Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The course of biliary and gastrointestinal symptoms after treatment of uncomplicated symptomatic gallstones: results of a randomized study comparing extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy with conventional cholecystectomy.

OBJECTIVES We performed a randomized study that compared extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) with conventional cholecystectomy for uncomplicated symptomatic gallstones. The primary outcome of the study was the influence of therapy on biliary colic and gastrointestinal symptoms. METHODS In the period October 1989-March 1992, 26 patients were randomized for cholecystectomy and 23 for ESWL. Pain diaries and symptom questionnaires were taken before, and 3, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months after therapy. ESWL patients regularly underwent ultrasound examination for determining stone clearance. Median follow-up was 18 months (12-24). RESULTS Biliary colic was cured in 90.9% and 45.4% of the patients within 3 months after cholecystectomy or ESWL, respectively (p < 0.01). Stomach swelling, fatty food upset, and nausea responded to cholecystectomy after 6, 12, and 18 months, respectively. Nausea responded to ESWL after 6 months. Vomiting, pyrosis, ructus, diarrhea and constipation did not respond to gallstone therapy. When the two treatment arms were compared, only fatty food upset responded significantly better to cholecystectomy than to ESWL at 18 months (p < 0.05). With regard to the other gastrointestinal symptoms, no significant differences could be detected. CONCLUSIONS We conclude that cholecystectomy is superior to ESWL in improving biliary colic and fatty food upset. Furthermore, because ESWL is not able to clear all stones and harbors the possibility of stone recurrence, cholecystectomy remains the preferred treatment modality in healthy patients with uncomplicated symptomatic gallstones.
Proceedings of the Society for Computation in Linguistics Proceedings of the Society for Computation in Linguistics

An emerging line of work uses psycholinguistic methods to evaluate the syntactic generalizations acquired by neural language models (NLMs). While this approach has shown NLMs to be capable of learning a wide range of linguistic knowledge, confounds in the de-sign of previous experiments may have obscured the potential of NLMs to learn certain grammatical phenomena. Here we re-evaluate the performance of a range of NLMs on reﬂex-ive anaphor licensing. Under our paradigm, the models consistently show stronger evidence of learning than reported in previous work. Our approach demonstrates the value of well-controlled psycholinguistic methods in gaining a ﬁne-grained understanding of NLM learning potential. 1
Bandlimited Power-Efficient Signaling and Pulse Design for Intensity Modulation

In this paper, a new method for power-efficient intersymbol interference-free transmission over the bandlimited intensity-modulation direct-detection channel is proposed. A new time-varying bias signal is added to the transmitted signal to make it nonnegative and provide a more power-efficient transmission than the previously considered constant bias. To exploit the benefits of the new signaling method, Nyquist and root-Nyquist pulses suitable for the use with this kind of bias are designed using two different methods. In the first method, new pulses are obtained by adding Nyquist pulses in the time domain with different combining coefficients, whereas in the second method, the pulses are obtained by the design of their frequency response. Analytical expressions for the asymptotic optical power efficiency and symbol error rate of the proposed schemes are derived and evaluated. At a spectral efficiency of 1 b/s/Hz, using on-off keying modulation and the proposed bias signal and pulses, up to 0.628 dB gains in asymptotic power efficiency can be achieved compared to the previously best known signaling scheme, which is based on squared sinc pulse shaping.
Securitization and the dark side of diversification

Diversification by banks affects the systemic risk of the sector. Importantly, Wagner (2010) shows that linear diversification increases systemic risk. We consider the case of securitization, whereby loan portfolios are sliced into tranches with different seniority levels. We show that tranching offers nonlinear diversification strategies, which can reduce the failure risk of individual institutions beyond the minimum level attainable by linear diversification, without increasing systemic risk.
Skeletal response to recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) in children treated with long‐term corticosteroids

