Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Free Jazz in the Classroom: An Ecological Approach to Music Education

A pronounced shift is occurring in fields concerned with contemporary education, psychology, and cognition, such that learning cannot simply be conceived of as transmitting and receiving factual information. When viewed from an ecological perspective, all knowledge is “co‐instituted” in which the learner is participating: it is embodied, situated, and distributed. Yet conventional jazz pedagogy frequently treats musical “knowledge” as individual, abstract, relatively fixed, and unaffected by the activity through which it is acquired and used to the detriment of more experiential, exploratory, and collective approaches to improvisation. Drawing on interviews with celebrated improvisers and pedagogues, this article confronts the conventional wisdom of jazz pedagogy and argues for more responsible and responsive educational practices.
Amyloid beta peptides in cerebrospinal fluid as profiled with surface enhanced laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry: evidence of novel biomarkers in Alzheimer's disease.

BACKGROUND The advent of new therapeutic avenues for Alzheimer's disease (AD) calls for an improved early and differential diagnosis. METHODS With surface enhanced laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF MS), cerebrospinal fluid from patients with AD (n = 10) and nondemented control subjects (n = 9) was studied. RESULTS Molecular mass signals were observed corresponding to three novel amyloid beta (Abeta) peptides that have not previously been described, in addition to those previously known, with molecular masses of 4525.1 d, 4846.8 d, and 7755.8 d. The signal-to-noise ratios (S/NR) of Abeta(4525.1) and Abeta(7758.8+2H) were significantly decreased in AD [Abeta(4525.1): median 2.2 and 4.3 in AD and control subjects, respectively, p <. 01; Abeta(7758.8+2H): median 1.0 and 14.0 in AD and control subjects, respectively, p <. 01], whereas the S/NR of Abeta(4846.8) was significantly increased in AD (median 3.6 and 2.5 in AD and control subjects, respectively, p <.05). The S/NR of two known AD biomarkers, Abeta1-42 and Abeta1-40, expectedly turned out to be significantly decreased (p <.01) and unaltered in AD, respectively. A moderate and highly significant correlation was observed between S/NR of Abeta1-42 and Abeta42 concentration as measured with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (R =.67, p <.01). CONCLUSIONS We report evidence of three novel amyloid beta peptides that might play an important role in the diagnosis and pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease.
Quantum computing with spatially delocalized qubits.

We analyze the operation of quantum gates for neutral atoms with qubits that are delocalized in space, i.e., the computational basis states are defined by the presence of a neutral atom in the ground state of one out of two trapping potentials. The implementation of single-qubit gates as well as a controlled phase gate between two qubits is discussed and explicit calculations are presented for rubidium atoms in optical microtraps. Furthermore, we show how multiqubit highly entangled states can be created in this scheme.
Estado nutricional y su rendimiento escolar en adolescentes de 12-16 años del sur de Cd. Obregón, Son., México

Se realizo un estudio del estado nutricional y el rendimiento escolar de nivel secundaria, con una muestra de 600 estudiantes adolescentes de 12 - 16 anos de edad, en una zona de bajo nivel socioeconomico del sur de Cd Obregon, en el estado de Sonora, Mexico. Se aplico una evaluacion antropometrica que se refiere a la estimacion del estado de nutricion de un individuo con base en la medicion de sus dimensiones fisicas y de su peso corporal. Se determinaron las asociaciones relevantes sobre la preferencia alimenticia con el estado nutricional y su rendimiento escolar. Se utilizo un cuestionario estructurado que incluyo datos como: edad, sexo, escolaridad, preferencias alimenticias; mediciones antropometricas (peso y talla); consumo de alimentos clave para evaluacion de riesgos subsecuentes (refrescos, frituras, productos salados) y percepciones del entorno alimentario como disponibilidad al consumo de frutas, verduras y aceite vegetal. Los datos fueron analizados estadisticamente utilizando una prueba t de Student (a=0.05). El patron de alimentacion, muestra que existe una preferencia significativa en el consumo frecuente de refrescos, frituras, frijoles, sopa y huevos principalmente, mientras que el consumo de verduras es minimo. Se observo que el 9% de la poblacion analizada, mostro problema de sobrepeso y el 3%, mostro problemas de obesidad tipo I. El grado I de sobrepeso, fue estadisticamente significativo mayor en mujeres (64%), que en hombres (32%) (p<0.05). Se observo que el grado de desnutricion entre ambos sexos, es estadisticamente significativo (p<0.05), mostrando un valor de 42% de la poblacion estudiada. Por otra parte, se encontro que los adolescentes que no se encuentran dentro del los intervalos normales de peso, de acuerdo a su Indice de Masa Corporal (IMC), presentan disminucion en su rendimiento escolar (p<0.05). En la evolucion del segundo bimestre se obtuvo mas bajo rendimiento en los alumnos agrupados con
Minimal volume of amniotic fluid for reliable prenatal cytogenetic diagnosis

