Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Screening women for intimate partner violence in healthcare settings: abridged Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis

Objective To examine the effectiveness of screening for intimate partner violence conducted within healthcare settings to determine whether or not screening increases identification and referral to support agencies, improves women’s wellbeing, decreases further violence, or causes harm. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis of trials assessing effectiveness of screening. Study assessment, data abstraction, and quality assessment were conducted independently by two of the authors. Standardised estimations of the risk ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Data sources Nine databases searched up to July 2012 (CENTRAL, Medline, Medline(R), Embase, DARE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Sociological Abstracts, and ASSIA), and five trials registers searched up to 2010. Eligibility criteria for selecting studies Randomised or quasi-randomised trials of screening programmes for intimate partner violence involving all women aged ≥16 attending a healthcare setting. We included only studies in which clinicians in the intervention arm personally conducted the screening, or were informed of the screening result at the time of the consultation, compared with usual care (or no screening). Studies of screening programmes that were followed by structured interventions such as advocacy or therapeutic intervention were excluded. Results 11 eligible trials (n=13 027) were identified. In six pooled studies (n=3564), screening increased the identification of intimate partner violence (risk ratio 2.33, 95% confidence interval 1.39 to 3.89), particularly in antenatal settings (4.26, 1.76 to 10.31). Based on three studies (n=1400), we detected no evidence that screening increases referrals to domestic violence support services (2.67, 0.99 to 7.20). Only two studies measured women’s experience of violence after screening (three to 18 months after screening) and found no reduction in intimate partner violence. One study reported that screening does not cause harm. Conclusions Though screening is likely to increase identification of intimate partner violence in healthcare settings, rates of identification from screening interventions were low relative to best estimates of prevalence of such violence. It is uncertain whether screening increases effective referral to supportive agencies. Screening does not seem to cause harm in the short term, but harm was measured in only one study. As the primary studies did not detect improved outcomes for women screened for intimate partner violence, there is insufficient evidence for screening in healthcare settings. Studies comparing screening versus case finding, or screening in combination with therapeutic intervention for women’s long term wellbeing, are needed to inform the implementation of identification policies in healthcare settings.
Widespread DNA hypomethylation at gene enhancer regions in placentas associated with early-onset pre-eclampsia

Pre-eclampsia is a serious complication of pregnancy that can affect both maternal and fetal outcomes. Early-onset pre-eclampsia (EOPET) is a severe form of pre-eclampsia that is associated with altered physiological characteristics and gene expression in the placenta. DNA methylation is a relatively stable epigenetic modification to DNA that can reflect gene expression, and can provide insight into the mechanisms underlying such expression changes. This case–control study focused on DNA methylation and gene expression of whole chorionic villi samples from 20 EOPET placentas and 20 gestational age-matched controls from pre-term births. DNA methylation was also assessed in placentas affected by late-onset pre-eclampsia (LOPET) and normotensive intrauterine growth restriction (nIUGR). The Illumina HumanMethylation450 BeadChip was used to assess DNA methylation at >480 000 cytosine-guanine dinucleotide (CpG) sites. The Illumina HT-12v4 Expression BeadChip was used to assess gene expression of >45 000 transcripts in a subset of cases and controls. DNA methylation analysis by pyrosequencing was used to follow-up the initial findings in four genes with a larger cohort of cases and controls, including nIUGR and LOPET placentas. Bioinformatic analysis was used to identify overrepresentation of gene ontology categories and transcription factor binding motifs. We identified 38 840 CpG sites with significant (false discovery rate <0.01) DNA methylation alterations in EOPET, of which 282 had >12.5% methylation difference compared with the controls. Significant sites were enriched at the enhancers and low CpG density regions of the associated genes and the majority (74.5%) of these sites were hypomethylated in EOPET. EOPET, but not associated clinical features, such as intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), presented a distinct DNA methylation profile. CpG sites from four genes relevant to pre-eclampsia (INHBA, BHLHE40, SLC2A1 and ADAM12) showed different extent of changes in LOPET and nIUGR. Genome-wide expression in a subset of samples showed that some of the gene expression changes were negatively correlated with DNA methylation changes, particularly for genes that are responsible for angiogenesis (such as EPAS1 and FLT1). Results could be confounded by altered cell populations in abnormal placentas. Larger sample sizes are needed to fully address the possibility of sub-profiles of methylation within the EOPET cohort. Based on DNA methylation profiling, we conclude that there are widespread DNA methylation alterations in EOPET that may be associated with changes in placental function. This property may provide a useful tool for early screening of such placentas. This study identifies DNA methylation changes at many loci previously reported to have altered gene expression in EOPET placentas, as well as in novel biologically relevant genes we confirmed to be differentially expressed. These results may be useful for DNA- methylation-based non-invasive prenatal diagnosis of at-risk pregnancies.
Improved Low-rank Matrix Decompositions via the Subsampled Randomized Hadamard Transform

