Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A-scan ultrasound system for real-time puncture safety assessment during percutaneous nephrolithotomy

Background: Kidney stone is a major universal health problem, affecting 10% of the population worldwide. Percutaneous nephrolithotomy is a first-line and established procedure for disintegration and removal of renal stones. Its surgical success depends on the precise needle puncture of renal calyces, which remains the most challenging task for surgeons. This work describes and tests a new ultrasound based system to alert the surgeon when undesirable anatomical structures are in between the puncture path defined through a tracked needle. Methods: Two circular ultrasound transducers were built with a single 3.3-MHz piezoelectric ceramic PZT SN8, 25.4 mm of radius and resin-epoxy matching and backing layers. One matching layer was designed with a concave curvature to work as an acoustic lens with long focusing. The A-scan signals were filtered and processed to automatically detect reflected echoes. Results: The transducers were mapped in water tank and tested in a study involving 45 phantoms. Each phantom mimics different needle insertion trajectories with a percutaneous path length between 80 and 150 mm. Results showed that the beam cross-sectional area oscillates around the ceramics radius and it was possible to automatically detect echo signals in phantoms with length higher than 80 mm. Conclusions: This new solution may alert the surgeon about anatomical tissues changes during needle insertion, which may decrease the need of X-Ray radiation exposure and ultrasound image evaluation during percutaneous puncture.
Design and Development of a Bilingual Reading Comprehension Corpus

This paper describes our initial attempt to design and develop a bilingual reading comprehension corpus (BRCC). RC is a task that conventionally evaluates the reading ability of an individual. An RC system can automatically analyze a passage of natural language text and generate an answer for each question based on information in the passage. The RC task can be used to drive advancements of natural language processing (NLP) technologies imparted in automatic RC systems. Furthermore, an RC system presents a novel paradigm of information search, when compared to the predominant paradigm of text retrieval in search engines on the Web. Previous works on automatic RC typically involved English-only language learning materials (Remedia and CBC4Kids) designed for children/students, which included stories, human-authored questions, and answer keys. These corpora are important for supporting empirical evaluation of RC performance. In the present work, we attempted to utilize RC as a driver for NLP techniques in both English and Chinese. We sought parallel English, and Chinese learning materials and incorporated annotations deemed relevant to the RC task. We measured the comparative levels of difficulty among the three corpora by means of the baseline bag-of-words (BOW) approach. Our results show that the BOW approach achieves better RC performance in BRCC (67%) when compared to Remedia (29%) and CBC4Kids (63%). This reveals that BRCC has the highest degree of word overlap between questions and passages among the three corpora, which artificially simplifies the RC task. This result suggests that additional effort should be devoted to authoring questions with a various grades of difficulty in order for BRCC to better support RC research across the English and Chinese languages.
Predicate-Argument EXtractor (PAX)

In this paper, we describe the open source GATE component PAX for extracting predicate-argument structures (PASs). PASs are used in various contexts to represent relations within a sentence structure. Different “semantic” parsers extract relational information from sentences but there exists no common format to store this information. Our predicate-argument extractor component (PAX) takes the annotations generated by selected parsers and transforms the parsers’ results to predicate-argument structures represented as triples (subject-verb-object). This allows downstream components in an analysis pipeline to process PAS triples independent of the deployed parser, as well as combine the results from several parsers within a single pipeline.
Unraveling the AIDS Quilt : a Study in Oppression

An estimated 40,000 Americans contract HIV every year, half of them under the age of 25 (Centers for Disease Control, 2001). “The Quilt. a memorial, a tool for education and a work of art, the Quilt is a unique creation, an uncommon and uplifting response to the tragic loss of human life (The Names Project Foundation, 2011). ” This study is grounded in frameworks of multicultural feminism, critical theory, and cognitive dissonance theory, all of which are used to reveal influences of activism and influence inherent with the artifact.
A Computational Approach to Coupled Poroelastic Media Problems

In this thesis, a computational approach to saturated porous media problems is presented. Therein, large deformations in two- and three-dimensional settings including the full coupling of the two phases are considered. The influence of porosity variations on the convergence behavior of the numerical solution scheme is analyzed. The second major part of this thesis is dedicated to the extension of the computational framework to treat multi-field problems, with special interest in applications to biomechanics.
Automatic Co-authorship Network Extraction and Discovery of Central Authors

Scholarly publications are made available online by individual researchers on their home pages. The list of publications reflects the research work carried by individuals collaborating with one or more other researchers. Automatic extraction of author’s name from the list of publications is required to construct a co-authorship network for identification of prominent authors. This will aid the scientific community to identify the works carried out in collaboration among the researchers. This paper will discuss the framework developed to automatically extract the names of authors from the list of publications to construct a Co-authorship network. Further the centrality measure analysis was carried out on this Coauthorship network to discover key authors.
Capacity of a DS-CDMA system supporting mixed modulation

