Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Core Outcome Set-STAndards for Development: The COS-STAD recommendations

Background The use of core outcome sets (COS) ensures that researchers measure and report those outcomes that are most likely to be relevant to users of their research. Several hundred COS projects have been systematically identified to date, but there has been no formal quality assessment of these studies. The Core Outcome Set-STAndards for Development (COS-STAD) project aimed to identify minimum standards for the design of a COS study agreed upon by an international group, while other specific guidance exists for the final reporting of COS development studies (Core Outcome Set-STAndards for Reporting [COS-STAR]). Methods and findings An international group of experienced COS developers, methodologists, journal editors, potential users of COS (clinical trialists, systematic reviewers, and clinical guideline developers), and patient representatives produced the COS-STAD recommendations to help improve the quality of COS development and support the assessment of whether a COS had been developed using a reasonable approach. An open survey of experts generated an initial list of items, which was refined by a 2-round Delphi survey involving nearly 250 participants representing key stakeholder groups. Participants assigned importance ratings for each item using a 1–9 scale. Consensus that an item should be included in the set of minimum standards was defined as at least 70% of the voting participants from each stakeholder group providing a score between 7 and 9. The Delphi survey was followed by a consensus discussion with the study management group representing multiple stakeholder groups. COS-STAD contains 11 minimum standards that are the minimum design recommendations for all COS development projects. The recommendations focus on 3 key domains: the scope, the stakeholders, and the consensus process. Conclusions The COS-STAD project has established 11 minimum standards to be followed by COS developers when planning their projects and by users when deciding whether a COS has been developed using reasonable methods.
New Architecture of Optical Interconnect for High-Speed Optical Computerized Data Networks ( Nonlinear Response )

Although research into the use of optics in computers has increased in the last and current decades, the fact remains that electronics is still superior to optics in almost every way. Research into the use of optics at this stage mirrors the research into electronics after the 2 World War. The advantages of using fiber optics over wiring are the same as the argument for using optics over electronics in computers. Even through totally optical computers are now a reality, computers that combine both electronics and optics, electro-optic hybrids, have been in use for some time. In the present paper, architecture of optical interconnect is built up on the bases of four Vertical-Cavity SurfaceEmitting Laser Diodes (VCSELD) and two optical links where thermal effects of both the diodes and the links are included. Nonlinear relations are correlated to investigate the power-current and the voltage-current dependences of the four devices. The good performance (high speed) of the interconnect is deeply and parametrically investigated under wide ranges of the affecting parameters. The high speed performance is processed through three different effects, namely the device 3-dB bandwidth, the link dispersion characteristics, and the transmitted bit rate (soliton). Eight combinations are investigated; each possesses its own characteristics. The best architecture is the one composed of VCSELD that operates at 850 nm and the silica fiber whatever the operating set of causes. This combination possesses the largest device 3-dB bandwidth, the largest link bandwidth and the largest soliton transmitted bit rate. The increase of the ambient temperature reduces the high-speed performance of the interconnect
An Approximate Inference Approach to Temporal Optimization in Optimal Control

Algorithms based on iterative local approximations present a practical approach to optimal control in robotic systems. However, they generally require the temporal parameters (for e.g. the movement duration or the time point of reaching an intermediate goal) to be specified a priori. Here, we present a methodology that is capable of jointly optimizing the temporal parameters in addition to the control command profiles. The presented approach is based on a Bayesian canonical time formulation of the optimal control problem, with the temporal mapping from canonical to real time parametrised by an additional control variable. An approximate EM algorithm is derived that efficiently optimizes both the movement duration and control commands offering, for the first time, a practical approach to tackling generic via point problems in a systematic way under the optimal control framework. The proposed approach, which is applicable to plants with non-linear dynamics as well as arbitrary state dependent and quadratic control costs, is evaluated on realistic simulations of a redundant robotic plant.
Osteoporosis, jawbones and periodontal disease

