Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Enhanced recovery programme in gynaecology: outcomes of a hysterectomy care pathway

Abstract There was a wide variation in the peri-operative management of women undergoing hysterectomy for both benign and malignant disease at Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust prior to 2010. The median length of stay following a hysterectomy and more radical gynaecological oncology surgery was five days and seven days respectively. The NHS East of England Strategic Health Authority commissioned the development of Enhanced Recovery Programme (ERP) in various surgical specialties including gynaecology and the pathway was implemented from 2012 onward. Dedicated specialist nurses collected data prospectively. The median length of stay was shortened to three days. This difference was statistically significant with a P value = 0.0001. We describe the successful implementation of an ERP in Southend Hospital resulting with no difference in measurable morbidity and mortality, a shorter length of stay, and a high patient satisfaction scores and outcomes.
Explorer Simplifying very deep convolutional neural network architectures for robust speech recognition

Very deep convolutional neural networks (VDCNNs) have been successfully used in computer vision. More recently VDCNNs have been applied to speech recognition, using architectures adopted from computer vision. In this paper, we experimentally analyse the role of the components in VDCNN architectures for robust speech recognition. We have proposed a number of simplified VDCNN architectures, taking into account the use of fully-connected layers and down-sampling approaches. We have investigated three ways to down-sample feature maps: max-pooling, average-pooling, and convolution with increased stride. Our proposed model consisting solely of convolutional (conv) layers, and without any fully-connected layers, achieves a lower word error rate on Aurora 4 compared to other VDCNN architectures typically used in speech recognition. We have also extended our experiments to the MGB-3 task of multi-genre broadcast recognition using BBC TV recordings. The MGB-3 results indicate that the same architecture achieves the best result among our VDCNNs on this task as well.
Effects of Mindfulness on Diabetes Mellitus: Rationale and Overview.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is an emerging global healthcare problem and its prevalence is increasing at an alarming rate. Despite improvements in both medical and pharmacological therapies, a complex medical condition may demand a diversified approach, such as: drug therapy, healthy diet and exercises, diabetes education programs, adherence to medical treatment and active participation of the patients in their lifestyle changes, such as stress management. The concept of mindfulness is here defined as the awareness that unfolds from the intention to attentively observe the current experience in a non-judgmental and non-evaluative way. This state of awareness can be enhanced through the use of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs), which have been associated to many physical and psychological health indicators. The aim of this overview is to offer the rationale and potential benefits of mindfulness in the control of DM and its complications. METHODS a narrative review of the current and updated literature available on online database and which came up using the terms "mindfulness" and "diabetes mellitus". Mindfulness-based Interventions (MBIs) can be seen as preventive and complementary interventions in DM, particularly for the relief of symptoms related to depression and anxiety in diabetic patients and also in the management of other factors, including mindful eating, physical exercises and treatment adherence. Although many studies only present research protocols, mindfulness seems to have beneficial effects on all aspects of diabetes, including incidence, control and complications. Furthermore, longer term and more carefully controlled trials are necessary in order to draw consistent conclusions on the beneficial role of MBIs on DM.
Fertility and infertility in rheumatoid arthritis

Purpose of reviewDespite decades of evidence suggesting that women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have fewer children than their healthy peers, this information is not widely known among clinicians. The causes of decreased fertility in this population have been largely unexplored, but likely revolve around altered inflammation, increased age when conception is attempted, limited sexual function, and possibly effects of medications on ovarian function. Recent findingsSeveral large Scandinavian cohorts and a cohort study in the United States demonstrate that women with RA have smaller families and are slower to conceive compared with other women. Personal choice to limit family size plays some role, as does infertility. Sexual function in women with RA may be hampered by pain and fatigue, perhaps decreasing the opportunity for conception. Finally, data about the role of NSAIDs in preventing ovulation suggest that continued use of these medications may hinder conception. SummaryInfertility in women with RA is an under-recognized, but remarkably common phenomenon. Although research continues into the underlying causes, physicians can discuss this topic and refer women to reproductive endocrinology when needed, thereby helping patients to build the families that they desire.
Comparison of diffraction-enhanced computed tomography and monochromatic synchrotron radiation computed tomography of human trabecular bone

Diffraction-enhanced imaging (DEI) is an x-ray-based medical imaging modality that, when used in tomography mode (DECT), can generate a three-dimensional map of both the apparent absorption coefficient and the out-of-plane gradient of the index of refraction of the sample. DECT is known to have contrast gains over monochromatic synchrotron radiation CT (SRCT) for soft tissue structures. The goal of this experiment was to compare contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and resolution in images of human trabecular bone acquired using SRCT with images acquired using DECT. All images were acquired at the National Synchrotron Light Source (Upton, NY, USA) at beamline X15 A at an x-ray energy of 40 keV and the silicon [3 3 3] reflection. SRCT, apparent absorption DECT and refraction DECT slice images of the trabecular bone were created. The apparent absorption DECT images have significantly higher spatial resolution and CNR than the corresponding SRCT images. Thus, DECT will prove to be a useful tool for imaging applications in which high contrast and high spatial resolution are required for both soft tissue features and bone.
Heart rate complexity: A novel approach to assessing cardiac stress reactivity.

