Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
KEA: practical automatic keyphrase extraction

Keyphrases provide semantic metadata that summarize and characterize documents. This paper describes Kea, an algorithm for automatically extracting keyphrases from text. Kea identifies candidate keyphrases using lexical methods, calculates feature values for each candidate, and uses a machinelearning algorithm to predict which candidates are good keyphrases. The machine learning scheme first builds a prediction model using training documents with known keyphrases, and then uses the model to find keyphrases in new documents. We use a large test corpus to evaluate Kea’s effectiveness in terms of how many author-assigned keyphrases are correctly identified. The system is simple, robust, and publicly available.
Risk factors for pulmonary tuberculosis in Russia: case-control study

Abstract Objectives To determine risk factors for pulmonary tuberculosis in Russia. Design Case-control study of exposure to a variety of risk factors before and during the development of pulmonary tuberculosis. Setting Large city in Russia. Participants Cases were 334 consecutive adults diagnosed as having culture confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis between 1 January 2003 and 31 December 2003. Controls were 334 individuals sampled from a validated population registry, matched for age and sex to the patients with tuberculosis. A questionnaire collected information on potential risk factors. Main outcome measures Risk factors associated with the development of tuberculosis. Results The main risk factors for tuberculosis were low accumulated wealth (univariate odds ratio 16.70), financial insecurity (5.67), consumption of unpasteurised milk (3.58), diabetes (2.66), living with a relative with tuberculosis (2.94), being unemployed (6.10), living in overcrowded conditions (2.99), illicit drug use (8.74), and a history of incarceration in both pretrial detention centres (5.70) and prison (12.50). Conclusions When prevalence of exposure is taken into account the most important factors in the development of pulmonary tuberculosis in Russia are exposure to raw milk and unemployment.
PACS-CS: a large-scale bandwidth-aware PC cluster for scientific computation

We have been developing a large scale PC cluster named PACS-CS (Parallel Array Computer System for Computational Sciences) at Center for Computational Sciences, University of Tsukuba, for wide variety of computational science applications such as computational physics, computational material science, computational biology, etc. We consider the most important issue on the computation node is the memory access bandwidth, then a node is equipped with a single CPU which is different from ordinary high-end PC clusters. The interconnection network for parallel processing is configured as a multi-dimensional hyper-crossbar network based on trunking of Gigabit Ethernet to support large scale scientific computation with physical space modeling. Based on the above concept, we are developing an original mother board to configure a single CPU node with 8 ports of Gigabit Ethernet, which can be implemented in the half size of 19 inch rack-mountable 1U size platform. Under the preliminary performance evaluation, we confirmed that the computation part in practical Lattice QCD code will be able to achieve 30% of peak performance, and up to 600 Mbyte/sec of bandwidth at single directed neighboring communication will be achieved. PACS-CS will start its operation on July 2006 with 2560 CPUs and 14.3 Tflops of peak performance.
Adrenal Incidentaloma triage with single-source (fast-kilovoltage switch) dual-energy CT.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this article is to evaluate single-source dual-energy CT (DECT) for distinguishing benign and indeterminate adrenal nodules, with attention to the effects of phase of IV contrast enhancement. MATERIALS AND METHODS A retrospective review revealed 273 contrast-enhanced abdominal DECT examinations from November 2009 through March 2012. Fifty adrenal nodules 0.8 cm or larger were identified in 41 patients (22 women and 19 men; average age, 66 years; age range, 36-88 years). CT postprocessing and measurements were independently performed by two radiologists (readers 1 and 2) for each nodule, as follows: attenuation (in Hounsfield units) on true unenhanced images; contrast-enhanced attenuation (in Hounsfield units) on monochromatic spectral images at 40, 75, and 140 keV; and contrast-enhanced material density (in milligrams per milliliter) on virtual unenhanced images. Nodules were classified as benign (< 10 HU) and indeterminate (≥ 10 HU) according to true unenhanced images. RESULTS Interreader agreement regarding benign and indeterminate nodules was high (κ = 0.92; 95% CI, 0.8-1.0). At 140 keV, the attenuation of benign nodules was significantly lower (reader 1, 7.0 ± 12.5 HU; reader 2, 7.8 ± 9.2 HU) than that of indeterminate nodules (reader 1, 15.7 ± 20.5 HU [p = 0.004]; reader 2, 17.5 ± 13.4 HU [p < 0.0001]). On virtual unenhanced images, benign nodules had significantly lower material density (reader 1, 992.4 ± 9.9 mg/mL; reader 2, 992.7 ± 9.6 mg/mL) than did indeterminate nodules (reader 1, 1001.1 ± 20.5 mg/mL [p = 0.038]; reader 2, 1007.6 ± 13.4 mg/mL [p < 0.0001]). CONCLUSION DECT tools can mathematically subtract iodine or minimize its effects in high-energy reconstructions, approximating unenhanced imaging and potentially reducing the need for additional studies to triage adrenal nodules detected on contrast-enhanced DECT examinations.
Arm Exercise Training in Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

