Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effects of combined hyperbaric oxygen therapy on patients with post-stroke depression

[Purpose] To observe the effect of combined hyperbaric oxygen therapy on patients with post-stroke depression. [Subjects] Ninety patients with post-stroke depression were randomly divided into 3 groups: fluoxetine treatment group (n = 30), hyperbaric oxygen therapy group (n = 30), and hyperbaric oxygen combined treatment group (n = 30). [Methods] Fluoxetine treatment group received anti-depression drugs (fluoxetine, 20 mg/day), hyperbaric oxygen therapy group received hyperbaric oxygen (once a day, 5 days/week), hyperbaric oxygen combined treatment group received fluoxetine and hyperbaric oxygen treatments as described above. All patients received routine rehabilitation therapy. Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD), and Scandinavian Stroke Scale (SSS) scores were evaluated before and at the end of 4th week. The total effective rate of depression release between the 3 groups was also compared at the end of study. [Results] The end scores of HAMD and SSS in the 3 groups were significantly lower than those before treatment. The total effective rate of combined hyperbaric oxygen therapy group after treatment was higher than the other two groups. [Conclusions] Combined hyperbaric oxygen therapy plays an important role in the treatment of patients with post-stroke depression. The total effective rate of combined hyperbaric oxygen therapy was higher than other routine anti post-stroke depression treatments.
Lexical processing of nominal compounds in first- and second-language learners across primary grades

We investigated processing strategies in the reading of Dutch compound words (e.g., ‘bezemsteel’ [broomstick]) by young first- (L1) and second-language (L2) learners in three grades of primary school. Turkish-Dutch bilingual children (L2) and Dutch monolingual children (L1) from second, fourth and sixth grade performed a lexical decision task in which the frequency of the whole compound, the frequency of the first constituent and the frequency of the second constituent was manipulated. We found that reaction times and accuracy scores were influenced by both whole-word and constituent information in both the L1 and L2 learners in all grades. However, the L2 learners were typically less efficient in processing this information. In addition, the way in which whole-word and constituent frequency was processed by the L1 and L2 learners was not stable across grades. The results are discussed in terms of theories on morphological processing and reading acquisition.
Top-down and bottom-up approaches to actor training

Abstract This article discusses the training of actors, which entails assisting the performer in the development of such abstract competencies as are appropriate to that activity; maintaining a character, establishing circles of attention, delivery of text, stage ‘presence’, and conveying the illusion of naturalism. Some of these activities are incredibly subtle and detailed, and involve the shaping of multiple simultaneous actions. The successful delivery of such actions is dependent upon the smooth functioning of both the actor's body and also their body of knowledge. This particular learning activity is interesting because it involves a complex mix of practical and intellectual knowledge which the competent actor needs to integrate into a unified competency. Drawing initially on the language of artificial intelligence research, specifically approaches to the development of artificial intelligence (AI), which have been referred to as ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up’, it is suggested that certain aspects of actor training aimed at the construction of such a unified competency correspond to the top-down approach. It is argued that the equivalent of this approach is found in techniques which allow the transfer of appropriate metaphors which give cognitive structure to the imparted knowledge. These structuring metaphors influence and organize action, and are therefore necessary for the optimization of performance and the development of excellence. It is also suggested that in cases where new knowledge is less well supported by metaphor than older knowledge then the older knowledge will tend to persist in language and practice.
Teachers' Perceptions of Administrative Support and Antecedents of Turnover

The purpose of this pilot study was to determine the degree to which teachers' age, perceptions of fair pay, receipt of employer-sponsored health insurance, and administrative support, as operationalized by the Competing Values Framework, predicted antecedents of turnover. Teachers' thoughts of leaving their current job and commitment to a center were significantly predicted by perceptions of their directors' coordinating skills (e.g., dependable, skilled at enforcing rules and standards) and the benefit of health insurance. Thoughts of leaving their current job also were predicted by fair pay. Job tenure at a specific center was significantly predicted by perceptions of the director as an effective coordinator and broker (e.g., skilled at seeking and gaining essential program resources), along with the teacher's age and perceptions of fair pay. The interpersonal skills quadrant of the competing values framework was not a significant predictor in any of the analyses. The value of the Competing Values Framework for assessing teachers' perceptions of administrative support is discussed.
Clinical and Cognitive Insight in a Compensatory Cognitive Training Intervention