Corticosteroid therapy causes osteopenia and growth retardation in children; such changes are associated with diminished rates of bone formation and turnover. Since growth hormone activates bone remodeling, the biochemical and skeletal responses to rhGH were evaluated in four pediatric patients, aged 12.8 ± 3 years, with long‐term corticosteroid use (5 ± 2 years). Recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH), 0.125 mg/kg, was given 3 times/week by subcutaneous injection for 12 months. Iliac crest bone biopsies were obtained after double tetracycline labeling before and at the end of rhGH therapy; serum levels of calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase, parathyroid hormone (intact), 25‐hydroxyvitamin D, 1,25‐dihydroxyvitamin D3, osteocalcin (BGP), and insulin‐like growth factor‐1 (IGF‐1) were measured every 3 months during the treatment period. The average dose of prednisone was 0.24 ± 0.05 mg/kg/day initially, and this did not change during the study. Serum calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase, 25‐hydroxyvitamin D, 1,25‐dihydroxyvitamin D3, and BGP were unchanged during the rhGH therapy, but the serum IGF‐1 level increased by 71%, p < 0.01. Eroded bone perimeter and cancellous bone area did not change significantly during rhGH therapy. Bone formation rates rose from 423 ± 475 to 781 ± 407 μm2/mm2/day, p < 0.05, and the length of double tetracycline‐labeled bone perimeter increased by 85%, p < 0.05. The bone formation rate in the growth hormone group exceeded the values of an age‐matched reference group (143 ± 3 years), 780 ± 407 μm2/mm2/day versus 411 ± 479 μ m2/mm2/day, p < 0.05. Thus, rhGH therapy increases osteoblastic activity, bone formation, and possibly bone turnover despite continued and prolonged corticosteroid administration in children.
Nosocomial infections among patients admitted to an urban diarrhoeal-diseases treatment facility in Bangladesh: a preliminary survey

Nosocomial infections are important causes of morbidity and mortality in developed and developing countries. The frequency of such infections which differs not only between countries but also between healthcare units within individual countries is an indication of the quality of care and of the local infection-control programme. Surveillance to estimate the incidence of nosocomial infection usually expressed as infections/1000 patient-days or device-associated infections/1000 device-days is now routine in many regions and - provided the methodology is similar - permits valid inter-hospital comparisons. Unfortunately the acquisition of such incidence data is labour-intensive and often too expensive for healthcare units in resource-poor areas. Thus although nosocomial infections are considered to be a significant public-health problem worldwide relatively little information is available on such infections in many developing countries. There appear to be no published reports on hospital-acquired infection among patients with diarrhoeal disease for example from Bangladesh or elsewhere. The aim of the present study was to collect baseline data on the incidence and types of nosocomial infection occurring at the hospital of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research Bangladesh (ICDDRB) in Dhaka. Once collected such data should allow temporal trends in nosocomial infection at the hospital to be followed and appropriate measures to strengthen the local programme of infection control to be taken and prioritized. (excerpt)
Disease Severity and Progression in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy and Multiple System Atrophy: Validation of the NNIPPS – PARKINSON PLUS SCALE

Background The Natural History and Neuroprotection in Parkinson Plus Syndromes (NNIPPS) study was a large phase III randomized placebo-controlled trial of riluzole in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP, n = 362) and Multiple System Atrophy (MSA, n = 398). To assess disease severity and progression, we constructed and validated a new clinical rating scale as an ancillary study. Methods and Findings Patients were assessed at entry and 6-montly for up to 3 years. Evaluation of the scale's psychometric properties included reliability (n = 116), validity (n = 760), and responsiveness (n = 642). Among the 85 items of the initial scale, factor analysis revealed 83 items contributing to 15 clinically relevant dimensions, including Activity of daily Living/Mobility, Axial bradykinesia, Limb bradykinesia, Rigidity, Oculomotor, Cerebellar, Bulbar/Pseudo-bulbar, Mental, Orthostatic, Urinary, Limb dystonia, Axial dystonia, Pyramidal, Myoclonus and Tremor. All but the Pyramidal dimension demonstrated good internal consistency (Cronbach α≥0.70). Inter-rater reliability was high for the total score (Intra-class coefficient = 0.94) and 9 dimensions (Intra-class coefficient = 0.80–0.93), and moderate (Intra-class coefficient = 0.54–0.77) for 6. Correlations of the total score with other clinical measures of severity were good (rho≥0.70). The total score was significantly and linearly related to survival (p<0.0001). Responsiveness expressed as the Standardized Response Mean was high for the total score slope of change (SRM = 1.10), though higher in PSP (SRM = 1.25) than in MSA (SRM = 1.0), indicating a more rapid progression of PSP. The slope of change was constant with increasing disease severity demonstrating good linearity of the scale throughout disease stages. Although MSA and PSP differed quantitatively on the total score at entry and on rate of progression, the relative contribution of clinical dimensions to overall severity and progression was similar. Conclusions The NNIPPS-PPS has suitable validity, is reliable and sensitive, and therefore is appropriate for use in clinical studies with PSP or MSA. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00211224
First molecular detection of tick-borne pathogens in dogs from Jiangxi, China

