Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transformations: Theory and Practice in Early Education: Proceedings of the Conference held in University College Cork, Saturday, 5th April, 2003

In recent years a growing body of evidence has implicated deficits in the automaticity of fundamental facts such as word and number recognition in a range of disorders: including ADHD, Dyslexia, Apraxia and Autism. Variously described as habits, fluency, chunking and over learning, automatic processes are best understood in terms of their distinctive properties. While typically identified as fast, parallel, attention free processes, a commonly agreed definition of automaticity continues to elude theorists investigating this concept. Most theorists would, however, agree that since attentional resources are finite, automaticity of basic facts serves to free sufficient mental resources for a learner to focus their attention on the novel or more complex aspects of a task. Yet despite the importance of automaticity to the learner, the term remains largely unfamiliar to most educationalists and early years practitioners. In order to address this issue, the present paper seeks to review several influential theories of automaticity, to describe the problems associated with defining a process as automatic and to draw from relevant research to demonstrate how the early years environment can be organised to promote automaticity in the young learner. INTRODUCTION Throughout the last decade a growing body of research has investigated the relationship between automaticity and a wide range of learning disabilities including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dysgraphia, and dyscalculia (AASU, 2001; Warshaw, 2002). Evidence from these studies suggests an association between deficits in automaticity and difficulties in reading, reading comprehension, reading fluency, writing, numeracy, spelling, memory, speed, hearing, vision and balance (Gray, 1999; Nicolson & Fawcett, 1999). Similarly deficits in automatic word recognition have been shown to underpin dyslexia, while other research suggests that children with apraxia of speech (a difficulty in sequencing the motor movements necessary for volitional speech) have failed to automatise the basic components of speech (Vellerman, 2001). 128 OMEPint2004fin:OMEPint2004fin 24/02/2010 14:09 Page 128
Numerical Modelling of the Experimental Response of SRG Systems

Modern repairing and retrofitting methods for existing structures make use of composite materials, consisting of high strength textiles and a matrix, which can be either polymeric or inorganic. These kinds of techniques have been largely applied to masonry structures, since they significantly improve structural performance with a small increase of weight and a minimum invasiveness. However, the application of organic gluing agents on masonry has revealed some well-known drawbacks, which are almost all overcome resorting to inorganic matrixes, namely cement or lime mortars. An entire class of composites is thus identified as TRM (Textile Reinforced Mortars) or FRCM (Fibre Reinforced Cementitious Matrices). Among them, Steel Reinforced Grout (SRG) are characterized by Ultra High Tensile Strength Steel (UHTSS) cords embedded in mortar matrix and their use to improve the structural performance of existing historical masonry buildings is becoming more and more diffused. Qualification tests and acceptance criteria for SRG have just been defined. Nonetheless, numerical simulation of current available test procedures is mandatory to identify peculiar aspects of the response that at a following stage become an integral part of large scale models, when entire reinforced structures or portions need to be analysed. To this end, this work presents the numerical modelling of two different direct tensile tests on SRG systems: the Clamping-grip setup (RILEM Technical Committee 232-TDT 2016) and the Clevis-grip setup (ICC-ES AC434 2016). Numerical models able to replicate experimental tests and catch fundamental differences in their failure mechanisms are present
Newborn care practices in urban slums: Evidence from central India

