Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Influence of Scalp Infiltration with Bupivacaine on Hemodynamics and Postoperative Pain in Adult Patients Undergoing Craniotomy

After craniotomy, hypertension may contribute to intracerebral hemorrhage.We studied whether scalp infiltration with bupivacaine during craniotomy reduces postoperative pain and hypertension. In a double-blind fashion, 36 adult patients (ASA physical status II or III) undergoing elective craniotomy were randomly assigned to receive scalp infiltration with either bupivacaine (0.25%) and epinephrine (1:200,000) or saline/epinephrine (1:200,000) for skeletal fixation, skin incision, and wound closure. Heart rate (HR) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) were measured after anesthesia induction, after skull-pin insertion, after scalp infiltration, during dural closure, during skin closure, on admission to postanesthesia care unit (PACU), and 1 h after admission. Visual analog pain scores were recorded in the PACU. MAP was significantly greater in the saline group at scalp infiltration. HR was significantly faster in the saline group at dural and skin closure. The bupivacaine group reported significantly less pain than the saline group at PACU admission and 1 h after admission. Pain scores did not correlate with hemodynamic measurements. We conclude that scalp infiltration with 0.25% bupivacaine with 1:200,000 epinephrine blunts certain intraoperative hemodynamic responses and reduces postoperative pain but has no effect on postoperative hemodynamics. Implications: We sought to evaluate whether scalp infiltration with bupivacaine and epinephrine at the beginning and end of craniotomy would afford more intra- and postoperative hemodynamic stability and influence immediate postoperative pain. We found that intraoperative hemodynamics were not influenced greatly; however, craniotomy patients do have significant postoperative pain, which does not seem to have an influence on hemodynamics in the postanesthesia care unit. (Anesth Analg 1998;87:579-82)
A Speech Corpus for Modeling Language Acquisition: CAREGIVER

A multi-lingual speech corpus used for modeling language acquisition called CAREGIVER has been designed and recorded within the framework of the EU funded Acquisition of Communication and Recognition Skills (ACORNS) project. The paper describes the motivation behind the corpus and its design by relying on current knowledge regarding infant language acquisition. Instead of recording infants and children, the voices of their primary and secondary caregivers were captured in both infant-directed and adult-directed speech modes over four languages in a read speech manner. The challenges and methods applied to obtain similar prompts in terms of complexity and semantics across different languages, as well as the normalized recording procedures employed at different locations, is covered. The corpus contains nearly 66000 utterance based audio files spoken over a two-year period by 17 male and 17 female native speakers of Dutch, English, Finnish, and Swedish. An orthographical transcription is available for every utterance. Also, time-aligned word and phone annotations for many of the sub-corpora also exist. The CAREGIVER corpus will be published via ELRA.
2 LBPM and GEFE 2 . 1 The LBPM for Feature Extraction

In [14], Shelton et al. presented two Genetic and Evolutionary Methods (GEMs) that evolved feature extractors (FE) for facial recognition. One of the methods presented evolved FEs that consisted of non-uniform, overlapping “patches” that did not cover the entire image. The other was similar with the exception that it evolved FEs that consisted of patches that were of uniform size. The two GEMs, referred to as Genetic & Evolutionary Feature Extractors (GEFE), were instances of a Steady-State Genetic Algorithm (SSGA). In [14], the instance of GEFE that evolved FEs consisting of uniform sized patches outperformed its counterpart that evolved FEs consisting of non-uniformed sized patches. This paper compares SSGA instances of GEFE, as reported in [14], with two additional Estimation of Distribution Algorithm (EDA) instances of GEFE. Our results show that the EDA instance of GEFE that evolved FEs consisting of uniform sized patches had the best overall performance.
Vascular Endothelial Cells Mediate Mechanical Stimulation-Induced Enhancement of Endothelin Hyperalgesia via Activation of P2X2/3 Receptors on Nociceptors

Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is unique among a broad range of hyperalgesic agents in that it induces hyperalgesia in rats that is markedly enhanced by repeated mechanical stimulation at the site of administration. Antagonists to the ET-1 receptors, ETA and ETB, attenuated both initial as well as stimulation-induced enhancement of hyperalgesia (SIEH) by endothelin. However, administering antisense oligodeoxynucleotide to attenuate ETA receptor expression on nociceptors attenuated ET-1 hyperalgesia but had no effect on SIEH, suggesting that this is mediated via a non-neuronal cell. Because vascular endothelial cells are both stretch sensitive and express ETA and ETB receptors, we tested the hypothesis that SIEH is dependent on endothelial cells by impairing vascular endothelial function with octoxynol-9 administration; this procedure eliminated SIEH without attenuating ET-1 hyperalgesia. A role for protein kinase Cε (PKCε), a second messenger implicated in the induction and maintenance of chronic pain, was explored. Intrathecal antisense for PKCε did not inhibit either ET-1 hyperalgesia or SIEH, suggesting no role for neuronal PKCε; however, administration of a PKCε inhibitor at the site of testing selectively attenuated SIEH. Compatible with endothelial cells releasing ATP in response to mechanical stimulation, P2X2/3 receptor antagonists eliminated SIEH. The endothelium also appears to contribute to hyperalgesia in two ergonomic pain models (eccentric exercise and hindlimb vibration) and in a model of endometriosis. We propose that SIEH is produced by an effect of ET-1 on vascular endothelial cells, sensitizing its release of ATP in response to mechanical stimulation; ATP in turn acts at the nociceptor P2X2/3 receptor.
Capability-aligned matching: improving quality of games with a purpose

So far computer cannot satisfyingly solve many tasks that are extremely easy for human, such as image recognition or common sense reasoning. A partial solution is to delegate algorithmically difficult computation task to human, called human computation. The Game with a Purpose (GWAP), in which computational task is transformed into a game, is perhaps the most popular form of human computation. A simplified adverse selection model for output-agreement/simultaneous-verification GWAP was built, using the ESP Game as example. The experiment results favored an adverse selection model over an moral hazard model. We were particularly interested in output quality of a GWAP affected by how players are matched with each other, and proposed capability-aligned matching (CAM) versus commonly-used random matching. The analysis showed that when compared with random mathcing, the CAM improved output quality. The experiment confirmed conclusions drawed from the analysis, and further pointed out that task-human matching scheme was as important as human-human matching scheme studied in this paper. The main contribution of this paper is the analysis and empirical evaluation of humanhuman matching scheme, showing that capability-aligned matching can improve quality of GWAP.
Echo state networks with decoupled reservoir states

Echo state networks (ESNs) are a novel form of recurrent neural networks that provide an efficient and powerful computational model to approximate dynamic nonlinear systems. Why a random, large, fixed recurrent neural network (reservoir) has such astonishing performance in approximating nonlinear systems remains a mystery. In this paper, we first compare two reservoir scenarios in ESNs, i.e. sparsely versus fully connected reservoirs, and show that the eigenvalues of these reservoir weight matrices have the same limit distribution in the complex plane. We discuss the link between the eigenvalues of the reservoir weight matrix and the ESN approximation ability in a simplified ESN case. We propose a new ESN with decoupled reservoir states, in which the neurons in the reservoir are decoupled into single or pairs of neurons. A reservoir state back-elimination strategy is presented, which not only reduces model complexity but also increases numerical stability when calculating the output weights. The proposed model is tested in a communication channel equalization problem and applied to gene expression time series modeling with very promising results.
Blunted Opiate Modulation of Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenocortical Activity in Men and Women Who Smoke