In this study, blood samples obtained from 162 dogs in Jiangxi, China, were employed in molecular screening of canine tick-borne pathogens by PCR and sequencing. Babesia spp. gene fragment was detected in 12 (7.41%) dogs. All samples were negative for Hepatozoon spp. , Ehrlichia canis, Coxiella spp. , Borrelia spp. , Rickettsia spp. and Anaplasma platys. Species-specific PCR analysis further confirmed that 8 (4.94%) and 4 (2.47%) dogs were infected by Babesia canis vogeli and Babesia gibsoni, respectively. Based on our analyses, Babesia spp. infection in Jiangxi appeared not related to age, gender, breed, usage, activity and health status or tick infestation history of the dogs. This is the first molecular report of Babesia canis vogeli and Babesia gibsoni in dogs from Jiangxi, China.
Competitive and Fair Medium Access Despite Reactive Jamming

Intentional interference constitutes a major threat for communication networks operating over a shared medium where availability is imperative. Jamming attacks are often simple and cheap to implement. Today's jammers can perform physical carrier sensing in order to disrupt communication more efficiently, especially in a network of simple wireless devices such as sensor nodes, which usually operate over a single frequency (or a limited frequency band) and which cannot benefit from the use of spread spectrum or other more advanced technologies. This paper proposes the medium access (MAC) protocol \textsc{Anti Jam} which is provably robust against a powerful reactive adversary who can jam a $(1-\varepsilon)$-portion of the time steps, where $\varepsilon$ is an arbitrary constant. The adversary uses carrier sensing to make informed decisions on when it is most harmful to disrupt communications. Moreover, we allow the adversary to be adaptive and to have complete knowledge of the entire protocol history. Our MAC protocol is able to make efficient use of the non jammed time periods and achieves a $\Theta{(1)}$-competitive throughput in this harsh scenario, if $\varepsilon$ is constant. In addition, \textsc{Anti Jam} features a low convergence time and has excellent fairness properties in the sense that channel access probabilities among nodes do not differ by more than a small constant factor.
The Thai

Accurate estimation of body weight is useful for feeding program evaluation, assessing nutritional status and general health, and for accurate dose calculation in medical treatment. However, it is impractical to weigh el-ephants due to their enormous size and tremendous weight, and also due to the lack of a suitable weighing machine. The objective of the present study was to correlate various body measurements and actual body weight of the elephant in order to formulate a regression model to approximate the body weight of the elephant from body measurements. Seventy-eight Asian elephants (Elephas maximus indicus) comprising 18 males and 60 females, from 9 months to 57 years in age were used. Body weight, girth measurements (heart, neck and flank), shoulder height, and circumference of feet and elbows were measured. All possible linear regressions of body weight were calculated. The most accurate model when using one parameter for domestic elephants is the flank girth (R 2 = 0.939), although the body weight of domestic Asian elephants can be reliably calculated from various body measurements (R 2 ≥≥≥≥≥ 0.813). For wild elephants, we suggested that shoulder height and circumference of feet are more practical (R 2 ≥≥≥≥≥ 0.839). Inclusion of sex and age group (< 10 years, 10 to < 20 years, and ≥≥≥≥≥ 20 years) in the statistical model increased the R 2 .
Airborne mapping of sensitive clay—stretching the limits of AEM resolution and accuracy

