Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Parallelized 2-Dimensional Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics Simulation

This paper presents a parallelized smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) solver implemented in Haskell. Its implementation is manifested in a 2-dimensional fluid simulation. In an effort to demonstrate the robust set of parallelization techniques in Haskell, I have implemented Müller’s algorithm for particle-based fluid simulation and tested a handful of parallelization techniques in the process. The solver includes a graphical user interface for tuning and validating the solver aswell as a command-line interface for executing performance analysis. Empirical results are included showing diminishing returns as the number of cores increase, albeit better performance at each increment. The 2-core tests yielded a speedup of 1.99x, while the 6-core tests achieved 5.13x speedup on a modern Coffee Lake Intel CPU.
Pricing exotic options with an implied integrated variance

In this paper, we consider the pricing of exotic options using two option-implied densities: the density of the implied integrated variance and the risk-neutral price density. We present a Bayesian method to estimate both densities and an optionimplied correlation coefficient between the stock price and volatility shocks. We discuss how the convexity adjustment can be avoided when pricing volatility derivatives and discuss the types of additional information that can be provided by the distribution of the implied integrated variance when pricing digital and barrier options. We then present a simple algorithm to estimate the implied integrated variance between two future moments in time and to price two pathdependent options, namely, compound and cliquet options. ∗Aalto University, School of Science, Institute of Industrial Engineering and Management, 07600 AALTO, Finland. email: ruth.kaila@aalto.fi. The author would like to thank Professor Erkki Somersalo, Case Western Reserve University and Professor Rama Cont, Columbia University and Université Paris VI-VII for discussions, ideas, comments and support. The author would also like to thank Alex Lipton, Peter Carr, Jim Gatheral, Nicole el Karoui and Dilip Madan.
Improvements with tiotropium in COPD patients with concomitant asthma

ont matter & 2007 2007.08. 003 S, American Thora FVC, forced vita Obstructive Lung uthor. Krankenha rsitätsklinikum Sch 51; fax: +49 04102 agnussen@pulmo Summary Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma have different diagnostic criteria and treatment paradigms. Both are common and can occur in the same patient. We sought to determine the spirometric effects of tiotropium in COPD patients with concomitant asthma. Methods: A 12-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group trial with tiotropium 18mcg daily was performed. Patients continued usual respiratory medications except for inhaled anticholinergics. Inclusion criteria: Physician diagnosis of COPD and asthma, age X40 years, smoking 410 pack years, post-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1s (FEV1)o80% predicted, FEV1/forced vital capacity (FVC)o70%, X12%, and X200ml increase in FEV1 following inhaled bronchodilator, treatment with inhaled steroids X1 year. Spirometry was measured serially for 6 h on days 1, 29 and 85. Results: Four hundred and seventy-two patients were randomized. Baseline characteristics were balanced. Mean age 1⁄4 59.6 years, 61.4% were men, and FEV1 1⁄4 1.55 l (53.0% predicted). Improvements at 12 weeks with tiotropium were observed for the primary endpoint FEV1 area under the curve (AUC) from 0 to 6 h (difference 1⁄4 186724ml, po0.001) and for morning pre-dose FEV1 (difference 1⁄4 98723ml, po0.001). Significant differences in favor of tiotropium were observed for pre-dose FVC (difference 1⁄4 128734ml, po0.001) and FVC AUC 0–6 h (difference 1⁄4 232735ml, po0.001). Compared to baseline, the mean weekly number of daily puffs of prn salbutamol was
Years of service : 1976-1988

Higher rates of unemployment are found among African-American men in rural communities in the US. As part of a community-based participatory research project, we sought to identify characteristics of job-seeking networks of African-American and white employed and unemployed men and women in a rural community in Missouri. We collected cross-sectional quantitative and qualitative information about job-seeking networks through in-depth interviews with 39 local residents. Descriptive network measures were used to compare the gender, race, and employment status of the people comprising participant job-seeking networks. A novel network approach was used to simulate a whole network from individual networks depicting likely patterns of job-seeking relationships across the community. Unemployed participants had larger networks, with the exception of white women. Men had more racially homogenous networks than women; many networks had no racial diversity. Men had longer relationships than women, while women had stronger relationships. Employed participants had more linkages to alters with connections to community organizations than unemployed participants. Unemployed participants had many connections, but lacked connections to the right people and organizations to aid in their job search. Increasing employment opportunities in this community, and similar communities, will require effort from job-seekers and others to develop new relationships, programs, and policies.
Non- Invasive EEG-based BCI system for Left or Right Hand Movement

