Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sensory Problems in Children with Epilepsy

Objective: The purpose of this research is to study the sensory responsivity pattern of children with epilepsy and compare it in children with the typical development and global developmental delay. Method: Parents of 30 children with epilepsy, 30 children with global developmental delay (GDD) and 60 typical children 7 to 36 months of age completed the infant toddler sensory profile questionnaire. Parents used a 5-point likert scale to report the percentage of time their children engaged in each behavior. Chi -square test was used to analyze the difference in the performance of typical children, children with GDD and children with epilepsy in the five sensory processing sections and in the four quadrants. Results: The performance of children with epilepsy was significantly different (p<0.01) from typical children on all sensory processing sections and quadrants. Significant difference was observed in the auditory, tactile and oral sensory processing sections between typical children and children with GDD. Significant difference was observed in the visual, tactile, vestibular and oral sensory processing sections when compared with the performance of children with epilepsy and children with GDD. Conclusion: Children with epilepsy have deficits in sensory processing abilities as measured by the sensory profile that affect their daily performance.
Face Sketch to Photo Matching Using LFDA

: The progression of biometric technology has provided criminal investigators additional tools to determine the criminal’s identity. In addition to DNA and circumstantial evidence, if a dormant fingerprint is found at an investigative sight or a surveillance camera captures an image of a suspect’s face, then these cues may be used to determine the identity of culprit’s, using automated biometric identification. However, many crimes occur when none of such information is present, but instead an eye-witness of the crime is available. In such situation a forensic artist is often used to work with the witness or the victim in order to draw a sketch that depicts the facial appearance of the culprit according to the verbal description; such sketch drawn depending on the description given by an eye witness is called forensic sketch. Using feature based approach how to match a forensic sketch to a gallery of mugshot images described here. To match forensic sketches against mugshot images a robust framework called local feature-based discriminant analysis (LFDA) is used. In this paper experiments are carried out using 45 forensic sketches for matching against a gallery of 150 photo images. In this framework, both sketch and photo images are considered for extracting feature descriptors using scale invariant feature transform (SIFT) and multiscale local binary pattern (MLBP) method. The experimental results demonstrate the matching performance using the presented feature based approach .
Measuring User Experience in Conversational Interfaces: A Comparison of Six Questionnaires

User experience (UX) has become an important aspect in the evaluation of interactive systems. In parallel, conversational interfaces have been increasingly used in many work and everyday settings. Although there have been various methods developed to evaluate conversational interfaces, there has been a lack of methods specifically focusing on evaluating user experience. This study reviews the six main questionnaires for evaluating conversational systems in order to assess the potential suitability of these questionnaires to measure various UX dimensions. We found that (i) four questionnaires included assessment items, in varying extents, to measure hedonic, aesthetic and pragmatic dimensions of UX; (ii) two questionnaires assessed affect, and one assessed frustration dimension; and, (iii) enchantment, playfulness and motivation dimensions have not been covered sufficiently by any questionnaires. We recommend using multiple questionnaires to obtain a more complete measurement of user experience or improve the assessment of a particular UX dimension.
Hydrological Modeling of Aquifers and Their Ground Water Potentials: Implications for Water Resources Planning and Management in Parts of Obio/Akpor L.G.A, Rivers State, Nigeria

This study examined the hydrological modeling of aquifers and their ground water potentials for the purposes of water resources planning and management. This was done using the electrical resistivity method employing the schlumberger electrode configuration at randomly selected stations to obtain the thicknesses and resistivities of each layer and depth to the presumably conglomeratic sand stone and its resistivity. Findings showed that the top soil layer resistivity values vary from 59.3 to 248.4 ohm-m and thickness of 0.6 to 3.9 m. The second layer has resistivity values ranging from 45.0 to 743.5 ohm-m and a thickness range of 1.5 to 13.8 m. The wet sand is characterized by resistivity values ranging from 144.8 to 1930.2 ohm-m and a thickness range of 3.8 to 65.8 m. The conglomeratic sand/sand stone has resistivity values ranging from 55.8 to 7719.8 ohm-m. The depth to this bottom layer varies from 6.6 to 89.5 m. Findings indicate that the entire profile is a sedimentary formation represented by lithological units of sand and clayey sand which make for a good groundwater potentials. However, the groundwater potential zones of the study area in terms of transmisivity revealed four distinct classes representing “very good” (Mgbuosimini, Rumuigbo, Okporo, Rumuomasi and Rumuodara), “good” (Alakahia, Rumuodomaya, Oginigba and Rumuola), “moderate” (Aluu, Rumuekeni, Rumuokoro, Rumuobiakani and Rumueme), and “low” (Ogbogoro, Ozuoba, Akpajio, Elelenwo, Eliozu, Rumuepirikon, Rumuokwuta, Rumuebekwe and Rumurolu) groundwater potential in the area. Well logging should therefore be incorporated in borehole development process for safe and sustainable yield of groundwater in Obio/Akpor.
Induced phagotrophy in the photosynthetic dinoflagellate Heterocapsa triquetra

