Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A-62 The Philips IntelliSpace Cognition Platform: Ability to Classify a Mixed Clinical Sample

We developed a cloud-based platform, Philips Intellispace Cognition (ISC), containing tablet-based versions of conventional cognitive tests. We investigated the battery’s sensitivity for subtle cognitive impairment in a mixed clinical sample. The sample consisted of 221 healthy participants and 98 traumatic brain injury (TBI) and stroke patients who all scored above the MMSE-2 cutoff of 24, but reported subjective cognitive complaints. All completed the following ISC tests: Phonetic Fluency; Semantic Fluency; Trail-Making; Stroop; O-Cancellation; Star-Cancellation; Digit Span; Rey Auditory Verbal Learning; Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure. We used ROC analyses to investigate our ability to distinguish the patient and healthy samples. Specifically, we assessed the area under the curve (AUC), where a value of . 50 indicates random classification and 1 indicates perfect distinguishability. To this end, we compared sensitivity of cognitive domain scores distilled from the ISC tests (using confirmatory factor analysis) with the sensitivity of MMSE-2 scores. The cognitive domains were executive functioning, processing speed, working memory, memory, and visuospatial ability. The AUC of the MMSE-2 was . 46, as expected given the fact that all patients scored above the cut-off. The AUCs of the model domain scores ranged from . 56 to . 73. The differences between these AUCs and the MMSE AUC were all significant (ps ≤ .004), except for visuospatial ability (p = .070). The ISC test battery was able to pick up on cognitive impairment in a mixed clinical sample consisting of patients that all scored normally on the MMSE-2. These findings show the usefulness of the digital platform in clinical practice.
Designs adaptifs de recherche de dose en oncologie dans le cadre de combinaisons de molécules et de molécules ciblées

Phases I are usually the first stage of testing a new drug on human subjects. Phase I clinical trials in oncology evaluate the safety of the treatment and identify its side effects on patients with advanced cancer due to the harmfulness these treatments. The aim is to select a dose with a toxicity probability closest to a given target. In recent years, unlike standard chemotherapy, targeted therapies have emerged as another type of anti-cancer agents with different action mechanism. In this context, we have developed a Phase VII dose-finding design for molecularly targeted agents where the efficacy increases and can plateau. Our method focus on selecting the optimal dose, that is the dose associated with highest efficacy and if the plateau is reached, the one with the lowest toxicity. Methods for single agent are not appropriate for combination phase I trials as they are not designed to take into account the mufti-dimensionality. We studied several existing methods specifically designed for combination, and compared their performance. Based on a simulation study, model-based methods have high operational characteristics and seemed to perform better than algorithm-based's in terms of percentage of correct selection. We proposed a Phase I dose-finding design for combination based on a logistic model with an interaction term which efficient in a large variety of realities. Finally a new challenge in cancer development is to combine both cytotoxic and targeted therapy. Indeed, their action can be complementary, reduce cancer growth and killing cells, but also skirt drug resistance. We studied both toxicity and efficacy of the combination in a Bayesiar Phase I/II design.
BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES OF USING GAME-BASED FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT AMONG UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

Purpose of the study: This research aims to identify the advantages and challenges faced by TESL undergraduates from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia in using Kahoot as a formative assessment tool in a course, i.e., Teaching of Writing in English as a Second Language Context. Methodology: The research instruments employed are semistructured interviews and questionnaire. All 46 Year 3 TESL students enrolled in the course responded to the questionnaire, while five of them responded to the individual interview session. Main Findings: The findings indicate that the majority of the respondents agreed that the application of Kahoot enables students to relate to lectures and lecture notes, recall important points, and discover other useful information and knowledge pertaining to the course. Despite the advantages mentioned, the challenges faced were also identified. Among the challenges mentioned are students’ readiness and mastery level of the topics revised. Applications of this study: With the proper usage of Kahoot in a classroom context, both educators and students could adopt it as a learning catalyst to enhance teaching and learning. Novelty/Originality of this study: The students’ knowledge and interest could be improved using Kahoot if the educator plays his/roles and know what they should do to implement Kahoot in their own class.
Free Operant Comparison of Interventions for Problematic Speech Using Reinforcement With and Without Preferred Topics

by Ingrid Saavedra University of the Pacific 2019 Deficits in conversation skills can be one barrier to developing and maintaining relationships for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Individuals with ASD may deter conversation partners if they do not stay on topic or if they dwell on topics. Several interventions have been identified in targeting the reduction of problematic (off-topic or perseverative) speech, and withheld attention for its occurrence. In addition to leveraging attention as a reinforcer, one study provided signaled access to preferred topics contingent on talking about non-perseverative or therapist-selected topics. Despite showing clear improvements in on-topic speech and stimulus control of preferred topics, little is known about the additive effects of including contingent access to preferred topics. A free operant assessment was used to evaluate participant preference for including access to preferred topics. The results indicated that participants preferred the proposed intervention with access to a leisure item.
The origin of fixed, history-independent choice biases of rodents in perceptual decision making tasks