We comment on two randomized algorithms for constructing low-rank matrix decompositions. Both algorithms employ the Subsampled Randomized Hadamard Transform [14]. The first algorithm appeared recently in [9]; here, we provide a novel analysis that significantly improves the approximation bound obtained in [9]. A preliminary version of the second algorithm appeared in [7]; here, we present a mild modification of this algorithm that achieves the same approximation bound but significantly improves the corresponding running time.
A closed-form location estimator for use with room environment microphone arrays

The linear intersection (LI) estimator, which is a closed-form method for the localization of source positions given sensor array time-delay estimate information, is presented. The LI estimator is shown to be robust and accurate, to closely model the search-based ML estimator, and to outperform a benchmark algorithm. The computational complexity of the LI estimator is suitable for use in real-time microphone-array applications where search-based location algorithms may be infeasible.
Kalirin Dbl-Homology Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factor 1 Domain Initiates New Axon Outgrowths via RhoG-Mediated Mechanisms

The large multidomain Kalirin and Trio proteins containing dual Rho GTPase guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) domains have been implicated in the regulation of neuronal fiber extension and pathfinding during development. In mammals, Kalirin is expressed predominantly in the nervous system, whereas Trio, broadly expressed throughout the body, is expressed at a lower level in the nervous system. To evaluate the role of Kalirin in fiber initiation and outgrowth, we microinjected cultured sympathetic neurons with vectors encoding Kalirin or with Kalirin antisense oligonucleotides, and we assessed neuronal fiber growth in a serum-free, satellite cell-free environment. Kalirin antisense oligonucleotides blocked the continued extension of preexisting axons. Kalirin overexpression induced the prolific sprouting of new axonal fibers that grew at the normal rate; the activity of Kalirin was entirely dependent on the activity of the first GEF domain. KalGEF1-induced sprouting of new fibers from lamellipodial structures was accompanied by extensive actin cytoskeleton reorganization. The kalGEF1 phenotype was mimicked by constitutively active RhoG and was blocked by RhoG inhibitors. Constitutively active Rac1, RhoA, and Cdc42 were unable to initiate new axons, whereas dominant-negative Rac1, RhoA, and Cdc42 failed to block axon sprouting. Thus Kalirin, acting via RhoG in a novel manner, plays a central role in establishing the morphological phenotypic diversity that is essential to the connectivity of the developing nervous system.
Evidence for Model-based Computations in the Human Amygdala during Pavlovian Conditioning

Contemporary computational accounts of instrumental conditioning have emphasized a role for a model-based system in which values are computed with reference to a rich model of the structure of the world, and a model-free system in which values are updated without encoding such structure. Much less studied is the possibility of a similar distinction operating at the level of Pavlovian conditioning. In the present study, we scanned human participants while they participated in a Pavlovian conditioning task with a simple structure while measuring activity in the human amygdala using a high-resolution fMRI protocol. After fitting a model-based algorithm and a variety of model-free algorithms to the fMRI data, we found evidence for the superiority of a model-based algorithm in accounting for activity in the amygdala compared to the model-free counterparts. These findings support an important role for model-based algorithms in describing the processes underpinning Pavlovian conditioning, as well as providing evidence of a role for the human amygdala in model-based inference.
Merge Client Updates Server PushThresholding Update Thresholding Merge Server Belief Client Worldview Worldview Inputs Generated

Distributed monitoring of values is a common task in many distributed systems including sensor networks and online games. In this work we develop a generalized framework for functional monitoring of values and show how it can be applied in the context of online games. We implement a library for general functional monitoring and consider the tradeoff between network usage and accuracy with different types of values.
Adaptive Variable-Rank Approximation of General Dense Matrices

In order to handle large dense matrices arising in the context of integral equations efficiently, panel-clustering approaches (such as the popular multipole expansion method) have proven to be very useful. These techniques split the matrix into blocks, approximate the kernel function on each block by a degenerate expansion, and discretize this expansion in order to find an efficient low-rank approximation of each block. Typical expansion schemes use the same expansion order in each block, and since the matrix approximation error has to be kept consistent with the discretization error, this allows us to handle $n\times n$ matrices by algorithms with a complexity of ${\mathcal O}(n \log^\alpha n)$ for $\alpha\geq 1$. Recently, variable-order expansion schemes have been introduced, which choose different ranks for different blocks and have been demonstrated to reach a complexity of ${\mathcal O}(n)$ while keeping the matrix approximation error and the discretization error consistent. This paper introduces an algorithm which can construct variable-rank approximations for general matrices without the need of an in-depth analysis of the underlying operators: the matrix is fed into the algorithm, and the algorithm approximates it up to an arbitrary precision.
Lagrangian data assimilation in traffic-flow models

