Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of virtual body motion on visually-induced motion sickness

To reduce possibilities of visually-induced motion sickness caused by animations, video games and movies, we need to develop an evaluation method of visually-induced motion sickness. Our previous results have shown that virtual roll motion had the most effective for producing the sickness. In the present study, we focused on the effectivity of image types, such as random dots and ordinary scene, and also the effectivity of virtual rotation speed on the sickness. In the first experiment, we confirmed our former results that virtual roll motion produced the highest score relating motion sickness, regardless of image types. In the second experiment, virtual rotation speed of 30 to 60 deg/s gave the highest scores regardless of the rotation types, yawing, pitching and rolling. We concluded that moving images simulating nonreciprocating rolling has robust effects on the sickness. Moreover, we speculated that the effect of rotation speed is determined by inconsistency of visual and nonvisual information, but not by retinal image speed.
Abstract and associatively based representations in human sequence learning.

We give an analysis of performance in an artificial neural network for which the claim had been made that it could learn abstract representations. Our argument is that this network is associative in nature, and cannot develop abstract representations. The network thus converges to a solution that is solely based on the statistical regularities of the training set. Inspired by human experiments that have shown that humans can engage in both associative (statistical) and abstract learning, we present a new, hybrid computational model that combines associative and more abstract, cognitive processes. To cross-validate the model we attempted to predict human behaviour in further experiments. One of these experiments reveals some evidence for the use of abstract representations, whereas the others provide evidence for associatively based performance. The predictions of the hybrid model stand in line with our empirical data.
Epidemiology, Risk Factors and Outcome of Complications in Obstetric and Gynecological Surgeries----A Tertiary Center Experience from Western India

AIM: The aim of the study is to find out the risk factors for complications in major obstetrics and gynecological surgeries and to study their outcome. METHODS: This is a single center prospective study carried out at a tertiary care center between July 2010 and June 2013. All patients undergoing major obstetric and gynecological surgeries during this period were included. All patients were evaluated by history, detailed clinical examination, complete blood count and liver function tests. All patients were monitored intraoperatively and details regarding type of anesthesia, duration of surgery, type of surgery and intra operative vital parameters were noted. Complications either intraoperative or postoperative were studied. RESULTS: A total 1526 patients were studies. Out of these, 818 surgeries were obstetric surgeries while rests were gynecological surgeries. There were 88 (5.7%) complications among them. Age and socioeconomic status did not affect the complications, while BMI (Body Mass Index) and anemia were strong predictors for complications. Intra operative complications were more common in obstetric surgery owing to emergency status. 16.6% mortality was seen among obstetric complications mostly in cesarean section group though complications were more common after non cesarean laparotomy. Abdominal hysterectomy with oopherectomy, laparoscopic assisted vaginal hysterectomy and mymectomy were most common gynecological procedures with complications. Surgical reintervention was more common after gynecological surgery complication. Type of anesthesia did not affect the outcome. Overall, the complications doubled the duration of stay and increased the cost of surgery by 8 times. CONCLUSION: Gynecological and obstetric surgery are equally associated with complications. Age, socioeconomic factors and type of anesthesia did not increase the rate of complications while pre operative obesity, anemia and emergency indications increase the rate of complications.
Analysis of timing jitter in CMOS ring oscillators

in this paper the effects of thermal noise in transistors on timing jitter in CMOS ring-oscillators composed of source-coupled differential resistively-loaded delay cells is investigated. The relationship between delay element design parameters and the inherent thermal noise-induced jitter of the generated waveform are analyzed. These results are compared with simulated results from a Monte-Carlo analysis with good agreement. The analysis shows that timing jitter is inversely proportional to the square root of the total capacitance at the output of each inverter, and inversely proportional to the gate-source bias voltage above threshold of the source-coupled devices in the balanced state. Furthermore, these dependencies imply an inverse relationship between jitter and power consumption for an oscillator with fixed output period. Phase noise and timing jitter performance are predicted to improve at a rate of 10 dB per decade increase in power consumption. <<ETX>>
Analysis of EEG Signals Using Wavelet Entropy and Approximate Entropy: A Case Study on Depression Patients

