Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Toward real-time communication using braincomputer interface systems

Author(s): Speier, William Farran | Advisor(s): Pouratian, Nader | Abstract: The ability to communicate using language is a fundamental human function. When this ability is compromised, as it can be in neuromuscular diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and brainstem strokes, patients stand to lose a significant source of functional independence. Brain-computer interface (BCI) systems help restore communication to these "locked-in" patients, usually relying on P300 evoked response potentials (ERPs) to identify a target character among repetitive serial presentation of possible characters. While the so-called "P300 speller" was first described over 25 years ago, little overall progress has been made with respect to clinical implementation, with major system limitations related to practicality, speed, and accuracy. This work addresses these concerns by using machine learning techniques to optimize the system design, accelerate the character selection process, and integrate natural language domain knowledge into the classifier. This effort has involved several different projects, including selecting the optimal electrode positions using Gibbs sampling, performing unsupervised training with the Baum-Welch algorithm, and incorporating prior language knowledge using particle filtering. The result is an online system requiring only four electrodes that allows users to communicate at an average bit rate that is 75% higher than when using standard methods. These improvements can help to make the P300 speller system a more viable solution for "locked-in" patients, leading to increased functional independence and improved quality of life.
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy in the Detection andCharacterisation of Cardiovascular Disease: Key Studies

Purpose. To review the available literature on the applications of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy in cardiovascular disease identification and aetiology. Methods. A systematic literature search of peer-reviewed journals for the period January 2000 to June 2012 was performed using EMBASE and Web of Knowledge (WOK) databases. Several hundred reports were identified. Abstract searching led to the selection of articles included. Results. Numerous studies show the breadth of applications of NMR spectroscopy in relation to cardiovascular disease including lipid and lipoprotein formation, structure, and drug interaction. Lipoprotein and metabolite profiles have been shown to vary with many manifestations of cardiovascular disease. Conclusion. The inherent accuracy and reproducibility of NMR spectroscopy allow subtle differences in lipoprotein and metabolic profiles to be detected. As more information is obtained and cardiovascular disease applications of NMR spectroscopy increase, there is potential that a route towards reducing the burden of this worldwide problem may become evident.
Thrombocytopenia and other hematological parameters in culture positive neonatal sepsis and their impact

Abstract The study has been conducted in neonatal intensive care unit of Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, which is a tertiary care hospital. Thrombocytopenia and other hematological abnormalities are very commonly observed in neonatal infections. The objective of the study is to determine the frequency and severity of thrombocytopenia and other hematological abnormalities in neonatal sepsis of different microbiological origins, and their impact on morbidity and mortality. During a period of five years we studied all the newborn babies admitted, with the diagnosis of sepsis, in neonatal intensive care unit. In every sepsis positive patient we observed neutrophil count, micro ESR, C-reactive protein, severity and duration of thrombocytopenia and their relation with the patient's hospital course, morbidity and mortality. Of 194 Culture positive cases 49 (25.25%) cases had leucopenia with 100% mortality; 93 (47.93%) had thrombocytopenia with mortality directly proportional to severity of thrombocytopenia. In neonates with fungal and Gram-negative sepsis thrombocytopenia was comparatively severe and prolonged. Different pathogens causing sepsis have different effects on hematologic parameters. Neonatal sepsis is frequently associated with thrombocytopenia. Neonatal sepsis with neutropenia or with thrombocytopenia is associated with higher mortality. These hematological parameters constitute a simple and cost effective diagnostic tool for neonatal sepsis and guide antibiotic therapy, platelet transfusion, blood transfusion and other modalities of treatment.
Teaching beyond the Classroom Walls: The Pros and Cons of Cyber Learning.

