Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
End-to-end learning for dimensional emotion recognition from physiological signals

Dimensional emotion recognition from physiological signals is a highly challenging task. Common methods rely on hand-crafted features that do not yet provide the performance necessary for real-life application. In this work, we exploit a series of convolutional and recurrent neural networks to predict affect from physiological signals, such as electrocardiogram and electrodermal activity, directly from the raw time representation. The motivation behind this so-called end-to-end approach is that, ultimately, the network learns an intermediate representation of the physiological signals that better suits the task at hand. Experimental evaluations show that, this very first study on end-to-end learning of emotion based on physiology, yields significantly better performance in comparison to existing work on the challenging RECOLA database, which includes fully spontaneous affective behaviors displayed during naturalistic interactions. Furthermore, we gain better understanding of the models' inner representations, by demonstrating that some cells' activations in the convolutional network are correlated to a large extent with hand-crafted features.
Comparative seed germination traits in alpine and subalpine grasslands: higher elevations are associated with warmer germination temperatures.

Seed germination traits in alpine grasslands are poorly understood, despite the sensitivity of these communities to climate change. We hypothesise that germination traits predict species occurrence along the alpine-subalpine elevation gradient. Phylogenetic comparative analyses were performed using fresh seeds of 22 species from alpine and subalpine grasslands (1600-2400 m) of the Cantabrian Mountains, Spain (43° N, 5° W). Laboratory experiments were conducted to characterise germinability, optimum germination temperature and effect of cold and warm stratification on dormancy breaking. Variability in these traits was reduced by phylogenetic principal component analysis (phyl.PCA). Phylogenetic generalised least squares regression (PGLS) was used to fit a model in which species average elevation was predicted from their position on the PCA axes. Most subalpine species germinated in snow-like conditions, whereas most alpine species needed accumulation of warm temperatures. Phylogenetic signal was low. PCA1 ordered species according to overall germinability, whilst PCA2 ordered them according to preference for warm or cold germination. PCA2 significantly predicted species occurrence in the alpine-subalpine gradient, as higher elevation species tended to have warmer germination preferences. Our results show that germination traits in high-mountain grasslands are closely linked to the alpine-subalpine gradient. Alpine species, especially those from stripped and wind-edge communities, prefer warmer germination niches, suggesting that summer emergence prevents frost damage during seedling establishment. In contrast, alpine snowfield and subalpine grassland plants have cold germination niches, indicating that winter emergence may occur under snow to avoid drought stress.
EEG-fMRI Gradient Artifact Correction by Multiple Motion-Related Templates

Objectives: In simultaneous electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), artifacts on the EEG arise from the switching of magnetic field gradients in the MR scanner. These artifacts depend on head position, and are, therefore, difficult to remove in the presence of subject motion. In this study, gradient artifacts are modeled by multiple templates extracted from externally recorded motion information. Methods: Gradient artifact correction was performed in EEG-fMRI recordings by estimating artifactual templates modulated by slowly varying splines, as well as head position information. The EEG signal quality was then compared following two common methods: averaged artifact subtraction (AAS) and optimal basis sets (OBS). Results: Artifact correction using multiple templates estimated from splines or motion time courses outperformed the existing AAS and OBS approaches, as quantified by root-mean-square power across gradient epochs. Improvements were mostly seen in posterior EEG channels, where most of the residual artifacts are seen following the AAS and OBS methods. Residual spectral power was comparable to that of EEG signals recorded without fMRI scanning. Conclusion: Gradient artifacts can be well modeled by multiple templates estimated from head position information, resulting in an effective artifact removal. Significance: This method can facilitate EEG-fMRI of uncooperative subjects in whom motion is inevitable, for example, to investigate high-frequency EEG activity in which gradient artifacts are particularly prominent.
Phase-sensitive inversion-recovery MR imaging in the detection of myocardial infarction.

