Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Word Embedding Distance Does not Predict Word Reading Time

It has been claimed that larger semantic distance between the words of a sentence, as quantified by a distributional semantics model, increases both N400 size and word-reading time. The current study shows that the reading-time effect disappears when word surprisal is factored out, suggesting that the earlier findings were caused by a confound between semantic distance and surprisal. This absence of a behavioural effect of semantic distance (in the presence of a strong neurophysiological effect) may be due to methodological differences between eye-tracking and EEG experiments, but it can also be interpreted as evidence that eye movements are optimized for reading efficiency.
Prestressed Concrete Sections with Cyclic Flexure

A theory is presented to determine the moment-curvature characteristics of prestressed concrete sections with bonded tendons subjected to axial load and reversed cycles of bending moment. The analysis is based on expressions for the stress-strain relationships of concrete and prestressing steel under cyclic loading. Provision is included to allow for varying degrees of confinement of the concrete by transverse reinforcement. An idealization is also presented to represent the moment-curvature characteristics of prestressed concrete members under cyclic loading of large amplitude for use in the dynamic analyses of framed structures subject to seismic motions. Both the theory and the idealization are compared with experimental moment-curvature curves for beam and column sections subjected to high intensity cyclic loading. Good correlation is found between theory and experiment. It is shown that substantial ductility can be available from prestressed concrete members but that energy dissipation may not be significant until crushing of the concrete has commenced.
Laparoscopic Lavage Versus Primary Resection for Acute Perforated Diverticulitis: Review and Meta-analysis

Objective: To compare clinical outcomes after laparoscopic lavage (LL) or colonic resection (CR) for purulent diverticulitis. Background: Laparoscopic lavage has been suggested as an alternative treatment for traditional CR. Comparative studies to date have shown conflicting results. Methods: Electronic searches of Embase, Medline, Web of Science, and Cochrane databases were performed. Weighted mean differences (WMD) were calculated for effect size of continuous variables and pooled odds ratios (POR) calculated for discrete variables. Results: A total of 589 patients recruited from 3 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and 4 comparative studies were included; 85% as Hinchey III. LL group had younger patients with higher body mass index and lower ASA grades, but comparable Hinchey classification and previous diverticulitis rates. No significant differences were noted for mortality, 30-day reoperations and unplanned readmissions. LL had higher rates of intraabdominal abscesses (POR = 2.85; 95% confidence interval, CI, 1.52–5.34; P = 0.001), peritonitis (POR = 7.80; 95% CI 2.12–28.69; P = 0.002), and increased long-term emergency reoperations (POR = 3.32; 95% CI 1.73–6.38; P < 0.001). Benefits of LL included shorter operative time, fewer cardiac complications, fewer wound infections, and shorter hospital stay. Overall, 90% had stomas after CR, of whom 74% underwent stoma reversal within 12-months. Approximately, 14% of LL patients required a stoma; 48% obtaining gut continuity within 12-months, whereas 36% underwent elective sigmoidectomy. Conclusions: The preservation of diseased bowel by LL is associated with approximately 3 times greater risk of persistent peritonitis, intraabdominal abscesses and the need for emergency surgery compared with CR. Future studies should focus on developing composite predictive scores encompassing the wide variation in presentations of diverticulitis and treatment tailored on case-by-case basis.
IMPLEMENTATION OF SECURE MASTER USING MODIFIED TWOFISH ALGORITHM IN FPGA DEVICES Ms

In this paper a novel VLSI architecture of the modified Twofish block cipher is presented. Twofish is one of the most secure cryptographic algorithms. The characteristic features of the Twofish Algorithm are good security margin, fast encryption/decryption in software, moderately fast in hardware and moderate flexibility. Designed Twofish cryptographic algorithm improved the existing MDS block with a MDS-M2 block that improved a process speed, and decreased complexity and power consumption. MDS-M2 block of the designed Two fish cryptosystem that compares to MDS block of a Two fish cryptographic system used in wire communication is a little processed the number of operation and system structure is simple, so a complexity duty is very low. Various applications of this algorithm are Low-end smart cards, Wireless, ATMs, and in Satellite communication.
Comparison of diabetic retinopathy classification using fluorescein angiography and optical coherence tomography angiography