The association between osteoporosis and jawbones remains an argument of debate. Both osteoporosis and periodontal diseases are bone resorptive diseases; it has been hypothesized that osteoporosis could be a risk factor for the progression of periodontal disease and vice versa. Hypothetical models linking the two conditions exist: in particular, it is supposed that the osteoporosis-related bone mass density reduction may accelerate alveolar bone resorption caused by periodontitis, resulting in a facilitated periodontal bacteria invasion. Invading bacteria, in turn, may alter the normal homeostasis of bone tissue, increasing osteoclastic activity and reducing local and systemic bone density by both direct effects (release of toxins) and/or indirect mechanisms (release of inflammatory mediators). Current evidence provides conflicting results due to potential biases related to study design, samples size and endpoints. The aim of this article is to review and summarize the published literature on the associations between osteoporosis and different oral conditions such as bone loss in the jaws, periodontal diseases, and tooth loss. Further well-controlled studies are needed to better elucidate the inter-relationship between systemic and oral bone loss and to clarify whether dentists could usefully provide early warning for osteoporosis risk. Key words:Osteoporosis, periodontitis, oral bone loss, tooth loss, edentulism, bone mineral density.
Decentralized Control for Second-Order Uncertain Nonlinear Multi-agent Systems Consensus Problem Based on Fuzzy Adaptive High-Gain Observer

A novel decentralized control approach for second-order uncertain nonlinear multi-agent systems is presented. The communication topology of the multi-agent system that describes completely unknown nonlinear dynamics and unmeasured states is described by a directed graph. The proposed decentralized control algorithm is developed based on high-gain observer theory and fuzzy adaptive control algorithm. The high-gain observer is introduced to estimate the agents' unmeasured states. The fuzzy logic systems are used as the approximator to deal with the nonlinear unknown dynamics. By the Lyapunov theory and consensus analysis, we can prove the consensus errors and the observer errors can be reduced as small as desired by choosing the appropriate design parameters. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed approach is illustrated by the simulation example.
On-line Speech Enhancement by Time-Frequency Masking under Prior Knowledge of Source Location

This paper presents the source extraction system which can extract only target signals with constraints on source localization in on-line systems. The proposed system is a kind of methods for enhancing a target signal and suppressing other interference signals. But, the performance of proposed system is superior to any other methods and the extraction of target source is comparatively complete. The method has a beamforming concept and uses an improved time-frequency (TF) mask-based BSS algorithm to separate a target signal from multiple noise sources. The target sources are assumed to be in front and test data was recorded in a reverberant room. The experimental results of the proposed method was evaluated by the PESQ score of real-recording sentences and showed a noticeable speech enhancement. Keywords—Beamforming, Non-stationary noise reduction, Source separation, TF mask.
Comparisons between the 2012 New CKD-EPI (Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration) Equations and Other Four Approved Equations

Objective The Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) reported two equations in 2012: one based on cystatin C concentration (CKD-EPI2012cys) and the other using both serum creatinine and cystatin C concentrations (CKD-EPI2012Scr-cys). We compared the adaptability of new formulae with other four equations. Methods Participants (n = 788; median age, 54 [range, 19–94] years) were recruited from the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University. The reference glomerular filtration rate (rGFR) was measured by a 99mTc-DTPA renal dynamic imaging method, and the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was calculated separately by the Chinese adapted Modification of Diet in Renal Disease equation (C-MDRD), MacIsaac, Ma, serum creatinine-based CKD-EPI equation (CKD-EPI2009Scr), CKD-EPI2012cys and CKD-EPI2012Scr-cys equations. We compared the performance of six equations with rGFR. Results Median rGFR was 76.35 (interquartile range, 59.03–92.50) mL/min/1.73 m2. Compared with CKD-EPI2009Scr, CKD-EPI2012Scr-cys formula had better diagnostic value with larger area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROCAUC, 0.879, p = 0.006), especially in young participants (ROCAUC, 0.883, p = 0.005). CKD-EPI2012cys equation did not perform better than other available equations. Accuracy (the proportion of eGFR within 30% of rGFR [P30]) of the CKD-EPI2012Scr-cys equation (77.03%) was inferior only to MacIsaac equation (80.2%) in the entire participants, but performed best in young participants with normal or mildly-injured GFR. Neither of the two new CKD-EPI equations achieved any ideal P30 in the elderly participants with moderately-severely injured GFR. Linear regression analysis demonstrated a consistent result. In this study, CKD-EPI2012Scr-cys had a relatively better diagnosis consistency of GFR stage between the eGFR and rGFR in the whole cohort. Conclusion CKD-EPI2012Scr-cys appeared less biased and more accurate in overall participants. Neither of the new CKD-EPI equations achieved ideal accuracy in senior participants with moderately-severely injured GFR. A large-scale study with more subjects and cooperating centers to develop new formulae for the elderly is assumed to be necessary.
LISP-Views: Monitoring LISP at Large Scale