PURPOSE To prospectively determine if phase-sensitive inversion-recovery (IR) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging eliminates the need to find the precise inversion time (TI) to null the signal of normal myocardium to achieve high contrast between infarcted and normal myocardium. MATERIALS AND METHODS Informed consent was obtained from each patient for this prospective MR imaging research study, which was approved by the institutional review board. Twenty patients (16 men; four women; mean age, 56 years +/- 12.3) who experienced Q-wave myocardial infarction 2 weeks earlier were examined with a 1.5-T MR system 10 minutes after administration of 0.1 mmol per kilogram of body weight gadobenate dimeglumine. To determine the optimal TI, a TI scout sequence was used. A segmented two-dimensional IR turbo fast low-angle shot (FLASH) sequence and a segmented two-dimensional IR true fast imaging with steady-state precession (FISP) sequence that produces both phase-sensitive and magnitude-reconstructed images were used at TI values of 200-600 msec (TI values were varied in 100-msec steps) and at optimal TI (mean value, 330 msec). Contrast-to-noise ratios (CNRs) of normal and infarcted myocardium and the area of infarcted myocardium were determined. Magnitude-reconstructed IR turbo FLASH images were compared with magnitude-reconstructed and phase-sensitive IR true FISP images. Two-tailed unpaired sample Student t test was used to compare CNRs, and two-tailed paired-sample Student t test was used to compare area of infarction. RESULTS Mean CNR of images acquired with IR turbo FLASH and IR true FISP (phase-sensitive and magnitude-reconstructed images) at optimal TI (mean value, 330 msec) were 6.6, 6.2, and 6.1, respectively. For a TI of 200 msec, CNR values were -4.3, -4.0, and 7.2, respectively; for TI of 600 msec, CNR values were 3.1, 3.3, and 4.3, respectively. Area of infarcted myocardium was underestimated on magnitude-reconstruction images (P = .002-.03) for short TI values (ie, 200 msec) for both sequences and for a TI of 300 msec for IR true FISP but not on phase-sensitive reconstructed IR true FISP images when compared with IR turbo FLASH images obtained at optimal TI. CONCLUSION Phase-sensitive image reconstruction results in reduced need for precise choice of TI and more consistent image quality.
Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Korean Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease: Exploratory Factor Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory

Background/Aims: We designed this study to examine subsyndromes in Korean patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Methods: Initial participants were 778 AD patients recruited from the Clinical Research Center for Dementia of South Korea and assessed via the Korean Neuropsychiatric Inventory. Those with ≧1 neuropsychiatric symptom were randomly divided into groups. Principal axis factoring with oblimin rotation was used to analyze group 1 inventory results, and maximum likelihood estimation extraction with Bollen-Stine bootstrapping was used for group 2. Results: The results of the EFA showed the presence of 4 subsyndromes: hyperactivity, affect, psychosis and apathy/vegetative symptom. The CFA results indicated this model was the best-fitting model for explaining these subsyndromes. Conclusion: Our model showed the best fit and identified 4 subsyndromes. This study might contribute to a clearer understanding of the neuropsychiatric symptoms in AD.
Negotiating the Hard/Soft Law Divide in Business and Human Rights: The Implementation of the UNGPs in the European Union

The article discusses the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) in the European Union against the backdrop of perennial debates between proponents of ‘hard’ versus ‘soft’ law approaches to preventing and redressing corporate-related human rights violations. It argues that the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) – an EU governance instrument of transnational policy-making – could contribute to negotiating the hard/soft law divide in business and human rights by ensuring a more effective implementation of the UNGPs in the European legal space. Moreover, the European experience with open coordination calls for a reappraisal of the relationship between international law and global governance in addressing today’s business and human rights predicament. The first part of the article situates the debate between proponents of ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ law approaches to business and human rights in the context of two UN-driven initiatives: the development of national action plans (NAPs) to implement the UNGPs; and the negotiation of an international business and human rights treaty. The second part of the article relates experiences with the existing NAP process in the European Union to the policy background and rationale of the Open Method of Coordination and discusses the conditions for its successful employment in the business and human rights domain.
Impact of Pre-University Factors on the Motivation and Performance of Undergraduate Students in Software Engineering

The significant number of fails and dropouts in computing undergraduate courses, especially in mathematics and programming, remains a challenge. Although the motivation can be directly related to the success of the student, it has only been addressed by a few studies. The purpose in this paper is to assess the impact of factors prior to university on the performance and motivation of undergraduate freshmen students in Software Engineering. Questionnaires were applied to students, and their grades on introduction to programming (CS101) and discrete mathematics (MAT101) were analyzed. Using statistical analysis of variance and correlation, we identified that motivation was impacted only by "knowledge and previous experience in programming". Performance was impacted by "previous scholar knowledge", "way to access university", "age" and "taste/knowledge of the area". We identified as well, unlike other studies, that the initial motivation had no impact on students' performance.
Eastern Caribbean Circulation and Island Mass Effect on St. Croix, US Virgin Islands: A Mechanism for Relatively Consistent Recruitment Patterns

The northeastern Caribbean Sea is under the seasonal influence of the Trade Winds but also of the Orinoco/Amazon freshwater plume. The latter is responsible for intensification of the Caribbean Current in general and of its eddy activity in the northern part of the Caribbean Sea. More importantly, we show in this study that the front of the freshwater plume drives a northward flow that impinges directly on the island of St. Croix in the United States Virgin Islands. The angle of incidence of the incoming flow controls the nature of the wake on both sides and ends of the island, which changes from cyclonic to anticylonic wake flow, with either attached or shed eddies. Using an off-line bio-physical model, we simulated the dispersal and recruitment of an abundant Caribbean coral reef fish, the bluehead wrasse (Thalassoma bifasciatum) in the context of the wake flow variability around St. Croix. Our results revealed the role played by the consistent seasonal forcing of the wake flow on the recruitment patterns around the island at the interannual scale. The interannual variability of the timing of arrival and northward penetration of the plume instead controls the nature of the wake, hence the regional spatial recruitment patterns.
Time-varying equity market integration in South East Asia and tests of the ICAPM