A brain computer interface (BCI) records the activation of the brain and classifies it into different classes. BCIs can be used by both severely motor disabled as well as healthy people to control devices. The study addresses the development and application of a novel medical technology to measure a patient’s brain activity, translated it with intelligent software, and uses the translated signals to drive patient-specific effectors. In this work, the EEG pattern recognition approach is used based on brain computer interfaces for moving hands right and left. Electroencephalographic (EEG) signals produced by the brain were used as input to the proposed BCI system. There are two BCI approaches used in this paper; the offline BCI approach and the online BCI approach. In the offline approach, the Dataset of motor imagery EEG recordings is used, while in the online approach we used our own BCI system to capture EEG recordings. The practical online testing demonstrates the feasibility of using the proposed system with the ability of real-time processing, automatic analysis. The Principle Component Analysis (PCA) is used for both artifact removal and feature extraction. Wavelet Transformation is also developed to extract the important information from EEG recordings. The K-Nearest-Neighbor (KNN) and Neural Networks (NNs) classifiers were used to find out what the user wants. The results show that we can effectively classify two kinds of tasks based on both BCI approaches with best predictive accuracy of 99.2% for offline approach and 98 % for online approach when wavelet transform and Neural Networks used together. This gives an ideal solution for people with severe neuromuscular disorders, such as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or spinal cord injury, people who are totally paralyzed, or “locked-in”, help them to have a communication channel with others.
A Participatory Design Process of a Robotic Tutor of Assistive Sign Language for Children with Autism

We present the participatory design process of a robotic tutor of assistive sign language for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Robots have been used in autism therapy, and to teach sign language to neurotypical children. The application of teaching assistive sign language — the most common form of assistive and augmentative communication used by people with ASD — is novel. The robot’s function is to prompt children to imitate the assistive signs that it performs. The robot was therefore co-designed to appeal to children with ASD, taking into account the characteristics of ASD during the design process: impaired language and communication, impaired social behavior, and narrow flexibility in daily activities. To accommodate these characteristics, a multidisciplinary team defined design guidelines specific to robots for children with ASD, which were followed in the participatory design process. With a pilot study where the robot prompted children to imitate nine assistive signs, we found support for the effectiveness of the design. The children successfully imitated the robot and kept their focus on it, as measured by their eye gaze. Children and their companions reported positive experiences with the robot, and companions evaluated it as potentially useful, suggesting that robotic devices could be used to teach assistive sign language to children with ASD.
CBRN events management and the use of the Hysplit model: an integrative literature review

The potential risk of exposure of populations to Chemical, Biological, Radioactive and Nuclear agents (CBRN), either by intentional causes or not, is a matter of national security and demands a constant improvement in its management. The models of atmospheric dispersion have been gaining prominence as a tool to support the management of risks to CBRN agents. The objective of this research was to identify and evaluate studies that used the Hysplit model in the context of CBRN events. For this purpose, an integrative literature review of published articles was conducted between 2014 and 2018, from the PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Lilacs databases. The analysis of the selected articles revealed the potential of the Hysplit model, as a mathematical model, to understand the transport, dispersion and deposition of CBRN threats released into the atmosphere. The data produced by the simulations generated by this code can reveal which areas will be potentially impacted in a given event or the region of origin of elements dispersed in the air. In addition, Hysplit can be aggregated as a decisions support tool in the different phases of CBRN event management.
Nonparametric Estimation of the Measurement Error Model Using Multiple Indicators

This paper considers the nonparametric estimation of the densities of the latent variable and the error term in the standard measurement error model when two or more measurements are available. Using an identification result due to Kotlarski we propose a two-step nonparametric procedure for estimating both densities based on their empirical characteristic functions. We distinguish four cases according to whether the underlying characteristic functions are ordinary smooth or supersmooth. Using the loglog Law and von Mises differentials we show that our nonparametric density estimators are uniformly convergent. We also characterize the rate of uniform convergence in each of the four cases. 1998 Academic Press AMS Subject classification: primary, 62G05; secondary, 62G30.
An Educational Experiment Promoting Digital Diagrammatic Thinking

: This paper reports on an educational experiment promoting relational reasoning as a form of argumentation with graduate students of ICT in learning. Relational reasoning includes working with mind maps, concept maps, use case diagrams, decision trees, flow diagrams, dialogue maps, situational maps and more. More broadly we can say that relational reasoning consists firstly of using nodes and arcs to represent and overview interrelated meanings as visual networks and secondly allowing the interaction with these networks to generate new dynamic perspectives on the content. The educational experiment consisted of four dedicated lessons introducing different diagramming techniques to students of ICT in learning and supporting them in using these techniques as part of their reasoning and analysis in relation to their semester project. A core example tool was ArcForm that is a general-purpose relational reasoning notation and has been explored as a notational foundation for e-learning systems (Allsopp 2013, 2015).
OTT_A_202280 5701..5711

