result in O(n) features, making feature selection a vital ingredient for the high number of MEG channels. In an offline analysis, we compare synchronisation features to the AR (model order 2) results to be found in Lal et al. [3]. We use the same data and feature selection methods as in their experiment to foster a fair comparison. A combination of different feature types is also examined.
Externalising tacit overview knowledge : A model-based approach to supporting design teams Journal Item

Successful realization of large-scale product development programs is challenging because of complex product and process dependencies and complicated team interactions. Proficient teamwork is underpinned by knowledge of the manner in which tasks performed by different design participants fit together to create an effective whole. Based on an extensive industrial case study with a diesel engine company, this paper first argues that the overview and experience of senior designers play an important part in supporting teamwork by coordinating activities and facilitating proactive communication across large project teams. As experts move on and novices or contractors are hired, problems are likely to occur as tacit overview knowledge is lost. If informal, overview-driven processes break down, the risk of costly oversights will increase, and greater management overhead will be required to realize successful product designs. Existing process models provide a means to express the connectivity between tasks and components thus to compensate partially for the loss of tacit overview. This paper proposes the use of design confidence, a metric that reflects the designer’s belief in the maturity of a particular design parameter at a given point in the process, to address the limitations of existing models. The applicability of confidence-based design models in providing overview, as well as their shortcomings, will be demonstrated through the example of a diesel engine design process. Confidence can be used to make overview knowledge explicit and convey additional information about the design artifact, thereby informing communication and negotiation between teams.
Source ambiguities for imaging and interferometric SAR

One of the greatest costs of any spaceborne mission is the total instrument mass. For SAR, one third of the mass is typically related to the antenna structure, whose elevation and azimuth dimensions are used to increase the signal to noise ratio as well as to reduce the presence of spurious signals. As the wavelength increases, so too does the antenna dimensions to achieve equivalent performance. Thus, the antenna for a P-band mission is likely to be several times larger than that for, say, an L-band, mission. The L-band antennas for SIR-C and JERS-1 for example are on the order of 12m in azimuth and 3/2.5 meters in elevation. An equivalent P-band antenna would be more than three times larger (but, as will be shown, not necessarily in the azimuth dimension). Understanding the tradeoffs between signal to noise ratio, ambiguous sources and the antenna dimensions is a key to producing a cost effective low frequency mission design. In this short paper, the authors focus on the presence of source ambiguities, or those spurious signals arising from ground targets which are imaged concurrently with the intended target.
Income inequality and Economic Development: evidences from Brazilian Municipalities

This note aimed to investigate, within Brazilian municipalities, the relationship between income inequality and economic development. We used data from 5,566 Brazilian municipalities, and parametric and nonparametric tools were used. The results obtained show that there is no inverted-U relationship between these two variables. Our best model (the nonparametric model) suggest an U-shape relationship between income inequality and economic development. This finding differs from previous studies presented in the literature. This results indicates that even in the more developed municipalities, the gap between rich and poor is increasing.
Joint handling of semantic knowledge resources and their alignments

With the adoption of the Semantic Web vision , semantic knowledge resources (KR), which include taxonomies, structured vocabularies and ontologies, acting as pivotal resources, are nowadays commonly used. This is a direct consequence of the desire to attach formal semantic meaning to manipulated data. These KR, developed by different communities with various needs and purposes, are by nature heterogeneous. This heterogeneity leads to the development of systems for finding the correspondences between entities of different KR, called alignment [2]. In addition, KR increasingly involve large volumes of formalized knowledge, containing hundred of thousand entities, which raises the question of generating and validating alignments between large resources. In order to help finding and reusing these more and more available KRs, a significant effort has been made for providing multi-knowledge resources repositories. This effort is particularly noticeable in the biomedical domain, where classifying existing objects is a secular tradition. However, to the best of our knowledge, there is no currently available framework which offers the possibility to handle both multiple KRs together with their respective alignments, while keeping their native semantics and offering a support for a transparent visualization of these resources. In addition, with the development of the ontology matching domain, as different systems could be used to generate alignments and sometimes relying on user input, either for mappings validation purpose or initial alignment providing, it is a crucial issue to keep track of users and involved alignment methods or tools. To fill this gap, we have designed the K-Ware framework [1] which complement existing multi-knowledge resources repositories. Its aim is not to provide a single access point for all available biomedical ontologies and alignments. Rather, it is a framework which could be embedded within projects that have an extensive use of multiple KRs and their respective alignments. In particular, enabling a support for multi point of view navigation and hierarchical visualization of any KR relevant for a dedicated purpose or suitable for a given project.
Optimization of suitable wavelength for Laser Doppler Velocimetry technique based on fringe model