Correlation dimension (D2), a measure of heart rate (HR) complexity, has been shown to decrease in response to acute mental stress and relate to adverse cardiovascular health. However, the relationship between stress-induced changes in D2 and HR has yet to be established. The present studies aimed to assess this relationship systematically while controlling for changes in respiration and autonomic activity. In Study 1 (N = 25) D2 decreased during stress and predicted HR reactivity even after adjusting for changes in respiration rate, and cardiac vagal tone. This result was replicated in Study 2 (N = 162) and extended by including a measure of cardiac sympathetic activity; correlation dimension remained an independent predictor of HR reactivity in a hierarchical linear model containing measures of cardiac parasympathetic and sympathetic activity and their interaction. These results suggest that correlation dimension may provide additional information regarding cardiac stress reactivity above that provided by traditional measures of cardiac autonomic function.
Emerging technologies in a tele-collaborative design studio between the Pennsylvania State University and Carleton University

The research project investigates the use of a network-enabled platform (NEP) involving a combination of technologies that include: high bandwidth network infrastructure; high-performance visualization and computer cluster solutions; standard and high definition tele-presence/communication infrastructure; co-located immersive environments; and a range of modeling and imaging applications. The NEP enabled student teams in multiple locations to collaborate via on-demand, synchronous access to project data, visualization, modeling, simulation and multimodal interpersonal communication tools through a web service based dashboard interface that hid the logistic and technical complexities to the user. As a preliminary report on a proof-of-concept design studio conducted during the spring semester of 2007 between the Carleton Immersive Media Studio (CIMS) at Carleton University in Ottawa and the Immersive Environment Laboratory (IEL) at Pennsylvania State University, the paper first describes the implementation of this network-centric collaborative design platform. The report articulates the staging of the conditions of possibility for a dynamic interplay between technological mediation and the reality of making, then compares the use of high bandwidth technology with customized symmetrical toolsets in the tele-collaborative educational environment, versus commercial toolsets deployed over moderate bandwidth connections. In each setting, the collaborative environment is assessed according to issues encountered by students and design outcomes. The effectiveness of the digitally mediated collaborative studio is also gauged in terms of student reaction to the learning process via feedback surveys and questionnaires.
Finger vein verification using Occurrence Probability Matrix (OPM)

We found that the discrepancy between different finger vein templates of the same finger affects the identification results more seriously than the similarity of templates of different fingers does. Some areas on templates have stable values while some other areas are variable. We propose the Occurrence Probability Matrix (OPM), which is a property of a finger, to define the stability. When matching two templates using OPM, the areas of higher stability make more contribution to the result and those of lower stability make less contribution. In this way, OPM can enhance the similarity of templates of the same finger and drop off the influence of the unsteady areas. In a finger vein verification system running for a long time, we can get enough templates of every finger to generate an effective OPM. But it does not mean that using more templates can get a better OPM. So, we fatherly propose a strategy to select typical templates purposely from all templates of a finger to calculate the OPM. Experimental results show that by simply using OPM calculated from all existing templates, the EER of the system is reduced from 9.8% to 7.6%. And by using the OPM calculated from selected typical templates by our strategy, the EER of the system is further reduced from 7.6% to 3.1%.
Look at Me: Augmented Reality Pedestrian Warning System Using an In-Vehicle Volumetric Head Up Display

Current pedestrian collision warning systems use either auditory alarms or visual symbols to inform drivers. These traditional approaches cannot tell the driver where the detected pedestrians are located, which is critical for the driver to respond appropriately. To address this problem, we introduce a new driver interface taking advantage of a volumetric head-up display (HUD). In our experimental user study, sixteen participants drove a test vehicle in a parking lot while braking for crossing pedestrians using different interface designs on the HUD. Our results showed that spatial information provided by conformal graphics on the HUD resulted in not only better driver performance but also smoother braking behavior as compared to the baseline.
Special Section on Corpus-Based Speech Technologies Feature Extraction with Combination of HMT-Based Denoising and Weighted Filter Bank Analysis for Robust Speech Recognition