Mixotrophy by the photosynthetic dinoflagellate Heterocapsa triquetra was investigated using fluorescently labelled algae (FLA) (size 1 . 3 , 6 pm). Experiments were conducted in nitrogenand phosphorus-replete/depleted medium under light and dark conditions. Incubations ranged from several hours to several days. The dinoflagellate was capable of phagotrophy when exposed to light and dark periods in nutrient-depleted medi'um. H. triquetra showed similar ingestion rates in the light (range: 0.1 to 0.4 FLA dino-l d-l) and in the dark (range: 0.06 to 0.4 FLA dino-' d-'). The dinoflagellate was able to selectively ingest the different FLA. The cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. was not ingested, whereas a small round flagellate and the diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana were observed inside the cells. The flagellate was ingested at higher rates than the diatom in both the light and the dark. About 40 % of the labelled flagellate was removed from the suspension by H. triquetra in the light and 22 "/0 in the dark. The diatom was removed from the suspension at the same rate (27 to 30%) in both light and dark treatments. After 5 d incubation in nutrient-depleted medium and no addition of FLA, the proportion of small H. triquetra cells (<l000 pm3) increased from 50 to over 75 %. In the presence of FLA, the distribution of H. triquetra cell volumes showed that the proportion of larger cells p2000 pm3) increased from 6 to >20 % during long incubations in the light and the dark. Since the frequency of observed cells with ingested FLA varied from 3 to 20% for the same period, the proportion of larger cells may be the phagotrophic proportion of the population. However, only 8 (dark) to 12% (light) of the observed H. triquetra cell volume increase can be explained in terms of carbon from the ingestion of fluorescently labelled phytoplankton. We conclude that phagotrophy in H. triquetra may be important in maintaining the population in environments of low nutrient concentration and low light intensity.
Intrinsic brain activity in health and disease

The main part of the brain’s energy need is to support housekeeping functions and internal information processing, regardless of external tasks. Cognitive brain imaging, aimed at relating mental phenomena to neurophysiological processes, has conventionally investigated the brain activity induced by external stimuli. In contrast, resting state functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (rs-fMRI) aims to characterize the spatiotemporal properties of the ongoing baseline brain activity. In the projects constituting the current thesis, we have used rs-fMRI to investigate effects of neuropharamcological administrations, long-term physical exercise and to characterize central pain processing in rheumatic pain conditions. Study I is a randomized, cross sectional placebo study, in which healthy subjects were administered Parkinson medications (L-dopa), anxiolytics (oxazepam), or placebo. Our a priori hypothesis of preferential modulations of connectivity of brain regions with high density of target receptors was not confirmed. Instead, oxazepam was associated with increased connectivity of cardinal hubs within the default mode network, and interestingly, a decoupling of the amygdala. L-dopa, on the other hand, primarily decreased connectivity, particularly between amygdala and bilateral prefrontal gyri. In studies II-IV we investigated rheumatic pain patients. In study II we compared a fibromyalgia (FM) cohort and healthy controls (HC) with regard to functional brain connectivity of particularly cerebral pain regions. Conducting both data driven independent component analysis (ICA) and seed correlation analysis (SCA), we observed a weaker coupling between pain regions and sensorimotor brain areas in the FM group. Across groups, pain sensitivity correlated with e.g. increased connectivity between insula and the posterior cingulate cortex. Physical exercise is a potent reliever of FM symptoms. In study III, we investigated the effects a three months physical training intervention for FM patients. Following exercise, patients reported decreased symptom gravity, and the FM associated hyper-connectivity identified at baseline was partly normalized. In study IV, we investigated the extent to which exposure to chronic pain for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was reflected in functional connectivity of pain regions. Overall, RA patients had elevated connectivity, particularly between frontal midline areas and bilateral sensorimotor cortex. Taken together, we have shown that short-term neuropharmachological interventions, a three months physical exercise intervention as well as long-term rheumatic pain exposure, all are accompanied by changes in intrinsic brain activity. Although the functional significance of the observed group differences in connectivity warrants further investigations, the evidences presented here support the notion that rs-fMRI could prove useful for diagnosing neuropsychiatric conditions and evaluating interventions in the future.
Real-time, programmable, digital signal-processing electronics for extracting the information from a detector module for multi-modality PET/SPECT/CT scanners

