Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Image compression based on spatial redundancy removal and image inpainting

We present an algorithm for image compression based on an image inpainting method. First the image regions that can be accurately recovered are located. Then, to reduce the data, information of such regions is removed. The remaining data besides essential details for recovering the removed regions are encoded to produce output data. At the decoder, an inpainting method is applied to retrieve removed regions using information extracted at the encoder. The image inpainting technique utilizes partial differential equations (PDEs) for recovering information. It is designed to achieve high performance in terms of image compression criteria. This algorithm was examined for various images. A high compression ratio of 1:40 was achieved at an acceptable quality. Experimental results showed attainable visible quality improvement at a high compression ratio compared with JPEG.
Assessing Model-Data Fit for Compensatory and Non-Compensatory Multidimensional Item Response Models Using Vuong and Clarke Statistics

ii List of Figures . vii List of Tables . viii Acknowledgements . ix CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION . 1 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW . 6 Multidimensional Item Response Theory (MIRT) . 6 Test Structure . 14 Model Estimation . 17 Model Data Fit . 18 CHAPTER 3: METHODS . 26 Research Design.26 Test Characteristics . 28 Data Simulation.30 Model Estimation . 32 Computation of Model Fit Statistics . 33 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS . 34 Null Conditions . 34 Power Conditions . 39 ROC Results.44 Power Results.47 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION.54 Limitations and Further Research . 60
Preganglionic sympathetic activity and the effects of anaesthetics.

Preganglionic cervical and splanchnic sympathetic activity was recorded before and during administration of inhalation anaesthetics, in rabbits ventilated with oxygen and given gallamine. During control periods; when light anaesthesia was maintained with pentobarbitone, sympathetic discharge responded to changes in arterial pressure. Increased arterial Pco 2 exaggerated the amplitude of the respiratory sympathetic rhythm, and had a more variable effect on the mean impulse discharge rate. Preganglionic activity was increased by 25–50 per cent cyclopropane, which usually raised arterial pressure; by halothane, which caused severe hypotension; and by diethyl ether, which produced smaller circulatory changes. These experiments question the concept of "central vasomotor depression" during inhalation anaesthesia in the rabbit.
The “quiet revolution” in criminal defence: how the zealous advocate slipped into the shadow

Abstract The criminal defence lawyer has been an integral component of adversarial criminal justice in England and Wales for nearly three centuries. However, over the last two decades this essential role has changed substantially, affected by a changing culture in the law and procedure governing criminal justice in this jurisdiction. This article argues that the criminal defence role has been pulled away from its traditional adversarial roots through a process of subtle and gradual change, pursued by the Government and the Judiciary. The article outlines a normative framework, entitled the ‘zealous advocate’ model, describing the ‘traditional’ role of the criminal defence lawyer; discusses ethical conflict and its growing significance; and examines how legislation, case law and funding have gradually moved the defence lawyer away from a ‘client-first’ style of representation. It concludes by considering the potentially significant implications of such a change in the role for both fair trial rights and adversarialism in England and Wales.
Perspectives of Time-Use: Exploring the Use of Drawings, Interviews and Rating-Scales with Children Aged 6-7 Years

Written time-diaries are used to investigate older children's occupational engagement, both in the clinic and for research purposes. Time-diaries for young children are usually presented by parents or care-givers through proxy recall. This paper details the findings from a qualitative study exploring the ability of normally developing children, aged 6-7 years, to present their own time-diaries. Data were gathered from seven children living in the north of Israel, using drawings, interviews, and rating scales. The findings offer insights into children's understanding of time-use. The children were able to represent their daily activities and routines in drawings. Rating-scales confirmed the importance of activities to them, whilst the interviews retrieved more in-depth information relating to their understanding of tempo and temporality. Evaluation of the methods and processes indicate the need for a combination of data-gathering tools to present personal time-diaries and fully comprehend children's perceptions of time-use.
A Further Investigation of Certain Learning Aspects in the Aural Recognition of Melodic Intervals

r HE PRESENT STUDY had two purposes: to compare the effectiveness of immediate knowledge of results (KR) with that of delayed knowledge of results in the teaching of the aural identification of ascending melodic intervals, and to determine if one group of ascending melodic intervals classed as "easy to identify" would produce a significantly lower error rate when presented for judgment than another group of ascending melodic intervals classed as "difficult to identify. " To test these variables four groups of subjects were taught with taped autoinstructional programs. One group of subjects judged the easy intervals and was provided with immediate KR, a second group judged the easy intervals but received delayed KR, a third group judged the difficult intervals with immediate KR, and a fourth group judged the difficult intervals with delayed KR. Visual KR was always provided for subjects' written responses.l This study was a variation of an earlier experiment in which twentyfour university students were given ten days of melodic interval dictation by teaching machine and tape.2 Results of that experiment showed that learning to identify aurally the intervals in a random order of difficulty produced significantly fewer total errors in judgment than learning to identify the intervals in an order of increasing difficulty. It was also found that delayed KR generally produced a lower rate of error than immediate KR, although the differences were not statistically significant. Regardless of the order in which the intervals were introduced or the type of KR employed, the augmented fourth, minor seventh, and minor sixth were consistently among the four most frequently missed intervals both during training and on the tests. The present study investigates whether subjects untrained in the aural recognition of melodic intervals in a controlled learning situation will
On the Achievable Throughput of MIMO Broadcast Channels with Finite Rate Feedback

