Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Síndrome de ovario poliquístico y embarazo

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine metabolic dysfunction closely associated with insulin resistance and obesity, which predisposes to pregnancy complications and prenatal programming of the offspring. The aim of this review is to report our experience in PCOS patients who became pregnant and were followed during the whole pregnancy. Firstly, we analyzed the effect of pregnancy on PCOS pathophysiology and secondly the role of PCOS in pregnancy outcomes. Regarding the firstpoint, during normal pregnancy a progressive insulin resistance, serum lipid changes and an increase in androgen levels is observed, which is exacerbated in the PCOS condition. This adverse intrauterine environment could have a prenatal programming effect with detrimental consequences for female or male fetuses. Regarding the second point, PCOS is associated with an increased risk for maternal complications such as gestational diabetes (GDM) and pregnancy-induced hypertension. Moreover, these adverse pregnancy outcomes are more frequently associated with an increase in low birth weight and high birth weight newborns. According to our clinical experience, PCOS patients who became pregnant and were not treated with metformin during the whole pregnancy, showed a higher prevalence of gestational diabetes and SGA newborns, which was improved with metformin treatment. In summary, pregnancy may constitute a period in which an abnormal condition is established or aggravated in the fetus of a PCOS mother. Moreover, PCOS enhanced adverse obstetric and neonatal outcomes
A high performance parallel computing architecture for robust image features

A design of parallel architecture for image feature detection and description is proposed in this article. The major component of this architecture is a 2D cellular network composed of simple reprogrammable processors, enabling the Hessian Blob Detector and Haar Response Calculation, which are the most computing-intensive stage of the Speeded Up Robust Features (SURF) algorithm. Combining this 2D cellular network and dedicated hardware for SURF descriptors, this architecture achieves real-time image feature detection with minimal software in the host processor. A prototype FPGA implementation of the proposed architecture achieves 1318.9 GOPS general pixel processing @ 100 MHz clock and achieves up to 118 fps in VGA (640 × 480) image feature detection. The proposed architecture is stand-alone and scalable so it is easy to be migrated into VLSI implementation.
Prevalence of factor V Leiden, prothrombin G20210A, and MTHFR C677T mutations in a Greek population of blood donors

The pathogenesis of venous thrombosis involves the interaction of genetic and environmental factors. In order to estimate the frequency of the factor V Leiden, the prothrombin G20210A, and the MTHFR C677T mutations in the Greek population, we analyzed 160 healthy Greek blood donors by PCR amplification and detected allele frequencies of 2.5%, 2.2%, and 35.3%, respectively. The allele frequencies were compared with reported frequencies of other populations of southern Europe. The identification of these common genetic risk factors for thrombosis should enable easy DNA diagnosis and carrier detection in a high proportion of cases and will contribute to a better understanding of the interaction of genetic and environmental risk factors. Am. J. Hematol. 61:265–267, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Better Glycaemic Outcome, Low Levels of Acute Severe Complications, and High Patient Satisfaction in Routine Practice in Type 1 Diabetes Treated with an Insulin Pump