Perceptual decision making is typically described with classical models (Signal Detection, Bayesian Decision, and Drift Diffusion Models) that distinguish modules for sensory processing, decision making and additional post-decisional processes with separate bias terms for each module. At the behavioral level, animal and human decision making 2-AFC studies provide ample evidence for choice-biases during such tasks. A subset of these biases are history-dependent and can be directly linked to the rewards, responses and stimuli, but the origin of the other subset of fixed history-independent biases in these tasks is still largely unknown. Here, we investigated whether these fixed biases could originate from the decision module as defined by the classical models or they must be related to post-decisional processes. We designed an interaural amplitude discrimination task with rodents, with the amplitude difference and the maximum intensity level modulated simultaneously, and found that the performance of all rats decreased asymmetrically at the two response sides as a function of decreasing intensity level. Through computational analyses, we show that these fixed biases cannot be explained within the decision module and are only compatible with post-decisional biases.
Analysis of Correspondence Relationship between Brain Activity and Semantic Representation

It is known that primary visual cortex uses a sparse code to efficiently represent natural scenes. Based on this fact, we built up a hypothesis that the same phenomenon happens at the higher cognitive function. Here we focus on semantic representation reflecting the meaning of words in the cerebral cortex. We applied sparse coding to the matrix consisting of paired data for both brain activity evoked by visual stimuli observed while a subject is watching a video, and distributed semantic representation made from the description of the video by means of a word2vec language model. Using this method, we obtained a dictionary matrix whose bases represent the corresponding relation between brain activity and the semantic representation. We then analyzed the characteristics of each base in the dictionary matrix. As a result, we confirmed that independent perceptual units were extracted with words representing their functional meaning.
Impact of Teaching Breathing Techniques on Patient Health Outcomes: A Systematic Review

The United States has some of the most expensive health care world wide, with an increase in chronic illness, poorer outcomes, and fragmentation of care. Patients seek integrative or alternative methods of care in order to participate and improve their own health outcomes. Promoting cost effective, useful, and safe tools for patients to learn during an office visit allows patients to participate in their own care for improved health. The clinical question for this systematic review is: What is the evidence for teaching breathing techniques in primary care to improve health outcomes? Evidence in the literature shows that while breath is vital for life, trained breathing techniques improve health care outcomes such as GERD, anxiety, diabetes, autonomic nervous system disorders, hypertension, pain, immune function, and oxidative stress as evidenced in this review. This systematic review uses the PRISMA approach, analyzing integrity and value of each article based on seven criteria: title, abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, and findings. Opportunities for further research are discussed regarding breathing techniques and improved health outcomes.
Influence of Afrocentric Evaluation Methods on Societal Norms Among Secondary School Learners in Meru County, Kenya

The school system is expected to inculcate desirable societal norms in the learners. However, cases of unacceptable norms such as immorality, destruction of property, riots, strikes, drug abuse and disrespect for authority have been on the increase despite numerous interventions put in place by the government and individual educational institutions such burning of external exams, abolition of visiting days and holiday tuition. This study sought to examine the application of Afrocentric evaluation methods to enhance societal norms among secondary school learners in Meru County, Kenya. The study adopted exploratory descriptive research approach. The study used questionnaires and interview schedules to collect data. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation and coefficient of variation. Inferential statistics used for data analysis was Linear Regression Analysis. The study found out that integration of Afrocentric evaluation methods into current Kenyan school system has statistically significant influence on societal norms among secondary school learners. The findings of this study will provide useful knowledge in regard to Afrocentric evaluation methods and societal norms and provide a basis for further studies.
Doing Critical Health Communication: Negotiating the Terrain of Transdisciplinary Collaboration