We consider multiuser scheduling with limited feedback of partial channel state information in MIMO broadcast channels. By using spatial multiplexing at the base station (BS) and antenna selection for each user, we propose a multiuser scheduling method that allocates independent information streams from all M transmit antennas to the M most favorable users with the highest signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR). A close approximation of the achievable sum-rate throughput for the proposed method is obtained and shown to match the simulation results very well. Moreover, a scheduling algorithm with finite rate feedback of SINR is proposed and the achievable throughput is derived. Performance analysis will show that even with only 1-bit quantization of SINR, the proposed scheduling approach can exploit multiuser diversity at an expense of slight decrease of throughput.
Enabling Key Stage 3 Students to Make Improvements to Their Own Writing

This paper reports a school‐based investigation into revision as a means of improving writing in the English classroom. It suggests that although pupils tend to perceive revision as a teacher‐directed, discrete stage in the writing process, during revision they engage in independent questioning, evaluation and employ a working model of audience as a guide to their operations. An approach to revision which involved pupils actively investigating each other's work, combined with an emphasis on multiple‐drafting, was trialled in the English Departments of two different schools. The findings suggest that this alternative approach creates a classroom context for improvement which is not teacher‐centred but embraces all students and highlights the potential for revision as an active learning process.
“One-Size-Fits-All”? Optimizing Treatment Duration for Bacterial Infections

Historically, antibiotic treatment guidelines have aimed to maximize treatment efficacy and minimize toxicity, but have not considered the evolution of antibiotic resistance. Optimizing the duration and dosing of treatment to minimize the duration of symptomatic infection and selection pressure for resistance simultaneously has the potential to extend the useful therapeutic life of these valuable life-saving drugs without compromising the interests of individual patients. Here, using mathematical models, we explore the theoretical basis for shorter durations of treatment courses, including a range of ecological dynamics of bacteria that cause infections or colonize hosts as commensals. We find that immunity is an important mediating factor in determining the need for long duration of treatment. When immunity to infection is expected, shorter durations that reduce the selection for resistance without interfering with successful clinical outcome are likely to be supported. Adjusting drug treatment strategies to account for the impact of the differences in the ecological niche occupied by commensal flora relative to invasive bacteria could be effective in delaying the spread of bacterial resistance.
Choosing Unsafe Sex: AIDS-Risk Denial Among Disadvantaged Women

Choosing Unsafe Sex focuses on the ways in which condom refusal and beliefs regarding HIV testing reflect women's hopes for their relationships and their desires to preserve status and self-esteem. Many of the inner-city women who participated in Dr. Sobo's research were seriously involved with one man, and they had heavy emotional and social investments in believing or maintaining that their partners were faithful to them. Uninvolved women had similarly heavy investments in their abilities to identify or choose potential partners who were HIV-negative. Women did not see themselves as being at risk for HIV infection, and so they saw no need for condoms. But they did recommend that other women, whom they saw as quite likely to be involved with sexually unfaithful men, use them.
Long-term prognostic value of elevated pentraxin 3 in patients undergoing primary angioplasty for ST-elevation myocardial infarction

ObjectivesThe prognostic value of pentraxin 3 (PTX3) has been documented in patients with acute coronary syndrome. However, its long-term prognostic value in acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) remains unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of PTX3 in patients with STEMI undergoing a primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). MethodsWe prospectively enrolled 499 consecutive STEMI patients undergoing primary PCI. The high-PTX3 group (n=141) was defined as having values in the third tertile (≥3.2 ng/ml) and the low-PTX3 group (n=358) included patients with values in the lower two tertiles (<3.2 ng/ml). ResultsThe patients in the high-PTX3 group were older (mean age 54.3±11.8 vs. 58.5±13.1 years, P=0.002). Higher in-hospital cardiovascular mortality and 2-year all-cause mortality rates were observed in the high-PTX3 group (9.9 vs. 2.8%, respectively, P<0.001; 21 vs. 6.2%, respectively, P<0.001). In a Cox multivariate analysis, a high admission PTX3 value (>3.2 ng/ml) was found to be an independent predictor of 2-year all-cause mortality (odds ratio: 2.3, 95% confidence interval: 1.20–4.90, P=0.025). ConclusionThese results suggest that a high admission PTX3 level was associated with increased in-hospital cardiovascular mortality and 2-year all-cause mortality in patients with STEMI undergoing primary PCI.
Poisoning Deaths in Central China (Hubei): A 10‐year Retrospective Study of Forensic Autopsy Cases

