Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The effect of sukha pranayama on anxiety in patients undergoing coronary angiography: a single -blind randomized controlled trial

Introduction: Anxiety is among the most common problems experienced by coronary angiography (CA) candidates. Different modalities are used to manage anxiety. This study sought to examine the effects of a pranayama exercise on CA candidates’ anxiety. Methods: This double-blind randomized controlled trial was undertaken in 2015 on 80 eligible patients. The patients were randomly allocated to a control and an experimental group. Before undergoing angiography, patients in the experimental group performed sukha pranayama exercises. They were trained to breathe slowly and rhythmically at a rate of ten breathing per minute for five consecutive minutes. Patients in the control group only received routine preangiography care. Data collection tools were a demographic questionnaire and the Spielberger State Anxiety Inventory. The level of patients’ anxiety in both groups was measured before, half an hour after, and one hour after the intervention. The data were analyzed through doing the independent-sample t and the chi-square tests. Results: Before the intervention, the mean of anxiety score in the experimental group was 53.37, which significantly decreased to 40.75 after the intervention (P = 0.0001). In the control group, the mean of anxiety score decreased from 54.27 to 51.4. This decrease was not statistically significant. Moreover, between-group comparisons revealed significant differences between the groups regarding between-measurement mean differences of anxiety score (P < 0.01). Conclusion: Sukha pranayama is effective in alleviating CA candidates’ anxiety.
Isolation and Characterization of New Leptospira Genotypes from Patients in Mayotte (Indian Ocean)

Background Leptospirosis has been implicated as a severe and fatal form of disease in Mayotte, a French-administrated territory located in the Comoros archipelago (southwestern Indian Ocean). To date, Leptospira isolates have never been isolated in this endemic region. Methods and Findings Leptospires were isolated from blood samples from 22 patients with febrile illness during a 17-month period after a PCR-based screening test was positive. Strains were typed using hyper-immune antisera raised against the major Leptospira serogroups: 20 of 22 clinical isolates were assigned to serogroup Mini; the other two strains belonged to serogroups Grippotyphosa and Pyrogenes, respectively. These isolates were further characterized using partial sequencing of 16S rRNA and ligB gene, Multi Locus VNTR Analysis (MLVA), and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Of the 22 isolates, 14 were L. borgpetersenii strains, 7 L. kirschneri strains, and 1, belonging to serogoup Pyrogenes, was L. interrogans. Results of the genotyping methods were consistent. MLVA defined five genotypes, whereas PFGE allowed the recognition of additional subgroups within the genotypes. PFGE fingerprint patterns of clinical strains did not match any of the patterns in the reference strains belonging to the same serogroup, suggesting that the strains were novel serovars. Conclusions Preliminary PCR screening of blood specimen allowed a high isolation frequency of leptospires among patients with febrile illness. Typing of leptospiral isolates showed that causative agents of leptospirosis in Mayotte have unique molecular features.
Bringing Order to Digital Libraries: From Keyphrase Extraction to Index Term Assignment

Collections of topically related documents held by digital libraries are valuable resources for users; however, as collections grow, it becomes more difficult to search them for specific information. Structure needs to be introduced to facilitate searching. Assigning index terms is helpful, but it is a tedious task even for professional indexers, requiring knowledge about the collection in general, and the document in particular. Automatic index term assignment (ITA) is considered to be a great improvement. In this paper we present a hybrid approach to index term assignment, using a combination of keyphrase extraction and multi-label classification. Keyphrase extraction efficiently assigns infrequently used
A Unified Approach for Weighted Viterbi Decoding in MIMO-OFDM Precoding Systems

In this paper, a unified approach for weighted Viterbi decoding is proposed to improve error rate performance in multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) and orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems with linear precoding. The MIMO-OFDM systems with limited feedback precoding, optimal linear precoding (eigenmode), and spatial multiplexing are considered as a unified framework. In the proposed method, the branch metric is weighted by using the signal to interference noise ratio (SINR) of the effective channel in soft decision Viterbi decoding. The proposed scheme can mitigate noise enhancement for the coherent zero-forcing (ZF) or minimum mean square error (MMSE) decoder in these coded systems. Two low complexity linear decoders based on ZF and MMSE are compared. Extensive simulations show that the proposed unified approach with low complexity exhibit excellent performance.
The Research of Blind Signal Separation Algorithm Based on Neural Network

