Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Single Dose of Propofol at the End of Surgery for the Prevention of Emergence Agitation in Children Undergoing Strabismus Surgery during Sevoflurane Anesthesia

Background:Emergence agitation in children after sevoflurane is common. Different drugs have been used to decrease its occurrence with variable efficacy. The authors compared the incidence and severity of emergence agitation in children who received a single dose of propofol at the end of strabismus surgery versus children who received saline. Methods:In this prospective, randomized, double-blind study, the authors enrolled 80 healthy children aged 2–6 yr. The children were randomly allocated to the propofol group (n = 41), which received 1 mg/kg propofol at the end of surgery, or to the saline group (n = 39), which received saline. Results:The mean scores on the Pediatric Anesthesia Emergence Delirium scale were significantly lower in the propofol group compared with the saline group (8.6 ± 3.9 vs. 11.5 ± 4.5; P = 0.004). Also, the incidence of agitation was significantly lower in the propofol group compared with the saline group (19.5% vs. 47.2%; P = 0.01). A threshold score greater than 10 on the Pediatric Anesthesia Emergence Delirium scale was the best discriminator between presence and absence of emergence agitation. Times to removal of the laryngeal mask airway (10.6 ± 1.5 vs. 9.4 ± 1.9 min; P = 0.004) and emergence times (23.4 ± 5.7 vs. 19.7 ± 5 min; P = 0.004) were significantly longer in the propofol group. However, discharge times were similar between the two groups (propofol: 34.1 ± 8.4 min; saline: 34.9 ± 8.6 min). More parents in the propofol group were satisfied. Conclusions:In children undergoing strabismus surgery, 1 mg/kg propofol at the end of surgery after discontinuation of sevoflurane decreases the incidence of agitation and improves parents’ satisfaction without delaying discharge from the postanesthesia care unit.
CRITICAL POINTS IN ASSESSING LEARNING PERFORMANCE VIA CROSS-VALIDATION

Quality assessment of learning methods is essential when adapting them to different tasks, introducing new algorithms, developing the existing ones, or tracking the learning improvements over time. Obtaining realistic results is, however, complicated. In this paper, we clarify this by addressing performance evaluation measure and method selection, with a main focus on combining the AUC measure with the cross-validation method. We conclude that it is crucial to choose both the measure and method that reflect the evaluation aspects, learning task and data in question. Furthermore, the evaluation setting must correspond to the intended use environment and the test set has to be completely independent from the creation of the learner. Finally, special caution is needed when forming the cross-validation folds.
A survey on mobile-agent middleware design principals and itinerary planning algorithms

Wireless sensor networks (WSN) are used in many applications like environmental monitoring, infrastructure security, healthcare applications, and traffic control. It has been also proven recently that using Mobile Agent (MA) in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) can drastically help to obtain the flexibility of application-aware deployment. Middleware is software that provides a common platform for the flexibility and heterogeneity in WSN, enabling multiple applications to work parallel on a distributed network. We firstly investigate the various approaches of middleware design and number of conventional single MA itinerary planning based schemes, the order of sensory data source nodes to be visited during the MA migration, which has a significant impact on the performance of the MA systems and its effectiveness, is proved by conducting the extensive experiments in professional environment.
The Art of Healing: A Journey Through Cancer: Implications for Art Therapy

This article is a summary of a clinical case study that examines how art assists in the healing process of a person suffering from a lifethreatening illness (Zammit, 1999). The case study participant was a 53-year-old woman. She was a psychiatrist and psychotherapist who was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in August, 1991. Multiple myeloma is cancer of the bone marrow and blood, a form of cancer that is medically incurable and invariably fatal (Mayo Clinic, 1996). The case study illustrates the participant's engagement with art in selfhealing: a process that unfolds as both life-affirming and spiritually enriching. The study takes a qualitative approach, emphasizing the participant's own account of her behaviour. The study illustrates how art can illuminate insights that emerge from the experience of a critical illness, and how it can contribute to overall healing and well-being.
Computational modeling of inhibition of voltage-gated Ca channels: identification of different effects on uterine and cardiac action potentials

