Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Visual Psychophysics: From Laboratory to Theory

Vision is one of the most active areas in biomedical research, and visual psychophysical techniques are a foundational methodology for this research enterprise. Visual psychophysics, which studies the relationship between the physical world and human behavior, is a classical field of study that has widespread applications in modern vision science. Bridging the gap between theory and practice, this textbook provides a comprehensive treatment of visual psychophysics, teaching not only basic techniques but also sophisticated data analysis methodologies and theoretical approaches. It begins with practical information about setting up a vision lab and goes on to discuss the creation, manipulation, and display of visual images; timing and integration of displays with measurements of brain activities and other relevant techniques; experimental designs; estimation of behavioral functions; and examples of psychophysics in applied and clinical settings. The book's treatment of experimental designs presents the most commonly used psychophysical paradigms, theory-driven psychophysical experiments, and the analysis of these procedures in a signal-detection theory framework. The book discusses the theoretical underpinnings of data analysis and scientific interpretation, presenting data analysis techniques that include model fitting, model comparison, and a general framework for optimized adaptive testing methods. It includes many sample programs in Matlab with functions from Psychtoolbox, a free toolbox for real-time experimental control. Once students and researchers have mastered the material in this book, they will have the skills to apply visual psychophysics to cutting-edge vision science.
HARNESSING THE POTENTIAL OF CANARIUM STRICTUM ROXB. A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS

An indigenous and endemic plant species of the Eastern and Western Ghats is Canarium strictum Roxb. About 100 species of tropical and subtropical trees make up the genus Canarium , which belongs to the family Burseraceae. It is a sizable, resinous tree species that is commercially harvested for dammar and has many useful folk medical applications. Its therapeutic qualities are caused by phytochemical components. The main components of stem and bark are procyanidins and triterpenoids. The current study lists Canarium strictum's pharmacological activities, ethnobotanical relevance, and general characteristics in order to help researchers prepare for approaching the plant's utility, efficacy, and potency.
Interpreting discordant indirect and multiple treatment comparison meta-analyses: an evaluation of direct acting antivirals for chronic hepatitis C infection

: Indirect treatment comparison (ITC) and multiple treatment comparison (MTC) meta-analyses are increasingly being used to estimate the comparative effectiveness of interventions when head-to-head data do not exist. ITC meta-analyses can be conducted using simple methodology to compare two interventions. MTC meta-analyses can be conducted using more complex methodology, often employing Bayesian approaches, to compare multiple interventions. As the number of ITC and MTC meta-analyses increase, it is common to find multiple analyses evaluating the same interventions in similar therapeutic areas. Depending on the choice of the methodological approach, the conclusions about relative treatment efficacy may differ. Such situations create uncertainty for decision makers. An illustration of this is provided by four ITC and MTC meta-analyses assessing the efficacy of boceprevir and telaprevir for chronic hepatitis C virus infection. This paper examines why these evaluations provide discordant results by examining specific methodological issues that can strengthen or weaken inferences.
Creating a Ground-breaking Interprofessional Education Program for Optimal Healthcare Delivery

Critical adjustments are needed in the health professions curricula to produce prepared graduates for the workforce. Our goal was to consider the applicability and use of the interprofessional education program (IPD) design for the Department of Health Sciences at North-West University in South Africa. This research used an ordered multidisciplinary design to create an IPD curriculum for a South African medical faculty. To summarize the global organization, development, and execution processes of IPD programs, a scoping review was done. An examination of IPD programs from institutions across five continents came next. The viewpoints of worldwide specialists on the creation and execution of IPD programs were subsequently investigated in a qualitative study. After that, the setting of universities was examined, and a draft IPD program was developed utilizing the data compiled from all earlier investigations. Faculty members were given the program to review and comment using an insignificant group technique. The IPD program development process was established in ten parts for the scoping study. Through each phase, manual and to-do lists were supplied for the subjective analysis of documents to assist educators in conceptualizing, creating, executing, and reviewing their IPD programs. Four themes were found during the personal exploratory, descriptive design transcript analysis. To prepare for full academic incorporation of the IPD into the teaching staff of Health care programs throughout subsequent development of the health science curricula, a three-year option IPD program was created. The established alternative 3-year IPD program will act as an example of how a credit-bearing IPD doctorate can eventually be incorporated into the academic programs of the Department of Health Sciences.
Pengaruh Stopword Terhadap Performa Klasifikasi Tweet Berbahasa Indonesia

