Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of respiratory timing and cheek support on resistance measurements, before and after bronchodilation in asthmatic children using the interrupter technique

The interrupter technique (Rint) is a noninvasive method for assessing respiratory resistance. The aims of this study were to assess whether upper airway support affects the measurement of Rint, if inspiratory or expiratory Rint were most reproducible, and which method of assessing Rint correlated best with spirometry results and was the most sensitive for identifying bronchodilator response. Twenty‐four asthmatic children with a mean age of 10.3 years (range, 7–16 years) were included in the study. Rint measurements were obtained in inspiration and expiration with cheeks supported and unsupported. Spirometry was then performed. Rint and spirometry measurements were repeated after the inhalation of 600 mcg of salbutamol. The mean Rint supported inspiratory (0.708 KPa/l/sec) and expiratory (0.729 KPa/l/sec) values were significantly higher than the unsupported values (inspiratory, 0.622 KPa/l/sec; expiratory, 0.584 KPa/l/sec), P < 0.05 and P < 0.001, respectively. The reproducibility of Rint was not different whether cheeks were supported or not, or whether the measurements were carried out during inspiration or expiration. Cheek support improved the correlation with all the lung function results, both in inspiratory and expiratory measurements. The best correlations, however, were found for the inspiratory supported Rint results. The most sensitive method to ascertain bronchodilator response (BD) was the inspiratory supported Rint measurement, as 83.3% of children were identified as having a positive response to bronchodilator therapy as defined by a reduction of twice the coefficient of variation of the measurement. In conclusion, cheek support increases Rint but does not impact on reproducibility, though it improves the correlation with spirometric indices. Rint with cheek support on inspiration correlates best with spirometric indices and appears to be the most sensitive measure of response to bronchodilators. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2003; 36:495–501. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Handling Uncertainty by Interleaving Cost-Aware Classical Planning with Execution

This paper presents an algorithm for interleaved planning and execution in uncertain environments by reusing a classical planner capable of plan cost optimization. Probabilistic actions in the initial domain are split into deterministic ones that are presented to the planner. The planner generates a plan that is optimistic in the sense that it is assumed that all possible effects of the original probabilistic action can be achieved deterministically. The cost of the deterministic actions are used to control the output plans from the planner and are dynamically updated by generating and comparing all possible optimistic plans after the first occurence of a probabilistic action. Appendix B3: Curriculum Vitae (Per Nyblom) • M.Sc. in Computer Science and Engineering (Civilingenjörsexamen), Linköping University, 2003. • Current employment: PhD student (doktorand), Linköping University, 2003 – present.
Security of the most significant bits of the Shamir message passing scheme

Boneh and Venkatesan have recently proposed a polynomial time algorithm for recovering a "hidden" element α of a finite field Fp of p elements from rather short strings of the most significant bits of the remainder modulo p of αt for several values of t selected uniformly at random from Fp*. Unfortunately the applications to the computational security of most significant bits of private keys of some finite field exponentiation based cryptosystems given by Boneh and Venkatesan are not quite correct. For the Diffie-Hellman cryptosystem the result of Boneh and Venkatesan has been corrected and generalized in our recent paper. Here a similar analysis is given for the Shamir message passing scheme. The results depend on some bounds of exponential sums.
Positive predictive values of the coding for bisphosphonate therapy among cancer patients in the Danish National Patient Registry

Background The purpose of this study was to estimate the positive predictive value (PPV) of the coding for bisphosphonate treatment in selected cancer patients from the Danish National Patient Registry (DNPR). Methods Through the DNPR, we identified all patients with recorded cancer of the breast, prostate, lung, kidney, and with multiple myeloma. We restricted the study sample to patients with bisphosphonate treatment recorded during an admission to Aalborg Hospital, Denmark, from 2005 through 2009. We retrieved and reviewed medical records of these patients from the initial cancer diagnosis onwards to confirm or rule out bisphosphonate therapy. We calculated the PPV of the treatment coding as the proportion of patients with confirmed bisphosphonate treatment. Results We retrieved and reviewed the medical records of 60 cancer patients with treatment codes corresponding to bisphosphonate therapy. Recorded code corresponded to treatment administered intravenously for 59 of 60 patients, corresponding to a PPV of 98.3% (95% confidence interval 92.5–99.8). In the remaining patient, bisphosphonate treatment was also confirmed but was an orally administered bisphosphonate; thus, the treatment for any bisphosphonate regardless of administration was confirmed for all 60 patients (PPV of 100%, 95% confidence interval 95.9–100.0). Conclusion The PPV of bisphosphonate treatment coding among cancer patients in the DNPR is very high and the recorded treatment nearly always corresponds to intravenous administration.
Introduction of shared electronic records: multi-site case study using diffusion of innovation theory