The uterus and heart share the important physiological feature whereby contractile activation of the muscle tissue is regulated by the generation of periodic, spontaneous electrical action potentials (APs). Preterm birth arising from premature uterine contractions is a major complication of pregnancy and there remains a need to pursue avenues of research that facilitate the use of drugs, tocolytics, to limit these inappropriate contractions without deleterious actions on cardiac electrical excitation. A novel approach is to make use of mathematical models of uterine and cardiac APs, which incorporate many ionic currents contributing to the AP forms, and test the cell-specific responses to interventions. We have used three such models—of uterine smooth muscle cells (USMC), cardiac sinoatrial node cells (SAN), and ventricular cells—to investigate the relative effects of reducing two important voltage-gated Ca currents—the L-type (ICaL) and T-type (ICaT) Ca currents. Reduction of ICaL (10%) alone, or ICaT (40%) alone, blunted USMC APs with little effect on ventricular APs and only mild effects on SAN activity. Larger reductions in either current further attenuated the USMC APs but with also greater effects on SAN APs. Encouragingly, a combination of ICaL and ICaT reduction did blunt USMC APs as intended with little detriment to APs of either cardiac cell type. Subsequent overlapping maps of ICaL and ICaT inhibition profiles from each model revealed a range of combined reductions of ICaL and ICaT over which an appreciable diminution of USMC APs could be achieved with no deleterious action on cardiac SAN or ventricular APs. This novel approach illustrates the potential for computational biology to inform us of possible uterine and cardiac cell-specific mechanisms. Incorporating such computational approaches in future studies directed at designing new, or repurposing existing, tocolytics will be beneficial for establishing a desired uterine specificity of action.
Validation of the Mind Excessively Wandering Scale and the Relationship of Mind Wandering to Impairment in Adult ADHD

Objective: This study investigates excessive mind wandering (MW) in adult ADHD using a new scale: the Mind Excessively Wandering Scale (MEWS). Method: Data from two studies of adult ADHD was used in assessing the psychometric properties of the MEWS. Case-control differences in MW, the association with ADHD symptoms, and the contribution to functional impairment were investigated. Results: The MEWS functioned well as a brief measure of excessive MW in adult ADHD, showing good internal consistency (α > .9), and high sensitivity (.9) and specificity (.9) for the ADHD diagnosis, comparable with that of existing ADHD symptom rating scales. Elevated levels of MW were found in adults with ADHD, which contributed to impairment independently of core ADHD symptom dimensions. Conclusion: Findings suggest excessive MW is a common co-occurring feature of adult ADHD that has specific implications for the functional impairments experienced. The MEWS has potential utility as a screening tool in clinical practice to assist diagnostic assessment.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Evaluation of a Quantitative Provocational Diagnostic Test

A diagnostic test combining the sensitivity of the Semmes-Weinstein monofilament measurement and the specificity of the wrist flexion provocational test has been evaluated in a group of 21 patients (33 hands) with electrodiagnostically verified carpal tunnel syndrome and 30 asymptomatic hands (controls). Semmes-Weinstein monofilament testing consisted of several sensory threshold measurements obtained by the application of force-calibrated Semmes-Weinstein monofilaments to each digit in the hand with the wrist in neutral position. The quantitative provocational diagnostic test employed Semmes-Weinstein measurements obtained with the wrist both in the neutral and flexed positions. The sensitivity (82%) and specificity (86%) of the combined test were calculated. It was more sensitive and specific than the wrist flexion test alone and more specific than the Semmes-Weinstein sensibility test. The combined test is recommended as the most accurate and sensitive quantitative clinical test for median nerve compression evaluated by the authors to date.
Recurrent Hemoptysis in a Young Man

Hughes-Stovin syndrome is a scarce entity associating pulmonary artery aneurysms and deep venous thrombosis. It was considered to be a form of Behcet’s syndrome at its initial feature. We present a case of a 27-year-old man having a Hughes-Stovin syndrome. The patient had a history of left ilio-femoral thrombosis and suffered from recurrent oral ulcers. He presented with recurrent hemoptysis. A giant pulmonary aneurysm was confirmed by chest CT scan. A right femoral thrombosis was shown on the inferior legs doppler ultrasonography. The patient was treated by steroids and cyclophosphamide and proposed to an embolization to prevent recurrence of symptoms.
Improving the Software Development Process : A Dynamic Model Using the Capacity Maturity Model

Regardless of their size, software firms search for better methods to improve the delivery of their projects. The SEI Capability Maturity Model (CMM) is one available framework employed to assist in improving this process. The challenge of identifying the benefits associated with implementation of CMM Level 2 practices for the smaller software development firm is the main focus of this research. The objective is to evaluate the impact of each key process area of CMM 2 on productivity, product quality and ability to meet deadlines. A simulation model is designed to help researchers in software development, and management teams in SMEs, understand the impact of alternative management policies and practices according to CMMD. The results indicate that the CMM’s software quality assurance process area has a sizeable impact on productivity and that all CMM process areas impact scheduling activities. The process areas associated with project management (software project planning and software project tracking) have very little impact on product quality as opposed to the other process areas with impacts more substantial on this performance measure. The analysis of scenarios indicates that the adoption of CMM2 practices based on requirements management yields more positive results than policies based on project management.
Effect of component mal‐rotation on knee loading in total knee arthroplasty using multi‐body dynamics modeling under a simulated walking gait