A lot of diseases cause impaired supply of blood to the organs. Therefore, measurement of the blood flow can provide essential information for diagnosis of various diseases i.e. peripheral artery diseases, blood clots, varicose veins and diabetes. Since the blood flow in capillaries, retina and venules is very slow in range mm/sec, a fast, reliable and non-invasive blood flow measurement technique called Laser Doppler Velocimetry (LDV) is used to give early detection and diagnosis for these diseases. In this paper, different wavelengths were used on the dual beam mode and their results were comprised to optimize the suitable wavelength that gives the more accurate, sensitive and higher resolution LDV setup. HeNe laser operating at peak wavelength 635 nm shows the more sensitive one, but the Argon laser (blue) operating at peak wavelength 488nm has the best resolution result. Keywords— Laser Doppler; Fringe model; blood flow; laser applications in medicine
Navigating the Thin Line Between Education and Incarceration: An Action Research Case Study on Gang-Associated Latino Youth

This article examines data collected from an ethnographic research project conducted with 56 gang-associated Latino youths ages 15 to 21 from 2007 to 2009. The objectives of the study were to examine how poor Latino gang-associated youths perceived schooling and policing and to find out if the research process could promote educational aspirations among this population. 1 Data from extensive observations, focus groups, interviews, and workshops with gang-associated youths at a continuation high school, a community center, and on the streets are presented. These young people encountered a multitude of negative interactions with authority figures on a daily basis. These adversities impacted their views of future outcomes: Many attributed having dropped out of school to negative treatment. Based on preliminary findings, I collaborated with the community in an attempt to help these young people reintegrate into school and the community. As a group, we implemented a mentoring program, a gender-specific workshop series, a community-college awareness program, and a once-a-week workshop series with “shot-callers” (the influential leaders of the gang). In this article, I specifically focus on the outcomes of this action research with street-oriented youths and the methodological approach involved in undertaking such an endeavor. I find that, what I call, a “public relations” approach facilitated the transformation process in some youth. 1I define gang-associated as any youth who either has self-reported or has been labeled by community members to be involved in a gang. My definition of gang is based on Klein and Maxson's (2008): “any durable, street-oriented youth group whose involvement in illegal activity is part of its group identity” (p. 3).
Basal Settings Control Fast Ice Flow in the Recovery/Slessor/Bailey Region, East Antarctica

The region of Recovery Glacier, Slessor Glacier, and Bailey Ice Stream, East Antarctica, has remained poorly explored, despite representing the largest potential contributor to future global sea level rise on a centennial to millennial time scale. Here we use new airborne radar data to improve knowledge about the bed topography and investigate controls of fast ice flow. Recovery Glacier is underlain by an 800 km long trough. Its fast flow is controlled by subglacial water in its upstream and topography in its downstream region. Fast flow of Slessor Glacier is controlled by the presence of subglacial water on a rough crystalline bed. Past ice flow of adjacent Recovery and Slessor Glaciers was likely connected via the newly discovered Recovery‐Slessor Gate. Changes in direction and speed of past fast flow likely occurred for upstream parts of Recovery Glacier and between Slessor Glacier and Bailey Ice Stream. Similar changes could also reoccur here in the future.
Land‐use changes as major drivers of mountain pine (Pinus uncinata Ram.) expansion in the Pyrenees