prolonged hospital stay (72 days) for parenteral nutrition. She remains alive and well at 21 months of age. Fetal gastroschisis with in utero eviscerated bowel perforation has been described prenatally in two reports. Grundy et al. (1987) reported a neonate who died 3 days after birth. The presence of calcifications on the surface of the extra-abdominal bowel and of an extra-abdominal intra-mesenteric pseudocyst led to a diagnosis of fetal bowel perforation. Haberman et al. (2000) presented another case in which the infant survived uneventfully after operation. At 34 weeks’ gestation, spillage of echogenic material was noted at the margin of a bowel loop in the area of the abdominal wall defect, suggesting an acute bowel perforation. The present case was one of eviscerated gastric perforation, and sonography did not reveal the same characteristics as the previous two reports. Instead, a different sonographic constellation was described, including a triple-layered bowel segment with mural thickening, a concave deformity of the inner layer and a small nodule (meconium) on the outer surface. Some causative mechanisms could be a possible toxic effect of amniotic fluid on the smooth muscle cells, mesenteric shortening and constriction of the abdominal wall defect (Langer et al., 1989; Tatekawa et al., 1999). These insults may, in turn, result in thinning and interruption of the musculature. Subsequently, an inflammatory response to the chemical irritation of dissipated meconiummay be responsible for the mural thickening and adhesions. The prenatal sonographic findings of bowel perforation have variable images, depending on the extent of meconium leakage, the time interval since the bowel perforation, the underlying bowel disorder and the stage of the disease (Chalubinski et al., 1992). The site of perforation also plays a role. If the ultrasound examination does not identify an early perforation, this complication will increase morbidity and mortality, prolong hospital stay, and may even be incorrectly attributed to the delivery process. Finally, increased awareness of this complication may decrease the likelihood of litigation by allowing early diagnosis and counseling.
Simplified Approximations to Surfaces using Multiresolution Analysis and TSK Systems

A method for the construction of first order Takagi-Sugeno-Kang (TSK) systems with two input variables is described. The whole process is driven by the information provided by the wavelet transform and one parameter which represents the desired precision. The proposed algorithm uses that information to iteratively refine a partition of the universe of discourse and simplify the target function accordingly. As a result, the regions in which a coarser representation of the surface is acceptable in terms of precision loss are discovered. The final TSK system is constructed using the information gathered and provides a simple model wherever possible and a complex one only in those regions where precision demands it.
Wave propagation model for wireless communication in underground mines

Characteristics of Electromagnetic (EM) waves in underground mines are different from those of typical wireless channels because of the features of the underground mines. For reliable wireless communication in underground mines, an accurate channel model is crucial. In this work, an enhanced hybrid channel model is proposed with loss due to surface roughness for mine tunnel roadways based on the concept of multimode wave propagation. Based on the proposed model, we then analyzed the radio signal behaviour considering the significant parameters operating frequency, mine tunnel size, antenna gain, and transmitter and receiver position.
Amiodarone Reduces the Prevalence of T Wave Alternans in a Population with Ventricular Tachyarrhythmias

Amiodarone and the Presence of TWA. Introduction: Testing for the presence of microvolt T wave alternans (TWA) is useful for arrhythmic risk stratification. Whether antiarrhythmic pharmacotherapy affects the presence of TWA is unknown. We tested whether patients with known ventricular tachyarrhythmias who were receiving amiodarone were less likely to manifest TWA as compared with those not receiving amiodarone.
Using Sensors to Study Home Activities

Understanding home activities is important in social research to study aspects of home life, e.g., energy-related practices and assisted living arrangements. Common approaches to identifying which activities are being carried out in the home rely on self-reporting, either retrospectively (e.g., interviews, questionnaires, and surveys) or at the time of the activity (e.g., time use diaries). The use of digital sensors may provide an alternative means of observing activities in the home. For example, temperature, humidity and light sensors can report on the physical environment where activities occur, while energy monitors can report information on the electrical devices that are used to assist the activities. One may then be able to infer from the sensor data which activities are taking place. However, it is first necessary to calibrate the sensor data by matching it to activities identified from self-reports. The calibration involves identifying the features in the sensor data that correlate best with the self-reported activities. This in turn requires a good measure of the agreement between the activities detected from sensor-generated data and those recorded in self-reported data. To illustrate how this can be done, we conducted a trial in three single-occupancy households from which we collected data from a suite of sensors and from time use diaries completed by the occupants. For sensor-based activity recognition, we demonstrate the application of Hidden Markov Models with features extracted from mean-shift clustering and change points analysis. A correlation-based feature selection is also applied to reduce the computational cost. A method based on Levenshtein distance for measuring the agreement between the activities detected in the sensor data and that reported by the participants is demonstrated. We then discuss how the features derived from sensor data can be used in activity recognition and how they relate to activities recorded in time use diaries.
Test-Retest Reliability of Subliminal Facial Affective Priming

