Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Counseling About Weight Gain Guidelines and Subsequent Gestational Weight Gain.

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to investigate what percentage of postpartum women were informed about how much weight to gain during pregnancy, the accuracy of the weight gain recommendations based on the 2009 Institute of Medicine (IOM) gestational weight gain (GWG) recommendations and whether being informed was associated with greater likelihood of meeting the recommendations. METHODS This was a cross-sectional study of postpartum women interviewed in maternity recovery rooms at two large urban hospitals. Body mass index was obtained from medical records, and adherence to gestational weight gain guidelines was determined based on the 2009 IOM recommendations. RESULTS One hundred thirty four women with a mean pregravid body mass index of 28.0 kg/m(2) were studied. Sixty-seven percent of participants reported receiving weight gain recommendations. A greater percentage of healthy weight women (78.6%) reported being informed of a GWG recommendation than overweight (53.8%) or obese women (64.9%), (chi-squared=6.6, p=0.04). Of the women given information about gestational weight gain, 40 (54.8%) received GWG recommendations consistent with the IOM and 33 (45.2%) received discrepant information. The accuracy of the GWG recommendation varied based on weight status. Women of healthy weight were much more likely to be given information in accordance with the IOM recommendations (86.8%) than women who were overweight (12.5%) or obese (26.3%) (chi-squared=33.5, p<0.001). Meeting the IOM recommendations did not differ depending on whether women were told how much weight to gain during pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS Women who are overweight or obese are less likely to be informed about weight gain recommendations than healthy weight women, and nearly half of women receive information inconsistent with the IOM recommendations. There may be a need for further practitioner education on GWG recommendations and increased patient counseling to help promote healthy weight gain during pregnancy.
New method for QRS-wave recognition in ECG using MART neural network

Recognition of QRS-Wave in the ECG signal is one of the important stages for ECG signal processing and most of the ECG noise removal algorithms, and automatic ECG interpreter systems need to detect these points. In most cases ECG signals are noisy and we need to detect these points using noisy signals. We have developed a QRS-wave recognition system using MART (multi-channel ART) neural network. In this method signal of two leads of ECG is used for detection, so our method has low sensitivity to noises. We tested our method for noiseless and noisy ECG signals and we compared results against those of an older one, which uses ART2 neural network. Results showed that our method has good results for noisy signals.
The reciprocity between ancillary gesture and music structure performed by expert musicians

During the musical performance, expert musicians consciously manipulate acoustical parameters expressing their interpretative choices. Also, players make physical motions and, in many cases, these gestures are related to the musicians’ artistic intentions. However, it’s not clear if the sound manipulation reflects in physical motions. The understanding of the musical structure of the work being performed in its many levels may impact the projection of artistic intentions, and performers alter it in micro and macro-sections, such as in musical motifs, phrases and sessions. Therefore, this paper investigates the timing manipulation and how such variations may reflect in physical gestures. The study involved musicians (flute, clarinet, and bassoon players) performing a unison excerpt by G. Rossini. We analyzed the relationship between timing variation (the Inter Onsets Interval deviations) and physical motion based on the traveled distance of the flute under different conditions. The flutists were asked to play the musical excerpt in three experimental conditions: (1) playing solo and playing in duets with previous recordings by other instrumentalists, (2) clarinetist and (3) bassoonist. The finding suggests that: 1) the movements, which seem to be related to the sense of pulse, are recurrent and stable, 2) the timing variability in micro or macro sections reflects in gestures’ amplitude performed by flutists.
Epidemiological Models Applied to Viruses in Computer Networks

To investigate the use of classical epidemiological models for studying computer virus propagation we described analogies between computer and population disease propagation using SIR (Susceptible-Infected-Removed) epidemiological models. By modifying these models with the introduction of anti-viral individuals we analyzed the stability of the disease free equilibrium points. Consequently, the basal virus reproduction rate gives some theoretical hints about how to avoid infections in a computer network. Numerical simulations show the dynamics of the process for several parameter values giving the number of infected machines as a function of time.
On Attitude Synchronization of Multiple Rigid Bodies with Time Delays

Abstract This paper investigates the attitude synchronization problem under communication time delays. The encountered difficulty in synchronizing rigid body attitudes is non-convexity of the rotation group. Through exploiting the geometrical structure of the rigid body attitude kinematics, we propose a PD-like synchronization control law. Using Lyapunov stability analysis, it is shown that the attitude synchronization errors converge asymptotically to zero, and that the proposed controller achieves robust stability for communication time delays. Simulation results are presented to show the performance of the proposed synchronization control algorithm.
VLSI Architectures For Image Filtering

