Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Obstetric maternal outcomes at Bella Coola General Hospital: 1940 to 2001.

OBJECTIVE To describe obstetric procedures (episiotomy, forceps, vacuum extraction, caesarean section) and maternal outcomes for patients who gave birth in an isolated, rural hospital. DESIGN A retrospective cohort study. STUDY POPULATION Women beyond 20 weeks' gestation who gave birth between Mar. 7, 1940, and June 9, 2001, inclusive, at the Bella Coola General Hospital (BCGH). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Data collected included maternal age, date of delivery, mode of delivery (vaginal delivery v. cesarean section), whether an episiotomy was performed or not, if forceps or vacuum extraction were used, whether analgesia, sedation or anesthesia was used, and maternal mortality. RESULTS There were 2373 deliveries, including 12 sets of twins. There were no maternal mortalities. Cesarean sections were not routinely performed until the 1970s. Since then, there has been an increase in cesarean section rates to 11% of all deliveries in the 1990s. In the 1940s 28% of deliveries involved an episiotomy. This increased to 47% in the 1970s and was followed by a sharp decline to 4% in the 1990s. There was an increase, followed by a more gradual decrease in the use of forceps, and there was a recent increase in the use of vacuum extraction. The changes in procedure rates appear to reflect best practice guidelines of the times. In the case of episiotomies, the data suggest rural physicians are capable of rapid incorporation of recent recommendations. Rates for all procedures tended to be lower than those reported elsewhere in Canada and the United States. Narcotics, sedatives, inhalation agents and regional anesthetics were used to relieve the pain of labour and delivery throughout the study period. CONCLUSIONS Women giving birth in the low technology environment of the BCGH experienced relatively low obstetric procedural rates with excellent maternal outcomes.
Structural contributions to fibrillatory rotors in a patient-derived computational model of the atria.

AIMS The aim of this study was to investigate structural contributions to the maintenance of rotors in human atrial fibrillation (AF) and possible mechanisms of termination. METHODS AND RESULTS A three-dimensional human biatrial finite element model based on patient-derived computed tomography and arrhythmia observed at electrophysiology study was used to study AF. With normal physiological electrical conductivity and effective refractory periods (ERPs), wave break failed to sustain reentrant activity or electrical rotors. With depressed excitability, decreased conduction anisotropy, and shorter ERP characteristic of AF, reentrant rotors were readily maintained. Rotors were transiently or permanently trapped by fibre discontinuities on the lateral wall of the right atrium near the tricuspid valve orifice and adjacent to the crista terminalis, both known sites of right atrial arrhythmias. Modelling inexcitable regions near the rotor tip to simulate fibrosis anchored the rotors, converting the arrhythmia to macro-reentry. Accordingly, increasing the spatial core of inexcitable tissue decreased the frequency of rotation, widened the excitable gap, and enabled an external wave to impinge on the rotor core and displace the source. CONCLUSION These model findings highlight the importance of structural features in rotor dynamics and suggest that regions of fibrosis may anchor fibrillatory rotors. Increasing extent of fibrosis and scar may eventually convert fibrillation to excitable gap reentry. Such macro-reentry can then be eliminated by extending the obstacle or by external stimuli that penetrate the excitable gap.
Distinct growth factor-induced dynamic mass redistribution (DMR) profiles for monitoring oncogenic signaling pathways in various cancer cells