Due to postglacial uplift, lowlands in Canada, Norway, Sweden and Russia are prone to formation of highly unstable, sensitive, and leached marine clay (quick clay). Quick-clay failures are dramatic due to its high water content, resulting in liquefaction. It thus poses a major hazard for society and construction projects in particular, and knowledge of its extent is of vital importance. Quick-clay assessment is usually undertaken by geotechnical boreholes having the disadvantage of giving only information at the borehole location. To overcome this limitation, geophysical ground-based methods like electrical resistivity tomography have been used successfully. However, when a larger area has to be investigated, electrical resistivity tomography surveys become costly and time consuming. We show results from an airborne electromagnetic survey aiming at detection of different clay units for a road project in southeastern Norway. Airborne electromagnetic data clearly show structures within the sediment layer that correspond well with results from geotechnical boreholes. While a clear distinction between clay and quick clay cannot be derived from airborne electromagnetic alone, our study shows that this method has high-enough resolution and accuracy to map differences in clay units, which can subsequently be probed at specified locations. Thus, by using airborne electromagnetics to target borehole locations, the costs for the geotechnical drilling program can be reduced significantly.
G-TUNA: a corpus of referring expressions in German, including duration information

Corpora of referring expressions elicited from human participants in a controlled environment are an important resource for research on automatic referring expression generation. We here present G-TUNA, a new corpus of referring expressions for German. Using the furniture stimuli set developed for the TUNA and D-TUNA corpora, our corpus extends on these corpora by providing data collected in a simulated driving dual-task setting, and additionally provides exact duration annotations for the spoken referring expressions. This corpus will hence allow researchers to analyze the interaction between referring expression length and speech rate, under conditions where the listener is under high vs. low cognitive load.
Area-efficient architecture for Fast Fourier transform

We present an area-efficient parallel architecture that implements the constant-geometry, in-place Fast Fourier transform. It consists of a specific purpose processor array interconnected by means of a perfect unshuffle network. For a radix r transform of N=r/sup n/ data of size D and a column of P=r/sup p/ processors, each processor has only one local memory of N/rP words of size rD, with only one read port and one write port that, nevertheless, make it possible to read the r inputs of a butterfly and write r intermediate results in each memory cycle. The address generating circuit that permits the in-place implementation is simple and the same for all the local memories. The data how has been designed to efficiently exploit the pipelining of the processing section with no cycle loss. This architecture reduces the area by almost 50% of other designs with a similar performance.
Online Learning for Interactive Statistical Machine Translation

State-of-the-art Machine Translation (MT) systems are still far from being perfect. An alternative is the so-called Interactive Machine Translation (IMT) framework. In this framework, the knowledge of a human translator is combined with a MT system. The vast majority of the existing work on IMT makes use of the well-known batch learning paradigm. In the batch learning paradigm, the training of the IMT system and the interactive translation process are carried out in separate stages. This paradigm is not able to take advantage of the new knowledge produced by the user of the IMT system. In this paper, we present an application of the online learning paradigm to the IMT framework. In the online learning paradigm, the training and prediction stages are no longer separated. This feature is particularly useful in IMT since it allows the user feedback to be taken into account. The online learning techniques proposed here incrementally update the statistical models involved in the translation process. Empirical results show the great potential of online learning in the IMT framework.
In Vitro Activity of a Novel Antimicrobial Agent, TG44, for Treatment of Helicobacter pylori Infection