Data assimilation of traffic flow remains a challenging problem. One difficulty is that data come from different sources ranging from stationary sensor and camera data to GPS and cell phone data from moving cars. Sensors and cameras give information about traffic density, while GPS data provide information about the positions and velocities of individual cars. Previous methods for assimilating Lagrangian data collected from individual cars relied on specific properties of the underlying computational model or its reformulation in Lagrangian coordinates: these approaches make it hard to assimilate both Eulerian density and Lagrangian positional data simultaneously. In this paper, we propose an alternative approach that allows us to assimilate both Eulerian and Lagrangian data. We show that the proposed algorithm is accurate and works well in different traffic scenarios and regardless of whether ensemble Kalman or particle filters are used. We also show that the algorithm is capable of estimating parameters and assimilating real traffic data and data obtained from microscopic models.
Optimal Portfolio Allocation using Daily Correlation Modelling

Traditional mean-variance efficient portfolios do not capture the potential wealth creation opportunities provided by predictability of asset returns. This paper examines the benefits of actively managed portfolio diversification that accrue to a representative foreign investor who considers international investment opportunities among six major Euro-area countries. To do so, we specify two advanced models for time-varying mean, variances and correlations and compare their results with standard portfolio allocation strategies like the buy-and-hold and fixed weight strategies. Our empirical findings indicate that models incorporating stochastic correlation and volatility result in significantly higher returns than GARCH-based variants or naive portfolio optimisation.
Visual tracking based on incremental two-dimensional Maximum Margin Criterion

This paper presents a novel visual tracking algorithm based on incremental two-dimensional Maximum Margin Criterion (2DMMC). 2DMMC is a promising discriminant criterion for image feature extraction and its specialities make it a good choice for visual tracking problem. The proposed approach uses the 2DMMC to learn a discriminant projection matrix that best separates the target from the background. The projection matrix is updated online by a incremental algorithm to handle the appearance variations of the target and background. A particle filter using an efficient likelihood function based on the projection matrix is used to predict the target location in each frame. Experiments show that the proposed tracking algorithm is able to track the target in complex scenarios.
Catastrophic Granite Formation : Rapid Melting of Source Rocks , and Rapid Magma Intrusion and Cooling

The timescale for the generation of granitic magmas and their subsequent intrusion, crystallization, and cooling as plutons is no longer incompatible with the biblical time frames of the global, year-long Flood cataclysm and of 6,000–7,000 years for earth history. Though partial melting in the lower crust is the main rate-limiting step, it is now conjectured to only take years to decades, so partial melting to produce a large reservoir of granitic magmas could have occurred in the pre-Flood era as a consequence of accelerated nuclear decay early in the Creation Week. Rapid segregation, ascent, and emplacement now understood to only take days via dikes would have been aided by the tectonic “squeezing” and “pumping” during the catastrophic plate tectonics driving the global Genesis Flood cataclysm. Now that it has also been established that granitic plutons are mostly tabular sheets, crystallization and cooling would be even more easily facilitated by hydrothermal convective circulation with meteoric waters in the host rocks. The growth of large crystals from magmas within hours has now been experimentally determined, while the co-formation in the same biotite flakes of adjacent uranium and polonium radiohalos, the latter from short-lived parent polonium isotopes, requires that crystallization and cooling of the granitic plutons only took about 6–10 days. Thus the sum total of time, from partial melting in the lower crust to crystallization and cooling of granitic plutons emplaced in the upper crust, no longer conflicts with the biblical time frame for earth history, nor is it an impediment to accounting for most of the fossil-bearing geologic record during the global year-long Flood catastrophe.
Metalloproteinase Inhibition Reduces Thrombolytic (Tissue Plasminogen Activator)–Induced Hemorrhage After Thromboembolic Stroke