One-third of India’s urban population resides in slums and squatters, in extreme poverty conditions. Newborn care is sub-optimal among India’s urban poor, yet scarcely documented. We assessed newborn care practices in 11 urban slums of Indore in Central India. Practices such as clean cord care, thermal care, timely initiation of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding upto neonatal period were enquired from 312 mothers of infants aged 2-4 months. Correlates of these practices were identified using multiple logistic regression. 72.1% births were home births (slum-home: 56.4%, native-village home: 15.7%). Slum-based traditional birth attendants (sTBAs) conducted 77.3% slum home births. Skilled assistance during slum-home births was low (7.4%). Clean cord care (22.2%) and thermal care (10.2%) practices were also low. Trained or skilled assistance during slum-home births was positively associated with clean cord care (OR 4.8 CI 1.7-13.6) and thermal care (OR 2.0 CI: 1.1-4.1). Timely initiation of breastfeeding was suboptimal (50.6%) even in facility births. Exclusive breastfeeding upto neonatal period was higher for mothers counselled on exclusive breastfeeding by a health volunteer during neonatal period (OR 2.3, CI 1.4-3.8). Following emerge imperative for improving newborn care in urban slums- i) antenatal and postnatal counselling by trained health volunteers, ii) enhancing competence of sTBAs and linking them to affordable facilities; and iii) sensitizing and training public health facility staff.
Mecanismos de generación de las oscilaciones lentas del electroencefalograma durante el sueño

Introduccion. El electroencefalograma (EEG) refleja durante el sueno de ondas lentas (etapas 2 y 3-4 del ciclo vigilia-sueno) diferentes actividades oscilatorias: oscilaciones d (< 4 Hz), husos de sueno y complejos K. Estas actividades se generan fundamentalmente por la actividad de las neuronas talamicas de relevo cortical, las neuronas del nucleo reticular talamico y por las neuronas de la corteza cerebral. Desarrollo. La combinacion de propiedades electrofisiologicas intrinsecas de las neuronas talamicas y corticales, asi como sus conexiones sinapticas, son las responsables de la generacion de estas oscilaciones. El registro extra o intracelular de estas neuronas durante el sueno espontaneo o inducido por anestesicos muestra como estas neuronas cambian su actividad electrica durante el sueno lento debido a la hiperpolarizacion de su potencial de membrana. Por tanto, las neuronas talamicas disminuyen su respuesta a los estimulos sensoriales, y filtran esta informacion hacia la corteza cerebral. Las celulas de glia tambien contribuyen a la generacion de las ondas d del EEG, y oscilan sincronicamente con las neuronas corticales. Ademas, las oscilaciones de esta red neuronal y glial se asocian con cambios importantes en la concentracion de determinados iones en el espacio extracelular; por ejemplo, la concentracion de K+ y Ca2+ que oscilan sincronicamente con la actividad neuronal y de la glia. Conclusiones. Estas oscilaciones en el EEG, mas lentas que las observadas en la vigilia o el sueno paradojico, son fundamentales en el procesamiento de la informacion que maneja el sistema nervioso central, y filtran la informacion irrelevante hacia la corteza cerebral.
Diamond‐shaped metasurface low‐profile wideband antenna

A low profile wideband metasurface (MTS) antenna based on periodically modulated diamond-shaped patch is presented. The proposed antenna consists of diamond-shaped MTS patches and a slotted antenna fed by a microstrip line, which excites both the quasi-TM30 mode of MTS patches and a slot antenna mode to realise a wideband operation. Impedance bandwidth for −10 dB return loss achieves 49% of 5 GHz Wi-Fi band (from 4.53 to 7.55 GHz). The proposed antenna maintains gain from 5 to 9.8 dB and its cross-section dimension is 0. 06λ 0.
Studying on the Optimum Frequency of Driving Voltage of Electro-osmotic

Electro-osmotic actuation is an effective method of mixing micro-scale fluids. In this paper, an annular micro-channel mixing model, in which electro-osmosis are used to mix fluids, is established to simulate fluid mixing condition. Simulation results show that for fixed flow parameters, there is a supply frequency that can optimize the mixing efficiency. As the frequency increases, the mixing efficiency increases firstly and then decreases. The optimal mixing efficiency is about 95% at the frequency of 25 Hz. Furthermore, the influence of flow velocity, electrode position and voltage amplitude on the optimal frequency is proposed, and the physical mechanisms are discussed. Numerical analysis shows the electro-osmotic of electric field can produce a vortex, which can increase the mixing efficiency in micro-channels effectively. The mixing efficiency can be improved by increasing voltage amplitude and the electrode gap. When the velocity of fluids increases, the residence time of particles decreases, the frequency of optimization will increase accordingly.
Electrical interaction between nanoparticle and surface of material