Objective: To examine the extent to which nicotine dependence alters endogenous opioid regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis functions. Endogenous opiates play an important role in regulating mood, pain, and drug reward. They also regulate the HPA functions. Previous work has demonstrated an abnormal HPA response to psychological stress among dependent smokers. Methods: Smokers and nonsmokers (total n = 48 participants) completed two sessions during which a placebo or 50 mg of naltrexone was administered, using a double-blind design. Blood and saliva samples, cardiovascular and mood measures were obtained during a resting absorption period, after exposure to two noxious stimuli, and during an extended recovery period. Thermal pain threshold and tolerance were assessed in both sessions. Participants also rated pain during a 90-second cold pressor test. Results: Opioid blockade increased adrenocorticotropin, plasma cortisol, and salivary cortisol levels; these increases were enhanced by exposure to the noxious stimuli. These responses were blunted in smokers relative to nonsmokers. Smokers tended to report less pain than nonsmokers, and women reported more pain during both pain procedures, although sex differences in pain were significant only among nonsmokers. Conclusions: We conclude that nicotine dependence is associated with attenuated opioid modulation of the HPA. This dysregulation may play a role in the previously observed blunted responses to stress among dependent smokers. ACTH = adrenocorticotropin; BP = blood pressure; CO = cardiac output; CPT = cold pressor test; CRF = corticotrophin-releasing factor; HPA = hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical; MPQ = McGill Pain Questionnaire.
Reducing Noise Bias in the i-Vector Space for Speaker Recognition

In this paper we develop a simple mathematical model for reducing speaker recognition noise bias in the i-vector space. The method was successfully tested on two different databases covering distinct microphones and background noise scenarios. Substantial reduction in score variability was attained across distinct evaluation conditions which is particularly important in forensic applications. Although originally designed for addressing additive noise, we show that under certain circumstances the proposed method incidentally alleviates convolutive nuisance as well.
Recovery of forearm occluded trajectory in Kinect using a wrist-mounted Inertial Measurement Unit

Kinect sensor is a successful device that lets 3D human motion capture be used in a general residential setting. This work aims to fulfill some missing capabilities in Kinect, which are forearm orientation estimation and forearm tracking in occlusion. By using a wrist-mounted Inertial Measurement Unit and Kinect's built-in skeleton tracking, we have developed a fusion procedure that improves the upper limb motion tracking without adding too many obtrusive devices to the user.
Comments on "An SVD-Based Watermarking Scheme for Protecting Rightful Ownership"

For original paper see ibid., vol. 4, no. 1, p. 121-8 (2002). It is shown that the watermarking algorithm presented in the above paper (R. Liu et al., 2002) can be easily discredited and ipso facto cannot be used for protecting rightful ownership
A decentralized voltage regulation method for DC distribution system with self-consumption characteristic

This paper presents a decentralized voltage regulation method for an emerging concept of DC distribution system with self-consumption characteristic. The purpose of the proposed control scheme is to achieve reliable system operations and maintain the bus voltage in a stable range, with all internal energy being consumed or saved in the system. Multiple converters under the proposed control take turns to regulate bus voltage based on system operation modes classified by DC bus signaling concept. With the classified system modes, each converter controller can figure out its own operating mode via individual control loop and operate coordinately without high-rank controller and communication link. A laboratory scale DC distribution system has been built for verification and the effectiveness of the proposed work has been proven by short-term transient response and long-term system operation tests.
Cell Specificity of Helicobacter pyloriCytotoxin Is Determined by a Short Region in the Polymorphic Midregion

ABSTRACT There are two alleles of the vacuolating cytotoxin gene fromHelicobacter pylori, which code for toxins with different cell specificities. By analyzing the phenotypes of natural and artificial chimeras between the two forms of the protein, we have delimited a short stretch of amino acids which determine the cell specificity.
Comparing a Grid-based vs. List-based Approach for Faceted Search of Social Media Data on Mobile Devices

In this paper, we compare two approaches for exploring large,rnhierarchical data spaces of social media data on mobile devicesrnusing facets. While the first approach arranges thernfacets in a 3x3 grid, the second approach makes use of arnscrollable list of facets for exploring the data. We have conductedrna between-group experiment of the two approachesrnwith 24 subjects (20 male, 4 female) executing the same set ofrntasks of typical mobile users" information needs. The resultsrnshow that the grid-based approach requires significantly morernclicks, but subjects need less time for completing the tasks.rnFurthermore, it shows that the additional clicks do not hamperrnthe subjects" satisfaction. Thus, the results suggest thatrnthe grid-based approach is a better choice for faceted searchrnon touchscreen mobile devices. To the best of our knowledge,rnsuch a summative evaluation of different approaches for facetedrnsearch on mobile devices has not been done so far.
POU domain transcription factor BRN2 is crucial for expression of ASCL1, ND1 and neuroendocrine marker molecules and cell growth in small cell lung cancer

