Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The use and meaning of the continuous performance test in schizophrenia

Abstract The continuous performance test (CPT) is a behavioural assessment of attentional modulation of the motor system (Rosvold et al., 1956). It has firstly been used in patients with brain injuries and then applied to assess sustained attention and vigilance in epilepsy, brain tumor, dementia, schizophrenia and other psychiatric diseases, such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and anxiety disorders (Rosvold et al., 1956; Honey et al., 2005; Kanaka et al., 2008). There are several versions of the test. For instance, the X-CPT version presents randomly different stimuli and subjects are asked to push a button only on presentation of the target stimuli (X). In the AX-CPT version, the subjects are required to push the button only when a cue stimulus is presented before the target one (A before X). The following items are measured for the X and AX tasks: omission errors (number of times subjects fail to respond to target stimulation), commission errors (number of times subjects respond to non target stimulation), average reaction time and coefficient of variance for both correct reactions and commission errors (Suwa et al., 2004). There are other versions, such as the CPT-not X version where the subjects are asked not to push a button when the target stimulus (X) is presented; the Degraded Stimuli (DS)-CPT (Nuechterlein, 1983); the CPT playing card version (Rutschmann et al., 1977); and the CPT Identical Pairs version (Cornblatt et al., 1988), which is a more difficult task prepared to assess high risk population. Interestingly, the Identical Pairs version has been included in the Matrics neurocognitive assessment, a consensus cognitive battery for clinical trials of cognition in schizophrenia (Nuechterlein et al., 2008).
WEDNESDAY: Parsing Flexible Word Order Languages

A parser for "flexible" word order languages must be substantially data driven. In our view syntax has two distinct roles in this connection: (1) to give impulses for assembling cognitive representations, (ii) to structure the space of search for fillers. WEDNESDAY is an interpreter for a language describing the lexicon and operating on natural language sentences. The system operates from left to right, interpreting the various words comprising the sentence one at a time. The basic ideas of the approach are the following:a) to introduce into the lexicon linguistic knowledge that in other systems is in a centralized module. The lexicon therefore carries not only morphological data and semantic descriptions. Also syntactic knowledge is distributed throughout it, partly of a procedural kind.b) to build progressively a cognitive representation of the sentence in the form of a semantic network, in a global space, accessible from all levels of the analysis.c) to introduce procedures invoked by the words themselves for syntactic memory management. Simply stated, these procedures decide on the opening, closing, and mantaining of search spaces; they use detailed constraints and take into account the active expectations.WEDNESDAY is implemented in MAGMA-LISP and with a stress on the non-deterministic mechanism.
Systematic Review of Guidelines for the Management of Asymptomatic and Symptomatic Carotid Stenosis

Background and Purpose— We systematically compared and appraised contemporary guidelines on management of asymptomatic and symptomatic carotid artery stenosis. Methods— We systematically searched for guideline recommendations on carotid endarterectomy (CEA) or carotid angioplasty/stenting (CAS) published in any language between January 1, 2008, and January 28, 2015. Only the latest guideline per writing group was selected. Each guideline was analyzed independently by 2 to 6 authors to determine clinical scenarios covered, recommendations given, and scientific evidence used. Results— Thirty-four eligible guidelines were identified from 23 different regions/countries in 6 languages. Of 28 guidelines with asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis procedural recommendations, 24 (86%) endorsed CEA (recommended it should or may be provided) for ≈50% to 99% average-surgical-risk asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis, 17 (61%) endorsed CAS, 8 (29%) opposed CAS, and 1 (4%) endorsed medical treatment alone. For asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis patients considered high-CEA-risk because of comorbidities, vascular anatomy, or undefined reasons, CAS was endorsed in 13 guidelines (46%). Thirty-one of 33 guidelines (94%) with symptomatic carotid artery stenosis procedural recommendations endorsed CEA for patients with ≈50% to 99% average-CEA-risk symptomatic carotid artery stenosis, 19 (58%) endorsed CAS and 9 (27%) opposed CAS. For high-CEA-risk symptomatic carotid artery stenosis because of comorbidities, vascular anatomy, or undefined reasons, CAS was endorsed in 27 guidelines (82%). Guideline procedural recommendations were based only on results of trials in which patients were randomized 12 to 34 years ago, rarely reflected medical treatment improvements and often understated potential CAS hazards. Qualifying terminology summarizing recommendations or evidence lacked standardization, impeding guideline interpretation, and comparison. Conclusions— This systematic review has identified many opportunities to modernize and otherwise improve carotid stenosis management guidelines.
Une approche neuro-computationnelle de la prise de décision et de sa régulation contextuelle