Treatment of patients with Type 1 diabetes with continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) was re-introduced in Denmark in this millennium and initiated in the diabetes clinic, Fredericia Hospital, in 2005. The aim of the present study was to present yearly data of quality from 2005 to 2013 from a clinical database of patients treated with CSII in routine practice. Methods: A database was established in 2009-2010. Data from 2005 to 2009 are retrospective, data from 2009 to 2013 prospective. From 2009, patient satisfaction was measured by validated questionnaires. Results: By 31 December 2013, the database contained data from 143 active patients. HbA1C (median and range) decreased from 64 (40 - 126) mmol/mol (8.0 (5.8 - 13.7)%) (n = 104) to 60 (36 - 98) mmol/mol (7.6 (5.4 - 11.1)%) (n = 134) (p < 0.001) before and latest year on CSII. The improved glycaemic control was maintained each year until ≥5 years after initiation of CSII (p < 0.01). There was no change in weight. The number of attacks of severe hypoglycaemia was reduced from 60 attacks in 21 patients (n = 104) the year before CSII to only 5 attacks in 5 patients in 2013 (n = 134) (p < 0.01), corresponding to an incidence of 3.7 episodes per 100 patient years. Each year after initiation of CSII until ≥5 years, the number of episodes of severe hypoglycaemia was reduced (p < 0.01). Since 2005, nine episodes of ketoacidosis have been registered in eight patients corresponding to an incidence of 1.4 episodes per 100 patient years. Patient satisfaction was high one year after initiation of CSII (p < 0.01). Conclusion: Change of treatment to CSII is accompanied by an improvement in glycaemic control, very pronounced reduction in severe hypoglycaemia, low levels of diabetic ketoacidosis, and pronounced patient satisfaction.
The Sounds of French: An Introduction

Preface Special note to English speaking students learning French Organization of the book The language of reference Acknowledgments Part I. Introductory Concepts: 1. Orthography, pronunciation, and phonetic notation 2. Basic notations of phonetics Part II. Vowels and Glides: 3. Vowel systems 4. Distribution of vowels 5. Nasal vowels 6. E 7. Glides Part III. Consonants: 8. Consonantal systems 9. L and R 10. Double consonants and final consonants 11. Liaison Part IV. Suprasegmentals: 12. Stress and intonation Part V. Appendices Bibliography.
Analyse von raumzeitlichen Bewegungsmustern auf Basis von Bluetooth-Sensoren

Informationen über das Kundenverhalten sind ein wesentlicher Forschungsbestandteil im Bereich des Marketings. Dabei hilft das Verstehen von Entscheidungsfindungsprozessen des potenziellen Kunden ! in einem raumzeitlichen Wechselspiel mit seiner Umgebung ! dem Anbieter die Qualität seines Produktes aufzuwerten. Bis vor kurzem wurden Veränderungen am Produkt häufig durch Trial-and-Error-Methoden vorgenommen; heute jedoch erlauben neuartige Technologien wie beispielsweise Bluetooth, GPS oder Video neue Möglichkeiten, dem Anbieter zielgenaue Qualitäts-Validierungen seiner Produkte durchzuführen. In dem vorliegenden Beispiel wird der vorangehende Sachverhalt auf die Mobilität im Duisburger Zoo übertragen. Repräsentative Daten über das Bewegungsverhalten der Besucher werden unter Wahrung der Privatsphäre in einem siebentägigen Versuchszeitraum anhand von Bluetooth-Tracking erfasst, anschließend aufbereitet, analysiert und interpretiert. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Reproduktion von Mobilitätsinformationen durch die Erfassung von privaten Endgeräten der Besucher mittels einer kostengünstigen Technologie wie das Bluetooth möglich ist.
A New Resource for College Distance Education Astronomy Laboratory Exercises

This article introduces a set of distance education astronomy laboratory exercises for use by college students and instructors and discusses first usage results. This General Astronomy Education Source exercise set contains eight two-week projects designed to guide students through both core content and mathematical applications of general astronomy material. Projects are divided between hands-on activities and computer-aided analyses of modern astronomical data. The suite of online resources includes student and instructor guides, laboratory report templates, learning objectives, video tutorials, plotting tools, and web-based applications that allow students to analyze both images and spectra of astronomical objects. A pilot usage study indicates that distance learners using these materials perform as well as or better than a comparison cohort of on-campus students. The authors are actively seeking collaborators to use these resources in astronomy courses and other educational venues.
3D Characterization of Texture: Evaluation for the Potential Application in Mammographic Mass Diagnosis

