Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessment of the arterial stiffness in patients with acute ischemic stroke using longitudinal elasticity modulus measurements obtained with Shear Wave Elastography.

AIM Arterial wall elasticity including the circumferential and longitudinal modulus is a measure of sub-clinical cardiovascular disease; the circumferential modulus is increased in acute ischemic stroke (AIS). There are still no reports of non-invasive measurement of longitudinal elastic modulus of arterial wall and its prospect of clinical application. In this study, the longitudinal elastic modulus of the arterial wall was assessed using real-time shear wave elastography in patients with AIS. The technique's feasibility and its related factors were studied initially. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this study 179 patients with AIS and 168 age- and sex-matched controls were examined. The pulse wave velocity (PWV) of the bilateral carotid arteries was measured using radio frequency ultrasound technology. The 20 areas of superficial walls of bilateral carotid artery were analyzed by real-time shear wave elastography (SWE), and the average values of longitudinal average elastic modulus (ME-mean), maximum elastic modulus (ME-max), minimum elastic modulus (ME-min), and elastic modulus standard deviation (MESD) were measured. RESULTS The PWV, ME-mean, ME-max and ME-sp of the carotid artery in patients with AIS were greater than those in the control group. Age, systolic blood pressure, PWV, and low-density lipoprotein were positively related to ME-mean and ME-max (r=0.221and r=0.248, r=0.174 and r=0.176, r=0.776 and r=0.716, r=0.173 and r=0.200, p<0.05) and were independent risk factors for ME-mean and ME-max ROC curves for detection of ischemic stroke as decided by PWV, ME-mean and ME-max. The area under the curves were 0.55+/-0.03 (p</=0.05), 0.59+/-0.03 (p</=0.05) and 0.60+/-0.03 (p=0.023), respectively. The optimal PWV, MEmean and MEmax cutoff values for the detection of ischemic stroke were 9.66 m/s, 55.4 kPa and 65.4 kPa, with 69%, 73% and 73% sensitivity and 89%, 53% and 51% specificity, respectively. CONCLUSIONS SWE could measure non-invasively the longitudinal elastic modulus of the arterial wall and evaluate the arterial stiffness. It was equivalent to the PWV which showed circular elastic modulus of arterial wall on evaluating AIS. Age, systolic blood pressure, pulse wave velocity, and low-density lipoprotein were independent risk factors for longitudinal elastic modulus. SWE may be effective in the assessment of arterial stiffness and offer a potential clinical benefit.
Are wikis usable?

Wikis are simple to use, asynchronous, Web-based collaborative hypertext authoring systems which are quickly gaining in popularity. In spite of much anecdotal evidence to the effect that wikis are usable by non technical experts, this has never been studied formally. In this paper, we studied the usability of a wiki through observation and problem-solving interaction with several children who used the tool to collaboratively author hypertext stories over several sessions. The children received a minimal amount of instruction, but were able to ask for help during their work sessions. Despite minimal instruction, 5 out of 6 teams were able to complete their story. Our data indicate that the major usability problems were related to hyperlink management. We report on this and other usability issues, and provide suggestions for improving the usability of wikis. Our analysis and conclusions also apply to hypertext authoring with non wiki-based tools.
Precision Isn’t Everything: A Hybrid Approach to Grammatical Error Detection

Some grammatical error detection methods, including the ones currently used by the Educational Testing Service's e-rater system (Attali and Burstein, 2006), are tuned for precision because of the perceived high cost of false positives (i.e., marking fluent English as ungrammatical). Precision, however, is not optimal for all tasks, particularly the HOO 2012 Shared Task on grammatical errors, which uses F-score for evaluation. In this paper, we extend e-rater's preposition and determiner error detection modules with a large-scale n-gram method (Bergsma et al., 2009) that complements the existing rule-based and classifier-based methods. On the HOO 2012 Shared Task, the hybrid method performed better than its component methods in terms of F-score, and it was competitive with submissions from other HOO 2012 participants.
Networked Embedded Systems: A Quantitative Performance Comparison

Networked embedded systems are gaining more and more attention and their use in current network scenarios is of indisputable importance. Research community and industry are proposing novel embedded solutions, often based on network processors, for network connectivity, data processing and service delivery. Despite this, quantitative performance comparisons of such systems seem to be very hard to find. In this paper, we describe an experimental analysis of different boards for networked embedded systems using both general-purpose and network processors, and running both commercial and open source operating systems. The results show that network-processor based boards are able to attain very high performance when compared to boards based on x86 processors, especially when running commercial operating systems. The analysis provides a reference for the design, development, and testing of novel networked embedded systems.
Clinical learning environments (actual and expected): perceptions of Iran University of Medical Sciences nursing students

