LLukas22/scidocs huggingface dataset:
Fun with Asynchronous Vision Sensors and Processing

This paper provides a personal perspective on our group’s efforts in building event-based vision sensors, algorithms, and applications over the period 2002-2012. Some recent advances from other groups are also briefly described. When Mahowald and Mead built the first silicon retina with asynchronous digital output around 1992 [1], conventional CMOS active pixel sensors (APS) were still research chips. It required the investment by industry of about a billion dollars to bring CMOS APS to high volume production. So it is no surprise that while the imager community has been consumed by the megapixel race to make nice photos, cameras that mimic more closely how the eye works have taken a long time to come to a useful form. These “silicon retinas” are much more complex at the pixel level than APS cameras and they pay the price in terms of fill factor and pixel size; machine vision cameras with capability of synchronous global electronic shutter are about 5um. Silicon retina pixels are roughly 10 times the area of a machine vision camera pixel. So why are silicon retinas still interesting? Mostly because of the high cost at the system level of processing the highly redundant data from conventional cameras, and the fixed latencies imposed by the frame intervals. High performance activity driven event-based sensors could greatly benefit applications in real time robotics, where just as in nature, latency and power are very important [2,5,9,10].
FUNCTIONAL ASSESSMENT AND POSITIVE SUPPORT STRATEGIES FOR PROMOTING RESILIENCE: EFFECTS ON TEACHERS AND HIGH-RISK CHILDREN

The purpose of this study was to conduct an experimental analysis of teachers’ use of functional assessment (FA) and positive behavior support (PBS) for addressing challenging behaviors in young children. A group of 35 experimental teachers participated in professional development designed to provide step-by-step training and guided implementation of FA linked to PBS intervention planning for children identified with challenging behavior in prekindergarten through first-grade classrooms. A randomly designated group of 35 control teachers received neither training nor consultation for implementing FA and PBS. At post-intervention, experimental teachers reported increased resilience as evidenced in their significantly higher competence and self-efficacy along with greater utilization of FA and PBS practices compared with control teachers. Increased levels of resilience were also documented on multiple measures for experimental children with challenging behaviors who received FA and PBS. Specifically, experimental children demonstrated more positive behaviors and fewer challenging behaviors compared with control children at post-intervention. The findings offer empirical support for providing professional development in FA and PBS as a proactive strategy for promoting improved competence for teachers and, more importantly, for improving resilience among children with behavioral concerns. C © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The Role of Self-assessment in Promoting Iranian EFL Learners’ Motivation

During the last decade, increasing attention has been paid to the role of learner in the process of language learning and testing. Moreover, there is a general consensus in the literature that motivation is one of the key learner characteristics. The objective of this study was to explore the role of journal writing as a self-assessment technique in promoting Iranian EFL learners’ motivation. The participants were 60 intermediate students in two groups. The particular self-assessment technique used in the experimental group was journal writing. At the beginning and end of the semester, both groups took a language proficiency test to ensure their homogeneity, and completed a questionnaires regarding motivation. The results revealed that writing journals in a regular base had a role in promoting the learners’ motivation.
Restoration of impulse noise corrupted images using long-range correlation

We present a new algorithm that can remove impulse noise from corrupted images while preserving details. The algorithm is fundamentally different from the traditional methods in that it can utilize information not just of a local window centered about the corrupted pixel, but also of some remote regions in the image. Computer simulations indicate that our algorithm outperforms many existing techniques.
DUAL-BAND EQUAL / UNEQUAL WILKINSON POWER DIVIDERS BASED ON COUPLED-LINE SECTION WITH SHORT-CIRCUITED

This paper presents dual-band equal/unequal Wilkinson power dividers based on a coupled-line section with short-circuited stub (called as the “coupled-line section” for short), which consists of a pair of parallel coupled lines and a short-circuited stub. With the analyses of the phase shift and equivalent characteristic impedance, the coupled-line section is used to replace the quarter-wavelength branch line in the conventional equal/unequal Wilkinson power divider to obtain excellent dual-band operation. The closed-form equations and design procedures of dual-band Wilkinson power divider are given, where one degree of design freedom is obtained and design flexibility is shown. As two examples, a dual-band equal Wilkinson power divider with the frequency ratio of 1.8 : 1 and an unequal one with the high power dividing ratio of 7 : 1 and frequency ratio of 1.8 : 1 are designed, fabricated and measured. The measurements are in good agreement with the simulations. It is shown that the proposed power dividers have simple topologies, and can be easily fabricated with small frequency ratios and high power dividing ratios. Received 1 November 2010, Accepted 29 November 2010, Scheduled 4 December 2010 Corresponding author: Bo Li (libo0204220226@yahoo.com.cn). † Also with Department of Information and Electronic Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China.
A comparison of univariate methods for forecasting electricity demand up to a day ahead

