cometadata/datacite-rtg-text-other-reclassification-records huggingface dataset:
title: Combined skin and muscle vaccination differentially impact the quality of effector T cell functions
title: the CUTHIVAC-001 randomized trial
titleType: Subtitle
Creators: name: Haidari, G.
name: Cope, A.
name: Miller, A.
name: Venables, S.
name: Yan, C.
name: Ridgers, H.
name: Reijonen, K.
name: Hannaman, D.
name: Spentzou, A.
name: Hayes, P.
name: Bouliotis, G.
name: Vogt, A.
name: Joseph, S.
name: Combadiere, B.
name: McCormack, S.
name: Shattock, R. J.
Publisher: name: Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Year: 2017
Subjects: subject: DNA vaccines
subject: Lymphocyte activation
subject: Retrovirus
subject: 600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften::610 Medizin und Gesundheit

description: Targeting of different tissues via transcutaneous (TC), intradermal (ID) and intramuscular (IM) injection has the potential to tailor the immune response to DNA vaccination. In this Phase I randomised controlled clinical trial in HIV-1 negative volunteers we investigate whether the site and mode of DNA vaccination influences the quality of the cellular immune responses. We adopted a strategy of concurrent immunization combining IM injection with either ID or TC administration. As a third arm we assessed the response to IM injection administered with electroporation (EP). The DNA plasmid encoded a MultiHIV B clade fusion protein designed to induce cellular immunity. The vaccine and regimens were well tolerated. We observed differential shaping of vaccine induced virus-specific CD4 + and CD8 + cell-mediated immune responses. DNA given by IM + EP promoted strong IFN-γ responses and potent viral inhibition. ID + IM without EP resulted in a similar pattern of response but of lower magnitude. By contrast TC + IM (without EP) shifted responses towards a more Th-17 dominated phenotype, associated with mucosal and epidermal protection. Whilst preliminary, these results offer new perspectives for differential shaping of desired cellular immunity required to fight the wide range of complex and diverse infectious diseases and cancers.
Effect of Chronic Intracerebroventricluar Administration of Lipopolysaccharide on Connexin43 Protein Expression in Rat Hippocampus
Creators: name: Sayyah, Mohammad
name: Kaviani, Bahar
name: Baharak Khoshkholgh-Sima
name: Bagheri, Marzieh
name: Olad, Maryam
name: Choopani, Samira
name: Mahdian, Reza
Publisher: name: the Pasteur Institute of Iran
Year: 1996
Subjects: subject: Basic Sciences

description: Iranian Biomedical Journal (IBJ); ISSN 1028-852X
3863794.pdf
Creators: name: Zhou, Yiyu
name: Yang, Jing
name: Hassett, Jeremy
name: Rafsanjani, Seyed
name: Mirhosseini, Mohammad
name: Vamivakas, Nickolas
name: Jordan, Andrew
name: Shi, Zhimin
name: Boyd, Robert
Publisher: name: Optica Publishing Group
Year: 2025
Subjects: Uncategorized

description: Supplementary figures and derivations
A consultation training program for physicians for communication about complementary medicine with breast cancer patients: a prospective, multi- center, cluster-randomized, mixed-method pilot study
Creators: name: Bloedt, Susanne
name: Mittring, Nadine
name: Schuetzler, Lena
name: Fischer, Felix
name: Holmberg, Christine
name: Horneber, Markus
name: Stapf, Adele
name: Witt, Claudia M.
Publisher: name: Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: Communication
subject: Breast cancer
subject: Complementary and integrative medicine
subject: 600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften::610 Medizin und Gesundheit

description: Background The aim was to develop and evaluate a training program for physicians for communicating with breast cancer patients about complementary medicine (CM). Methods In a cluster-randomized pilot trial eight breast cancer centers (two physicians per center) were randomized to either a complementary communication training program (9 h e-learning + 20 h on-site skills training) or to a control group without training. Each physician was asked to consult ten patients for whom he or she is not the physician in charge. We used mixed methods: Quantitative outcomes included physicians’ assessments (empathy, complexity of consultation, knowledge transfer) and patients’ assessments (satisfaction, empathy, knowledge transfer). For qualitative analyses, 15 (eight in the training and seven in the control group) videotaped consultations were analyzed based on grounded theory, and separate focus groups with the physicians of both groups were conducted. Results A total of 137 patients were included. Although cluster-randomized, physicians in the two groups differed. Those in the training group were younger (33.4 ± 8.9 vs. 40.0 ± 8.5 years) and had less work experience (5.4 ± 8.9 vs. 11.1 ± 7.4 years). Patient satisfaction with the CM consultation was relatively high on a scale from 0 to 24 and was comparable in the two groups (training group: 19.4 ± 4.6; control group 20.5 ± 4.1). The qualitative findings showed that physicians structured majority of consultations as taught during the training. Comparing only the younger and less CM experienced physicians, those trained in CM communication felt more confident discussing CM-related topics than those without training. Conclusion A CM communication-training program might be especially beneficial for physicians with less consulting experience when communicating about CM-related issues. A larger trial using more suitable quantitative outcomes needs to confirm this. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02223091, date of registration: 7 February 2014.
Client responses to therapist statements as behavioural requests.
Creators: name: Sterner, Irit.
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 1990
Subjects: subject: Speech Communication.

