Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Joint optimisation of tandem systems using Gaussian mixture density neural network discriminative sequence training

The use of deep neural networks (DNNs) for feature extraction and Gaussian mixture models (GMMs) for acoustic modelling is often termed a tandem system configuration and can be viewed as a Gaussian mixture density neural network (MDNN). Compared to the direct use of DNN output probabilities in the acoustic model, the tandem approach suffers from a major weakness in that the feature extraction stage and the final acoustic models are optimised separately. This paper proposes a joint optimisation approach to all the stages of the tandem acoustic model by using MDNN discriminative sequence training. A set of techniques is used to improve the training performance and stability. Experiments using the multi-genre broadcast (MGB) English data show that the proposed method produced a 6% relative lower word error rate (WER) than that of a traditional discriminatively trained tandem system. The resulting jointly optimised tandem systems are comparable in WER to hybrid DNN systems optimised using discriminative sequence training with the same number of parameters.
Exploring Physician Hand Hygiene Practices and Perceptions in 2 Community-Based Canadian Hospitals

Objective The purpose of this study was to explore the self-reported hand hygiene practices and the predictors of hand hygiene among physicians in a midsize Canadian city. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional survey using self-report questionnaire administered to a complete list of 354 local physicians. Perception of proper compliance was defined in a participant if he/she indicated performance of hand hygiene before and after every patient contact at least 80% of the time. Results One hundred fifty-four physicians completed the questionnaire, yielding a 44.9% response rate. Only 45.3% of our sample reported performing preprocedure and postprocedure hand hygiene at least 80% of the time. Stepwise logistic regression results suggested that the variables “presence of hand hygiene auditing” (odds ratio [OR], 3.2; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.47–6.91), “being too busy” (OR, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.20–0.90), “forgetfulness” (OR, 0.27; 95%, CI, 0.13–0.56), and “the perception that hand hygiene products are damaging to the skin” (OR, 0.31;95% CI, 0.11–0.88) were the only independent predictors of physician hand hygiene compliance. Conclusions Hand hygiene compliance among physicians remains an issue. The findings emphasize the need of health-care institutions to prioritize hand hygiene by ensuring proper promotion and enforcement of current policies to all practicing HCPs.
Interlimb Coordination, Strength, and Power in Soccer Players Across the Lifespan

Cortis, C, Tessitore, A, Perroni, F, Lupo, C, Pesce, C, Ammendolia, A, and Capranica, L. Interlimb coordination, strength, and power in soccer players across the lifespan. J Strength Cond Res 23(9): 2458-2466, 2009-This study aimed at verifying whether chronic participation in soccer training has a beneficial effect (p < 0.05) on the improvement and the maintenance of interlimb coordination performance across the lifespan and whether coordination is moderated by strength and power performances. Forty young (12 ± 1 yr), 42 adult (26 ±5 yr), and 32 older (59 ± 11 yr) male soccer players and sedentary individuals were administered in-phase (IP) and antiphase (AP) synchronized (80, 120, and 180 bpm) hand and foot flexions and extensions, handgrip and countermovement jump (CMJ) tests. Regardless of age, soccer players always showed better performances (handgrip: 383 ± 140 N; CMJ: 28.3 ± 8.7 cm; IP: 55.2 ± 12.9 s; and AP: 31.8 ± 25.0 s) than sedentary individuals (handgrip: 313 ± 124 N; CMJ: 21.0 ± 9.4 cm; IP: 46.7 ± 20.2 s, and AP: 21.1 ± 23.9 s). With respect to IP and AP performances, a hierarchical model (p < 0.0001) emerged for CMJ, explaining 30% and 26% of the variance for IP and AP, respectively. In contrast, handgrip did not provide increments in the explained variance. Results indicate that chronic soccer training is beneficial to develop strength, CMJ, and interlimb synchronization capabilities in children, to reach higher levels of proficiency in adults, and to maintain performance in older individuals. The predicted role of CMJ on interlimb coordination indicates that a fine neuromuscular activation timing is central for both jump and coordinative performances. In practice, to induce higher attentional control and executive function in open skill sport athletes and to better prepare players to cope with the demands of their match, coaches should modulate complex motor behaviors with increasing velocity of execution and are strongly recommended to make use of technical and tactical drills that focus on the player's agility under time pressure to induce higher attentional control and executive function.
Controlling your Brand: Contractual Restrictions Placed by Internet Retailers on Affiliate Marketing Activities in Spain