Objective To explore the introduction of a centrally stored, shared electronic patient record (the summary care record (SCR)) in England and draw wider lessons about the implementation of large scale information technology projects in health care. Design Multi-site, mixed method case study applying utilisation focused evaluation. Setting Four early adopter sites for the SCR in England—three in urban areas of relative socioeconomic deprivation and the fourth in a relatively affluent rural area. Data sources and analysis Data included 250 staff interviews, 1500 hours of ethnographic observation, interviews and focus groups with 170 patients and carers, 2500 pages of correspondence and documentary evidence, and incorporation of relevant surveys and statistics produced by others. These were analysed by using a thematic approach drawing on (and extending) a theoretical model of complex change developed in a previous systematic review. Main findings The mixed fortunes of the SCR programme in its first year were largely explained by eight interacting influences. The first was the SCR’s material properties (especially technical immaturity and lack of interoperability) and attributes (especially the extent to which potential adopters believed the benefits outweighed the risks). The second was adopters’ concerns (especially about workload and the ethicality of sharing “confidential” information on an implied consent model). The third influence was interpersonal influence (for example, opinion leaders, champions, facilitators), and the fourth was organisational antecedents for innovation (for example past experience with information technology projects, leadership and management capacity, effective data capture systems, slack resources). The fifth was organisational readiness for the SCR (for example, innovation-system fit, tension for change, power balances between supporters and opponents, baseline data quality). The sixth was the implementation process (including the nature of the change model and the extent to which new routines associated with the SCR aligned with existing organisational routines). The seventh influence was the nature and quality of links between different parts of the system, and the final one was the wider environment (especially the political context of the programme). Conclusion Shared electronic records are not plug-in technologies. They are complex innovations that must be accepted by individual patients and staff and also embedded in organisational and inter-organisational routines. This process is heavily influenced at the micro-level by the material properties of the technology, individuals’ attitudes and concerns, and interpersonal influence; at the meso-level by organisational antecedents, readiness, and operational aspects of implementation; and at the macro-level by institutional and socio-political forces. A case study approach and multi-level theoretical analysis can illuminate how contextual factors shape, enable, and constrain new, technology supported models of patient care.
Sectoral Engines of Growth in South Africa An Analysis of Services and Manufacturing

Manufacturing has traditionally been regarded in the development literature as having special ? growth-pulling? or ? growth-enhancing? properties. The share of manufacturing in GDP has been declining slightly over time in South Africa, while that of services has been growing. This study focuses on the ? Hirschmanian? channels through which sectoral growth can lead or support aggregate economic growth, using input-output tables to investigate intersectoral linkages in the South African economy. Manufacturing is found to be especially important as a source of demand for the services sector and the rest of the economy through its strong backward linkages. This draws attention to possible negative implications of a decline in manufacturing on the South African economy.
Predictive Coding in Area V4: Dynamic Shape Discrimination under Partial Occlusion

The primate visual system has an exquisite ability to discriminate partially occluded shapes. Recent electrophysiological recordings suggest that response dynamics in intermediate visual cortical area V4, shaped by feedback from prefrontal cortex (PFC), may play a key role. To probe the algorithms that may underlie these findings, we build and test a model of V4 and PFC interactions based on a hierarchical predictive coding framework. We propose that probabilistic inference occurs in two steps. Initially, V4 responses are driven solely by bottom-up sensory input and are thus strongly influenced by the level of occlusion. After a delay, V4 responses combine both feedforward input and feedback signals from the PFC; the latter reflect predictions made by PFC about the visual stimulus underlying V4 activity. We find that this model captures key features of V4 and PFC dynamics observed in experiments. Specifically, PFC responses are strongest for occluded stimuli and delayed responses in V4 are less sensitive to occlusion, supporting our hypothesis that the feedback signals from PFC underlie robust discrimination of occluded shapes. Thus, our study proposes that area V4 and PFC participate in hierarchical inference, with feedback signals encoding top-down predictions about occluded shapes.
Population-based study of home-time by stroke type and correlation with modified Rankin score

