Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hierarchical Clustering of Long-term EEG Data

This master thesis deals with hierarchical cluster analysis on brain activity recordings created by electroencephalograph. The aim of the work is to find a hierarchical clustering method that use less memory than classical approach in the reasonable time for large datasets. In this work the classical approach, Agglomerative Hierarchical clustering, is compared to the two other approaches, Robust Active clustering and Hybrid cluster analysis. Dendrogram generated by the hierarchical clustering can be used to detect various numbers of cluster that represents artifacts in the real EEG signals. Different datasets are used for the complex comparison of the methods. We use artificial datasets with clear clusters and real EEG datasets represented by hypnograms and comatose data. For the implementations and comparisons we use MATLAB. The results of the work will be used in the PSGlab toolbox.
Operational dilemmas in safety-critical industries: The tension between organizational reputational concerns and the effective communication of risk

Organizations involved in safety-critical operations often deal with operational tensions, especially when involved in safety-critical incidents that is likely to violate safety. In this paper, we set out to understand how the disclosures of safety-critical incidents take place in the face of reputational tension. Based on the case of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), we draw on image repair theory and information manipulation theory and adopt discourse analysis as a method of analyzing safety-critical incident press releases and reports from the NNPC. We found NNPC deploying image repair as part of incident disclosures to deflect attention, evade blame and avoid issuing apologies. This is supported by the violation of the conversational maxims. The paper provides a theoretical model for discursively assessing the practices of incident information disclosure by an organization in the face of reputational tension, and further assesses the risk communication implications of such practices.
Synthetic aperture angular scatter imaging: system refinement

Angular scatter imaging has been proposed as a new source of image contrast in medical ultrasound and as a parameter for tissue characterization. We describe a new method that combines the translating apertures algorithm (TAA) with synthetic aperture methods to coherently obtain angular scatter information with high resolution in both space and scattering angle. This method, which we term synthetic aperture angular scatter (SAAS) imaging effectively applies the TAA to single array elements and then focuses the data synthetically to form high resolution images at precisely defined scattering angles. In this paper, we present experimental results implementing SAAS to form angular scatter images of a 5-wire depth of field phantom, a tissue mimicking 3-wire phantom, and in vivo human thyroid. We discuss the degree of uniformity necessary in element response for successful SAAS imaging. These experiments show new image information previously unavailable in conventional B-mode images and suggest that angular scatter imaging may have applications in the breast, thyroid, and peripheral vasculature.
Global Patterns of QALY and DALY Use in Surgical Cost-Utility Analyses: A Systematic Review

Background Surgical interventions are being increasingly recognized as cost-effective global priorities, the utility of which are frequently measured using either quality-adjusted (QALY) or disability-adjusted (DALY) life years. The objectives of this study were to: (1) identify surgical cost-effectiveness studies that utilized a formulation of the QALY or DALY as a summary measure, (2) report on global patterns of QALY and DALY use in surgery and the income characteristics of the countries and/or regions involved, and (3) assess for possible associations between national/regional-income levels and the relative prominence of either measure. Study Design PRISMA-guided systematic review of surgical cost-effectiveness studies indexed in PubMed or EMBASE prior to December 15, 2014, that used the DALY and/or QALY as a summary measure. National locations were used to classify publications based on the 2014 World Bank income stratification scheme into: low-, lower-middle-, upper-middle-, or high-income countries. Differences in QALY/DALY use were considered by income level as well as for differences in geographic location and year using descriptive statistics (two-sided Chi-squared tests, Fischer’s exact tests in cell counts <5). Results A total of 540 publications from 128 countries met inclusion criteria, representing 825 “national studies” (regional publications included data from multiple countries). Data for 69.0% (569/825) were reported using QALYs (2.1% low-, 1.2% lower-middle-, 4.4% upper-middle-, and 92.3% high-income countries), compared to 31.0% (256/825) reported using DALYs (46.9% low-, 31.6% lower-middle-, 16.8% upper-middle-, and 4.7% high-income countries) (p<0.001). Studies from the US and the UK dominated the total number of QALY studies (49.9%) and were themselves almost exclusively QALY-based. DALY use, in contrast, was the most common in Africa and Asia. While prominent published use of QALYs (1990s) in surgical cost-effectiveness studies began approximately 10 years earlier than DALYs (2000s), the use of both measures continues to increase. Conclusion As global prioritization of surgical interventions gains prominence, it will be important to consider the comparative implications of summary measure use. The results of this study demonstrate significant income- and geographic-based differences in the preferential utilization of the QALY and DALY for surgical cost-effectiveness studies. Such regional variation holds important implications for efforts to interpret and utilize global health policy research. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42015015991
Effects of intervertebral disc degeneration on segmental rotation and intradisc pressure of c4-c6 cervical spine using finite element analysis

