Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Early pediatric antiepileptic drug nonadherence is related to lower long-term seizure freedom

Objective: To examine the relationship between previously identified nonadherence trajectories during the first 6 months of antiepileptic drug (AED) therapy and long-term seizure-free rates (defined as ≥1 year of seizure freedom at the 4 years postdiagnosis milestone) in a cohort of children with newly diagnosed epilepsy. Methods: A prospective longitudinal observational study of AED adherence and seizure freedom in a consecutive cohort of 124 children (ages 2–12 years) with newly diagnosed epilepsy was conducted. The association between previously identified AED adherence trajectories (i.e., near-perfect adherence [e.g., average adherence = 96.8%] vs nonadherent) and seizure freedom for ≥1 year at the 4 years postdiagnosis milestone was determined. Results: Children who exhibited nonadherence to AED therapy in the first 6 months of treatment were 3.24 times more likely not to have achieved ≥1 year of seizure freedom at the 4 years postdiagnosis milestone compared to children in the near-perfect adherence group (χ2 = 5.13; p = 0.02). Specifically, at the 4 years postdiagnosis milestone, only 12% of children in the near-perfect adherence group were continuing to experience seizures compared to 31% of children in the nonadherent group. Conclusions: Children with epilepsy who achieved near-perfect adherence during the first 6 months of therapy experienced a higher rate of seizure freedom 4 years postdiagnosis compared with those children who demonstrated early nonadherence. This suggests that adherence intervention early in the course of treatment could play a role in improving long-term seizure freedom rates in children with epilepsy.
Hepatocellular carcinoma: detection with triple-phase multi-detector row helical CT in patients with chronic hepatitis.

PURPOSE To evaluate whether the use of two arterial phase image acquisition series, when combined with portal venous phase imaging at multi-detector row helical computed tomography (CT), would be superior enough to use of a single arterial phase image acquisition series to warrant the increased radiation dose. MATERIALS AND METHODS Multi-detector row CT was performed in 77 patients with 140 foci of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A triple-phase protocol that included an early arterial phase, a late arterial phase, and a portal venous phase was performed. Images were analyzed separately by three radiologists to document the presence and number of HCC nodules. Separate reading sessions were performed for images from the early arterial phase, images from the late arterial phase, images from both arterial phases combined, and images from all three phases. Sensitivity and positive predictive values were calculated for each reading session. RESULTS The average sensitivity and positive predictive values, respectively, for the detection of HCC were 48.5% and 96.4% for early arterial phase images, 87.1% and 94.0% for late arterial phase images, 87.1% and 94.0% for images from both arterial phases, and 88.5% and 93.4% for images from all three phases. Analysis of images from both arterial phases together yielded no improvement in either sensitivity or positive predictive value compared with analysis of late arterial phase images alone. Analysis of the combination of late arterial and portal venous phase images resulted in the highest sensitivity value. CONCLUSION The acquisition of images during two arterial contrast phases does not provide additional benefit over timed conventional biphasic CT technique.
Effect of Extreme Exposure Frequencies on Different Affective Ratings of Stimuli

Two experiments examined the effects of extreme number of exposures on reactions to stimuli rated on several dimensions. The first experiment gave a positive monotone relationship between affective ratings on the GOOD-BAD scale and the frequency of stimulus exposure, with frequencies as high as 243. The second experiment obtained ratings for the same exposure frequencies on four scales, some of which measured affinitive approach while others measured exploratory approach reactions. The former tended to show an increase with frequency of exposure and the latter a decrease. Theoretical analysis attempted to reconcile experimental evidence which indicates increasing affect with increasing exposure and evidence for an inverted-U relationship.
Effect of Different Connection Schemes, Terminating Resistors and Measurement Impedances on the Sensitivity of the FRA Method