description: Psychotherapists' statements may be conceptualized and described in different ways, depending on which aspects of the statements are highlighted. Traditionally, therapist statements have been described in terms of techniques that serve, for example, interpretative, reflective, or supportive functions. From a psycholinguistic or an interactional communications perspective, therapist statements may also be understood as inviting or instructing the client (directly or indirectly) to respond in a particular manner and to carry out given behaviours. Accordingly, the primary purposes of the present research were (1) to examine therapist statements as potentially containing requests for verbal behaviour, and (2) to test hypotheses regarding clients' responses to these antecedent behavioural requests. The data consisted of 12 sessions; two sessions from the beginning, middle, and end of two therapy cases, one Gestalt and the other psychodynamic. Raters identified therapist statements that contained requests for verbal behaviour and specified the nature of these requests. The requests were then organized into a general set of categories for each therapist. A second team of raters ascertained the goodness of fit between the therapist statements and the categories to which they had been assigned. A third team of judges rated the clients' responses to the therapists' antecedent requests on a four-point scale of conformity. The results indicated that a large proportion of therapist statements contained requests for verbal behaviour (66.3%). While some requests were communicated explicitly as such, others were implicit in the therapists' statements. Some categories of requested verbal behaviour were common to both therapists while others appeared to be unique to a particular therapeutic approach. Both therapists invited certain categories of verbal behaviour more often than others. The findings also showed that the level of client conformity to the therapists' antecedent requests was high in general (82% of client responses in the Gestalt case, 98% in the psychodynamic case), and that this high level was relatively stable and consistent across sessions. In the Gestalt case, the degree of conformity was found to vary depending on the type of verbal behaviour requested by the therapist. Nevertheless, a high level of conformity was reflected in all the categories in one case, and most of the categories in the other case. Contrary to expectations, the findings did not show (1) a strong upsurge in client opposition corresponding to particular stages of therapy, or (2) stage differences in the extent of conformity or type of opposition. The findings of this investigation are discussed in terms of their implications for clinical practice and future research.
The copolymerization of butyl acrylate/methyl methacrylate at elevated temperatures.
Creators: name: Hakim, Malik.
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 1998
Subjects: subject: Engineering, Chemical.

description: High temperature multi-component polymerizations have prompted a great deal of interest on the part of the paints, coatings and adhesives industry. Due to this interest, a study of the kinetics of bulk and solution butyl acrylate/methyl methacrylate (BA/MMA) copolymerization was performed over a wide range of temperatures. Reactivity ratios for the bulk and solution (in toluene) BA/MMA copolymer system were estimated for reaction temperatures of 60$\sp\circ$C to 140$\sp\circ$C and exhibited a weak temperature dependence. These parameters increased with increasing temperature which signaled a tendency of both monomers to homopolymerize. The bulk reactivity ratios were comparable to those estimated in the solution experiments and were used to successfully predict copolymer composition up to high conversions of monomer to polymer for various reaction conditions. Conversion profiles followed a typical s-shaped diffusion-controlled polymerization curve. The rate of polymerization increased with increasing temperature. Composition drift was determined to be significant at 40 to 50 wt% conversion for high and low temperatures. The use of solvent altered the conversion profiles by delaying the onset of the gel effect. However, the solvent did not affect composition and molecular weight profiles. All data obtained concurred with classical kinetic trends. Depropagation, which often plays a role at higher temperatures, was not observed for the BA/MMA copolymer system. A study of other copolymer systems that were prone to higher rates of depropagation was also performed in order to ascertain whether model discrimination could be carried out using composition data.
Production of Low Cost Carbon-Fiber through Energy Optimization of Stabilization Process
Creators: name: Golkarnarenji, Gelayol
name: Naebe, Minoo
name: Badii, Khashayar
name: Milani, Abbas S.
name: Jazar, Reza N.
name: Khayyam, Hamid
Publisher: name: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
Year: 2019

description: To produce high quality and low cost carbon fiber-based composites, the optimization of the production process of carbon fiber and its properties is one of the main keys. The stabilization process is the most important step in carbon fiber production that consumes a large amount of energy and its optimization can reduce the cost to a large extent. In this study, two intelligent optimization techniques, namely Support Vector Regression (SVR) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN), were studied and compared, with a limited dataset obtained to predict physical property (density) of oxidative stabilized PAN fiber (OPF) in the second zone of a stabilization oven within a carbon fiber production line. The results were then used to optimize the energy consumption in the process. The case study can be beneficial to chemical industries involving carbon fiber manufacturing, for assessing and optimizing different stabilization process conditions at large.
Combined nitrogen retention in an agricultural river system
Creators: name: Allaway, Christopher
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2006
Subjects: subject: Biology, Ecology.
subject: Environmental Sciences.