The impact of limited insight is a crucial consideration in the treatment of individuals with psychiatric illness. In the context of psychosis, both clinical and cognitive insight have been described. This study aimed to evaluate the relationships between clinical and cognitive insight and neuropsychological functioning, psychiatric symptom severity, and everyday functioning in patients with a primary psychotic disorder participating in a compensatory cognitive training (CT) intervention. Sixty-nine individuals diagnosed with a primary psychotic disorder were randomized to a 3-month CT intervention or to standard pharmacotherapy, and they completed a comprehensive neuropsychological, clinical, and functional battery at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. The CT intervention focused on habit formation and compensatory strategy learning in four domains: prospective memory, attention and vigilance, learning and memory, and problem-solving/cognitive flexibility. At baseline, better clinical insight was significantly related to better executive functioning and less severe negative symptoms. There was no significant association between cognitive insight and cognitive functioning, symptom severity, or everyday functioning ability. The CT intervention did not have an effect on clinical or cognitive insight, but better cognitive insight prior to participation in CT significantly predicted decreased positive and depressive symptom severity posttreatment, and better clinical insight predicted improved self-reported quality of life. Although clinical insight is related to executive functioning, the correlates of cognitive insight remain elusive. Intact insight appears to be beneficial in ameliorating clinical symptomatology like positive symptoms and depression, rather than augmenting cognition. It may be valuable to develop brief interventions aimed at improving clinical and cognitive insight prior to other psychosocial rehabilitation in order to maximize the benefit of treatment.
Risk Factors for Spontaneously Self-Reported Postprandial Hypoglycemia After Bariatric Surgery.

CONTEXT Postprandial hypoglycemia (PPHG) is a recognized complication of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) surgery. Data on PPHG after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) are scant. OBJECTIVE The objective of the study was to identify preoperative predictors of PPHG in subjects spontaneously self-reporting PPHG after RYGB or LSG. Patients, Setting, and Intervention: Nondiabetic patients spontaneously self-reporting symptoms/signs of PPHG (PPHG group, 21 RYGB and 11 LSG) were compared in a case-control design with subjects who never experienced spontaneous or oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT)-induced hypoglycemia over 24 months after surgery (No-PPHG group, 13 RYGB and 40 LSG). Paired pre- and postoperative 3-hour OGTTs were analyzed in all participants. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Insulin sensitivity was assessed by the oral glucose insulin sensitivity index and β-cell function by mathematical modeling of the C-peptide response to glucose. RESULTS Before surgery, the body mass index was lower in PPHG than No-PPHG patients in the RYGB (P = .002) and trended similarly in the LSG group (P = .08). Fasting glycemia and the glucose-OGTT nadir were lower in the PPHG than the No-PPHG subjects in both surgery groups. Before surgery, insulin sensitivity was higher in PPHG than No-PPHG in the RYGB (393 ± 55 vs 325 ± 44 mL/min-1 · m-2, P = .001) and LSG groups (380 ± 48 vs 339 ± 60 mL/min-1 · m-2, P = .05) and improved to a similar extent in all groups after surgery. Before surgery, β-cell glucose sensitivity was higher in PPHG than No-PPHG in both RYGB (118 ± 67 vs 65 ± 24 pmol/min-1 · m2 · mM-1) and LSG patients (114 ± 32 vs 86 ± 33) (both P = .02) and improved in all subjects after surgery. CONCLUSIONS In subjects self-reporting PPHG after surgery, lower presurgery plasma glucose concentrations, higher insulin sensitivity, and better β-cell glucose sensitivity are significant predictors of PPHG after both RYGB and LSG.
An Accurate Image Registration Method Using a Projective Transformation Model