Frequency-response analysis (FRA) is an efficient method to examine the mechanical integrity of a power transformer. Different connection schemes can be implemented for measuring frequency responses. Moreover, the use of different terminating resistors and measurement impedances is possible. This paper investigates the influence of the measuring technique on the sensitivity of FRA traces. Consequently, different FRA traces are measured using two experimental windings, while specific mechanical changes, axial displacement, disc space variation, and radial deformation are applied to the windings. Six different resistors are utilized for termination and as the measurement impedance in the experimental setup. Two numerical indices are also employed to compare the sensitivity of the traces. The results of the sensitivity analysis are also validated with a circuit model of the windings. The points concluded can play a valuable role in defining the best FRA configuration for the detection of mechanical deformations.
International Cooperation on Innovation: Empirical Evidence for German and Portuguese Firms

In this paper we investigate the factors that lead firms to cooperate with partners from foreign countries on innovation activities. Portuguese and German data from the harmonised Community Innovation Survey (CIS III) allow us to compare innovation cooperation behaviour of private firms in the two countries. Using a bivariate probit model, we show that the characteristics of firms cooperating with foreigners in both countries are quite similar. International activities other than cooperation, firm size and the importance of protection methods for knowledge have a positive influence in both countries on the decision to cooperate with foreign partners. Some differences remain, however: In Germany, exporters are more likely to cooperate with foreign partners than non-exporters, whereas in Portugal this is not the case.
Dipeptidyl-peptidase IV hydrolyses gastric inhibitory polypeptide, glucagon-like peptide-1(7-36)amide, peptide histidine methionine and is responsible for their degradation in human serum.

Peptides of the glucagon/vasoactive-intestinal-peptide (VIP) peptide family share a considerable sequence similarity at their N-terminus. They either start with Tyr-Ala, His-Ala or His-Ser which might be in part potential targets for dipeptidyl-peptidase IV, a highly specialized aminopeptidase removing dipeptides only from peptides with N-terminal penultimate proline or alanine. Growth-hormone-releasing factor (1-29)amide and gastric inhibitory peptide/glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP) with terminal Tyr-Ala as well as glucagon-like peptide-1(7-36)amide/insulinotropin [GLP-1(7-36)amide] and peptide histidine methionine (PHM) with terminal His-Ala were hydrolysed to their des-Xaa-Ala derivatives by dipeptidyl-peptidase IV purified from human placenta. VIP with terminal His-Ser was not significantly degraded by the peptidase. The kinetics of the hydrolysis of GIP, GLP-1(7-36)amide and PHM were analyzed in detail. For these peptides Km values of 4-34 microM and Vmax values of 0.6-3.8 mumol.min-1.mg protein-1 were determined for the purified peptidase which should allow their enzymic degradation also at physiological, nanomolar concentrations. When human serum was incubated with GIP or GLP-1(7-36)amide the same fragments as with the purified dipeptidyl-peptidase IV, namely the des-Xaa-Ala peptides and Tyr-Ala in the case of GIP or His-Ala in the case of GLP-1(7-36)amide, were identified as the main degradation products of these peptide hormones. Incorporation of inhibitors specific for dipeptidyl-peptidase IV, 1 mM Lys-pyrrolidide or 0.1 mM diprotin A (Ile-Pro-Ile), completely abolished the production of these fragments by serum. It is concluded that dipeptidyl-peptidase IV initiates the metabolism of GIP and GLP-1(7-36)amide in human serum. Since an intact N-terminus is obligate for the biological activity of the members of the glucagon/VIP peptide family [e. g. GIP(3-42) is known to be inactive to release insulin in the presence of glucose as does intact GIP], dipeptidyl-peptidase-IV action inactivates these peptide hormones. The relevance of this finding for their inactivation and their determination by immunoassays is discussed.
VULNERABILIDAD EN EL CANTÓN DE PUNTARENAS, COSTA RICA

El presente articulo indaga en los antecedentes teoricos del estudio de desastres desde las Ciencias Sociales y propone un enfoque basado en la categoria de vulnerabilidad, la cual se relaciona con categorias como igualdad y desigualdad, pobreza, desarrollo humano y empleo. Se presenta la situacion del canton de Puntarenas.
Robust Product Design Using SOSM for Control of Shielded Metal Arc-Welding (SMAW) Process