This paper presents a study of problems encountered when implementing real time image filters. First, the complexity of the algorithms is studied, according to the peculiarities of applications. Then the problem of the system design and its organisation is presented and differents chip architectures are described for various tradeoffs between the architectural parameters. A new architecture used also for motion estimation is mentioned. In the last chapter the problems of the computation operator design is addressed, with elements on different choices for internal oganization of the computation, pipelining and computation format. This study is based on many applications for which VLSI architectures have already been designed and reported. For some of them chip are currently implemented in our laboratories. Linear filtering has been selected for illustration purpose, but this study is also concerned with many other problems of real time image processing, all exhibiting the common feature of a great importance in the architecture of the global managament of data communication and storage.
Towards a portable and efficient environment for parallel computing

The availability of more and more cost-effective and powerful parallel computers has enhanced the ability of the operations research community to solve more laborious computational problems. In this paper an attempt has been made to implement a parallel simulation runs dispatcher with an objective to study the feasibility of establishing a portable and efficient parallel programming environment. This parallel simulation run dispatcher can be applied to both terminating type and steady-state type simulation models. The algorithm is then transferred and executed on various other shared-memory multiprocessor systems to illustrate its portability. Another contribution of this paper is to verify whether the performance of the portable code and the non-portable code of a same algorithm is significantly different on a specific parallel system using the analysis of covariance model.
Formalising Trust as a Computational Concept

Trust is a judgement of unquestionable utility — as humans we use it every day of our lives. However, trust has suffered from an imperfect understanding, a plethora of definitions, and informal use in the literature and in everyday life. It is common to say “I trust you,” but what does that mean? This thesis provides a clarification of trust. We present a formalism for trust which provides us with a tool for precise discussion. The formalism is implementable: it can be embedded in an artificial agent, enabling the agent to make trust-based decisions. Its applicability in the domain of Distributed Artificial Intelligence (DAI) is raised. The thesis presents a testbed populated by simple trusting agents which substantiates the utility of the formalism. The formalism provides a step in the direction of a proper understanding and definition of human trust. A contribution of the thesis is its detailed exploration of the possibilities of future work in the area.
A Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial of Liquid Thyroxine Ingested at Breakfast: Results of the TICO Study.

BACKGROUND Levothyroxine (LT4) is the recommended treatment for millions of hypothyroid patients. Current guidelines recommend that LT4 tablets be taken in a fasting state, but inability to adhere to this often leads to poor therapy compliance. METHODS A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial was conducted in previously untreated hypothyroid patients randomly assigned to receive an oral solution of LT4 either at least 30 minutes before breakfast or directly at breakfast time. Each patient completed two six-week treatment periods, with different timing of active LT4 administration: placebo before breakfast and active LT4 at breakfast, or vice versa. At the end of each period, thyrotropin (TSH), free thyroxine (fT4), and free triiodothyronine (fT3) were measured. The primary endpoint was to verify any difference in serum TSH levels whether consuming liquid LT4 at breakfast or 30 minutes prior to breakfast. RESULTS A total of 77 patients (64 females; median age 45.4 ± 3.7 years) completed the study. No statistically significant differences in serum TSH, fT4, or fT3 levels were observed whether LT4 was taken at breakfast or 30 minutes before, in a fasting state. No significant effect from the sequence of regimens, breakfast composition, and/or concomitantly administered drugs was observed on the dose of LT4 administered, or on the post-treatment serum TSH values. CONCLUSIONS The TICO study suggests that a liquid LT4 formulation can be ingested directly at breakfast, thus potentially improving therapeutic compliance. This observation is of considerable clinical relevance, since non-adherence to LT4 therapy requirements is more likely to cause variability in serum TSH concentrations.
Possible Regulatory Effects of Coalition Computations on the Mu Rhythm

PAGE Evolutionary psychology h as dem onstrated that the quick and effortless categorization of an individual's race is a by-product of cognitive adaptations designed by natural selection to track coalition affiliations. Furthermore, two key inputs tend to maximize the categorization of individuals into coalitions: (1) patterns of cooperation and (2) corresponding shared ap p earan ces . The current studies attem pted to explore possible regulatory effects that coalitional com putations have on the mu rhythm an electrophysiological phenom enon implicated in a wide range of social cognitive p rocesses. R esults indicate that th ese com putations have no significant regulatory effects on the mu rhythm in the passive viewing of racial outgroups, a s well a s a competitive scenario betw een established coalitions. Limitations are d iscussed along with implications for both the coalition literature and the functioning of the mu rhythm. Table of
An Assessment of Student Satisfaction with a Circulating Laptop Service

Since May of 2000, Colorado State University’s (CSU) Morgan Library has provided a laptop computer lending service. In five years the service had expanded from 20 to 172 laptops. Although the service was deemed a success, users complained about slow laptop startups, lost data, and lost wireless connections. In the fall of 2005, the program was formally assessed using a customer satisfaction survey. This paper discusses the results of the survey and changes made to the service based on user feedback.
Imaging Rhinosinusitis