The spinal segment C4-C6 of the cervical region is one of the most frequent site for injuries in spinal cord. Cervical degenerative disc disease develops due to loss of hydration in the intervertebral discs with increasing age. The spinal segment progresses to develop painful conditions due to high flexion and rotation movements in the upper extremity bones. The main aim of the study to analyse the effects of intervertebral disc degeneration on biomechanics of the cervical spine. The three dimensional computed tomography image was used and the finite element models of the cervical spine were developed with various levels of intervertebral disc degeneration at the C4-C6 functional spinal unit. The developed model is validated with the published data. The biomechanical effects of mild and moderate disc degeneration on the mechanical behaviour of cervical spine were studied using the developed Finite element models. The annulus fibrosis and nucleus pulposus material properties were varied to achieve moderate degeneration. The validated model is modified to various conditions with different mechanical properties and the effects intradisc pressure and progressive degeneration on the range of motion and on intradisc pressure. The analysis and the comparison is made between mild, moderate with normal human cervical spine in terms of progressive intervertebral disc degeneration. Based on this study the range of motion decreased with degeneration and the intra disc pressure increased with progressive degeneration.
Current state of the art

The aim of this book is to review available information on the origin and spread of domesticated plants in south-west Asia, Europe, and the Mediterranean Basin. Two sources of evidence exist: fi rstly, information obtained by the analysis of plant remains retrieved from archaeological excavations, where early archaeological contexts—namely Epipalaeolithic/Mesolithic, Neolithic, and Bronze Age cultures—are the main source; and secondly, data provided by living plants, particularly by the wild progenitors of domesticated plants. This chapter presents the conclusions of the book as determined from the combined information provided by these two sources (relevant data and references will be presented in the following chapters).
Research on Indoor Wireless Localization System for Radioactive Sources Based on ZigBee

This paper made a good many research on the related theory about indoor localization technology, and pointed out the key techniques for the proposed remote wireless monitoring system solution for radioactive sources. Because of the specificity of system monitoring objects-radioactive sources, ZigBee technology was adopted to implement the monitoring system, by studying the typical indoor localization technology. Functional requirements and difficulties in implementation, during the indoor localization of radioactive sources, were analyzed from three points of view. After the detailed planning of the ZigBee network nodes, the indoor wireless localization system for radioactive sources was designed. Four major functional modules, including system management, serial communication, data processing, and data storage, were devised to realize the host computer. Testing environment was constructed to test the localization system. Test results show that the indoor wireless localization system can meet users’ requirements, controlling the localization error in the range of 3m.
Automated nuclei detection in serous effusion cytology based on machine learning

Serous effusions are common in clinical practice and they are frequently encountered specimen type in cytopathological assessment. Since this assessment is subjective, time-consuming and cause intra- and inter-observer variability, the need for an automated system is arised. Identification of the cancer cells in serous effusion cytology allows for the early diagnosis of the cancer and also the staging, prognosis and monitoring these cells. The detection of cell nuclei is seen as the corner stone for diagnostic purposes in automatic analysis of cytopathological images. Nuclei detection also yield the following automated microscopy applications, such as cell counting, segmentation and classification. In this paper, machine learning based Viola-Jones object detection approach is used to detect the cell nuclei locations in serous cytology images. When the method has been tested on number of serous cytology images, the obtained results show that this method has high nuclei detection performance.
The Geopolitical Background of the Preševo Valley Crisis