Parametric variations, slow and fast disturbances, and nonlinearity are inherently present in abundance in all types of arc-welding processes, and shielded metal arc-welding (SMAW) process is no exception. PI has remained, for decades, a dominating control idea for control of all arc-welding processes. Its replacement by superior control concept is long overdue particularly for handling parametric variations, nonlinearity in load behavior, and several forms of disturbances present in the system. Though the work-in-progress concepts, such as sliding-mode control (SMC), are equipped to handle many of these issues, their market penetration in shaping up a complete industrial product is below expected line. In this paper, the second-order sliding mode (SOSM) control concept is practically implemented to create a market-ready product for robust control of SMAW process. Here, each aspect of the entire process such as welding at different current using different types of electrodes is detailed. It further proposes, with complete practical validation, a simple and easily implementable control function that emulates robust control features of SOSM.
A Novel Mu Rhythm-based Brain Computer Interface Design that uses a Programmable System on Chip

This paper describes the system design of a portable and economical mu rhythm based Brain Computer Interface which employs Cypress Semiconductors Programmable System on Chip (PSoC). By carrying out essential processing on the PSoC, the use of an extra computer is eliminated, resulting in considerable cost savings. Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 and PSoC Designer 5.01 are employed in developing the software for the system, the hardware being custom designed. In order to test the usability of the BCI, preliminary testing is carried out by training three subjects who were able to demonstrate control over their electroencephalogram by moving a cursor present at the center of the screen towards the indicated direction with an average accuracy greater than 70% and a bit communication rate of up to 7 bits/min.
Ensemble crowding differential evolution with neighborhood mutation for multimodal optimization

Many optimization problems possess multiple global solutions or comparably fit local solutions. These multimodal optimization problems require the identification of not just one global optimal, but also multiple compatible solutions. Differential Evolution (DE) has been demonstrated to be highly effective for solving single-objective unimodal problems, but its loss of diversity over the course of evolution prevents it from locating multiple compatible solutions. Our proposed method combines the diversity maintenance of niching and neighborhood mutation techniques with the versatility of ensemble parameters for DE to enhance the exploitation of individual peaks on difficult multi-modal problems. Greedy local mutation strategy and crossover are shown to have improved the performance of the neighborhood crowding DE (NCDE) in our experiment with 14 common multimodal benchmark functions.
XUV radiation for novel investigations of the matter in the temporal domain of few-femtoseconds and below

The technique for the generation of ultrafast pulses of extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) radiation is presented here as a tool for time-resolved interaction of radiation in the single-photon ionization regime. The intrinsic synchronization of the XUV with an IR pulse fosters to devise its application in a pump-probe scheme in this very interesting spectral region.
Speaker strategies in the use of prosodic means in spontaneous discourse in Dutch

Ce papier presente les resultats d'une analyse de moyens prosodiques employes par des locuteurs dans la structuration du discours spontane. Huit locuteurs, 4 hommes et 4 femmes, ont lu a haute voix une courte histoire en neerlandais, qu'ils ont ensuite racontee en leurs propres mots ('version racontee'). Le but du papier present est d'etudier les differentes manieres dont les locuteurs ont realise les versions racontees sur le plan acoustique. Afin de caracteriser les locuteurs nous avons pris des mesures acoustiques et perceptives globales. Celles-ci ont ete utilisees a foire des 'profils locuteur'. Des correlations montrent que les locuteurs peuvent etre groupes a partir de l'usage des moyens prosodiques dans le discours. Des jugements perceptifs completent cette image: plus le locuteur ressemble au 'locuteur ideal' d'une histoire racontee, plus il est apprecie. Les locutrices sont appreciees mieux que les locuteurs, malgre le fait que les moyens utilises sont les memes.
Comparison of Sexually Transmitted Disease Prevalence by Reported Level of Condom Use Among Patients Attending an Urban Sexually Transmitted Disease Clinic