Since the seminal 1993 demonstrations of Murphy and Zajonc, researchers have replicated and extended findings concerning subliminal affective priming. So far, however, no data on test-retest reliability of affective priming effects are available. A subliminal facial affective priming task was administered to 22 healthy individuals (15 women and 7 men) twice about 7 wk. apart. Happy and sad facial expressions were used as affective primes and neutral Chinese ideographs served as target masks, which had to be evaluated. Neutral facial primes and a no-face condition served as baselines. All participants reported not having seen any of the prime faces at either testing session. Priming scores for affective faces compared to the baselines were computed. Acceptable test-retest correlations (rs) of up to . 74 were found for the affective priming scores. Although measured almost 2 mo. apart, subliminal affective priming seems to be a temporally stable effect.
The Structure and Performance of an Open-Domain Question Answering System

This paper presents the architecture, operation and results obtained with the LASSO Question Answering system developed in the Natural Language Processing Laboratory at SMU. To find answers, the system relies on a combination of syntactic and semantic techniques. The search for the answer is based on a novel form of indexing called paragraph indexing. A score of 55.5% for short answers and 64.5% for long answers was achieved at the TREC-8 competition.
Photo-mixotrophic Cultivation of Algae Euglena gracilis for Lipid Production

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 In the future, due to limited resources, a crisis of energy storing molecules (fuels), which are currently produced from crude mineral oil, is expected. One strategy to compensate a part of the oil deficiency is the production of biodiesel from microalgal lipids. As model microorganism for lipid production microalgae Euglena gracilis was selected and photo mixotrophic cultivation was performed in the stirred tank photobioreactor. During this research, medium composition and operational conditions of photo-bioreactor were optimized in order to define adequate cultivation conditions for algae biomass and lipid production. As low-cost and available complex carbon/ nitrogen source, corn steep liquor (CSL) was used to promote E. gracilis growth and lipid production. Due to the optimization of medium composition and cultivation conditions, lipid production was increased up to 29% of biomass dry weight in a two stage cultivation process inside one photo-bioreactor. Promising results obtained in this research encouraged us for further investigation. /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:. 0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
Perception and signalling of light and temperature cues in plants

Light and temperature patterns are often correlated under natural plant growth conditions. In this review, we analyse the perception and signalling mechanisms shared by both these environmental cues and discuss the functional implications of their convergence to control plant growth. The first point of integration is the phytochrome B (phyB) receptor, which senses light and temperature. Downstream of phyB, the signalling core comprises two branches, one involving PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR 4 (PIF4) and the other CONSTITUTIVE PHOTOMORPHOGENIC 1 (COP1) and ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL 5 (HY5). The dynamics of accumulation and/or localization of each of these core signalling components depend on light and temperature conditions. These pathways are connected through COP1, which enhances the activity of PIF4. The circadian clock modulates this circuit, since EARLY FLOWERING 3 (ELF3), an essential component of the evening complex (EC), represses expression of the PIF4 gene and PIF4 transcriptional activity. Phytochromes are probably not the only entry point of temperature into this network, but other sensors remain to be established. The sharing of mechanisms of action for two distinct environmental cues is to some extent unexpected, as it renders these responses mutually dependent. There are nonetheless many ecological contexts in which such a mutual influence could be beneficial.
Development of high accuracy congestion prediction algorithm using series of camera detectors

This paper proposes a high accuracy algorithm to predict short-term traffic congestion in highway using patterns of microscopic traffic variable, including speed and its standard deviation from series of camera detectors installed at the location before observing point. The performance of the proposed algorithm is compared with a single camera detector. The result from simulation data shows the prediction accuracy of the proposed algorithm that utilizing data from series of detectors is twice that of single detector with zero false alarm rate. The proposed algorithm also performs well when applied to real-world data that show an increase of prediction accuracy by approximately fifty percent while achieve very low false alarm rate.
Occupational risk of infection by varicella zoster virus in Belgian healthcare workers: a seroprevalence study

