Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Intravitreal bevacizumab injections versus dexamethasone implant for treatment-naïve retinal vein occlusion related macular edema

Purpose To compare the short-term effects of three monthly intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) injections to single dexamethasone (DEX) implantation in treatment-naïve patients with cystoid macular edema (CME) secondary to branch (BRVO) and central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO). Design A retrospective single-center study. Subjects A total of 135 eyes of 135 patients with BRVO (n=83) and CRVO (n=52). Methods Changes in clinical parameters were recorded before treatment and at the first and third month after commencement of IVB (n=121) and DEX (n=14). Main outcome measures Central retinal thickness (CRT), intraocular pressure (IOP), and best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA). Results The baseline parameters were comparable between IVB and DEX groups. After the first month, CRT decreased by 131.3±42.9 μm in IVB and by 266.9±48.3 μm in DEX (mean ± SEM; p=0.047). IOP change was –0.29±0.39 mmHg in IVB and +3.70±2.34 mmHg in DEX (p=0.005). IOP elevation to ≥25 mmHg and ≥5 mmHg from the baseline was observed in two of the DEX- and in none of the IVB-treated eyes (p=0.010). After the third month, no differences regarding CRT and IOP were observed between the treatment modalities. Moreover, BCVA gain was comparable between IVB (0.37±0.05 logarithm of minimum angle of resolution [logMAR] units) and DEX (0.33±0.30 logMAR units) groups. Conclusion DEX was associated with faster resolution of CME, but had greater probability for short-term IOP elevation when compared to IVB. After the third month, treatments were comparably effective. Anatomical outcomes and adverse drug reactions of IVB versus DEX should be considered case specifically in patients having CME secondary to BRVO/CRVO.
Alexithymia among Perpetrators of Violent Offences in Australia: Implications for Rehabilitation

Objective Alexithymia, which involves difficulties identifying, communicating, and thinking about emotions, could be an important factor in violent offending. Our aim with the current study was to explore the levels of alexithymia among perpetrators of different types of violence (i.e., general and intimate partner) in Australia to better understand their treatment needs. Method Seventy‐nine male general violent offenders incarcerated in Western Australian prisons, 31 male intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetrators from IPV intervention programs, and 80 men from the general community completed the 20‐item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS‐20). Results General violent offenders and IPV perpetrators both scored significantly higher than men from the general community on total alexithymia score and the subscales that measure difficulty identifying and describing feelings; the violent groups did not differ from the general community on externally oriented thinking style. There was no significant difference between the general violent offenders and IPV perpetrators on the total alexithymia score or any of the three subscales of the TAS‐20. Conclusions The results of this study suggest that perpetrators of violence in Australia have higher levels of alexithymia than non‐offending men, and that alexithymia should be assessed in the treatment of violent offenders. Our findings also suggest both types of violent offenders have similar alexithymia profiles and that both have difficulties identifying and describing their emotions.
Versión española del cuestionario del complejo de Adonis; un cuestionario para el análisis del dimorfismo muscular o vigorexia

Aim: To validate the Spanish version of Adonis Complex Questionnaire in bodybuilders. Method: Participants included 99 bodybuilders who train regularly (age: 25.45±5.19 y; BMI=24.53±1.89). In order to test the discriminant and concurrent validity the Exercise Dependence Scale-Revised (EDS-R) and the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-26) were used. The scale´s psychometric properties were obtained through a concurrent validity process, factorial analysis of principal components, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability. Results: The internal consistency of this questionnaire was high (Cronbach´s Alpha= 0.880) in total scale. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) to test the temporal consistency of the questionnaire was 0.707 (95% IC=0.336- 0.871). The questionnaire obtained concurrent validity with the EDS-R (r=0.613, p<0.001), and EAT-26 (r=0.422, p<0.001). The results have shown a three-factor structure Factor 1: psychosocial effect of physical appearance, Factor 2: control of physical appearance, Factor 3: concern about physical appearance which explain 65.29% of variance. Conclusion: The Adonis Complex Questionnaire shows a proper psychometric properties and it is a valid and reliable measure of vigorexy and muscle dimorphism in bodybuilders.
Duration perception: assessing contributions of lower and higher level processes

