Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The reliability findings of a novel computerized neurocognitive assessment with the potential to be used to identify mild traumatic brain injuries

Computerized neurocognitive tests (CNT) are quick objective assessments used to assess an individual’s recovery from a concussion. However, CNT are not presently used during a pitch-side diagnosis of a concussion. Instead, paper-and-pencil assessments are administered which can lead to a subjective interpretation of a concussion and can vary between clinicians. Thus, this study looked to explore whether a new computerized neurocognitive assessment (RESET) could be used pitch-side to establish a more objective diagnosis. However, in order to do this, the reliability of RESET was firstly explored. To determine the test-retest reliability of RESET, 44 University students completed a baseline neurocognitive assessment, and further tests 45 and 50 days after. Whilst to assess the effect of fatigue and therefore RESET’s potential to be used pitch-side, a shortened RESET battery was administered to 24 University Students whom completed a the RESET battery at baseline before once again completing three further RESET assessments under the influence of fatigue. Between baseline and day 45, RESET’s reliability ranged from 0.64 to 0.78 resembling good to strong reliability and ranged from 0.47 to 0.88 between day 45 and 50 displaying moderate to strong reliability. Whilst the analysis of the exercise-induced fatigue study found that compared to baseline, neurocognitive performance post-fatigue significantly increased in three out of the six assessments administered. The test-retest reliability of RESET over a 45 day interval was higher than previous reliability values on other computerized neurocognitive tests, currently used to assess concussion. Further, due to no assessments being negatively influenced by fatigue, it is plausible that RESET could be an effective test administered pitch-side. However, it is essential that more assessments are conducted on the reliability and also the sensitivity of RESET before it can be definitively used to assess concussion.
View Coordination Architecture for Information Visualisation

A view is a particular visual representation of a data set. Complex data sets typically require multiple views, each revealing a different aspect of the data. Coordinating the behaviour of these views is known to expedite tasks such as information seeking, and has been used to facilitate the exploration of large and complex data sets. The design and implementation of multiple view coordinations is challenging; poorly designed coordinations may in fact detract from task performance, while the failure to make coordinations apparent could lead to unneccessarily complex mental models of a data set. In order to facilitate the exploration of this design space, we present here an architecture for the implementation of view coordinations. In contrast with many existing tools and prototypes, which focus on specific view coordination techniques, this architecture provides generic support for view coordination. The implementation of several standard coordination techniques within the architecture are discussed by way of illustration, and the architecture compared with the Snap view coordination architecture. Examples of its initial implementation within the InVision component-based framework for information visualisation are also presented.
Homeostasis model assessment closely mirrors the glucose clamp technique in the assessment of insulin sensitivity: studies in subjects with various degrees of glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) is a reliable surrogate measure of in vivo insulin sensitivity in humans. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS In the present study, we compared insulin sensitivity as assessed by a 4-h euglycemic (approximately 5 mmol/l) hyperinsulinemic (approximately 300 pmol/l) clamp with HOMA in 115 subjects with various degrees of glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity. RESULTS We found a strong correlation between clamp-measured total glucose disposal and HOMA-estimated insulin sensitivity (r = -0.820, P<0.0001), with no substantial differences between men (r = -0.800) and women (r = -0.796), younger (aged <50 years, r = -0.832) and older (r = -0.800) subjects, nonobese (BMI <27 kg/m2, r = -0.800) and obese (r = -0.765) subjects, nondiabetic (r = -0.754) and diabetic (r = -0.695) subjects, and normotensive ( r = -0.786) and hypertensive (r = -0.762) subjects. Also, we found good agreement between the two methods in the categorization of subjects according to insulin sensitivity (weighted k = 0.63). CONCLUSIONS We conclude that the HOMA can be reliably used in large-scale or epidemiological studies in which only a fasting blood sample is available to assess insulin sensitivity
The Contemporary Theory of Metaphor