Targeting dysregulated signaling pathways in tumors has led to the development of a novel class of signal transduction inhibitors, including inhibitors of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (EGFR). To dissect oncogenic pathways, identify key pathway determinants, and evaluate the efficacy of targeted agents, it is vital to develop technologies that allow the detection of temporal signaling events under physiological conditions. Here we report the application of a label-free optical biosensor to reveal the rapid response of cancer cells to EGF, expressed as a dynamic mass redistribution (DMR) signal. In response to EGF, squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck cells exhibited a rapid rise in DMR signal, whereas lung adenocarcinoma cells showed a biphasic DMR profile, suggesting a cell type-dependent DMR response. Pharmacological studies suggested the importance of EGFR and the phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase pathway in mediating the EGF-induced DMR response. The defined DMR signatures offer a simple yet sensitive tool for evaluating EGFR-targeted agents, as shown with gefitinib and erlotinib. The assay can also be used for cell-based high-throughput screening of EGF pathway inhibitors, as demonstrated by its robust performance in a 384-well plate format (Z′ > 0.5). This technology is applicable to other oncogenic pathways for the discovery of novel therapeutic agents for the treatment of various cancers.
Signal modeling for speaker identification

A large number of parameters, including pitch, LPCC, /spl Delta/LPCC, PARCOR, MFCC, /spl Delta/MFCC, and residual cepstrum (RCEP) were extracted from speech signals and their effectiveness for text-independent speaker identification was evaluated. In addition, the usefulness of two signal processing techniques, preemphasis and cepstral weighting, was also studied. The VQ-based speaker recognition method with codebooks fine-tuned by LVQ algorithm was used. It was shown that both LPCC and MFCC are effective representations, for smaller number of parameters, LPCC representation performs better but is surpassed by MFCC if the analysis order is larger. Pitch is an independent parameter so that it can be used jointly with other spectral features. In an evaluation experiment, the correct identification rate for 112 male speakers with test utterances of less than one second reached 98.2%.
Census Parcels Cropping System Classification from Multitemporal Remote Imagery: A Proposed Universal Methodology

A procedure named CROPCLASS was developed to semi-automate census parcel crop assessment in any agricultural area using multitemporal remote images. For each area, CROPCLASS consists of a) a definition of census parcels through vector files in all of the images; b) the extraction of spectral bands (SB) and key vegetation index (VI) average values for each parcel and image; c) the conformation of a matrix data (MD) of the extracted information; d) the classification of MD decision trees (DT) and Structured Query Language (SQL) crop predictive model definition also based on preliminary land-use ground-truth work in a reduced number of parcels; and e) the implementation of predictive models to classify unidentified parcels land uses. The software named CROPCLASS-2.0 was developed to semi-automatically perform the described procedure in an economically feasible manner. The CROPCLASS methodology was validated using seven GeoEye-1 satellite images that were taken over the LaVentilla area (Southern Spain) from April to October 2010 at 3- to 4-week intervals. The studied region was visited every 3 weeks, identifying 12 crops and others land uses in 311 parcels. The DT training models for each cropping system were assessed at a 95% to 100% overall accuracy (OA) for each crop within its corresponding cropping systems. The DT training models that were used to directly identify the individual crops were assessed with 80.7% OA, with a user accuracy of approximately 80% or higher for most crops. Generally, the DT model accuracy was similar using the seven images that were taken at approximately one-month intervals or a set of three images that were taken during early spring, summer and autumn, or set of two images that were taken at about 2 to 3 months interval. The classification of the unidentified parcels for the individual crops was achieved with an OA of 79.5%.
N-(3,4-Difluorophenyl)-N′-(2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)urea

In the title compound, C15H14F2N2O3, the dihedral angle between the benzene rings is 64.5 (1)°. One F atom is disordered over two meta positions, with occupancy factors of 0.72 and 0.28. In the crystal, molecules are linked by N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds involving two N—H and one C=O groups of the urea central fragment, leading to a supramolecular chain along [011].
The influence of carer fear and self-blame when supporting a loved one with an eating disorder

ABSTRACT Carers often feel disempowered and engage in behaviours that inadvertently enable their loved one’s ED symptoms and yet little is known regarding these processes. This study examined the relationships among fear, self-blame, self-efficacy, and accommodating and enabling behaviours in 137 carers of adolescents and adults with ED. The results revealed that fear and self-blame predicted low carer self-efficacy in supporting their loved one’s recovery as well as the extent to which carers reported engaging in recovery-interfering behaviours. The relevance of these findings are discussed in the context of family-oriented ED therapies and highlight the importance for clinicians to attend to and help to process strong emotions in carers, in order to improve their supportive efforts and, ultimately, ED outcomes.
Eigentextures: An SVD approach to automated paper classification