Although accurate timing is crucial for human perception and performance in daily life, it is known that duration perception is prone to distortions. Moreover, this research field is very heterogeneous. In the present work, the focus is on duration perception of visual objects lasting for some hundreds of milliseconds to a few seconds. Contributions of lower level sensory and higher level cognitive-emotional processes are assessed, and methods are developed helping to disentangle these influences. In a first series of experiments, effects of the retinal stimulus position on duration perception were examined. In five psychophysical experiments, threshold measurements showed that the perceived duration of a stimulus decreases the more it is presented in the periphery. In a second experimental study, effects of higher level cognitive-emotional processes on duration perception are analyzed. In addition to replicating results that photographs of angry persons are overestimated in comparison to photographs showing neutral facial expressions, our results indicate that also face orientation and congruence between the observer’s and the face model’s sex affect the perceived duration of stimuli. In a subsequent experimental series, we aimed at validating the observed overestimation of emotional stimuli using a newly developed method based on evaluative conditioning. The results confirm that the overestimation is independent of respective sensory stimulus characteristics. In conclusion, our results indicate that lower sensory processes as well as higher level processing affects duration perception. In a heuristic approach, it is discussed that lower level influences like stimulus eccentricity are mainly explained by timing models that focus on sensory characteristics and do not rely on a specific clock mechanism. In contrast, higher level cognitive influences like depicted emotions or social relevance are predominantly explained by inner clock models like the pacemaker-accumulator model (PAM). The present findings substantiate that both types of influences should be included in current models of time perception. Furthermore, they give rise to new research that might help to gain more insights into human duration perception.
Examining Subtypes of Behavioral/Emotional Risk Using Cluster Analysis

Behavioral and emotional problems among children and adolescents can lead to numerous negative outcomes without intervention. From a prevention standpoint, screening for behavioral and emotional risk is an important step toward identifying such problems before the point of diagnosis or referral. The present study conducted a k-means cluster analysis to determine the subtypes of risk captured by one such screening instrument, the Behavioral and Emotional Screening System (BESS). The final solution produced four clusters: Well-Adapted, Internalizing/Adjustment Problems, Mild Externalizing Problems, and General Problems-Severe; these results were similar to those found with the full Behavioral Assessment System for Children, Second Edition (BASC-2), suggesting that the BESS assesses similar constructs. Predictive validity evidence suggested that cluster membership was associated with standard achievement scores and in-school disciplinary incidents.
Some addenda on distance function wavelets

This report will add some supplements to the recently finished report series on the distance function wavelets (DFW). First, we define the general distance in terms of the Riesz potential, and then, the distance function Abel wavelets are derived via the fractional integral and Laplacian. Second, the DFW Weyl transform is found to be a shifted Laplace potential DFW. The DFW Radon transform is also presented. Third, we present a conjecture on truncation error formula of the multiple reciprocity Laplace DFW series and discuss its error distributions in terms of node density distributions. Forth, we point out that the Hermite distance function interpolation can be used to replace overlapping in the domain decomposition in order to produce sparse matrix. Fifth, the shape parameter is explained as a virtual extra axis contribution in terms of the MQ-type Possion kernel. The report is concluded with some remarks on a range of other issues.
A posteriori error estimates for the adaptivity technique for the Tikhonov functional and global convergence for a coefficient inverse problem

A synthesis of a globally convergent numerical method for a coefficient inverse problem and the adaptivity technique is presented. First, the globally convergent method provides a good approximation for the unknown coefficient. Next, this approximation is refined via the adaptivity technique. The analytical effort is focused on a posteriori error estimates for the adaptivity. A numerical test is presented.
Image Acquisition and Data Fusion for Planning and Feedback during Image Guided Surgery

This paper presents fusion of real-time images and data from various sensors for on-line surgical planning as integrated in a non-invasive surgical robotic system. High intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is used as a treatment modality while on-line images are acquired using diagnostic ultrasound and registered with the proprioceptive sensors of a customized robotic system for ablative procedures. As temperature is a crux parameter in thermotherapy and ablative systems, thermal data is captured using external sensors and fused with realtime images for the purpose of dosage planning and surgical monitoring. A lesion tracking algorithm is developed to track the position of lesions. This position is registered with therma-map superimposed on intra-operative images. The methodologies of lesion tracking and thermal mapping are described
Analogy perception applied to seven tests of word comprehension