Purpose To analyse and compare the classification of eyes with diabetic retinopathy using fluorescein angiography (FA) and optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) performed either with AngioPlex or AngioVue. Methods This was an observational cross-sectional study of 50 eyes from 26 diabetic subjects. Two independent graders classified the FA angiograms, to assess the presence and severity of several characteristics according to the ETDRS Report 11, and a similar evaluation was performed for each 3×3 mm OCTA image from the superficial retinal layer and for the full retina slab. Results Percentages of non-gradable images for the outline of foveal avascular zone (FAZ) in the central subfield (CSF) were 29.0% for FA, 12.0% for AngioVue and 3.0% for AngioPlex. For capillary loss, percentages of non-gradable images in the CSF were 25.0% for FA, 11% for AngioVue and 0.0% for AngioPlex. For the inner ring (IR), percentages of non-gradable images were 12.5% for FA, 11.5% for AngioVue and 0.5% for AngioPlex. Agreement between graders was substantial for outline of FAZ. For capillary loss, the agreement was fair for the CSF, and moderate for the IR. Conclusions The OCTA allows better discrimination of the CSF and parafoveal macular microvasculature than FA, especially for FAZ disruption and capillary dropout, without the need of an intravenous injection of fluorescein. In addition, FA had also a higher number of non-gradable images. The OCTA can replace with advantage the FA, as a non-invasive and more sensitive procedure for detailed morphological evaluation of central macular vascular changes. Trial registration number NCT02391558, Pre-results.
STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN FIVE LEADING FIRMS

This article synthesizes findings from five case studies conducted in firms known to be leaders in the management of people. We drew three broad conclusions: 1. The foundation of a value-added HR function is a business strategy that relies on people as a source of competitive advantage and a management culture that embraces that belief; 2. A value-added HR function will be characterized by operational excellence, a focus on client service for individual employees and managers, and delivery of these services at the lowest possible cost; and 3. A value-added HR function requires HR managers that understand the human capital implications of business problems and can access or modify the HR system to solve those problems. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Visit me, click me, be my friend: an analysis of evidence networks of user relationships in BibSonomy

The ongoing spread of online social networking and sharing sites has reshaped the way how people interact with each other. Analyzing the relatedness of different users within the resulting large populations of these systems plays an important role for tasks like user recommendation or community detection. Algorithms in these fields typically face the problem that explicit user relationships (like friend lists) are often very sparse. Surprisingly, implicit evidences (like click logs) of user relations have hardly been considered to this end. Based on our long-time experience with running BibSonomy [4], we identify in this paper different evidence networks of user relationships in our system. We broadly classify each network based on whether the links are explicitly established by the users (e.g., friendship or group membership) or accrue implicitly in the running system (e.g., when user u copies an entry of user v). We systematically analyze structural properties of these networks and whether topological closeness (in terms of the length of shortest paths) coincides with semantic similarity between users. Our results exhibit different characteristics and. provide preparatory work for the inclusion of new (and less sparse) information into the process of optimizing community detection or user recommendation algorithms.
Study the Logic Invariability in Subroutine's Junk Code Fuzzy Transformation

Junk code fuzzy transformation (JCFT) is one of the effective approaches of the code obfuscation technology. Based on the analysis of current junk code strategies, this paper presents a new method named junk code encryption algorithm of subroutine, and depicts the algorithm with formalized language. The paper studies how to prove the logic invariability of subroutine’s JCFT with formalized method. After studying the formalized definition of subroutine’s JCFT, some lemmas are extracted. With these lemmas, and from three aspects such as "XOR and CMP Expansion", "False Embranchment Construction" and "JNE Append Junk Code", the paper proves that the procedure which transforms with subroutine’s JCFT has the same logicality with the original procedure.
Serum Fatty Acid Reference Ranges: Percentiles from a New Zealand National Nutrition Survey