Background: Educational clinical environment has an important role in nursing students' learning. Any difference between actual and expected clinical environment will decrease nursing students’ interest in clinical environments and has a negative correlation with their clinical performance. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study is an attempt to compare nursing students' perception of the actual and expected status of clinical environments in medical-surgical wards. Participants of the study were 127 bachelor nursing students of Iran University of Medical Sciences in the internship period. Data gathering instruments were a demographic questionnaire (including sex, age, and grade point average), and the Clinical Learning Environment Inventory (CLEI) originally developed by Professor Chan (2001), in which its modified Farsi version (Actual and Preferred forms) consisting 42 items, 6 scales and 7 items per scale was used. Descriptive and inferential statistics (t-test, paired t-test, ANOVA) were used for data analysis through SPSS version 16. Results: The results indicated that there were significant differences between the preferred and actual form in all six scales. In other word, comparing with the actual form, the mean scores of all items in the preferred form were higher. The maximum mean difference was in innovation and the highest mean difference was in involvement scale. Conclusion: It is concluded that nursing students do not have a positive perception of their actual clinical teaching environment and this perception is significantly different from their perception of their expected environment.
Exact and Adaptive Signed Distance FieldsComputation for Rigid and DeformableModels on GPUs

Most techniques for real-time construction of a signed distance field, whether on a CPU or GPU, involve approximate distances. We use a GPU to build an exact adaptive distance field, constructed from an octree by using the Morton code. We use rectangle-swept spheres to construct a bounding volume hierarchy (BVH) around a triangulated model. To speed up BVH construction, we can use a multi-BVH structure to improve the workload balance between GPU processors. An upper bound on distance to the model provided by the octree itself allows us to reduce the number of BVHs involved in determining the distances from the centers of octree nodes at successively lower levels, prior to an exact distance query involving the remaining BVHs. Distance fields can be constructed 35-64 times as fast as a serial CPU implementation of a similar algorithm, allowing us to simulate a piece of fabric interacting with the Stanford Bunny at 20 frames per second.
A Case-Control Study to Assess the Relationship between Poverty and Visual Impairment from Cataract in Kenya, the Philippines, and Bangladesh

Background The link between poverty and health is central to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Poverty can be both a cause and consequence of poor health, but there are few epidemiological studies exploring this complex relationship. The aim of this study was to examine the association between visual impairment from cataract and poverty in adults in Kenya, Bangladesh, and the Philippines. Methods and Findings A population-based case–control study was conducted in three countries during 2005–2006. Cases were persons aged 50 y or older and visually impaired due to cataract (visual acuity < 6/24 in the better eye). Controls were persons age- and sex-matched to the case participants with normal vision selected from the same cluster. Household expenditure was assessed through the collection of detailed consumption data, and asset ownership and self-rated wealth were also measured. In total, 596 cases and 535 controls were included in these analyses (Kenya 142 cases, 75 controls; Bangladesh 216 cases, 279 controls; Philippines 238 cases, 180 controls). Case participants were more likely to be in the lowest quartile of per capita expenditure (PCE) compared to controls in Kenya (odds ratio = 2.3, 95% confidence interval 0.9–5.5), Bangladesh (1.9, 1.1–3.2), and the Philippines (3.1, 1.7–5.7), and there was significant dose–response relationship across quartiles of PCE. These associations persisted after adjustment for self-rated health and social support indicators. A similar pattern was observed for the relationship between cataract visual impairment with asset ownership and self-rated wealth. There was no consistent pattern of association between PCE and level of visual impairment due to cataract, sex, or age among the three countries. Conclusions Our data show that people with visual impairment due to cataract were poorer than those with normal sight in all three low-income countries studied. The MDGs are committed to the eradication of extreme poverty and provision of health care to poor people, and this study highlights the need for increased provision of cataract surgery to poor people, as they are particularly vulnerable to visual impairment from cataract.
Advanced Data Assimilation for Strongly Nonlinear Dynamics

Advanced data assimilation methods become extremely complicated and challenging when used with strongly nonlinear models. Several previous works have reported various problems when applying existing popular data assimilation techniques with strongly nonlinear dynamics. Common for these techniques is that they can all be considered as extensions to methods that have proved to work well with linear dynamics. This paper examines the properties of three advanced data assimilation methods when used with the highly nonlinear Lorenz equations. The ensemble Kalman filter is used for sequential data assimilation and the recently proposed ensemble smoother method and a gradient descent method are used to minimize two different weak constraint formulations. The problems associated with the use of an approximate tangent linear model when solving the Euler‐Lagrange equations, or when the extended Kalman filter is used, are eliminated when using these methods. All three methods give reasonable consistent results with the data coverage and quality of measurements that are used here and overcome the traditional problems reported in many of the previous papers involving data assimilation with highly nonlinear dynamics.
Neural activity associated with monitoring the oscillating threat value of a tarantula

