Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Applications of the Deep Galerkin Method to Solving Partial Integro-Differential and Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman Equations

We extend the Deep Galerkin Method (DGM) introduced in Sirignano and Spiliopoulos (2018) to solve a number of partial differential equations (PDEs) that arise in the context of optimal stochastic control and mean field games. First, we consider PDEs where the function is constrained to be positive and integrate to unity, as is the case with Fokker-Planck equations. Our approach involves reparameterizing the solution as the exponential of a neural network appropriately normalized to ensure both requirements are satisfied. This then gives rise to a partial integro-differential equation (PIDE) where the integral appearing in the equation is handled using importance sampling. Secondly, we tackle a number of Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equations that appear in stochastic optimal control problems. The key contribution is that these equations are approached in their unsimplified primal form which includes an optimization problem as part of the equation. We extend the DGM algorithm to solve for the value function and the optimal control simultaneously by characterizing both as deep neural networks. Training the networks is performed by taking alternating stochastic gradient descent steps for the two functions, a technique similar in spirit to policy improvement algorithms.
From Probabilistic Graphical Models to Generalized Tensor Networks for Supervised Learning

Tensor networks have found a wide use in a variety of applications in physics and computer science, recently leading to both theoretical insights as well as practical algorithms in machine learning. In this work we explore the connection between tensor networks and probabilistic graphical models, and show that it motivates the definition of generalized tensor networks where information from a tensor can be copied and reused in other parts of the network. We discuss the relationship between generalized tensor network architectures used in quantum physics, such as string-bond states, and architectures commonly used in machine learning. We provide an algorithm to train these networks in a supervised-learning context and show that they overcome the limitations of regular tensor networks in higher dimensions, while keeping the computation efficient. A method to combine neural networks and tensor networks as part of a common deep learning architecture is also introduced. We benchmark our algorithm for several generalized tensor network architectures on the task of classifying images and sounds, and show that they outperform previously introduced tensor-network algorithms. The models we consider also have a natural implementation on a quantum computer and may guide the development of near-term quantum machine learning architectures.
Methods and models for acute hypotensive episode prediction

Hypotension is both a dangerous condition and a critical marker for the progression of certain conditions and diseases.Additional research has shown that the more quickly a hypotensive state is predicted, the better the probability of survival.This thesis explores the creation of models to predict an acute hypotensive episode at a minimum of one hour before occurrence. Models were based on data acquired from MIMIC II, a large-scale ICU database. A variety of techniques including Parzen models of normality, logistic regression, and neural networks are used to analyse the relationship between vital signs and the occurrence of hypotension in the general ICU population.Both univariate and multivariate models were evaluated, and multi-variate neural network models were found to be the best predictors of hypotension in our dataset. The best model was a multi-layer perceptron constructed using values and first-order statistical functions of a patient's mean arterial blood pressure, respiration rate, blood oxygenation level, and heart rate. Best performance occurred at a time of 60 minutes prior to the onset of a patient's first recorded hypotensive episode, and yielded an AUC of 0.84. This corresponded to a classification accuracy of 82% in a balanced dataset and 84% in an unbalanced dataset which more closely rejects the prevalence of hypotensive data in an ICU. These results indicate that there are early patterns underlying general hypotension detectable in patient physiology.
Reinforcing Teach-back Method Regarding Pain Management for Non-verbal Patients and their Families

Pain has been known to have physiologic, psychologic and emotional consequences. Education in pain management has been part for standard care for nurses. The purpose of this study was to reinforce teach-back techniques with nurses when delivering pain management education with non-verbal patients in order to improve patient outcomes in the adult ICU. By using the teach-back method, the nurse will be able to hone a more collaborative approach in dealing with pain, encourage autonomy and include the patient/family in making informed decisions regarding treatment for pain. Reinforcement regarding teach-back was focused on teaching points, and rewording teach-back cues to better engage with the patient/family and acquire more data, not just for the education but for their routing cares as well. A family guide was used as a visual aid for the teaching. A survey was conducted, pre-/post-reinforcement whether or not the nurses do teach-back and observations and family interviews were done after the reinforcement of teach-back technique. The findings show that four out of five family interviews found the guide to be useful, and four out of five nurses found the guide to be useful.
Open access to nursing journals: An audit of the 2010 ERA journal list