Affiliate marketing programs have emerged as one of the fastest-growing methods for online retailers to acquire customers and increase sales. Affiliate marketing offers a number of advantages, including a relatively low cost and the ability to accurately track the actions of website visitors and their responses to targeted promotional activities. However, while these programs have proven effective in increasing website traffic and sales, illegal or inappropriate activities on the part of affiliates could negatively impact a retailer’s brand in the eyes of customers. This study reviews the stated guidelines in one-to-many affiliate programs in the three major affiliate networks in Spain as a first step in understanding how online retailers control the business models and promotional tools used by their affiliates. The conclusion is that there is a significant lack of transparency in the guidance and restrictions communicated to affiliates, which increases the risk of inappropriate behavior or misconduct. Consequently, affiliate monitoring by online retailers becomes increasingly important. General recommendations to improve monitoring are considered.
A FUZZY-BASED HEALTH MONITORING MECHANISM FOR ENERGY MANAGEMENT OF SWARM INTELLIGENCE COORDINATED UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES

We propose a health monitoring mechanism based on fuzzy logics in order to mitigate the number of dead UAVs due to the lack of energy in Swarm of UAVs coordinated by a Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) based algorithm. The proposed mechanism depends on the energy level of the UAV, the distance to the neighbor and energy level of the neighbor. We also propose a metrics named Death by lack of Energy (DE) which measures the percentage of dead UAVs due to the lack of energy in the swarm of UAVs during the mission. We analyzed the influence of the proposed mechanism in a PSO-based model designed to automatically coordinate a swarm of UAVs in order to avoid collisions, to track multiple targets and to perform environmental patrolling. We performed simulations varying the size of environment, the number of UAVs within the swarm and the fuzzy membership rules. We observed that the proposed fuzzy-based mechanism can mitigate DE without compromising the other swarm capabilities.
Cytomorphologic differentiation of benign and malignant mammary tumors in fine needle aspirate specimens from irradiated female Sprague-Dawley rats.

BACKGROUND Fine needle aspiration (FNA) offers a rapid and minimally invasive means to distinguish malignant from benign neoplasms. However, few studies have been published regarding the cytopathology of mammary tumors in rats despite widespread use of the rat model for breast cancer formation and inhibition. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of FNA cytology and to develop distinguishing cytologic criteria for the diagnosis of radiation-induced benign and malignant mammary tumors in rats. METHODS In a study of radiation-induced mammary carcinogenesis, 100 Sprague-Dawley rats with cutaneous masses were randomly chosen for FNA. The aspirates were smeared, fixed, and stained with a modified Papanicolaou procedure for diagnostic evaluation. Cytologic and histologic diagnoses (benign vs malignant) were compared, and diagnostic accuracy was calculated using the histologic diagnosis as the criterion standard. FNA smears were scored semiquantitatively on a scale of 1-4 for cellularity, atypia, nuclear size, chromatin pattern, nuclear membrane thickness, nucleoli, and mitoses. The background was evaluated for necrosis, hemorrhage, inflammation, and mucosecretory material. Cytomorphologic features were compared statistically between benign and malignant tumors, based on the histologic diagnosis. RESULTS The sensitivity of FNA was 92.3% and specificity was 89.4% for the detection of malignancy. However, 14% of specimens, all fibroadenomas by histology, had insufficient cells for cytologic evaluation, for an overall accuracy rate of 78.0%. Malignant tumors had significantly higher scores for all cytomorphologic features, and were significantly more likely to contain cell clusters and necrotic debris. CONCLUSIONS FNA is an accurate method for differentiating benign and malignant rat mammary tumors.
The Comparative Risks of Bacterial Contamination between a Venturi Atomizer and a Positive Displacement Atomizer