This empirical paper compares the accuracy of six univariate methods for short-term electricity demand forecasting for lead times up to a day ahead. The very short lead times are of particular interest as univariate methods are often replaced by multivariate methods for prediction beyond about six hours ahead. The methods considered include the recently proposed exponential smoothing method for double seasonality and a new method based on principal component analysis (PCA). The methods are compared using a time series of hourly demand for Rio de Janeiro and a series of half-hourly demand for England and Wales. The PCA method performed well, but, overall, the best results were achieved with the exponential smoothing method, leading us to conclude that simpler and more robust methods, which require little domain knowledge, can outperform more complex alternatives. D 2005 International Institute of Forecasters. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Female genital mutilation in the context of migration: experience of African women with the Swiss health care system.

BACKGROUND
In contrast to other European countries, the Swiss health care system does not deal with the specific needs of women with female genital mutilation (FGM) in a consistent manner, though migrants from countries where FGM is commonly practised are living in Switzerland.


METHODS
For this study, the interaction of women who had undergone FGM, with the Swiss health services was analysed both from the perspective of the women concerned and that of health care professionals (doctors and midwives). The methods used were mainly qualitative, including focus group discussions with 29 women from Somalia and Eritrea and telephone interviews with 37 health care professionals.


RESULTS
It is estimated that some 6000 girls and women with FGM could be living in Switzerland. The fact that health care providers rarely see such patients and the absence of professional guidelines give rise to misunderstandings. Counselling of the women is often inadequate, and there is a striking lack of communication about FGM between health care providers and users, as well as within the women's communities. As a surprising finding, reinfibulation is carried out in Switzerland when requested by the patient.


CONCLUSIONS
This study shows that at present the specific gynaecological and obstetric health care needs of migrant women who have undergone FGM are not adequately addressed in the Swiss health system. The situation could be easily improved by taking into consideration the fairly simple measures suggested by the women and the health care providers taking part in this study.


KEY POINTS
Due to international migration, female genital mutilation (FGM) has become an issue of increasing concern in host countries such as Switzerland. Objectives of this study were to analyze how immigrant women with FGM experience gynaecological/obstetrical care in the Swiss health care system, and to investigate if gynaecologists/obstetricians and midwives treat and counsel FGM related complications adequately. Specific health care needs of women with FGM should--and easily could--be better considered by the Swiss health care system. Recommended measures include capacity building and professional guidelines on FGM for health care providers; and access to culturally appropriate information and self-help groups for the communities concerned.
Focus on food: development of the Cooking with Kids experiential nutrition education curriculum.

Traditional methods of delivering nutrition education emphasize knowledge acquisition; however, handson experience with food is an engaging and effective strategy to teach healthful eating behaviors. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Guidelines for School Health Programs to Promote Lifelong Healthy Eating recommend that school-based nutrition education programs use developmentally appropriate and culturally relevant activities, emphasize active learning and fun, and employ social learning techniques. The Cooking with Kids curriculum was developed to support experiential food and nutrition education in elementary schools. Inspired by food acceptance and nutrition education research, Cooking with Kids lessons encourage children’s innate curiosity and enthusiasm for food through direct experience with fresh, affordable foods.
An empirical study of best practices in virtual teams

This study explores the issue of effectiveness within virtual teams — groups of people who work together although they are often dispersed across space, time, and/or organizational boundaries. Due to the recent trend towards corporate restructuring, which can, in part, be attributed to an increase in corporate layoffs, mergers and acquisitions, competition, and globalization, virtual teams have become critical for companies to survive. Globalization of the marketplace alone, for that matter, makes such distributed work groups the primary operating units needed to achieve a competitive advantage in this ever-changing business environment. In an effort to determine the factors that contribute to/inhibit the success of a virtual team, a survey was distributed to a total of eight companies in the high technology, agriculture, and professional services industries. Data was then collected from 67 individuals who comprised a total of 12 virtual teams from these companies. Results indicated that several factors were positively correlated to the effectiveness of the participating teams. The teams’ processes and team members’ relations presented the strongest relationships to team performance and team member satisfaction, while the selection procedures and executive leadership styles also exhibited moderate associations to these measures of effectiveness. Analysis of predictor variables such as the design process, other internal group dynamics, and additional external support mechanisms, however, depicted weaker relations. Although the connections between the teams’ tools and technologies and communication patterns and the teams’ effectiveness measures did not prove significant, content analysis of the participants’ narrative responses to questions regarding the greatest challenges to virtual teams suggested otherwise. Beyond the traditional strategies used to enhance a team’s effectiveness, further efforts directed towards the specific technology and communication-related issues that concern dispersed team members are needed to supplement the set of best practices identified in the current study. # 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Design of Control unit for Low Power ALU Using Reversible Logic