We identify the interaction between nanoparticle and surface of material in the presence of an electric field. For theoretical calculation, we use the dyadic green function that includes with the method of image dipoles to analyze electrical interaction. We find that the electric field and the interaction potential which depend on the dielectric constant and surface roughness of material. Our numerical results demonstrate the electric field and the interaction potential which corresponds to the Van der Waals interaction and can be used to determine charges distribution on nanoparticle and surface of material.
Unmixing of multispectral photoacoustic images

Photoacoustic imaging is an hybrid modality to image biological tissues. Using multispectral optical excitation, photoacoustic imaging allows to obtain functional images due to the fact that a tissue has a specific optical absorption depending on the used wavelengths. Quantification of multispectral photoacoustic images can be of great interest to different applications by quantifying oxygenated (HbO2) and deoxygenated (Hb) blood in tissue. Quantification can be done by examining the abundance maps resulting from unmixing methods. Two hyperspectral unmixing methods, namely Group Lasso with Unit sum and Positivity constraints (GLUP) and Fully Constrained Least-Square (FCLS), are used to quantify multispectral photoacoustic images. Experiments using two synthetic and one experimental dataset show that unmixing methods provide good quantification performances, which is of great interest for various medical applications.
Mortality Trends in a Population-based Type 1 Diabetes Cohort

Individuals with type 1 diabetes (T1D) have significantly higher mortality rates than their peers in the general population. Major advances in the management of T1D occurred during the 1980s and 1990s, but recent data on their long-term effects on overall and cause-specific mortality are limited, especially in the United States. A phenomenon, known as dead-in-bed syndrome, is of particular concern as it occurs in young, healthy T1D individuals who are unexpectedly found dead in bed. Using follow-up data from a large population-based cohort, this dissertation provides contemporary mortality rates in persons with long-standing T1D. Cause-specific mortality is also explored, focusing on how mortality rates from major causes compare to the general population and on characterizing T1D deaths that meet the criteria for dead-in-bed syndrome. Overall, the mortality of individuals with T1D is seven times higher than seen in the general population. T1D individuals diagnosed more recently have significantly lower mortality rates than those diagnosed earlier, even after controlling for age. The greatest improvements in mortality have occurred in deaths from diabetes-related causes (diabetic coma, renal disease, cardiovascular disease, or infection), suggesting long-term benefits to improved T1D care. In a pattern quite contrary to what is seen in the general population, females with T1D have a higher mortality than males with T1D, especially from diabetes-related causes. While African-Americans with T1D have much higher mortality rates than T1D Caucasians in this cohort, this racial difference was similar to that seen in the general population. Finally, dead-in-bed syndrome in this population appears associated with male sex, low BMI, and disturbed metabolic control (high HbA1c, high daily insulin dose, and a history of severe hypoglycemia). The public health implications of this dissertation are considerable, as it provides insight into the causes of premature mortality in T1D, permitting the development of more effective and targeted preventative strategies. These findings also have the potential to change routine care practices to address disparities by race and sex in T1D mortality, and resolve disparities in health and life insurance provisions, since antiquated T1D mortality estimates are currently used, which do not account for recent advances in T1D treatments.
Plasma Treatment Method for Ohmic Contacts on Zinc Oxide Thin Film Transistors