Rhinosinusitis is classified as acute, recurrent and chronic. The acute form of rhinosinusitis should be diagnosed on symptoms and clinical findings, and imaging should not be necessary unless inflammatory complications are suspected. In recurrent and chronic rhinosinusitis, imaging is important in making a diagnose and planning the treatment. It is also important to look for inflammatory complications, and to discriminate “simple rhinosinusitis” from fungal infection and neoplasm (Rosenfeld, 2007). Paranasal sinus anatomy and pathology are difficult to interpret correct. Therefore, experienced radiologists as well as optimal imaging with respect to modality and method is mandatory.
Assessments ARE POLICY DECISIONS ON SURGICAL PROCEDURES INFORMED BY ROBUST ECONOMIC EVIDENCE ? A SYSTEMATIC

Objectives: The aim of this study was to examine the empirical and methodological cost-effectiveness evidence of surgical interventions for breast, colorectal, or prostate cancer. Methods: A systematic search of seven databases including MEDLINE, EMBASE, and NHSEED, research registers, the NICE Web site and conference proceedings was conducted in April 2012. Study quality was assessed in terms of meeting essential, preferred and UK NICE specific requirements for economic evaluations. Results: The seventeen (breast = 3, colorectal = 7, prostate = 7) included studies covered a broad range of settings (nine European; eight non-European) and six were published over 10 years ago. The populations, interventions and comparators were generally well defined. Very few studies were informed by literature reviews and few used synthesized clinical evidence. Although the interventions had potential differential effects on recurrence and mortality rates, some studies used relatively short time horizons. Univariate sensitivity analyses were reported in all studies but less than a third characterized all uncertainty with a probabilistic sensitivity analysis. Although a third of studies incorporated patients’ health-related quality of life data, only four studies used social tariff values. Conclusions: There is a dearth of recent robust evidence describing the cost-effectiveness of surgical interventions in the management of breast, colorectal and prostate cancers. Many of the recent publications did not satisfy essential methodological requirements such as using clinical evidence informed by a systematic review and synthesis. Given the ratio of potential benefit and harms associated with cancer surgery and the volume of resources consumed by these, there is an urgent need to increase economic evaluations of these technologies.
Dividend policy, dividend initiations, and governance

Dividend policy can either be an outcome of strong governance or a substitute for weak governance. This paper provides evidence that dividend policy is a substitute for weak internal and external governance by focusing on a sample of firms that should pay dividends. Specifically, predicted dividend payers with weak governance are significantly more likely to pay dividends than are predicted dividend payers with strong governance. Firms with weak governance also have significantly higher dividend initiation announcement abnormal returns than other firms, consistent with the notion that dividend policy is a substitute for other governance attributes and that the market prices the decrease in agency costs resulting from the initiation of dividends. * I thank Harry DeAngelo, Linda DeAngelo, Ehud Kamar, Harold Mulherin, Mike Stegemoller, Ralph Walkling, and Mark Weinstein for comments, and Jim Linck for providing some of the data.
Automated sleep–wake staging combining robust feature extraction, artificial neural network classification, and flexible decision rules

The classification of sleep–wake stages suffers from poor standardization in scoring criteria and heterogeneous conditioning of polysomnographic signals. To improve applicability of fully automated sleep staging, we have designed a formal classification framework to rigorously (1) select robust candidate features, (2) emulate artificial neural network classifiers, and (3) assign sleep–wake stages using flexible decision rules. An extensive database of 48 PSG records scored in 20 s epochs by two independent clinicians was used. A small subset of 2 s elementary epochs representative of each stages with unequivocal expert scores was selected to form a limited set of learning exemplars. From 16 statistical, spectral and non‐linear candidate features extracted in 2 s epochs from EEG and EMG signals, a sequential forward search selected an optimal set of five features with a 22% error rate. Multiple layer perceptrons were trained from this optimal feature set while classification accuracy was assessed using the unequivocal instance subset. A simple majority vote among 10 consecutive classifier outputs ensured a final scoring resolution comparable to that of the experts. Poor classification performance was obtained for movement time, wakefulness, and intermediate sleep stages with a 36±15% error rate (Cohen's kappa 0.48±0.18). In contrast, deep and paradoxical sleep was classified with an 82% accuracy not far from inter‐expert expert agreement (83±3%). Significant improvements should be expected using a larger learning set compensating for a high inter‐individual variability, and decision rules incorporating more domain‐knowledge. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Survival and prognostic factors in childhood medulloblastoma: A Brazilian single center experience from 1995 to 2016