Objective To determine the proportion of nursing journals that are fully open access or have some elements of openness, and hence are readily accessible by nurses in clinical settings. Design A descriptive study, with interpretive analysis of existing data sources. Setting Access to online journals from the perspective of a nurse as a consumer. Subjects Nursing specific journals from the 2010 Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) list of publications. Main outcome measure The proportion of nursing journals with unrestricted online open access as of October 2011. Results Of the 224 journals included in this research, 12% (27/224) had unrestricted open access to all published manuscripts, 39% (88/224) had partial or conditional access and 49% (109/224) had no elements of open access, and required the consumer to have access to a paid subscription. Conclusion Approximately half (51%) of nursing journals surveyed have all or some articles that are open access. This is higher than other studies of open access research articles globally. However, barriers at an institutional level may need to be addressed to ensure nurses can be informed in their care of patients.
Effect Of Age And Previous Surgery Experience On Preoperative Anxiety

Background: It has been recognized for more than 40 years that patients experience different levels of anxiety when faced with impending surgery. The degree to which each patient manifests anxiety is related to many factors. Objective: This study aims to identify the effect of age and previous surgery experience on preoperative anxiety. Methodology: For the purpose of this study a sample of 200 patients who were admitted in 5th April 2009 to the 10th November 2009; in general surgery units of teaching hospitals ( Rezgari & Hawler ) in Erbil city were interviewed to assess their level of anxiety before surgery and identify effect of age and previous surgery on anxiety. The instrument used for this purpose was a questionnaire that included socio-demographic information and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) of Spilberger. STAI is a validated scale which includes 20 items related to measurement of state anxiety. High scores indicate high levels of anxiety. Results: Most of the patients showed moderate to severe anxiety level; (moderate=50% and severe=38.3%) others showed mild anxiety level (11.7%). A statistically significant relationship was seen between age and previous surgery experience before surgery. Young patients with first surgery experience showed higher level of anxiety. Conclusions: According to the results of the study patients undergoing major surgery need to be assessed regarding level of anxiety before surgery. This anxiety should be reduced through appropriate interventions, especially in young patients with no previous surgery experience that have been found to experience high levels of anxiety.
MarkeTrak VIII: 25-Year Trends in the Hearing Health Market

This is the first segment of a multi-part publication that will cover significant trends and issues in the hearing loss population. Since 1989, Knowles Electronics has conducted six MarkeTrak surveys of the US hearing loss population following the landmark 1984 Hearing Industries Association (HIA) study. Starting in 2004, the MarkeTrak national study was conducted and published by the Better Hearing Institute (BHI) through the continued generosity and sponsorship of Knowles Electronics as a public service to the hearing care industry. As in the past, the goal of this survey is to report relevant trends and report on new topics that contribute to our knowledge of the hearing aid owner population, as well as the sizeable population of people with admitted hearing loss who have chosen not to adopt amplification for their hearing loss. This publication covers 25-year trends in the hearing-impaired population including:  Hearing loss prevalence,  Hearing aid adoption rates,  Hearing loss screenings during a physical exam,  Distribution of hearing aids,  Hearing loss characteristics of hearing aid owners and non-adopters,  New hearing aid adopters, and  Demography of hearing aid owners and non-adopters. Two key changes to the trending publication are: 1) overall customer satisfaction trends have been removed from this report; and 2) comparisons of hearing loss characteristics of hearing aid owners and non-owners have been moved from the traditional survey of non-adopters to this trend and demography publication (see sidebar “More on Trak” for future MarkeTrak VIII publications).
Factors Influencing Lecturer Research Output In New Universities In Zimbabwe

The purpose of this study which is the initial stage of a doctoral study was to find factors promoting and those affecting lecturers research output in new universities in Zimbabwe. This was prompted by the observation that lecturer research output in new universities is low resulting in the majority of lecturers failing to be tenured. A descriptive survey based on a case study of one new university was used. Data was gathered from a stratified sample of 59 lectures and 201 teaching assistants using questionnaires, focus group discussions and informal interviews. The study revealed that, lecturers were motivated to research by external factors such as the need for tenure (82%) and promotion. Main factors affecting lecturer research output include a lack of research mentors (98%), very large undergraduate classes compelling the lecturer to spend all the time marking assignments (85%) on the expense of research, and lack of workshops on how to research and publish. The study recommends an alternated semester intake so that lecturer has one semester with no students when course is not on offer. Willing research mentors can be appointed within or outside the university to mentor others. Lecturers can be attached to successful researchers as assistant researchers to facilitate mentoring. Peer reviewers and editors can hold research development workshops for new lecturers.
Prescribing pattern of drugs in pediatric wards of three Ethiopian hospitals