This research utilizes plasma treatments as a method to decrease the contact resistance on zinc oxide (ZnO) thin film transistors (TFT). In recent years, researchers have achieved gigahertz RF switch cutoff frequency with ZnO TFTs. To further increase the cutoff frequency, the total resistance of this device must be minimized. Modern ZnO TFTs are fabricated with submicron channel lengths, which contains minimal resistance due to the TFT channel, making contact resistance significant to the total resistance of the device. This research developed a method to integrate plasma treatments into the fabrication of ZnO TFT to decrease the contact resistance, thus increasing the cutoff frequency of the device. Three plasma treatment methods were used, including Ar plasma generated in an inductively coupled reactive-ion etch (ICP-RIE) chamber, Ar plasma applied in-situ in a metal-sputter chamber before sputtering tungsten (W) contacts, and by remotely generated hydrogen plasma. The plasma treatments were implemented after the deposition of ZnO and prior to the deposition of sputtered tungsten (W) contacts. The plasma treatments increased the conductivity of the ZnO, which allowed for the formation of ohmic contacts on the ZnO TFT. The contact resistance of the untreated ZnO TFT sample was 1.9 ohm-mm, while the ICP-RIE Ar plasma treatment, in-situ Ar plasma treatment, and H plasma treatment demonstrated minimum contact resistances of 1.2, 1.0, and 1.5 ohm-mm respectively. The in-situ Ar plasma treatment demonstrated the best results, with a decrease in contact resistance of 47%.
Abordaje teraputico del carcinoma de pulmn no microctico avanzado: estamos "avanzando"?

La quimioterapia en cáncer de pulmón no microcítico avanzado consigue un pequeño pero consistente beneficio así como paliación de síntomas relacionados con el cáncer. En la actualidad, el tratamiento en 1a línea se basa en dobletes con fármacos de 3a generación con o sin platino. Las terapias dirigidas se muestran prometedoras por su actividad y tolerancia. La aplicación de la genómica es hoy también una vía de investigación. Actualmente, se pueden considerar segundas, terceras o más líneas de tratamiento, y también una administración individualizada para performance status 2 o ancianos. Existen diferencias relacionadas con el sexo, desde su causa a los resultados. Ciertamente, estamos avanzando en el tratamiento del cáncer de pulmón no microcítico, aunque lentamente. La investigación de fármacos más eficaces, la selección de pacientes basada en factores clínicos y la biología del tumor, y la óptima combinación de las diferentes modalidades terapéuticas, son la prioridad de los ensayos del futuro.
Impact of Medical Record Audit on Quality of Healthcare Delivery - A Corporate Hospital Experience

With the introduction of managerial governance and risk management the need to be aware of individual performance has become very important. The publication of hospital outcome data is becoming progressively more popular as an answer to society's increasing consensus on general “right to know”. Patients deserve and demand that we do the right things, for the right people, at the right time and that we do them right the first time. Outcome data are proved to be useful for research and monitoring trends within an organisation. An effective program of medical record audit will help to provide reassurance to doctors, their patients and managers that the best quality of service is being achieved, having regard to the resources available. This article deals with peer review mechanism, formalized into quality accreditation and the action taken to correct the deviation by peers. A proper structure & processes of Medical Records department in a medium-size private hospital has been highlighted. The checklists that were implemented to perform the audit & the mechanism with which reviews were done have been discussed in this article. A format for Corrective Action, Preventive Action form has been given, which can be tailor-made to respective organisations, need-based. This can be used to encourage quality improvement.
30-W supercontinuum generation based on ZBLAN fiber in an all-fiber configuration

We report an all-fiberized 30-W supercontinuum (SC) generation in a piece of ZrF4-BaF2-LaF3-AlF3-NaF (ZBLAN) fiber. The pump source is a thulium-doped fiber amplifier (TDFA) with broadband output spectrum spanning the 1.9 to ∼2.6 μm region. The used ZBLAN fiber has a core diameter of 10 μm, and was directly fusion-spliced to the pigtail of the TDFA without using a traditional mode field adapter (MFA) or a piece of transition fiber. Such a low-loss and robust fusion splice joint, together with a robust AlF3-fiber-based endcap, enables efficient and high-power SC generation in the ZBLAN fiber. An SC with an average power up to 30.0 W and a spectral coverage of 1.9–3.35 μm with 20-dB bandwidth of 1.92–3.20 μm was obtained. Moreover, an SC with a broader spectrum was achieved by raising the pump pulse peak power (via reducing the duty ratio of the pump laser pulse). An SC with an output power of 27.4 W and a spectral coverage of 1.9–3.63 μm (with 20-dB bandwidth of 1.92–3.47 μm) was obtained, as well as an SC with output power of 24.8 W and a spectral coverage of 1.9–3.70 μm (with 20-dB bandwidth of 1.93–3.56 μm). The power conversion efficiency was measured as >69%. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research demonstrates the record output power of SC lasers based on ZBLAN fibers, paving the way for broadband and efficient multi-tens-of-watts SC generation in soft-glass fibers.
Atmospheric argon-plasma treatment of maltodextrin: Changes in structure and physico-chemical properties