This article discussed some of the advantages and disadvantages of online learning. Although much has been written about the growing presence of online learning, this author’s position is consideration must be given to the rewards and drawbacks of cyber learning. Reviews of both sides of the issues via in-depth literature reviews, personal conversations with individuals experienced in distance learning along with studies from universities guided the discussion of the article. Based upon the information discussed in this commentary, there are many valid concerns to be considered. Being aware of the both sides allows better preparation to embrace the new experiences that online learning has to offer (University of Illinois, 2007).
Solo mother by donor – the plan B of motherhood. A perspective on person-centered reproductive medicine

Assisted reproductive technology has been developed to treat couples with reproductive diseases. Recently, however, there has been an increase in single, fertile women who want a child by donor insemination (DI). In Denmark, it has been legal since 2007 for medical doctors to offer assisted reproduction to single women. To explore the reason why single women decide to use DI for becoming a mother we conducted in-depth interviews with six single, heterosexual women receiving DI treatment at a public fertility clinic. Data were analysed by a hermeneutic approach. We identified three main themes; 1) Images of children and family, 2) Taking action and 3) Absent fathers. Despite their decision to use DI, the women would have preferred to have a child in a relationship with a man. However, motherhood was of such importance that the women chose to use a donor because they feared they would otherwise become too old to have children. The women were aware that the absence of a father may have consequences for them and their child and they still hoped that their future family would include a man. The empirical findings are discussed in the context of the sociologist Gidden’s notions about choice in modern society. Staff at fertility clinics need to expand their knowledge of single motherhood in order to develop person-centered reproductive medicine approaches for this new group of patients who differ in their needs from couples seeking fertility treatment due to having a reproductive condition such as infertility.
Optimal noiseless coding of random variables

T. Berger, Rate Distortion Theory: A Mathematical Basis for Data Compression. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1971. R. M. Gray, “Information rates of autoregressive processes,” IEEE Tran.s. Inform. Theory, vol. IT-16, pp. 412-421, July 1970. -, “Rate distortion functions for finite-state finite-alphabet Markov sources,” IEEE Tram. Inform Theory. vol. IT-17, pp. 127-134, Mar. 1971. -, “Information rates of stationary ergodic finite-alphabet sources,” IEEE Tram. Inform. Theoy. vol. IT-17, pp. 516-523, Sept. 1971. J. Wolfowitz, “Approximation with a fidelity criterion,” in Proc. Fifth Berkeley Symp. on Math. Stat. and Probability, vol. I. Berkeley, CA: Univ. of California, 1967, pp. 565-573. D. R. Cox and H. D. Miller, The Theory of Stochastic Processes. London: Methuen, 1965. R. G. Gallager, Information Theory and Reliable Communicat ion. New York: Wiley, 1968. W. Feller, An Introduction to ProbabiI i@ Z? zeory and its Applications New York: Wiley, 1968. W . W . Peterson and E. J. Weldon, Error-Correcting Codes. Cambridge: MIT, 1972. T. Berger, “Explicit bounds to R(D) for a binary symmetr ic Markov source,” IEEE Tram. Inform Theory, vol. IT-23, pp. 52-59, Jan. 1977.
Social supports among Malay, Chinese and Indian drug addicts in Malaysia

The January-December 2008 National Drug Information System Unit (NADI) report indicated that the Malaysian drug situation remains a serious one. According to 2007 AADK (Agensi Anti Dadah Kebangsaan) report, one of the contributing factors towards relapse cases in drug addiction is lack of social support from the society when they re-enter the community. To date, studies investigating this aspect are still limited. The current study investigates the social support perceived by the addicts among three ethnic groups, namely Malay, Chinese and Indian. Two-hundred and sixty three male addicts from various rehabilitation centers participated in this two-phase interview study, whilst the non-addicts consisted of 94 male students from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. The instrument used in the first phase is the Social Support Behaviour Interview Schedule, and in the second phase, respondents were asked open-ended questions to further explore the reasons for their relapse. Overall, the results showed more similarities than differences in perceived social support from the three ethnic groups, suggesting that similar strategies could be used to rehabilitate the drug addicts. The important agents that can help drug addicts to return to normal life are father, mother, and siblings. The important dimensions of social support from the parents are socializing, emotional, practical assistance, financial assistance, and advice and guidance. The findings also suggests that peer influence is an important reason for drug addiction and relapse. Hence it is suggested that special training programme should be conducted for the family of addicts. Additionally, the post-rehabilitation programme should emphasise in providing a concrete support groups for the rehabilitated addicts.
Effect of a multifactorial intervention on mortality in type 2 diabetes