Eigentextures represent a SVD-based approach to texture classification which can be used in a trained or untrained setting. The method is analyzed by finding a concise relationship between the number of classes and the probability that the correct class will be selected, in terms of the number of comparisons that must be made. Because the method is computationally intensive, a simplified iterative version is suggested that can retain much of the classification power while reducing the computational burden. The advantages and disadvantages of these procedures are investigated in the context of the Historic Photo Paper Classification dataset. One feature of the eigentexture algorithms is that there is an inherent way to estimate the quality of the classification and to locate useful values of the parameters with or without training data.
Probabilistic Terrain Analysis For High-Speed Desert Driving

(cid:151)The ability to perceive and analyze terrain is a key problem in mobile robot navigation. Terrain perception problems arise in planetary robotics, agriculture, mining, and, of course, self-driving cars. Here, we introduce the PTA (probabilistic terrain analysis) algorithm for terrain classi(cid:2)cation with a fast-moving robot platform. The PTA algorithm uses probabilistic techniques to integrate range measurements over time, and relies on ef(cid:2)cient statistical tests for distinguishing drivable from non-drivable terrain. By using probabilistic techniques, PTA is able to accommodate severe errors in sensing, and identify obstacles with nearly 100% accuracy at speeds of up to 35mph. The PTA algorithm was an essential component in the DARPA Grand Challenge, where it enabled our robot Stanley to traverse the entire course in record time.
Capacity Achieving Distributions & Information Lossless Randomized Strategies for Feedback Channels with Memory: The LQG Theory of Directed Information-Part II

A methodology is developed to realized optimal channel input conditional distributions, which maximize the finite-time horizon directed information, for channels with memory and feedback, by information lossless randomized strategies. The methodology is applied to general Time-Varying Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) Gaussian Linear Channel Models (G-LCMs) with memory, subject to average transmission cost constraints of quadratic form. The realizations of optimal distributions by randomized strategies are shown to exhibit a decomposion into a deterministic part and a random part. The decomposition reveals the dual role of randomized strategies, to control the channel output process and to transmit new information over the channels. Moreover, a separation principle is shown between the computation of the optimal deterministic part and the random part of the randomized strategies. The dual role of randomized strategies generalizes the Linear-Quadratic-Gaussian (LQG) stochastic optimal control theory to directed information pay-offs. The characterizations of feedback capacity are obtained from the per unit time limits of finite-time horizon directed information, without imposing \'a priori assumptions, such as, stability of channel models or ergodicity of channel input and output processes. For time-invariant MIMO G-LCMs with memory, it is shown that whether feedback increases capacity, is directly related to the channel parameters and the transmission cost function, through the solutions of Riccati matrix equations, and moreover for unstable channels, feedback capacity is non-zero, provided the power exceeds a critical level.
Symptoms and quality of life in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease treated with aclidinium in a real-life setting