The Locator/Identifier Separation Protocol (LISP) separates classical IP addresses into two categories: one for identifying terminals, the other for routing. To associate identifiers and locators LISP needs a specific mechanism, called mapping system. This technology is still at an early stage but two experimental platforms have already been deployed in the Internet: LISP Beta Network and LISP-Lab. However, only the LISP Beta Network is monitored with LISPmon that partially monitors the mapping system once a day. To accompany the growth of LISP, a dynamic and complete monitoring system is required. Therefore, we propose LISP-Views, a dynamic versatile large scale LISP monitoring architecture. LISP-Views allows to automatically conduct comprehensive and objective measurements. After running LISP-Views in the wild for several months and comparing the monitoring results with LISPmon, we confirm that LISP-Views provides more detailed and accurate information. We observe the different behaviours between every network entity within mapping system, and also explore the current LISP performance for further improvements.
Part-of-Speech ( POS ) Tagging Revisited

Accurate part-of-speech (POS) tagging of natural language text data can add power to automated information retrieval and extraction. Brill's transformation-based learning (TBL) approach to automated POS tagging was introduced in 1992, combining virtues of rule-based and stochastic methods. Brill's innovative idea was to use machine learning techniques to search through all of rule space for the most effective rules for tagging ambiguous tokens based on their contexts, but this is computationally infeasible. Typical heuristic patches used in Brill tagging to reduce rule space to tractable sizes seem arbitrary, unempirical, and weak. Now faster hardware and powerful public domain machine learning software offer an opportunity to revisit POS tagging with improved tools. This paper examines TBL and "shotgun" POS tagging using the Weka J48 classifier on text corpora from different genre domains.
Noise analysis of a capacitor-to-voltage converter with a zoom-in technique

We report the noise analysis of a capacitor to voltage converter (CVC) with a zoom-in concept, used as a first stage in capacitive sensor interfaces for measuring very small capacitance variations. We will show that the zoom-in concept introduced in the first stage can not only relax the resolution requirement of the following stages, i.e. an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), but it can also increase the resolution of the capacitor to voltage converter itself. It will be also proven that, for a given measurement time, the resolution of the input stage of the CVC is independent of the load capacitor. This is true both with and without zoom-in technique. This finding can make the design of the complete system more flexible. We will show that such a system is very efficient for high resolution displacement measurement, based on a capacitive sensor system.
Simple Pricing Schemes For Consumers With Evolving Values