Analyzing brain signals of the patients suffering from the state of depression may lead to interesting observations in the signal parameters that is quite different from a normal control. The present study adopts two different methods: Time frequency domain and nonlinear method for the analysis of EEG signals acquired from depression patients and age and sex matched normal controls. The time frequency domain analysis is realized using wavelet entropy and approximate entropy is employed for the nonlinear method of analysis. The ability of the signal processing technique and the nonlinear method in differentiating the physiological aspects of the brain state are revealed using Wavelet entropy and Approximate entropy. Keywords—EEG, Depression, Wavelet entropy, Approximate entropy, Relative Wavelet energy, Multiresolution decomposition.
Relationship between depression and health-related quality of life in older Korean patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The aims are to determine the prevalence of depression and examine its impact on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among older Korean patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). BACKGROUND Realising the effects of depression on HRQoL, many studies have reported the prevalence of depression and its negative impacts on HRQoL in COPD patients. However, the majority of the studies were performed in developed countries, with very few studies occurring in developing or non-developed countries. DESIGN Survey with the comparison of HRQoL between the COPD patients with and without depression. METHODS A total of 91 COPD patients completed the St. George respiratory questionnaire (SGRQ), Medical outcomes short form-36 (SF-36) and Beck depression inventory (BDI). RESULTS The prevalence of depression was 15.4%. The SGRQ total and impact subscores were significantly worse in the patients with depression (p < 0.05). The physical functioning, bodily pain, vitality and general health dimensions from the SF-36 were statistically poor in the patients with depression (p < 0.05). The patients with severe and very severe lung function defects showed significantly worse total, activity and impact scores of the SGRQ and significantly poor physical functioning, role physical, bodily pain, social functioning, mental health, role emotional and general health scores on the SF-36 (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION In South Korea, the prevalence of depression is considerable, and depression has a negative impact on the HRQoL among older COPD patients. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE The study results suggest that depression is prevalent in older COPD patients in South Korea. The presence of depression negatively impacts on the HRQoL of the COPD patients. Considering the importance of the relationship between psychological problems and HRQoL in caring for and promoting the welfare of COPD patients, this study provides fundamental information and a basis for further evaluation of this issue in developing and non-developed countries.
Oncologic Outcomes After Neoadjuvant Chemoradiation Followed by Curative Resection With Tumor-Specific Mesorectal Excision for Fixed Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer: Impact of Postirradiated Pathologic Downstaging on Local Recurrence and Survival

Objective:The purpose of this study was to determine the oncologic outcomes and clinical factors affecting survival in patients who underwent neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy following tumor specific mesorectal excision for locally advanced, fixed rectal cancer. Summary Background Data:Neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy has resulted in significant tumor downstaging, which enhances curative resection and subsequently improves local disease control for rectal cancer. However, oncologic outcomes, according to clinical factors, have not yet been fully understood in locally advanced and fixed rectal cancer. Methods:A total of 114 patients who had undergone neoadjuvant chemoradiation for advanced rectal cancer (T3 or T4 and node positive) were investigated retrospectively. Chemotherapy was administered intravenously with 5-FU and leucovorin during weeks 1 and 5 of radiotherapy. The total radiation dose was 5040 cGY in 25 fractions delivered over 5 weeks. Tumor-specific mesorectal excision was done 4 to 6 weeks after the completion of neoadjuvant chemoradiation. Survival and recurrence rates, according to the pathologic stage, were evaluated. Moreover, factors affecting survival were investigated. Results:The 5-year survival rates according to pathologic stage were: 100% in pathologic complete remission (n = 10), 80% in stage I (n = 23), 56.8% in stage II (n = 34), and 42.3% in stage III (n = 47) (P = 0.0000). Local, systemic, and combined recurrence rates were 11.4%, 22.8%, and 3.5%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that the pathologic N stage and operation method were the independent factors affecting survival rate. Conclusion:Pathologic complete remission showed excellent oncologic outcomes, and the pathologic N stage was the most important factor for oncologic outcomes.
Social Support, Depression, Self-Esteem, and Coping Among LGBTQ Adolescents Participating in Hatch Youth

Evidence-based interventions that increase social support have the potential to improve the health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth. Hatch Youth is a group-level intervention that provides services four nights a week to LGBTQ youth between 13 and 20 years of age. Each Hatch Youth meeting is organized into three 1-hour sections: unstructured social time, consciousness-raising (education), and a youth-led peer support group. Youth attending a Hatch Youth meeting between March and June 2014 (N = 108) completed a cross-sectional survey. Covariate adjusted regression models were used to examine the association between attendance, perceived social support, depressive symptomology, self-esteem, and coping ability. Compared to those who attended Hatch Youth for less than 1 month, participants who attended 1 to 6 months or more than 6 months reported higher social support (β1-6mo. = 0.57 [0.07, 1.07]; β6+mo. = 0.44, 95% confidence interval [CI; 0.14, 0.75], respectively). Increased social support was associated with decreased depressive symptomology (β = −4.84, 95% CI [−6.56, −3.12]), increased self-esteem (β = 0.72, 95% CI [0.38, 1.06]), and improved coping ability (β = 1.00, 95% CI [0.66, 1.35]). Hatch Youth is a promising intervention that has the potential to improve the mental health and reduce risk behavior of LGBTQ youth.
Testing Müllerian mimicry: an experiment with wild birds