Decider, c’est selectionner une alternative parmi l’ensemble des options possibles en accord avec nos buts. Les decisions perceptuelles, correspondant a la selection d’une action sur la base d’une perception, resultent de l’accumulation progressive d’information sensorielle jusqu’a un seuil de decision. Aux niveaux comportemental et cerebral, ce processus est bien capture par les modeles de decision par echantillonnage sequentiel. L’etude neurobiologique des processus de decision, guidee par l’usage de modeles computationnels, a permis d’etablir un lien clair entre cette accumulation d’information sensorielle et un reseau cortical incluant le sillon intra-parietal et le cortex dorso-lateral prefrontal. L’architecture des reseaux biologiques impliques dans la prise de decision, la nature des algorithmes qu’ils implementent et surtout, l’etude des relations entre structure biologique et computation est au cœur des questionnements actuels en neurosciences cognitives et constitue le fil conducteur de cette these. Dans un premier temps, nous nous sommes interesses aux mecanismes neuraux et computationnels permettant l’ajustement du processus de decision perceptuelle a son contexte. Nous avons montre que l’information a priori disponible pour predire nos choix diminue la distance au seuil de decision, regulant ainsi dynamiquement la quantite d’information sensorielle necessaire pour selectionner une action. Pendant la prise de decision perceptuelle, le cortex cingulaire anterieur ajuste le seuil de decision proportionnellement a la quantite d’information predictive disponible et le cortex dorso-lateral prefrontal implemente l’accumulation progressive d’information sensorielle. Dans un deuxieme temps, nous avons aborde la question de l’unicite, au travers des domaines cognitifs, des mecanismes neuro-computationnels implementant la prise de decision. Nous avons montre qu’un modele de decision par echantillonnage sequentiel utilisant la valeur subjective esperee de chaque option predisait avec precision le comportement de sujets lors de choix economiques risques. Pendant la decision, la portion mediale du cortex orbito-frontal code la difference entre les valeurs subjectives des options considerees, exprimees sur une echelle de valeur commune. Ce signal orbito-frontal median sert d’entree a un processus de decision par echantillonnage sequentiel implemente dans le cortex dorso-lateral prefrontal. Pris ensemble, nos travaux precisent les contours d’une architecture fonctionnelle de la prise de decision dans le cortex prefrontal humain en etablissant une cartographie des modules computationnels qu’il implemente, mais aussi en caracterisant la facon dont l’integration fonctionnelle de ces regions cerebrales permet l’emergence de la capacite a prendre des decisions
Metareasoning as a Formal Computational Problem

Metareasoning research often lays out high-level principles, which are then applied in the context of larger systems. While this approach has proven quite successful, it sometimes obscures how metareasoning can be seen as a crisp computational problem in its own right. This alternative view allows us to apply tools from the theory of algorithms and computational complexity to metareasoning. In this paper, we consider some known results on how variants of the metareasoning problem can be precisely formalized as computational problems, and shown to be computationally hard to solve to optimality. We discuss a variety of techniques for addressing these hardness results.
Design of a CMOS fully differential switched-opamp for SC circuits at very low power supply voltages

This paper presents a fully differential opamp design based on the switched-opamp approach. The common mode feedback of the proposed opamp only works on the output stage in order to allow a fast turn-on. The opamp was designed in a 0.35 /spl mu/m CMOS technology and is able to operate from a single 1 V supply.
Turbulence

Observations from the Cloud-Aerosol Interaction and Precipita-9 tion Enhancement Experiment-Integrated Ground Observation Campaign 10 (CAIPEEX-IGOC) provide a rare opportunity to investigate nocturnal at-11 mospheric surface-layer processes and surface-layer turbulent characteristics 12 associated with the low-level jet (LLJ). Here, an observational case study of
Knowlege on road information in sub-urban lane detection via multiple cue integration

Detection of lane boundaries of a road based on the images or video taken by a video capturing device in a suburban environment is a challenging task. In this paper, a novel lane detection algorithm is proposed without considering camera parameters; which robustly detects lane boundaries in real-time especially for sub-urban roads. Initially, the proposed method fits the CIE L∗ a∗ b∗ transformed road chromaticity values (that is a∗ and b∗ values) to a bi-variate Gaussian model followed by the classification of road area based on Mahalanobis distance. Secondly, the classified road area acts as an arbitrary shaped region of interest (AROI) in order to extract blobs resulting from the filtered image by a two dimensional Gabor filter. This is considered as the first cue of images. Thirdly, another cue of images was employed in order to obtain an entropy image. Moreover, results from the color based image cue and entropy image cue were integrated following an outlier removing process. Finally, the correct road lane points are fitted with Bezier splines which act as control points that can form arbitrary shapes. The algorithm was implemented and experiments were carried out on sub-urban roads. The results show the effectiveness of the algorithm in producing more accurate lane boundaries on curvatures and other objects on the road.
A Novel Method for Detection of the Transition Between Atrial Fibrillation and Sinus Rhythm