Abstract: A retrospective study of autopsy cases was conducted at the Department of Forensic Medicine, Tongji Medical College (DFM‐TMC), in Hubei, China to describe the characteristics of poisoning deaths from 1999 to 2008. A total of 212 poisoning deaths were investigated by DFM‐TMC during the 10‐year period. The poisoning deaths ranged from 17 cases in 1999 to 27 cases in 2008. Of the 212 cases, 82 deaths (38.7%) were from pesticides, 36 deaths (17.0%) from carbon monoxide, 34 deaths (16.0%) from drugs, 22 deaths (10.4%) from alcohol, 17 deaths (8.0%) from other chemicals, 15 deaths (7.1%) from poisonous plants and animals, and six deaths (2.8%) from heavy metals. Of the 82 pesticide poisoning deaths, 43 (52.4%) cases were caused by rodenticides, mainly tetramine (N = 39). The majority of poisoning deaths were accidents (63.7%), followed by suicides (25.9%) and homicides (3.8%). The manner of death could not be determined in 14 cases (6.6%).
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Improves Quality of Life in Women with Obstructive Sleep Apnea. A Randomized Controlled Trial.

RATIONALE Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the treatment of choice in patients with symptomatic obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). CPAP treatment improves quality of life (QoL) in men with OSA, but its role in women has not yet been assessed. OBJECTIVES To investigate the effect of CPAP on QoL in women with moderate to severe OSA. METHODS We conducted a multicenter, open-label randomized controlled trial in 307 consecutive women diagnosed with moderate to severe OSA (apnea-hypopnea index, ≥15) in 19 Spanish sleep units. Women were randomized to receive effective CPAP therapy (n = 151) or conservative treatment (n = 156) for 3 months. The primary endpoint was the change in QoL based on the Quebec Sleep Questionnaire. Secondary endpoints included changes in daytime sleepiness, mood state, anxiety, and depression. Data were analyzed on an intention-to-treat basis with adjustment for baseline values and other relevant clinical variables. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS The women in the study had a mean (SD) age of 57.1 (10.1) years and a mean (SD) Epworth Sleepiness Scale score of 9.8 (4.4), and 77.5% were postmenopausal. Compared with the control group, the CPAP group achieved a significantly greater improvement in all QoL domains of the Quebec Sleep Questionnaire (adjusted treatment effect between 0.53 and 1.33; P < 0.001 for all domains), daytime sleepiness (-2.92; P < 0.001), mood state (-4.24; P = 0.012), anxiety (-0.89; P = 0.014), depression (-0.85; P = 0.016), and the physical component summary of the 12-item Short Form Health Survey (2.78; P = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS In women with moderate or severe OSA, 3 months of CPAP therapy improved QoL, mood state, anxiety and depressive symptoms, and daytime sleepiness compared with conservative treatment. Clinical trial registered with www.clinicaltrials. gov (NCT02047071).
Prozone effects in microscopic agglutination tests for leptospirosis in the sera of mice infected with the pathogenic Leptospira interrogans serovar Canicola

Mice experimentally infected with a pathogenic strain of Leptospira interrogans serovar Canicola produced false negative results (prozone effect) in a microscopic agglutination test (MAT). This prozone effect occurred in several serum samples collected at different post-infection times, but it was more prominent in samples collected from seven-42 days post-infection and for 1:50 and 1:100 sample dilutions. This phenomenon was correlated with increased antibody titres in the early post-infection phase. While prozone effects are often observed in serological agglutination assays for the diagnosis of animal brucellosis and human syphilis, they are not widely reported in leptospirosis MATs.
Does online game-based learning work in formal education at school? A case study of VISOLE

VISOLE (Virtual Interactive Student-Oriented Environment) is a teacher-facilitated pedagogical approach to integrating constructivist online game-based learning into formal curriculum teaching in school education. This paper reports a case study on the implementation of VISOLE in secondary Geography education. We compared the pedagogical effectiveness of VISOLE and the traditional classroom teaching approach, in terms of students' knowledge acquisition with respect to a formal curriculum. One hundred and ninety-eight students from top, middle, and bottom academic-banding schools were selected and divided into three experimental groups and three control groups to participate in the research. Results showed that, in comparison with the traditional approach, VISOLE had a positive pedagogical effect on both low and moderate academic-achievement students, but not on high academic-achievement students. The findings shed light on enhancing the existing design of VISOLE, and provide researchers and educators with new insights into harnessing online games in formal school education in practice.
Optimal management of a two dam system via stochastic control: Parallel computing approach