description: Since combined nitrogen is a pollutant in streams, rivers and coastal areas, conditions that favour nitrogen removal were identified. The importance of stream depth as a predictor of a reach's capacity to remove nitrogen was tested in the South Nation watershed (3915 km2), an agricultural watershed in eastern Ontario. Combined nitrogen (N) retention was estimated in 48 reaches across the watershed which varied in discharge (0.0008--118 m3 s-1), length (350 m to 5.2 km) and size from headwaters to the outflow of the South Nation River at the Ottawa River. Retention dynamics were also investigated within a few sites over the summer season. Retention efficiency (expressed as a percentage of inputs) varied widely for nitrate from almost complete removal within a reach to reaches acting as a net source. A narrower range in percent retention and loading was observed for total nitrogen (TN) among the sites suggesting that some forms of combined nitrogen are relatively inert. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
3863794.pdf
Creators: name: Zhou, Yiyu
name: Yang, Jing
name: Hassett, Jeremy
name: Rafsanjani, Seyed
name: Mirhosseini, Mohammad
name: Vamivakas, Nickolas
name: Jordan, Andrew
name: Shi, Zhimin
name: Boyd, Robert
Publisher: name: Optica Publishing Group
Year: 2019
Subjects: Uncategorized

description: Supplementary figures and derivations
title: In-vitro assessment of the Periotest M device as a means of measuring temporary anchorage device stability
title: a pilot study
titleType: Subtitle
Creators: name: Geyer, Cam
Publisher: name: University of Iowa
Year: 2024

description: Introduction The search for new mechanisms of anchorage has been underway in the field of orthodontics since its inception. Temporary anchorage devices (TADs), often referred to as orthodontic miniscrews, have been a supplementary mechanism by which to support tooth movement. However, failure of the TADs due to excessive mobility has plagued providers in their attempts to utilize the anchorage they provide. The purpose of this study is to establish a protocol by which TAD stability can be measured via the Periotest M device, and to investigate the validity of such data, in preparation for data collection in patients, via data collection in porcine mandibles.
description: Materials and Methods
description: In this in vitro study, four interradicular sites in the anterior region of two donated porcine mandibles were prepared via soft tissue dissection for TAD engagement. In each mandible, contralateral sites were prepared, with one site per mandible having the lingual cortex removed. One mandible was engaged to the tissue collar by two 12mm Vector System TADs at each site, with the other mandible engaged with 12mm BioRay System TADs. A series of Periotest measurements were obtained and recorded at various vertical angulations for each TAD, with each measurement being repeated thrice by two separate operators. The TADs were then unscrewed one 360-degree turn to simulate TAD failure/mobility, and the horizontal Periotest measurement series repeated. A paired t-test was used to determine if there was a statistically significant difference in inter-operator measurements, and then subsequent paired t-tests were run within operator datasets to determine if differences in measurements of mono and bicortical engaged TADs within each mandible existed. Descriptive analysis was utilized in comparison of simulated mobility measurements as well as measurements of vertical angulation variance.
description: Results
description: Amongst all pooled Periotest values (PTVs) by both operators throughout the study, significant inter-operator variability was found, with Operator 2 having lower PTVs than Operator 1. Amidst all attempted device angulations, the horizontal inclination of the Periotest device provided the most normally distributed pattern. Greater disengagement via unturning of the TADs was directly correlated with higher (indicating less stable) PTVs, though confounding factors likely exist. Monocortical vs bicortically engaged TADs yielded conflicting results with regard to PTV variances, with small sample size making it difficult to draw conclusions.
description: Conclusions
description: Data collected within this study indicate that the Periotest device may be a useful means of assessing the primary stability of TADs in vivo, but technique and TAD specific factors must be considered when obtaining and interpreting PTVs.
National Evaluation of Policies Governing Funding for Wheelchairs and Scooters in Canada
Creators: name: Smith, Emma Maria
name: Roberts, Lynn
name: McColl, MaryAnn
name: Kathleen A. (Kathleen Anne), 1968-
name: Miller, William C.
Publisher: name: The University of British Columbia
Year: 2019

description: Background. Wheelchairs, scooters, and related equipment are essential for the well-being of individuals with limited mobility and impact participation, health, and quality of life. Purpose. Our objective was to identify and evaluate policies governing equipment funding for Canadian adults. We reviewed funding legislation and program documentation for adult Canadians (≥18 years of age) covered by their provincial, territorial, or federal health care plan. Documents were obtained online or through administrative staff. Policy evaluation was guided by the Disability Policy Lens from the Canadian Disability Policy Alliance. Key Issues. Coverage ranges from full funding for all individuals within the jurisdiction to programs limited by strict eligibility criteria. Each jurisdiction defines ‘disability’ or ‘basic/essential need’ differently, contributing to further funding disparities. Implications. Funding policies differ substantially across Canada, resulting in unequal access to equipment dependent on province or territory. We identified eligibility, funding, definitions of mobility, repair and replacement, and prescriber requirement benchmarks that represent policy targets for improved access.
Political refugees or economic migrants: The case of Polish professionals, 1980-1986.
Creators: name: Bisping, John.
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 1992
Subjects: subject: Economics, General.