Objective: To describe home-time, stratified by stroke type, in a complete population and to determine its correlation with modified Rankin Scale (mRS) scores. Methods: We used linked administrative data to derive home-time in all patients admitted for a cerebrovascular event in Alberta, Canada, between 2012 and 2016. Home-time is the number of days spent outside a health institution in the first 90 days after index hospitalization. We used negative binomial regression, adjusted for age, sex, Charlson comorbidity index, and hospital location, to determine the association between home-time and stroke type. In 552 patients enrolled in 4 acute ischemic stroke clinical trials, we used multivariable ordinal logistic regression analysis to determine the association between home-time and mRS score at 90 days. Results: Among 15,644 patients (n = 10,428 with ischemic stroke, n = 1,415 with intracerebral hemorrhage, n = 760 with subarachnoid hemorrhage, n = 3,041 with TIA), patients with TIA have the longest home-time, almost triple the number of days at home compared to patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (incidence rate ratio 2.85, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.58–3.15). Among clinical trial ischemic stroke patients, longer home-time was associated with a lower mRS score at 90 days (adjusted common odds ratio 1.04, 95% CI 1.04–1.05). Conclusions: We showed that home-time is an objective and graded indicator that is correlated with disability after stroke. It is obtainable from administrative data, applicable to different stroke types, and a valuable outcome indicator in population-based health services research.
Staff attitudes towards sexuality in relation to gender of people with intellectual disability: A qualitative study

Abstract Background Research has found staff attitudes regarding the sexuality of people with intellectual disability (ID) to be negative but influenced by several factors. The current study aimed to examine whether gender of people with ID affects such attitudes. Method Semistructured interviews were completed with 10 staff members and analysed using thematic analysis. Results Results indicated 3 themes: Women are perceived as sexually innocent, men as more sexually motivated, and motivations for sexual relationships are perceived to differ between men and women with ID. Conclusion The study indicates unfavourable attitudes towards sexuality in individuals with ID that correlate with traditional, restricted gender stereotypes. The identification of these themes highlights the importance of considering gender when supporting the sexuality of people with ID.
Off-line dictionary-based compression

Dictionary-based modeling is a mechanism used in many practical compression schemes. In most implementations of dictionary-based compression the encoder operates on-line, incrementally inferring its dictionary of available phrases from previous parts of the message. An alternative approach is to use the full message to infer a complete dictionary in advance, and include an explicit representation of the dictionary as part of the compressed message. In this investigation, we develop a compression scheme that is a combination of a simple but powerful phrase derivation method and a compact dictionary encoding. The scheme is highly efficient, particularly in decompression, and has characteristics that make it a favorable choice when compressed data is to be searched directly. We describe data structures and algorithms that allow our mechanism to operate in linear time and space.
Differential Brain Activation to Angry Faces by Elite Warfighters: Neural Processing Evidence for Enhanced Threat Detection

Background Little is known about the neural basis of elite performers and their optimal performance in extreme environments. The purpose of this study was to examine brain processing differences between elite warfighters and comparison subjects in brain structures that are important for emotion processing and interoception. Methodology/Principal Findings Navy Sea, Air, and Land Forces (SEALs) while off duty (n = 11) were compared with n = 23 healthy male volunteers while performing a simple emotion face-processing task during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Irrespective of the target emotion, elite warfighters relative to comparison subjects showed relatively greater right-sided insula, but attenuated left-sided insula, activation. Navy SEALs showed selectively greater activation to angry target faces relative to fearful or happy target faces bilaterally in the insula. This was not accounted for by contrasting positive versus negative emotions. Finally, these individuals also showed slower response latencies to fearful and happy target faces than did comparison subjects. Conclusions/Significance These findings support the hypothesis that elite warfighters deploy greater processing resources toward potential threat-related facial expressions and reduced processing resources to non-threat-related facial expressions. Moreover, rather than expending more effort in general, elite warfighters show more focused neural and performance tuning. In other words, greater neural processing resources are directed toward threat stimuli and processing resources are conserved when facing a nonthreat stimulus situation.
Introduction to subfactors

This mini-course will focus on the theory of II1-subfactors. I will try to point out differences in the type II1 and type III theories at several points along the way. The aim will be to prepare everyone for Scott’s course on “Problems in the classification of small index subfactors. ” Since this workshop also focus on conformal field theory (CFT) and vertex operator algebras, of special importance will be the theory of finite depth subfactors (which is highly related to completely rational CFTs). There will be three main parts to this mini-course:
What Influences Travellers' Adoption of a Location-based Social Media Service for Their Travel Planning?