Abstract: The 193/94 prescribing pattern of drugs in paediatric wards of three hospitals in North-west Ethiopia was reviewed retrospectively. A total of 158 medical records from Gondar (G) Hospital, 197 medical records from Bahirdar (BD) Hospital, and 177 medical records from Debre Tabor (DT) Hospital were randomly selected. The mean age of the patients was 4.4, 4.0, and 4.6 in G, BD and DT Hospital, respectively. The average admission diagnosis per patient was 1.6, 1.4 and 1.35 in G, BD, and DT Hospitals, respectively. Infectious diseases and malnutrition were the main causes of morbidity in all the three hospitals. The average number of drugs prescribed per patient was four in G Hospital, 3.2 in BD Hospital, and 3.3 in DT Hospital. Antibiotics, particularly chloramphenicol and penicillin G were the most frequently prescribed individual drugs. In most cases the selection of the antibacterials was empirical. Over prescription of analgesics/antipyretics was recorded in DT Hospital. The need for an establishment of antibiotic policy and prescription audit is discussed to enlighten on the rational use of drugs. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 1999;13(2):135-140]
Smallholder agriculture and the fate of a hyperdiverse tropical biota

Diversified smallholder agriculture is the main land-use affecting the western Amazon, home to the world9s richest terrestrial biota, yet the decades-long debate over the conservation value of smallholder agriculture relies almost entirely on data collected in less biodiverse settings. Habitat specialization in hyperdiverse Amazonian assemblages might predispose species towards sensitivity to habitat degradation, and degradation might homogenize distinctive communities in different forest-types. We comprehensively surveyed birds and trees in primary forest and smallholder mosaics spanning major edaphic and hydrological gradients in northern Peru to quantify how Amazonian biodiversity responds to smallholder agriculture. We found that smallholder agriculture devastates tree richness and reduces bird richness via beta-diversity losses across distinct forest-types. Many of the tree and bird species that persist in disturbed sites do so at greatly reduced densities. Their persistence is associated with extensive forest cover at disturbed sites, including local secondary forest and nearby primary forest, suggesting that our results represent a best-case scenario for Amazonian agricultural biodiversity. Thus, regional conservation efforts should focus on preserving primary forest. For birds, this conclusion emerges only after extensive sampling across multiple forest types, suggesting that existing literature9s focus on upland (terra firme) forest masks the true biodiversity cost of slash-and-burn agriculture.
Ultrafast glutamate sensors resolve synaptic short-term plasticity

Glutamatergic synapses display a rich repertoire of plasticity mechanisms on many different time scales, involving dynamic changes in the efficacy of transmitter release as well as changes in the number and function of postsynaptic glutamate receptors. The genetically encoded glutamate sensor iGluSnFR enables visualization of glutamate release from presynaptic terminals at frequencies up to ∼10 Hz. However, to resolve glutamate dynamics during high frequency bursts, faster indicators are required. Here we report the development of fast (iGluf) and ultrafast (iGluu) variants with comparable brightness, but increased Kd for glutamate (137 μM and 600 μM, respectively). Compared to iGluSnFR, iGluu has a 6-fold faster dissociation rate in vitro and 5-fold faster kinetics in synapses. Fitting a three-state model to kinetic data, we identify the large conformational change after glutamate binding as the rate-limiting step. In rat hippocampal slice culture stimulated at 100 Hz, we find that iGluu is sufficiently fast to resolve individual glutamate release events, revealing that glutamate is rapidly cleared from the synaptic cleft. Depression of iGluu responses during 100 Hz trains correlates with depression of postsynaptic EPSPs, indicating that depression during high frequency stimulation is purely presynaptic in origin. At individual boutons, the recovery from depression could be predicted from the amount of glutamate released on the second pulse (paired pulse facilitation/depression), demonstrating differential frequency-dependent filtering of spike trains at Schaffer collateral boutons. Significance Statement Excitatory synapses convert presynaptic action potentials into chemical signals that are sensed by postsynaptic glutamate receptors. To eavesdrop on synaptic transmission, genetically encoded fluorescent sensors for glutamate have been developed. However, even the best available sensors lag behind the very fast glutamate dynamics in the synaptic cleft. Here we report the development of an ultrafast genetically encoded glutamate sensor, iGluu, which allowed us to image glutamate clearance and synaptic depression during 100 Hz spike trains. We found that only boutons showing paired-pulse facilitation were able to rapidly recover from depression. Thus, presynaptic boutons act as frequency-specific filters to transmit select features of the spike train to specific postsynaptic cells.
Isolated tricuspid valve prolapse with rheumatoid arthritis: an unusual association

Although cardiac involvement is uncommon in rheumatoid arthritis, it occurs in a variety of forms. Tri cuspid valve involvement is very rare and when it exists it is u sually in association with mitral valve or aortic v alve involvement. A case of isolated tricuspid valve prolapse in rheu matoid arthritis is reported here.
Students' Perspectives on the Educational Environment in a Caribbean dental School during Pre-clinical Years