I test the conditional international CAPM using 1990–2003 data for nine South-East Asian markets. Previous research has concluded that conditional ICAPM fails to explain expected returns in emerging markets. I argue that this is due to variations in the degree of integration among industry or size components of local equity portfolios. To test this hypothesis, I construct country, industry and market capitalisation portfolios and test the conditional ICAPM separately for each portfolio. The ICAPM is rejected more often for industries which produce mainly locally-traded outputs and for smaller market capitalisation portfolios. [Continues. ]
Electricity price forecasting: A hybrid wavelet transform and evolutionary- ANN approach

In a restructured power market, the forecasting of price of electricity has drawn attention of researchers for an accurate forecasting of the electricity price. Electricity price forecast provides important information to the electricity market managers and participants. However, electricity price is a complex signal due to its non-linear, non-stationary, and time variant behavior. In spite of performed research in this area, more accurate and robust price forecast methods are still required. In this article a novel technique has been proposed to forecast the electricity prices using wavelet transform and a Feed-Forward Neural Network trained by a Meta heuristic algorithm i.e. Invasive Weed Optimization technique (IWO). The wavelet transform has been used to decompose ill-behaved price series in a set of better constitutive series. Here we have used the data of electricity market of Australia in year 2005 and the reported results have been compared with the ANN, trained by back propagation algorithm.
Pharmacodynamics and Biodistribution of Single-Dose Liposomal Amphotericin B at Different Stages of Experimental Visceral Leishmaniasis

ABSTRACT Visceral leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease that causes significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Characterization of the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of antileishmanial drugs in preclinical models is important for drug development and use. Here we investigated the pharmacodynamics and drug distribution of liposomal amphotericin B (AmBisome) in Leishmania donovani-infected BALB/c mice at three different dose levels and two different time points after infection. We additionally compared drug levels in plasma, liver, and spleen in infected and uninfected BALB/c mice over time. At the highest administered dose of 10 mg/kg AmBisome, >90% parasite inhibition was observed within 2 days after drug administration, consistent with drug distribution from blood to tissue within 24 h and a fast rate of kill. Decreased drug potency was observed in the spleen when AmBisome was administered on day 35 after infection, compared to day 14 after infection. Amphotericin B concentrations and total drug amounts per organ were lower in liver and spleen when AmBisome was administered at the advanced stage of infection and compared to those in uninfected BALB/c mice. However, the magnitude of difference was lower when total drug amounts per organ were estimated. Differences were also noted in drug distribution to L. donovani-infected livers and spleens. Taken together, our data suggest that organ enlargement and other pathophysiological factors cause infection- and organ-specific drug distribution and elimination after administration of single-dose AmBisome to L. donovani-infected mice. Plasma drug levels were not reflective of changes in drug levels in tissues.
Application of Metal-Organic Framework Nano-MIL-100(Fe) for Sustainable Release of Doxycycline and Tetracycline

Nanostructures of MIL-100 were synthesized and used as a drug delivery platform for two members of the Tetracycline family. Doxycycline monohydrate (DOX) and Tetracycline hydrochloride (TC) were loaded separately on nano-MIL-100 (nanoparticles of drug@carrier were abbreviated as DOX@MIL-100 and TC@MIL-100). Characterizations were carried out using FT-IR, XRD, BET, DLS, and SEM. The FT-IR spectra revealed that the drugs were loaded into the framework of the carrier. The XRD patterns of DOX@MIL-100 and TC@MIL-100 indicated that no free DOX or TC were present. It could be concluded that the drugs are well dispersed into the pores of nano-MIL-100. The microporosity of the carrier was confirmed by BJH data. BET analysis showed a reduction in the free surface for both DOX@MIL-100 and TC@MIL-100. The release of TC and DOX was investigated, and it was revealed that MIL-100 mediated the drug solubility in water, which in turn resulted in a decrease in the release rate of TC (accelerating in DOX case) without lowering the total amount of released drug. After 48 h, 96 percent of the TC was sustain released, which is an unprecedented amount in comparison with other methods.
New estimate of valvuloarterial impedance in aortic valve stenosis: A cardiac magnetic resonance study