Mal‐rotation of the components in total knee arthorplasty (TKA) is a major cause of postoperative complications, with an increased propensity for implant loosening or wear leading to revision. A musculoskeletal multi‐body dynamics model was used to perform a parametric study of the effects of the rotational mal‐alignments in TKA on the knee loading under a simulated walking gait. The knee contact forces were found to be more sensitive to variations in the varus–valgus rotation of both the tibial and the femoral components and the internal–external rotation of the femoral component in TKA. The varus–valgus mal‐rotation of the tibial or femoral component and the internal–external mal‐rotation of the femoral component with a 5° variation were found to affect the peak medial contact force by 17.8–53.1%, the peak lateral contact force by 35.0–88.4% and the peak total contact force by 5.2–18.7%. Our findings support the clinical observations that a greater than 3° internal mal‐rotation of the femoral component may lead to unsatisfactory pain levels and a greater than 3° varus mal‐rotation of the tibial component may lead to medial bone collapse. These findings determined the quantitative effects of the mal‐rotation of the components in TKA on the contact load. The effect of such mal‐rotation of the components of TKA on the kinematics would be further addressed in future studies. © 2015 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 33:1287–1296, 2015.
Estimation of vocal cord biomechanical parameters by non-linear inverse filtering of voice

Voice pathologies are a growing social concern, due to the role that voice and speech play in the performance of certain professions, and in the general population quality of life. In these last years emphasis has been placed in the early detection of these pathologies, for which computer tools performing voice processing are used to evaluate certain time and spectrum domain parameters to infer the presence of pathology. Going one step ahead the present work is aimed to estimate the values of the biomechanical parameters of the vocal fold system, as mass, stiffness and losses by the inversion of the vocal fold structure, which could help in classifying the specific patient’s pathology. The model structure of the vocal cord will be presented, and a method to estimate the biomechanical parameters of the cord body structure will be described. Results for normal and pathological cases will be presented and discussed.
Psychological and Behavioral Effects of Mood-Induction Procedures with Children

The experimental manipulation of mood in the laboratory is a viable approach for studying mood in children. The present paper describes the use with children of direct mood inductions and the behavioral and cognitive effects. The procedure produces effects similar to those produced by naturally occurring depressed mood. It is concluded that direct induction procedures may enhance current methodological, theoretical, and clinical understanding about depression in children. Recommendations for research are suggested.
Schr\"odingerisation based computationally stable algorithms for ill-posed problems in partial differential equations

We introduce a simple and stable computational method for ill-posed partial differential equation (PDE) problems. The method is based on Schr\"odingerisation, introduced in [S. Jin, N. Liu and Y. Yu, Phys. Rev. A, 108 (2023), 032603], which maps all linear PDEs into Schr\"odinger-type equations in one higher dimension, for quantum simulations of these PDEs. Although the original problem is ill-posed, the Schr\"odingerized equations are Hamiltonian systems and time-reversible, allowing stable computation both forward and backward in time. The original variable can be recovered by data from suitably chosen domain in the extended dimension. We will use the backward heat equation and the linear convection equation with imaginary wave speed as examples. Error analysis of these algorithms are conducted and verified numerically. The methods apply to both classical and quantum computers, and we also layout the quantum algorithms for these methods.
Continuities in Problem Behavior Among High Risk Youths

ABSTRACT We report the results of a test of a structural model reflecting the longitudinal relationships of psychosocial problems among youths involved in a Center for Substance Abuse Treatment funded clinical trial for juveniles that participated in a diversion program. The project is evaluating the efficacy of an intensive 16-week case management service to youths and their families. The present study examines the continuity of (1) psychosocial problems, measured as a latent variable comprising family problems, peer problems, and educational problems, (2) drug involvement, use, and effects, and (3) self-reported delinquency for baseline and approximately 1-year follow-up interview data for 165 and 137 youths, respectively. The results support existing literature indicating that once problem behaviors are established at an early age, they have a strong likelihood of persisting over time. Implications for policy and intervention service needs are discussed.
Activity Recognition in a Home Setting Using Off the Shelf Smart Watch Technology