Experiments with wild birds feeding on pastry ‘prey’ were performed to test competing theories of Müllerian mimicry. Conventional theories predict that all resemblances between defended prey will be mutually advantageous and, hence, Mullerian. In contrast, unconventional theories predict that, if there are inequalities in defences between mimetic species, the less well–defended prey may dilute the protection of the better defended species in a quasi–Batesian manner.This unconventional prediction follows from an assumption that birds learn about the edibilities of prey using rules of Pavlovian learning.We report on two experiments, each lasting 40 days, which showed that a moderately defended prey can dilute the protection of a better defended mimic in a quasi–Batesian fashion, but can add protection to a mimic which has the same moderate levels of defence. These results match predictions of unconventional theories of mimicry and go some way to resolving the long–running arguments over the nature of Mullerian mimicry.
Closing the circle of algorithmic and system-centric database optimization: a comprehensive survey on adaptive indexing, data partitioning, and the rewiring of virtual memory

Over the decades, with the increase of computing resources, the amount of data to manage also increased tremendously. Besides of the sheer quantity of information, the quality of it highly varies today. Indexing all this data with equal effort is cumbersome and wasteful. Thus, adaptive indexing algorithms refine parts of interest more carefully. Unfortunately, the adaptivity also introduces a set of new problems. High variance in response times and low robustness against certain workloads are just two issues to mention. A vast amount of methods have been proposed to deal with these problems. Thus, in the first part of this thesis, we will reinvestigate, analyze, and enhance the class of adaptive indexing methods in a comprehensive evaluation on the algorithmic level. In total, we discuss 18 cracking methods, 6 sorting algorithms, and 3 full index structures, including our own proposed methods. Consequently, we identify data partitioning as the common component. Thus, in the second part, we analyze the surprising amount of optimizations possible to enhance partitioning. Interestingly, they mostly originate from a more sophisticated mapping of the method to the system properties, thus shifting our perspective to a system-centric view. Subsequently, in the third part, we dig down to the ground level by exploiting a core feature of any modern operating system, the virtual memory system. We investigate how virtual and physical memory can be separated in user space and how the mappings between the two memory types can be rewired freely at runtime. Using rewiring, we are able to significantly enhance core applications of data management systems. Finally, we apply the techniques identified in this thesis to the initial adaptive indexing algorithm to significantly improve it — and close the circle.
Comparison of the Microbicidal activity of monochloramine and iodine

Recently, we showed that monochloramine (NH2Cl) has a significantly stronger bactericidal and fungicidal activity than chloramine T despite its lower oxidizing power. This phenomenon was explained by increased penetration because of the higher lipophilicity and smaller bulk of NH2Cl. As iodine (I2) has an even fivefold higher bulk than NH2Cl, a comparison of both compounds regarding their microbicidal activity became the aim of this study. Aqueous solutions of I2 at a concentration of 10·7 μmol l−1 killed 106 colony forming units per millilitre (CFU ml−1) of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus or Pseudomonas aeruginosa to the detection limit of 102 CFU ml−1 within 1 min at 20°C and pH 7·1, while a concentration of 36–355 μmol l−1 of NH2Cl was needed to achieve the same effect. Aspergillus fumigatus was inactivated within 5 min by 36 μmol l−1 I2 and by 355 μmol l−1 NH2Cl, Candida albicans within 1 min by 10·7 μmol l−1 I2 and by 355 μmol l−1 NH2Cl. The lipophilicity of I2, determined with the octanol/water method, was three powers of 10 higher than that of NH2Cl. The at least 10‐fold stronger microbicidal activity of iodine suggests that the hindrance of penetration of the bulky molecule is outweighed by enhanced lipophilicity.
Risk factors for tube exposure as a late complication of glaucoma drainage implant surgery

Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate the risk factors for tube exposure after glaucoma drainage implant surgery. Patients and methods This was a retrospective case-controlled observational study of 64 eyes from 64 patients. Thirty-two eyes of 32 patients with tube erosion requiring surgical revision were compared with 32 matched control eyes of 32 patients. Univariate and multivariate risk factor analyses were performed. Results Mean age was significantly younger in the tube exposure group compared with the control group (48.2±28.1 years versus 67.3±18.0 years, respectively; P=0.003). The proportion of diabetic patients (12.5%) in the tube exposure group was significantly less (P=0.041) compared with the control group (37.5%). Comparisons of the type and position of the drainage implant were not significantly different between the two groups. The average time to tube exposure was 17.2±18.0 months after implantation of the drainage device. In both univariate and multivariate analyses, younger age (P=0.005 and P=0.027) and inflammation prior to tube exposure (P≤0.001 and P=0.004) were significant risk factors. Diabetes was a significant risk factor only in the univariate analysis (P=0.027). Conclusion Younger age and inflammation were significant risk factors for tube exposure after drainage implant surgery.
Interaction and interpersonality in online discussion forums