Aim To assess the spatial patterns of forest expansion (encroachment and densification) for mountain pine (Pinus uncinata Ram.) during the last 50 years at a whole mountain range scale by the study of different topographic and socioeconomic potential drivers in the current context of global change. Location The study area includes the whole distributional area of mountain pine in the Catalan Pyrenees (north-east Spain). This represents more than 80 municipalities, covering a total area of 6018 km 2 . Methods Forest cover was obtained by image reclassification of more than 200 pairs of aerial photographs taken in 1956 and 2006. Encroachment and densification were determined according to changes in forest cover, and were expressed as binary variables on a 150 ¥ 150 m cell-size grid. We then used logistic regression to analyse the effects of several topographic and socio-economic variables on forest expansion. Results In the period analysed, mountain pine increased its surface coverage by 8898 ha (an increase of more than 16%). Mean canopy cover rose from 31.0% in 1956 to 55.6% in 2006. Most of the expansion was found on north-facing slopes and at low altitudes. Socio-economic factors arose as major factors in mountain pine expansion, as encroachment rates were higher in municipalities with greater population losses or weaker primary sector development. Main conclusions The spatial patterns of mountain pine expansion showed a good match with the main patterns of land-use change in the Pyrenees, suggesting that land-use changes have played a more important role than climate in driving forest dynamics at a landscape scale over the period studied. Further studies on forest expansion at a regional scale should incorporate patterns of land-use changes to correctly interpret drivers of forest encroachment and densification.
The role of plants containing secondary compounds in sustainable deer farming - a review.

The productivity and health of farmed deer is improved by substituting perennial ryegrass-based pasture with forages containing condensed tannins (CT) and/or sesquiterpene lactones. Benefits have included improved lactation, growth, trace element status, resilience to internal parasites and reductions in parasite larval development. Forages evaluated for deer include the forage legumes sulla and birdsfoot trefoil, which contain CT, and the herb chicory, which contains both CT and sesquiterpene lactones. Autumn grazing of weaner deer on chicory has shown growth can be increased whilst anthelmintic requirement reduced compared to grazing of perennial ryegrass/ white clover pasture. The importance of secondary compounds relative to other nutritive characteristics of alternative forage species, such as low fibre and highly digestible carbohydrate concentrations, have not been fully characterised, but they are likely to contribute to improved deer health. Unlike sheep and cattle, deer produce salivary proteins tha t bind CT, allowing them to consume plants containing higher CT concentrations than sheep and cattle. The effect of CT upon the digestion and absorption of protein, which has been determined for other domestic ruminants, needs to be measured in deer fed forage diets, to establish if beneficial effects exist. In vitro work has shown direct inhibitory effects of CT and sesquiterpene lactones extracted from forages on deer internal parasite larvae. The faeces, rumen and abomasal fluid of deer grazing chicory also contained substances reducing the viability of parasite larvae. Alternative plant species such as chicory, birdsfoot trefoil and forage willows containing secondary compounds will play an important role in low chemical sustainable deer farming.
On the approximability of an interval scheduling problem

In this paper we consider a general interval scheduling problem. The problem is a natural generalization of finding a maximum independent set in an interval graph. We show that, unless =, this maximization problem cannot be approximated in polynomial time within arbitrarily good precision. On the other hand, we present a simple greedy algorithm that delivers a solution with a value of at least 1/2 times the value of an optimal solution. Finally, we investigate the quality of an LP-relaxation of a formulation for the problem, by establishing an upper bound on the ratio between the value of the LP-relaxation and the value of an optimal solution. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Corneal transplant outcome- a Swedish register