Serum fatty acids are increasingly used in cross-sectional surveys and cohort studies as biomarkers of dietary fat intake; however, it is currently difficult to judge whether an individual has low or high fatty acid status, or whether the distribution of fatty acids of a group of people is low or high due to a lack of appropriate reference values. In the absence of interpretive criteria, the distribution of serum fatty acids from a suitable reference population can be used as an alternative. We describe the distribution of the fatty acid composition of the three most commonly reported lipid classes in serum; cholesterol ester, phospholipid and triacylgycerol. Results for each serum lipid class are presented as means (SD) and percentiles (5, 10, 25, 50, 75, 90, and 95) of serum fatty acids in non-fasting blood samples collected from a population based cross-sectional survey of New Zealand adults (n = 2793). These serum fatty acid reference ranges are applicable and relevant to Australia, United Kingdom, and United States as well as other countries where fat intakes are similar to New Zealand.
A data locality optimization algorithm for large-scale data processing in Hadoop

Data-intensive applications are increasingly designed to execute on large computing clusters. Our previous observation on Tencent production systems has indicated that join query is one of the most important queries in large-scale data processing. When running a join query on Hive system, the job of the join query is divided into map phase and reduce phase, and requires transferring large amounts of intermediate results over the network, which is inefficient. In this paper, we proposed an algorithm called CHMJ, the general idea of the algorithm is to take advantage of data locality to accelerate calculation. It includes four parts, Data distribution strategy, Parallel HashMapJoin Algorithm, CoLocation Scheduling and Delay scheduling strategy. CHMJ has been adopted in Tencent data warehouse, and plays an important role in Tencent's daily operations. Our relevant experiments demonstrate the feasibility and efficiency of our solution.
An investigation of gravitational lens determinations of H0 in quintessence cosmologies

There is growing evidence that the majority of the energy density of the Universe is not baryonic or dark matter, but rather it resides in an exotic component with negative pressure. The nature of this ‘quintessence’ influences our view of the Universe, modifying angular diameter and luminosity distances. Here, we examine the influence of a quintessence component upon gravitational lens time-delays. As well as a static quintessence component, an evolving equation of state is also considered. It is found that the equation of state of the quintessence component and its evolution influence the value of the Hubble constant derived from gravitational lenses. However, the differences between evolving and non-evolving cosmologies are relatively small. We undertake a suite of Monte Carlo simulations to examine the potential constraints that can be placed on the universal equation of state from the monitoring of gravitational lens systems, and demonstrate that at least an order of magnitude more lenses than currently known will have to be discovered and analysed to accurately probe any quintessence component.
Atelocollagen Enhances the Healing of Rotator Cuff Tendon in Rabbit Model

Background: Failure of rotator cuff healing is a common complication despite the rapid development of surgical repair techniques for the torn rotator cuff. Purpose: To verify the effect of atelocollagen on tendon-to-bone healing in the rabbit supraspinatus tendon compared with conventional cuff repair. Study Design: Controlled laboratory study. Methods: A tear of the supraspinatus tendon was created and repaired in 46 New Zealand White rabbits. They were then randomly allocated into 2 groups (23 rabbits per group; 15 for histological and 8 for biomechanical test). In the experimental group, patch-type atelocollagen was implanted between bone and tendon during repair; in the control group, the torn tendon was repaired without atelocollagen. Each opposite shoulder served as a sham (tendon was exposed only). Histological evaluation was performed at 4, 8, and 12 weeks. Biomechanical tensile strength was tested 12 weeks after surgery. Results: Histological evaluation scores of the experimental group (4.0 ± 1.0) were significantly superior to those of the control group (7.7 ± 2.7) at 12 weeks (P = .005). The load to failure was significantly higher in the experimental group (51.4 ± 3.9 N) than in the control group (36.4 ± 5.9 N) (P = .001). Conclusion: Histological and biomechanical studies demonstrated better results in the experimental group using atelocollagen in a rabbit model of the supraspinatus tendon tear. Clinical Relevance: Atelocollagen patch could be used in the cuff repair site to enhance healing.
Blockade of CTLA-4 on both effector and regulatory T cell compartments contributes to the antitumor activity of anti–CTLA-4 antibodies