In order to solve the problem of bad separation result of Anti-Hebbian algorithm, a weighted algorithm of blind signal based on the feed back neural network is discussed, i.e. the influence of source signal is overcame by the weighted process. And furthermore, the similarity algorithm is presented. The main process of the blind signal separation algorithm is to construct neural network by the characteristic of blind signal, then to train network using the weighted algorithm or similarity algorithm and get the result at last. The results of the simulation experiment and the practical speech signal separation show the separation effect of the weighted algorithm and similarity algorithm is superior to that of Anti-Hebbian algorithm.
An estimation of the entomological inoculation rate for Ifakara: a semi‐urban area in a region of intense malaria transmission in Tanzania

Summary An entomological study on vectors of malaria and their relative contribution to Plasmodium falciparum transmission in the semi‐urban area of Ifakara, south‐eastern Tanzania, was conducted. A total of 32 houses were randomly sampled from the area and light trap catches (LTC) performed in one room in each house every 2 weeks for 1 year. A total of 147 448 mosquitoes were caught from 789 LTC; 26 134 Anopheles gambiae s.l. , 615 A. funestus, 718 other anophelines and 119 981 culicines. More than 60% of the total A. gambiae s.l. were found in five (0.6%) LTCs, with a maximum of 5889 caught in a single trap. Of 505 A. gambiae s.l. speciated by polymerase chain reaction, 91.5% were found to be A. arabiensis. Plasmodium falciparum sporozoite enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay tests were performed on 10 108 anopheles mosquitoes and 39 (0.38%) were positive. Entomological inoculation rate (EIR) estimates were generated using a standard method and an alternative method that allows the calculation of confidence intervals based on a negative binomial distribution of sporozoite positive mosquitoes. Overall EIR estimates were similar; 31 vs. 29 [95% confidence interval (CI): 19, 44] infectious bites per annum, respectively. The EIR ranged from 4 (95% CI: 1, 17) in the cool season to 108 (95% CI: 69, 170) in the wet season and from 54 (95% CI: 30, 97) in the east of the town to 15 (95% CI: 8, 30) in the town centre. These estimates show large variations over short distances in time and space. They are all markedly lower than those reported from nearby rural areas and for other parts of Tanzania.
Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome is an Independent Predictor of One-Year Mortality in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction.

BACKGROUND Convincing evidence suggests that inflammatory biomarkers are associated with an increased risk among patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, the impact of systemic inflammatory response (SIRS) on one-year clinical outcomes remains uncertain. Herein we investigated the impact of SIRS on one-year mortality and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in patients with AMI. METHODS We conducted a retrospective study that enrolled patients admitted due to AMI and who received coronary artery intervention from January 2012 to June 2014. SIRS was defined according to standard criteria as having two or more of the following: (1) body temperature < 36 or > 38 °C, (2) heart rate > 90 beats per minute, (3) respiratory rate > 20, or (4) white blood cell count < 4000/mm3 or > 12,000/mm3. The primary endpoint was one-year mortality. The secondary endpoint was a one-year MACE, including revascularization, AMI, and stroke. RESULTS A total of 330 AMI patients were enrolled in the study, and 121 study subjects (36.6%) met the SIRS criteria. AMI patients with SIRS on admission had significantly increased one-year all-cause mortality (control vs. SIRS: 21.1% vs. 33.1%, p = 0.026) and one-year MACE (35.9% vs. 53.7%, p = 0.022). Patients with SIRS had a higher incidence of one-year non-fatal myocardial infarction, but not non-fatal stroke. After multivariable adjustment, SIRS [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.773, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.097-2.886, p = 0.019] and age (HR = 1.038, 95% CI = 1.018-1.058, p < 0.001) were associated with enhanced risk of one-year mortality. CONCLUSIONS This study revealed that AMI patients with SIRS on initial admission were associated with increased risk of one-year all-cause mortality.
"Linked data as background knowledge for information extraction on the web" by Ziqi Zhang, Anna Lisa Gentile and Isabelle Augenstein with Martin Vesely as coordinator