Introduction Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive disease with symptoms that can have a major impact on patients’ physical health. The aim of this study was to evaluate quality of life (QoL), symptom severity and dyspnoea in COPD patients treated with aclidinium up to 24 weeks. Methods In this prospective non-interventional multicentre study (198 centres in Sweden, Denmark, and Norway), COPD patients (age ≥40 years) who started treatment with aclidinium (initial therapy, change of treatment, or add-on therapy) could be included. Health-related QoL was obtained by COPD assessment test (CAT). Symptoms were evaluated on a 6-point Likert scale. The modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) Dyspnoea Scale was used as a simple grading system to assess the level of dyspnoea/shortness of breath from0 to 4. Patients on treatment with aclidinium who completed baseline and at least one follow-up visit (week 12 or 24) were included in the study population. Results Overall, 1,093 patients were enrolled (mean 69 years, 54% females), one-third had ≥1 exacerbation the year prior to baseline. At enrolment, 48% were LAMA naïve. Mean (standard deviation, SD) CAT score decreased from 16.9 (7.7) at baseline to 14.3 (7.3) at week 24 (p<0.01) with a decrease in all individual CAT items (p<0.05). Mean difference in morning and night-time symptoms from baseline to week 24 was −0.60 (SD 2.51) and −0.44 (SD 2.48), respectively (both p<0.001). Mean (SD) mMRC Dyspnoea Scale changed from 1.6 (1.0) at baseline to 1.5 (1.0) at week 24 (p<0.001). Conclusion In this observational study of a Nordic real-life COPD population, treatment with aclidinium was associated with a clinically important improvement in QoL and morning and night-time symptoms, most pronounced in the LAMA naïve group. However, there is still room for improvement in the management of symptomatic COPD patients.
Early Mobilization out of Bed after Ischaemic Stroke Reduces Severe Complications but not Cerebral Blood Flow: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Trial

Objective: To evaluate whether early mobilization after acute ischaemic stroke is better than delayed mobilization with regard to medical complications and if it is safe in relation to neurological function and cerebral blood flow. Design: Randomized controlled pilot trial of early versus delayed mobilization out of bed with incidence of severe complications as the primary outcome. Setting: Acute stroke unit in the neurology department of a University Hospital. Participants: Fifty patients after ischaemic stroke with a National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score >6 were recruited. Intervention: All patients were treated with physiotherapy immediately after their admission. In the early protocol patients were mobilized out of bed after 52 hours, in the delayed protocol after seven days. Results: Eight out of 50 randomized patients were excluded from the per-protocol analysis because of early transfer to other hospitals. There were 2 (8%) severe complications in the 25 early mobilization patients and 8 (47%) in the 17 delayed mobilization patients (P < 0.006). There were no differences in the total number of complications or in clinical outcome. In the 26 patients (62%) who underwent serial transcranial Doppler ultrasonography, no blood flow differences were found. Conclusion: We found an apparent reduction in severe complications and no increase in total complications with an early mobilization protocol after acute ischaemic stroke. No influence on neurological three-month outcomes or on cerebral blood flow was seen. These results justify larger trials comparing mobilization protocols with possibly even faster mobilization out of bed than explored here.
Ontology-Based Schema to Support Maintenance Knowledge Representation With a Case Study of a Pneumatic Valve

This paper proposes a methodology for knowledge representation using ontology concepts. We employ an ontology-based schema to overcome the problems of heterogeneity and inconsistency in maintenance records, which are attributable to abbreviations, noisy data, nongeneric data structures, and ambiguous technical words in textual maintenance records. Our methodology employs a bond graph model (BGM) to produce a function structure of equipment related to fault propagation in part-component levels. Our method combines OWL-Lite/RDF and the ISO 14224 and ISO 15926 international standards in order to obtain a generic system-level representation model. Our approach also constructs transparent cause-effect knowledge, which facilitates interpretation and computer conversion using ISO 14224 and ISO 15926. The web ontology language (OWL) and resource description framework (RDF) are used to convert the generic human-readable interpretation into a standard computer-readable representation, thereby generating a knowledge base with maximum shareability and accessibility. We applied the methodology to a typical pneumatic valve. The results show that BGM can cross-link the identified words and the domain-specific logic to obtain the function structure of an object with causality inference, as well as enriching semantic extraction based on the context of a maintenance report, which improves the interpretation and computer conversion. Using OWL/RDF, actions such as interexchange, retrieval, and storage are possible for fault diagnosis applications in a multidisciplinary environment. Our method provides a generic technical understanding, which enriches semantic extraction and knowledge discovery in a typical maintenance report.
Secondary structure determination of the conserved 98-base sequence at the 3' terminus of hepatitis C virus genome RNA