The Contemporary Theory of Metaphor George Lakoff Do not go gentle into that good night. -Dylan Thomas Death is the mother of beauty . -Wallace Stevens, “Sunday Morningq Introduction These famous lines by Thomas and Stevens are examples of what classical theorists, at least since Aristotle, have referred to as metaphor: instances of novel poetic language in which words like “mother,q “go,q and “nightq are not used in their normal everyday senses. In classical theories of language, metaphor was seen as a matter of language not thought. Metaphorical expressions were assumed to be mutually exclusive with the realm of ordinary everyday language: everyday language had no metaphor, and metaphor used mechanisms outside the realm of everyday conventional language. The classical theory was taken so much for granted over the centuries that many people didn't realize that it was just a theory. The theory was not merely taken to be true, but came to be taken as definitional. The word “metaphorq was defined as a novel or poetic linguistic expression where one or more words for a concept are used outside of its normal conventional meaning to express a “similarq concept. But such issues are not matters for definitions; they are empirical questions. As a cognitive scientist and a linguist, one asks: What are the generalizations governing the linguistic expressions referred to classically as “poetic metaphors? q When this question is answered rigorously, the classical theory turns out to be false. The generalizations governing poetic metaphorical expressions are not in language, but in thought: They are general mappings across conceptual domains. Moreover, these general principles which take the form of conceptual mappings, apply not just to novel poetic expressions, but to much of ordinary everyday language. In short, the locus of metaphor is not in language at all, but in the way we conceptualize one mental domain in terms of another. The general theory of metaphor is given by characterizing such cross-domain mappings. And in the process, everyday abstract concepts like time, states, change, causation, and purpose also turn out to be metaphorical. The result is that metaphor (that is, cross-domain mapping) is absolutely central to ordinary natural language semantics, and that the study of literary metaphor is an extension of the study of everyday metaphor. Everyday metaphor is characterized by a huge system of thousands of cross-domain mappings, and this system is made use of in novel metaphor.
Manipulator Control with Superquadric Artiicial Potential Functions: Theory and Experiments 1 List of Figures

Previous work in arti cial potentials has demonstrated the need for an obstacle avoidance potential that closely models the obstacle, yet does not generate local minima in the workspace of the manipulator. This paper presents a potential function based on superquadrics, which closely models a large class of object shapes. This potential function also prevents the creation of local minima when it is added to spherically symmetric attractive wells. We introduce two compatible forms of the superquadric potential function: one for obstacle avoidance, and another for obstacle approach. We have implemented the avoidance and approach potentials in simulations. In these simulations the end e ector of the manipulator experiences an attractive force from a global spherical well, while the end e ector and each of the links experience repulsive forces from all of the objects. We have also experimentally implemented the avoidance potentials on the CMU DDARM II. The results demonstrate successful obstacle avoidance and approach, and exhibit an improvement over existing potential schemes.
Instrument Refinement: The Patient’s Perception of Life on Hemodialysis Scale

The objective of this study is to refine the Patient’s Perception of Hemodialysis Scale and data quality and refine the Patient’s Perception of Life on Hemodialysis Scale (PPHS). Collecting data from a convenient sample (N = 236), data were collected and a cross-sectional design survey design was used. Item inclusion was based on the item’s theoretical underpinning, examination of data quality, findings from a multi-trait/multi-item correlation matrix, and criteria for item and scale characteristics. Data indicators were close to normal in terms of distribution. High and low statistics suggest that the entire scope of the characteristic being measured were experienced. All criteria related to this examination supported the inclusion/exclusion of remaining items and subscales. Subscales are able to measure the main concepts. Findings from this research have been analyzed, and the PPHS now includes five subscales (36 items) and is deemed a valid indicator of the hemodialysis patients’ perceptions of life. Nephrology nurses will be able to assess the patient’s illness and treatment experience, their perception of formal social supports, adjustment to life on hemodialysis, and design interventions.
The theory of the transport phenomena in metals