Automatic detection of atrial fibrillation (AF) for AF diagnosis, especially for AF monitoring, is necessarily desirable for clinical therapy. In this study, we proposed a novel method for detection of the transition between AF and sinus rhythm based on RR intervals. First, we obtained the delta RR interval distri bution difference curve from the density histogram of delta RR intervals, and then detected its peaks, which represented the AF events. Once an AF event was detected, four successive steps were used to classify its type, and thus, determine the boundary of AF: 1) histogram analysis; 2) standard deviation analysis; 3) numbering aberrant rhythms recognition; and 4) Kolmogorov-Smirnov (K-S) test. A dataset of 24-h Holter ECG recordings (n = 433) and two MIT-BIH databases (MIT-BIH AF database and MIT-BIH nor mal sinus rhythm (NSR) database) were used for development and evaluation. Using the receiver operating characteristic curves for determining the threshold of the K-S test, we have achieved the highest performance of sensitivity and specificity (SP) (96.1% and 98.1%, respectively) for the MIT-BIH AF database, compared with other previously published algorithms. The SP was 97.9% for the MIT-BIH NSR database.
The Sequence of Human B1-Crystallin cDNA Allows Mass Spectrometric Detection of B1 Protein Missing Portions of Its N-terminal Extension (*)

The sequence of human βB1-crystallin cDNA encoded a protein of 251 amino acids in length. Mass spectrometric analysis of intact βB1 from young human lens confirmed the deduced amino acid sequence. Lenses of human donors newborn to 27 years of age also contained partially degraded forms of βB1 missing 15, 33, 34, 35, 36, 39, 40, and 41 amino acid residues from their N-terminal extensions. The similarity of the cleavage site between residues 15 and 16 in human βB1 to the cleavage occurring in bovine βB1 suggested that lenses of both species may contain a similar proteolytic activity. The remaining cleavage sites occurring in human βB1 did not closely match those occurring in other species, possibly due to the widely divergent amino acid sequence of the N-terminal extension of βB1 amoung species. Results from animal models suggest that cleavage of the N-terminal extension of βB1-crystallin could enhance protein insolubilization and cataract in lens. However, the presence of partially degraded βB1-crystallins in both water-soluble and water-insoluble fractions of lenses of young donors suggested that the rate that proteolyzed βB1-crystallins become water-insoluble is relatively slow in humans.
B lymphocytes secrete antigen-presenting vesicles

Antigen-presenting cells contain a specialized late endocytic compartment, MIIC (major histocompatibility complex [MHC] class II- enriched compartment), that harbors newly synthesized MHC class II molecules in transit to the plasma membrane. MIICs have a limiting membrane enclosing characteristic internal membrane vesicles. Both the limiting membrane and the internal vesicles contain MHC class II. In this study on B lymphoblastoid cells, we demonstrate by immunoelectron microscopy that the limiting membrane of MIICs can fuse directly with the plasma membrane, resulting in release from the cells of internal MHC class II-containing vesicles. These secreted vesicles, named exosomes, were isolated from the cell culture media by differential centrifugation followed by flotation on sucrose density gradients. The overall surface protein composition of exosomes differed significantly from that of the plasma membrane. Exosome-bound MHC class II was in a compact, peptide-bound conformation. Metabolically labeled MHC class II was released into the extracellular medium with relatively slow kinetics, 10 +/- 4% in 24 h, indicating that direct fusion of MIICs with the plasma membrane is not the major pathway by which MHC class II reaches the plasma membrane. Exosomes derived from both human and murine B lymphocytes induced antigen-specific MHC class II-restricted T cell responses. These data suggest a role for exosomes in antigen presentation in vivo.
OF SPECIALISTS IN ELECTRIC OPERATIONAL AND EXPANSION PLANNING Collection System Cable Routing and Wake Losses Optimization in Offshore Wind Farms