ABSTRACT Due to concerns about the current therapeutic modalities for Helicobacter pylori infection, e.g., the increased emergence of drug-resistant strains and the adverse reactions of drugs currently administered, there is a need to develop an anti-H. pylori agent with higher efficacy and less toxicity. The antibacterial activity of TG44, an anti-H. pylori agent with a novel structural formula, against 54 clinical isolates of H. pylori was examined and compared with those of amoxicillin (AMX), clarithromycin (CLR), and metronidazole (MNZ). Consequently, TG44 inhibited the growth of H. pylori in an MIC range of 0.0625 to 1 μg/ml. The MIC ranges of AMX, CLR, and MNZ were 0.0078 to 8 μg/ml, 0.0156 to 64 μg/ml, and 2 to 128 μg/ml, respectively. The antibacterial activity of TG44 against AMX-, CLR-, and MNZ-resistant strains was nearly comparable to that against drug-susceptible ones. In a pH range of 3 to 7, TG44 at 3.13 to 12.5 μg/ml exhibited potent bactericidal activity against H. pylori in the stationary phase of growth as early as 1 h after treatment began, in contrast to AMX, which showed no bactericidal activity at concentrations of up to 50 μg/ml at the same time point of treatment. TG44 at 25 μg/ml exhibited no antibacterial activity against 13 strains of aerobic bacteria, suggesting that its antibacterial activity against H. pylori is potent and highly specific. The present study indicated that TG44 possesses antibacterial activity which manifests quickly and is potentially useful for eradicating not only the antibiotic-susceptible but also the antibiotic-resistant strains of H. pylori by monotherapy.
The prevalence of dental anxiety and fear in patients referred to Isfahan Dental School, Iran

Background: Dental anxiety and fear are major complications for both patient and dental care provider. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of dental anxiety and fear in patients who referred to Isfahan Dental School and their relation to their age, gender, educational level, past traumatic experiences and frequency of dental visits. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 473 patients were provided with a questionnaire including three sections. First section contained questions concerning their age, gender, educational level, frequency of dental visits, reasons for irregular attendance and existence of past traumatic experiences. Second section comprised a Farsi version of Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS); and third included a Farsi version of dental fear survey (DFS). Data were analyzed by t-test, ANOVA, Pearson and Spearman correlation tests. Results: The prevalence of dental anxiety among the study population was 58.8%. No correlation was found between age and MDAS (r = −0.08, P = 0.07) and DFS (r = −0.03, P = 0.53). Women demonstrated higher anxiety (P < 0.001) and fear (P = 0.003). Education had no significant effect on dental anxiety (r = −0.046, P = 0.32) and dental fear (r = −0.017, P = 0.79). Previous traumatic experiences were found to result in elevated anxiety and fear (P < 0.001). There was an inverse relationship between frequency of dental attendance and anxiety (r = −0.128, P = 0.008). Conclusions: Within the limitations of this study, anxiety associated with dental treatment was widespread in the study population. Dental fear and anxiety were not affected by age or education level. Dental fear and anxiety were higher in women. In addition, people who visited the dentist more regularly and individuals without previous traumatic dental experiences were less anxious.
On explaining modeling principles with modeling examples: a classification catalog

Examples are of central concern in teaching modeling. Typically, the general principles and concepts that have to be communicated are explained in terms of smaller or larger modeling examples with the hope that the examples cover the central issues of the principles and concepts well. The paper discusses a classification catalogue for examples along various criteria like syntax, semantics, pragmatics, complexity or evolution. The aim of the paper is to encourage the teaching with examples exhausting the possible spectrum of example use.
Rifaximin Is Effective for the Treatment of Clostridium difficile—Associated Diarrhea: Results of an Open-Label Pilot Study

Objectives. This open-label trial assessed the efficacy and safety of rifaximin as first-line therapy in hospitalized patients with Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (CDAD). Methods. We enrolled thirteen patients who had a confirmed diagnosis of CDAD characterized by ≥3 unformed stools/day and positive C. difficile toxin assay. Those patients received rifaximin 400 mg three times daily for 10 days. Resolution of symptoms, repeat assay 10 days after treatment, and followup for recurrence were assessed. Results. Eight patients completed the study, and all reported symptom resolution during treatment. Mean time to last unformed stool was 132 h ± 42.5 h. Seven patients had no relapse by week 2 and in longer followup (median 162 days). One patient had recurrent CDAD during a repeat hospitalization. Conclusions. Rifaximin was effective and safe as first-line treatment for CDAD and did not result in recurrence in most patients.