Information Extraction (IE) is the technique for transforming textual data into structured representation that can be understood by machines. It is a crucial technique in enabling the Semantic Web, where increasing interest has been seen in recent years. This article reports recent progress in the LODIE project - Linked Open Data for Information Extraction, aimed at advancing Web IE to a new frontier by exploiting largely available, semantically annotated, Linked Open Data as background knowledge. We cover topics of wrapper induction, IE from semi-structured content such as tables and lists, and IE from free-text. We describe new challenges in the research and methods proposed to address them, together with summaries of recent evaluations showing encouraging results.
SFAs do not impair endothelial function and arterial stiffness123

Background: It is uncertain whether saturated fatty acids (SFAs) impair endothelial function and contribute to arterial stiffening. Objective: We tested the effects of replacing SFAs with monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) or carbohydrates on endothelial function and arterial stiffness. Design: With the use of a parallel-designed randomized controlled trial in 121 insulin-resistant men and women, we measured vascular function after 1 mo of consumption of a high-SFA (HS) diet and after 24 wk after random assignment to the HS diet or diets that contained <10% SFAs and were high in either MUFAs or carbohydrates. The primary outcome was a change in flow-mediated dilation (FMD), and secondary outcomes were changes in carotid to femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV) and plasma 8-isoprostane F2α-III concentrations. Results: For 112 participants with data available for analysis on the specified outcomes, no significant differences were shown. FMD with the HS reference diet was 6.7 ± 2.2%, and changes (95% CIs) after 6 mo of intervention were +0.3 (−0.4, 1.1), −0.2 (−0.8, 0.5), and −0.1 (−0.6, 0.7) with HS, high-MUFA (HM), and high-carbohydrate (HC) diets, respectively. After consumption of the HS reference diet, the geometric mean (±SD) PWV was 7.67 ± 1.62 m/s, and mean percentages of changes (95% CIs) were −1.0 (−6.2, 4.3) with the HS diet, 2.7 (−1.4, 6.9) with the HM diet, and −1.0 (−5.5, 3.4) with the HC diet. With the HS reference diet, the geometric mean (±SD) plasma 8-isoprostane F2α-III concentration was 176 ± 85 pmol/L, and mean percentage of changes (95% CIs) were 1 (−12, 14) with the HS diet, 6 (−5, 16) with the HM diet, and 4 (−7, 16) with the HC diet. Conclusion: The replacement of SFAs with MUFAs or carbohydrates in healthy subjects does not affect vascular function. This trial was registered at Current Controlled Trials (http://www.controlled-trials.com/ISRCTN) as ISRCTN 29111298.
Dosage Mutator Genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: A Novel Mutator Mode-of-Action of the Mph1 DNA Helicase

Mutations that cause genome instability are considered important predisposing events that contribute to initiation and progression of cancer. Genome instability arises either due to defects in genes that cause an increased mutation rate (mutator phenotype), or defects in genes that cause chromosome instability (CIN). To extend the catalog of genome instability genes, we systematically explored the effects of gene overexpression on mutation rate, using a forward-mutation screen in budding yeast. We screened ∼5100 plasmids, each overexpressing a unique single gene, and characterized the five strongest mutators, MPH1 (mutator phenotype 1), RRM3, UBP12, PIF1, and DNA2. We show that, for MPH1, the yeast homolog of Fanconi Anemia complementation group M (FANCM), the overexpression mutator phenotype is distinct from that of mph1Δ. Moreover, while four of our top hits encode DNA helicases, the overexpression of 48 other DNA helicases did not cause a mutator phenotype, suggesting this is not a general property of helicases. For Mph1 overexpression, helicase activity was not required for the mutator phenotype; in contrast Mph1 DEAH-box function was required for hypermutation. Mutagenesis by MPH1 overexpression was independent of translesion synthesis (TLS), but was suppressed by overexpression of RAD27, a conserved flap endonuclease. We propose that binding of DNA flap structures by excess Mph1 may block Rad27 action, creating a mutator phenotype that phenocopies rad27Δ. We believe this represents a novel mutator mode-of-action and opens up new prospects to understand how upregulation of DNA repair proteins may contribute to mutagenesis.
Assisted Descriptor Selection Based on Visual Comparative Data Analysis