description: This thesis searches for the presence of economic motives in professionals, who left Poland circa 1980-81. Through this case study of so-called "political refugees", the wider goal is to examine the dichotomy between political flight and economic migration. At issue is the depoliticization of poverty in the Third World, as well as the effect of the cold war on immigration policy in Canada. The results indicate that economic factors constituted important motives for departure in our target population. It is suggested that members of the latter were therefore not political refugees by UN-defined standards.
Urinary cotinine and exposure to passive smoke in children and adolescents in Germany - Human biomonitoring results of the German Environmental Survey 2014-2017 (GerES V)
Creators: name: Hahn, Domenica
name: Kolossa-Gehring, Marike
name: Murawski, Aline
name: Debiak, Malgorzata
name: Rucic, Enrico
name: Schmied-Tobies, Maria Irene Hilde
Publisher: name: My University
Year: 2023
Subjects: Nikotin

description: Passive smoking is a preventable and significant cause of many serious health problems, with children being particularly at risk. In the fifth German Environmental Survey (GerES V), conducted from 2014 to 2017, information reflecting the extent of passive smoke exposure in children and adolescents was collected by interview-based questionnaires and human biomonitoring (HBM) analyses of cotinine in urine from 2260 participants, aged 3-17 years. Based on these population-representative data, we describe current passive smoke exposure stratified by different subgroups and identify specific exposure determinants using multivariate logistic regression. The questionnaire data revealed that 42% of children and adolescents lived with at least one smoker in the household. Quantifiable concentrations of cotinine could be detected in 56% of the participants. The overall median concentration of cotinine was 0.2(micro)g/L, with children and adolescents of low socioeconomic status found to be a group particularly affected by passive smoke with higher cotinine concentrations (median=1.2(micro)g/L). In the multiple analysis, the most significant predictor of cotinine levels derived from the questionnaire was passive smoking at home (odds ratio (OR) 13.07 [95CI: 4.65, 36.70]). However, parental smoking and passive smoking among friends and relatives could also be identified as independent factors influencing elevated cotinine levels. The comparison between the previous cycle GerES IV (2003-2006) on 3-14-year-olds and GerES V shows that tobacco smoke exposure of children decreased significantly. This decrease is likely an effect of extensive non-smoker protection laws being enforced 2007-2008 on federal and state level. This is reflected by a halving of urinary cotinine concentrations. Nevertheless, our results indicate that passive smoke is still a relevant source of harmful pollutants for many children and adolescents in Germany, and thus support the need for further efforts to reduce passive smoke exposure, especially in the private environment. © 2022 The Authors.
title: Be complicit or get out
title: a qualitative case study on the macrolevel barriers to social emotional learning (SEL)
titleType: Subtitle
Creators: name: Crowell, Amy M.
Publisher: name: University of Iowa
Year: 2023
Subjects: Alternative Schools
Macrolevel Barriers
Social-Emotional Learning
Standardized Testing
Teacher and Student Autonomy
Teacher Trauma
Educational leadership
public abstract

description: This study is a qualitative case study of a midwestern educator’s journey to implement authentic social-emotional learning (SEL) in an economically disadvantaged school district, the macrolevel challenges that she faced, and the methods she was able to implement at a private discovery school that she co-founded. After countless attempts to find solutions to the issues that arose, she was left with two choices: become complicit or leave the public schools. This case study uncovers her decision to leave American public schools and unwraps the methods and design that she was able to implement at a private discovery school in the absence of standardized testing. This study provides an awareness of what authentic implementation of SEL entails for public school educators, an understanding of the macrolevel issues that are barriers to authentic SEL implementation and provides implementation ideas for practitioners and researchers who seek to implement and/or study social-emotional learning.
The Self-Contained Negation Test Set
Creators: name: Kletz, David
name: Amsili, Pascal
name: Candito, Marie
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: Computation and Language (cs.CL)
subject: FOS: Computer and information sciences

description: Several methodologies have recently been proposed to evaluate the ability of Pretrained Language Models (PLMs) to interpret negation. In this article, we build on Gubelmann and Handschuh (2022), which studies the modification of PLMs' predictions as a function of the polarity of inputs, in English. Crucially, this test uses ``self-contained'' inputs ending with a masked position: depending on the polarity of a verb in the input, a particular token is either semantically ruled out or allowed at the masked position. By replicating Gubelmann and Handschuh (2022) experiments, we have uncovered flaws that weaken the conclusions that can be drawn from this test. We thus propose an improved version, the Self-Contained Neg Test, which is more controlled, more systematic, and entirely based on examples forming minimal pairs varying only in the presence or absence of verbal negation in English. When applying our test to the roberta and bert base and large models, we show that only roberta-large shows trends that match the expectations, while bert-base is mostly insensitive to negation. For all the tested models though, in a significant number of test instances the top-1 prediction remains the token that is semantically forbidden by the context, which shows how much room for improvement remains for a proper treatment of the negation phenomenon.
Styrenebutyl acrylate mini-emulsion-based pressure sensitive adhesives
Creators: name: Roberge, Stephane
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2005
Subjects: subject: Engineering, Chemical.