Introduction This laboratory study determined the incidence of internal contamination of Venturi principle atomizers and positive displacement atomizers exposed to high external concentrations of Staphylococcal aureus (Staph). Methods Atomizer device nozzle tips were immersed into a Staph solution and 1 ml of spray was atomized via compressed wall air (Venturi) or hydraulic pump (positive displacement). The Venturi nozzle was then wiped with 70% isopropyl alcohol while the disposable positive displacement nozzle was replaced. After 30 minutes, 1 ml of atomized fluid was collected and cultured and the process was repeated. After sixteen uses the fluid remaining in the bottles was cultured. The Venturi atomizer also was subjected to a single use trial to determine the location of device contamination. Results Venturi atomizers sprays grew Staph in every case (144/144), while positive displacement atomizer sprays never grew contaminants (0/144; p < 0.0001). At the end of 16 uses, 7/9 of Venturi atomizers had Staph within their medication reservoirs while none (0/9; p = 0.002) existed in the positive displacement atomizers. After a single use of the Venturi atomizer, the medication reservoir, the air lumen and the medication lumen of the nozzle were all contaminated with Staph. Conclusions External bacterial contamination of the atomizer nozzle tip results in internal bacterial contamination of Venturi devices in as little as one use but not of positive displacement devices. These results warrant further investigation to determine whether a risk of cross-contamination exists in a clinical setting.
Conceptual and methodological issues in designing a randomized, controlled treatment trial for geriatric bipolar disorder: GERI-BD.

AIM This report considers the conceptual and methodological concerns confronting clinical investigators seeking to generate knowledge regarding the tolerability and benefits of pharmacotherapy in geriatric bipolar disorder (BD) patients. METHOD There is continuing need for evidence-based guidelines derived from randomized controlled trials that will enhance drug treatment of geriatric BD patients. Therefore, we present the complex conceptual and methodological choices encountered in designing a multisite clinical trial and the decisions reached by the investigators with the intention that study findings be pertinent to, and can facilitate, routine treatment decisions. RESULTS Guided by a literature review and input from peers, the tolerability and antimanic effects of lithium and valproate were judged to be the key mood stabilizers to investigate with regard to treating bipolar I disorder manic, mixed, and hypomanic states. The patient selection criteria are intended to generate a sample that not only experiences common treatment needs but also represents the variety of older patients seen in university-based clinical settings. The clinical protocol guides titration of lithium and valproate to target serum concentrations, with lower levels allowed when necessitated by limited tolerability. The protocol emphasizes initial monotherapy. However, augmentation with risperidone is permitted after three weeks when indicated by operational criteria. CONCLUSIONS A randomized, controlled trial that both investigates commonly prescribed mood stabilizers and maximizes patient participation can meaningfully address high-priority clinical concerns directly relevant to the routine pharmacologic treatment of geriatric BD patients.
Disrupt or Be Disrupted: A Blueprint for Change in Management Education

Foreword vii George S. Yip Introduction: The Change Imperative 1 Brooks C. Holtom and Lyman W. Porter Chapter 1 Ensuring and Enhancing Future Value 21 Erich C. Dierdorff, Denis J. Nayden, Dipak C. Jain, and Subhash C. Jain Chapter 2 Framing and Making Strategic Choices 57 Michael Hay Chapter 3 Managing Aspirations, Resources, and Cost Structures 95 Jikyeong Kang and Andrew W. Stark Chapter 4 Intellectual Signatures: Impact on Relevance and Doctoral Programs 131 JC Spender and Rakesh Khurana Chapter 5 Curriculum Matters: Toward a More Holistic Graduate Management Education 179 Sara L. Rynes and Jean M. Bartunek Chapter 6 Overlooked and Unappreciated: What Research Tells Us About How Teaching Must Change 219 Kenneth G. Brown, J. Ben Arbaugh, George Hrivnak, and Amy Kenworthy Chapter 7 Student Engagement: Selection, Management, and Outcomes 259 Daniel C. Feldman Chapter 8 Reclaiming Quality in Graduate Management Education 297 Robert S. Rubin and Frederick P. Morgeson Epilogue 347 Erich C. Dierdorff and Brooks C. Holtom Acknowledgments 373 About the Contributors 375 Name Index 395 Subject Index 405
Digital Axillary and Non-Contact Infrared Thermometers for Children