Advances in location-acquisition and mobile communication technologies have empowered people to use location data with online social networks known as location-based social media. However, the technology is relatively new, and literature on the relevant factors determining location-based social media adoption and usage for the specific purpose of travel planning is sparse. Using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2) as a base model, we extended the model by including users’ mobile Internet experience and the Information Adoption Model in the context of location-based social media adoption and use for travel planning. Data was collected from 200 Chinese respondents and partial least square was employed to test the research model. Our results showed that our model was able to explain about 64% of variance in intention and 48% in location-based social media use in travel planning. We found that besides variables from UTAUT2, argument strength, review rating, reviewer trustworthiness, reviewer expertise and review sidedness can influence users’ adoption of online reviews, which in turn will influence their use of location-based social media. The results of this study will be useful for location-based social media providers in formulating appropriate marketing strategies, as well as developing applications that will attract more users.
The Effects of Varying Resistance‐Training Loads on Intermediate‐‐‐and High‐‐‐Velocity‐Specific Adaptations

The purpose of this study was to compare changes in velocity-specific adaptations in moderately resistance-trained athletes who trained with either low or high resistances. The study used tests of sport-specific skills across an intermediate-to high-velocity spectrum. Thirty NCAA Division I baseball players were randomly assigned to either a low-resistance (40–60% 1 repetition maximum [1RM]) training group or a high-resistance (70–90% 1RM) training group. Both of the training groups intended to maximally accelerate each repetition during the concentric phase (IMCA). The 10 weeks of training consisted of 4 training sessions a week using basic core exercises. Peak force, velocity and power were evaluated during set angle and depth jumps as well as weighted jumps using 30 and 50% 1RM. Squat 1RMs were also tested. Although no interactions for any of the jump tests were found, trends supported the hypothesis of velocity-specific training. Percentage gains suggest that the combined use of heavier training loads (70–90% 1RM) and IMCA tend to increase peak force in the lower-body leg and hip extensors. Trends also show that the combined use of lighter training loads (40–60% 1RM) and IMCA tend to increase peak power and peak velocity in the lower-body leg and hip extensors. The high-resistance group improved squats more than the low-resistance group (p < 0.05; +22.7 vs. +16.1 kg). The results of this study support the use of a combination of heavier training loads and IMCA to increase 1RM strength in the lower bodies of resistance-trained athletes.
Correction: Effect of Calcifications on Breast Ultrasound Shear Wave Elastography: An Investigational Study

The following information is missing from the Funding section: This work is supported by grants R01CA148994, R01CA174723, R01 EB017213, and R01CA168575 from the National Institutes of Health-National Cancer Institute. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Perinatal DDT Exposure Induces Hypertension and Cardiac Hypertrophy in Adult Mice

Background: Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) was used extensively to control malaria, typhus, body lice, and bubonic plague worldwide, until countries began restricting its use in the 1970s. However, the use of DDT to control vector-borne diseases continues in developing countries. Prenatal DDT exposure is associated with elevated blood pressure in humans. Objective: We hypothesized that perinatal DDT exposure causes hypertension in adult mice. Methods: DDT was administered to C57BL/6J dams from gestational day 11.5 to postnatal day 5. Blood pressure (BP) and myocardial wall thickness were measured in male and female adult offspring. Adult mice were treated with an angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, captopril, to evaluate sensitivity to amelioration of DDT-associated hypertension by ACE inhibition. We further assessed the influence of DDT exposure on the expression of mRNAs that regulate BP through renal ion transport. Results: Adult mice perinatally exposed to DDT exhibited chronically increased systolic BP, increased myocardial wall thickness, and elevated expression of mRNAs of several renal ion transporters. Captopril completely reversed hypertension in mice perinatally exposed to DDT. Conclusions: These data demonstrate that perinatal exposure to DDT causes hypertension and cardiac hypertrophy in adult offspring. A key mechanism underpinning this hypertension is an overactivated renin angiotensin system because ACE inhibition reverses the hypertension induced by perinatal DDT exposure. Citation: La Merrill M, Sethi S, Benard L, Moshier E, Haraldsson B, Buettner C. 2016. Perinatal DDT exposure induces hypertension and cardiac hypertrophy in adult mice. Environ Health Perspect 124:1722–1727; http://dx.doi. org/10.1289/EHP164
Nonparametric Multiscale Blind Estimation of Intensity-Frequency-Dependent Noise

The camera calibration parameters and the image processing chain which generated a given image are generally not available to the receiver. This happens for example with scanned photographs and for most JPEG images. These images have undergone various nonlinear contrast changes and also linear and nonlinear filters. To deal with remnant noise in such images, we introduce a general nonparametric intensity and frequency-dependent noise model. We demonstrate by simulated and experiments with real images that this model, which requires the estimation of more than 1000 parameters, performs an efficient noise estimation. The proposed noise model is a patch model. Its estimation can therefore be used as a preliminary step to any patch-based denoising method. Our noise estimation method introduces several new tools for performing this complex estimation. One of them is a new sparse patch distance function permitting to find noisy patches with similar underlying geometry. A validation of the noise model and of its estimation method is obtained by comparing its results to ground-truth noise curves for both raw and JPEG-encoded images, and by visual inspection of the denoising results of real images. A fair comparison with the state of the art is also performed.