Siyi Li* Weiren Luo* 1Department of Pathology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Diseases, Shenzhen, People’s Republic of China; 2Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Cell Microenvironment and Disease Research, School of Medicine of Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, People’s Republic of China
VICTIMOLOGY TODAY RECENT THEORETICAL AND APPLIED DEVELOPMENTS

In the last few years, the discipline of victimology firmly established itself on the academic scene. There was a substantial increase in the number of universities and colleges offering courses in victimology and related subjects. A large number of books and articles were published in different languages, and in addition to several periodicals published in local languages, an International Review of Victimology, in English, was put out by AB Academic Publishers in Britain. A number of national and regional societies of victimology were established. Japan has been one of the leaders in this respect, thanks to the tireless efforts of Professor Koichi M i y a z a w a , t h e w o r l d r e n o w n e d victimologist, and a dynamic group of his students and followers.
ICLR 2020 Encoder Shared Representation Decoder Decoder Semantic Segmentation Depth Estimation Encoder Shared Representation DecoderDecoder Edge Detection Keypoint Detection Half Sized Encoder Decoder Surface Normal Prediction A B C Input Image Discarded Decoder Discarded Surface Normal Prediction D

Many computer vision applications require solving multiple tasks in real-time. A neural network can be trained to solve multiple tasks simultaneously using multitask learning. This saves computation at inference time as only a single network needs to be evaluated. Unfortunately, this often leads to inferior overall performance as task objectives can compete, which consequently poses the question: which tasks should and should not be learned together in one network when employing multi-task learning? We systematically study task cooperation and competition and propose a framework for assigning tasks to a few neural networks such that cooperating tasks are computed by the same neural network, while competing tasks are computed by different networks. Our framework offers a timeaccuracy trade-off and can produce better accuracy using less inference time than not only a single large multi-task neural network but also many single-task networks.
‘Go Out Museums!’ Museums’ Political Relevance Within the Current Media Environment

At their best, museums are institutions that create transformative experiences for their visitors. Therefore, many scholars and museum professionals have advocated for museums that do not only display narratives through their exhibitions but also take part in social change. This task becomes even more relevant when digital platforms and social media, today’s predominant sources of information as well as prime providers of spaces for social and political interactions, have proven to have negative effects for society. Despite their beneficial outcomes, new media technologies promote commoditization, ephemerality, immediacy and individualism, effects that disturb the sense of solidarity, empathy and sense of community necessary for social justice struggles. The goal of the current research project is to augment this discussion of the political relevance of museums within the current media environment approaching it from a Media Studies perspective and provide arguments that clarify this perspective’s relevance for museum professionals. Therefore, the research question that guides this paper is as follows: to what extent do media theory frameworks help us understand the political relevance of museums in their current struggles for social justice issues? To answer this question, this research conducts participant observation during two and-ahalf years working at the Casa de la Memoria Museum [House of Memory Museum] in Medellín, Colombia, and a theory analysis in the materialist media tradition. In particular, media theorists Harold Innis, Friedrich Kittler, and Marshall McLuhan were consulted for correspondences between their reflections and the case study of the Casa de la Memoria Museum’s exhibitions MEDELLIN|ES 70 80 90 [Medellin is 70 80 90] and MEDELLIN|ES Memoria Viva [Medellin is living memory].
Do house prices matter for household consumption? Evidence from Dutch administrative data

To what extent do large drops in house prices drive household consumption? Using a large panel of Dutch households over the period 2007 to 2014, when house price dropped 27%, we find a significantly positive relationship between house prices and household (durable) consumption. A 10% change in home values leads to a 0.7% change in household consumption for homeowners, but a negligible response for renters. Young and middle-aged homeowners have larger consumption sensitivities to house prices than old households. Delving into the underlying channels, a pure wealth effect can explain part of the consumption sensitivity to house prices. Furthermore, we find strong evidence that house prices affect consumption through the borrowing collateral (and precautionary saving) channel.
Maintenance Therapy with FOLFIRI after FOLFIRINOX for Advanced Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: A Retrospective Single-Center Analysis

Objectives Patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) receiving FOLFIRINOX often develop oxaliplatin-induced polyneuropathy, which limits the continuation of this therapy. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of FOLFIRI maintenance treatment after FOLFIRINOX induction in a retrospective single-center study. Methods Patients with advanced PDA treated with FOLFIRI as maintenance therapy after achieving disease control under FOLFIRINOX according to the local operating procedure between 2011 and 2016 were identified. Medical records of this group were evaluated retrospectively. Results Overall, 22 patients with PDA were treated with FOLFIRI (mean age 59 years, 55% female, 45% male). Before receiving FOLFIRI, all patients were treated with FOLFIRINOX for a median of 4 months. The median progression-free survival (PFS) under FOLFIRI maintenance therapy was 8 months. Side effects grade 3-4 (CTCAE v4.0) were observed in 18% of patients receiving FOLFIRI. Considering together FOLFIRINOX induction and subsequent FOLFIRI maintenance therapy, the median PFS was 11 months. The median overall survival (OS) from the beginning of palliative treatment was estimated at 46 months. Conclusions In the selected group of PDA patients achieving disease control with FOLFIRINOX, FOLFIRI maintenance therapy was feasible, safe, and effective, with some patients achieving long-term disease stabilization.
Interventions as the centrepiece of psychosocial risk assessment – why so difficult?