Exact expressions, valid for all temperatures, are obtained in the form of infinite determinants for the electrical conductivity, the thermal conductivity and the thermo-electric power of a degenerate gas of quasi-free electrons interacting with the ionic lattice of a metal. It is shown that the values of the electrical and thermal conductivities, in general, exceed the values given by the approximate interpolation formulae due to Bloch (1930), Wilson (1937) and others, and, in particular, that the Grüneisen-Bloch formula for the ideal electrical resistance is appreciably in error in the region close to the Debye temperature. It is further shown that the residual and ideal resistances of an impure metal are not strictly additive in the region where the two are of the same order of magnitude. The behaviour of the thermal conductivity is shown to agree qualitatively with the discussion based on Wilson’s formula given by Makinson (1938); the numerical values of the thermal conductivity, however, are increased appreciably, particularly for an ideal metal at low temperatures. The thermo-electric power is also discussed, but no simple results can be given for the intermediate temperature range.
Trends in Body Mass Index and Associations With Physical Activity Among Career Soldiers in South Korea

Objective This study was designed to describe the trends in body mass index (BMI) during 6 years (2002 - 2008) and to identify associations between these trends and the amount of physical activity of South Korean career soldiers. Method This study targeted the 40 993 (38 857 men and 2136 women) of the 58 657 career soldiers who had undergone four (2002, 2004, 2006, and 2008) biennial medical examinations conducted by the National Health Insurance Corporation; 17 664 soldiers with missing data on height, weight, and physical activity were excluded. A linear mixed-regression model was used to categorize changes in BMI due to age versus those due to amount of physical activity. Results Career soldiers experienced significant increases in BMI compared with baseline data gathered in 2002. The increases in each age group were as follows: men aged 20- 29: 1.16, men aged 30 - 39: 0.61, men aged 40 - 49: 0.05, women aged 20- 29: 0.35, women aged 30- 39: 0.30, women aged 40-49: 0.26, and women aged 50- 59: 0.21. However, men aged 50 or older showed significant decreases (as high as 0.5) in BMI compared with baseline data obtained in 2002. They also experienced significant decreases in BMI compared with those who reported no physical activity. The differences between baseline and final BMIs were: 0.02 for men exercising 1- 2 times per week, -0.07 for men exercising 3-4 times per week, -0.19 for men exercising 5-6 times per week, -0.21 for men exercising seven times per week, -0.05 for women exercising 1- 2 times per week, -0.19 for women exercising 3- 4 times per week, -0.30 for women exercising 5-6 times per week, and -0.30 for women exercising seven times per week. Conclusions Obesity in South Korean career soldiers increased markedly between 2002 and 2008, and our data showed that the amount of physical activity was inversely related to increases in BMI. Policies to prevent obesity are needed to reduce this trend.
A decade of Predictions in Ungauged Basins (PUB)—a review

Abstract The Prediction in Ungauged Basins (PUB) initiative of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS), launched in 2003 and concluded by the PUB Symposium 2012 held in Delft (23–25 October 2012), set out to shift the scientific culture of hydrology towards improved scientific understanding of hydrological processes, as well as associated uncertainties and the development of models with increasing realism and predictive power. This paper reviews the work that has been done under the six science themes of the PUB Decade and outlines the challenges ahead for the hydrological sciences community. Editor D. Koutsoyiannis Citation Hrachowitz, M. , Savenije, H.H. G. , Blöschl, G. , McDonnell, J.J., Sivapalan, M. , Pomeroy, J.W. , Arheimer, B. , Blume, T. , Clark, M.P., Ehret, U. , Fenicia, F. , Freer, J.E. , Gelfan, A. , Gupta, H.V. , Hughes, D.A. , Hut, R.W. , Montanari, A. , Pande, S. , Tetzlaff, D. , Troch, P.A. , Uhlenbrook, S. , Wagener, T. , Winsemius, H.C. , Woods, R.A. , Zehe, E. , and Cudennec, C. , 2013. A decade of Predictions in Ungauged Basins (PUB)—a review. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 58 (6), 1198–1255.
Computational Intelligence Approaches to Brain Signal Pattern Recognition