description: Adhesives are defined as substances capable of holding at least two surfaces together. A class of adhesives called pressure-sensitive adhesives (or PSAs) is characterized by instantaneous adhesion upon application of light pressure. In order to develop new application-specific products and improve existing processes, there is a need to identify the factors that influence the performance of PSAs. Operating conditions like feed composition, temperature, and solid content will affect latex properties such as copolymer composition, molecular weight distribution (MWD) and particle size distribution (PSD). Those latex properties can in turn affect the performance of the adhesive. Because of environmental concerns and government regulations to substitute solvent-based systems by water-borne products, there is a growing interest in producing such PSAs by emulsion (or mini-emulsion) polymerization. Mini-emulsions allow for improved control over the PSD compared to conventional emulsion polymerizations. Coupled with control over the MWD and copolymer composition, mini-emulsions could offer the possibility of tailoring the desired properties of PSAs. It was of interest in this thesis, to measure the effect of varying particle size and copolymer composition on adhesive properties. Based on this primary objective, a series of styrene/butyl acrylate mini-emulsion copolymerizations were carried out in a 1.2L stainless steel reactor. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
Hierarchical text categorization and its application to bioinformatics
Creators: name: Kiritchenko, Svetlana
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 2006
Subjects: subject: Biology, Bioinformatics.
subject: Computer Science.

description: In a hierarchical categorization problem, categories are partially ordered to form a hierarchy. In this dissertation, we explore two main aspects of hierarchical categorization: learning algorithms and performance evaluation. We introduce the notion of consistent hierarchical classification that makes classification results more comprehensible and easily interpretable for end-users. Among the previously introduced hierarchical learning algorithms, only a local top-down approach produces consistent classification. The present work extends this algorithm to the general case of DAG class hierarchies and possible internal class assignments. In addition, a new global hierarchical approach aimed at performing consistent classification is proposed. This is a general framework of converting a conventional "flat" learning algorithm into a hierarchical one. An extensive set of experiments on real and synthetic data indicate that the proposed approach significantly outperforms the corresponding "flat" as well as the local top-down method. For evaluation purposes, we use a novel hierarchical evaluation measure that is superior to the existing hierarchical and non-hierarchical evaluation techniques according to a number of formal criteria. Also, this dissertation presents the first endeavor of applying the hierarchical text categorization techniques to the tasks of bioinformatics. Three bioinformatics problems are addressed. The objective of the first task, indexing biomedical articles with Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), is to associate documents with biomedical concepts from the specialized vocabulary of MeSH. In the second application, we tackle a challenging problem of gene functional annotation from biomedical literature. Our experiments demonstrate a considerable advantage of hierarchical text categorization techniques over the "flat" method on these two tasks. In the third application, our goal is to enrich the analysis of plain experimental data with biological knowledge. In particular, we incorporate the functional information on genes directly into the clustering process of microarray data with the outcome of an improved biological relevance and value of clustering results.
Empirical investigation of biometric and behavioral indicators of human performance in bridge inspection with drone and damage detection with artificial intelligence assistance
Creators: name: Dalilian, Fatemeh
Publisher: name: University of Iowa
Year: 2024
Subjects: Bridge Inspection
Cognitive Monitoring
Drone
EEG
Eye tracking
UAV

description: The integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and drone technology into bridge inspections represents a significant advancement in infrastructure assessment methodologies, offering enhanced efficiency and safety. However, this integration introduces changes in the cognitive ergonomics of the inspection task, necessitating a deeper understanding of human-drone-AI interaction dynamics. This thesis explores the cognitive and behavioral aspects of human performance in AI-assisted drone-enabled bridge inspections through a series of experiments.
description: The first investigation focuses on underlying affective behaviors related to drone pilot skill acquisition, employing Electroencephalography (EEG) and Eye tracking instrumentation to measure human affect during simulated drone piloting tasks. Results highlight the impact of task difficulty on performance/learning processes and underscore the importance of tailoring drone specifications and training requirements to mission-specific contexts. Furthermore, psychological and behavioral measures are identified as theoretical foundations for modeling complex tasks.
description: Building upon these insights, the subsequent experiment examines human performance in drone-enabled bridge inspections under two conditions: with AI assistance and without. Biometric and behavioral data collected during these simulations reveal that different cognitive states can influence inspectors' performance respectively in either condition. This highlights the importance of designing inspection protocols, drones and AI systems based on a comprehensive understanding of the cognitive processes required in each condition to prevent cognitive overload and minimize errors. This study also identifies effective visual scanning and gaze patterns in each condition that inspectors can implement to enhance their inspection performance.
description: Finally, this thesis proposes a cognitive monitoring framework designed to detect when bridge inspectors might miss crucial damage, using EEG readings, eye movement tracking, and controller input data. Utilizing spectrograms obtained from EEG signals, eye movement data, and inputs from drone controllers, Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) alongside various data fusion methods were employed to boost the predictive accuracy in identifying inspectors’ failures to detect cracks.
description: Overall, this research contributes to advancing human-automation cooperation for bridge inspections, offering insights into optimizing inspector training, workflow design, and cognitive monitoring strategies.
Error analyses of deep generative models
Creators: name: Liu, Shiao
Publisher: name: University of Iowa
Year: 2024
Subjects: Approximation Theory
Deep Generative Models
Deep Learning
Generative Adversarial Network
Neural Network
Statistical Learning Theory
public abstract