En el grupo intervención recibían terapia intensiva teniendo como objetivos las últimas guías de la ADA con un bloqueador del sistema renina angiotensina (captopril 50mg/12horas o bien losartán 50mg/12horas) y una dosis profiláctica con 150mg diarios de AAS. Las metas eran estrictas en cuanto a los FRCV se refiere (dieta baja en grasas, ejercicio físico durante 30 minutos 3-5 veces por semana, curso para dejar de fumar.).
Material Consequences of Contemporary Classical Collecting

The nature of contemporary classical collecting is explored by studying seven celebrated new collections and exhibitions. The concept of provenance is defined in terms of an object's origins, or findspot, and its modern story, or history. The several hundred objects in these collections are analyzed in terms of their findspot and history since unearthing. These show that the dismaying picture previously demonstrated for Cycladic antiquities applies to classical objects across the board: the overwhelming majority have no declared or credible findspots and simply surface as orphans without history. Some of the many material aspects of this central fact are explored.
PENGARUH INFLASI, KURS DAN BI RATE TERHADAP NILAI AKTIVA BERSIH (NAB) REKSADANA SYARIAH DI INDONESIA (PERIODE 2010-2016)

Abstract : This research was motivated by increasingly Islamic fnancial industry in Indonesia, especially in Islamic mutual funds. Islamic mutual funds in Indonesia has signifcant growth in the capital market. One measured of the performance of an investment in the Fund Sharia views of the Net Asset Value (NAV) of a mutual fund. Fund performance is inseparable from a variety of factors both internal and external factors. In this study, researchers attributed the Net Asset Value (NAV) Islamic mutual funds in Indonesia with macro-economic Factor (infation, exchange rate and BI rate). Techniques used in This research is multiple linear regression is used to prove the hypothesis of the study. Data that has fulflled normality test and classical assumption processed by multiple. These results indicate (1) Partially occurred a signifcant positive effect between infation and Net Asset Value (NAV) Mutual funds sharia, (2) Partially Exchange positive and signifcant impact on the Net Asset Value (NAV) Mutual funds Sharia period 2010- 2016 (3) partially BI rate and no signifcant negative effect on the net asset value (NAV) Mutual funds Syariah period 2010-2016. Then through the F test can be in the know that simultaneously there is signifcant infuence between infation, exchange rates and the BI rate to the Net Asset Value (NAV) of mutual funds sharia in Indonesia. Keywords : Infation, exchange rate, the BI rate, the net asset value (NAV) of Islamic mutual funds
Medetomidine, a new sedative-analgesic for use in the dog and its reversal with atipamezole

The sedative and physiological effects of intramuscular medetomidine (20 and 40 μg/kg) in dogs were compared with those of xylazine (2 mg/kg). The efficacy of atipamezole (200 μg/kg), as an antagonist given 15 or 45 minutes after medetomidine (40 μg/kg) was studied. Following medetomidine, onset of sedation was rapid, and depth and duration of sedation were dose dependent. The higher dose produced jaw relaxation, depression of the pedal reflex, downward rotation of the eye and dogs could be positioned for radiography of the hips. Side effects were similar after either medetomidine or xylazine, and included bradycardia, a fall in respiratory rate and muscle tremor. Vomiting during induction was less frequent after medetomidine than after xylazine. Intramuscular administration of atipamezole rapidly reversed the sedative effects of medetomidine. Signs of arousal were seen within three minutes; all dogs could stand within 10 minutes and appeared clinically normal. Heart and respiratory rates rose, but did not return to presedation values. Relapse to sedation was not noted.
Examine vision technology for small object recognition in an industrial robotics application

