Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effectiveness and Usability of Digital Tools to Support Dietary Self-Management of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: A Systematic Review

Advice on dietary intake is an essential first line intervention for the management of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Digital tools such as web-based and smartphone apps have been suggested to provide a novel way of providing information on diet for optimal glucose regulation in women with GDM. This systematic review explores the effectiveness and usability of digital tools designed to support dietary self-management of GDM. A systematic search of Medline, Embase, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Cochrane Library, and Scopus using key search terms identified 1476 papers reporting research studies, of which 16 met the specified inclusion criteria. The quality of the included studies was assessed using the ErasmusAGE Quality Score or the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) version 2018. The findings show that the adoption of digital tools may be an effective approach to support self-management relating to healthy diet, health behaviour, and adherence to therapy in women with GDM as a usable intervention. However, there is a lack of evidence concerning the effectiveness of tools to support the dietary management of GDM. Consideration for ethnic specific dietary advice and evidence-based frameworks in the development of effective digital tools for dietary management of GDM should be considered as these aspects have been limited in the studies reviewed.
Routine and Exceptional Competition Practice in Germany as Published in Wettbewerbe Aktuell

This paper will discuss the work of the monthly journal Wettbewerbe Aktuell (WA) which was launched in Germany, in June 1971, with the aim of documenting competition results from all over the country. With a current distribution of 13,500 copies (estimated readership 30,000), since July 1971, WA has published the detailed results of more than 2500 architecture competitions. Its first 36 volumes present the largest single collection of drawings of design proposals in contemporary German architecture. Categorised by functional building type, every month the results of six competitions are documented and published in detail; the prize winning entries of usually between ten and fifteen other competitions being presented in outline form. The detailed documentation of a competition consists of two parts: first an abbreviated version of the design brief and the jury’s recommendation, listing prize winners, judges, prize money and dates; and secondly the publication of drawings and model photographs of the prize winning projects, together with the jury’s evaluation of each project. WA ’s reference system, the division of projects into functional building types, and the diagrammatic drawings of the projects themselves present the design of competition architecture as a logical operation. As an extensive data-bank of design solutions – in 14 categories, subdivided into 104 sections – the format of WA appears to promote the cutting and pasting of borrowed solutions. With a particular focus on the changes brought about in 1997, by the introduction of the European Services Directive (92/50/ECC), to Germany’s competition system, the paper investigates the difference between what is perceived as routine (local competitions in which participants routinely submit standard solutions) and exceptional (national competitions with international participants submitting non-standard contributions) competition practice in open anonymous architectural competitions in Germany from 1977 (exceptional) and 1986 (routine) to 2001 as published in WA. Routine practice, until 1997, is assessed by an analysis of type considering whether or not predominant architectural types may be detected in successful competition entries across the 14 functional categories established by the journal WA. In contrast, a close reading of the competition for the Deutsches Historisches Museum (German Historic Museum) in Berlin (won by Aldo Rossi in 1988), provides a comparative look at exceptional practice.
‘Green procurement’ of buildings: a study of Swedish clients' considerations

The results of a survey show that both public and private building clients in Sweden, to varying extents, include environmental requirements in their procurement documents. The requirements identified have been classified into six categories primarily related to building and demolition waste, building material, contractors' environmental work, ecological aspects, construction work and other. One conclusion is that requirements regarding the separation of waste and a contractor's environmental policy are considered important, since they are stipulated in the majority of projects. Another finding is that requirements related to operation and especially to energy use are not considered sufficiently. Structured interviews were conducted with three of the clients who at that time of the survey had developed the most complete procurement documents with regard to environmental requirements. The aim of the interviews was to investigate how the stipulation of requirements, the evaluation of environmental aspects and the verification of environmental requirements were carried out. The conclusion drawn is that Swedish clients find the stipulation of requirements relatively uncomplicated, but find the evaluation of environmental impact, mainly related to selection of materials, problematic due to inadequate evaluation models.
Integrated highland wildfire, smoke, and haze management in the Upper Indochina region