Technology advances in VLSI designs offer exponentially shrinking device dimensions and exponentially growing circuit complexities. However, device scaling is critically limited by the power dissipation; demanding for better power optimizations methods. Reversible Logic is becoming more and more prominent special optimization technique having its applications in Low Power CMOS designs, Quantum Computing and Nanotechnology. ALU is a fundamental building block of a central processing unit (CPU) in any computing system; reversible arithmetic unit has a high power optimization on the offer. By using suitable control logic to one of the input variables of parallel adder, various arithmetic operations can be realized. In this paper, as a part of ALU design, a Reversible low power control unit for arithmetic operations is proposed. In our design, the full Adders are realized using synthesizable, low quantum cost, low garbage output Peres gates. In this paper data transfer, addition, subtraction, increment, decrement and many other Arithmetic operations are realized using reversible gates.
Protamine 2 precursors, protamine 1/protamine 2 ratio, DNA integrity and other sperm parameters in infertile patients.

BACKGROUND
The protamine 1-to-protamine 2 ratio (P1/P2) is altered in the sperm cells of some infertile patients. Also, evidence for increased protamine 2 precursors (pre-P2) in a few patients has been reported. But so far, there have been no studies measuring simultaneously these two variables in a large number of patients.


METHODS
We measured the P1/P2 ratio and the presence of pre-P2 using, for the first time, an antibody specific to the precursor pre-P2, together with other sperm parameters in 224 infertile patients. Additionally, the DNA integrity was assessed by terminal transferase dUTP nick-end labelling (TUNEL) in a subset of the samples.


RESULTS
Pre-P2 levels show a significant positive correlation with the P1/P2 ratio, with the presence of other proteins and, at low pre-P2 levels, with TUNEL-positive sperm. An inverse correlation with sperm count, normal morphology and motility was detected.


CONCLUSIONS
The levels of pre-P2 may provide clues into the pathogenic mechanisms of infertility. The increased proportion of pre-P2 in some patients with increased P1/P2 ratio suggests an involvement of pre-P2 processing. The positive correlation between TUNEL-positive sperm and pre-P2 at low pre-P2/P2 ratios also suggests a link between deficient protamine processing and decreased DNA integrity.
A transconductance driven-right-leg circuit

Biopotential measurements are very sensitive to electromagnetic interference (EMI). EMI gets into the acquisition system by many ways, both as differential and common mode signals, driven-right-leg circuits (DRL) are widely used to reduce common mode interference. This paper reports an improvement on the classic DRL. The proposed circuit uses a transconductance amplifier to drive the patient's body. This configuration has some interesting properties, which provide an extended bandwidth for high-frequency EMI rejection (such as fluorescent lights interference). The improvement is around 20 dB for frequencies of few kilohertz and the circuit is easy to compensate for stability. A comparative analysis against a typical DRL is presented, the results obtained have been experimentally tested.
A randomized trial of multivitamin supplementation in children with tuberculosis in Tanzania

BACKGROUND
Children with tuberculosis often have underlying nutritional deficiencies. Multivitamin supplementation has been proposed as a means to enhance the health of these children; however, the efficacy of such an intervention has not been examined adequately.


METHODS
255 children, aged six weeks to five years, with tuberculosis were randomized to receive either a daily multivitamin supplement or a placebo in the first eight weeks of anti-tuberculous therapy in Tanzania. This was only 64% of the proposed sample size as the trial had to be terminated prematurely due to funding constraints. They were followed up for the duration of supplementation through clinic and home visits to assess anthropometric indices and laboratory parameters, including hemoglobin and albumin.


RESULTS
There was no significant effect of multivitamin supplementation on the primary endpoint of the trial: weight gain after eight weeks. However, significant differences in weight gain were observed among children aged six weeks to six months in subgroup analyses (n=22; 1.08 kg, compared to 0.46 kg in the placebo group; 95% CI=0.12, 1.10; p=0.01). Supplementation resulted in significant improvement in hemoglobin levels at the end of follow-up in children of all age groups; the median increase in children receiving multivitamins was 1.0 g/dL, compared to 0.4 g/dL in children receiving placebo (p<0.01). HIV-infected children between six months and three years of age had a significantly higher gain in height if they received multivitamins (n=48; 2 cm, compared to 1 cm in the placebo group; 95% CI=0.20, 1.70; p=0.01; p for interaction by age group=0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
Multivitamin supplementation for a short duration of eight weeks improved the hematological profile of children with tuberculosis, though it didn't have any effect on weight gain, the primary outcome of the trial. Larger studies with a longer period of supplementation are needed to confirm these findings and assess the effect of multivitamins on clinical outcomes including treatment success and growth failure. CLINICALTRIALS.GOV IDENTIFIER: NCT00145184.
A view of cloud computing

Clearing the clouds away from the true potential and obstacles posed by this computing capability.
Clinical features and viral serologies in children with multiple sclerosis: a multinational observational study

BACKGROUND
The full spectrum of clinical manifestations and outcome, and the potential importance of regional or demographic features or viral triggers in paediatric multiple sclerosis (MS), has yet to be fully characterised. Our aim was to determine some of these characteristics in children with MS.