It has been argued that analogy is the core of cognition. In AI research, algorithms for analogy are often limited by the need for hand-coded high-level representations as input. An alternative approach is to use high-level perception, in which high-level representations are automatically generated from raw data. Analogy perception is the process of recognising analogies using high-level perception. We present PairClass, an algorithm for analogy perception that recognises lexical proportional analogies using representations that are automatically generated from a large corpus of raw textual data. A proportional analogy is an analogy of the form A : B :: C : D, meaning ‘A is to B as C is to D’. A lexical proportional analogy is a proportional analogy with words, such as carpenter : wood :: mason : stone. PairClass represents the semantic relations between two words using a high-dimensional feature vector, in which the elements are based on frequencies of patterns in the corpus. PairClass recognises analogies by applying standard supervised machine-learning techniques to the feature vectors. We show how seven different tests of word comprehension can be framed as problems of analogy perception and then apply PairClass to the seven resulting sets of analogy perception problems. We achieve competitive results on all seven tests. This is the first time a uniform approach has handled such a range of tests of word comprehension.
Distributed sensor calibration and least-square parameter identification in WSNs using consensus algorithms

In this paper we study the problem of estimating the channel parameters for a generic wireless sensor network (WSN) in a completely distributed manner, using consensus algorithms. Specifically, we first propose a distributed strategy to minimize the effects of unknown constant offsets in the reading of the radio strength signal indicator (RSSI) due to uncalibrated sensors. Then we show how the computation of the optimal wireless channels parameters, which are the solution of a global least-square optimization problem, can be obtained with a consensus-based algorithm. The proposed algorithms are general algorithms for sensor calibration and distributed least-square parameter identification, and do not require any knowledge on the global topology of the network nor the total number of nodes. Finally, we apply these algorithms to experimental data collected from an indoor WSN.
Spectral Lines for Polarization Measurements of the Coronal Magnetic Field. I. Theoretical Intensities

Infrared emission lines are potentially sensitive probes of components of the coronal vector magnetic field, through the Zeeman effect, and on its direction projected onto the plane of the sky, through fluorescent polarization of scattered photospheric light. Prompted by the advent of sensitive infrared array detectors, existing atomic data were reexamined to compile a complete list of coronal lines that may yield a detectable Zeeman effect, through careful differential measurements of Stokes profiles, at typical coronal field strengths of order 10 G. "Average" intensities were computed for a subset of promising forbidden coronal lines. A representative coronal density structure was used. The distribution of plasma with temperature was, at all heights in the corona, assumed to be that described by a standard differential emission measure from extreme-ultraviolet observations of the solar disk. Effects of excitation by photospheric radiation were included, as well as cascades from collisionally excited higher levels having the same principal quantum number as the ground levels. The largest source of error in the computed intensities lies in the form assumed for the emission measure distribution. The assumed density and temperature structure is too simple for detailed comparisons with observations of a particular coronal structure. Nevertheless, existing observed intensities are consistent with the calculations, which suggests that the theoretical intensities of (as yet) unobserved lines can be used as a basis for further study. The strongest predicted lines arise from magnetic dipole transitions within the ground terms of the 2sm2pn and 3sm3pn, m = 1, 2, n = 1, …, 5, configurations. The most promising lines lie between 1 and 10 μm, the lower limit being set by the need to detect small field strengths. The upper limit is set by the small Einstein A-coefficients and the smaller intensities of the exciting photospheric light, both of which lead to smaller forbidden line intensities. The most promising lines include [Fe XIII] 1.0747, 1.0798 μm; [Si X] 1.43 μm; [Si IX] 2.58, 3.93 μm; [Mg VIII] 3.03 μm; and [Mg VII] 5.50, 9.03 μm. An aircraft experiment is being prepared to obtain targeted portions of the coronal spectrum between 1 and 10 μm during the 1998 February 26 eclipse, with the goal of detecting some of these promising lines. This work will help toward the planning and development of efficient magnetographs, perhaps space-borne, for the routine measurement of coronal magnetic fields in the quiet and active Sun.
Characterization of mosquitocidal activity of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. fukuokaensis crystal proteins