Analysis of electrophysiological brain activity has long been considered as one of indispensable tools enabling clinicians and scientists to investigate various aspects of cognitive brain functionality and its underlying neurophysiological structure. The relevance of electroencephalogram (EEG) in particular, due to its inexpensive and most importantly, non-invasive acquisition procedure, has been reflected in the abundance of clinical applications and the diversity of areas of research studies it has contributed to. These studies lie within the realm of brain science understood nowadays in a broad sense embracing and linking interdisciplinary fields of neuroimaging, cognitive psychology and neurophysiology among others. In medical practice, EEG is used more pragmatically to support clinicians in their effort to establish the presence, severity and cerebral distribution of neurological disorders. Epilepsy diagnostic serves as a prime example in this regard (Fisch, 1999). The complex nature of brain signals and the intricacies of the measurement process involved (Fisch, 1999; Niedermeyer & Lopes da Silva, 2004), particularly in the case of EEG, render their analysis and interpretation challenging (Kaiser, 2005). Historically, these signals used to be examined only qualitatively based on routine visual inspection and the experience of responsible technicians or practitioners. With the advent of the era of digital biosignal recordings, computerised quantitative electroencephalography gained notable popularity as a supplementary tool enhancing objectiveness of analysis (Kaiser, 2005). The fast pace of technological advancement, considerable progress in neuroscience and neuroengineering along with growing investments in medical and health sectors among others have opened up new possibilities for automated EEG analysis systems. A continually growing scope for their applications set dominant design trends and imposed requirements regarding their functionality that prevail in today’s practice and research. One of the key points in this regard is the need for the increased independence, autonomy and thus the improved reliability of such systems. This has led to a more comprehensive formulation of a computational problem of brain signal analysis within the realm of pattern recognition, which facilitates a more generic description of existing approaches, and development or reuse of suitable pattern recognition methods. In consequence, the notion of brain signal pattern recognition has been introduced to refer to the underlying concept of processing raw data with the aim of acting upon its category (Niedermeyer & Lopes da Silva, 2004; Duda et al., 2001). The objective is to identify patterns in electrophysiological brain activity that are O pe n A cc es s D at ab as e w w w . ite ch on lin e. co m
The E ffi ciency-Equity Trade-o ff of Labor Market Regulations : Evidence from Brazilian Cities . PRELIMINARY

This paper investigates whether labor market regulations involve a trade-off between efficiency and equity. We use city level data on efficiency and equity outcomes, and we explore the regional variation in the enforcement of labor regulation across 5,513 Brazilian cities. Although not all of the variation in enforcement can be considered exogenous, we control for pre determined regional characteristics and instrument enforcement of regulation with the distance between each city and the location of an enforcement office, a measure of how costly is enforcement of labor regulations. Our findings suggest that a stricter enforcement of labor regulations is associated with a lower city level income inequality and/or poverty rates, although not with significantly lower labor productivity. The evidence also supports that stricter enforcement of labor regulation reduces the use of labor informality at the city level.
Deep learning for EEG-Based preference classification

Electroencephalogram (EEG)-based emotion classification is rapidly becoming one of the most intensely studied areas of brain-computer interfacing (BCI). The ability to passively identify yet accurately correlate brainwaves with our immediate emotions opens up truly meaningful and previously unattainable human-computer interactions such as in forensic neuroscience, rehabilitative medicine, affective entertainment and neuro-marketing. One particularly useful yet rarely explored areas of EEG-based emotion classification is preference recognition [1], which is simply the detection of like versus dislike. Within the limited investigations into preference classification, all reported studies were based on musically-induced stimuli except for a single study which used 2D images. The main objective of this study is to apply deep learning, which has been shown to produce state-of-the-art results in diverse hard problems such as in computer vision, natural language processing and audio recognition, to 3D object pre.
Effect of visceral fat area on outcomes of laparoscopyassisted distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer: subgroup analysis by gender and parameters of obesity