Exploration and selection of data descriptors representing objects using a set of features are important components in many data analysis tasks. Usually, for a given dataset, an optimal data description does not exist, as the suitable data representation is strongly use case dependent. Many solutions for selecting a suitable data description have been proposed. In most instances, they require data labels and often are black box approaches. Non‐expert users have difficulties to comprehend the coherency of input, parameters, and output of these algorithms. Alternative approaches, interactive systems for visual feature selection, overburden the user with an overwhelming set of options and data views. Therefore, it is essential to offer the users a guidance in this analytical process. In this paper, we present a novel system for data description selection, which facilitates the user's access to the data analysis process. As finding of suitable data description consists of several steps, we support the user with guidance. Our system combines automatic data analysis with interactive visualizations. By this, the system provides a recommendation for suitable data descriptor selections. It supports the comparison of data descriptors with differing dimensionality for unlabeled data. We propose specialized scores and interactive views for descriptor comparison. The visualization techniques are scatterplot‐based and grid‐based. For the latter case, we apply Self‐Organizing Maps as adaptive grids which are well suited for large multi‐dimensional data sets. As an example, we demonstrate the usability of our system on a real‐world biochemical application.
On the complexity of learning from drifting distributions

We consider two models of on-line learning of binary-valued functions from drifting distributions due to Bartlett. We show that if each example is drawn from a joint distribution which changes in total variation distance by at most O( 3=(d log(1= ))) between trials, then an algorithm can achieve a probability of a mistake at most worse than the best function in a class of VC-dimension d. We prove a corresponding necessary condition of O( 3=d). Finally, in the case that a xed function is to be learned from noise-free examples, we show that if the distributions on the domain generating the examples change by at most O( 2=(d log(1= ))), then any consistent algorithm learns to within accuracy . 3 For a list of the typographical symbols used, please consult Latex, by Leslie Lamport.
Smoothing methods for variance reduction in simulation of Markov chains

This paper is concerned with the problem of applying simulation to efficiently estimate the long-run average cost m associated with a Markov chain {Xn } when a cost F(Xn – 1, Xn ) is incurred during the nth state transition, n = 1,2, . Our approach is to replace the cost structure F by a (smoother) cost structure F’ which provably results in the same long-run average cost m, and (hopefully) results in easier simulation. We show that the smoothing techniques proposed in this paper lead to variance reduction when applied to two state Markov chains, and we also present empirical results that show that the application of these techniques can lead to variance reduction on more general Markov chains.
Enhancement of the Antitumor Effect by Combined Use of High‐energy Shock Waves and ATX‐70

The antitumor effects of high‐energy shock waves (HESW) in combination with ATX‐70 [a gallium‐porphyrin complex, 2,4‐bis(1‐decyloxyethyl)‐Ga(III)‐1,3,5,8‐tetramethylporphyrin‐6,7‐dipropionyi diaspartic acid] were investigated. In vitro, the cell damage to mouse MH134 hepatoma after HESW treatment was enhanced by adding ATX‐70. In vivo, HESW and ATX‐70 combination therapy inhibited cell growth. However, neither HESW treatment alone nor ATX‐70 treatment alone inhibited cell growth. These results imply that the antitumor effects of HESW and ATX‐70 combined therapy are caused by activation of ATX‐70 by HESW.
Planning contact supports for acyclic motion with task constraints and experiment on HRP-2

Abstract With this paper we focus on one feature of our contact planner, namely the posture generation, that was under-used so far. We describe it carefully and show we can take advantage of the underlying optimization-based scheme to perform richer planning by the introduction of generic tasks that are not related to locomotion. We then apply with success the resulting improved planner to a challenging scenario and experiment its output plan on a HRP-2 humanoid robot.
Focal macular electroretinograms before and after removal of choroidal neovascular lesions.

