Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Segmentation-free MRF Recognition Method in Combination with P2DBMN-MQDF for Online Handwritten Cursive Word

This paper describes an online handwritten English cursive word recognition method using a segmentation-free Markov random field (MRF) model in combination with an offline recognition method which uses pseudo 2D bi-moment normalization (P2DBMN) and modified quadratic discriminant function (MQDF). It extracts feature points along the pen-tip trace from pen-down to pen-up and uses the feature point coordinates as unary features and the differences in coordinates between the neighboring feature points as binary features. Each character is modeled as a MRF and word MRFs are constructed by concatenating character MRFs according to a trie lexicon of words during recognition. Our method expands the search space using a character-synchronous beam search strategy to search the segmentation and recognition paths. This method restricts the search paths from the trie lexicon of words and preceding paths, as well as the lengths of feature points during path search. Moreover, we combine it with a P2DBMN-MQDF recognizer that is widely used for Chinese and Japanese character recognition. Keyword Word Recognition, Segmentation-free, Markov Random Field, Modified Quadratic Discriminant Function, Trie Lexicon, Beam Search
Construction of Protein 3-D Structures Using a Structural Variant of Mountain Clustering Method

We propose a modified version of the mountain clustering method (MCM) to find a library of structural building blocks for the construction of three-dimensional (3-D) structures of proteins. The algorithm decides on building blocks based on a measure of local density of structural patterns. We tested our algorithm on a well-known data set and found it to successfully reconstruct a set of 71 test proteins (up to first 60 residues as done by others) with lower global-fit root mean square (RMS) errors compared to an existing method that inspired our algorithm. The constructed library of building blocks is also evaluated using some other benchmark data set for comparison. Our algorithm achieved good local-fit RMS errors, indicating that these building blocks can model the nearby fragments quite accurately. In this context, we have proposed two alternative ways to compare the quality of such quantization and reconstruction results, which can be used in other applications too. Discovering the relations between protein sequences and their 3-D structures is an important research topic and has received a lot of attention, because knowing the 3-D structure of a protein helps biologists to study the functions of the proteins, perform rational drug design, and design novel proteins. Finding the 3-D structure of a protein by using X-ray crystallography or nuclear magnetic resonance imaging is time consuming and expensive; hence, alternative approaches are being tried. Several approaches such as comparative modeling, fold recognition [1], [2], ab initio prediction [3], [4], and 3-D building blocks approaches [5]–[8] have been proposed. As pointed out by Bujnicki [7], modeling of a protein structure de novo without using templates is quite difficult because the search space is enormous even for proteins of moderate sequence lengths. The methods based on the assembly of short fragments have shown a great promise [5]–[18]. Among these methods, 3-D building blocks approaches have been successfully applied to construct libraries of well-chosen short structural motifs extracted from known structures. These building blocks are then used to construct or analyze structures of new proteins. The short structural fragments that recur across different protein families can often be viewed as stand-alone units that fold independently and hence can help assignment of building blocks to unknown proteins for reconstruction of 3-D structures [15]. The clustering method used in [15] is a two-stage process, where building blocks are classified according to their structural classification of proteins (SCOP) family and clustered within the family in the first stage and then merged in the second stage. The building block cutting algorithm uses a stability score function that involves properties like compactness, hydrophobicity, and isolatedness. The critical building block finding algorithm uses a score function based on the contacts the building block has with other building blocks. This is an involved and interesting ap
Aspirin Associated Liver Toxicity – The Optimal Dose of Aspirin in Liver Insufficiency