Maltodextrin was modified using a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) argon-plasma system. Under treatments, the color of maltodextrin samples was significantly changed and could be distinguished by human eyes; free acid content was 2.25-folded increased; DE value was 1.9-folded increased compared to untreated maltodextrin. The viscosity was strongly correlated to the treatment time. After modification, maltodextrin was depolymerized to reduce around 1.56-folded of its average molecular weight and degree of polymerization compared to untreated sample. The ratio of a-helix/amorphous structures was not dramatically changed. FTIR spectra showed that the depolymerization and cross-linking formation were processed at various level. A short time of treatment mainly resulted in the broken down of C-O-C bonds; whilst, new C-O-C linkage was created during a long time of treatment.
Decision Trees for Human Activity Recognition Modelling in Smart House Environments

Human activity recognition in smart house environments is the task of automatic recognition of physical activities of a person to build a safe environment for older adults or any person in their daily life. The aim of this work is to develop a model that can recognize abnormal activities for assisting people living alone in a smart house environment. The idea is based on the assumption that people tend to follow a specific pattern of activities in their daily life. An open source database is used to train the decision trees classifier algorithm. Training and testing of the algorithm is performed using MATLAB. The results show an accuracy rate of 88.02% in the activity detection task.
Nanofibrous Scaffolds for Skin Tissue Engineering and Wound Healing Based on Nature-Derived Polymers

Nanofibrous scaffolds belong to the most suitable materials for tissue engineering, because they mimic the fibrous component of the natural extracellular matrix. This chapter is focused on the application of nanofibers in skin tissue engineering and wound healing, because the skin is the largest and vitally important organ in the human body. Nanofibrous meshes can serve as substrates for adhesion, growth and differentiation of skin and stem cells, and also as an antimicrobial and moisture-retaining barrier. These meshes have been prepared from a wide range of synthetic and nature-derived polymers. This chapter is focused on the use of nature-derived polymers. These polymers have good or limited degradability in the human tissues, which depends on their origin and on the presence of appropriate enzymes in the human tissues. Non-degradable and less-degradable polymers are usually produced in bacteria, fungi, algae, plants or insects, and include, for example, cellulose, dextran, pullulan, alginate, pectin and silk fibroin. Well-degradable polymers are usually components of the extracellular matrix in the human body or at least in other verte brates, and include collagen, elastin, keratin and hyaluronic acid, although some polymers produced by non-vertebrate organisms, such as chitosan or poly(3-hydroxybutyrate- co -3-hydroxyvalerate), are also degradable in the human body.
A Fluorographene‐Based Synaptic Transistor

Exploring brain‐inspired synaptic devices has recently become a new focus of research in nanoelectronic communities. In this emerging field, incorporating 2D materials into three‐terminal synaptic transistors has brought various advantages. However, achieving a stable and long‐term weight‐modulation in these synaptic transistors, which are typically based on interface charge storage, is still a challenge due to the nature of their spontaneous relaxation. The application of an atomically thin fluorographene layer into the synaptic junction region suppresses this issue and improves the efficiency, tunability, and symmetry of the synaptic plasticity as well as establishing a stable weight‐regulation paradigm. These unique properties can be attributed to the dipolar rotation of CF in fluorographene. To obtain a better physical understanding, a vacancy‐dependent CF dipolar rotation model is proposed and supported by hysteresis analysis and density functional theory calculations. As proposed and demonstrated, the unique fluorographene‐based synaptic transistor may be a promising building block for constructing efficient neuromorphic computing hardware.