Fire has long been used in Southeast Asia for the purposes of cooking, protection, and warmth. However, climate change and economic pressure have modified the life of locals, including fire practices in daily life and other fire uses. The land use of forest cover in highland area (mostly deciduous forest) has shifted to cultivation, with the application of slash-and-burn techniques. This results in frequent unplanned fires causing pollution in the form of smoke and haze. A zero-burn policy has been implemented to tackle this problem but such a policy may not be appropriate as people still need fire as a basic tool for agriculture land preparation. Moreover, the deciduous forest is a fire-dependent ecosystem to maintain its ecosystem. Frequent burning by local people or excessive government intervention in preventing fires can impact this ecosystem. In the highlands, shifting cultivation has gradually been replaced by rotational agricultural practice with a cycle of 2 to 5 years. However, the fuel load for a 2-year rotation period is only 0.25 tha-1 higher than that of a mixed deciduous forest. New fire risk maps classified according to forest types were produced for Thailand, Lao PDR, and Myanmar. We report that the mixing layer (ML) height in Chiang Mai Province was, on average, 500 m during March, with common occurrence of subsidence inversion resulting in further lowering of air quality during this month. A participatory process to develop a Community Based Fire Management (CBFiM) was undertaken and it was observed that a successful implementation would need a community with a strong leadership.
Progress and challenges in preclinical stroke recovery research

Significant innovations in the management of acute ischemic stroke have led to an increased incidence in the long-term complications of stroke. Therefore, there is an urgent need for improvements in and refinement of rehabilitation interventions that can lead to functional and neuropsychological recovery. The goal of this review is to summarize the current progress and challenges involved with preclinical stroke recovery research. Moving forward, stroke recovery research should be placing an increased emphasis on the incorporation of comorbid diseases and biological variables in preclinical models in order to overcome translational roadblocks to establishing successful clinical rehabilitation interventions.
Analysis of the dynamics of automobile passenger-restraint systems

A seven-degree-of-freedom nonlinear mathematical model of a human body and a restraint system (lap belt or combination of lap belt and shoulder restraint) has been formulated, and a digital computer calculation has been programmed, for purposes of investigating the dynamic behavior of automobile restraint systems. The system response is calculated in the form of time histories of the forces, accelerations, velocities, and displacements at various points in the dynamic system for either: 1) an experimental or idealized time history of vehicle deceleration, entered as a forcing function, or 2) deceleration by a specified form of vehicle-stopping mechanism. A lack of detailed parameter and test data has prevented complete validation of the model; however, comparisons between calculated (estimated parameters) and experimental (from the literature) responses indicate a good agreement. Major system parameters (e.g., belt properties, stopping distance, deceleration pulse shape, etc.) have been varied to explore their effects on restraint system performance, and preliminary conclusions are presented.
Measuring Balance Abilities of Transtibial Amputees Using Multiattribute Utility Theory

Background Berg Balance Scale (BBS) can be considered the standard for assessment of functional balance but has a noted ceiling effect in active transtibial amputees (TTAs). Development of ceiling-free measures based on quantitative measurement techniques that is suitable for patients in any experience levels, yet sensitive enough to capture improvements in any stage of prosthetic rehabilitation, is needed. Research Question. Does a scoring scheme based on Multiattribute Utility (MAU) theory assess balance abilities of multileveled TTAs comparable to BBS? Methods A case-control study including 28 participants (8 novice TTAs, 10 experienced TTAs, and 10 healthy controls) was conducted. Guided by MAU theory, a novel balance model was developed and initially validated by Spearman correlation between index-generated scores and expert assigned scores, providing preliminary evidence of validity. Floor/ceiling effects were tested, and between-group comparisons of static/dynamic balance were conducted by paired t-test or Wilcoxon signed-rank test depending on data distribution normality. Results BBS score was correlated with computed balance index (r = 0.847, p < 0.001). The BBS score of novice/experienced TTAs was 39/54, and the computed balance index was 38/75. A ceiling effect of BBS (30%) was observed in the experienced TTA group, whereas no ceiling effects were found for the computed index in any combination of TTA groups. Group differences between novice and experienced TTAs were observed in center of pressure (COP) ellipse shift area, COP path length, COP average velocity, gait speed, and cadence (all p < 0.05). Significance. Evidence from first stage validation of the proposed MAU balance model indicated that the model performed well. This proposed method can monitor the progress of balance for varied experience-leveled TTAs and provide clinicians with useful information for assessing the rehabilitation training.
A log‐periodic toothed trapezoidal antenna for RF energy harvesting

In this work, the performance of a broadband log‐periodic toothed trapezoidal antenna is evaluated to know its potential for RF energy harvesting. The energy harvested by the antenna from the different wireless standards in urban areas can be converted into Direct Current and used to feed low power electronics. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 57:2765–2768, 2015
Morphometric variation of Middle-American cichlids: Theraps– Paraneetroplus clade (Actinopterygii: Cichliformes: Cichlidae)