Data tweet telah banyak dimanfaatkan dalam penelitian di bidang text mining. Salah satu diantaranya adalah dalam klasifikasi teks. Namun, sebagian besar data tweet merupakan data yang masih kotor dan mengandung banyak noise di dalamnya. Oleh karena itu, pemrosesan awal terhadap tweet sangat penting untuk dilakukan. Salah satu metode pemrosesan awal yang dilakukan untuk mereduksi noise dalam tweet adalah stopword removal. Lebih lanjut penelitian ini akan melakukan perbandingan hasil akurasi antara pemrosesan awal yang melibatkan proses penghapusan stopword dengan permosesan awal yang tanpa melibatkan stopword removal. Hal ini dilakukan untuk mengetahui signifikansi tahapan stopword removal dalam klasifikasi teks berbahasa Indonesia. Dalam penelitian ini, dilakukan dua model pemrosesan awal dimana salah satu proses melibatkan stopword removal dan proses yang lainnya tanpa melakukan stopword removal. Hasil eksperimen menunjukkan bahwa melakukan penghapusan stopword dalam pre-processing mampu meningkatkan performa klasifikasi yang dibuktikan dengan adanya peningkatan akurasi. Kata Kunci : Stopword removal, pre-processing, klasifikasi teks, klasifikasi tweet
The impact of customer relationship management capability on innovation and performance advantages: testing a mediated model

Abstract Customer relationship management (CRM) and innovation are widely considered to be valuable capabilities associated with competitive advantage. However, there is a lack of research demonstrating how they work together to produce performance advantages. This research investigates the mediating role of innovation between CRM and performance. The authors examine the direct impact of both CRM and innovation on firm performance. Moreover, they investigate the role of innovation as a mediating mechanism to explain the effect of CRM on performance. The authors use structural equation modelling to test the relationships among these constructs. The results support the direct impact of CRM and innovation on performance. Also, the findings indicate that the indirect effect of CRM on firm performance through innovation is significant. These results reinforce the view that developing close relationships with customers enhances a firm's ability to innovate.
Enhancing resilience or furthering vulnerability? Responses to water stress in an urbanizing basin in Southern India 1

Urbanizing areas in developing countries face multiple stressors, including climate induced ones. We examine the case of water stress in agriculture in Arkavathy sub-basin in Southern India, a rapidly urbanizing landscape, including a part of the megacity of Bangalore. Drawing upon a farm household survey, supplemented by long term data on climate, we show that water stress in agriculture is not driven by climate change, but by the rapid increase in groundwater irrigation, followed by dropping water tables. Groundwater use may help maintain welfare of farmers in the short run, but over extraction reduces sustainability of the resource, furthering vulnerability in the long run. We caution that the exclusive focus on climate change might distract us from paying attention to the multiple stressors that trigger changes. Further, resilience and vulnerability analysis should address the underlying normative concerns as they matter to specific problem contexts.
Time and process: an operational framework for processual analysis

Most social phenomena are processes, and like all processes they ‘take time’. They are part of the flow of history; they evolve and, in doing so, produce changes themselves. However, the dynamic aspects of such phenomena are not always taken seriously in the social sciences. Time is often seen as a variable to be added to the others but without incorporating what it changes into what is observed. In other cases, authors focus on events and dates and processes are fragmented : the continuity of the story and its connection with the context can be forgotten. Temporal objects should be subjected to processual analysis (Mohr, 1982, Pettigrew, 1990, Chiles, 2003 etc.). Such analysis aims to consider process in a narrative perspective, integrating the arrangement of elements, rather than measuring occurrences of events and variables. The purpose of this article is to take up the challenge of theorising processes. It will seek to develop a set of conceptual tools based on a linkage between time and the changes observed in the phenomena under investigation.
Ekoist: Journal of Econometrics and Statistics

The basis of the convergence hypothesis is based on Solow (1956). According to this hypothesis within the neo-classical growth theory approaches, the income of the less developed countries will reach the level of developed countries after a while. The hypothesis of convergence of incomes of underdeveloped countries to incomes of developed countries is a hypothesis frequently tested in the literature. Most of the current growth models are the Solow model, directly or indirectly. Although it is a simple model, the Solow model has many advantages. Moreover, most of the growth models are, directly or indirectly, based on the Solow model. In this study, the convergence of annual income series of the EU member countries, covering the period of 1960-2018, was examined. In this study, the stochastic convergence hypothesis, one of the convergence types, was tested with panel unit root tests based on SUR models. The SURADF and SURKSS panel unit root tests are second generation panel unit root tests. The SURADF and SURKSS panel unit root tests take into account the cross-sectional dependency, and allow for an explanation of each unit separately. In this study, it was concluded that EU member countries converged to the EU’s group average.
Organisation of the sympathetic skin response in spinal cord injury