PURPOSE Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) often report intolerable dyspnea when they use their arms for simple activities of daily living. Although arm exercise training is recommended in the guidelines for pulmonary rehabilitation (PR), there is limited information regarding its impact. Therefore, we undertook a systematic review of studies that have investigated the effects of an arm training program (ATP) on symptoms, exercise capacity, and health-related quality of life. METHODS A search of electronic databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro), and the Cochrane Library of clinical trials) was complemented by screening the reference lists of pertinent articles to identify appropriate studies. We accepted randomized controlled trials that were written in English, performed in human subjects with COPD, and investigated the effects of an ATP in patients with COPD. Included studies were reviewed by 2 independent investigators who assigned a score out of 10, using the PEDro scale for assessment of study quality. RESULTS Of 98 reports, 5 met the study criteria. The mean PEDro score was 6.2 (SD = 1.3). The results of the studies indicate that ATP improves arm exercise capacity, but its effect on dyspnea, arm fatigue, and health-related quality of life is unclear. CONCLUSIONS There is evidence to support the use of ATP to improve arm exercise capacity. Larger trials with standardized training methodology and outcomes are required to better understand the optimal training regimen for patients with COPD.
Thyroid function in the euthyroid range and adverse outcomes in older adults.

CONTEXT The appropriateness of current reference ranges for thyroid function testing in older adults has been questioned. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to determine the relationship between thyroid function tests within the euthyroid range and adverse outcomes in older adults not taking thyroid medication. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS US community-dwelling adults years of older (n = 2843) enrolled onto the Cardiovascular Health Study with TSH, free T4 (FT4), and total T3 concentrations in the euthyroid range. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Incidence of atrial fibrillation, coronary heart disease, heart failure, hip fracture, dementia, and all-cause death were measured. RESULTS No departures from linearity were detected. Higher TSH was negatively associated (P = .03) and higher FT4 was positively associated (P = .007) with mortality. Higher FT4 was associated with atrial fibrillation (P < .001) and heart failure (P = .004). Compared with the first quartile, individuals with TSH in the fourth quartile had a 9.6 per 1000 person-year lower incidence of dementia (P < .05) and those with FT4 in the fourth quartile had higher incidences of atrial fibrillation, coronary heart disease, heart failure, and mortality (11.0, 8.0, 7.8, and 14.3 per 1000 person-years, respectively, all P < .05). Total T3 was not associated with any outcome. CONCLUSIONS Higher TSH and lower FT4 concentrations within the euthyroid range are associated with lower risk of multiple adverse events in older people, including mortality. This suggests tolerance for lower thyroid hormone levels in this age group. Clinical trials are needed to evaluate the risk-benefit profile of new thresholds for initiating treatment and optimal target concentrations for thyroid hormone replacement in older people.
El Niño–Southern Oscillation, Pliocene climate and equifinality