Given a model structure, an input image and a reference image, the parametric registration task is to find a parameters vector (of the model) that transform the input image into the reference image. This paper reviews the general projective model and develops a new method of computing the set of image derivatives needed. It shows how the classical method reported in the literature is only accurate under translation, and it fails when other transformations are involved. Analytical derivations and experimental tests show the superior accuracy of the new method against the classical method.
Health professionals’ attitudes to the deregulation of emergency contraception (or the problem of female sexuality)

Emergency contraception can be used to prevent pregnancy up to 72 hours after unprotected sexual intercourse. Currently, this form of emergency contraception is only available on prescription, but there is a possibility that emergency contraception may be deregulated (i.e. sold ‘over the counter’ by community pharmacists) in the future. This study used depth interviews to examine the views of 18 community pharmacists and six general practitioners towards the possible deregulation of emergency contraception. Most interviewees held overwhelmingly negative attitudes to such deregulation, in contrast to their professional bodies. Opposition to deregulation resulted from a clearly articulated set of assumptions about female sexuality, particularly that women are sexually irresponsible, chaotic and devious. We argue that these assumptions about female sexuality have a long and tenacious history. Health professionals’ attitudes towards emergency contraception (and their concomitant assumptions about women’s sexuality) are likely to undermine the provision of deregulated emergency contraception.
Market Pricing of Diierentiated Internet Services

This paper presents a decentralized auction-based approach to pricing of edge-allocated bandwidth in a di erentiated services model for the Internet. The players in this architecture are users, one raw-capacity seller per network and one broker per service per network. With the Progressive Second Price auction mechanism as the basic building block, we conduct a game theoretic analysis, deriving optimal strategies for buyers and brokers, and show the existence of network-wide equilibria. We investigate the system dynamics by simulating a scenario with three interconnected networks, and two types of services built on the proposed standard expedited forwarding (EF) and assured forwarding (AF) per-hop-behaviors.
Ontoogle: Enhancing retrieval with ontologies and facets

Design is a knowledge intensive activity, which depends on information to be undertaken. Previous designs, recent innovations, new techniques and materials must be taken into account when working on a new project, whatever its nature. Therefore, retrieving appropriate information is of paramount importance to the design process. Information retrieval is an established field, which has seen great progress in recent years. However, as the amount of unstructured information available increases, it becomes harder to retrieve the most relevant information using standard techniques and, frequently, users end up with results that don't fulfill their information needs. In this paper, we present an approach to improve retrieval using query expansion through ontologies allied to faceted navigation. We constructed the Ontoogle tool, which uses an ontology describing a domain to expand the query and define result ranking and presentation using Faceted Navigation. This proposal was evaluated in a case study and the results indicate that this approach contributes to increased satisfaction and confidence of users during their search process.
Midtrimester isolated oligohydramnios in monochorionic diamniotic multiple gestations*