Being able to detect in real-time the activity performed by a user in a home setting provides highly valuable context. It can allow more effective use of novel technologies in a large variety of applications, from comfort and safety to energy efficiency, remote health monitoring and assisted living. In a home setting, activity recognition has been traditionally studied based on either a large sensor network infrastructure already set up in a home, or a network of wearable sensors attached to various parts of the user's body. We argue that both approaches suffer considerably in terms of practicality and propose instead the use of commercial-shelf smart watches, already owned by the users. We test the feasibility of this approach with two different smart watches of very different capabilities, on a variety of activities performed daily in a domestic environment, from brushing teeth to preparing food. Our experimental results are encouraging, as using standard Support Vector Machine based classification, the accuracy rates range between 88% and 100%, depending on the type of smart watch and the window size chosen for data segmentation.
Design and Analysis of the Causation and Prediction Challenge

We organized for WCCI 2008 a challenge to evaluate causal modeling techniques, focusing on predicting the efiect of \interventions" performed by an external agent. Examples of that problem are found in the medical domain to predict the efiect of a drug prior to administering it, or in econometrics to predict the efiect of a new policy prior to issuing it. We concentrate on a given target variable to be predicted (e.g., health status of a patient) from a number of candidate predictive variables or \features" (e.g., risk factors in the medical domain). Under interventions, variable predictive power and causality are tied together. For instance, both smoking and coughing may be predictive of lung cancer (the target) in the absence of external intervention; however, prohibiting smoking (a possible cause) may prevent lung cancer, but administering a cough medicine to stop coughing (a possible consequence) would not. We propose four tasks from various application domains, each dataset including a training set drawn from a \natural" distribution and three test sets: one from the same distribution as the training set and two corresponding to data drawn when an external agent is manipulating certain variables. The goal is to predict a binary target variable, whose values on test data are withheld. The participants were asked to provide predictions of the target variable on test data and the list of variables (features) used to make predictions. The challenge platform remains open for post-challenge submissions and the organization of other events is under way (see http://clopinet.com/causality).
Concurrent level set and fiber orientation optimization of composite structures

By adjusting both the structural shape and fiber orientation, this research aims to optimize the design of Fiber Reinforced Composite structures. The structural geometry is represented by a level set function, which is approximated by quadratic B-spline functions. The fiber orientation field is parameterized with quadratic/cubic B-splines on hierarchically refined meshes. Different levels for B-spline mesh refinement for the level set and fiber orientation fields are studied to obtain a smooth fiber layout. To facilitate FRC manufacturing, the parallel alignment, and smoothness of fiber paths are enforced by introducing penalty terms referred to as"misalignment penalty and curvature penalty", which are incorporated into the optimization process. A geometric interpretation of the penalties is provided. The material behavior of the FRCs is modeled by the Mori-Tanaka homogenization scheme and the macroscopic structure response is modeled by linear elasticity under static mutiloading conditions. The Governing equations are discretized by a Heaviside-enriched eXtended IsoGeometric Analysis to avoid the need to generate conformal meshes. Instabilities in XIGA are mitigated by the facet-oriented ghost stabilization technique. This work considers mass and strain energy in the formulation of the optimization objective, along with misalignment and curvature penalties and additional regularization terms. Constraints are imposed on the volume of the structure. The resulting optimization problems are solved by a gradient-based algorithm. The design sensitivities are computed by the adjoint method. Numerical examples demonstrate with two-dimensional and three-dimensional configurations that the proposed method is efficient in simultaneously optimizing the macroscopic shape and the fiber layout while improving manufacturability by promoting parallel and smooth fiber paths.
Learners’ Discursive Voices in Role Play, Dialogic Means of Meaning Construction and Their Implications for Innovative Pedagogies

Abstract This paper presents an analysis of the utterances of two groups of Thai EFL learners while engaged in role play, revealing a dialogic interaction between their personal ‘lived’ identities and the ‘projected identities’ found in the learning materials. The first group used materials from the New Headway Elementary student's course book (Soars & Soars, 2000), which invokes mainly voices and meanings related to the cultures or lifeworlds of the West. The second group used specially prepared ‘third space’ materials invoking voices and meanings drawn from the learners’ local culture and lived experience. The findings are: (1) both groups have marked potential to infuse their contextual meanings into the other-discourse of their materials for self-representation; and (2) ‘third space’ materials have more potential to enrich linguistic resources and opportunities for learners’ meaning-making and scaffolded learning than ‘Headway’ materials. The study thus supports the use of the ‘third space’ concept for designing EFL materials that will enhance learner-centred discursive construction and dialogic communication.