It has been suggested that, during the Pliocene (ca 5–1.8 Ma), an El Niño state existed as a permanent rather than an intermittent feature; that is, the tropical Pacific Ocean was characterized by a much weaker east–west gradient than today. One line of inquiry used to investigate this idea relates modern El Niño teleconnections to Pliocene proxy data by comparing regional differences in precipitation and surface temperature with climate patterns associated with present-day El Niño events, assuming that agreement between Pliocene data and observations of modern El Niño events supports this interpretation. Here, we examine this assumption by comparing outputs from a suite of Mid-Pliocene climate simulations carried out with the UK Met Office climate model. Regional patterns of climate change associated with changes in model boundary conditions are compared with observed El Niño–Southern Oscillation teleconnection patterns. Our results indicate that many of the proposed ‘permanent El Niño’ surface temperature and precipitation patterns are observable in Mid-Pliocene climate simulations even when they display variability in tropical Pacific sea surface temperatures (SSTs) or when forced with a modern east–west SST gradient. Our experiments highlight the possibility that the same outcome may be achieved through different initial conditions (equifinality); an important consideration for reconstructed patterns of regional Mid-Pliocene climate.
Dexmedetomidine in anaesthesia practice: A wonder drug?

Dexmedetomidine has become of the frequently used drugs in anaesthetic armamentarium, along with routine anaesthetic drugs, due to its haemodynamic, sedative, anxiolytic, analgesic, neuroprotective and anaesthetic sparing effects. Other claimed advantages include minimal respiratory depression with cardioprotection, neuroprotection and renoprotection, thus making it useful at various situations including offsite procedures. [1] α-1 to α-2 ratio of 1:1600 makes it a highly selective α-2 agonist compared to clonidine, thus reducing the unwanted side effects involving α-1 receptors.
Collaborative coupling over tabletop displays

Designing collaborative interfaces for tabletops remains difficult because we do not fully understand how groups coordinate their actions when working collaboratively over tables. We present two observational studies of pairs completing independent and shared tasks that investigate collaborative coupling, or the manner in which collaborators are involved and occupied with each other's work. Our results indicate that individuals frequently and fluidly engage and disengage with group activity through several distinct, recognizable states with unique characteristics. We describe these states and explore the consequences of these states for tabletop interface design.
Is it safe?

• Is it safe? • How do you answer that question when we’ve put people atop a vehicle loaded with millions of pounds of rocket fuel? • Of course it isn’t “safe”! • Our challenge is to achieve the best understanding of the risk our mission poses to the public and our workforce, to include flight crews, in order to ensure that the goals we hope to achieve justify the risk. • Is it safe enough?
Enhancing a Safe Water Intervention with Student-Created Visual AIDS to Promote Handwashing Behavior in Kenyan Primary Schools

The Nyando Integrated Child Health Education (NICHE) project was a collaborative effort by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and local partners to assess the effectiveness of multiple interventions for improving child survival in western Kenya. To increase handwashing in schools, NICHE trained teachers and installed handwashing stations with treated water and soap in 51 primary schools. This cluster-randomized trial evaluated an additional educational strategy (a poster contest themed, “Handwashing with Soap”) to improve handwashing behavior in 23 NICHE primary schools. Pupils were engaged in the poster development. Pupil handwashing behavior was observed unobtrusively at baseline and after four months. Intervention schools displayed a significant increase in the number of handwashing stations and proportion of teacher-supervised stations over the study period. No significant between-group differences of intervention in handwashing frequency, soap availability, or visibility of handwashing stations was observed. Despite finding a limited effect beyond the NICHE intervention, the trial appeared to promote sustainability across some measures.
Effect of moderate- and high-intensity acute exercise on appetite in obese individuals.