In this paper, we propose a new feature extraction method that combines both HMT-based denoising and weighted filter bank analysis for robust speech recognition. The proposed method is made up of two stages in cascade. The first stage is denoising process based on the wavelet domain Hidden Markov Tree model, and the second one is the filter bank analysis with weighting coefficients obtained from the residual noise in the first stage. To evaluate performance of the proposed method, recognition experiments were carried out for additive white Gaussian and pink noise with signal-to-noise ratio from 25 dB to 0 dB. Experiment results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed method to the conventional ones. key words: Hidden Markov Tree model, robust speech recognition, residual noise, feature extraction
β-Arrestin Regulates Estradiol Membrane-Initiated Signaling in Hypothalamic Neurons

Estradiol (E2) action in the nervous system is the result of both direct nuclear and membrane-initiated signaling (EMS). E2 regulates membrane estrogen receptor-α (ERα) levels through opposing mechanisms of EMS-mediated trafficking and internalization. While ß-arrestin-mediated mERα internalization has been described in the cortex, a role of ß-arrestin in EMS, which underlies multiple physiological processes, remains undefined. In the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (ARH), membrane-initiated E2 signaling modulates lordosis behavior, a measure of female sexually receptivity. To better understand EMS and regulation of ERα membrane levels, we examined the role of ß-arrestin, a molecule associated with internalization following agonist stimulation. In the present study, we used an immortalized neuronal cell line derived from embryonic hypothalamic neurons, the N-38 line, to examine whether ß-arrestins mediate internalization of mERα. β-arrestin-1 (Arrb1) was found in the ARH and in N-38 neurons. In vitro, E2 increased trafficking and internalization of full-length ERα and ERαΔ4, an alternatively spliced isoform of ERα, which predominates in the membrane. Treatment with E2 also increased phosphorylation of extracellular-signal regulated kinases 1/2 (ERK1/2) in N-38 neurons. Arrb1 siRNA knockdown prevented E2-induced ERαΔ4 internalization and ERK1/2 phosphorylation. In vivo, microinfusions of Arrb1 antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (ODN) into female rat ARH knocked down Arrb1 and prevented estradiol benzoate-induced lordosis behavior compared with nonsense scrambled ODN (lordosis quotient: 3 ± 2.1 vs. 85.0 ± 6.0; p < 0.0001). These results indicate a role for Arrb1 in both EMS and internalization of mERα, which are required for the E2-induction of female sexual receptivity.
The modularity-based Hierarchical tree algorithm for multi-class classification

Multi-class classification problem is still a research hotspot in machine learning, and researchers dedicate themselves to create new algorithms with higher efficiency and accuracy. A Modularity-based Hierarchical Classification Tree (MHCT) is proposed in this paper, which derived from the idea of community detection, and the structure of the tree is similar to the hierarchical cluster tree. This classification approach is a supervised learning method combined with modularity for its convergence indicator. After the building process of the tree from bottom to top, several classifier predictors are created in the training step. Finally, the comparison experiments are conducted between our methods and other two kinds of popular multi-class classification algorithms (i.e. support vector machine and decision tree), using ten benchmark datasets from UCI (University of California, Irvine) machine learning repository. In this work, the experimental results indicate that the proposed methods have drastically reduced the excessive training time while maintaining accuracy is comparable to the other algorithms.
Orchestrating fair exchanges between mutually distrustful web services

In this paper, we propose a modular and fully decentralized protocol to orchestrate fair exchanges between mutually distrustful yet collaborating web services. Our motivation roots in the observation that fair exchange is a key problem in settings where mutually distrustful entities are willing to exchange critical digital items in the absence of a trusted third party, which is typically the case of web services collaborating on a peer-to-peer basis. Examples of such scenarios include multiparty exchanges of security information (e.g., cryptographic keys), multiparty sharing of digital rights (e.g., to display some digital content), digital contract signing, etc. Our fair exchange orchestration protocol is based on two key building blocks, namely a tamperproof secure box and a module solving the well-known Byzantine agreement problem. The tamperproof secure boxes need not communicate directly with each other and are only required in a limited number of key steps of our algorithm. Our approach has the advantage to allow fair exchanges to complete even though truly malicious participants have aborted.
An Operational Foundation for Delimited Continuations in the CPS Hierarchy

We present an abstract machine and a reduction semantics for the lambda-calculus extended with control operators that give access to delimited continuations in the CPS hierarchy. The abstract machine is derived from an evaluator in continuation-passing style (CPS); the reduction semantics (i.e., a small-step operational semantics with an explicit representation of evaluation contexts) is constructed from the abstract machine; and the control operators are the shift and reset family. We also present new applications of delimited continuations in the CPS hierarchy: finding list prefixes and normalization by evaluation for a hierarchical language of units and products.
Development of a Synthetic Surfactant Using a Surfactant Protein-C Peptide Analog: In Vitro Studies of Surface Physical Properties