Cytotoxic T lymphocyte–associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) is a critical negative regulator of immune responses. Uniquely among known inhibitory receptors, its genetic ablation results in a fulminating and fatal lymphoproliferative disorder. This central regulatory role led to the development of antibodies designed to block CTLA-4 activity in vivo, aiming to enhance immune responses against cancer. Despite their preclinical efficacy and promising clinical activity against late stage metastatic melanoma, the critical cellular targets for their activity remains unclear. In particular, debate has focused on whether the effector T cell (Teff) or regulatory T cell (T reg cell) compartment is the primary target of antibody-mediated blockade. We developed a mouse expressing human instead of mouse CTLA-4, allowing us to evaluate the independent contributions of CTLA-4 blockade of each T cell compartment during cancer immunotherapy in an in vivo model of mouse melanoma. The data show that although blockade on effector cells significantly improves tumor protection, unicompartmental blockade on regulatory cells completely fails to enhance antitumor responses. However, concomitant blockade of both compartments leads to a synergistic effect and maximal antitumor activity. We conclude that the combination of direct enhancement of Teff cell function and concomitant inhibition of T reg cell activity through blockade of CTLA-4 on both cell types is essential for mediating the full therapeutic effects of anti–CTLA-4 antibodies during cancer immunotherapy.
Research on Predicting the Stability of Partially Stabilized Zirconia Prepared by Microwave Heating Using SVM

The stability is a key product performance index, which can directly determine the quality of the partially stabilized zirconia (PSZ), so how to predict the stability of PSZ accurately, quickly and easily in the preparation process is very important. In this paper, a new mathematical model to predict the stability of PSZ prepared by microwave heating was proposed, based on statistical theory (SLT) and support vector machine (SVM) theory, which relates the stability of PSZ and the influence factors, such as the holding temperature, rising rate of temperature, holding time, decreasing rate of temperature and hardening temperature. Typical data collected from 58 experiments were used for the training samples and test samples. Then testing and analyzing was done. The results showed that the SVM model is reasonable and it is accurate and reliable to predict the stability of the partially stabilized zirconia prepared by microwave heating by SVM model. Besides, multiple influence factors can be comprehensively considered in the SVM model, thus a new highly effective method for predicting the stability of PSZ prepared by microwave heating is provided for future application, which is of great significance to theory and practice.
Piezoelectric Optimum Placement via LQR Controller

The piezoelectric elements have received important attention from researchers because the piezoelectric materials are small, lightweight and resilient against adverse working environments and also piezoelectric materials can be used as both actuators and sensors. Actuators and sensors placement identification is a center study to avoid undesirable effects in flexible structure under control such as lack of observability and controllability system. In this research it was used a singular analysis of input control matrix as a piezoelectric placement tool and after piezoelectric placement study it was checked these positions through the piezoelectric elements placement in an optimum and no optimum positions and simulating the control through linear quadratic regulator technique in both positions. The flexible structure used as a model is a simply supported beam. As a main result the simulation demonstrate to be robust to piezoelectric placement identification.
Processing of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) and sorghum products alters procyanidin oligomer and polymer distribution and content.