Texture is one of the most important features used to characterize and interpret mammographic images within the context of computer assisted diagnosis. As volumetric medical imagery such as digital breast tomosynthesis data, MRI or 3D-US are available for breast diagnosis, we are interested if state of the art 2D texture analysis methods can be extended to 3D, and furthermore, if these extensions can enhance the characterization of depicted lesions. Hence, we want to compare the discrimination ability of the 2D methods with their corresponding 3D extensions. Due to the lack of a sufficient amount of available annotated and histologically validated 3D medical datasets, a computer synthesized volumetric texture database was used to perform the experiments. Three setups were investigated for each texture analysis method: 2D texture on one representative single slice of the 3D-volume, a so-called 3D “intra-slice” approach, concatenating texture information from adjacent 2D-slices, and the so-called “3D inter-slice” approach. A genetic algorithm was used to select an optimal feature subset for each approach and setup. The classification performance of these subsets was evaluated using a SVM classifier. The classification accuracy ranged from 62% to 86% for the 2D approaches, from 66% to 91% for the 3D intra-slice approaches and from 70 % to 85 % for the 3D inter-slice approaches. For every approach one of the 3D setups outperformed the 2D setup. Hence, the extension to 3D enhances the classification accuracy on the synthesized volumetric texture database. In a next step these results have to be validated on real medical image data.
"If My Mother Was Alive I'd Probably Have Called Her." Women's Search for Health Information in Rural Canada

Women living in a rural Canadian county were interviewed about how they locate health information. The experiences they described raise interesting questions about the efficacy of government sponsored e-health initiatives, particularly when such programs are intended to compensate individuals who live in remote communities for lack of access to health care services. Most of the women in the study undertake considerable health-related information gate-keeping for themselves and on behalf of family members and others in their personal networks. They seek and assess information from a wide variety of sources, some of which they locate via the Internet, and they balance what they learn against their experiences with the formal health system. The women’s accounts focused repeatedly on the quality of their relationship with those to whom they turn for assistance, although the actual roles of helpers, whether physicians, friends, librarians, or staff in health food stores, often appeared to be incidental. Instead, helpers’ perceived effectiveness seemed to depend largely on how well they express care when information is exchanged. Several women also reported that they had diagnosed and even treated themselves, sometimes on the basis of information gathered from the Internet. These and other findings are discussed with respect to public policy concerning consumer health information and the potential role of public libraries in the provision of health information programming in rural communities.
Using culture beyond its borders: the use of content-enriched instruction and the effects of input enhancement on learning in high school French classes

The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Standards emphasizes the integration of Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, and Communities within teaching. Content-enriched instruction aims at teaching linguistic forms within content and eases the implementation of the five Cs. The focus is at beginning levels and the content is a segment of a larger curriculum. Focus-on-form, along input enhancement techniques, can be a tool to facilitate the integration of grammatical and lexical forms within a meaningful content. This paper presents the data of 132 participants in second-year French high school courses. The study features the integration of form into culture through two teaching procedures: focus-on-form (with enhanced forms) and focus-on-meaning (with no enhancement). It addresses the following questions: (1) Are content (culture) and form (grammar and vocabulary) acquired through a beginning high school French content-enriched instruction lesson? (2) Which instructional technique, focus-on-form (with the support of input enhancement) vs. focus-on-meaning (with no input enhancement), affects most effectively students' learning of (and teachers' teaching of) culture, grammar, and vocabulary in the context of beginning, high school French classes? Findings point to significant differences between instructional methods and provide a substantial contribution and support to input enhancement at the high school level.
Detection of serum and urinary lipoprotein(a) in patients with renal diseases