BRN2 is a developmental neural cell‐specific POU domain transcription factor and is crucial for cell lineage determination. We investigated the importance of BRN2 in the expression of the lineage‐specific transcription factors (achaete‐scute homolog‐like 1 (ASCL1) and NeuroD1 (ND1)) and neural/neuroendocrine marker molecules (neural cell adhesion molecule 1 (NCAM1), synaptophysin (SYP) and chromogranin A (CHGA)) in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) using cultured lung cancer cells. All examined SCLC cell lines expressed BRN2, as well as ASCL1, ND1, NCAM1, SYP and CHGA. The expression levels of ASCL1, ND1, NCAM1, SYP and CHGA considerably decreased when BRN2 was knocked down in SCLC cells, and the addition of a BRN2 transgene into non‐SCLC (NSCLC) cells induced the expression of ASCL1, ND1, NCAM1, SYP and CHGA. However, the BRN2 gene was not activated by the forced expression of ASCL1 or ND1 in NSCLC cells. The knockdown of BRN2 caused significant growth retardation with decrease of S to G2 phase population and mitotic cell rates and unaltered Ki‐67‐labeled or apoptotic cell rates in SCLC cells, indicating increase of G1 phase population. These findings suggest that BRN2 is a higher level regulator than ASCL1 and ND1 and BRN2 might be involved in aggressiveness of SCLC.
Gastric Epithelial Dysplasia and Sulphomucin-Type Intestinal Metaplasia

The HID-AB histologic staining technique, which distinguishes sulphomucin from sialomucin types of intestinal metaplasia, was employed in endoscopic gastric mucosal biopsies to evaluate their frequency of association with epithelial dysplasia. Sulphomucin-type intestinal metaplasia was found in 33% of the cases under observation; moderate or severe dysplasia was only associated with this type of intestinal metaplasia. Its precancerous significance can be ascertained only by means of prospective studies.
Principal descriptors of body condition score in Holstein cows.

The objective of this study was to assess objectively the ability of observers to assess body condition of dairy cows. Four observers independently assigned a body condition score (five-point scale, .25 increments) and described the appearance of seven body regions of 225 Holstein cows. Areas described were the thurl region, ischial and ileal tuberosities, ilio-sacral and ischio-coccygeal ligaments, transverse processes of the lumbar vertebrae, and spinous processes of the lumbar vertebrae. An absolute body condition score was designated for each cow based on the modal body condition score for all observers. If there was no modal body condition score, the mean score was used for the absolute body condition score. Statistical analysis of principal components was used to examine the relationship between body region description and absolute body condition score. Descriptions of body regions were highly correlated across all absolute body condition scores. Four principal component vectors explained 83.6% of the variation of the body region correlation matrix. The first principal latent vector accounted for 55% of the variation and was uniformly correlated with all body regions. Analysis of variance of first principal latent vector as the dependent variable and absolute body condition score as the class variable indicated that body condition could be separated into . 25 units between 2.5 and 4.0, inclusively. Below 2.5 and > 4.0, body condition could only be separated by . 5 units. Distinct changes in specific body regions were associated with change in absolute body condition score. Observers agreed with the absolute score 58.1% of the time, deviating by . 25 units 32.6% of the time. A body condition score can be given to a cow based on principal descriptors of specific body regions between 2.5 and 4.0 by . 25 units.
Spectrum Pooling in MmWave Networks: Opportunities, Challenges, and Enablers

Motivated by the specific characteristics of mmWave technologies, we discuss the possibility of an authorization regime that allows spectrum sharing between multiple operators, also referred to as spectrum pooling. In particular, considering user rate as the performance measure, we assess the benefit of coordination among networks of different operators, study the impact of beamforming at both base stations and user terminals, and analyze the pooling performance at different frequency carriers. We also discuss the enabling spectrum mechanisms, architectures, and protocols required to make spectrum pooling work in real networks. Our initial results show that, from a technical perspective, spectrum pooling at mmWave has the potential to use the resources more efficiently than traditional exclusive spectrum allocation to a single operator. However, further studies are needed in order to reach a thorough understanding of this matter, and we hope that this article will help stimulate further research in this area.
Monitoring of Fusarium Species and Trichothecene Genotypes Associated with Fusarium Head Blight on Wheat in Hebei Province, China