Valvuloarterial impedance (ZVA), estimating left ventricle (LV) afterload, has been proposed in transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) as a predictor of mortality in aortic valve stenosis (AVS). However, its calculation differs from arterial characteristic impedance (ZC). Our aim was to apply the concept of ZC calculation to estimate ZVA from MR with carotid tonometry and to evaluate these indices through their associations with symptoms, LV diastolic function and aortic stiffness.
Growth Accelerations Strategies

Setting a country’s structural growth rate on a higher path, i.e. sparking and sustaining a growth acceleration can have quantitatively huge implications for national income and, more broadly, for people’s wellbeing. We develop a novel statistical framework to identify systematically the set of binding constraints that were unlocked before the 135 growth acceleration episodes that took place between 1962 and 2002 worldwide. We employ this information to characterise the acceleration process, which tends to be preceded by a deep recession and major economic policy changes. Once we combined this information with a set of counterfactual analyses, we find however that successful acceleration strategies should not contain off-the-shelf approaches or necessarily all-encompassing “shock therapy” solutions. On the other hand, they call for a careful tailoring to local conditions. Richer countries tend to experience fewer accelerations, but once these have been ignited, they are better positioned to make the most out of them. Despite standard growth determinants doing a fairly good job at characterising successful accelerations, we note how take-offs remain extremely hard to engineer with a high degree of certainty.
Susceptibility Testing of Extensively Drug-Resistant and Pre-Extensively Drug-Resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis against Levofloxacin, Linezolid, and Amoxicillin-Clavulanate

ABSTRACT Pakistan is a high-burden country for tuberculosis (TB). The emergence and increasing incidence of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) TB has been reported in Pakistan. Similarly, the prevalence of multidrug-resistant TB infections with fluoroquinolone resistance (pre-XDR) is also increasing. To treat these infections, local drug susceptibility patterns of alternate antituberculosis agents, including levofloxacin (LVX), linezolid (LZD), and amoxicillin-clavulanate (AMC), is urgently needed. The aim of this study was to determine the susceptibility frequencies of drug-resistant (DR) Mycobacterium tuberculosis against LVX, LZD, and AMC. All susceptibilities were determined on Middlebrook 7H10 agar. A critical concentration was used for LVX (1 μg/ml), whereas MICs were determined for LZD and AMC. M. tuberculosis H37Rv was used as a control strain. A total of 102 M. tuberculosis isolates (XDR, n = 59; pre-XDR, n = 43) were tested. Resistance to LVX was observed in 91.2% (93/102). Using an MIC value of 0.5 μg/ml as a cutoff, resistance to LZD (MIC ≥ 1 μg/ml) was noted in 5.9% (6/102). Although the sensitivity breakpoints are not established for AMC, the MIC values were high (>16 μg/ml) in 97.1% (99/102). Our results demonstrate that LZD may be effective for the treatment of XDR and pre-XDR cases from Pakistan. High resistance rates against LVX in our study suggest the use of this drug with caution for DR-TB cases from this area. Drug susceptibility testing against LVX and AMC may be helpful in complicated and difficult-to-manage cases.
Alkaline treatments to render starch‐based biodegradable polymers self‐mineralizable

The present research aims to develop a new route for surface functionalization of biodegradable polymers. The method is based on a wet chemistry modification, resulting in etching and/or hydrolysis in order to increase the amount of polar groups, such as hydroxyl (OH) and carboxylic (COOH) groups on the surface of the polymer. The polymer used as substrate was a corn starch–ethylene vinyl alcohol biodegradable blend (SEVA‐C). For that purpose it was used in two different types of activation: (a) calcium hydroxide solution [Ca(OH)2] and (b) sodium hydroxide solution (NaOH). These treatments lead to the formation carboxylic acid‐rich SEVA‐C surfaces. Then, the samples were soaked in simulated body fluid (SBF) for different time periods of time until 7 days. After 1 day in SBF, the surface of SEVA‐C was fully covered with spherulite particles. As the soaking time increased, the particles increased and coalesced, leading to the formation of a dense and uniform layer. Furthermore, thin‐film X‐ray diffraction confirms that the layer formed on the surface of the polymer was an apatite‐like layer. These results suggest that this rather simple treatment is a good method for surface functionalization and subsequent mineral nucleation and growth on biodegradable polymeric surfaces to be used for bone‐related applications. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Multiples’ Valuation: The Selection of Cross-Border Comparable Firms

ABSTRACT We studied whether mean industry multiples are similar in Brazil and in the United States. Using multilevel models (hierarchical linear model and additive crossed random-effects model), we concluded that there exists significant variability within firms from the same industry and significant variability between countries (Brazil and United States). The same tests were applied to firms grouped in clusters by similarity of economic fundamentals and we concluded that part of the variability shifts from (a) the variability within firms from the same industry and the variability between countries to (b) the variability between clusters, which is desirable in multiples’ valuation.