We measured and analysed serum and urinary lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] in 73 patients with various renal diseases, and 168 control subjects. The results revealed that serum Lp(a) levels were significantly elevated in patients with mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis, membranous nephropathy, chronic renal failure and diabetic nephropathy, except patients with IgA nephropathy (IgAN) with gross haematuria. Serum Lp(a) concentrations were found to be significantly correlated with serum albumin (r=−0.5033, P<0.001) and urinary protein excretion (r=0.3541, P<0.005), while not with serum creatinine (r=−0.0144, P>0.05). Patients with selective urinary protein excretion had a lower serum Lp(a) level than those with non‐selective urinary protein excretion. The correlation between serum albumin and serum Lp(a) levels remained significant (P<0.001) after adjustment for serum creatinine, urinary protein excretion and the selectivity of urinary protein by multivariate regression analysis. Urinary Lp(a) excretion was decreased and related to the serum creatinine level (r=−0.312, P<0.01). Our conclusion is that renal patients with proteinuria and hypoalbuminemia tend to have elevated levels of Lp(a) which are more significantly correlated to serum albumin levels than other parameters such as serum 24‐h urinary protein, selectivity of urinary protein and serum creatinine; while urinary Lp(a) excretion varies inversely with serum creatinine levels.
Modular current-mode multiple input minimum circuit for fuzzy logic controllers

A new current-mode multiple input minimum circuit designed with 4n+1 transistors for n inputs is proposed. This structure is regular and modular, so it can be easily expanded to meet the requirement of the number of multiple inputs. Besides, because the proposed multiple input minimum circuit has one-stage structure, not only the problem of accumulated errors is solved but also the operation speed is increased. Simulation results show that the circuit features high speed, high accuracy, and large dynamic range.
Effects of 23.4% Sodium Chloride Solution in Reducing Intracranial Pressure in Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury: A Preliminary Study

OBJECTIVE:Mannitol is the standard of care for patients with increased intracranial pressure (ICP), but multiple administrations of mannitol risk renal toxicity and fluid accumulation in the brain parenchyma with consequent worsening of cerebral edema. This preliminary study assessed the safety and efficacy of small-volume injections of 23.4% sodium chloride solution for the treatment of intracranial hypertension in patients with traumatic brain injury who became tolerant to mannitol. METHODS:We retrospectively reviewed the charts of 13 adult patients with traumatic brain injury who received mannitol and 23.4% sodium chloride independently for the treatment of intracranial hypertension at San Francisco General Hospital between January and October 2003. Charts were reviewed to determine ICP, cerebral perfusion pressure, mean arterial pressure, serum sodium values, and serum osmolarity before and after treatment with 23.4% sodium chloride and mannitol. Complications were noted. RESULTS:The mean reductions in ICP after treatment were significant for both mannitol (P<0.001) and hypertonic saline (P<0.001); there were no significant differences between reductions in ICP when comparing the two agents (P = 0.174). The ICP reduction observed for hypertonic saline was durable, and its mean duration of effect (96 min) was significantly longer than that of mannitol treatment (59 min) (P = 0.016). No complications were associated with treatment with hypertonic saline. CONCLUSION:This study suggests that 23.4% hypertonic saline is a safe and effective treatment for elevated ICP in patients after traumatic brain injury. These results warrant a rigorous evaluation of its efficacy as compared to mannitol in a prospective randomized controlled trial.
Scaffolding OpenURL Results: A Call For Embedded Assistance

OpenURL is a valuable tool within library communities because it offers a gateway to the rapidly growing online information sources otherwise disconnected. However, the access it provides is not, as it is often billed, seamless. Reference librarians at Adelphi University were concerned that students were having difficulty retrieving full text articles via our link resolver and that distinctions between the various resources included in the OpenURL process was unclear. To examine these and other issues we designed a usability study with four objectives: (1) to measure the relative success of student use of OpenURL to link to full text; (2) to evaluate, edit, and improve an existing OpenURL instructional guide; (3) to explore additional ways of promoting effective use of the link resolver; and (4) to seek new methods of advancing information literacy skills. Within the investigative process, the researcher concluded that student difficulties might well be addressed by building scaffolding into the OpenURL results page.
An approach to research and development effectiveness

