The Perceptual Consistency and Association of the LMA Effort Elements

Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) and its Effort element provide a conceptual framework through which we can observe, describe, and interpret the intention of movement. Effort attributes provide a link between how people move and how their movement communicates to others. It is crucial to investigate the perceptual characteristics of Effort to validate whether it can serve as an effective framework to support a wide range of applications in animation and robotics that require a system for creating or perceiving expressive variation in motion. To this end, we first constructed an Effort motion database of short video clips of five different motions: walk, sit down, pass, put, wave performed in eight ways corresponding to the extremes of the Effort elements. We then performed a perceptual evaluation to examine the perceptual consistency and perceived associations among Effort elements: Space (Indirect/Direct), Time (Sustained/Sudden), Weight (Light/Strong), and Flow (Free/Bound) that appeared in the motion stimuli. The results of the perceptual consistency evaluation indicate that although the observers do not perceive the LMA Effort element 100% as intended, true response rates of seven Effort elements are higher than false response rates except for light Effort. The perceptual consistency results showed varying tendencies by motion. The perceptual association between LMA Effort elements showed that a single LMA Effort element tends to co-occur with the elements of other factors, showing significant correlation with one or two factors (e.g., indirect and free, light and free).

Cubical methods in homotopy type theory and univalent foundations

Cubical methods have played an important role in the development of Homotopy Type Theory and Univalent Foundations (HoTT/UF) in recent years. The original motivation behind these developments was to give constructive meaning to Voevodsky’s univalence axiom, but they have since then led to a range of new results. Among the achievements of these methods is the design of new type theories and proof assistants with native support for notions from HoTT/UF, syntactic and semantic consistency results for HoTT/UF, as well as a variety of independence results and establishing that the univalence axiom does not increase the proof theoretic strength of type theory. This paper is based on lecture notes that were written for the 2019 Homotopy Type Theory Summer School at Carnegie Mellon University. The goal of these lectures was to give an introduction to cubical methods and provide sufficient background in order to make the current research in this very active area of HoTT/UF more accessible to newcomers. The focus of these notes is hence on both the syntactic and semantic aspects of these methods, in particular on cubical type theory and the various cubical set categories that give meaning to these theories.

Psychological Stress Among A Sample of Orphans in Aqaba Governorate and its Relationship With Psychological Hardiness and Life Quality Among Them: الضغط النفسي لدى عينة من الأيتام في محافظة العقبة وعلاقته بالصلابة النفسية وجودة الحياة لديهم

The study aimed to identify the psychological stress level among orphans in Aqaba governorate and its relationship with both psychological hardness and life quality. The sample of the study was consisted of ( 102 ) male and female Orphans students whom were selected using the simple random method of sample selecting. Three scales were developed: The Psychological Stress Scale, The Psychological Hardiness Scale and The Life Quality Scale, these scales were checked for reliability and consistency, results indicated that the psychological stress level among orphan students in Aqaba governorate was medium as the emotional dimension came first with a high level while the physiological dimension came second with a medium level. Results also indicated a significant statistical negative relationship at α≥ 0.05 between psychological stress and its dimensions from the one hand, and each of psychological hardiness with its dimensions and life quality with its dimensions in the other. In addition, results indicated no differences between the two genders in the psychological stress level as whole and it was cognitive and emotional dimensions, but indicated differences between male and female participants in the physiological dimension for psychological stress. Finally, the study included a number of recommendations including: further studies dealing with the relationship of psychological stress and other variables, the orphans of self-esteem and psychological adjustment.

Assessing Warning Signs of Relapse in Drug Addicts: Translation and Validation of AWARE Questionnaire

Aim: To translate and validate Advance Warning of Relapse (AWARE) Questionnaire in to Urdu language for assessing relapse among drug addicts of Pakistan. Methods: The research comprises of translation of AWARE, temporal validation of translated scale, and its construct validation. Two items (22, 28) were modified keeping structural and functional equivalence. Sample for validation was obtained from rehabilitation centers of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, with age ranging from 18-60 years (M=29.3; SD=8.2). Temporal validity was determined by test-retest reliability. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to determine the valid factor structure, whose model fitness was assessed using Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Reliability was used to assess the internal consistency. Results: It was found that translated scale possess significant temporal validity (α= .81). EFA demonstrate a unifactorial structure (λ > .30) explaining variance of about 34.3%; such that four items (8, 14, 20, 26) were removed based on poor factor loadings. Indices of model fit through CFA confirm factor structure. Reliability of scale was also significant (α= .90). Conclusion: Findings suggested the reliable and valid nature of AWARE-Urdu to assess warning signs of relapse in drug addicts. Keywords: Warning signs, relapse, drug addicts, Urdu translation, validation, AWARE