Future mobile systems currently being designed propose to support a wide mix of traffic types and levels of quality of service (QoS) for users. High data rates are supported through mixed modulation schemes and QoS is sometimes achieved by allowing users to request higher signal powers. This paper examines the effect on the capacity of a CDMA system of offering preferential data rates to selected users through higher order modulation. The CDMA system is based on the use of near far resistant LMMSE receivers and operates over a fading wireless local loop (WLL) channel.
Iconografia mariana e culto popolare nel codice Siriaco 341 di Parigi

Because of the presence of a medallion or a mandorla, modern scholars often connect the iconography of the Virgin and Child surrounded by an aureole to the imperial cult. In fact, the Emperor held in triumph on a shield was probably at the origin of the iconography, popularized through consular diptychs, that took over and developed the imperial prototype. Nevertheless, the connection between the shield and the mandorla can only partially explain the fortune of the Christian iconography of the Virgin with Child in an ellipsoidal medallion. As Cyril Mango noted, this iconography cannot be considered just an interpretation of the triumphal models and the Virgin is not a simple translation of the pagan Victory. The presence of the aureole around the Child defines His non-human status and it is a way to distinguish the body of Mary from the Logos that took bodily form in her womb. The meaning of this composition can be further illuminated by a careful reconsideration of an important pre-iconoclastic representation. A Syriac Bible at the Bibliotheque nationale in Paris (syr. 341) shows the Virgin with the Child in a mandorla as a part of a rich decorative programme, which dogmatic meaning is closely connected to the contemporary hymnography. The fragmentary Bible, datable through a stylistic comparison to the end of 6th or the beginning of the 7th century, contains four big miniatures and a sequence of small compositions with the portraits of standing Prophets and the Apostle James. It cannot be excluded that the depiction of the Virgin and Child in the Syriac Bible (f. 118r) is the most ancient example of the iconography of the pregnant Virgin. In fact, this image reflects the tradition of hymnography and the popular cult testified by a group of wedding presents of Hellenistic origin, that could provide a precedent and possibly constitute the ancestry of the iconography, then adapted to the monastic context. These representations attest that the tradition flourished outside the official art sponsored by the Church, as testified by some late Egyptian frescoes.
Hierarchical ICP Matching to Enable Interoperability of Multisource Building GIS Data

As many kinds of Geographic Information System (GIS) data are used in the public and private sectors, the interoperability of multisource GIS data is increasingly important. However, it is difficult to integrate buildings in multisource GIS data due to differences between management agencies and geometric systems. In this study, a hierarchical iterative closest point (ICP) matching method is proposed to detect changed objects or nonidentical objects in multisource building GIS data. First, corresponding blocks between two sets of GIS data were determined. Then, building polygons located in corresponding block pairs were registered using the ICP algorithm. Based on the similarity of buildings, matching pairs were classified into two categories, matching and nonmatching, using automatic Otsu thresholding. Building pairs with ambiguous similarity based on a threshold value were processed by secondary ICP registration of individual buildings. Three kinds of criteria for re-search candidates were tested to evaluate the performance of the proposed hierarchical ICP matching method. The proposed method showed high-quality geometric registration and improved the automatic update accuracy of changed objects.
FOG: A Meta-compiler for C++ Patterns

Modern assemblers provide powerful macro facilities to enable programmers to create their own high level constructs. In contrast, many high level languages have at best very limited macro capabilities. The macro facility provided by the C preprocessor has been almost universally derided. We examine the limitations imposed by the lack of macro facilities for pattern programming, object persistence and object communication. We propose a metacompiler (a translator from a superset C++ language) that provides macros integrated into the language as meta-functions and meta-variables of meta-classes. We show how a variety of simple facilities provided at the meta-level can allow patterns to be expressed directly, substantially reduce the lexical size of C++ programs and their consequent maintenance cost, offer a more versatile programming environment, and provide facilities needed to support persistence and communication of objects.
Multicha nnel acoustic echo cancellation: what''s new

Since the groundbreaking paper by Sondhi and Morgan in 1991, stereophonic (as well as multichannel) acoustic echo cancellation has been a eld for active research. What problems have been studied and solved so far? What are the future directions? This paper presents some history of stereophonic echo cancellation research, newly developed theory for improved description of the misalignment problem, and views on interesting problems that could be pursued in the future.
Injury Control: A Guide to Research and Program Evaluation