We consider a pricing problem where a buyer is interested in purchasing/using a good, such as an app or music or software, repeatedly over time. The consumer discovers his value for the good only as he uses it, and the value evolves with each use. Optimizing for the seller's revenue in such dynamic settings is a complex problem and requires assumptions about how the buyer behaves before learning his future value(s), and in particular, how he reacts to risk. We explore the performance of a class of pricing mechanisms that are extremely simple for both the buyer and the seller to use: the buyer reacts to prices myopically without worrying about how his value evolves in the future; the seller needs to optimize for revenue over a space of only two parameters, and can do so without knowing the buyer's risk profile or fine details of the value evolution process. We present simple-versus-optimal type results, namely that under certain assumptions, simple pricing mechanisms of the above form are approximately optimal regardless of the buyer's risk profile. Our results assume that the buyer's value per usage evolves as a martingale. For our main result, we consider pricing mechanisms in which the seller offers the product for free for a certain number of uses, and then charges an appropriate fixed price per usage. We assume that the buyer responds by buying the product for as long as his value exceeds the fixed price. Importantly, the buyer does not need to know anything about how his future value will evolve, only how much he wants to use the product right now. Regardless of the buyers' initial value, our pricing captures as revenue a constant fraction of the total value that the buyers accumulate in expectation over time.
The Shaming of Sexual Offenders: Risk, Retribution and Reintegration

Winner of the 2008 British Society of Criminology Book Prize Sex offenders, particularly those who offend against children, feature prominently in contemporary law and order debates. Child sexual abuse is a small component of the broader category of 'gendered and sexualised violence' which causes significant trauma for victims yet continues to evade conventional approaches to justice. This is evidenced not only by the low number of prosecutions, due mostly to low levels of reporting and evidential difficulties at trial, but also by the failure of the justice system to prevent re-offending, largely due to the limited availability and effectiveness of prison treatment programmes. Following Braithwaite's dichotomy of 'reintegrative' and 'disintegrative' shaming, this book argues that contemporary popular and state-led responses to the risk posed by sex offenders are largely disintegrative in nature. At best, the offender may be labelled, stigmatised and ostracised from the community, while at worst, he may be subjected to violence and vigilante action and ultimately return to offending behaviour. The failure of these retributive responses means there is considerable scope for exploring alternative forms of justice and their potential for improving the outcome for victims, offenders and communities affected by sexual offences. This book examines the controversy of whether restorative justice can be applied to child sexual abuse as one of the most intractable of contemporary societal problems, and if so, what special considerations might apply. Although restorative schemes with sex offenders are in short supply, a few initiatives have developed in Canada and parts of the United States which have effected significant benefits in 'reintegrative shaming. ' The book examines whether such ad hoc schemes may be of general application with child sexual abuse and whether they may be implemented on a more holistic basis.
ESTIMATION OF TOKEN BUCKET PARAMETERS FOR VIDEOCONFERENCING SYSTEMS IN CORPORATE NETWORKS

In this paper we examine bandwidth requirements of videoconferencing systems in corporate networks. Based on extensive measurements with different H.323 applications under various conditions, important statistical traffic properties are determined. In particular, we estimate token bucket parameters and calculate effective bit rates according to the Guaranteed Service approach specified by the IETF in the Integrated Services Architecture. Finally, we evaluate the theoretical results through simulations using the obtained traces as traffic input.
Monitoring Software Security Requirements using Instrumented Code

Ideally, software is derived from requirements whose properties have been established as good. However, it is difficult to define and analyze requirements. Moreover, derivation of software from requirements is error prone. Finally, the installation and use of complied software can introduce errors. Thus, it can be difficult to provide assurances about the state of a software's execution. We present a framework to monitor requirements of software as it executes. The framework is general, and allows for automated support. In this paper, we introduced the framework, and show how Java code can be instrumented and monitored by a model checker. We illustrate our current automated support using the widely known problem of the Dinning Philosophers. From this exemplar, we suggest how the approach may be applied to address security concerns such as those that arise during e-commerce transactions.
Dynamics of organizational change and learning