PURPOSE The effect of acute exercise, and exercise intensity, on appetite control in obese individuals requires further study. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of acute isocaloric bouts (250 kcal) of high-intensity intermittent cycling (HIIC) and moderate-intensity continuous cycling (MICC) or short-duration HIIC (S-HIIC) (125 kcal) and a resting control condition on the appetite hormone responses, subjective feelings of appetite, energy intake (EI), and food reward in overweight/obese individuals. METHODS This study is a randomized crossover study on 12 overweight/obese volunteers. Participants were assigned to the control, MICC, HIIC, and S-HIIC conditions, 1 wk apart, in a counterbalanced order. Exercise was performed 1 h after a standard breakfast. An ad libitum test lunch was served 3 h after breakfast. Fasting/postprandial plasma samples of insulin, acylated ghrelin, polypeptide YY3-36, and glucagon-like peptide 1 and subjective feelings of appetite were measured every 30 min for 3 h. Nutrient and taste preferences were measured at the beginning and end of each condition using the Leeds Food Preference Questionnaire. RESULTS Insulin levels were significantly reduced, and glucagon-like peptide 1 levels significantly increased during all exercise bouts compared with those during rest. Acylated ghrelin plasma levels were lower in the MICC and HIIC, but not in S-HIIC, compared with those in control. There were no significant differences for polypeptide YY3-36 plasma levels, hunger or fullness ratings, EI, or food reward. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that, in overweight/obese individuals, isocaloric bouts of moderate- or high-intensity exercise lead to a similar appetite response. This strengthens previous findings in normal-weight individuals that acute exercise, even at high intensity, does not induce any known physiological adaptation that would lead to increased EI.
Comparison of aerosol optical depth inferred from surface measurements with that determined by Sun photometry for cloud-free conditions at a continental U.S. site

Evaluation of the forcing of climate by aerosol scattering of shortwave radiation in cloud-free conditions (direct aerosol forcing) requires knowledge of aerosol optical properties on relevant spatial and temporal scales. It is convenient to measure these properties at the surface. However, before these measurements can be used to quantitatively estimate direct climate forcing, it is necessary to determine the extent to which these properties are representative of the entire atmospheric column. In this paper we compare aerosol optical depth (AOD) determined by Sun photometry at the Southern Great Plains (SGP) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) site in north central Oklahoma for several cloud-free days with estimates of AOD based on two methods. First, the aerosol extinction measured at the surface (taken as the sum of the aerosol scattering and absorption coefficients at instrumental relative humidity of∼20%) is multiplied by the mixing height determined from temperature profiles from radiosonde measurements. Even under conditions of vigorous midday mixing this approach underestimates AOD by as much as 70% using dry aerosol measurements and by roughly 40% when hygroscopic growth of aerosol under ambient relative humidity is taken into account. This discrepancy is attributed primarily to underestimation of aerosol column extinction, as confirmed by examination of normalized aerosol backscatter profiles obtained from micropulse lidar (MPL), which show substantial contributions of aerosol loading above the atmospheric boundary layer. The second approach uses MPL profiles of normalized aerosol backscatter to estimate the vertical profile of aerosol extinction using surface values. The resulting AOD's are on average 30% less than measured values. This discrepancy is attributed to hygroscopic growth of aerosols in the atmospheric column. The results show that at the SGP site even under conditions of vigorous mixing in the atmospheric boundary layer the aerosol optical depth cannot be estimated with surface measurements of aerosol extinction unless information on the vertical profile of aerosol extinction is taken into account.
EMMA: an e-mail management assistant

In this paper, we describe EMMA (E-Mail Management Assistant), an e-mail system that addresses the process of e-mail management, from initially sorting messages into virtual folders, to prioritizing, reading, replying (automatically or semi-automatically), archiving and deleting mail items. EMMA attains a high degree of accuracy on e-mail classification by using a rule-based approach known as Ripple Down Rules (RDR) as the basis of rule construction. In contrast to traditional rule-based systems, RDR systems provide extensive help to the user in defining rules and maintaining the consistency of a rule base, making EMMA easy to use. We discuss the results of evaluating the usability of EMMA on a trial of independent users.
Fundamentals of diffusion MRI physics