Most, if not all, epidemiologists would credit the field for playing a major role in elucidating the adverse health effects of tobacco smoke. The many studies of the relation of tobacco to health have provided the basis for public health action. Furthermore, many have been classic examples of epidemiologic methodology, namely, the cohort study by Richard Doll and A. Bradford Hill (1) of lung cancer in British physicians. However, epidemiologists have generally played a peripheral role in societal efforts to control and prevent the harmful effects of tobacco use. In the United States, this role has been dominated by the American Cancer Society and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In his new book, A Question of Intent: A Great American Battle with a Deadly Industry (2), David Kessler, former commissioner of the FDA, tells the inside story of the agency’s battles with the tobacco industry, first over labeling and subsequently over addiction and carcinogenicity. Kessler deserves great credit for persevering in this important public health crusade in the face of a powerful and unscrupulous segment of American enterprise. The book has been comprehensively and enthusiastically reviewed by T. P. Houston (3).
Automatic Depression Analysis Using Dynamic Facial Appearance Descriptor and Dirichlet Process Fisher Encoding

Depression causes mood disorders with noticeable problems in day-to-day activities. Current methods of assessing depression depend almost entirely on clinical interviews or questionnaires. They lack systematic and efficient ways of incorporating behavioral observations that are strong indicators of a psychological disorder. To help clinicians effectively and efficiently diagnose depression severity, automated systems, using objective and quantifiable data for depression assessment, are being developed. This paper presents a framework toward estimating a clinical depression-specific score, namely the Beck Depression Inventory–II (BDI-II) score, based on the analysis of facial expressions features. To extract facial dynamic features, we propose a novel dynamic feature descriptor denoted as median robust local binary patterns from three orthogonal planes (MRLBP-TOP), which can capture both the microstructure and macrostructure of facial appearance and dynamics. To aggregate the MRLBP-TOP over an image sequence, we propose a variant to the Fisher vector (FV) encoding scheme, denoted as the Dirichlet process FV (DPFV). DPFV adopts Dirichlet process Gaussian mixture models (DPGMM) to automatically learn the number of GMM mixtures and model parameters. Experimental results on the AVEC2013 and AVEC2014 depression databases have demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Social Workers’ Observations of the Needs of the Total Military Community

Researchers surveyed licensed social workers from 5 Mid-Atlantic states to explore their perspectives on the current state of mental health and service delivery for military service workers, families, and contractors. Social workers identified needs in the following areas: mental health, physical health and wellness, social and environmental, interpersonal and family, and military-specific needs. The majority of needs were most critical during the postdeployment stage. Education related to the observed needs was reported; social workers were most interested in learning about military culture and how to coordinate resources within the community to support the total military community. Suggestions for social work education and future research are discussed.
Mandated Premarital Therapy and Early Marital Adjustment

Abstract As research has demonstrated the effectiveness of premarital therapy; there has been an increase in participation and often a requirement for a couple to participate in premarital therapy. However, mandated treatment in general has not shown the same efficacy as voluntary involvement in therapy. Participants were those who had been married within a Presbyterian Church in the past five years and received mandated premarital therapy. Participants' initial willingness to participate in mandated premarital therapy was predictive of overall satisfaction in premarital therapy and interest in attending future therapy sessions; however, it was not predictive of overall marital adjustment. Premarital therapy implications are discussed and suggestions are offered.
SYMBOLS IN JAVANESE MANTRA AJI SEDULURAN: A MAGNIFICENT MORAL VALUE

In this paper, the literal and contextual symbols of Aji Seduluran, a Javanese magical formula were examined. Twelve versions of the ‘mantra’ –Hindu and Islamic- were analyzed by using discourse analysis. The purpose was to understand the meanings of the symbols and put them into the Javanese social and philosophical contexts. The result indicated that the symbols might be classified into three categories: a) symbols of God and gods; b) symbols of human desires; and c)symbols of social tradition. The symbols were also proven to be universal.
1 Prevalence and projections of dementia

+ explain the implications of the ageing of our population for the prevalence and incidence of dementia + describe the different types of dementia and the difficulty in distinguishing between them + summarize the incidence and prevalence of dementia, regionally and worldwide + identify risk factors for the development of dementia + explain that dementia is associated with both disability and mortality
The Effects of Human Amniotic Membrane on Healing of Colonic Anastomosis in Dogs