Background There is controversy as to the protective effect of condoms in preventing various sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Goal The goal of this study was to assess the association of various levels of condom use with a variety of STD. Study Design We conducted a cross-sectional study of female and heterosexual male visits to an urban STD clinic between 1990 and 2001. Methods Prevalence rates were calculated for gonorrhea, chlamydia, trichomonas, recent-onset genital warts, first-episode herpes, and molluscum contagiosum by reported level of condom use over the past 4 months, with adjusted odds ratios (AOR) calculated by logistic regression. Results Among 126,220 patient visits (39% women and 61% men), condom use over the past 4 months was reported by 54%, with 38% reporting inconsistent use and 16% consistent use. Condom users reported greater sexual risk in the past 4 months than nonusers (ie, new sex partners: 63% vs. 41%, P <0.001; multiple sex partners: 60% vs. 36%, P <0.001). When all condom users were compared with nonusers, there was limited evidence of protection against specific STD. However, when the analysis was restricted to condom users, infection rates were significantly lower in consistent than inconsistent users for both men and women for gonorrhea (AOR, 0.87 and 0.71, respectfully) and chlamydia (AOR, 0.66 and 0.74, respectfully), for trichomonas in women (AOR, 0.87), and for genital herpes in men (AOR, 0.73). Conclusions Comparisons of STD between condom users and nonusers are confounded by greater sexual risk in users. Comparing consistent with inconsistent users reduces this confounding, revealing protection for both men and women for nonviral STD and for genital herpes for men.
Improvement of ACE inhibitory activity of casein hydrolysate by Maillard reaction with xylose.

BACKGROUND The Maillard reaction is widely used to improve the functional properties or biological activities of food. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the Maillard reaction on angiotensin I converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity in a casein hydrolysate-xylose system. RESULTS Two-step hydrolysis was used to prepare casein ACE inhibitory peptides. Maillard reaction products (MRPs) were prepared by heating hydrolyzed casein with xylose at pH 8.0, 110 °C for up to 16 h. The results showed that the content of free amino group decreased (P < 0.05); however, browning intensity and absorbance at 294 nm increased because of the Maillard reaction (P < 0.05). The ACE inhibitory activity improved greatly within 2 h (from 63.48% to 90.23%), which was mainly due to carbonyl ammonia condensation reaction in the MRPs. CONCLUSION The study shows that the Maillard reaction under appropriate conditions can improve the ACE inhibitory activity of casein hydrolysate effectively.
Adhesion Inhibition of F1C‐Fimbriated Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAK and PAO by Multivalent Carbohydrate Ligands

In order to evaluate their inhibition of bacterial adhesion, the carbohydrate sequences GalNAcβ1→4Gal and GalNAcβ1→4Galβ1→4Glc were synthesized. The disaccharide was conjugated to dendrons based on the 3,5‐di‐(2‐aminoethoxy)‐benzoic acid branching unit to yield di‐ and tetravalent versions of these compounds. A divalent compound was also prepared that had significantly longer spacer arms. Relevant monovalent compounds were prepared for comparison. Their anti‐adhesion properties against F1C‐fimbriated uropathogenic Escherichia coli were evaluated in an ELISA‐type assay by using a recombinant strain and also by using Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains PAO and PAK. Adhesion inhibition was observed in all cases, and multivalency effects of up to one order of magnitude were observed. The combination of spacer and multivalency effects led to a 38‐fold increase in the potency of a divalent inhibitor with long spacer arms towards the PAO strain when compared with the free carbohydrate.
La gouvernance des firmes multinationales: continuité ou rupture ?

La gouvernance des firmes multinationales, au travers en particulier des societes cotees, est un sujet majeur en management. A partir des annees 1980, les " bonnes " pratiques de gouvernance, fondees en grande partie sur le modele anglo-saxon, ont accompagne le developpement des firmes dans un contexte de globalisation. Aujourd'hui, les crises successives de ces dernieres annees conduisent a s'interroger sur la continuite de ce mouvement. Assistons-nous a une simple pause ou a un renversement de tendance ? Nous cherchons a etudier dans ce chapitre l'impact de la crise sur le mode de gouvernance des FMN.
Guest editorial: Wireless and Mobile Technologies in Education