To clarify the changes in field populations of Fusarium head blight (FHB) pathogens over a decade, Fusarium species and trichothecene genotypes associated with FHB on wheat were monitored in Hebei province during the periods 2005–2006 and 2013–2016. Fusarium species determination was carried out by morphological identification, species-specific amplification and partial translation elongation factor (TEF-1α) gene sequencing. Trichothecene genotype prediction was carried out by primers 3CON/3NA/3D15A/3D3 or Tri13F/Tri13R, Tri303F/Tri303R and Tri315F/Tri315R. A total of 778 purified Fusarium isolates were recovered from 42 sampling sites in 17 counties during the period 2005–2006 and 1002 Fusarium isolates were recovered from 122 sampling sites in 65 counties during the period 2013–2016. F. graminearum was the predominant pathogen recovered during the periods 2005–2006 and 2013–2016. However, the pathogen composition differed slightly between the two periods. In 2005–2006, 752 out of 778 (96.7%) of the isolates belonged to F. graminearum. Two were identified as F. culmorum. Five other Fusarium species were also recovered, F. equiseti, F. verticillioides, F. proliferatum, F. subglutinans and F. chlamydosporum, with lower recoveries of 0.4%, 0.8%, 0.8%, 0.1% and 1.0%, respectively. Trichothecene genotype prediction showed that all the 752 F. graminearum isolates were of the 15-ADON genotype. Five Fusarium species were recovered from samples collected over the period 2013–2016. F. graminearum was again the predominant pathogen with an isolation frequency of 97.6%. F. pseudograminearum, F. asiaticum, F. culmorum and F. negundis were also isolated at a recovery of 1.4%, 0.7%, 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively. For the 2013–2016 isolates, 971 of the 978 F. graminearum strains were 15-ADON whereas seven isolates were of the 3-ADON type. All seven F. asiaticum isolates were of the NIV type and fourteen F. pseudograminearum isolates were classified as 3-ADON. F. pseudograminearum was first isolated from FHB in Hebei in 2013. Although the recovery of F. pseudograminearum is still low, it represents a small shift in the pathogen composition and trichothecene genotypes associated with FHB in Hebei province. As Fusarium crown rot of wheat caused by F. pseudograminearum is an increasing problem in Hebei province, it is appropriate to monitor the role of F. pseudograminearum in FHB in the future.
Ubiquitous Social Sensor Networking system

Social Networking Sites (SNS) require a centralized system accessible via Internet. SNS' owners are in control of user's data; this often leads to data theft, piracy and privacy issues. This paper proposes a way of socializing with people in surrounding places by using a ubiquitous social sensor network system (USSNS) where Wireless Sensor Node interact in a peer-to-peer mode without the need of Internet. Sensor Node are programed in order to exchange selected social information (e.g. status availability, emergency) to their peer sensor node within a predefine network coverage area (~ 10 indoor to 100 meter outdoor) via a multicast request. The result of this system could allow node's user to find their peer via nodes' LED lightening and engage in a face-to-face conversation if they are willing to. The USSNS aims to promote face-to-face interaction instead of current virtual interaction on SNS. The system was tested on two K-mote B2 devices using CoAP protocol.
New Approach for Approximating Parks McClellan Low-Pass Differentiators

In this paper a new approach is proposed for approximating Parks-McClellan low pass differentiators using low order IIR filters; indeed, proposed approach is a complement for Al-Alaoui’s low pass differentiator design method; A suitable low-pass filter is cascaded with a wideband differentiator so that the overall transfer function yields digital IIR filter whose numerators represent linear phase FIR filter. Although the base is same as Al-Alaoui’s method, the type and the order of low-pass filter and wideband differentiator is selected in such a manner that the overall transfer function yields steep roll-off properties, small magnitude error, good order reduction and almost linear phase in the pass-band. The proposed low-pass differentiators yield steeper roll-off properties and smaller magnitude error than Al-Alaoui’s one; moreover, their magnitude response is very close to high order Parks-McClellan low-pass differentiators.