This study aims to elicit student perspectives of the learning environment at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine dental school during their pre-clinical years of undergraduate training. A questionnaire was administered to all pre-clinical students of the dental school in 2009. The data collected were analyzed using SPSS. Library and learning resources, student-faculty-administration relationships, meaningful experience and breath-of-interest were the survey subheadings rated most favourably. Student support, flexibility and emotional climate were the survey subheadings which received the most unfavourable ratings. These findings were in congruence of that of similar studies of US and UK medical and dental Schools. Trinidadian students rated library and learning resources significantly lower than non-Trinidadian students. Males rated student-student interaction significantly higher than females. The UWI School of Dentistry needs to focus on the allocation of resources to increase student awareness of its student support systems that are available to them - especially those that deal with student stress and coping skills. It also needs to re-examine its learning environment as it pertains to flexibility.
The effect of modeling instruction on students' achievement in mechanical work and energy

This study investigated the effect of modeling instruction on students’ achievement in mechanical work and energy. The study was carried out on grade nine students at Ghion General Secondary and Preparatory School found in Bahir Dar town, Ethiopia. A total of 138(63 female and 75 male) grade nine students participated in the study. They were grouped randomly into control group (CG) and experimental group (EG). At the beginning of the treatment, both groups were given a pre-test to know their back ground performance. The pre-test result indicated that, the two groups were at the same performance level. The two groups were treated for two weeks independently. The CG was taught by the usual lecture method while the EG was taught by modeling instruction method by the same teacher. Finally, a post test was given for both groups and the post-test result was analyzed by t-test statistical analysis. The t-test analysis showed that, the students who were taught by modeling instruction achieved better result than those who were taught by the usual lecture method.
The COXII Haplotypes and their Association with Productive Traits in Large White Breed Pigs

The mitochondrial genome encodes key electron transfer chain (ETC) proteins which produce the vast majority of cellular ATP. Sequence analysis of maternal inherited mitochondrial DNA is an effective way to assess the individual characteristics of commercial breeding lines of pigs. The aims of our study were to analyze the nucleotide sequence of the mitochondrial gene COXII in Large White pigs, to search for polymorphisms and to evaluate their associations with pigs productive abilities and the backfat thickness. The studied pigs of Large White were divided in two groups. The first group (LW-1) was consisted of pigs bred in Russian Federation since 1998. The second group (LW-2) included pigs of Large White imported in 2014 to Russia from England. To evaluate the associations of the COXII gene haplotypes with productive qualities, 96 sow LW-1 were selected. The variability analysis of the COXII revealed the presence of three haplotypes: Hap_1 (TTTCTGGAT, in positions m.8292, m.8334, m.8419, m.8466, m.8526, m.8634, m.8664, m.8682, m.8682, m.8694 respectively), Hap_2 (CCCCCAAGC) and Hap_3 (TTTTTGGAT). We have obtained the results on the association of the COXII polymorphic variants in the loci (m.C8292, m.C8334, m.C8419, m.C8526, m.A8634, m.A8664, m.G8682, m.C8694) that are typical for Hap_2, with higher value of backfat thickness in pigs.
Predictors of Screening and Referral Practices for Autism among Canadian Family Physicians

The present research study investigated screening and referral practices for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) among a group of Canadian primary care physicians. The purposes of the study were to compare physicians’ reported practices with published best practice guidelines, to explore whether demographic and attitudinal factors predict physicians’ behaviour, and to investigate gender and age differences in ASD-related attitudes. A random sample of General Practitioners (GPs) within the province of Ontario and a subsample of Ontario medical school students were surveyed. Participants included 126 GPs and 65 students (65 males and 126 females between the ages of 25 and 79). GPs completed a questionnaire examining their screening and referral practices for ASDs, perceived barriers to conducting screening and referral activities, and ASD-related beliefs and attitudes. Students completed an abbreviated questionnaire examining their beliefs and attitudes. Slightly less than half of the physician sample endorsed using some type of formal screening measure in conjunction with informal methods. Consistent with previous research findings, female physicians reported a significantly higher rate of using formal screening tools than did male physicians. With respect to perceived barriers to screening and referral, the top rated barriers reported by participants were insufficient time to screen, a lack of familiarity with available screening tools, and long waitlists to access referral services. In addition, physician attitudes were found to significantly predict reported screening and referral behaviour, independent of physician gender and age. Specifically, GPs with more favourable attitudes towards early identification and GPs with stronger feelings of self-efficacy in identifying and screening for ASDs reported that they would conduct a greater number of best practice activities. Last, the