Background Anastomotic leakage is claimed to be responsible for about one third of deaths following colon surgeries. Therefore, research on applied materials that may prevent leakage and improve healing requires more attention. Objectives This study was conducted to determine surgical and histological outcomes of applying human amniotic membrane (HAM) in colonic anastomosis in dogs. Materials and Methods Eight cross-breed male dogs were divided into two equal groups. After anesthesia and exploration, 5cm of left colon was resected, and end-to-end anastomosis was performed in a single layer. In the treatment group (B), HAM patch measuring 2×3 cm was wrapped around the anastomotic line. Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the results in the two groups due to small sample size, and normal distribution of data was examined using the kolmogorov-simirnov test (P = 0.03). Results Modified scoring system for surgical wound healing was used to identify the grade of healing in all samples. The healing score was significantly higher in the HAM group (P = 0.01). Conclusions HAM plays a positive role in healing of colonic anastomosis, and would lead to better histological outcomes compared to simple anastomosis in dogs.
Understanding Medical Findings in Child Sexual Abuse: An Update For 2018

When child sexual abuse is suspected, it is important for medical professionals to understand normal as well as abnormal features of the external genital and anal tissues in children. Physicians and other healthcare professionals who rarely perform a detailed examination of these areas may mistakenly interpret normal findings, or findings caused by conditions unrelated to abuse, as signs of injury due to sexual abuse. For this reason, it is important for all medical professionals to have a basic understanding of the appearance of the genital and anal tissues in children. Examples of normal and abnormal genital and anal findings are provided via annotated images. This review presents a research-based summary of how medical findings in children should be interpreted with respect to possible sexual abuse. Resources for obtaining expert review of medical findings are described.
Modeling and Prediction in Diabetes Physiology

Diabetes is a group of metabolic diseases characterized by the inability of the organism to autonomously regulate the blood glucose levels. It requires continuing medical care to prevent acute complications and to reduce the risk of long-term complications. Inadequate glucose control is associated with damage, dysfunction and failure of various organs. The management of the disease is non trivial and demanding. With today’s standards of current diabetes care, good glucose regulation needs constant attention and decision-making by the individuals with diabetes. Empowering the patients with a decision support system would, therefore, improve their quality of life without additional burdens nor replacing human expertise. This thesis investigates the use of data-driven techniques to the purpose of glucose metabolism modeling and short-term blood-glucose predictions in Type I Diabetes Mellitus (T1DM). The goal was to use models and predictors in an advisory tool able to produce personalized short-term blood glucose predictions and on-the-spot decision making concerning the most adequate choice of insulin delivery, meal intake and exercise, to help diabetic subjects maintaining glycemia as close to normal as possible. The approaches taken to describe the glucose metabolism were discrete-time and continuous-time models on input-output form and statespace form, while the blood glucose short-term predictors, i.e., up to 120 minutes ahead, used ARX-, ARMAX- and subspace-based prediction. (Less)
'Asoka' - an important medicinal plant, its market scenario and conservation measures in India

As the name sig-nifies, the tree is believed to be capable of relieving the sorrows of people. Asoka bark has been widely used in Indian medicine from time immemorial for the treatment of menorrhagia, leucorrhoea, dysmenorrhea, all uterine disorders par-ticularly for weak uterus. It is also used in diarrhoea, dysentery, blood disorders, dysuria and urinary stones
The Surgical Management of Acromegaly

Acromegaly is the condition produced by one of the benign tumors of the pituitary gland. These tumors produce a variety of disorders affecting many parts of the body, producing side effects related to abnormal hormone function. The dramatic appearance of the acromegalic giant has attracted attention over the ages. This chapter summarizes the history of the recognition and ultimate diagnosis of acromegaly. The biological and physiological elements are described. The methods of diagnosis and management are elaborated. Although the focus of the chapter is on the surgical approach for treatment, alternative strategies are also discussed, along with the outcomes of management for patients and the restoration of quality of life as a primary goal. frontal bossing, skin tags, decreased muscle mass, hyperhidrosis, and loss of energy and increasing fatigue. Visual examination revealed 20/20 acuity, bitemporal visual field loss, and decreased retinal fiber layer on ocular computerized tomography. Laboratory investigation revealed low testosterone, FSH, and LH, slightly elevated prolactin at 21.3, low cortisol at 3.6, and elevated growth hormone and IGF-1 at 3.3 and 632, respectively. After 3 months of treatment with (Somatostatin the tumor decreased in and to
VLSI implementation of a realtime wavelet video coder

The architecture of a realtime wavelet video coder is described, with the main emphasis put on memory bandwidth reduction and efficient VLSI implementation. The proposed architecture adopts a modified 2-D subband decomposition scheme, alongside of a parallelized pipelined Embedded Zerotree Wavelet coder architecture. The video encoder is integrated in a 0.35 /spl mu/m 3LM chip by using 341 K transistors on a 4.93/spl times/4.93 mm/sup 2/ die, which can process 720/spl times/480 30 fps pictures in realtime.