Purpose Pulmonary surfactant (PS) replacement has been the gold standard therapy for neonatal respiratory distress syndrome; however, almost all commercial PSs contain animal proteins. We prepared a synthetic PS by using a human surfactant protein (SP) analog and evaluated its in vitro properties. Materials and Methods A peptide sequence (CPVHLKRLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL) of human SP-C was chosen to develop the peptide analog (SPa-C). The new synthetic SP-C PS (sSP-C PS) was synthesized from SPa-C, dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidyl glycerol, and palmitic acid. Physical properties of the sSP-C PS were evaluated by measuring the maximum and minimum surface tensions (STs), surfactant spreading, and adsorption rate. In addition, we recorded an ST-area diagram. The data obtained on sSP-C PS were subsequently compared with those of purified natural bovine surfactant (PNBS), and the commercial product, Surfacten®. Results The sSP-C PS and Surfacten® were found to have maximum ST values of 32-33 mN/m, whereas that of PNBS was much lower at 19 mN/m. The minimum ST values of all three products were less than 10 mN/m. The values that were measured for the equilibrium ST of rapidly spreading sSP-C PS, Surfacten®, and PNBS were 27, 27, and 24 mN/m, respectively. The surface adsorptions were found to be the same for all three PSs (20 mN/m). ST-area diagrams of sSP-C PS and Surfacten® revealed similar properties. Conclusion In an in vitro experiment, the physical properties exhibited by sSP-C PS were similar to those of Surfacten®. Further study is required to evaluate the in vivo efficacy.
Relativistic simulations of rotational core collapse - II. Collapse dynamics and gravitational radiation

We have performed hydrodynamic simulations of relativistic rotational supernova core collapse in axisymmetry and have computed the gravitational radiation emitted by such an event. The Einstein equations are formulated using the confor- mally flat metric approximation, and the corresponding hydrodynamic equations are written as a first-order flux-conservative hyperbolic system. Details of the methodology and of the numerical code have been given in an accompanying paper. We have simulated the evolution of 26 models in both Newtonian and relativistic gravity. The initial configurations are dierentially rotat- ing relativistic 4=3-polytropes in equilibrium which have a central density of 10 10 gc m 3 . Collapse is initiated by decreasing the adiabatic index to some prescribed fixed value. The equation of state consists of a polytropic and a thermal part for a more realis- tic treatment of shock waves. Any microphysics like electron capture and neutrino transport is neglected. Our simulations show that the three dierent types of rotational supernova core collapse and gravitational waveforms identified in previous Newtonian simulations (regular collapse, multiple bounce collapse, and rapid collapse) are also present in relativistic gravity. However, ro- tational core collapse with multiple bounces is only possible in a much narrower parameter range in relativistic gravity. The relativistic models cover almost the same range of gravitational wave amplitudes (4 10 21 h TT 3 10 20 for a source at a distance of 10 kpc) and frequencies (60 Hz 1000 Hz) as the corresponding Newtonian ones. Averaged over all models, the total energy radiated in the form of gravitational waves is 8:2 10 8 Mc 2 in the relativistic case, and 3:6 10 8 Mc 2 in the Newtonian case. For all collapse models that are of the same type in both Newtonian and relativistic gravity, the gravitational wave signal is of lower amplitude. If the collapse type changes, either weaker or stronger signals are found in the relativistic case. For a given model, relativistic gravity can cause a large increase of the characteristic signal frequency of up to a factor of five, which may have important consequences for the signal detection. Our study implies that the prospects for detection of gravita- tional wave signals from axisymmetric supernova rotational core collapse do not improve when taking into account relativistic gravity. The gravitational wave signals obtained in our study are within the sensitivity range of the first generation laser interfer- ometer detectors if the source is located within the Local Group. An online catalogue containing the gravitational wave signal amplitudes and spectra of all our models is available at the URL http://www.mpa-garching.mpg. de/Hydro/hydro.html.
Rewiring Neural Interactions by Micro-Stimulation

Plasticity is a crucial component of normal brain function and a critical mechanism for recovery from injury. In vitro, associative pairing of presynaptic spiking and stimulus-induced postsynaptic depolarization causes changes in the synaptic efficacy of the presynaptic neuron, when activated by extrinsic stimulation. In vivo, such paradigms can alter the responses of whole groups of neurons to stimulation. Here, we used in vivo spike-triggered stimulation to drive plastic changes in rat forelimb sensorimotor cortex, which we monitored using a statistical measure of functional connectivity inferred from the spiking statistics of the neurons during normal, spontaneous behavior. These induced plastic changes in inferred functional connectivity depended on the latency between trigger spike and stimulation, and appear to reflect a robust reorganization of the network. Such targeted connectivity changes might provide a tool for rerouting the flow of information through a network, with implications for both rehabilitation and brain–machine interface applications.