Acetylsalicylic acid (Aspirin) belongs to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Numerous studies have proven that aspirin reduces the signs and symptoms of inflammation and exhibited a broad range of pharmacological activities, including analgesic, antipyretic and antiplatelet properties. Previous studies suggested that beside the pharmacological activities aspirin was also associated with the side effects and toxicity of various doses and in various formulations. The present study is performed to explore the effects of aspirin in various doses (75mg (EC), 100mg, 150 (EC)mg and 300mg) in different preparation (enteric coated (EC), non-enteric coated) on liver enzymes (Serum glutamic oxaloacetate transaminase (SGOT) and Serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT)) followed by daily administration for 10 days and for 30 days. We found that the SGOT level was increased by all doses of aspirin after 30 days of treatment, this effect was most significant at 75mg (EC) and 100mg dose, whereas at 150mg (EC) and 300mg was not very significant. The level of SGPT was decreased by all doses regardless of duration of treatment, only 75mg (EC) dose increased its level after 30 days of treatment, suggesting 75mg (EC) aspirin could be hepatotoxic due to lessen of anti-oxidant effects, furthermore suggests that patients with hepatic insufficiency should not receive 75mg (EC) dose of aspirin.
Does the distress thermometer work? A systematic review of the evidence for its use and validity

Background The Distress Thermometer is the most widely used rapid screening tool for assessing psychological distress in people affected by cancer. Use of such tools to assess patients emotional and physical needs is a requirement of the NICE guidelines for supportive and palliative care. Aims To explore the assumption that the Distress Thermometer improves clinicians' understanding of the concerns of people affected by cancer. Two questions were posed: 1. In what settings and with what populations has the Distress Thermometer been used? 2. What evidence concerning validity exists for this tool and what is the strength of evidence? Methods A systematic review using a framework for mixed evidence (Hawker et al. 2005) across 11 databases. Inclusion criteria: Question 1: papers documenting use of the Distress Thermometer with people affected by cancer, in English, published in peer reviewed journals after 1st January 1998. Question 2: papers (ie, subset of the main search) reporting assessments of the validity of the Distress Thermometer. Results The authors identified 86 papers reporting use of the Distress Thermometer. Populations included: patients with a specific tumour site, older people, children, adult survivors of childhood cancer, caregivers, relatives/partners of cancer patients and people with new diagnoses and advanced disease. Of 86 papers, 33 examined the validity of the Distress Thermometer, with most comparing the tool with other measures, most commonly the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale. Conclusions Although the Distress Thermometer is widely used in cancer supportive and palliative care across a diverse range of settings and in many populations, there is little evidence to support its validity and little is known about what the tool actually measures. Future research must compare the Distress Thermometer with qualitative interviews and the true ‘gold standard’ of asking patients how distressed they feel and what concerns are contributing to that distress.
Metric on the Space of the Diffeomorphisms of the Circle Modulo Conformal Maps.

The space of diffeomorphisms of the circle modulo boundary values of conformal maps of the disk. The Sobolev 3/2 norm on the tangent space space at id of the space of diffeomorphisms of the circle modulo boundary values of conformal maps of the disk induces the only Kahler left invariant metric defined up to a constant on the space of diffeomorphisms of the circle modulo boundary values of conformal maps of the disk. We proved before that the completion of the holomorphic tangent space at the identity of the space of diffeomorphisms of the circle modulo boundary values of conformal maps of the disk with respect to the Sobolev 3/2 norm can be embedded as a closed Hilbert susbspace into the tangent space at a point of the Segal-Wilson Grassmannian. It was established in our previous paper that the natural metric on the Segal-Wilson Grassmannian � The author was supported by Max-Plank Institute fur Mathematik, Bonn during the preparation of this paper.
Diffuse-Interface Approximations of Osmosis Free Boundary Problems

Free boundary problems based on mass conservation and surface tension with application in osmotic swelling are the topic of this contribution. Phase-field approximations of such models are introduced, in order to numerically investigate properties of the solutions. Formal justification of the proposed approximations is provided by matched asymptotic expansions supported by numerical tests reproducing the convergence for shrinking interface thickness.
The Jump Shrug: A Progressive Exercise Into Weightlifting Derivatives