Objectives: The sympathetic skin response (SSR) is a technique to assess the sympathetic cholinergic pathways, and it can be used to study the central sympathetic pathways in spinal cord injury (SCI). This study investigated the capacity of the isolated spinal cord to generate an SSR, and determined the relation between SSR, levels of spinal cord lesion, and supraspinal connections. Methods: Palmar and plantar SSR to peripheral nerve electrical stimulation (median or supraorbital nerve above the lesion, and peroneal nerve below the lesion) were recorded in 29 patients with SCI at various neurological levels and in 10 healthy control subjects. Results: In complete SCI at any neurological level, SSR was absent below the lesion. Palmar SSR to median nerve stimuli was absent in complete SCI with level of lesion above T6. Plantar SSR was absent in all patients with complete SCI at the cervical and thoracic level. In incomplete SCI, the occurrence of SSR was dependent on the preservation of supraspinal connections. For all stimulated nerves, there was no difference between recording from ipsilateral and contralateral limbs. Conclusions: No evidence was found to support the hypothesis that the spinal cord isolated from the brain stem could generate an SSR. The results indicate that supraspinal connections are necessary for the SSR, together with integrity of central sympathetic pathways of the upper thoracic segments for palmar SSR, and possibly all thoracic segments for plantar SSR.
Marine tourism and sharks : a case study of Protea Banks.

Marine touri sm is an expanding segment of both international and domestic touri sm in KwaZulu-Natal and can be of valuable contribution to the national and local economy, but there are also concerns about its sustainability. Tw o of the most popular marine activities in KwaZulu-Natal are di ving and recreational fishing. However , these two different user groups can also create conflicts as they ha ve very different user practic es in relati on to the same marine area ana its resources. While certain marin e regi ons along the coast ha ve been declared marin e protected areas with site specific management plans, other popular marine areas remain almo st unmanaged. Shelly Beach on the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal is the most popular boat launching site on the Natal coastlin e with both divers and recreational fishermen visiting a fossili sed sand dune reef called Protea Banks which is situated 7 to 8 km off-shore from Shelly Beach. The reef is famous for its abundance of fish as the attraction for fishermen and big sharks attracting divers. A controversial topi c in association with Protea Banks is its shark population. The divers are concern ed that the number of sharks is decreasing, while the fishermen are concerned about there being too many sharks eating their hooked fish before they can boat their catch. Thi s study looks at marine tourism and sharks using Protea Banks as a case study for marine touri sm and management. Th e focus is on stakeholders' and different marine user group s' opinions on management, marin e resource protecti on and user conflict. The issue of sharks and sustainability in association with both diving and recreational fishing is also investig ated . Th e study shows that the stakeholders have developed a system of se lf-regulation based on the experience gained from their utilisation of Protea Banks. Th e stakeho lde rs prefer to maintain this system rath er than the authorities declaring the area a marine protect ed area or in other ways further involve the auth oriti es . The various stakeholders express
A Comparative Study of Image Denoising Methods Using Wavelet Thresholding Techniques

This paper compares image denoising methods using threshold that exploits the dependency of the sub-band and wavelet transformation to give estimates of signal variance by using local coefficients. There are many methods and each method may remove a different coefficient which leads to poor image quality. This paper compares Visu shrink, Bayes shrink, SURE shrink and minmax using Mean Squared Error and Peak Signal to Noise Ratio at various noise.
A New Preferential Model With Homophily for Recommender Systems

"Rich-get-richer"and"homophily"are two important phenomena in evolving social networks. "Rich-get-richer"means people with higher followings are more likely to attract new fans, and"homophily"means people prefer to bond with others of the same social group or who have some other attribute in common. To formalize the phenomena simultaneously in the context of an evolving social network, we consider a K-groups preferential attachment (KPA) network model, which is helpful for the social networks recommender system. The main contribution of this paper is to propose a new evolving social network model with the mechanisms of rich-get-richer and homophily. We show that the KPA model exhibits a power-law degree distribution for each group and prove the central limit theorem (CLT) for the maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) of the parameters in the KPA model. We illustrate our results through simulated data and explore the usage of this model with real data examples.
heme oxygenase-1 is a predictive biomarker for therapeutic targeting of advanced clear cell renal cell carcinoma treated with sorafenib or sunitinib