The major portion of this paper consists of a description of the rationale and use of RDE (Research and Development Effectiveness), a computerized planning program developed inhouse and designed to utilize analytical techniques in the management of R & D resources in the Air Force Flight Dynamics Laboratory, RTD, AFSC. For the three years (including this year) that the program has run, it has been to a degree experimental in that changes have been made to the measure of effectiveness model during the program evolution. Further changes at this time are not contemplated, so that next year time for preparation of input data will be markedly decreased. This will be possible by merely requiring the marking up of already prepared input plots rather than constructing entirely new ones. The capability to achieve detailed insights into the program at short notice has given rise to the initiation of development of an overall Management Information System for the Laboratory, which will complement the RDE program by providing past resource consumption trend data to key into the planning data obtained from the RDE program.
Does dominance of crossing retinal ganglion cells make the eyes cross? The temporal retina in the origin of infantile esotropia – a neuroanatomical and evolutionary analysis

A closer look at the evolution of the eye and the brain provides a possible explanation for both the origin of infantile esotropia and its motor characteristics. In the course of evolution, the eyes have moved from a lateral to a frontal position. Consequently, the monocular visual fields started to overlap resulting in a binocular visual field. In lateral-eyed animals, the retinae project to the contralateral visual cortices only. These projections are also found in binocular mammals and birds with binocular visual fields but in addition there are uncrossed projections from the temporal retinae to the visual cortex. The partial chiasmal decussation and the corpus callosum provide the necessary structure that allows binocular vision to develop. Disruption of normal binocular development causes a loss of binocularity in the primary visual cortex and beyond. Beyond the primary visual cortex, the contralateral eye dominates while the temporal retinal signal appears to lose influence. Loss or absence of binocular vision in infantile esotropia may be caused by inadequate retinotopic matching between the nasal and temporal retinal signals like in albinism with an abnormal or asymmetric chiasmal decussation or agenesis of the corpus callosum. Dominance of the crossing retinal signal might also explain the motor characteristics of infantile esotropia (asymmetric OKN, latent nystagmus, DVD). A normal binocular cortical signal will predominate over the evolutionary older, originally non-binocular, retinal projections to the superior colliculi (CS) and the accessory optic system (AOS). A suppressed temporal retinal signal paves the way for the re-emergence of eye movements driven by one eye, as in lateral-eyed non-binocular animals.
An Approximate Method for the Performance Analysis of Buffer Insertion Rings

A new analytic approach for the performance evaluation of buffer insertion rings is proposed which overcomes the basic limitations of former analyses. Key to our analysis is that the global performance model of a buffer insertion ring is decomposed into submodels in such a way that the basic interdependence of interarrival and transmission times of the frames transmitted is taken into account. The analysis itself is relatively straightforward and yields simple and explicit results for the mean delays of the frames. For special traffic patterns, the analysis is exact, for the general case, it is approximate but its accuracy turns out to be high, as comparison with simulation results shows.
Lecturing Law with Powerpoint: What is the point?

This article reviews and reflects upon the impact of teaching with visual aids, such as powerpoint, on student learning. This is evaluated from the perspective of the student and the lecturer. The student perspective is revealed through reporting on the findings of a survey revealing the attitudes of students at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) as to how powerpoint affects their learning. The lecturer’s perspective is revealed through a case study of the use of powerpoint presentations designed to increase the effectiveness of teaching and learning in lectures in law at QUT. This article also suggests a number of powerpoint presentation techniques and offers some insight into how lecturers can best design their powerpoint presentations as visual aids.
Granular Synthesis of Sounds by Means of a Cellular Automaton

Chaosynth is a new sound synthesis system being developed by the author and others working at Edinburgh University. Chaosynth functions by generating a large amount of short sonic events, or particles, in order to form larger, complex sound events. This synthesis technique is inspired by granular synthesis. Most granular synthesis techniques, however, use stochastic methods to control the formation of sound events, while Chaosynth uses a cellular automaton. Following an introduction to the basics of granular synthesis, the author explains how Chaosynth’s technique works. He then introduces the basics of cellular automata and presents ChaOs, the cellular automaton used in Chaosynth. The article concludes with some final remarks and suggestions for further work.