Offshore wind farms with high installed capacities and located further from the shore are starting to be built by northern European countries. Furthermore, it is expected that by 2020, several dozens of large offshore wind farms will be built in the Baltic, Irish and North seas. These wind farms will be constituted of a considerable number of turbines packed together. Due to shadowing effects between turbines, the power production is reduced, resulting in a decreased wind farm efficiency. Moreover, the collection system length and complexity rapidly increase with the number of wind turbines installed, resulting in higher investment costs and power losses. Hence, when large wind farms are considered, wake losses and collection system total length are important aspects that need to be optimized. Nonetheless, designing a large offshore wind project is a very complex task. In the development phase, an enormous amount of time is used to generate feasible wind farm designs. For example, the manual layout optimization and cable routing are highly time consuming. Amongst others, this drawback leads to offshore wind projects with very high investments costs. In fact, electricity generated offshore is, up to today, substantially more expensive when compared to onshore wind or combined cycle gas turbines. Wind farm layout optimization is a possible solution to further increase the efficiency of wind projects leading to lower prices of energy generated offshore. Moreover, investment costs would be reduced if the collection system could be automatically designed via optimization tools. The aim of this work is to obtain optimized offshore wind farm layouts with enhanced energy production while considering the seabed constraints, e.g. maximum sea depth, inappropriate soil types and large seabed gradients. Through the use of optimization tools it is also desired to alleviate the designer teams of mundane manual layout optimization and cable routing. The optimized wind farm layout obtained presents higher energy yield. Although, the collection system total length is higher than for the standard case, the overall system efficiency is improved. Moreover, installation costs of the collection system were reduced through the avoidance of challenging areas of the wind farm. The wind turbine support structures costs were also reduced since deep areas of the seabed were avoided. In this work it is presented a novel optimization tool to obtain optimized offshore wind farm layouts while taking into consideration the seabed profile. Due to the increased offshore activity in recent years, as well as the expected installation in the coming years, this tool becomes very important and relevant for the offshore field.
Automated Telehealth System for Fetal Growth Detection and Approximation of Ultrasound Images

Abstract One of the most profound use of ultrasound imaging is fetal growth monitoring. Conventionally, physicians will perform manual measurements of several parameters of the ultrasound images to draw some conclusion of the fetal condition by manually annotating the fetal images on the ultrasound device interface. However, performing manual annotation of fetal images will require significant amount of time considering the number of patients an obstetrician can have. In this paper, an integrated automatic system for fetal growth monitoring and detection is proposed. This system will be able to automatically measuring the parameters of fetal head, abdomen, femur, and humerus. In addition to automated image detection, we also propose an integrated telehealth monitoring system to provide better access of ultrasound monitoring for patients that lives in rural areas. A new approach of fetal image detection is also proposed by using AdaBoost.MH boosting algorithm that is combined with an improved efficient Hough Transform for detecting ellipse-like organs such as head and abdomen. Experiments of the method are tested on real ultrasound image dataset. The detection was applied on 2D ultrasound images to perform fetal object measurement to approximate the Head Circumference (HC) and Biparietal Diameter (BPD), Femur Length (FL), and Humerus Length (HL).
Lymphatic invasion is a significant indicator of poor patient prognosis in lung squamous cell carcinoma

Pathological stage is the most important prognostic factor in patients with lung cancer, and is defined according to the tumor node metastasis classification system. The present study aimed to investigate the clinicopathological significance of lymphatic invasion in 103 patients who underwent surgical resection of lung squamous cell carcinoma (SqCC). The patients were divided into two groups, according to the degree of lymphatic invasion: Those with no or mild lymphatic invasion (ly0-1) and those with moderate or severe lymphatic invasion (ly2-3). Ly2-3 was associated with tumor size (P=0.028), lymph node metastasis (P<0.001), venous invasion (P=0.001) and histological differentiation (P=0.047). Statistical analysis using the Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test indicated that overall survival was significantly reduced in patients with ly2-3 compared with those with ly0-1 (P<0.001). Multivariate analysis identified ly2-3 as an independent predictor of mortality (hazard ratio, 2.580; 95% confidence interval, 1.376–4.839). In conclusion, moderate or severe lymphatic invasion (ly2-3) indicated a high malignant potential and may be considered an independent predictor of poor prognosis in patients with SqCC of the lung.
The proximity factor: impact of distance on co-located collaboration

Groups collaborating around a large wall display can do so in a variety of arrangements, positioning themselves at different distances from the display and from each other. We examined the impact of proximity on the effectiveness and enjoyment of co-located collaboration. Our results revealed collaborative benefits when participants were positioned close together, and interaction with the display was felt to be more effective when participants were close to the display. However, clear tradeoffs were evident for these configurations. When at a distance to the display, the choice of direct versus indirect interaction revealed that interactions were easier when using direct input but the effectiveness of the collaboration was compromised.
A Parallel Architecture Using HDF for Storing DICOM Medical Images on Distributed File Systems

The Hierarchical Data Format (HDF) is an interesting approach for developing scientific applications where a large amount of data must be stored and accessed. A telemedicine project underway in the State of Santa Catarina (SC), in Brazil, has developed a server called the CyclopsDCMServer, which adopts the HDF for the manipulation of medical images (DICOM). This paper proposes a new approach for the parallel implementation of I/O operations for the medical images stored on this server. This effort was based upon the MPI paradigm that is supported by the version 5 of the HDF. Early experiments indicate that the proposed approach can achieve very good performance when compared to the standard HDF implemented in the CyclopsDCM-Server. Keywords-Parallel I/O; HDF5; DICOM; Telemedicine; PVFS; MPI;