This longitudinal study evaluated the amount and type of interaction and interpersonal content in messages posted by online graduate students in small group asynchronous forums. It also assessed the relationship between interpersonality and interactivity. To achieve this, a new coding scheme was developed to categorize the content of online forums. The results suggest that cultivating interpersonality online leads to increased participation and expands the depth of discussion, thus facilitating online collective knowledge building. Finally, regulating the complexity of interactions and fostering the development of a cohesive group of participants through increased interpersonal exchanges may render more controlled patterns of interactive online behavior and improve collective learning.
NK Cell Transcripts and NK Cells in Kidney Biopsies from Patients with Donor‐Specific Antibodies: Evidence for NK Cell Involvement in Antibody‐Mediated Rejection

To explore the mechanisms of antibody‐mediated rejection (ABMR) in kidney transplants, we studied the transcripts expressed in clinically indicated biopsies from patients with donor‐specific antibody (DSA). Comparison of biopsies from DSA‐positive versus DSA‐negative patients revealed 132 differentially expressed transcripts: all were associated with class II DSA but none with class I DSA. Many transcripts were expressed in DSA‐positive ABMR but were also expressed in T‐cell‐mediated rejection (TCMR), reflecting shared molecular features. Removal of shared transcripts created 23 DSA selective transcripts (DSASTs). Some DSASTs (6/23) showed selective high expression in NK cells, whereas others (8/23) were expressed in endothelium or in endothelium plus other cell types (7/23). Of 145 biopsies ranked by DSAST expression, the 25 with highest DSAST expression primarily consisted of ABMR (22/25, 88%), either C4d‐positive or C4d‐negative. By immunostaining, CD56+ and CD68+ cells in peritubular capillaries, but not CD3+ cells, were increased in ABMR compared to TCMR, compatible with a role for NK cells, as well as macrophages, as effectors in endothelial injury during ABMR. Thus, the strategy of using DSASTs in the biopsy to identify mechanism‐related transcripts in biopsies from patients with clinical phenotypes indicates the selective involvement of NK cells in ABMR.
Individual responsiveness to topical pilocarpine and the effects of variations in application technique

Abstract. The effects of nasolacrimal obstruction (NLO) and of eyelid closure (EC) were studied in a group of 6 healthy female subject (25–29 years). The aim was to determine the best application technique for patients. NLO or EC for 1 min was assumed to be a maximum time for patient compliance. A standard eye drop bottle was used with a drop volume of about 40 μl. One drop of a 1% pilocarpine solution was instilled into the lower conjunctival sac of one eye in a randomized manner: a) NLO b) EC c) NLO and EC d) neither NLO nor EC. The effects on the pupil size, static refraction for distance and accommodative power were followed for 2 h. The results showed no significant difference between the 4 techniques. Pronounced interindividual differences but only small intraindividual differences were found in this group of healthy young females. Two subjects always responded strongly, and 2 other subjects always did so weakly. The application of the same amount of pilocarpine ointment (3%) increased and prolonged the effects on pupil size, refraction and accommodation at all points of time without reaching statistical significance compared with eye drops. Pilocarpine ointment caused considerable subjective discomfort. The experiments with pilocarpine suggest that, from a practical point of view, different techniques of application of ocular drugs seem to be a little importance with regard to local effect. The possibility of pronounced individual differences in pharmacological response should be borne in mind. Pilocarpine induced a significant increase in accommodative power.
Circulating CD34+ cells, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular risk.

AIMS Circulating progenitor cells are believed to participate in cardiovascular (CV) homeostasis and their exhaustion has been linked to CV damage. As general agreement on their characterization is lacking, this work was carried out to assess the relationships between different antigenic profiles of progenitor cells and CV risk, with special regard to metabolic syndrome (MetSyn). METHODS AND RESULTS CD34, CD133, and KDR were used to quantify circulating progenitors in 214 subjects at different levels of CV risk. In a cross-analysis of six different cell subtypes (CD34(+), CD133(+), CD34(+)CD133(+), CD34(+)KDR(+), CD133(+)KDR(+), and CD34(+)CD133(+)KDR(+)), CD34(+) progenitors showed the best correlation with CV parameters and risk estimates. Components of the MetSyn were all characterized by reduction of CD34(+) cells and acted synergistically in decreasing CD34(+) cell count. Moreover, CD34(+) cell count demonstrated a high performance in detecting high CV risk. CONCLUSION These data demonstrate that CD34 identifies progenitor cells linked to CV risk, showing a close negative correlation between CD34(+) cells and CV risk, as well as a synergic detrimental effect of clustered metabolic components. Progenitor cell count may be used as a surrogate marker of CV risk, whereas extensive antigenic characterization may not be useful for this purpose.