The RNA genome of hepatitis C virus (HCV) terminates with a highly conserved 98-base sequence. Enzymatic and chemical approaches were used to define the secondary structure of this 3'-terminal element in RNA transcribed in vitro from cloned cDNA. Both approaches yielded data consistent with a stable stem-loop structure within the 3'-terminal 46 bases. In contrast, the 5' 52 nucleotides of this 98-base element appear to be less ordered and may exist in multiple conformations. Under the experimental conditions tested, interaction between the 3' 98 bases and upstream HCV sequences was not detected. These data provide valuable information for future experiments aimed at identifying host and/or viral proteins which interact with this highly conserved RNA element.
The Effects of Contact on the Prejudice Between Hispanics and Non-Hispanic Whites in the United States

The growing Hispanic population has come into increasing contact with the larger population of non-Hispanic Whites. It is important to understand the effects of this contact on prejudice. The effects of six kinds of contact were examined for their effects on prejudice between Hispanics (n = 156) and non-Hispanic Whites (n = 1,479) who were participants in a recent survey representative of the U.S. population. Both groups were prejudiced, but in different ways. Contact reduced the prejudice of both groups, but it reduced it much more for non-Hispanic Whites. The findings suggested that prejudice between the two groups will almost certainly decline as contact increases. Questions were raised for further research.
Collecting Data among Ethnic Minorities in an International Perspective

This article examines strategies to reduce nonresponse rates among ethnic minorities. The authors review nonresponse rates and data collection strategies among ethnic minorities with respect to response rates and response bias in six European countries. The national statistical institutes of these six countries use different definitions of ethnic minorities. This is why the definitions of ethnic minorities and their impact on the number of members of ethnic minorities in the six countries are compared. Nonresponse rates are usually higher among ethnic minorities than among the native population. Dissecting the nonresponse phenomenon shows that contact rates among ethnic minorities are lower, nonresponse due to an inability to produce the required information is higher, and cooperation rates are higher among ethnic minorities than among the native population. Increasing the response rates among ethnic minorities should focus on enhancing the contact rate and reducing the number of nonrespondents who are unable to produce the required information.
Under Consideration for Publication in Formal Aspects of Computing Concurrent Software Verification with States, Events, and Deadlocks 1,2

We present a framework for model checking concurrent software systems which incorporates both states and events. Contrary to other state/event approaches, our work also integrates two powerful verification techniques, counterexample-guided abstraction refinement and compositional reasoning. Our specification language is a state/event extension of linear temporal logic, and allows us to express many properties of software in a concise and intuitive manner. We show how standard automata-theoretic LTL model checking algorithms can be ported to our framework at no extra cost, enabling us to directly benefit from the large body of research on efficient LTL verification. We also present an algorithm to detect deadlocks in concurrent message-passing programs. Deadlock-freedom is not only an important and desirable property in its own right, but is also a prerequisite for the soundness of our model checking algorithm. Even though deadlock is inherently non-compositional and is not preserved by classical abstractions, our iterative algorithm employs both (non-standard) abstractions and compositional reasoning to alleviate the state-space explosion problem. The resulting framework differs in key respects from other instances of the counterexample-guided abstraction refinement paradigm found in the literature. We have implemented this work in the magic verification tool for concurrent C programs and performed tests on a broad set of benchmarks. Our experiments show that this new approach not only eases the writing of specifications, but also yields important gains both in space and in time during verification. In certain cases, we even encountered specifications that could not be verified using traditional pure event-based or state-based approaches, but became tractable within our state/event framework. We also recorded substantial reductions in time and memory consumption when performing deadlock-freedom checks with our new abstractions. Finally, we report two bugs (including a deadlock) in the source code of Micro-C/OS versions 2.0 and 2.7, which we discovered during our experiments.