Experimental work over borehole filling material to reinforce characterization and model validation of Ground Heat Exchangers

Ground Heat Exchangers (GHE) are part of Ground Source Heat Pumps (GSHP), employed as a renewable source in air conditioning systems. Models implemented are quite in tune to the real behaviour, enabling reliable designs and optimization, once several thermal properties of the surrounding soil and borehole are known. Since some values of those properties are evaluated from experiments, other ones are selected and approached from data base, leading sometimes to poor reproductions, due to the lack of their specific knowledge. This work demonstrates the effectiveness of the experimental evaluation of the filling material properties in a vertical GHE, to guarantee more reliable values to model its thermal behaviour: moisture content, density, and both thermal capacity and conductivity. Experiments must be easy and fast to perform, because their values must be known previous to the GSHP design. In addition, an identification process over a numerical model has been developed. In order to check its consistency, results have been compared with those determined experimentally. As well as a high model accuracy, it has been demonstrated the importance of the presented assays to be included in the previous experimental work to the design step of a GSHP system, providing a valuable borehole characterization.

On the shape and structure of the murine pulmonary heart valve

Murine animal models are an established standard in translational research and provides a potential platform for studying heart valve disease. To date, studies on heart valve disease using murine models have been hindered by a lack of appropriate methodologies due to their small scale. In the present study, we developed a multi-scale, imaging-based approach to extract the functional structure and geometry for the murine heart valve. We chose the pulmonary valve (PV) to study, due to its importance in congenital heart valve disease. Excised pulmonary outflow tracts from eleven 1-year old C57BL/6J mice were fixed at 10, 20, and 30 mmHg to simulate physiological loading. Micro-computed tomography was used to reconstruct the 3D organ-level PV geometry, which was then spatially correlated with serial en-face scanning electron microscopy imaging to quantify local collagen fiber distributions. From the acquired volume renderings, we obtained the geometric descriptors of the murine PV under increasing transvalvular pressures, which demonstrated remarkable consistency. Results to date suggest that the preferred collagen orientation was predominantly in the circumferential direction, as in larger mammalian valves. The present study represents a first step in establishing organ-level murine models for the study of heart valve disease.

Evaluasi Fisik Sediaan Krim Tabir Surya dari Bubur Rumput Laut Kappaphycus alvarezii dan Turbinaria conoides

Seaweed is one of the aquatic commodities which has many bioactive compounds. This bioactive compound is widely used in the cosmetic industry. In the cosmetic industry, usually has only one species of seaweed was used. The use of a combination of two seaweeds has not been widely used, therefore this study aims to determine the best sunscreen cream from the physical evaluation results of Kappaphycus alvarezii and Turbinaria conoides. The stages in this study were the making of seaweed porridge, formulation of sunscreen cream, and physical evaluation which included homogeneity, consistency of cream, cycling test, and organoleptic. In the homogeneity observation and cycling test, it was found that all treatments (cream concentration 0%, 10%, 20%, and 30%) had homogeneous and stable properties. The best cream consistency results were found in cream with 30% concentration (370x10–1). In organoleptic observations (appearance, color, and aroma) all creams with the addition of seaweed (cream concentration 10%, 20%, and 30%) were not significantly different. However, when compared to cream with 0% concentration, the results were significantly different. In this study, the sunscreen cream with the addition of 30% concentration of the combination of K. alvarezii and T. conoides is the best cream.