Phylogenetic threats such as spiders evoke our deepest primitive fears. When close or looming, such threats engage evolutionarily conserved monitoring systems and defense reactions that promote self-preservation. With the use of a modified behavioral approach task within functional MRI, we show that, as a tarantula was placed closer to a subject's foot, increased experiences of fear coincided with augmented activity in a cascade of fear-related brain networks including the periaqueductal gray, amygdala, and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis. Activity in the amygdala was also associated with underprediction of the tarantula's threat value and, in addition to the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, with monitoring the tarantula's threat value as indexed by its direction of movement. Conversely, the orbitofrontal cortex was engaged as the tarantula grew more distant, suggesting that this region emits safety signals or expels fear. Our findings fractionate the neurobiological mechanisms associated with basic fear and potentially illuminate the perturbed reactions that characterize clinical phobias.
Comparative Study of Biphasic Calcium Phosphates with Different HA/TCP Ratios in Mandibular Bone Defects. Long-Term Histomorphometric Study in Minipigs

Alloplastic calcium phosphate (CaP) bone grafting materials, such as hydroxyapatite (HA) and tricalcium phosphate (TCP), have been studied extensively due to their composition, which closely resembles the mineral component of bone [1]. HA has a Ca/P ratio of 1.67, which is identical to the inorganic phase of bone. In general, HA-based bone grafting materials are considered to be slowor even non-resorbable [2]. TCP, on the other hand, has a Ca/P ratio of 1.5, which equals the composition of the amorphous biological precursor to bone. In bone defects with high osteogenic potential, TCP is known to be substituted by newly formed bone at a high rate [2,3]. However, in more demanding defect morphologies, the rate of degradation may be too high to ensure sufficient space keeping capacity of the augmented volume [4]. HA and TCP combined in the same biomaterial is termed biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP) [5]. By changing the HA/TCP ratio, it has been possible to alter the substitution rate and the bioactivity of these materials [6], which has brought them to clinical use in oral and orthopedic surgery [5,7]. Over the years, it has become evident that different biomaterials with the same chemical composition may act very differently in both in vitro and in vivo studies due to differences in crystallinity, crystal size, micro porosity, macro porosity, pore size, and surface roughness [8-12]. Crystallinity is defined as the fraction of CaP engaged in a crystal lattice as opposed to the fraction present in an amorphous phase, and is believed to play an important role in protein adsorption, cell attachment, and dissolution of the biomaterials [13]. The crystal size is normally dependent on the temperature under which the CaP is sintered [11]. A higher sintering temperature creates larger crystals. The shape, size, and distance between the apatite crystals make up the micro porosity of the material (pores < 10 μm), which is important for the penetration and adhesion of macromolecules and tissue fluids [14]. The macro pores (pores > 100 μm), on the other hand, provide a scaffold for ingrowth of new blood vessels and attachment of osteogenic cells, with the prerequisite that these pores are interconnected as seen in native bone [8,15]. The total volume of the micro and macro pores defines the porosity. In synthetic CaP’s the porosity usually does not exceed 50%, because a higher porosity is reported to compromise the mechanical properties of the ceramics [9,16]. However, recent techniques have made it possible to develop materials with internal, interconnected connected porosities of 60-90% [15,17]. Key Engineering Materials Online: 2007-11-20 ISSN: 1662-9795, Vols. 361-363, pp 1241-1244 doi:10.4028/www.scientific. net/KEM.361-363.1241 © 2008 Trans Tech Publications Ltd, Switzerland
Breaking the Ceiling of Human Maximal Life span

While average human life expectancy has increased dramatically in the last century, the maximum life span has only modestly increased. These observations prompted the notion that human life span might have reached its maximal natural limit of ~115 years. To evaluate this hypothesis, we conducted a systematic analysis of all-cause human mortality throughout the 20th century. Our analyses revealed that, once cause of death is accounted for, there is a proportional increase in both median age of death and maximum life span. To examine whether pathway targeted aging interventions affected both median and maximum life span, we analyzed hundreds of interventions performed in multiple organisms (yeast, worms, flies, and rodents). Three criteria: median, maximum, and last survivor life spans were all significantly extended, and to a similar extent. Altogether, these findings suggest that targeting the biological/genetic causes of aging can allow breaking the currently observed ceiling of human maximal life span.
Quantum Phases of Matter