THE JUMP SHRUG IS A WEIGHTLIFTING MOVEMENT DERIVATIVE THAT CAN BE USED TO TEACH THE CLEAN AND SNATCH EXERCISES OR AS A STAND-ALONE TRAINING EXERCISE. THE BALLISTIC NATURE OF THIS EXERCISE ALLOWS ATHLETES TO PRODUCE HIGH AMOUNTS OF LOWER EXTREMITY POWER, AN ESSENTIAL COMPONENT TO ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE.
OP0093 Income and Patient-Reported Outcomes (PROS) after Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty

Background Few studies have examined the association of lower income with arthroplasty outcomes. To our knowledge, there is only one study in TKA cohort. This study found no differences in pain and function outcomes 2-years after TKA by income level, but higher gains in lower income group. Thus, knowledge gap exists in this area. Objectives To assess whether income is associated with patient-reported outcomes (PROs) after primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Methods We used the prospectively collected data from the Mayo Clinic Total Joint Registry to assess the association of income with index knee functional improvement, moderate-severe pain and moderate-severe activity limitation at 2- and 5-year follow-up after primary TKA using multivariable-adjusted logistic regression analyses. Results There were 7,139 primary TKAs at 2-years and 4,234 at 5-years. In multivariable-adjusted analyses, at 2-year follow-up, compared to income >$45K, lower income of ≤$35K and >$35-45K were associated: (1) significantly with moderate-severe pain with odds ratio (OR) 0.61 [95% confidence interval (95% CI): 0.40, 0.94] (p=0.02) and 0.68 [95% CI: 0.49, 0.94] (p=0.02); and (2) trend towards significance for moderate-severe activity limitation with OR 0.78 [95% CI: 0.60, 1.02] (p=0.07) and no significant association with OR, 0.96 [95% CI: 0.78, 1.20] (p=0.75), respectively. At 5-years, odds were not statistically significantly different by income, although numerically favored lowering income. In multivariable-adjusted analyses, overall improvement in knee function was rated as ‘better’ slightly more often at 2-years by patients with income in the ≤$35K compared to patients with income >$45K, with an OR 1.9 [95% CI: 1.0, 3.6] (p=0.06). Conclusions We found that patients with lower income had better pain outcomes compared to patients with higher income. There was more improvement in knee function, and trend towards less overall activity limitation after primary TKA in lower income patients, compared to higher income. Insights into mediators of these relationships need to be investigated to understand how income influences outcomes after TKA. Disclosure of Interest None Declared
A Generally Efficient Targeted Minimum Loss Based Estimator

Suppose we observe n independent and identically distributed observations of a finite dimensional bounded random variable. This article is concerned with the construction of an efficient targeted minimum loss-based estimator (TMLE) of a pathwise differentiable target parameter based on a realistic statistical model. The canonical gradient of the target parameter at a particular data distribution will depend on the data distribution through an infinite dimensional nuisance parameter which can be defined as the minimizer of the expectation of a loss function (e.g., log-likelihood loss). For many models and target parameters the nuisance parameter can be split up in two components, one required for evaluation of the target parameter and one real nuisance parameter. The only smoothness condition we will enforce on the statistical model is that these nuisance parameters are multivariate real valued cadlag functions and have a finite supremum and variation norm. We propose a general one-step targeted minimum loss-based estimator (TMLE) based on an initial estimator of the nuisance parameters defined by a loss-based super-learner that uses cross-validation to combine a library of candidate estimators. We enforce this library to contain minimum loss based estimators minimizing the empirical risk over the parameter space under the additional constraint that the variation norm is bounded by a set constant, across a set of constants for which the maximal constant converges to infinity with sample size. We show that this super-learner is not only asymptotically equivalent with the best performing algorithm in the library, but also that it always converges to the true nuisance parameter values at a rate faster than $n{-1/4}$. This minimal rate applies to each dimension of the data and even to nonparametric statistical models. We also demonstrate that the implementation of these constant-specific minimum loss-based estimators can be carried out by minimizing the empirical risk over linear combinations of basis functions under the constraint that the sum of the absolute value of the coefficients is smaller than the constant (e.g., Lasso regression), making our proposed estimators practically feasible. Based on this rate of the super-learner of the nuisance parameter, we can establish that this one-step TMLE is asymptotically efficient at any data generating distribution in the model, under very weak structural conditions on the target parameter mapping and model. We demonstrate our general theorems by constructing such a one-step TMLE of the average causal effect in a nonparametric model, and presenting the corresponding efficiency theorem.
Statistical design of variable sample size and sampling interval , control charts with run rules