Abstract Objective: To describe the natural history and perinatal outcomes of monochorionic diamniotic twins with midtrimester isolated oligohydramnios (iOligo). Materials and methods: We performed a retrospective study of iOligo patients who were initially referred for the management of evolving twin–twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) or selective intrauterine growth restriction (sIUGR). iOligo was defined as a maximum vertical pocket of amniotic fluid of ≤2 cm in the iOligo twin’s sac and normal fluid level (>2 and <8 cm) in the co-twin’s sac. “Group A” patients did not subsequently develop TTTS or sIUGR Type II (umbilical artery persistent absent or reversed end-diastolic flow), and “Group B” patients did develop TTTS or sIUGR Type II. Results are reported as median (range). Results: Of the 828 patients with complicated monochorionic twin gestations referred for possible TTTS or sIUGR, 36 (4.3%) were initially diagnosed with iOligo. After initial consultation, two patients terminated and one was lost to follow-up, resulting in a final study population of 33. Group A had 10 patients (30.3%) and Group B had 23 patients (69.7%). In Group A, nine of the 10 were expectantly managed, resulting in a median gestational age (GA) at delivery of 34.7 (18.0–36.4) weeks, a 30-day perinatal survival of at-least-one twin of 88.9% (8/9), and dual 30-day survivors in 8/9 (88.9%). In Group B, 12 (52.2%) developed TTTS and 11 (47.8%) developed sIUGR Type II. Fifteen Group B patients had laser surgery, resulting in a median GA at delivery of 33.7 (26.4–37.1) weeks, a 30-day perinatal survival of at-least-one twin of 100% (15/15), and dual survivorship of 46.7% (7/15). Conclusions: Our findings show that the majority of patients with midtrimester iOligo have fetal growth restriction of the affected twin and subsequently progress to TTTS or sIUGR Type II.
An integrated approach for improving cache behavior

The widening gap between processor and memory speeds renders data locality optimization a very important issue in data-intensive embedded applications. Throughout the years hardware designers and compiler writers focused on optimizing data cache locality using intelligent cache management mechanisms and program-level transformations, respectively. Until now, there has not been significant research investigating the interaction between these optimizations. In this work, we investigate this interaction and propose a selective hardware/compiler strategy to optimize cache locality for integer numerical (array-intensive), and mixed codes. In our framework, the role of the compiler is to identify program regions that can be optimized at compile time using loop and data transformations and to mark (at compile-time) the unoptimizable regions with special instructions that activate/deactivate a hardware optimization mechanism selectively at run-time. Our results show that our technique can improve program performance by as much as 60% with respect to the base configuration and 17% with respect to a non-selective hardware/compiler approach.
Ensemble contextual bandits for personalized recommendation

The cold-start problem has attracted extensive attention among various online services that provide personalized recommendation. Many online vendors employ contextual bandit strategies to tackle the so-called exploration/exploitation dilemma rooted from the cold-start problem. However, due to high-dimensional user/item features and the underlying characteristics of bandit policies, it is often difficult for service providers to obtain and deploy an appropriate algorithm to achieve acceptable and robust economic profit. In this paper, we explore ensemble strategies of contextual bandit algorithms to obtain robust predicted click-through rate (CTR) of web objects. The ensemble is acquired by aggregating different pulling policies of bandit algorithms, rather than forcing the agreement of prediction results or learning a unified predictive model. To this end, we employ a meta-bandit paradigm that places a hyper bandit over the base bandits, to explicitly explore/exploit the relative importance of base bandits based on user feedbacks. Extensive empirical experiments on two real-world data sets (news recommendation and online advertising) demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed approach in terms of CTR.
Happiness and Economic Growth: Does the Cross Section Predict Time Trends? Evidence from Developing Countries

Based on point-of-time comparisons of happiness in richer and poorer countries, it is commonly asserted that economic growth will have a significant positive impact on happiness in poorer countries, if not richer. The time trends of subjective well-being (SWB) in 13 developing countries, however, are not significantly related to predictions derived from the cross sectional relation of happiness to GDP per capita. The point-of-time comparison leads to the expectation that the same absolute increase in GDP per capita will have a bigger impact on SWB in a poorer than a richer country. In fact there is no significant relation between actual trends in SWB and those predicted from the cross sectional relationship. Nor is a higher percentage rate of growth in GDP per capita significantly positively associated with a greater improvement in SWB. In the developing countries studied here a greater increase in happiness does not accompany more rapid economic growth. These conclusions hold true for two measures of SWB that are separately analyzed, overall life satisfaction and satisfaction with finances. The two SWB measures themselves, however, typically trend similarly within a country, providing mutually supporting evidence of the trend in well-being.
A Visual Words Selection Strategy for Pedestrian Detection and Analysis of the Feature Points Distribution