Editorial presents information on the development of wireless and mobile technologies and their influence on education. The use of information technology in education and training has undergone several paradigm shifts over the last three decades. Very recently the notions of e-learning (learning supported by digital electronic tools and media) and m-learning (learning using mobile devices and wireless transmission) have emerged. These terms are often associated with a simplistic understanding of facilitating learning by delivering learning content. Handheld devices are emerging as one of the most promising technologies for supporting learning and particularly collaborative learning scenarios. These technologies offer the possibility of moving away from the stand-alone computer, thus allowing interaction with several devices and making information accessible through a wireless connection to a server. It also introduces articles published in the special issue of 'Journal of Computer Assisted Learning'. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2007 APA, all rights reserved).
A Model-based Approach to Measure School Achievements in Latent Groups of Students: A Simulation Study

In this article, we present a model-based framework to estimate the educational attainments of students in latent groups defined by unobservable or only partially observed features that are likely to affect the outcome distribution, as well as being interesting to be investigated. We focus our attention on the case of students in the first year of the upper secondary schools, for which the teachers’ suggestion at the end of their lower educational level toward the subsequent type of school is available. We use this information to develop latent strata according to the compliance behavior of students simplifying to the case of binary data for both counseled and attended school (i.e., academic or technical institute). We consider a likelihood-based approach to estimate outcome distributions in the latent groups and propose a set of plausible assumptions with respect to the problem at hand. In order to assess our method and its robustness, we simulate data resembling a real study conducted on pupils of the province of Bologna in year 2007/2008 to investigate their success or failure at the end of the first school year.
Symmetry measures of vestibular evoked myogenic potentials using objective detection criteria

Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMP) has been put forward as a test to evaluate the symmetry of saccular function. In the present study, the symmetry of VEMP was evaluated in 23 healthy subjects using automatic analysis. In response to binaural clicks with a stimulus repetition rate of 4/s all subjects revealed significant VEMP on both sides. The ipsilateral response to monaural clicks was similar to the response to binaural clicks. Although there were large interindividual variations in amplitude, there were only small variations in latency. VEMP measurements were also assessed using different stimulus rates. At the higher stimulus rates there was a decrease in the VEMP amplitude but there were only small changes in the latency. These findings might suggest that amplitude measures are more likely than latency measures to reveal small vestibular lesions.
The Development of Positive Emotion Regulation Strategies Scale for Children and Adolescents

The study was designed to develop a measurement of the positive emotion regulation questionnaire (PERQ) that assesses positive emotion regulation strategies through self-report. The 14 items developed for the surveying instrument of the study were based upon literatures regarding elements of positive regulation strategies. 319 elementary students (age ranging from 12 to14) were recruited among three public elementary schools to survey on their use of positive emotion regulation strategies. Of 319 subjects, 20 invalid questionnaire s yielded a response rate of 92%. The data collected wasanalyzed through methods such as item analysis, factor analysis, and structural equation models. In reference to the results from item analysis, the formal survey instrument was reduced to 11 items. A principal axis factor analysis with varimax was performed on responses, resulting in a 2-factor equation (savoring strategy and neutralizing strategy), which accounted for 55.5% of the total variance. Then, the two-factor structure of scale was also identified by structural equation models. Finally, the reliability coefficients of the two factors were Cronbach’s α . 92 and . 74. Gender difference was only found in savoring strategy. In conclusion, the positive emotion regulation strategies questionnaire offers a brief, internally consistent, and valid self-report measure for understanding the emotional regulation strategies of children that may be useful to researchers and applied professionals. Keywords—Emotional regulation, emotional regulation strategies, scale, SEM.
Off the couch and out of the hospital, mobile applications for acceptance and commitment therapy

This paper describes the research and concept development process involved in designing a mobile app for depressed youth learning to practice mindfulness based psychotherapy entitled Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) program at Trillium Healthcare Centre in Toronto. Our process involved identifying aspects of preexisting mobile applications for mindfulness that may be discouraging for youth with depression and devising strategies to overcome these negative messages within the ACT Application. We propose to present a working prototype of mobile application at the Mobile HCI conference.