Sorghum procyanidins were characterized and quantified from two brown sorghum varieties and their processed products by normal phase HPLC with fluorescence detection. The DP of the procyanidins was determined by thiolysis. Quantification was done by using purified oligomeric and polymeric cocoa procyanidins as external standards. Sorghum procyanidins were composed mostly of high MW (DP > 10) polymers. Significant differences were observed in levels as well as distribution of the different MW procyanidins between the sorghums. Processing of the sorghum brans into cookies and bread significantly reduced the levels of procyanidins; this effect was more pronounced in the higher MW polymers. Cookies had a higher retention of procyanidins (42-84%) than bread (13-69%). Extrusion of sorghum grain resulted in an increase in the levels of procyanidin oligomers with DP </= 4 and decrease in polymers with DP >/= 6. This suggests a possible breakdown of the high MW polymers to the lower MW constituents during extrusion. Processing changes not only the content of procyanidins in sorghum products but also the relative ratio of the different molecular weights.
User embodiment in collaborative virtual environments

This paper explores the issue of user embodiment within collaborative virtual environments. By user embodiment we mean the provision of users with appropriate body images so as to represent them to others and also to themselves. By collaborative virtual environments we mean multi-user virtual reality systems which explicitly support co-operative work (although we argue that the results of our exploration may also be applied to other kinds of collaborative system). The main part of the paper identifies a list of embodiment design issues including: presence, location, identity, activity, availability, history of activity, viewpoint, actionpoint, gesture, facial expression, voluntary versus involuntary expression, degree of presence, reflecting capabilities, physical properties, active bodies, time and change, manipulating your view of others, representation across multiple media, autonomous and distributed body parts, truthfulness and efficiency. Following this, we show how these issues are reflected in our own DIVE and MASSIVE prototype systems and also show how they can be used to analyse several other existing collaborative systems.
Object Calibration for Augmented Reality

Augmented reality involves the use of models and their associated renderings to supplement information in a real scene. In order for this information to be relevant or meaningful, the models must be positioned and displayed in such a way that they align with their corresponding real objects. For practical reasons this alignment cannot be known a priori, and cannot be hard‐wired into a system. Instead a simple, reliable alignment or calibration process is performed so that computer models can be accurately registered with their real‐life counterparts. We describe the design and implementation of such a process and we show how it can be used to create convincing interactions between real and virtual objects.
[Intrauterine infections. I. The role of C-reactive protein, white blood cell count and erythrocyte sedimentation rate in pregnant women in the detection of intrauterine infection after preliminary rupture of membranes].

UNLABELLED The purpose of our study was to analyze the efficacy of serum C-reactive protein (CRP), white blood cell count (WBC) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) serial evaluations in the prediction of chorioamnionitis in cases of premature rupture of membranes (PROM). MATERIALS AND METHODS A group of 80 patients with PROM before 35 weeks' gestation were evaluated prospectively and managed expectantly. We applied the expectant management with the permanent use of tocolysis, antibiotics, steroids, amnioinfusions of artificial amniotic fluid and intravaginal chemotherapeutics. Patients were monitored with frequent vital signs, fetal heart rate evaluation and everyday blood tests as follows: CRP, WBC and ESR. All afterbirths were examined to establish the presence of histologic chorioamnionitis (gold standard of intrauterine infection). RESULTS 59 (73.7%) patients had significant chorioamnionitis on histopathology and only 15 of them had clinical chorioamnionitis. Serum CRP serial determinations (definition of abnormal tests: 1) > 1.2 mg/dl; 2) > 2.0 mg/dl; 3) > 1.2 mg/dl and increasing in two consecutive days) were found the most reliable with a sensitivity 1) 91.5%; 2) 85%; 3) 88%, specificity 57%; 76%; 86%, positive predictive value 86%; 90%; 94.5%, negative predictive value 70.5%; 64%; 72% and accuracy 82.5%; 82.5%; 87.5% respectively. The efficacy of WBC (abnormal tests: > 12500/mm3; > 15000/mm3; > 12500/mm3 and increasing in two consecutive days) and ESR (abnormal tests: > 60 mm/h; > 60 mm/h and increasing in two consecutive days) serial evaluations was significantly lower. Moreover, in cases of chorioamnionitis CRP increased above the upper limit of normal 3 days earlier than WBC or ESR. CONCLUSIONS CRP was found the most reliable indicator of histologic chorioamnionitis and indicated the presence of intrauterine infection earlier than WBC or ESR.