In this paper, improved Shewhart control charts based on hybrid adaptive and run rule schemes are introduced to enhance the statistical performances of the traditional static scheme, designed with consideration given to the fixed values of sample size, the width of the control limits and the sam- pling frequency. The proposed hybrid adaptive schemes consider both variable sampling interval and variable sample size com- bined with run rules. The objective of this research is to develop a statistical comparison between adaptive schemes, charts with run rules and hybrid adaptive schemes with run rules to help decision-makers in the selection of the best performing chart for an expected value of shift in the mean of a controlled parame- ter. An extensive set of numerical results is presented to test the effectiveness of the proposed models in detecting small and mod- erate shifts in the process mean. The optimal statistical designs of the charts are obtained through a heuristic algorithm, properly modified to cope with the problem. Keywords Adaptive schemes �9 Average time to signal �9 Control charts �9 Optimisation �9 Run rules
Scanning Acoustic Microscope Utilizing SAW-BAW Conversion

A 1WMHz acoustic microscope using an integrated grat- ing acoustic scanner is studied. The resolution of the system is approx- imately 68 pm. The real-time acoustic images obtained from this mi- croscope demonstrate the feasibility of the approach. The dependency of the energy velocity of acoustic waves on the propagation direction in the saggital plane of a Y-cut Z-propagating LiNbO, crystal was studied, and piezoelectric effects were included. The energy of velocity disper- sion was calculated and the results were employed for designing the tap positions of a large time-bandwidth product, nonlinear chirp fflter to obtain a large aperture and spherical aberration-free operation. Theoretical analysis reveals that for a given chirped waveform, the sur- face acoustic wave (SAW) propagating in the positive 2 direction gives better resolution than that in the negative 2 direction. Focusing the bulk acoustic wave in the transverse direction is achieved with the curved grooves or metallic strips, and the focus phase error using the curved structure are studied. to reduce the attenuation loss, and the crystals used are normally anisotropic. We had also previously reported a high-frequency GAS device (8) and demonstrated its fo- cusing and scanning capabilities. Electronic focusing in the axial direction was augmented by transverse focusing using an external lens that was massive and bulky. This device was operated at a rather high frequency, approximately 100 MHz, and the anisotropic effect of the substrate was included in the design. In Section I1 the de- sign of the GAS using an anisotropic substrate will be dis- cussed. In Section I11 we will discuss methods for focus- ing the bulk acoustic wave in the transverse direction without the external lens. We also analyze the focus phase error, which is important for obtaining high resolution. To obtain large aperture operation and spherical aber- ration-free focusing, energy velocity dispersion in LiNb03 was calculated (given in the Appendix) and employed for designing the tap positions of a large time-bandwidth product, nonlinear chirp generator. The GAS was used in conjunction with a computer-controlled mechanical scan- ner, which scanned the sample in the transverse direction to the GAS to obtain two-dimensional images. This had not been achieved previously due to the lack of a stable mechanical scanner.
Selective Fusions for Primary Midfoot Osteoarthritis

Midfoot arthritis is a common condition presenting to foot and ankle specialists. Primary osteoarthritis of the midfoot demonstrates a unique combination of symptoms and radiographic changes, most commonly involving the second tarsometatarsal, the third tarsometatarsal, and the medial facet of the naviculocuneiform joints. Operative intervention typically involves fusing the arthritic joints. This paper reviews the important steps for a successful outcome, discusses the common complications, and delineates a typical postoperative protocol. Level of Evidence: Diagnostic Level 5. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Review of the Therapeutic Use of Simethicone in Gastroenterol ogy