In this article, we think about how critical health communication scholars can speak to audiences outside the discipline in order to make an impact on public health and policy, health promotion, and health care delivery. We take into consideration how are we situated in our relationship with transdisciplinary research as well as the challenges and opportunities involved in collaborating with transdisciplinary teams including the ways we can navigate the inherent method/ological tensions in such collaborations. We focus on how the methodological considerations of “critical” health scholarship are situated vis-a-vis the epistemic status quo commitments in the disciplines of our potential allies.
PENGARUH PERLINDUNGAN HUKUM, ORIENTASI ETIKA IDEALISME, ORIENTASI ETIKA RELATIVISME DAN RETALIASI TERHADAP INTENSI WHISTLEBLOWING (SURVEI PADA MAHASISWA UNIVERSITAS NEGERI DI PROVINSI ACEH)

The purpose of this research is to know the: (1) the influence of legal protection, idealism ethical orientation and relativism ethical orientation simultaneously on whistleblowing intention, (2) the influence of legal protection has on whistleblowing intention, (3) the influence of idealism ethical orientation on whistleblowing intention, (4) the influence of relativism ethical orientation on whistleblowing intention, (5) the influence of retaliation on whistleblowing intention. The population of this study is 395 students from state universities in Aceh province. Sampling technique used was simple random sampling. The data source used in this study is primary data through the distribution of questionnaires to respondents. Data were analyzed using multiple regression analysis with SPSS 20 processing. The result from this research (1) Legal protection, idealism, relativism and retaliation have an influence together (simultaneously) on whistleblowing intentions. (2) Legal protection has a positively influence on whistleblowing intentions. (3) Idealism has a positive effect on whistleblowing intentions. (4) Relativism has not influence on whistleblowing intention. (5) Retaliation has not influence on whistleblowing intention
An image segmentation algorithm based on combination of slope width reduction and cross cortical model

An image segmentation algorithm based on the ramp width reduction combined with an Intersecting Cortical Model (ICM) is proposed against problems that ICM in the segmentation of image with weak edge produces geometric distortion. By virtue of prewitt boundary operator and edge ramp model, the algorithm defines the objective edge point, adjusts the grey level of edge pixel, and reduces the width of image edge. On this basis, the paper uses 2D histogram to expand the cross entropy to 2D space so as to obtain the optical segmentation threshold of ICM. The experiment indicates that the algorithm not only overcomes the impact of edge blur and segment the image with weak edge accurately, but also improves the processing speed greatly.
MLW-gcForest: A Multi-Weighted gcForest Model for Cancer Subtype Classification by Methylation Data

Effective cancer treatment requires a clear subtype. Due to the small sample size, high dimensionality, and class imbalances of cancer gene data, classifying cancer subtypes by traditional machine learning methods remains challenging. The gcForest algorithm is a combination of machine learning methods and a deep neural network and has been indicated to achieve better classification of small samples of data. However, the gcForest algorithm still faces many challenges when this method is applied to the classification of cancer subtypes. In this paper, we propose an improved gcForest algorithm (MLW-gcForest) to study the applicability of this method to the small sample sizes, high dimensionality, and class imbalances of genetic data. The main contributions of this algorithm are as follows: (1) Different weights are assigned to different random forests according to the classification ability of the forests. (2) We propose a sorting optimization algorithm that assigns different weights to the feature vectors generated under different sliding windows. The MLW-gcForest model is trained on the methylation data of five data sets from the cancer genome atlas (TCGA). The experimental results show that the MLW-gcForest algorithm achieves high accuracy and area under curve (AUC) values for the classification of cancer subtypes compared with those of traditional machine learning methods and state of the art methods. The results also show that methylation data can be effectively used to diagnose cancer.
Psychological Hardiness and Self-Leadership: Leading Yourself to Effective Stress Coping

The purpose of this proposal is to examine the theories of psychological hardiness and self-leadership side by side. The theories appear to be complementary constructs, grounded in very similar psychological theories and constructs. Furthermore, the interplay between the two theories could strengthen the efficacy of each theory, beyond what already exists independently. A person could use self-leadership to lead themselves to develop a hardy disposition effectively. The basic principles of hardiness and self-leadership share enough foundational elements to be similar yet distinct theories, complementing each other in meaningful ways. However, the primary limitation of this paper is its theoretical nature. Therefore, future research should shed light on the possibilities presented herein.
The Role of Auditory Feedback for Speech Intensity Regulation in Parkinson’s Disease