This thesis explains the development of a computer vision system able to find and orient relatively small objects. The motivations is exchanging a monotonous work done by hand and replace it with an automation system with help of an ABB IRB 140 industrial robot. The vision system runs on a standard PC and is developed using the OpenCV environment, originally made by Intel in Russia. The algorithms of the system is written in C++ and the user interface in C++/CLI. With a derived test case, multiple vision algorithms is tested and evaluated for this kind of application. The result shows that SIFT/SURF works poorly with multiple instances of the search object and HAAR classifiers produces many false positives. Template matching with image moment calculation gave a satisfying result regarding multiple object in the scene and produces no false positives. Drawbacks of the selected algorithm developed where sensibility to light invariance and lack of performance in a skewed scene. The report also contains suggestions on how to precede with further improvements or research.
A 3-to-8-GHz fast-hopping frequency synthesizer in 0.18-μm CMOS technology

A frequency synthesizer incorporating one single-sideband (SSB) mixer generates seven bands of clock distributed from 3 to 8GHz with 1-ns switching time. An efficient frequency synthesizing technique producing balanced bands around one center frequency is employed, and the SSB mixer uses double degeneration topology to increase the linearity. Fabricated in 0.18-/spl mu/m CMOS technology, this circuit achieves a sideband rejection of 37 dB while consuming 48 mW from a 2.2-V supply.
Individual reflections : Gender and the aurignacian art of southwest Germany

s Sex- and gender-specific interpretations of Palaeolithic art are almost as old as research into this field itself. Even the earliest interpretive attempts made reference to fertility concepts as a possible motivation and have transported a complete package of meanings of the evaluation of the sexes into the Palaeolithic. The same can be said about the structuralist approaches, which have interpreted Palaeolithic cave art as an opposition of male and female animal symbols. In this article the results of a reanalysis of the Aurignacian mobiliary art of Southwest Germany is presented. Specific reference is made to gender-specific meanings, which can be reconstructed from the production and use of the objects, the formal conventions of animal depictions and the reconstructed social behaviour of the depicted animal species.
Heterogeneous Concurrent Modeling and Design in Java (Volume 1: Introduction to Ptolemy II)

Abstract : This volume describes how to construct Ptolemy II models for web-based modeling or building applications. The first chapter includes an overview of Ptolemy II software, and a brief description of each of the models of computation that have been implemented. It describes the package structure of the software, and includes as an appendix a brief tutorial on UML notation, which is used throughout the documentation to explain the structure of the software. The second chapter is a tutorial on building models using Vergil, a graphical user interface where models are built pictorially. The third chapter discusses the Ptolemy II expression language, which is used to set parameter values. The next chapter gives an overview of actor libraries. These three chapters, plus one of the domain chapters, will be sufficient for users to start building interesting models in the selected domain. The fifth chapter gives a tutorial on designing actors in Java. The sixth chapter describes the Ptolemy coding style, The seventh chapter explains MoML, the XML schema used by Vergil to store models. And the eighth chapter, the final one in this part, explains how to construct custom applets. Volume 2 describes the software architecture of Ptolemy II, and volume 3 describes the domains, each of which implements a model of computation.
Congenital Plasmodium ovale malaria in an infant born to HIV positive mother

Abstract We report a case of congenital Plasmodium ovale malaria in an infant born to an human immunodeficiency virus ositive Nigerian woman living in Italy throughout pregnancy. In the fifth week of life, while on prophylactic treatment with zidovudine (ZDV), 2 mg/kg/day, the baby developed marked anemia (Hemoglobin: 6.2 g/dL) without any other symptoms. Although ZDV was immediately stopped, the anemia worsened during a second determination (Hemoglobin: 5.4 g/dL), five days later when the mother could be contacted. Blood smear showed the presence of P. ovale, also confirmed by real-time polymerase chain reaction amplification and sequencing. The baby was hemotransfused and successfully treated with oral quinine sulphate (20 mg/kg/day) for five days and repeated blood smear became negative for malaria. Polymerase chain reaction and viral culture for human immunodeficiency virus at 4 months of age were negative. This report suggests that symptomatic congenital malaria may be present even in European countries and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of anemia in infants, born to human immunodeficiency virus positive immigrant mothers, receiving ZDV prophylaxis.
Is the Tail Wagging the Dog? A Review of the Evidence for Prison Animal Programs