Due to the “European Union Framework Directive on Safety and Health at work” (Directive 89/391/EEC, 1989), every employer is obliged to avoid psychosocial hazards when designing work. Little is known empirically about the barriers that workplace actors experience while developing and implementing OSH measures that prevent psychosocial hazards. The purpose of this paper is to explore barriers, causes and attempts to overcome them and discusses them with reference to relevant theoretical concepts and models that help to explain how these barriers hinder the development and implementation of OSH measures. ,Semi-structured interviews with workplace actors in charge of psychosocial risk assessment (PRA) were conducted in 41 business cases, and transcripts were analysed using a thematic analysis approach. Barriers, causes and attempts to overcome them were extracted inductively and discussed with reference to relevant theories and explanatory models. ,The complex nature of psychosocial risks, hindering general beliefs, lack of a perceived scope for risk avoidance, lack of assumptions of responsibility among players on all hierarchical levels, discrepancies between formal responsibility and decision authority, and low reflexivity on processes of development and implementation of interventions were described as barriers. Causes and attempts to overcome these barriers were reflected upon by workplace actors. ,Recommendations on the organisation of PRA will be given with respect to the reported results and relevant research in this field. ,This qualitative study explores the barriers to developing and implementing OSH measures to eliminate psychosocial hazards, from the perspective of actors in charge of PRA, and why they might fail.
A Framework for User Localization and Tracking using Machine Learning Techniques in Wireless Sensors Networks

In this paper, we introduce a modular framework that is used to evaluate the performance of several user localization techniques in a wireless sensors environment. Three different stages are considered: (i) the signal acquisition and the corresponding distance model, (ii) the terminal positioning, and (iii) the filtering of the estimates over time. Moreover, we investigate how an additional sensor (i.e., an accelerometer) can be included in the filter model in order to further refine the localization accuracy. Different implementations of the above-stated modules have been tested and combined and the performance of the proposed solution is investigated. Our results suggest that the fusion of multiple techniques has a significant, positive impact on a nonsupervised user localization and tracking.
Empirical labor search: A survey

This paper surveys the existing empirical research that uses search theory to empirically analyze labor supply questions in a structural framework, using data on individual labor market transitions and durations, wages, and individual characteristics. The starting points of the literature are the Mincerian earnings function, Heckman’s classic selection model, and dynamic optimization theory. We develop a general framework for the labor market where the search for a job involves dynamic decision making under uncertainty. It can be specialized to be in agreement with most published research using labor search models. We discuss estimation, policy evaluation with the estimated model, equilibrium model versions, and the decomposition of wage variation into factors due to heterogeneity of various model determinants as well as search frictions themselves. We summarize the main empirical conclusions. r 2006 Published by Elsevier B.V. JEL classification: J6; J42; J41; J31; J21; D8; C4
Exploring Engineering Solutions in the Hope of Improving Dialysis Care

Background: This study investigated aspects of dialysis care which are often neglected. It looked at patient comfort and aspects of treatment that patients would like to see improved which were amenable to an engineering solution. Methods: The results were obtained from 12 patients at the Scarborough General Hospital’s Dialysis Center, located at 78 Corporate Drive, Scarborough, Ontario. Results: The significant areas of concern identified were discomfort, waiting times and blood clotting, with 7/12 patients indicating distress associated with treatment, 7/12 patients expressing discontent with current waiting times and 8/11 patients reporting instances of blood clotting. Conclusion: Novel methods to combat blood clotting and alleviate the discomfort associated with vascular access are proposed. In order to address concerns with waiting times and blood clotting, an integrated polymer based solution was developed. This approach is based on the multitude of properties achievable with the combination of polymers into a film and the surface modifier antithrombin-heparin (ATH) covalent complex. By utilizing a self-assembling and degradable film deposited as a coating on the portion of dialysis units which come into contact with a patient’s blood, the disinfecting and cleaning operations can be greatly improved while reducing the possibility of thrombotic complications. The interface method proposed is a novel approach to vascular access intended to alleviate patient discomfort with needles.