OBJECTIVES To assess the prevalence of varicella zoster virus (VZV) antibodies in Flemish (Belgian) healthcare workers, to investigate the association between seronegativity and selected variables, and to assess the reliability of recall about disease as a predictor of immunity. METHODS A seroprevalence study of VZV antibodies (IgG) was conducted among a systematic sample of 4923 employees in various professional groups, employed in 22 hospitals in Flanders and Brussels (Belgium). Information about sex, age, department, job, and years of employment, the country of origin, and history of varicella was obtained. The presence of VZV antibodies was investigated with the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), Enzygnost anti VZV / IgG (Dade Behring, Marburg, Germany). Statistical analysis was performed by calculating prevalences and prevalence ratios (PRs) and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV) of the recalled history were determined. RESULTS The prevalence of VZV seropositivity in Flemish healthcare workers was 98.5% (95% CI 98.1 to 98.8). Seronegativity was significantly associated with age and job, increasing with both older and younger age. The prevalence of seronegative workers was significantly less in nursing staff than non-nursing staff. There was no significant difference for sex and years of employment. The PPV and NPV of recalled history were 98.9% and 3.4%. Sensitivity and specificity were 83% and 38.9%. CONCLUSION The prevalence of VZV seropositivity was very high in this sample of Flemish healthcare workers. Because of this low overall susceptibility, VZV infection seems not to be an important occupational risk among healthcare workers in Flanders. The increasing seronegativity above the age of 45 is possibly due to a loss of detectable antibodies. A positive history of varicella was a good predictor of immunity, but a negative history had no value as a predictor of susceptibility in adults.
Behavioral pattern analysis and dopamine release in quinpirole-induced repetitive behavior in rats

Obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) is a chronic and disabling psychiatric disease with a lifetime prevalence of 2–3%. People with OCD suffer from intrusive, unwanted and recurrent thoughts (obsessions) and/or repetitive ritualistic behaviors (compulsions). The aim of this study is to quantify the dimensions of ritualistic ‘compulsive-like’ behavior in quinpirole-induced behavior in rats by using T-pattern behavioral analysis. In addition, we investigated whether the behavioral effects elicited by quinpirole sensitization remained after 2 weeks of cessation of treatment. Finally, to study the neurobiological underpinnings of this ‘compulsive-like’ behavior, we investigated the effect of quinpirole treatment on the extracellular dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens. Once established, ‘compulsive-like’ behavior is dependent upon quinpirole administration, as this behavior rapidly normalized after cessation of treatment. After a single dose of quinpirole the dopamine level decreased more in saline pre-treated animals as compared with animals given quinpirole treatment continuously. Furthermore, T-pattern analysis revealed that quinpirole-induced behavior consists, unlike OCD rituals, of a smaller behavioral repertoire. As seen in patients with OCD, quinpirole-treated animals performed these behaviors with a high rate of repetition. These findings suggest that quinpirole-induced behavior mimics only part of the compulsive behavior as shown in OCD patients.
Simulation study on NMOS gate length variation using TCAD tool

The process of scaling in silicon transistor has consistently resulted in smaller device geometry, higher device density and better performance. In conventional MOSFETs, control of Ioff for scaled devices requires very thin gate dielectrics and high doping concentrations. The industry roadmap predicts the barriers of continuous scaling will be due to physical limitations as well as practical technology. As the downscale of CMOS technology approaches physical limitations, the need arises for alternative device structures. Thus, this paper intends to study the effect of various gate lengths on the NMOS electrical characteristic by means of simulation study.
Exploring Patient Awareness and Perceptions of the Appropriate Use of Antibiotics: A Mixed-Methods Study

In the outpatient setting, estimates suggest that 30% of the antibiotics prescribed are unnecessary. This study explores patient knowledge and awareness of appropriate use of antibiotics and expectations regarding how antibiotics are used for their treatment in outpatient settings. A survey was administered to a convenience sample of patients, parents, and caregivers (n = 190) at seven primary care clinics and two urgent care locations. Fisher’s exact tests compared results by patient characteristics. Although 89% of patients correctly believed that antibiotics work well for treating infections from bacteria, 53% incorrectly believed that antibiotics work well for treating viral infections. Patients who incorrectly believed that antibiotics work well for treating viral infections were more than twice as likely to expect a provider to give them an antibiotic when they have a cough or common cold. Patients who completed the survey also participated in semi-structured interviews (n = 4), which were analyzed using thematic analysis. Patients reported experiencing confusion about which illnesses may be treated by antibiotics and unclear communication from clinicians about the appropriate use of antibiotics. Development of easy to understand patient educational materials can help address patients’ incorrect perceptions of appropriate antibiotic use and facilitate patient-provider communication.
A general moment generating function for MRC diversity over fading channels with Gaussian channel gains

For maximal ratio combining (MRC) diversity over correlated fading channels with Gaussian channel gains, we utilize unitary diagonalization of the channel covariance matrix to decorrelate the physical channels into uncorrelated virtual channels to obtain the moment generating function (MGF) of the received signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR). The MGF thus obtained has a compact form and can be universally applied to various popular fading models. In addition to the advantage of simple derivation procedure, this general MGF can be readily modified to express various scenarios of channel power distributions as well as joint fading models. To demonstrate these advantages, we use the generalized Ricean fading as a specific example to compare our derivation and our MGF expression with an existing work in the literature. Again, we present numerical simulations for MRC reception of binary phase shift keying (BPSK) signals over Nakagami fading to compare with existing results appearing in the literature. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.