Background and Purpose A potentially dangerous side effect associated with tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) use is cerebral hemorrhage. We have focused on developing drugs that could be administered with tPA to reduce the rate of hemorrhage. Since recent studies suggest that various matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are important in tumor necrosis factor-&agr; production and membrane and vessel remodeling after ischemia, we investigated whether MMP inhibition affected the rate of hemorrhage and infarct production in the absence or presence of tPA treatment. Methods We occluded the middle cerebral artery of New Zealand White rabbits with radiolabeled blood clots. Five minutes after embolization, we administered either the MMP inhibitor BB-94 (30 mg/kg SC) or its vehicle. Additional groups received BB-94 or vehicle in combination with tPA, administered 60 minutes after embolization (3.3 mg/kg tPA). After 48 hours, the rabbits were killed and brains were removed, immersion fixed for 1 week in 4% paraformaldehyde, and then cut into 5-mm coronal sections that were examined for the presence of hemorrhage, infarcts, and recanalization. Results Hemorrhage after embolic stroke was detected in 24% of the control group. tPA induced macroscopically visible hemorrhage in 77% of the tPA-treated group. The rabbits treated with BB-94 had an 18% incidence of hemorrhage (P >0.05 compared with control). However, when the combination of BB-94 and tPA was administered to rabbits, there was only a 41% incidence of hemorrhage (compared with 77% in the tPA group;P <0.05). Both tPA and BB-94/tPA were similarly effective at lysing clots, at 49% and 35% (P <0.05), respectively, compared with the 5% rate of lysis in the control group. There was a trend for a reduction in the number of infarcts, but it did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions Our data suggest that MMP inhibition attenuates mechanisms involved in tPA-induced hemorrhage. This novel form of combination therapy may show promise as a treatment strategy for acute stroke.
Computing Service Skyline from Uncertain QoWS

The performance of a service provider may fluctuate due to the dynamic service environment. Thus, the quality of service actually delivered by a service provider is inherently uncertain. Existing service optimization approaches usually assume that the quality of service does not change over time. Moreover, most of these approaches rely on computing a predefined objective function. When multiple quality criteria are considered, users are required to express their preference over different (and sometimes conflicting) quality attributes as numeric weights. This is rather a demanding task and an imprecise specification of the weights could miss user-desired services. We present a novel concept, called p-dominant service skyline. A provider S belongs to the p-dominant skyline if the chance that S is dominated by any other provider is less than p. Computing the p-dominant skyline provides an integrated solution to tackle the above two issues simultaneously. We present a p-R-tree indexing structure and a dual-pruning scheme to efficiently compute the p-dominant skyline. We assess the efficiency of the proposed algorithm with an analytical study and extensive experiments.
A file-system-aware FTL design for flash-memory storage systems

As flash memory became popular over various platforms, there is a strong demand on the performance degradation problem, due to the special characteristics of flash memory. This research proposes the design of a file-system-aware flash translation layer, in which a filter mechanism is designed to separate the access requests of file-system metadata and file contents for better performance. A recovery scheme is then proposed to maintain the integrity of a file system. The proposed flash translation layer is implemented as a Linux device driver and evaluated with respect to ext2 and ext3 file systems. The experimental results show significant performance improvement over ext2 and ext3 file systems with limited system overheads.
Inference based method for realignment of single trial neuronal responses

Neuronal responses to sensory stimuli or neuronal responses related to behaviour are often extracted by averaging neuronal activity over large number of experimental trials. Such trial-averaging is carried out to reduce noise and to reduce the influence of other signals unrelated to the corresponding stimulus or behaviour. However, if the recorded neuronal responses are jittered in time with respect to the corresponding stimulus or behaviour, averaging over trials may distort the estimation of the underlying neuronal response. Here, we present an algorithm, named dTAV algorithm, for realigning the recorded neuronal activity to an arbitrary internal trigger. Using simulated data, we show that the dTAV algorithm can reduce the jitter of neuronal responses for signal to noise ratios of 0.2 or higher, i.e. in cases where the standard deviation of the noise is up to five times larger than the neuronal response amplitude. By removing the jitter and, therefore, enabling more accurate estimation of neuronal responses, the dTAV algorithm can improve analysis and interpretation of the responses and improve the accuracy of systems relaying on asynchronous detection of events from neuronal recordings.
A QoS extension for next step in signaling in mobile IPv6 environment

In this paper, we introduce an end-to-end QoS provisioning mechanism based on NSIS (Next Step In Signaling) protocol suite in mobile IPv6 environment. Resource reservation on the new path must be done as quickly as possible after handover event for the Mobile Node (MN) which is especially important when real-time applications are used. We focus on end-to-end procedure for a fast QoS re-establishment, the basic idea of which is to reduce the time between the handover event and the NSIS state re-establishment on the new path. It is designed to send the NSIS signaling message together with Binding Update (BU)/Binding Acknowledgement (BA) after handover, in order to avoid wasting time to wait for mobility detecting. We propose to buffer at the CRossover Node (CRN) the packets directed to the Mobile Node during the handover. In this way the total QoS re-establishment time is reduced. Moreover, we list the issues it may meet during the handover process, the CRN discovery, IP-in-IP problem, double-reservation problem, etc., according to which we also propose relevant solutions.