METHODS
137 children with MS and 96 control participants matched by age and geographical region were recruited in a multinational study. They underwent structured clinical-demographic interviews, review of academic performance, physical examination, disability assessment (MS patients only), and standardised assays for IgG antibodies directed against Epstein-Barr virus, cytomegalovirus, parvovirus B19, varicella zoster virus, and herpes simplex virus.


FINDINGS
MS was relapsing-remitting at diagnosis in 136 (99%) children. The first MS attack resembled acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) in 22 (16%) of the children, most under 10 years old (mean age 7.4 [SD 4.2] years). Children with ADEM-like presentations were significantly younger than were children with polyfocal (11.2 [4.5] years; p<0.0001) or monofocal (12.0 [3.8] years; p=0.0005) presentations. Permanent physical disability (EDSS>or=4.0) developed within 5 years in 15 (13%) of the 120 children for whom EDSS score was available. 23 (17%) had impaired academic performance, which was associated with increasing disease duration (p=0.02). Over 108 (86%) of the children with MS, irrespective of geographical residence, were seropositive for remote EBV infection, compared with only 61 (64%) of matched controls (p=0.025, adjusted for multiple comparisons). Children with MS did not differ from controls in seroprevalence of the other childhood viruses studied, nor with respect to month of birth, sibling number, sibling rank, or exposure to young siblings.


INTERPRETATION
Paediatric MS is a relapsing-remitting disease, with presenting features that vary by age at onset. MS in children might be associated with exposure to EBV, suggesting a possible role for EBV in MS pathobiology.
Systematic overview of economic evaluations of health-related rehabilitation.

BACKGROUND
Health related rehabilitation is instrumental in improving functioning and promoting participation by people with disabilities. To make clinical and policy decisions about health-related rehabilitation, resource allocation and cost issues need to be considered.


OBJECTIVES
To provide an overview of systematic reviews (SRs) on economic evaluations of health-related rehabilitation.


METHODS
We searched multiple databases to identify relevant SRs of economic evaluations of health-related rehabilitation. Review quality was assessed by AMSTAR checklist.


RESULTS
We included 64 SRs, most of which included economic evaluations alongside randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The review quality was low to moderate (AMSTAR score 5-8) in 35, and high (score 9-11) in 29 of the included SRs. The included SRs addressed various health conditions, including spinal or other pain conditions (n = 14), age-related problems (11), stroke (7), musculoskeletal disorders (6), heart diseases (4), pulmonary (3), mental health problems (3), and injury (3). Physiotherapy was the most commonly evaluated rehabilitation intervention in the included SRs (n = 24). Other commonly evaluated interventions included multidisciplinary programmes (14); behavioral, educational or psychological interventions (11); home-based interventions (11); complementary therapy (6); self-management (6); and occupational therapy (4).


CONCLUSIONS
Although the available evidence is often described as limited, inconsistent or inconclusive, some rehabilitation interventions were cost-effective or showed cost-saving in a variety of disability conditions. Available evidence comes predominantly from high income countries, therefore economic evaluations of health-related rehabilitation are urgently required in less resourced settings.
Partial Invariance of Composites 1 Running head : PARTIAL INVARIANCE OF COMPOSITES Analyzing Observed Composite Differences across Groups : Is Partial Measurement Invariance Enough ?

Although the use of structural equation modeling has increased during the last decades, the typical procedure to investigate mean differences across groups is still to create an observed composite score from several indicators and to compare the composite’s mean across the groups. Whereas the structural equation modeling literature has emphasized that a comparison of latent means presupposes equal factor loadings and indicator intercepts for most of the indicators (i.e., partial invariance), it is still unknown if partial invariance is sufficient when relying on observed composites. This Monte Carlo study investigated whether one or two unequal factor loadings and indicator intercepts in a composite can lead to wrong conclusions regarding latent mean differences. Results show that unequal indicator intercepts substantially affect the composite mean difference and the probability of a significant composite difference. In contrast, unequal factor loadings demonstrate only small effects. It is concluded that analyses of composite differences are only warranted in conditions of full measurement invariance, and the author recommends the analyses of latent mean differences with structural equation modeling instead.