Axillary digital thermometers (ADTs) and non-contact (infrared) forehead thermometers (NCIFTs) are commonly used in pediatric settings, where an incorrect body temperature measurement may delay treatments or lead to incorrect diagnoses and therapies. Several studies comparing ADT or NCIFT with other methods have found conflicting results. To investigate whether ADT and NCIFT can be used interchangeably, a comparative observational study was conducted involving 205 children aged 0 to 14 years who were consecutively admitted to the pediatric emergency department. The Bland–Altman plot illustrated agreement between the two methods. A total of 217 pairs of measurements were compared; axillary measurements showed average values significantly higher than forehead measurements (37.52°C and 37.12°C; t = 7.42, p = .000), with a mean difference of 0.41°C between the two methods (range = −1.80 and +2.40). In this setting and population, ADT and NCIFT cannot be used interchangeably.
Proapoptotic BH3-Only Bcl-2 Family Member Bik/Blk/Nbk Is Expressed in Hemopoietic and Endothelial Cells but Is Redundant for Their Programmed Death

ABSTRACT The BH3-only members of the Bcl-2 protein family are essential for initiation of programmed cell death and stress-induced apoptosis. We have determined the expression pattern in mice of the BH3-only protein Bik, also called Blk or Nbk, and examined its physiological function by gene targeting. We found that Bik is expressed widely in the hematopoietic compartment and in endothelial cells of the venous but not arterial lineages. Nevertheless, its loss did not increase the numbers of such cells in mice or protect hematopoietic cells in vitro from apoptosis induced by cytokine withdrawal or diverse other cytotoxic stimuli. Moreover, whereas loss of the BH3-only protein Bim rescued mice lacking the prosurvival protein Bcl-2 from fatal polycystic kidney disease and lymphopenia, loss of Bik did not. These results indicate that any function of Bik in programmed cell death and stress-induced apoptosis must overlap that of other BH3-only proteins.
Light-sheet optimization for microscopy

Aberrations, scattering and absorption degrade the performance light-sheet fluorescence microscopes (LSFM). An adaptive optics system to correct for these artefacts and to optimize the light-sheet illumination is presented. This system allows a higher axial resolution to be recovered over the field-of-view of the detection objective. It is standard selective plane illumination microscope (SPIM) configuration modified with the addition of a spatial light modulator (SLM) and a third objective for the detection of transmitted light. Optimization protocols use this transmission light allowing the extension the depth-of-field and correction of aberrations whilst retaining a thin optical section.
Gαolf is necessary for coupling D1 and A2a receptors to adenylyl cyclase in the striatum

In the brain, dopamine and adenosine stimulate cyclic AMP (cAMP) production through D1 and A2a receptors, respectively. Using mutant mice deficient in the olfactory isoform of the stimulatory GTP‐binding protein α subunit, Gαolf, we demonstrate here the obligatory role of this protein in the adenylyl cyclase responses to dopamine and adenosine in the caudate putamen. Responses to dopamine were also dramatically decreased in the nucleus accumbens but remained unaffected in the prefrontal cortex. Moreover, in the caudate putamen of mice heterozygous for the mutation, the amounts of Gαolf were half of the normal levels, and the efficacy of dopamine‐ and CGS 21680 A2 agonist‐stimulated cAMP production was decreased. Together, these results identify Gαolf as a critical parameter in the responses to dopamine and adenosine in the basal ganglia.
Robust Commitments and Partial Reputation