Presevo Valley and northern Kosovo are two serious points of geopolitical crisis in the Balkans, for which it is necessary to find a long-term quality solution. Recently, some “new” and “old” ideas that could provide a solution for the crisis in the region have resurfaced. One of the frequently mentioned ideas is an “exchange of territories”, between Presevo Valley in Serbia and the northern area of the Republic of Kosovo. The majority of people in Presevo Valley are Albanians, while northern Kosovo is mostly inhabited by Serbs. Both regions have geostrategic and geopolitical importance for Kosovo and Serbia, but also in a wider sense. The Pan-European Corridor X, which passes through Presevo Valley, is one of the most important transport corridors in Southeast Europe, and northern Kosovo is also rich in mineral and water resources, such as the Trepca [serb. : Trepca] mine (lead, zinc and silver ore) and the Ujmani [serb. : Gazivoda] hydroelectric facility, which are of vital importance for the industrial and economic development of Kosovo. The general lack of recognition of Kosovo’s independence by the Serbs in northern Kosovo has led to aspirations for the secession and subsequent rapid accession of northern Kosovo to Serbia. Furthermore, ideas of making Presevo Valley part of Kosovo have also been promoted. The aim of this research is to analyse the advantages and disadvantages of territorial exchange ideas regarding Presevo Valley and northern Kosovo in light of the recent geopolitical circumstances in the Balkans.
Deadbeat-based PI controller for stand-alone single-phase voltage source inverter using battery cell as primary sources

This paper presents a deadbeat-based proportional-integral (PI) controller for stand-alone single-phase voltage source inverter using battery cell as primary energy sources. The system consists of the lead acid battery, third order Butterworth low pass DC filter and AC filter, H-bridge inverter, step-up transformer, and also a variety of loads as well as its sinusoidal pulse-width-modulation (SPWM) deadbeat-based PI controller. In this paper, two simulation case studies have been carried out which are the abrupt load changes from 400W resistive load to 500W resistive load and also from 400W resistive load to inductive load of 500W 0.85 power factor lagging. From the simulation results for both cases, the state-of-charge (SOC) battery is decreasing to supply power to the different type of loads, yet the battery voltage remains constant at about 36V and also the battery current exhibits smooth ripple despite current spikes produced by the H-bridge inverter so as to prolong the lifespan of the battery. It shows that the DC filter performs satisfactorily to isolate the current spikes generated by the SPWM controller and H-bridge inverter. Besides that, even though the load varies for both cases, the sinusoidal inverter output voltage can be tracked and maintained at 230Vrms with 50Hz frequency within few cycles from the instant the load changes as well as low THDv content of 1.53% and 2.78% respectively. This indicates that the controller proves its robustness and stiffness characteristic in maintaining the output load voltage at desired value to supply the power for variety of loads with minimum THDv.
Standardization of textual data for comprehensive job market analysis