Measurements performed by manufacturers on their PET devices reveal a limitation of the electronics in extracting the properties of particles hitting the detector. As a consequence, either a lead collimator with holes is placed in front of the detector (2-D mode) preventing many photons which are not sufficiently aligned with the holes from ever reaching the detector, or many photons are lost because the electronics cannot fully process the data and separate the good event from the bad events. In order to overcome the above limitation, a data acquisition system based on the programmable 3D-Flow processor has been designed for acquiring data from modules for multi-modality PET/SPECT/CT. The modular electronics allows for digital data to be acquired from all sensors included in a given view angle of the detector. Each channel can sustain an input data rate of 20 MHz, 64-bit word; 40 MHz, 32-bit word; or 80 MHz, 16-bit word. The bits at each electronic channel correspond to spatial, timing, and energy information from photomultipliers, avalanche photodiodes (APD), photodiodes, or other sensors. The programmable circuit performs digital signal-processing operations on the incoming bit string such as: (a) variable digital integration time (or pileup identification/correction) which allows for the maximum count rate capabilities while preserving spatial resolution; (b) depth of interaction which reduces the parallax error based on pulse shape discrimination (PSD), and/or pulse height discrimination (PHD); (c) improvement of the signal-to-noise ratio; (d) centroid calculation to improve spatial resolution or/and techniques of most likely position given the statistical nature of the signals; (e) correlation with neighboring signals; and (f) improving the timing resolution from the information received from the time-to-digital converter and pulse shape analysis.
Assessing Compliance-Effect Bias in the Two Stage Least Squares Estimator.

Title Page Not included in page count. Title: Mediation and Spillover Effects in Group-Randomized Trials with Application to the 4Rs Evaluation Author(s): Tyler J. VanderWeele (Harvard School of Public Health) tvanderw@hsph.harvard. edu Guanglei Hong (University of Chicago, contact author) ghong@uchicago.edu Stephanie M. Jones (Harvard Graduate School of Education) jonesst@gse.harvard. edu Joshua L. Brown (Fordham University) joshua.brown@nyu.edu
Landscape connectivity and population distributions in heterogeneous environments

Landscape connectivity refers to the functional relationship among habitat patches, owing to the spatial contagion of habitat and the movement responses of organisms to landscape structure. Heterogeneous landscapes provide a particular challenge for modelling population-level responses to habitat fragmentation, because individuals may be utilizing multiple habitats to varying degrees across the landscape. We apply neutral landscape models to understand how species' habitat affinities interacted with landscape structure (i.e., habitat abundance, distribution, and quality as measured by carrying capacity) to affect the redistribution of individuals. Two types of neutral models are presented: random maps, in which the distribution of habitat is spatially independent, and fractal maps, in which habitat exhibits an intermediate level of spatial dependence. The neutral landscapes comprised varying proportions of three habitat types, for which species exhibited a preference gradient (high, medium, low). We performed a series of simulation experiments as a factorial design of parameter states to tease apart the underlying factors responsible for population distributional patterns (random vs clumped) in spatially complex mosaics. Landscape connectivity is a threshold phenomenon, in which even a minimal loss of habitat near the critical threshold (p c ) is likely to disconnect the landscape, and which may have consequences for population distributions. The exact value of p c depends upon the spatial arrangement of habitat; fractal landscapes exhibited connectivity across a greater range of habitat abundance (p) than random maps (fractal p c = 0.29-0.50. random p c = 0.59). Although the spatial arrangement of habitat (random vs fractal) was the most important determinant of population distributional patterns, different landscape factors were important in structuring populations in the two types of maps. The relative abundance of habitat had the greatest effect on populations in random landscapes, whereas scale-dependent patterns were evident in fractal landscapes. At fine scales, population dispersion was determined by habitat abundance in both random and fractal maps, although populations were more aggregated (as measured by Morisita's Index, l m ) at this scale in random landscapes. But at coarse scales on fractal maps, population distribution was primarily influenced by species' habitat affinities. Assessment of the independent effects of habitat affinity and habitat carrying capacity on population distributions revealed that the differential interaction of species with landscape structure (i.e., different residence probabilities in each habitat type) was the primary determinant of distributional patterns. Neutral landscape models thus provide a useful tool for determining the relative importance of various components of landscape structure that affect population distributions.
Cultural Politeness in International Marketing