Diffusion MRI is commonly considered the “engine” for probing the cellular structure of living biological tissues. The difficulty of this task is threefold. First, in structurally heterogeneous media, diffusion is related to structure in quite a complicated way. The challenge of finding diffusion metrics for a given structure is equivalent to other problems in physics that have been known for over a century. Second, in most cases the MRI signal is related to diffusion in an indirect way dependent on the measurement technique used. Third, finding the cellular structure given the MRI signal is an ill‐posed inverse problem. This paper reviews well‐established knowledge that forms the basis for responding to the first two challenges. The inverse problem is briefly discussed and the reader is warned about a number of pitfalls on the way.
Dictionary learning based software defect prediction

In order to improve the quality of a software system, software defect prediction aims to automatically identify defective software modules for efficient software test. To predict software defect, those classification methods with static code attributes have attracted a great deal of attention. In recent years, machine learning techniques have been applied to defect prediction. Due to the fact that there exists the similarity among different software modules, one software module can be approximately represented by a small proportion of other modules. And the representation coefficients over the pre-defined dictionary, which consists of historical software module data, are generally sparse. In this paper, we propose to use the dictionary learning technique to predict software defect. By using the characteristics of the metrics mined from the open source software, we learn multiple dictionaries (including defective module and defective-free module sub-dictionaries and the total dictionary) and sparse representation coefficients. Moreover, we take the misclassification cost issue into account because the misclassification of defective modules generally incurs much higher risk cost than that of defective-free ones. We thus propose a cost-sensitive discriminative dictionary learning (CDDL) approach for software defect classification and prediction. The widely used datasets from NASA projects are employed as test data to evaluate the performance of all compared methods. Experimental results show that CDDL outperforms several representative state-of-the-art defect prediction methods.
Knowledge level of nurses in Jordan on ventilator‐associated pneumonia and preventive measures

BACKGROUND Ventilator-associated pneumonia is the most prevalent infection in Intensive Care Units, with the highest mortality rate; crude mortality rates may be as high as 20-75%. Many practices such as prevention measures (e.g. hand washing, wearing gloves, suctioning, elevated head of bed between 30° and 45°) have demonstrated an effect of reducing the incidence of this infection. AIMS To identify the level of nurses' knowledge of ventilator-associated pneumonia and prevention measures before an educational programme, identify the level of nurses' knowledge on ventilator-associated pneumonia and prevention post an educational programme and identify the reasons for not applying ventilator-associated pneumonia prevention measures among nurses in Jordan. DESIGN Pre- and post-intervention observational study. METHOD Data based on a self-reported questionnaire from 428 nurses who worked in intensive care units were analysed. PowerPoint lectures, videos, printed materials and electronic materials were used in the intervention. Paired t-tests were used to test research questions. RESULTS More than three-quarters of nurses had a low knowledge level regarding pathophysiology, risk factors and ventilator-associated pneumonia preventative measures. Nurses showed significant improvements in mean scores on the knowledge level of ventilator-associated pneumonia and prevention measures after an educational programme (p < 0.05). The main reasons for not applying prevention measures were the lack of time and no followed protocols in the units. CONCLUSION Health education programmes about ventilator-associated pneumonia must be conducted among nurses in Jordan through continuous education. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE Hospital and nursing administrators should be actively involved in educational programmes and in assuring support for continuing education. Protocol for ventilator-associated pneumonia prevention should be developed based on current evidence-based guidelines.
Bayesian estimation of self-similarity exponent

In this study we propose a bayesian approach to the estimation of the Hurst exponent in terms of linear mixed models. Even for unevenly sampled signals and signals with gaps, our method is applicable. We test our method by using artificial fractional brownian motion of different length and compare it with the detrended fluctuation analysis technique. The estimation of the Hurst exponent of a Rosenblatt process is shown as an example of an H-self-similar process with non-gaussian dimensional distribution. Additionally, we perform an analysis with real data, the Dow-Jones Industrial Average closing values, and analyze its temporal variation of the Hurst exponent.