Sachant qu'une grande partie des offres d'emplois et des profils candidats est en ligne, le e-recrutement constitue un riche objet d'etude. Ces documents sont des textes non structures, et le grand nombre ainsi que l'heterogeneite des sites de recrutement implique une profusion de vocabulaires et nomenclatures. Avec l'objectif de manipuler plus aisement ces donnees, Multiposting, une entreprise francaise specialisee dans les outils de e-recrutement, a soutenu cette these, notamment en terme de donnees, en fournissant des millions de CV numeriques et offres d'emplois agregees de sources publiques.Une difficulte lors de la manipulation de telles donnees est d'en deduire les concepts sous-jacents, les concepts derriere les mots n'etant comprehensibles que des humains. Deduire de tels attributs structures a partir de donnee textuelle brute est le probleme aborde dans cette these, sous le nom de normalisation. Avec l'objectif d'un traitement unifie, la normalisation doit fournir des valeurs dans une nomenclature, de sorte que les attributs resultants forment une representation structuree unique de l'information. Ce traitement traduit donc chaque document en un language commun, ce qui permet d'agreger l'ensemble des donnees dans un format exploitable et comprehensible. Plusieurs questions sont cependant soulevees: peut-on exploiter les structures locales des sites web dans l'objectif d'une normalisation finale unifiee? Quelle structure de nomenclature est la plus adaptee a la normalisation, et comment l'exploiter? Est-il possible de construire automatiquement une telle nomenclature de zero, ou de normaliser sans en avoir une? Pour illustrer le probleme de la normalisation, nous allons etudier par exemple la deduction des competences ou de la categorie professionelle d'une offre d'emploi, ou encore du niveau d'etude d'un profil de candidat. Un defi du e-recrutement est que les concepts evoluent continuellement, de sorte que la normalisation se doit de suivre les tendances du marche. A la lumiere de cela, nous allons proposer un ensemble de modeles d'apprentissage statistique necessitant le minimum de supervision et facilement adaptables a l'evolution des nomenclatures. Les questions posees ont trouve des solutions dans le raisonnement a partir de cas, le learning-to-rank semi-supervise, les modeles a variable latente, ainsi qu'en beneficiant de l'Open Data et des medias sociaux. Les differents modeles proposes ont ete experimentes sur des donnees reelles, avant d'etre implementes industriellement. La normalisation resultante est au coeur de SmartSearch, un projet qui fournit une analyse exhaustive du marche de l'emploi.
A modified Pareto strength ant colony optimization algorithm for the multi-objective optimization problems

Ant colony optimization is a meta-heuristic that has been widely used for solving combinatorial optimization problems, and most real-world applications are concerned with multi-objective optimization problems. The Pareto strength ant colony optimization (PSACO) algorithm, which uses the concepts of Pareto optimality and also the domination concept, has been shown to be very effective in optimizing any number of objectives simultaneously. This paper modifies the PSACO algorithm to solve two combinatorial optimization problems: the travelling salesman problem (TSP); and the job-shop scheduling problem (JSSP). It uses the random-weight based method as an improvement. The proposed method achieved a better performance than the original PSACO algorithm for both combinatorial optimization problems and obtained well-distributed Pareto-optimal fronts.
Claudin 6 Is a Positive Marker for Atypical Teratoid/Rhabdoid Tumors

Atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumors (AT/RTs) are highly aggressive pediatric brain tumors characterized by the presence of rhabdoid cells and negative immunostaining for INI1 (BAF47). Histogenesis is unknown and diagnosis can be challenging because of their extreme morphological and immunophenotypic heterogeneity. Currently no signature markers other than INI1 loss have been identified. To search for possible candidate proteins of interest in AT/RTs, Affymetrix GeneChip® microarrays were utilized to investigate nine AT/RTs vs. 124 other tumor samples. The most distinctive gene identified was claudin 6 (CLDN6), a key component of tight junctions. CLDN6 showed moderate or higher mRNA expression in eight of nine AT/RTs, with little to no expression in 114 of 115 other tumors. Average expression was 38‐fold higher in AT/RTs vs. other samples. Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining of 33 tumor specimens found positive membrane staining in seven of seven AT/RTs, and was negative in 26 of 27 other brain tumor samples. Notably, none of the 16 medulloblastomas/primitive neuroectodermal tumors showed IHC staining for CLDN6. IHC staining results closely matched the level of mRNA expression detected by microarray. CLDN6 may be a useful positive marker to help further identify AT/RTs for diagnostic and treatment purposes.
Compliance of children in northern France with physical activity recommendations