In the last 10 years, Prison Animal Programs (PAPs) have been implemented in many Australian correctional centres. Like our international counterparts, these programs receive glowing endorsements from key stakeholders and accolades in the media. The evidence supporting these programs however has not kept pace with public opinion. This article provides a review of the literature surrounding PAPs. Findings highlight that PAPs vary markedly in design, and few have been subjected to research or evaluation. Of these few, only one study was conducted in Australia. Additionally, the research strategies used within international studies are varied; providing little foundation from which to identify consistent outcomes or develop evidence‐based practices. It is concluded that more extensive research is needed to identify the program features that most commonly benefit prisoners, particularly prisoners with mental health needs. A greater evidence base is also needed to guide the introduction of new programs, according to the program objectives at each site.
Using iPod Touch and iPad Educational Apps in the Classroom

Educators are looking free resources that help enhance instruction in the classroom. Apple’s iTunes has thousands of free educational Apps that are downloadable for use on the iPod touch and the iPad. Teachers may have downloaded any number of Apps only to find they are useless for educational purposes. The presenter with another researcher evaluated the top 100 free iPod Touch Educational Apps on iTunes. Dr. Watlington just completed iPad Educational App research to add to the iPod Touch work. Initially, each researcher downloaded the App, tested it, and rated it on the Haugland Developmental Scale. Finally, recommendations based on the Haugland score indicated whether the App was appropriate for educational use. A follow-up study completed by the presenter on the iPad Educational Apps was coded on the rating scale, Educational Apps Rating Scale (EARS), developed by the presenter. A list of the top recommended iPod Touch and iPad Apps are listed on the researcher’s website www.topeucationapps. com.
HIV prevalence and awareness among wives of rural migrant workers of Muzaffarpur district in Bihar, India

Background: There is paucity of study about HIV prevalence among the wives of migrant workers from rural areas of Bihar, India. This is the first population-based study conducted among the wives of migrant workers of Muzaffarpur district with objectives to estimate the prevalence of HIV, and describe the sexual and other risk behaviors; and delineate the knowledge, attitudes and risk perception related to HIV/AIDS.Methods: We used a combination of both qualitative and quantitative research methods. First we conducted in-depth interviews among 24 wives of migrant workers. Based on the information collected, structured questionnaire was developed and tested. A cluster survey was conducted selecting 34 villages as primary selection units (PSUs), and then selecting 25 eligible wives randomly from sampling frames. A total of 850 wives were interviewed and blood samples were collected for HIV testing.Results: HIV prevalence was 0.59% (95% CI : 0.19 - 1.37%) among the wives of migrant workers. The odds of risk of HIV infection among wives of migrant workers was more than 3-folds as compared to women in the general population (0.19%). In course of in-depth interviews, 15 out of 24 wives (62.5%) wives were found to be aware of HIV/AIDS, whereas in main interview the proportion of wives who were aware of HIV/AIDS was nearly 15.52% (95% CI : 14.5 - 16.5). Knowledge was found significantly associated with age group 15-24 years, education level of women, TV set in house and husbands' education in a multivariate regression analysis. Condoms use (OR = 3.21 (95% CI : 1.22 - 7.90) and premarital sex (OR=7.44 (95% CI: 1.6 - 33.67) were found significantly associated with HIV knowledge of wives. Out of 132 wives having knowledge about HIV, 72% of them had good level of knowledge about transmission and protection, and high positive attitude towards HIV/AIDS. Wives had very low level of perception about their own risk, but perceived their husband at higher risk. Condoms use was very low among them.Conclusions: HIV prevalence among the wives of migrant workers was higher than the prevalence among women in the general population. Education was found to be associated with good level of awareness about HIV. Our findings can support the designing and implementation of effective interventions for prevention of HIV among wives of migrant workers.