Assessing Antibiotic Stewardship Program (ASP) Implementation: Psychometric Properties of Survey measures based on the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR)

Background: Antibiotic stewardship programs (ASPs) are crucial to prevent the emergence of antibiotic resistance and to improve outcomes for patients. Few measurement instruments examine ASP implementation. A validated instrument rooted in implementation science theory will increase our understanding of ASP implementation and enable comparisons across studies. Methods: We used the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) to guide development of ASP implementation measures. Survey questions were developed by infectious disease and survey design experts to assess 22 potential determinants of implementation across five domains of the CFIR. Survey items were reviewed by CFIR experts for face and content validity. Antibiotic stewards (infectious disease pharmacists and physicians) were recruited from 154 Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital and Intermountain Healthcare (IH) sites to complete the survey. Survey responses were aggregated by site, and results were determined at the site level. We conducted confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) to assess structural validity of measures and evaluated inter-item consistency. Results: A total of 182 stewards completed the survey (155 VA and 27 IH responses). At least one response was obtained from 126 hospitals (81.8%). CFAs for most CFIR constructs exhibited good fit (CFI > .90; TLI > .90; RMSEA< .05, SRMR < .08). Scale reliabilities ranged from .54-.96 indicating low to strong inter-item consistency. Determinants that were rated highly present at the sites (across site means ³ 4.0 or above) included Self-Efficacy, Engaging, Evidence Strength and Quality and Relative Advantage, indicating stewards found ASP evidence compelling and felt their personal involvement was effective in engendering positive results for the ASP. Conclusions: Psychometric properties measured via CFA indicate validity of our CFIR-based measure of determinants for ASP implementation outcomes. This is the first validated set of measures based on the CFIR for ASP implementation and the first to include measures for 4 out of five CFIR domains. These validated measures will help to provide much needed understanding of barriers and facilitators of ASP implementation. Research and quality improvement teams can use these measures to identify contextual determinants of ASP implementation and use this information to guide selection of strategies and compare results across multiple studies.

COVID-19- HAB scale: Validation of a scale of perception of habits shifting during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has made the daily life difficult for thousands of people around the world. The measurements taken by many governments have reduced personal liberties and obligated many to change their habits and lifestyles. Objective: To validate a scale that measures the perception of habits shifting during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This was an instrumental, analytical, and cross-sectional study with a pilot sample of 417 respondents. A form validation was carried out with the participation of 10 experts who evaluated the scale. Their assessments were used to calculate Aiken coefficient. The explorative factor analysis was carried out using KMO and Bartlett test. Finally, Cronbach’s alpha was calculated to get internal consistency. Results: The KMO measure was 0.92 and the Bartlett test was significative. With these results, factor determination was performed resulting in a 1-factor model which contains 71.45% of the total variance and with factorial charges between 0.46-0.88. Then, Cronbach’s coefficient was 0.89, assuring good reliability to the scale. Conclusion: The COVID-19-HAB scale is a validated scale and it could be applied to measure the habits acquired by the general population during health emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Key words: Validation study; Habits; Pandemics; COVID-19.

PaReBrick: PArallel REarrangements and BReakpoints identification toolkit

Motivation: High plasticity of bacterial genomes is provided by numerous mechanisms including horizontal gene transfer and recombination via numerous flanking repeats. Genome rearrangements such as inversions, deletions, insertions, and duplications may independently occur in different strains, providing parallel adaptation. Specifically, such rearrangements might be responsible for multi-virulence, antibiotic resistance, and antigenic variation. However, identification of such events requires laborious manual inspection and verification of phyletic pattern consistency. Results: Here we define the term "parallel rearrangements" as events that occur independently in phylogenetically distant bacterial strains and present a formalization of the problem of parallel rearrangements calling. We implement an algorithmic solution for the identification of parallel rearrangements in bacterial population, as a tool PaReBrick. The tool takes synteny blocks and a phylogenetic tree as input and outputs rearrangement events. The tool tests each rearrangement for consistency with a tree, and sorts the events by their parallelism score and provides diagrams of the neighbors for each block of interest, allowing the detection of horizontally transferred blocks or their extra copies and the inversions in which copied blocks are involved. We proved PaReBrick's efficiency and accuracy and showed its potential to detect genome rearrangements responsible for pathogenicity and adaptation in bacterial genomes. Availability: PaReBrick is written in Python and is available on GitHub: https://github.com/ctlab/parallel-rearrangements .