Aims: This study examined the compliance of French children with physical activity (PA) guidelines, using objective assessments of PA. Methods: The study involved 252 children aged 9.9 ± 0.9 years, with mean height and weight of 1.39 ± 0.08 m and 35.8 ± 8.8 kg, respectively. Their usual PA was evaluated during a week using an Actigraph accelerometer. Results: The time spent in a moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) ranged from 142 ± 44 min.d-1 to 25 ± 18 min/day according to the cut-offs used. Boys were significantly more active than girls (p ≤ .001). Overweight/obese children spent significantly less time in MVPA as determined with cut-off points at 3200 cpm (-26%) or 3600 cpm (-35%) (p < .01). Between 5% (8% of boys vs 1% of girls, p < .0001) and 9% (14% of boys vs 3% of girls, p < .0001) of children probably met the PA guidelines. No relationships were found with socioeconomic status. Conclusions: This high proportion of insufficiently active children (> 90%), together with the relatively high proportion of overweight children in this area, advocates a more aggressive PA promotion project, which should target all children whatever their social origins.
An embedded 65nm CMOS low-IF 48MHz-to-1GHz dual tuner for DOCSIS 3.0

The increased competition to deliver broadband data to the home (including GPON and VDSL) is motivating cable providers to deliver data rates which far exceed what is presently available based on the DOCSIS 1.x and DOCSIS 2.0 standards. The DOCSIS 3.0 standard provides this bandwidth increase as well as additional flexibility, where higher data throughput can be obtained by bonding together multiple downstream (DS) channels. This standard calls for the ability to bond any 4 channels in a 64MHz contiguous RF bandwidth. Solutions that allow even more channel bonding and provide more flexibility in the allocated frequency spectrum are preferred. This paper reports an embedded dual-tuner architecture able to select two independent 32MHz frequency bands, allowing for a maximum of 10 demodulated 6MHz Annex B DS channels. In Fig. 6.6. 1 the top level block diagram is shown: an external LNA amplifies the RF signal which drives an internal splitter, followed by the two low-IF tuners. Each tuner downconverts 5 DS channels to IF frequencies centered at 0MHz (CH 0), +6MHz (CH +1), +12MHz (CH +2), −6MHz (CH −1) and −12MHz (CH −2). Channels +1 and +2 lie at the images of channels −1 and −2 respectively. Any or all channels can be selected for demodulation by the SoC, up to a maximum of eight. Image rejection is enhanced digitally, taking advantage of the tuner integration into the SoC.
The Carboxyl Terminus of Protein TraD Adds Specificity and Efficiency to F-Plasmid Conjugative Transfer

ABSTRACT We isolated and characterized traD mutants with an altered specificity of interaction with relaxosomes of various conjugative (F and R388) and mobilizable (RSF1010 and ColE1) plasmids. The change in specificity was due to a loss of some amino acids in the carboxyl terminus of TraD that resulted in a broadening of the range of mobilizable relaxosomes at the expense of a decrease in the efficiency of F-plasmid transfer.
Depth gradient based region of interest generation for pedestrian detection

In this paper, we present a novel region of interest (ROI) generation method for stereo-based pedestrian detection systems. In the proposed algorithm, the vertical gradient of the clustered depth map is used to find the flat regions and variable-sized bounding boxes are used to extract the ROIs on the boundary of these regions. The ROIs are then classified into the pedestrian and non-pedestrian classes. Simulation results show that our proposed algorithm outperforms the existing monocular and stereo-based methods.
Reducción de estrés mediante atención plena: la técnica MBSR en la formación de profesionales de la salud

Este estudio examina la eficacia del programa para la reduccion del estnSs denominado Mindfull1BS&-Bassd Stress RBduc:tion (MBSR) con un grupo de 28 voluntarios, en su mayorfa profeSIonales de la salud. El 75% de los participantBS completo el programa y el malestar psicologico de estos se redujo en un 49% segun el SCL- 9OR. El mslBStar f(sico tambien mejoro, con una reduccion del 44% de los sfntomas medicos, medidos segun el MSCL Estos resultados son satisfactorios y similares a los citados en otros estudios comparables. Por ello, pensamos que la tecnica MBSR puede ser aplicable en Espaffa para la reduccion del estres en el ~mbito sanitario, con Igual efectividad que en Estados Unidos. Esta tecnica, que se Imparte en grupo, con camctar fonnat/vo y con un coste reducido, puede ser util para prevenir riesgos pslco-sociales, como 'el estn§s, en los Planes de Prevencion de Riesgos LaboralBS