This study assesses the patterns of variation in body shape, and relations of morphological similarity among species of the Theraps–Paraneetroplus clade in order to determine whether body shape may be a trait in phylogenetic relations. A total of 208 specimens belonging to 10 species of the Theraps–Paraneetroplus clade were examined. The left side of each specimen was photographed; in each photograph, 27 fixed landmarks were placed to identify patterns in body shape variation. Images were processed by using geometric morphometrics, followed by a phylogenetic principal component analysis. The phylogenetic signal for body shape was then calculated. To determine the relations in morphological similarity, a dendrogram was created using the unweighted pair group method and arithmetic mean values, while a Procrustes ANOVA and post-hoc test were used to evaluate significant differences between species and habitats. We found three morphological groups that differed in body length and depth, head size, and the position of the mouth and eyes. The body shape analysis recovered the morphotypes of seven species, and statistical differences were demonstrated in eight species. Based on traits associated with cranial morphology, Wajpamheros nourissati (Allgayer, 1989) differed the most among the species examined. No phylogenetic signal was found for body shape; this trait shows independence from ancestral relatedness, indicating that there is little congruence between morphological and genetic interspecific patterns. As evidenced by the consistently convergent morphology of the species in the Theraps–Paraneetroplus clade, the diversification of the group is related to an ecological opportunity for habitat use and the exploitation of food resources. Although no phylogenetic signal was detected for body shape, there appears to be an order associated with cranial morphology-based phylogeny. However, it is important to evaluate the intraspecific morphologic plasticity produced by ecological segregation or partitioning of resources. Therefore, future morphological evolutionary studies should consider cranial structures related to the capture and processing of food.
Implementation of the FFT butterfly with redundant arithmetic

We present an architecture for the implementation of the radix-4 FFT butterfly with redundant arithmetic, based on the utilization of carry-save adders and a signed-digit representation of the multipliers in the multiplications. As the carry propagation is eliminated, a high throughput is maintained with a reduced hardware cost when compared to other architectures based on carry-propagate additions.
A laparoscopic grasper with force perception

Summary. In laparoscopic surgery, grasping instruments are the only source of force feedback to the surgeon. Therefore, the force transmission characteristics of these instruments are important features. For mechanical graspers to allow force feedback, the force transmission function should ideally be constant throughout its range of motion and be free of hysteresis. In this paper, the design of a laparoscopic grasping instrument with outstanding force transmission characteristics is presented, which satisfies these demands to a large extent. The mechanical efficiency of the prototype amounts to 96% whereas the nonconstancy is only 3% approximately. With these forceps, several physiological properties, such as stiffness of tissue and the pulse of arteries, can be clearly perceived.
LithoScope: Simulation Based Mask Layout Verification with Physical Resist Model

Simulation based mask layout verification and optimization is a cost effective way to ensure high mask performance in wafer lithography. Because mask layout verification serves as a gateway to the expensive manufacturing process, the model used for verification must have superior accuracy than models used upstream. In this paper, we demonstrate, for the first time, a software system for mask layout verification and optical proximity correction that employs a physical resist development model. The new system, LithoScope, predicts wafer patterning by solving optical and resist processing equations on a scale that is until recently considered unpractical. Leveraging the predictive capability of the physical model, LithoScope can perform mask layout verification and optical proximity correction under a wide range of processing conditions and for any reticle enhancement technology without the need for multiple model development. We show the ability for physical resist model to change iso-focal bias by optimizing resist parameters, which is critical for matching the experimental process window. We present line width variation statistics and chip level process window predictions using a practical cell layout. We show that LithoScope model can accurately describe the resist-intensive poly gate layer patterning. This system can be used to pre-screen mask data problems before manufacturing to reduce the overall cost of the mask and the product.
Computer system for increasing the local contrast of railway transport images

This article describes a computer system for increasing the local contrast of railway images obtained with digital video cameras. The local contrast of the images increases within the rectangular windows, for each of which the minimum and maximum brightness values are determined. Based on such extreme brightness values, the lower and upper envelope brightness of the image are calculated. By smoothing of the envelopes the artefacts that appear in the image after increasing the local contrast based on its envelopes are significantly reduced. The images are read to the control computer from USB video cameras. The software implementation of image processing is created in Python.
Multigene Profiling of Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs) for Prognostic Assessment in Treatment-Naïve Metastatic Hormone-Sensitive Prostate Cancer (mHSPC)