NAIR [5]). Background: The history of simethicone covers more than 50 years. The main properties of simethicone are the defoaming reduction of surface tension and the reduction of surface viscosity and hydrophobicity which enable simethicone to spread easily over surfaces. It is not absorbed and is virtually non-toxic. While its use is well-established in diagnostic procedures, therapeutic studies have sometimes been contradictory. Objective: To assess the therapeutic efficacy and safety of simethicone taking into account clinically relevant end points and following the guidelines provided by the Cochrane Collaboration. Methods: The data sources consulted were bibliographic databases, references from review articles and books, as well as personal contacts up to September 07. All papers were screened and those dealing with prospective clinical trials were summarized in a table by indication, study design and methodological quality. Results: Out of a total of 83 publications, 14 concerning diagnostic procedures and 23 therapeutic trials were retained for closer analysis. Good evidence of efficacy was found for antifoaming in diagnostic work-ups and as a therapeutic agent in: 1st) Functional dyspepsia, (4 trials; 266 patients simethicone vs. 310 controls) with simethicone superior to placebo and to cisapride, and 2nd) traveller’s diarrhoea, (2 large trials; 248 simethicone patients vs. 244 placebo) with simethicone superior to placebo (increased efficacy when combined with an μ-opioid-agonist). Data are not conclusive in: 1) ‘IBS-like’ symptoms (2 trials; 80 patients simethicone vs. 54 controls); 2) in post-operative management of intestinal activity (4 mostly old trials; 847 patients simethicone vs. 631 controls); 3) Infantile colics, (7 trials; 306 infants simethicone vs. 296 controls); and 4) as an add-on, against symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux, (3 studies) and in partial adhesive small-bowel obstruction (1 trial). Conclusions: Simethicone may be beneficial in the various indications in which its intraluminal defoaming and coating action are desired. RCTs have shown its efficacy in some indications, in addition to its well-established uses in diagnostic procedures. More RCTs for non-confirmed indications are needed, particularly in view of the very large safety margin of simethicone.
Accretion-ejection instability and QPO in black-hole binaries - II. Relativistic effects

The Accretion-Ejection Instability has been proposed to explain the low frequency Quasi-Periodic Oscillation (QPO) observed in low-mass X-Ray binaries, in particular Black-Hole candidates. Its frequency, typi- cally a fraction of the Keplerian frequency at the disk inner radius, is exactly in the range indicated by observations. The variations of the frequency with the disk inner radius (extracted from spectral ts of the X-ray emission) might thus be a useful test. In this paper we discuss how changes in the rotation curve, due to relativistic eects when the disk approaches the central object, aect the physics of the instability, and thus this frequency-inner radius relation. We nd that the relationship between the frequency of the mode and the Keplerian frequency at the inner disk radius (rint) departs from the one obtained in a Keplerian disk, when rint approaches the last stable orbit. This might agree with the recently published results, showing a discrepancy between the behavior of the QPO in the micro quasar GRO J1655-40, compared to other sources such as XTE J1550-564 and GRS 1915+105. In a companion paper (Rodriguez et al. 2002, hereafter Paper I) we have presented detailed observational results for GRO J1655-40 and GRS 1915+105. We show how the opposite correlations found in these sources between the disk color radius (assumed to be close to its inner radius) and the QPO frequency could indeed be explained by our theoretical result.
A Level Set Method for Shape Optimization of Electromagnetic Systems

We present a level set method for numerical shape optimization of electromagnetic systems. The level set method does not only lead to efficient computational schemes, but also is able to handle topological changes such as merging, splitting and even disappearing of connected components. The velocity field on boundaries is obtained by a shape derivative of continuum sensitivity analysis using the material derivative concept and an adjoint variable technique. Two numerical results of dielectric optimization between electrodes showed that the level set method is feasible and effective in solving shape optimization problems of electromagnetic systems.