Global brands encounter either resistance or acceptance from Asian markets. Resistance from local consumers has limited the benefits global brands gain from globalization, as local consumers may resist by isolating, rejecting, or crowding out foreign businesses. To enhance local consumer acceptance of foreign brands, I propose a new marketing communication strategy called “cultural politeness. ” Cultural politeness principles are applicable when local consumers discern the intention of a foreign brand engaging the local culture (i.e., intercultural context) (Study 1). The scale of cultural politeness is developed and validated (Studies 1 and 2). Exploring this newly developed concept, I find that including a local cultural symbol in a foreign brand’s marketing communication may induce negative evaluation of the brand. However, when this practice is accompanied by a potentially respectful message, local consumers perceive cultural politeness in the communication, which in turn enhances brand evaluation (Study 3). The influence of cultural politeness on increased evaluations of foreign brands is found in both Indian and American cultures (Study 4). However, the positive influences of cultural politeness on the evaluation of marketing communication decrease when local consumers perceive the global brand to be a “local” brand (Study 5). In addition, several cultural politeness strategies in marketing communication are examined in Study 6. The present results demonstrate the importance of cultural politeness in global marketing communication.
What does GRI‐reporting tell us about corporate sustainability?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss what the business contribution to sustainable development is (or should be) and to propose criteria for assessing corporate sustainability. These criteria are applied for the analysis of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)‐reports of five major cement manufacturers. This will result in a discussion if GRI‐based sustainability reports really contain the information needed for judging corporate sustainability.Design/methodology/approach – Starting from a literature review of common definitions and principles, the main criteria of corporate sustainability were developed and a set of evaluation criteria for analyzing sustainability reports was proposed. Definitions and principles from concepts such as eco‐efficiency, triple‐bottom‐line, the natural step and stakeholder value were considered. Using these criteria analysis was made of the GRI‐based sustainability reports of five major cement manufacturers in order to find out to what extent the reports really addr.
Entropy Based Computational Identification of Genomic Markers for Human Papillomavirus Detection and Genotyping

Papillomavirus are circular double-stranded DNA viruses that specifically infect the skin epithelium and mucocutaneous of mammals, reptiles and birds causing asymptomatic infections, benign and malignant lesions. The discovery of new viral types in the Papillomaviridae family is very relevant since they have different pathological characteristics. The classification of papillomaviruses is based on L1 gene sequence identity. However, several studies on Human papillomavirus (HPV) diversity make use of only 450 bp fragment in L1 gene in order to classify novel HPV types, subtypes, and variants. It has been observed that this L1 fragment is not appropriated for detection and genotyping based on molecular biology methods and topological and statistical aspects of phylogenetic tree. So, the identification of novel genomic markers is relevant to develop more effective diagnostic methods. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop and apply a novel computational tool based on entropy in order to identify phylogenetic informative genomic regions that could be used as markers for the detection and genotyping of HPV. In order to develop the method, a comparative analysis was performed to assess the genetic variability of L1 gene sequences from Alphapapillomavirus, Betapapillomavirus and Gammapapillomavirus genera. Shannon entropy was calculated for each site in L1 sequence alignment. Informative sites were identified by using a cutoff of 1.0 bits of information. Phylogenetic trees were constructed based on those informative sites with maximum likelihood method. The tree topology and bootstrap values were compared. Once the markers were identified, the method uses the entropy measure to determine the best genomic regions to establish degenerate primers. The locations of forward and reverse primers are established around the selected region, sorted by their entropy values. The results showed that it was possible to identify regions in HPV genome that provide robust phylogenetic topologies, and good statistical support. Simulations showed that the primers were capable of detecting several HPV types. In order to confirm their efficacy, the primers were tested experimentally and they successfully detected HPV DNA. So, the entropy measure presented itself as a good approach to identify phylogenetic informative genomic regions, which is important to correctly position novel HPV types in a phylogenetic tree, relevant to genotype these viruses. In addition, the entropy based method could efficiently design degenerate primers that are able to amplify phylogenetic informative regions, increasing the sensitivity and specificity of the HPV diagnosis.
Two arm adaptive load apportioning using a Hopfield neural net

The interactive control issue of two robot manipulators jointly grasping a rigid object with no slippage is addressed. The use of wrist force/torque sensors on each robot arm is required to implement this control strategy. There are two items to control: (1) the forces/torques applied by the two arms that cause internal stress in the object (bias forces); and (2) the forces/torques applied by the two arms that cause acceleration of the object and overcome gravity (inertial forces). Since an object in 3-space has 6 degrees of freedom (motion along the three axes and rotation about the three axes), the bias forces or apportioned inertial forces in each of these 6 degrees of freedom can be selectively controlled. Unfortunately, it is not possible to do both in a single direction. The Hopfield neural network is used to determine the optimum (in a weighted least squares sense) load-apportioning feedback gains. Simulation results are presented. <<ETX>>