description: The computation of high-dimensional data has posed an unprecedented challenge to traditional nonparametric statistics. Deep learning is the modern equivalent of nonparametric statistics that could successfully tackle the challenging "curse of dimensionality" problem, which refers to the exponential increase in sample complexity associated with the growth of the ambient dimension. As a result, it has become one of the most proficient tools for high-dimensional machine learning tasks, such as image processing, natural language processing, and speech recognition, far surpassing traditional nonparametric statistical tools like wavelets and splines. Furthermore, deep generative models have shown to be remarkable in implicitly learning high-dimensional distributions, allowing for the generation of images, speech, and other complex data that was previously impossible to generate using traditional nonparametric tools. Nevertheless, despite their remarkable empirical successes, the theoretical basis for deep learning and deep generative models is not yet fully established. Therefore, this dissertation endeavors to bridge the gap between deep generative learning theory and practice by exploring the statistical properties and function approximation of deep neural networks.
Low Wind Speed Blade Optimisation for Vertical Axis Wind Turbine
Creators: name: Charles, Jerome
Publisher: name: Swinburne
Year: 2024

description: This research focuses on the blade design for the application of a vertical axis wind turbine in low wind speed environment. The scarcity of research on blade optimization for this environment has led to the initiation of this research. The turbine blade optimisation are based on wind speed data gathered from Sarawak and performed with a commercial computation fluid dynamics software. It is intended that results could support the future development of wind projects in the country to add wind energy as part of the overall energy mix encouraging renewable energy development in the region.
On the estimation of brain signal entropy from sparse neuroimaging data
Creators: name: Grandy, Thomas H.
name: Garrett, Douglas D.
name: Schmiedek, Florian
name: Werkle-Bergner, Markus
Publisher: name: Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: 600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften::610 Medizin und Gesundheit

description: Multi-scale entropy (MSE) has been recently established as a promising tool for the analysis of the moment-to-moment variability of neural signals. Appealingly, MSE provides a measure of the predictability of neural operations across the multiple time scales on which the brain operates. An important limitation in the application of the MSE to some classes of neural signals is MSE’s apparent reliance on long time series. However, this sparse-data limitation in MSE computation could potentially be overcome via MSE estimation across shorter time series that are not necessarily acquired continuously (e.g., in fMRI block-designs). In the present study, using simulated, EEG, and fMRI data, we examined the dependence of the accuracy and precision of MSE estimates on the number of data points per segment and the total number of data segments. As hypothesized, MSE estimation across discontinuous segments was comparably accurate and precise, despite segment length. A key advance of our approach is that it allows the calculation of MSE scales not previously accessible from the native segment lengths. Consequently, our results may permit a far broader range of applications of MSE when gauging moment-to- moment dynamics in sparse and/or discontinuous neurophysiological data typical of many modern cognitive neuroscience study designs.
Ermittlung von potentiell POP-haltigen Abfällen und Recyclingstoffen - Ableitung von Grenzwerten
Creators: name: Potrykus, Alexander
name: Milunov, Milos
name: Weißenbacher, Jakob
Publisher: name: My University
Year: 2015
Subjects: subject: POPs [Persistente organische Schadstoffe]
subject: POPs
subject: Persistente organische Schadstoffe
subject: Abfall
subject: HBCD
subject: Hexachlorbutadien
subject: Pentachlorphenol
subject: PCN
subject: Polychlorierte Naphthaline
subject: Pentachlorpenol
subject: SCCP
subject: Chemikalien
subject: Abfall | Ressourcen
subject: Chemicals
subject: Waste | Resources