Hypophonia (low speech intensity) has been found to be the most common speech symptom experienced by individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Previous research suggests that, in the PD population, there may be abnormal integration of sensory information for motor production of speech intensity. In the current study, auditory feedback was systematically manipulated during sensorimotor conditions that are known to modulate speech intensity in everyday contexts. Twenty-six individuals with PD and twenty-four neurologically healthy controls were asked to complete the following tasks: converse with the experimenter with varying distances between the participant and listener (near and far distances), vowel prolongation, read sentences at a comfortable loudness, complete a magnitude production task (reading 2 times louder, 4 times louder, maximum loudness), and complete an imitation task (50dB, 60dB, 70dB, 80dB), while hearing their own speech intensity randomly altered. Altered intensity feedback conditions included 5, 10 and 15dB reductions and increases in the feedback intensity. Participants were also asked to read sentences with and without an instruction to attempt to ignore the auditory feedback. Speech tasks were completed in no noise, background noise, and a complete masking noise condition. Outcome measures included speech intensity (dB) and loudness perception ratings obtained using a visual analogue scale. Overall results indicate that individuals with PD display a reduced response to the altered intensity feedback in all speech tasks, suggestive of abnormal of processing of auditory feedback for speech intensity regulation. Specific deficits related to the perception of self-loudness are suggested based on the current findings. Clinical implications are
An efficient full‐bridge resonant converter for light emitting diode (LED) application with simple current control

New power control is introduced in the full‐bridge dc‐dc converter to drive an LED lamp in this paper. LEDs are semiconductor devices that behave like a constant voltage load with low equivalent series resistance (ESR). Hence, they require precise control for current regulation. In the proposed driver, the LED lamp is driven by two voltage sources connected in series through a series resonant circuit. It processes the majority of lamp power through the full‐bridge diode rectifier and supplies small power through a center‐tapped rectifier. The LED lamp current is controlled at the selected operating current by using center‐tapped rectifier output voltage. In addition, pulse‐width modulation (PWM) dimming is implemented. The proposed topology features zero‐voltage switching (ZVS), regulation of lamp current, dimming operation, and high efficiency. The working principle, performance, and prototype validation are given for the proposed LED driver.
A Brief Review of Paradigm Shifts in Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease: From Cognitive Reserve to Precision Medicine

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related dementias can be an enormous economic burden for taxpayers, patients, their families, medical systems, and society as a whole. Since disease-modifying treatments have failed, several studies have instead focused on a paradigm shift for preventing and treating AD. A higher cognitive reserve (e.g., greater education, occupational attainment, or more leisure activities) is associated with protection against disease-related cognitive decline. Precision medicine aims to optimize the effectiveness of disease prevention and treatment by considering specific biological components of individuals. We suggest that research into cognitive reserve and precision medicine could be a key to overcoming the limitations of traditional approaches to the prevention and treatment of AD.
Designing an Instructional Program Based on the Self-monitoring Strategy and Measuring Its Effect on the University Students’ Development in Translation Skill

The present study aimed at investigating the effect of instructional program based on the self-monitoring strategy and measuring its effect on the university students’ development in translation skill. More specifically, it attempted to answer the following questions: (1) What are the characteristics of the instructional program based on the self-monitoring strategy? (2) What is the effect of an instructional program based on the self-monitoring on the university students’ development in translation skill? To test the questions of the study, the following hypothesis was formulated: There is no statistically significant difference at the level (α = 0.05) in the university students’ development in translation skill between the experimental group and the control group due to the instructional program. To achieve the aim of the study, the researchers used a quasi-experimental design. The participants of the study were 60 seniors majoring in English language and translation at Al-Ahliyya Amman University. These were purposefully divided into an experimental group and a control group. To examine the questions of the current study, the researchers designed an instructional program based on the self-monitoring strategy to measure its effect on the university students’ development in translation skill. This program consisted of eight lessons. The validity and reliability of the program and the performance tests were ensured. The experiment lasted for one semester (approximately three months). Students’ scores on the translation performance test towards translation were statistically analyzed using the ANCOVA (Analysis of covariance). The findings of the study showed that there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups in translation performance test in favor of experimental group (38.92) which was taught using the self-monitoring strategy.
Ground control at Leinster Nickel Operations

Leinster Nickel Operations, located in Western Australia, consists of an underground and three open pit mines in relatively adverse ground conditions. This paper reviews our ground control practices in the open pits, covering aspects of ground support, wall control and monitoring. These methods have been effective in allowing mining operations to continue beneath unstable slopes. In particular, the use of Groundprobei? ½s slope stability radar has enabled the Harmony open pit to safely operate for months following indication of failure from traditional methods. This case study highlights the benefits of investing in appropriate slope stability monitoring systems.