Background: Medulloblastoma is the most common malignant brain tumor in the pediatric population. Despite prognosis improvement in the past two decades, one-third of the patients still remain incurable. New evidence suggests that medulloblastoma comprises four distinct entities; therefore, treatment de-escalation is required. The aim of this article is to evaluate epidemiological data from patients treated at our institution. The primary objective is to analyze overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) and the secondary objective is to identify prognostic factor from this cohort. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 69 patients who underwent surgical resection for medulloblastoma among 423 children from the tumor registry data bank of Santo Antônio Children’s Hospital from 1995 to 2016. Kaplan–Meier method and Cox regression analysis were used to identify OS, EFS, and prognostic factors. Results: The 5-year OS and EFS rates found were 44.5% and 36.4%, respectively. The extent of resection and radiotherapy as adjuvant treatments was positively correlated to outcome while metastatic disease at diagnosis was negatively related to OS. Age younger than 3 years old did not have a worse outcome in our cohort. Conclusion: Similar results to population-based studies were found, but we still face difficulties due to living in a developing country. In the near future, we look forward to new diagnostic techniques that will enable us to classify medulloblastomas according to molecular subgroups.
Can Vetiver Grass be Used to Manage Insect Pests on Crops ?

Apart from its well known soil conservation properties, vetiver grass (Chrysopogon zizanioides (L.) Roberty; syn. Vetiveria zizanioides (L.) Nash) is reported to be repellent to many insect species. However, infestation of vetiver by pests of other crops has been recorded and concerns raised about vetiver grass being a refuge for insects pests. This paper addresses the benefits that vetiver may have in control of these pests. Chilo partellus, a lepidopterous stem borer of grasses is a pest that is often mentioned in vetiver literature. This insect is a serious pest of maize, rice and other grain crops in Asia and throughout East and Southern Africa where it can cause total crop failure. These observations prompted research on insect/vetiver grass interactions to determine the response of stem borer moths and larvae when they encounter Vetiveria zizanioides plants. The response of moths to vetiver grass, which could be either positive (attraction or arrestment) or negative (repulsion), would determine if vetiver grass could be used as trap crop for C. partellus in an integrated pest management system. Wild grasses such as Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum) is successfully used in habitat management systems in East and Southern Africa. Studies were therefore conducted to determine preference of female moths for vetiver grass compared to maize and to determine the suitability of vetiver, Napier grass and maize for survival of stem borer larvae. Two-choice preference bioassays and larval survival experiments were conducted. Results indicated that vetiver grass was highly preferred for oviposition but that larval survival on vetiver grass was extremely low. Thus, vetiver has potential as trap crop component of an overall “push-pull” strategy to concentrate C. partellus oviposition away from the maize crop and reduce subsequent population development. This technology may also have application in rice pest management.
Unstart Suppression and Performance Analysis of Supersonic Air-intake Adopting Bleed and Cowl Bending

Two-dimensional numerical simulations and experiments are performed to obtain the flow field characteristics of a mixed compression air-intake at supersonic speed. Simulation with inviscid normal flow indicated start of intake, whereas, simulation with turbulent flow and experiments indicated unstart of intake. Implementation of bleed or cowl bending was found necessary for the start of intake. The effect of combining bleed and cowl bending is studied with free exit flow and as well as with pressurised exit conditions. Experiments adopting Schlieren and oil flow visualisation and measurement of static and total pressures were obtained for bent cowl only. All simulations have been made adopting k-ω turbulence model using fluent. A good agreement between experiments and computations has been established. Results show a definite improvement in flow quality and performance with adoption of both bleed and cowl bending and hence could be utilised to alleviate starting problems of intake and also to improve the performance.
The Score Comparability of Computerized and Paper-and-Pencil Formats for K-3 Reading Tests

This study investigated the equivalence of scores from computerized and paper-and-pencil formats of a series of K-3 reading screening tests. Concerns about score equivalence on the computerized formats were warranted because of the use of reading passages, computer unfamiliarity of primary school students, and teacher versus computer administration of the test. The results indicated that the computerized format produced lower scores than the paper-and-pencil format across all four grades. These difficulty differences could be related to the differences in family income but further research is needed into the causal factors. However, confirmatory factor analysis supported the construct and measurement equivalence of the scores from the two formats.
STUDYING OF FACTORS INFLUENCING CORPORATE DIVIDEND POLICY OF FINANCIAL AND NON-FINANCIAL FIRMS ON COMPANIES LISTED IN TEHRAN STOCK EXCHANGE

This study investigates factors influencing corporate dividend policy of financial and non-financial firms on companies listed in Tehran stock exchange. For this purpose, dividends payable as variable dividend policy alternatives were considered. Empirically the research data is collected from 70 firms in the Tehran Security Exchange (TSE) during 2009-2013 using the RA software and the site of the Tehran Stock Exchange were collected. Multiple regressions technique is used for examining the stated hypotheses. The results indicate that the variable size and liquidity of the company has a significant positive impact on the dividend is payable. Therefore, it can be argued that increasing the size and liquidity of the company paying the dividends by companies to increase.