In this paper we consider a model for the optimal management of a two dam system. Each dam is modelled via a continuous-time controlled Markov chain on a finite control period and linked to the other dam via a state and time dependent water transfer control. The consumption control for the dam system is provided by a time and state dependent price feedback control. This price feedback control takes into account the active seasonal demands of customers. We consider the case where inflow processes and evaporation for each dam are non-stationary as are the customer demands. The general approach to the solution of this problem is to consider this stochastic optimisation problem in the average case and solve it using the dynamic programming method. We show that the use of parallel computing techniques leads to substantial savings in calculation times for the solution of the optimal controls and demonstrate this via a numerical example.
Improving Memory Knowledge, Satisfaction, and Functioning Via an Education and Intervention Program for Older Adults

Many healthy older adults are concerned about memory change and are interested in learning techniques for enhancing memory function in their everyday lives A memory education and intervention program was developed and administered to 36 community-dwelling older adults Pretest-posttest change scores showed significant improvement on measures of knowledge (ie, general facts about memory, memory strategies), metamemory (ie, satisfaction with memory, self-rated memory ability), and objective memory performance (ie, everyday prospective memory) in comparison to 24 demographically matched control participants Findings support the effectiveness of memory education and training in improving everyday functioning, particularly for older adults whose memory concerns result from inadequate knowledge about memory and aging
"All Hits Are Flukes": Institutionalized Decision Making and the Rhetoric of Network Prime-Time Program Development

Drawing upon institutionalist theory this artcle analyzes how the introduction of new cultural objects produced for a mass audience is managed through an organized discourse. Data come form annoucements of prime-time television series in development for the 1991-92 season by the four U.S. television networks. Maximumlikelihood logit analyses support the conclusion that network programmers working in a highly institutionalized context use reputation, imitation, and genre as rhetorical strategies to rationalize and legitimize their actions. This study contributes to institutionalist theory and the sociology of culture by explaining the content and consequences of business discourse in a culture industry.
The influence of strain on water treeing in XLPE power cables

By bending commercially available XLPE power cables around hollow cylinders with different diameters, the insulation was subjected to a wide range of tensile and compressive strains. By using a simplified model, the applied compressive and tensile axial strains at the conductor screen of the bent cables were estimated to be in the range of 0–18 %. Both the density and growth of vented water trees at the conductor screen increased significantly with increasing applied axial tensile strain, and a corresponding reduction was observed for compressive strain. Approximately 98 % of the vented trees grew from the conductor screen, probably caused by higher electrical field stress and exposure to lower temperatures during the manufacturing process. The angular distribution of bow-tie trees was similar to the distribution of vented trees.
Where do children die and what are the causes? Under-5 deaths in the Metro West geographical service area of the Western Cape, South Africa, 2011.

BACKGROUND Accurate child mortality data are essential to plan health interventions to reduce child deaths. OBJECTIVES To review the deaths of children aged <5 years during 2011 in the Metro West geographical service area (GSA) of the Western Cape Province (WC), South Africa, from routine data sources. METHODS A retrospective study of under-5 deaths in the Metro West GSA was done using the WC Local Mortality Surveillance System (LMSS), the Child Healthcare Problem Identification Programme (Child PIP) and the Perinatal Problem Identification Programme (PPIP), and linking where possible. RESULTS The LMSS reported 700 under-5 deaths, Child PIP 99 and PPIP 252, with an under-5 mortality rate of 18 deaths per 1 000 live births. The leading causes of death were pneumonia (25%), gastroenteritis (10%), prematurity (9%) and injuries (9%). There were 316 in-hospital deaths (45%) and 384 out-of-hospital deaths (55%). Among children aged <1 year, there were significantly more pneumonia deaths out of hospital than in hospital (144 (49%) v. 16 (6%); p<0.001). Among children aged 1 - 4 years there were significantly more injury-related deaths out of hospital than in hospital (43 (47%) v. 4 (9%); p<0.001). In 56 (15%) of the cases of out-of-hospital death the child had visited a public healthcare facility within 1 week of death. Thirty-six (64%) of these children had died of pneumonia or gastroenteritis. CONCLUSIONS Health interventions targeted at reducing under-5 deaths from pneumonia, gastroenteritis, prematurity and injuries need to be implemented across the service delivery platform in the Metro West GSA. It is important to consider all routine data sources in the evaluation of child mortality.