The substantial biological heterogeneity of metastatic prostate cancer has hindered the development of personalized therapeutic approaches. Therefore, it is difficult to predict the course of metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC), with some men remaining on first-line androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for several years while others progress more rapidly. Improving our ability to risk-stratify patients would allow for the optimization of systemic therapies and support the development of stratified prospective clinical trials focused on patients likely to have the greatest potential benefit. Here, we applied a liquid biopsy approach to identify clinically relevant, blood-based prognostic biomarkers in patients with mHSPC. Gene expression indicating the presence of CTCs was greater in CHAARTED high-volume (HV) patients (52% CTChigh) than in low-volume (LV) patients (23% CTChigh; * p = 0.03). HV disease (p = 0.005, q = 0.033) and CTC presence at baseline prior to treatment initiation (p = 0.008, q = 0.033) were found to be independently associated with the risk of nonresponse at 7 months. The pooled gene expression from CTCs of pre-ADT samples found AR, DSG2, KLK3, MDK, and PCA3 as genes predictive of nonresponse. These observations support the utility of liquid biomarker approaches to identify patients with poor initial response. This approach could facilitate more precise treatment intensification in the highest risk patients.
Depth estimation from single-shot monocular endoscope image using image domain adaptation and edge-aware depth estimation

ABSTRACT We propose a depth estimation method from a single-shot monocular endoscopic image using Lambertian surface translation by domain adaptation and depth estimation using multi-scale edge loss. We employ a two-step estimation process including Lambertian surface translation from unpaired data and depth estimation. The texture and specular reflection on the surface of an organ reduce the accuracy of depth estimations. We apply Lambertian surface translation to an endoscopic image to remove these texture and reflections. Then, we estimate the depth by using a fully convolutional network (FCN). During the training of the FCN, improvement of the object edge similarity between an estimated image and a ground truth depth image is important for getting better results. We introduced a muti-scale edge loss function to improve the accuracy of depth estimation. We quantitatively evaluated the proposed method using real colonoscopic images. The estimated depth values were proportional to the real depth values. Furthermore, we applied the estimated depth images to automated anatomical location identification of colonoscopic images using a convolutional neural network. The identification accuracy of the network improved from 69.2% to 74.1% by using the estimated depth images.
Urban Tourism Destination Image Perception Based on LDA Integrating Social Network and Emotion Analysis: The Example of Wuhan

Tourism destination image perception aims to depict the urban tourism image from the perspective of the perception of tourists, which, therefore, sheds new light on the advancement and innovation of urban tourism. The model proposed in this study can effectively describe the image perception of a tourism destination, with its research conclusions providing a vital referential basis for the sustainable development of urban tourism. Combined with LDA, we construct the research framework of tourism destination image perception and then take the online comments of popular scenic spots in Wuhan on Ctrip Travel as an example. The results show that four aspects are included in tourists’ perception of the city image of Wuhan: experience, history culture, leisure service, and tourist destination. Among them, the social network of the experience dimension is most closely related. In addition, emotion analysis illustrates that tourists’ emotional tendencies tend to be positive under the four perceptual dimensions.
The influence of gender stereotyping and demographic factors on academic choice: The case of the University of Debrecen

Education is the proven guarantor of gender equality and sustainable development. Empirical evidence from previous studies in European countries (Favara, 2012; Geerdink & Dekkers, 2011; OECD, 2009) shows that women are incompletely represented in many areas of technical and scientific education. This study examined the impact of gender stereotypes and factors related to family background, university criteria, and the main factors influencing students’ academic choices at the University of Debrecen. The research question was: what is the impact of gender stereotypes and demographic factors on students’ academic choices? The research relied on a qualitative approach. 12 qualitative interviews were conducted with international students at undergraduate and postgraduate level. The research used semi-structured interviews with five main blocks of questions. The dimensions explored included the following: 1. introduction and context of the interviewee, 2. gender stereotypes, 3. family background, 4. university characteristics, 5. factors motivating academic selection. After data collection, the transcripts were analysed using an open coding method, which involved line-by-line and word-by-word analysis (Khandkar, 2009). This helped to identify the most important factors influencing students’ academic choices. The socio-educational role of the family, the scholarship Stependium Hungaricum, the facilities and services of the university, the geopolitical academic location, the UNIDEB ranking, the quality of life and study, the scholarships, the realistic, materialistic goals of future life, and the impact of gender stereotypes expressed by the students (as a product of society, choice and belief, the liberal generation) influenced the academic choice of the international students at the University of Debrecen.
Physically-based effective width modeling of MOSFETs and diffused resistors

This paper presents effective DC electrical width models for MOSFETs and diffused resistors. The models account for the geometric width dependence on the LOCOS effect and the dog-bone (or webbing) effect, for devices defined by field oxide, and on the finite dopant source effect, for lowly doped resistors. The models are physically-based, C/sub /spl infin//-continuous functions of geometry, and significantly improve modeling of MOSFETs and resistors over geometry.