description: Eine Voraussetzung für die Festlegung von Grenzwerten ist die detaillierte Kenntnis über das Vorhandensein der Schadstoffe in Abfällen, Erzeugnissen sowie Recyclingprodukten. In dem Vorhaben wurden Daten über das Vorkommen von Hexabromcyclododekan (HBCD), Hexachlorbutadien (HCBD), Polychlorierten Naphthalinen (PCN), Pentachlorphenol (PCP) und kurzkettigen chlorierten Paraffinen (SCCP) in relevanten Abfällen, Erzeugnissen und Recyclingprodukten in Deutschland erhoben und eine Schätzung über die Mengen an POP-haltigen Abfällen und Recyclingstoffen vorgenommen. Auf der Grundlage der Daten wurden Vorschläge für die Grenzwerte des Anhangs IV der POP-Verordnung sowie für bestimmte Entsorgungswege abgeleitet, die einerseits eine möglichst weitgehende Ausschleusung von Schadstoffen gewährleisten und andererseits umweltgerechte Recyclingprozesse ermöglichen.
Quelle: www.umweltbundesamt.de/
description: Eine Voraussetzung für die Festlegung von Grenzwerten ist die detaillierte Kenntnis über das Vorhandensein der Schadstoffe in Abfällen, Erzeugnissen sowie Recyclingprodukten. In dem Vorhaben wurden Daten über das Vorkommen von Hexabromcyclododekan (HBCD), Hexachlorbutadien (⁠HCBD⁠), Polychlorierten Naphthalinen (⁠PCN⁠), Pentachlorphenol (⁠PCP⁠) und kurzkettigen chlorierten Paraffinen (⁠SCCP⁠) in relevanten Abfällen, Erzeugnissen und Recyclingprodukten in Deutschland erhoben und eine Schätzung über die Mengen an ⁠POP⁠-haltigen Abfällen und Recyclingstoffen vorgenommen. Auf der Grundlage der Daten wurden Vorschläge für die Grenzwerte des Anhangs IV der POP-Verordnung sowie für bestimmte Entsorgungswege abgeleitet, die einerseits eine möglichst weitgehende Ausschleusung von Schadstoffen gewährleisten und andererseits umweltgerechte Recyclingprozesse ermöglichen.
High Performance Simulation of Spaceborne Radar for Remote-Sensing Oceanography: Application to an Altimetry Scenario
Creators: name: Monnier, Goulven
name: Camus, Benjamin
name: Hellouvry, Yann-Hervé
Publisher: name: arXiv
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: Geophysics (physics.geo-ph)
subject: FOS: Physical sciences

description: In this paper, we detail the high-performance implementation of our spaceborne radar simulator for satellite oceanography. Our software simulates the sea surface and the signal to imitate, as far as possible, the measurement process, starting from its lowest level mechanisms. In this perspective, raw data are computed as the sum of many illuminated scatterers, whose time-evolving properties are related to the surface roughness, topography, and kinematics. To achieve efficient performance, we intensively use GPU computing. Moreover, we propose a fast simulation mode based on the assumption that the instantaneous Doppler spectrum within a range gate varies on a timescale significantly larger than the PRI. The sea surface can then be updated at a frequency much smaller than the PRF, drastically reducing the computational cost. When the surface is updated, Doppler spectra are computed for all range gates. Signals segments are then obtained through 1D inverse Fourier transforms and pondered to ensure a smooth time evolution between surface updates. We validate this fast simulation mode with a radar altimeter simulation case of the Sentinel-3 SRAL instrument, showing that simulated raw data can be focused and retrieved using state-of-the-art algorithms. Finally, we show that, using a modest hardware configuration, our simulator can generate enough data in one day to compute the SWH and SSH spectra of a scene. This demonstrate that we achieved an important state-of-the-art speed-up.
Human rights and duties in the social teaching of the Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC): 1953-1995.
Creators: name: Rutechura Rweyemamu, Pius.
Publisher: name: Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa
Year: 1998
Subjects: subject: Theology.

description: A dream come true! Ever since I landed in the theological domain in the early 1980s, it has been my desire to contribute to the promotion and protection of human rights within the African context. Eight years of pastoral service at grassroots level during the prime years of my priesthood sharpened my intellectual curiosity for researching how the Catholic church has been responding to human rights issues in Tanzania. I could not have landed on a better source for this purpose than the TEC's social teaching that extends back to almost half a century. This thesis brings together the TEC's literature on human rights and duties from 1953 to 1995. By way of an historical-expository moment, three historical periods are identified, accompanied by analysis of what the TEC's teaching reflects of the Tanzanian context during changing times and circumstances. Second, the ethical-theological analysis moment examines the TEC's emphasis on personal, social, and instrumental rights and the limitations and possibilities of its human rights teaching. As Christian churches in Africa are more than ever determined to integrate peace and justice approaches into their evangelizing strategies, the credibility of the Catholic church in Tanzania in this process can be strengthened by learning how the TEC has attempted to handle human rights issues. The thesis can be a stimulant to the Catholic church in Tanzania in its protection and promotion of human rights, and for mobilizing forces of concerned response.
Validation of the International HIV Dementia Scale as a Screening Tool for HIV-Associated Neurocognitive Disorders in a German-Speaking HIV Outpatient Clinic
Creators: name: Marin-Webb, Victor
name: Jessen, Heiko
name: Kopp, Ute
name: Jessen, Arne B.
name: Hahn, Katrin
Publisher: name: Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Year: 2016
Subjects: subject: 600 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften::610 Medizin und Gesundheit