About the Editor. About the Contributors. Series Preface. Preface. Acknowledgements. Introduction (Jaap Boonstra). PART I: FUNDAMENTALS AND PRACTICES IN ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT. 1. Organization Development and Change: Foundations and Applications (Thomas Cummings). 2. Open Systems Theory: Implications for Development and Learning (Merrelyn Emery). 3. Organizing Change Processes: Cornerstones, Methods, and Strategies (Morten Levin). 4. Art and Wisdom in Choosing Change Strategies: A Critical Reflection (Marc Buelens and Geert Devos). PART II: DESIGNING AND ORGANIZING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE. 5. Change Architecture: Designing and Organizing the Process of Change (Colin Carnall). 6. Managing Change Successfully: Core Questions, Issues, and Strategies (Klaus Doppler). 7. Organizational Change: Strategies and Interventions (Elise Walton and Michael Russell). 8. Dilemmas and Paradoxes in Organizing Change Processes: A Critical Reflection (Luc Hoebeke). PART III: ORGANIZING, CHANGI NG, AND LEARNING IN AMBIGUOUS CONTEXTS. 9. Organizational Change and Development: Episodic and Continuous Changing (Karl Weick and Robert Quinn). 10. Thinking about Change in Different Colours: Multiplicity in Change Processes (Leeon de Caluwe and Hans Vermaak). 11. Beyond Implementation: Co-creation in Change and Development (Andre Wierdsma). 12. ChangeWorks: A Critical Construction (Dian Marie Hosking). PART IV: POWER DYNAMICS AND ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE. 13. Power Dynamics in Organizational Change: A Multi-perspective Approach (Patricia Bradshaw and Jaap Boonstra). 14. Interactions inOrganizational Change: Using InfluenceTactics to Initiate Change (Gary Yukl). 15. Power and Collaboration: Methodologies for Working Together in Change (Kilian Bennebroek Gravenhorst and Roeland in 't Veld). 16. Power and Change: A Critical Reflection (Cynthia Hardy and Stewart Clegg). PART V: LEARNING AND DEVELOPING FOR SUSTAINABLE CHANGE. 17. Learning in Organizations: Schools of Thought and Current Challenges (Alfons Sauquet). 18. Double-loop Learning and Organizational Change: Facilitating Transformational Change (Chris Argyris). 19. Learning and Sustainable Change: Designing Learning Spaces (Gerhard Smid and Ronald Beckett). 20. Knowledge, Learning, and Organizational Embeddedness: A Critical Reflection (Alice Lam). Conclusion: Some Reflections and Perspectives on Organizing, Changing, and Learning (Jaap Boonstra). Index.
Opportunity spin-offs and necessity spin-offs

This paper proposes a new distinction between two types of spin-offs, which is based on the events triggering spin-off formation. Spin-offs induced by newly discovered opportunities are distinguished from necessity spin-offs organised to escape deteriorating job conditions. An empirical analysis of spin-offs in the German laser industry traces differences in the performance and determinants of the two spin-off types. Necessity spin-offs are important to limit the devaluation of individual human capital by the competitive market process.
A compact tunable notched-band ultra-wide-band antenna using a varactor diode

Based on a proposed compact ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna, a varactor diode with capacitance range from 1.5pF to 5.5pF is used to realize the tunable notched-band feature of the antenna in this paper. After installing the varactor diode, not only are many primary attractive features remained, but also the antenna shows a good performance in and out of band. At last, Antenna prototype are fabricated and measured on a low-cost two-side printed circuit board and the measured results show that the antenna prototype can provide an operating bandwidth from 3.6-11GHz, except for the rejected bands.
Influence of learning styles, gender, self-rated computer experience, and age on preference for computer assisted learning versus traditional learning

Conceptualization Figure 1. Kolb’s Experiential Learning model. Adapted from Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development (p. 42), by D. Kolb, 1984, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Copyright 1984 by Prentice Hall. Adapted permission pending. group activities; the Convergers who have AE and AC tendencies have been found to possess tremendous problem-solving skills, to follow detailed sequential steps, have controlled emotions, and prefer dealing with technical skills over social issues; and the Assimilators who possess AE and RO tendencies most often have well-developed thinking skills, value precision and logical soundness, and are good at organizing information and inductive reasoning (Kolb, 1984; Buch & Bartley 2002; Santo, n.d.). The instrument developed to categorize learning styles based on Kolb’s ELM is the Learning Style Inventory (LSI). The current version is a 12-question self-report survey. For each question a participant ranks four sentence endings, each ending