Aim. The aim of this study was to present different aspects of the outcome after corneal transplantation based on data from the Swedish Cornea Register. Papers. The first paper describes the register and gives descriptive statistics and analysis of data from a two-year follow up, while the last paper presents data from a ten-year follow up. Papers two and three deal with two specific problems in corneal transplantation, astigmatism and corneal oedema after cataract surgery (bullous keratopathy, BK). Paper four and five compare the Swedish patients with a cohort from the Middle East. Results. The major indications were keratoconus (29%), BK (21%) and a mixed group of other diagnoses (32%), including regraft. The overall incidence of rejection at two years was 15%, and regrafting, which occurred in 10% of cases was related to rejection and other complications. Visual acuity (VA) after two years improved most in keratoconus and this was still the case after ten years. Most changes in visual outcome after PK in all indications occurred during the first two postoperative years. Graft survival and VA at ten years depended mainly on complications occurring before two years postoperative. The mean value of astigmatism at two years was 4.6 D (95% CI 4.4-4.7), independent of indication and preoperative astigmatism. In a group with high astigmatism (mean value 8.4 D) relaxing incisions reduced the astigmatism by 50%. At ten years there was a small increase in astigmatism in all indications. Bullous keratopathy was one of the indications with poorest outcome. The risk of developing BK at the time of cataract surgery was influenced by pre-existing endothelial disease and cataract surgery done by phaco-emulsification. In the Palestinian Territories the preponderance of keratoconus was higher than in Sweden. The patients came to surgery with a more advanced disease and more risk factors. They also developed more postoperative complication and the outcome was poorer, even though most gained some visual acuity. Conclusion. Through the data analysed from the register our knowledge of the outcome after corneal transplantation has increased. The register will also allow evaluation of new techniques of corneal transplantation.
The implementation of Balanced Scorecard in small firms : some insights from a case study

Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is an approach promoted by academics and consultants and implemented in large companies since the early 1990s. It permits the balance between the objectives of short and long term, between financial and nonfinancial indicators, lagging indicators and performance drivers (leading indicators) and between internal and external perspective of performance (Kaplan and Norton, 1996). It permits also to translate firm’s operational and strategic complexity into manageable financial and nonfinancial indicators and to communicate goals, results and strategy amongst a large number of collaborators and hierarchical levels (Kaplan and Norton, 1996, Bible et al., 2006). Small firms have much less complexity and collaborators than large firms. The process followed, the reasons behind and the results achieved with the implementation of BSC in small firms are they different when compared with large firms? Little attention has been devoted to these issues in the literature. Based on the implementation of BSC in a small firm, this paper contributes to the understanding of this phenomenon. From the results obtained, two important conclusions were achieved. With a BSC, on one hand, small firms communicate better their strategy amongst collaborators and, on the other hand, they are more able to align operations management with their strategy.
Hybrid Organic/Inorganic Materials Based on Functionalized Dendritic Polymers: Methods of Preparation, Applications and Future Prospects

Copyright: © 2012 Arkas M. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Dendritic polymers [1-6] is a special class of macromolecules consisting of monomeric units branching out from a common centre. The name dendritic is derived from the Greek word “Dendritic” meaning “tree-like”. They consist of four subcategories which correspond to different topologies:
A New Measure of Vector Dependence, with an Application to Financial Contagion

We propose a new nonparametric measure of association between an arbitrary number of random vectors. The measure is based on the empirical copula process for the multivariate marginals, corresponding to the vectors, and is insensitive to the within-vector dependence. It is bounded by the [0, 1] interval, covering the entire range of dependence from vector independence to a vector version of a monotone relationship. We study the properties of the new measure under several well-known copulas and provide a nonparametric estimator of the measure, along with its asymptotic theory, under fairly general assumptions. To illustrate the applicability of the new measure, we use it to assess the degree of interdependence between equity markets in North and South America, Europe and Asia, surrounding the financial crisis of 2008. We find strong evidence of previously unknown contagion patterns, with selected regions exhibiting little dependence before and after the crisis and a lot of dependence during the crisis period.
Ageing and Deterioration of Materials in the Environment – Application of Multivariate Data Analysis

© 2012 Smidt et al., licensee InTech. This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Ageing and Deterioration of Materials in the Environment – Application of Multivariate Data Analysis