This modern text describes the remarkable developments in quantum condensed matter physics following the experimental discoveries of quantum Hall effects and high temperature superconductivity in the 1980s. After a review of the phases of matter amenable to an independent particle description, entangled phases of matter are described in an accessible and unified manner. The concepts of fractionalization and emergent gauge fields are introduced using the simplest resonating valence bond insulator with an energy gap, the Z2 spin liquid. Concepts in band topology and the parton method are then combined to obtain a large variety of experimentally relevant gapped states. Correlated metallic states are described, beginning with a discussion of the Kondo effect on magnetic impurities in metals. Metals without quasiparticle excitations are introduced using the Sachdev-Ye-Kitaev model, followed by a discussion of critical Fermi surfaces and strange metals. Numerous end-of-chapter problems expand readers' comprehension and reinforce key concepts.
RAPID EVOLUTION OF POSTZYGOTIC REPRODUCIVE ISOLATION IN STALK‐EYED FLIES

Abstract We test the relative rates of evolution of pre‐ and postzygotic reproductive isolation using eight populations of the sexually dimorphic stalk‐eyed flies Cyrtodiopsis dalmanni and C. whitei. Flies from these populations exhibit few morphological differences yet experience strong sexual selection on male eyestalks. To measure reproductive isolation we housed one male and three female flies from within and between these populations in replicate cages and then recorded mating behavior, sperm transfer, progeny production, and hybrid fertility. Using a phylogeny based on partial sequences of two mitochondrial genes, we found that premating isolation, postmating isolation prior to hybrid eclosion, and female hybrid sterility evolve gradually with respect to mitochondrial DNA sequence divergence. In contrast, male hybrid sterility evolves much more rapidly‐at least twice as fast as any other form of reproductive isolation. Hybrid sterility, therefore, obeys Haldane's rule. Although some brood sex ratios were female biased, average brood sex ratio did not covary with genetic distance, as would be expected if hybrid inviability obeyed Haldane's rule. The likelihood that forces including sexual selection and intra‐ and intergenomic conflict may have contributed to these patterns is discussed.
Shot noise variation within ensembles of gold atomic break junctions at room temperature

Atomic-scale junctions are a powerful tool to study quantum transport, and are frequently examined through the mechanically controllable break junction technique. The junction-to-junction variation of atomic configurations often leads to a statistical approach, with ensemble-averaged properties providing access to the relevant physics. However, the full ensemble contains considerable additional information. We report a new analysis of shot noise over entire ensembles of junction configurations using scanning tunneling microscope-style gold break junctions at room temperature in ambient conditions, and compare these data with simulations based on molecular dynamics, a sophisticated tight-binding model, and nonequilibrium Green's functions. The experimental data show a suppression in the variation of the noise near conductances dominated by fully transmitting channels, and a surprising participation of multiple channels in the nominal tunneling regime. Comparison with the simulations, which agree well with published work at low temperatures and ultrahigh vacuum conditions, suggests that these effects likely result from surface contamination and disorder in the electrodes. We propose additional experiments that can distinguish the relative contributions of these factors.
Provider Specialty Choice Among Medicare Beneficiaries Treated for Psychiatric Disorders

This study estimates the probability of mental health specialist use among elderly and disabled Medicare beneficiaries treated for a primary psychiatric diagnosis, based on the 1991 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) and physician claims. Beneficiaries with psychotic and affective disorders or multiple psychiatric diagnoses had a higher probability of specialty use, as did beneficiaries in counties with greater psychiatrist density. Elderly in counties with greater general practitioner density and disabled in counties with greater psychologist density were less likely to see a specialist, suggesting possible provider substitution. Government programs to recruit and retain mental health professionals in underserved areas may change provider specialty choices among Medicare beneficiaries treated for psychiatric disorders.
Autogenous laser welding investigations on modified 9Cr–1Mo (P91) steel

Modified 9Cr–1Mo steel plates of 6 mm thickness have been laser welded using CO2 laser. The effects of beam intensity and overall heat input (168-1500J/mm) on the bead characteristics, microstructure and mechanical properties of the welds have been investigated by varying the laser welding parameters such as laser beam mode, power and welding speed. The microhardness survey carried out on the welds after post-weld heat treatment did not reveal any soft zones in the intercritical heat affected zone for welds made with a heat input of up to 420 J mm−1. The tensile strengths of the welds were comparable to that of the base material. Charpy impact tests on subsize specimens revealed that the welds have good toughness. δ-Ferrite was observed in the fusion zone of the welds made at heat input of 700 J mm−1 and above, the content of which increased with the increased heat input.