PURPOSE To evaluate the changes in focal macular electroretinograms (fmERGs) after surgical removal of choroidal neovascular (CNV) lesions. METHODS Fourteen patients (14 eyes) with subfoveal or juxtafoveal CNV associated with age-related macular degeneration and 1 patient with idiopathic CNV underwent vitrectomy and removal of the lesions. fmERGs elicited by a 15 degree stimulus were recorded before and 3 months after surgery. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) was performed to measure the foveal and parafoveal thickness before and 3 months after surgery. RESULTS Preoperative fmERGs were markedly reduced in all eyes. The mean amplitude of the b-wave in 15 eyes recorded 3 months after surgery increased significantly (P = 0.0022, Wilcoxon signed rank test). In all eyes except two with nearly nonrecordable a- and b- waves, the mean b-wave-to-a-wave ratio after surgery increased significantly in all eyes (P = 0.0330, Wilcoxon signed rank test). The percentage increase in the b-wave amplitude correlated significantly with the percentage decrease in the mean parafoveal retinal thickness (r = 0.688, P = 0.0076). CONCLUSIONS The decreased macular ERGs were partially recoverable in the early postoperative period. The decreased retinal edema after surgery may have contributed to this recovery.
The Effects of a Career Development Course on Career and College Major Decision-Making in College Students

College Students By Sidra Tabassum Baig Master of Arts, Counselor Education, The University of Montana, Missoula, MT, 2008 Master of Science (Hons), Sociology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan, 2005 Bachelor of Arts, Social Work, Psychology, Punjab University, Lahore, Pakistan, 2002 Dissertation presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctorate of Education in Counselor Education and Supervision The University of Montana Missoula, MT Spring 2012
Coaching the Exploration and Exploitation in Active Learning for Interactive Video Retrieval

Conventional active learning approaches for interactive video/image retrieval usually assume the query distribution is unknown, as it is difficult to estimate with only a limited number of labeled instances available. Thus, it is easy to put the system in a dilemma whether to explore the feature space in uncertain areas for a better understanding of the query distribution or to harvest in certain areas for more relevant instances. In this paper, we propose a novel approach called coached active learning that makes the query distribution predictable through training and, therefore, avoids the risk of searching on a completely unknown space. The estimated distribution, which provides a more global view of the feature space, can be used to schedule not only the timing but also the step sizes of the exploration and the exploitation in a principled way. The results of the experiments on a large-scale data set from TRECVID 2005-2009 validate the efficiency and effectiveness of our approach, which demonstrates an encouraging performance when facing domain-shift, outperforms eight conventional active learning methods, and shows superiority to six state-of-the-art interactive video retrieval systems.
Spiritual Maturity as a Moderator of the Relationship between Christian Fundamentalism and Shame

The current study examined spiritual maturity as a moderator of the relation between Christian fundamentalism and shame. One hundred sixty four Christian-identified participants (141 women) were recruited through social networking sites. Participants completed the following measures through a secured website: the Revised Religious Fundamentalism Scale (Altemeyer & Hunsberger, 2004), Spiritual Assessment Inventory (Hall & Edwards, 1996), and The Shame Inventory (Rizvi, 2010). Hierarchical regressions were used to examine the moderation effects of spiritual maturity on shame for Christians who scored both high and low on the fundamentalist spectrum. Results revealed that two components of spiritual maturity—awareness of God and realistic acceptance—moderated the relationship between Christian fundamentalism and shame. Christians scoring high on fundamentalism and high on these dimensions of spiritual maturity experienced low shame. Conversely, Christians scoring high on fundamentalism and low on these dimensions of spiritual maturity experienced high shame. Implications for mental health clinicians and clergy are discussed.