Agents rarely act in isolation -- their behavioral history, in particular, is public to others. We seek a non-asymptotic understanding of how a leader agent should shape this history to its maximal advantage, knowing that follower agent(s) will be learning and responding to it. We study Stackelberg leader-follower games with finite observations of the leader commitment, which commonly models security games and network routing in engineering, and persuasion mechanisms in economics. First, we formally show that when the game is not zero-sum and the vanilla Stackelberg commitment is mixed, it is not robust to observational uncertainty. We propose observation-robust, polynomial-time-computable commitment constructions for leader strategies that approximate the Stackelberg payoff, and also show that these commitment rules approximate the maximum obtainable payoff (which could in general be greater than the Stackelberg payoff). Full paper: https://eecs.berkeley. edu/~sahai/reputation.pdf
No Significant Association between the Alpha-2A-Adrenergic Receptor Gene and Treatment Response in Combined or Inattentive Subtypes of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Abstract Introduction: Given the shortage of pharmacogenetic studies on treatment response according to subtype of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), we investigated the associations between the MspI and DraI polymorphisms of the alpha-2 A-adrenergic receptor gene (ADRA2A) and treatment response to methylphenidate according to subtype of ADHD. Methods: We enrolled 115 medication-naïve children with ADHD into an open label 8-week trial of methylphenidate. The participants were genotyped and evaluated using the Clinical Global Impression (CGI), ADHD rating scale, and Continuous Performance Test (CPT) pre- and post-treatment. Results: There was no statistically significant association between the MspI or DraI genotypes and the relative frequency of CGI-improvement (CGI-I) 1 or 2 status among any of the groups (all types of ADHD, ADHD-C, or ADHD-I). However, among the children with ADHD-C, those subjects with the C/C genotype at the ADRA2A DraI polymorphism tended to have a CGI-I 1 or 2 status post-treatment (OR=4.45, p=0.045). Discussion: The results of this study do not support the association between the the MspI or DraI genotypes and treatment response to methylphenidate in ADHD. However, our results suggest that subtypes might influence pharmacogenetic results in ADHD. ·
Dry Needling of Muscle Motor Points for Chronic Low-Back Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial With Long-Term Follow-Up

Fifty-six male patients who had chronic low-back pain of at least 12 weeks' duration (average duration, 28.6 weeks) and who had failed to respond to traditional medical or surgical therapy were entered into a randomized clinical trial to compare the relative efficacies of the Clinic's standard therapy regimen with and without dry needling at muscle motor points. Before entering the trial, all patients had undergone without improvement eight weeks of the Clinic's standard therapy regimen of physiotherapy, remedial exercises, and occupational therapy. The 29 study subjects and 27 control patients then continued with this regimen, but the study subjects also received needling at muscle motor points once or twice a week (average number of treatments, 7.9). All patients were assessed at the time of discharge, 12 weeks after discharge, and at the time of writing (average, 27.3 weeks). The group that had been treated with needling was found to be clearly and significantly better than the control group (P > 0.005, N = 53) with regard to status at discharge, status at 12 weeks' follow-up, and status at final follow-up. At final followup, 18 of the 29 study subjects had returned to their original or equivalent jobs and 10 had returned to lighter employment. In the control group, only four had returned to their original work and 14 to lighter employment; nine were still disabled. The results seem to justify the procedure in chronic low-back patients in whom myofascial pain (the majority) rather than skeletal irritation is the dominant disabling feature.
Unsupervised online learning for long-term autonomy

A reliable representation of the environment a robot operates in is vital for solving complex tasks. Models that represent information about objects and their properties are typically trained beforehand using supervised methods. This requires intensive human labeling which makes it time-consuming and results in models that are generally inflexible to changes. We would prefer a robot that can build a model of the environment autonomously by learning the different objects and their corresponding properties without human supervision. This would enable the robot to adapt to changes in the environment as well as reduce the effort of deploying a robot to a new environment. In this paper we present solutions to these problems based on novel extensions of affinity propagation; a clustering method that can be executed in real time to produce meaningful models from observations gathered by a robot. Our method is applied to two different tasks. We demonstrate how to automatically learn models for predicting collisions from raw laser data. Then, the method is used to learn visual appearance models of the environment to recognize and avoid obstacles. In both cases, there is no human supervision; the methodology is entirely based on sensory information gathered by the robot and its interaction with the environment. In experiments we show how meta-point affinity propagation performs similarly to standard affinity propagation, while being faster and capable of handling much larger data-sets. Furthermore, we show how different features influence the prediction quality of the model for collision prediction from laser scans. Finally, we show how we successfully build and maintain an appearance model for obstacle detection which can be used to detect obstacles well before a collision could occur.