Background: We analyzed the expression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in patients undergoing radical nephrectomy for advanced clear cell renal cell carcinoma (CC-RCC) and evaluated the effects of the targeted therapies treated with sorafenib and sunitinib. Methods: Expression of HO-1 in cancer tissue from 66 patients was measured by immunohistochemical staining. The patients received either oral sorafenib (n = 40) or oral sunitinib (n = 26) within 4 weeks after nephrectomy and were followed up long term to determine the tumor response and prognosis. Results: Our current study revealed a high HO-1 expression level in 57.6% (38/66) of patients and a low HO-1 expression level in 42.4% (28/66) of patients with CC-RCC. The study also revealed that patients with high HO-1 expression did not have a higher objective response rate (2.6% versus 53.6%, P , 0.01), clinical benefit rate (47.4% versus 92.9%, P , 0.01), longer progression-free survival (4.4 versus 42 months, P = 0.022), or overall survival ( χ 2 = 4.775, P = 0.029) than patients with low HO-1 expression. In the low HO-1 level group, a higher tumor response rate and a longer survival time was achieved in patients who received sorafenib or sunitinib. Multivariate analysis showed that HO-1 expression was an independent prognostic factor for tumor response and overall survival. Conclusion: High expression of HO-1 was associated with a lower tumor response rate and a shorter overall survival time when compared with low expression of HO-1. Overall, HO-1 expression might be a useful biomarker for predicting the response to sunitinib and sorafenib for patients with metastatic CC-RCC.
Modules of the 0-Hecke algebras for genomic Schur functions

We construct an H m (0)-module G λ ; m whose image under the quasisym-metric characteristic is the m th degree homogeneous component of the genomic Schur function U λ by defining an H m (0)-action on increasing gapless tableaux. We then provide a direct sum decomposition of G λ ; m and show that each summand of this decomposition is isomorphic to a weak Bruhat interval module.
SIGNALING NETWORKS IN FOCUS REDOX SIGNALING IN THE CARDIOMYOCYTE: FROM PHYSIOLOGY TO FAILURE

The specific effect of oxygen and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in mediating post-translational modification of protein targets has emerged as a key mechanism regulating signaling components, a process termed redox signaling. ROS act in the post-translational modification of multiple target proteins including receptors, kinases, phosphatases, ion channels and transcription factors. Both O 2 and ROS are major source of electrons in redox reactions in aerobic organisms. Because the heart has the highest O 2 consumption among body organs, it is not surprising that redox signaling is central to heart function and pathophysiology. In this article, we review some of the main cardiac redox signaling pathways and their roles in the cardiomyocyte and in heart failure, with particular focus on the specific molecular targets of ROS in the heart.
Exploring the physics behind the non-thermal emission from star-forming galaxies detected in gamma rays

Star-forming galaxies (SFGs) emit non-thermal radiation from radio to gamma-rays. We aim to investigate the main mechanisms of global CR transport and cooling in SFGs. The way they contribute in shaping the relations between non-thermal luminosities and SFR could shed light onto their nature. We develop a model to compute the CR populations of SFGs, taking into account their production, transport, and cooling. The model is parameterised only through global galaxy properties, and describes the non-thermal emission in both radio and gamma-rays. We focus on the role of diffusive and advective transport by galactic winds, either driven by turbulent or thermal instabilities. We compare model predictions to observations, for which we compile a homogeneous set of luminosities in these radio bands, and update those available in gamma-rays. Our model reproduces reasonably well the observed relations between the gamma-ray or 1.4 GHz radio luminosities and the SFR, assuming a single power-law scaling of the magnetic field with the latter with index beta=0.3, and winds blowing either at Alfvenic speeds or typical starburst wind velocities. Escape of CR is negligible for>30 Mo/yr. A constant ionisation fraction of the interstellar medium fails to reproduce the 150 MHz radio luminosity throughout the whole SFR range. Our results reinforce the idea that galaxies with high SFR are CR calorimeters, and that the main mechanism driving proton escape is diffusion, whereas electron escape also proceeds via wind advection. They also suggest that these winds should be CR or thermally-driven at low and intermediate SFR, respectively. Our results globally support that magnetohydrodynamic turbulence is responsible for the dependence of the magnetic field strength on the SFR and that the ionisation fraction is strongly disfavoured to be constant throughout the whole SFR range.
Exploring Trade-Offs in Spiking Neural Networks

Abstract Spiking neural networks (SNNs) have emerged as a promising alternative to traditional deep neural networks for low-power computing. However, the effectiveness of SNNs is not solely determined by their performance but also by their energy consumption, prediction speed, and robustness to noise. The recent method Fast & Deep, along with others, achieves fast and energy-efficient computation by constraining neurons to fire at most once. Known as time-to-first-spike (TTFS), this constraint, however, restricts the capabilities of SNNs in many aspects. In this work, we explore the relationships of performance, energy consumption, speed, and stability when using this constraint. More precisely, we highlight the existence of trade-offs where performance and robustness are gained at the cost of sparsity and prediction latency. To improve these trade-offs, we propose a relaxed version of Fast & Deep that allows for multiple spikes per neuron. Our experiments show that relaxing the spike constraint provides higher performance while also benefiting from faster convergence, similar sparsity, comparable prediction latency, and better robustness to noise compared to TTFS SNNs. By highlighting the limitations of TTFS and demonstrating the advantages of unconstrained SNNs, we provide valuable insight for the development of effective learning strategies for neuromorphic computing.