description: Background HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) are widely present among people living with HIV. Especially its milder forms, asymptomatic neurocognitive impairment (ANI) and mild neurocognitive disorder (MND), remain highly prevalent worldwide. Diagnosing these conditions is subject to a time and resource consuming neuropsychological assessment. Selecting patients at a higher risk of cognitive impairment by using a simple but effective screening tool helps to organise access to further neuropsychological diagnosis. The International HIV Dementia Scale (IHDS) has until now been a well-established screening tool in African and American countries, however these populations’ demographics defer significantly from ours, so using the same parameters could be ineffective. Objectives To calculate the prevalence of this condition among people attending an HIV outpatient clinic in Berlin and to validate the use of the IHDS as a screening tool for HAND in a German-speaking population. Methods We screened 480 HIV-infected patients using the IHDS, 89% of them were on a stable antiretroviral treatment. Ninety of them completed a standardised neuropsychological battery of tests and a specific cognitive complaints questionnaire. The same procedure was applied to a control group of 30 HIV- negative participants. HAND diagnosis was established according to the Frascati criteria. Results The overall prevalence of HAND in our cohort was 43% (20% ANI, 17% MND and 6% HIV-associated dementia). The optimal cut-off on the IHDS for detecting HAND cases was set at 11 and achieved both a sensitivity and a specificity of 80%. When specifically screening for the more severe form of HAND, HIV-associated dementia, a cut-off value of 10 offered an increase in both sensitivity (94%) and specificity (86%). The Youden Index for diagnostic accuracy was 0.6 and 0.8, respectively. Conclusions The prevalence of HAND was comparable to the reported by recent studies performed in countries with a similar economic development. The study confirms the IHDS to be a useful HAND screening tool in primary care settings and establishes new recommendations for its use in German-speaking countries.
Petrogenesis of Mount Taranaki tephras
Creators: name: Smith, Rachel Lauren
Publisher: name: University of Iowa
Year: 2023

description: Mt. Taranaki is an andesitic stratovolcano in Aotearoa New Zealand with a 30 kyr highresolution tephra deposition record. Previous studies have identified temporal variation in glass and titanomagnetite compositions within these tephras for the purpose of tephrostratigraphy, but their petrogenetic interpretation has so far been limited. In this study, we examined the variation in temperature and oxygen fugacity in the last 30 kyrs of Mt. Taranaki eruptions using new titanomagnetite-based methods and identified two possible large eruptions c. 7 ka and 13 ka that are not as easily identified by phase compositions alone. In addition, trace element geochemistry of titanomagnetite and glass, as well as thermobarometry, oxybarometery, and chemometry of amphibole, and thermobarometry of clinopyroxene are used to elucidate the changes within the Mt. Taranaki transcrustal magmatic system across the most recent (c. 3 ka) major compositional shift. The estimated equilibrium melt composition and temperatures for all phases show consistent correlation and shifts in these intensive parameters across the 3 ka transition indicating the magmatic plumbing system is recharging after a major eruption. Recent eruptions are sourced from hotter, less evolved melts residing at greater depths than the preceding eruptions.
title: An ecotoxicological view on neurotoxicity assessment
title: An ecotoxicological view on neurotoxicity assessment
titleType: AlternativeTitle
Creators: name: Legradi, J. B.
name: Kuckelkorn, Jochen
name: Paolo, C. Di
name: Kraak, M. H. S.
Publisher: name: My University
Year: 2018
Subjects: Neurotoxizität
REACH-System
Ökologie
Art [Spezies]

description: The numbers of potential neurotoxicants in the environment are raising and pose a great risk for humans and the environment. Currently neurotoxicity assessment is mostly performed to predict and prevent harm to human populations. Despite all the efforts invested in the last years in developing novel in vitro or in silico test systems, in vivo tests with rodents are still the only accepted test for neurotoxicity risk assessment in Europe. Despite an increasing number of reports of species showing altered behaviour, neurotoxicity assessment for species in the environment is not required and therefore mostly not performed. Considering the increasing numbers of environmental contaminants with potential neurotoxic potential, eco-neurotoxicity should be also considered in risk assessment. In order to do so novel test systems are needed that can cope with species differences within ecosystems. In the field, online-biomonitoring systems using behavioural information could be used to detect neurotoxic effects and effect-directed analyses could be applied to identify the neurotoxicants causing the effect. Additionally, toxic pressure calculations in combination with mixture modelling could use environmental chemical monitoring data to predict adverse effects and prioritize pollutants for laboratory testing. Cheminformatics based on computational toxicological data from in vitro and in vivo studies could help to identify potential neurotoxicants. An array of in vitro assays covering different modes of action could be applied to screen compounds for neurotoxicity. The selection of in vitro assays could be guided by AOPs relevant for eco-neurotoxicity. In order to be able to perform risk assessment for eco-neurotoxicity, methods need to focus on the most sensitive species in an ecosystem. A test battery using species from different trophic levels might be the best approach. To implement eco-neurotoxicity assessment into European risk assessment, cheminformatics and in vitro screening tests could be used as first approach to identify eco-neurotoxic pollutants. In a second step, a small species test battery could be applied to assess the risks of ecosystems. Quelle: Verlagsinformation