Purpose The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of the visceral fat area (VFA) of patients with gastric cancer undergoing laparoscopic surgery on operative outcomes such as number of retrieved lymph nodes (LNs) and operative time. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the medical records and the CT scans of 597 patients with gastric cancer who underwent laparoscopy assisted distal gastrectomy (LADG) with partial omentectomy and LN dissection (>D1 plus beta). Patients were stratified by gender, VFA, and body mass index (BMI), and the clinicopathologic characteristics and operative outcomes were evaluated. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to assess the effects of VFA and BMI on the number of retrieved LNs and operative time in male and female patients. Results The mean number of retrieved LNs was significantly decreased for both male and female patients with high VFA. The operative time was significantly longer for both male and female patients with high VFA. The number of retrieved LNs had a statistically significant negative correlation with VFA in both men and women, but not with BMI. The operative time had a statistically significant positive correlation with VFA in men, whereas the operative time had a statistically significant positive correlation with BMI in women. Conclusion The preoperative VFA of male patients with gastric cancer who undergo LADG may affect the number of retrieved LNs and operative time. VFA was more useful than BMI for predicting outcomes of LADG.
Burst-Polling-Based Dynamic Bandwidth Allocation Using Adaptive Minimum Guaranteed Bandwidth for EPONs

The enhanced burst-polling dynamic bandwidth allocation (EBDBA) method is proposed to support broadband access networks based on quality of service for Ethernet passive optical networks (EPONs). EBDBA adaptively increases or decreases the minimum guaranteed bandwidth of the three traffic clasess¿expedited forwarding (EF), assured forwarding (AF), and best effort (BE) traffic¿according to the requested bandwidth of an optical network unit. Therefore, network resources are efficiently utilized and adaptively allocated to the three traffic classes for unbalanced traffic conditions. Simulation results using OPNET show that EBDBA outperforms conventional bandwidth allocation schemes in terms of the average packet delay (it decreases the maximum performance range to 68%) and the network throughput (it increases the maximum performance range to 20%) at a given offered load of 1.2.
Spatial projection of Tachycardia electrograms for morphology discrimination in implantable cardioverter defibrillators

Discrimination of Ventricular Tachycardia (VT) from Supra-Ventricular Tachycardia (SVT) remains a major challenge for appropriate therapy delivery in Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators (ICDs), especially in single chamber devices. We propose here a new discrimination algorithm that analyzes, with a machine learning approach, the morphology of a two-dimensional representation of both a far-field and a near-field ventricular sensing channel. Features extracted from this representation allow comparisons between curves. Thus, arrhythmia discrimination is performed by comparing an arrhythmia curve to a reference curve. A statistical classifier was trained on a private database and tested on the standard Ann Arbor Electrogram Libraries. Our discrimination algorithm demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity for VT/SVT discrimination. The requirements of this algorithm make it appropriate for implementation in the simplest ICD system.
Remote Sensing based estimation of potential terrestrial carbon stocks in West Africa

Climate change, initiated by increasing greenhouse gas emissions leads to serious ecological and economic problems especially in developing countries. The potential carbon sinks are analyzed by a combination of different remote sensing based products for three countries (Ghana, Togo, Burkina Faso). In order to derive these information, the following analysis need to be done: Firstly, the net primary productivity was estimated on a regional scale based on MODIS 250 m time series. Secondly, the actual land cover was classified with medium spatial resolution based on multi scale analysis with in situ, Landsat and MODIS data. Thirdly, the potential vegetation was modeled with abiotic factors, whereas land cover of protected areas was used as training data. Based on a combination of these datasets a balance of potential carbon sinks could be estimated over a time period of 100 years. Due to decreasing soil fertility, the potential of emission trading could be an alternative source of income in parts of