An effective and efficient visual word selection method based on Bag-of-features (BoF), which can be applied to the pedestrian detection problem, is proposed in this paper. We first calculate the difference in the total appearance frequency of each visual word in pedestrian and non-pedestrian images. Visual words that exhibit greater absolute values are more efficient for pedestrian detection, and are thus selected. The effectiveness of the proposed method is validated by analyzing the distribution of selected feature points. Through this analysis, we find that discriminative feature points for pedestrian images are mainly located about the lower body, whereas those for non-pedestrian images are mainly located in background areas. Experimental results show that, using the proposed method, the detection rate for the Daimler-DB datasets exceeds 92.5%, whereas the miss rate is less than 6.8%. More-over, the time required for learning and detection can be reduced by approximately 50%, with no significant degradation in precision, using the proposed method, even if only 40% of the visual words are selected.
The impact of school leadership on school level factors: Validation of a causal model

This study aims to contribute to a better understanding of the antecedents and effects of educational leadership, and of the influence of the principal's leadership on intervening and outcome variables. A path analysis was conducted to test and validate a causal model. The results show no direct or indirect effects of educational leadership on student commitment; instead a reciprocal relationship was found between student commitment and strategic leadership. A range of antecedent variables appears to have more effects on the school culture than educational leadership has. Finally, the principal's vision has a substantial impact on his or her educational leadership behaviours. The findings suggest the importance of cognitive processes in order to understand the complex chain of variables through which principals have an impact on school effectiveness and school improvement. The results also underline the importance of conceptualizing leadership from a contingency approach.
An Efficient Procedure for Marker-Free Mutagenesis of S. coelicolor by Site-Specific Recombination for Secondary Metabolite Overproduction

Streptomyces bacteria are known for producing important natural compounds by secondary metabolism, especially antibiotics with novel biological activities. Functional studies of antibiotic-biosynthesizing gene clusters are generally through homologous genomic recombination by gene-targeting vectors. Here, we present a rapid and efficient method for construction of gene-targeting vectors. This approach is based on Streptomyces phage φBT1 integrase-mediated multisite in vitro site-specific recombination. Four ‘entry clones’ were assembled into a circular plasmid to generate the destination gene-targeting vector by a one-step reaction. The four ‘entry clones’ contained two clones of the upstream and downstream flanks of the target gene, a selectable marker and an E. coli-Streptomyces shuttle vector. After targeted modification of the genome, the selectable markers were removed by φC31 integrase-mediated in vivo site-specific recombination between pre-placed attB and attP sites. Using this method, part of the calcium-dependent antibiotic (CDA) and actinorhodin (Act) biosynthetic gene clusters were deleted, and the rrdA encoding RrdA, a negative regulator of Red production, was also deleted. The final prodiginine production of the engineered strain was over five times that of the wild-type strain. This straightforward φBT1 and φC31 integrase-based strategy provides an alternative approach for rapid gene-targeting vector construction and marker removal in streptomycetes.
Enhanced Factored Three-Way Restricted Boltzmann Machines for Speech Detection

In this letter, we propose enhanced factored three way restricted Boltzmann machines (EFTW-RBMs) for speech detection. The proposed model incorporates conditional feature learning by multiplying the dynamical state of the third unit, which allows a modulation over the visible-hidden node pairs. Instead of stacking previous frames of speech as the third unit in a recursive manner, the correlation related weighting coefficients are assigned to the contextual neighboring frames. Specifically, a threshold function is designed to capture the long-term features and blend the globally stored speech structure. A factored low rank approximation is introduced to reduce the parameters of the three-dimensional interaction tensor, on which non-negative constraint is imposed to address the sparsity characteristic. The validations through the area-under-ROC-curve (AUC) and signal distortion ratio (SDR) show that our approach outperforms several existing 1D and 2D (i.e., time and time-frequency domain) speech detection algorithms in various noisy environments.