The mosquitocidal crystals of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. fukuokaensis were isolated and bioassayed against fourth-instar larvae of two mosquito species. The 50% lethal concentration values of the crystals to Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus were 4.1 and 2.9 micrograms/ml, respectively. In addition, the solubilized crystals had hemolytic activity; 50 micrograms/ml was the lowest detectable level. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis revealed that the crystals consisted of polypeptides of 90, 86, 82, 72, 50, 48, 37, and 27 kDa. When the solubilized inclusion was treated with C. quinquefasciatus midgut brush border membrane vesicles or Manduca sexta gut juice, only one major protein was detected. This protein retained mosquitocidal activity but had no detectable hemolytic activity. Immunological analysis of this subspecies and the subspecies israelensis, kyushuensis and darmstadiensis by using polyclonal antisera raised against the whole-crystal protein of B. thuringiensis subsp. fukuokaensis revealed that the proteins in subsp. fukuokaensis are distinct from proteins in the other subspecies because little cross-reaction was observed. Analysis of the plasmid pattern showed that the crystal protein genes are located on a plasmid of 130 MDa. Analysis of plasmid and chromosomal DNA from subsp. fukuokaensis showed little homology to the 72-kDa toxin gene (PG-14) of B. thuringiensis subsp. morrisoni. However, some of the proteins of B. thuringiensis subsp. fukuokaensis are homologous to other B. thuringiensis toxins because N-terminal amino acid analysis revealed that the 90-kDa protein is encoded by a cryIV gene type.
Comparative assessment of several automatic CPAP devices' responses: a bench test study

Automatic continuous positive airway pressure (APAP) devices adjust the delivered pressure based on the breathing patterns of the patient and, accordingly, they may be more suitable for patients who have a variety of pressure demands during sleep based on factors such as body posture, sleep stage or variability between nights. Devices from different manufacturers incorporate distinct algorithms and may therefore respond differently when subjected to the same disturbed breathing pattern. Our objective was to assess the response of several currently available APAP devices in a bench test. A computer-controlled model mimicking the breathing pattern of a patient with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) was connected to different APAP devices for 2-h tests during which flow and pressure readings were recorded. Devices tested were AirSense 10 (ResMed), Dreamstar (Sefam), Icon (Fisher & Paykel), Resmart (BMC), Somnobalance (Weinmann), System One (Respironics) and XT-Auto (Apex). Each device was tested twice. The response of each device was considerably different. Whereas some devices were able to normalise breathing, in some cases exceeding the required pressure, other devices did not eliminate disturbed breathing events (mainly prolonged flow limitation). Mean and maximum pressures ranged 7.3–14.6 cmH2O and 10.4–17.9 cmH2O, respectively, and the time to reach maximum pressure varied from 4.4 to 96.0 min. Each APAP device uses a proprietary algorithm and, therefore, the response to a bench simulation of OSA varied significantly. This must be taken into account for nasal pressure treatment of OSA patients and when comparing results from clinical trials. There are considerable differences between APAP devices subjected to simulated OSA http://ow.ly/QtmxI
Programming Models and Storage System for High Performance Computation with Many-Core Processors Future generation

Future generation HEC architectures and systems built using many-core chips will pose unprecedented challenges for users. A major source of these challenges is the storage system since the available memory and bandwidth per processor core is starting to decline at an alarming rate, with the rapid increase in the number of cores per chip. Data-intensive applications that require large data sets and/or high input/output (I/O) bandwidth will be especially vulnerable to these trends. Unlike previous generations of hardware evolution, this shift in the hardware road-map will have a profound impact on HEC software. Historically, the storage architecture of an HEC system has been constrained to a large degree by the file system interfaces in the underlying Operating System (OS). The basic design of file systems has been largely unchanged for multiple decades, and will no longer suffice as the foundational storage model for many-core HEC systems. Instead, it becomes necessary to explore new approaches to storage systems that reduce OS overhead, exploit multiple levels of storage hierarchy and focus on new techniques for efficient utilization of bandwidth and reduction of average access times across these levels. The specific focus of this proposal is on exploring a new storage model based on write-once tree structures, which is radically different from traditional flat files. The basic unit of data transfer is a chunk, which is intended to be much smaller than data transfer sizes used in traditional storage systems. The write-once property simplifies the memory model for the storage system and obviates the need for complicated consistency protocols. We will explore three programming models for users of the storage system, all of which can inter-operate through shared persistent data: 1) a declarative programming model in which any data structure can be directly made persistent in our storage system, with no programmer intervention, 2) a strongly-typed imperative programming model in which a type system extension will be used to enforce a separation between data structures that can be directly made persistent and those that cannot, and 3) a weakly-typed runtime interface that enables C programs to access our storage system. A compiler with a high-level data flow intermediate representation and lower-level parallel intermediate representation will provide the necessary code generation support, and a runtime system will implements interfaces to the storage system used by compiler-generated code and by the weakly-typed runtime interface. Our proposed research will be evaluated using an experimental testbed that …