Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Development and assessment of methods for detecting dementia using the human electroencephalogram

This paper makes an outline case for the need for a low-cost, easy to administer method for detecting dementia within the growing at risk population. It proposes two methods for electroencephalogram (EEG) analysis for detecting dementia that could fulfil such a need. The paper describes a fractal dimension-based method for analyzing the EEG waveforms of subjects with dementia and reports on an assessment which demonstrates that an appropriate fractal dimension measure could achieve 67% sensitivity to probable Alzheimer's disease (as suggested by clinical psychometric testing and EEG findings) with a specificity of 99.9%. An alternative method based on the probability density function of the zero-crossing intervals is shown to achieve 78% sensitivity to probable Alzheimer's disease and an estimated sensitivity to probable Vascular (or mixed) dementia of 35% (as suggested by clinical psychometric testing and EEG findings) with a specificity of 99.9%. This compares well with other studies, reported by the American Academy of Neurology, which typically provide a sensitivity of 81% and specificity of 70%. The EEG recordings used to assess these methods included artefacts and had no a priori selection of elements "suitable for analysis. " This approach gives a good prediction of the usefulness of the methods, as they would be used in practice. A total of 39 patients (30 probable Alzheimer's Disease, six Vascular Dementia and three mixed dementia) and 42 healthy volunteers were involved in the study. However, although results from the preliminary evaluation of the methods are promising, there is a need for a more extensive study to validate the methods using EEGs from a larger and more varied patient cohorts with neuroimaging results, to exclude other causes and cognitive scores to correlate results with severity of cognitive status
Simulating water markets with transaction costs

This paper presents an optimization model to simulate short‐term pair‐wise spot‐market trading of surface water abstraction licenses (water rights). The approach uses a node‐arc multicommodity formulation that tracks individual supplier‐receiver transactions in a water resource network. This enables accounting for transaction costs between individual buyer‐seller pairs and abstractor‐specific rules and behaviors using constraints. Trades are driven by economic demand curves that represent each abstractor's time‐varying water demand. The purpose of the proposed model is to assess potential hydrologic and economic outcomes of water markets and aid policy makers in designing water market regulations. The model is applied to the Great Ouse River basin in Eastern England. The model assesses the potential weekly water trades and abstractions that could occur in a normal and a dry year. Four sectors (public water supply, energy, agriculture, and industrial) are included in the 94 active licensed water diversions. Each license's unique environmental restrictions are represented and weekly economic water demand curves are estimated. Rules encoded as constraints represent current water management realities and plausible stakeholder‐informed water market behaviors. Results show buyers favor sellers who can supply large volumes to minimize transactions. The energy plant cooling and agricultural licenses, often restricted from obtaining water at times when it generates benefits, benefit most from trades. Assumptions and model limitations are discussed.
Coordination and Coarticulation in Speech Production

In this article, we consider the concepts of coordination and coarticulation in speech production in the context of a task-dynamic model. Coordination reflects the transient establishment of constrained relationships among articulators that jointly produce linguistically significant actions of the vocal tract – that is phonetic gestures – in a flexible, context-sensitive manner. We ascribe the need for these constraints in part to the requirement of coarticulatory overlap in speech production. Coarticulation reflects temporally staggered activation of coordinative constraints for different phonetic gestures. We suggest that the anticipatory coarticulatory field for a gesture is more limited than look-ahead models have suggested, consistent with the idea that anticipatory coarticulation is the onset of activation of coordinative constraints for a forthcoming gesture. Finally, we ascribe much of the context-sensitivity in the anticipatory or carryover fields of a gesture (variation due to “coarticulation resistance”) to low-level (below the speech plan) interactions among the coordinative constraints for temporally overlapping gestures.
Highly conductive Ag nanowire hybrid electrodes improve silicon heterojunction solar cells

Replacing ITO with a hybrid nanowire-based electrode is shown to enhance efficiency in front-contacted silicon heterojunction (SHJ) solar cells. Electrode performance was tested on practical scale (4.0 cm2) planar SHJ cells using substrate conformal imprint lithography (SCIL) for nanowire fabrication. The NW hybrid electrodes exhibit anomalous transmission and a 10-fold improvement in sheet conductance relative to the standard ITO, enabling larger finger spacings without compromising fill factor. By replacing >70% of ITO with transparent SiNx we simultaneously reduce parasitic optical absorption and reflection losses. Combined, these effects increase the short circuit current density by 1.4 mA cm-2, yielding an absolute increase in cell efficiency of 2.2%.
An efficient message-passing schedule for LDPC decoding

An efficient decoding schedule for low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes that outperforms the conventional approach, in terms of both complexity and performance, is presented. Conventionally, in each iteration, all symbol nodes and, subsequently, all the check nodes, send messages to their neighbors ("flooding schedule"). In contrast, in the proposed method, the updating of nodes is performed according to a serial schedule which propagates the information twice as fast. A density evolution (DE) algorithm for asymptotic analysis of the new schedule is derived, showing that, when working near the code's capacity, the decoder converges in approximately half the number of iterations. In addition, a concentration theorem is proved, showing that, for a randomly chosen serial schedule, code graph, and decoder input, the decoder's performance approaches its expected one as predicted by the DE algorithm, when the code length increases.
Relationships between Load and Demand under the Condition of the Mental Representation of a Dance

The extent to which subject experience of dance is reflected in the imagination of dancers is a question of great interest to movement science. Knowledge regarding dance can be recalled from what we call the explicit memory and further enhanced by means of sensory elements from the emotional memory. Mental evaluation of the results can be seen, amongst other places, both in neural activity in the brain and in the physiological functions of cardiac and respiratory activities (Roth 2001). In neuropsychology, conscious reproduction of an event such as a dance is known as representation. Damasio (2000) uses this term as a synonym for imagination and neural patterns. As imagination, this manifests itself in cognitive processes. As neural patterns, it is evident in the neural connections. Dance techniques, with their temporal, spatial and dynamic structure, are one example of the object of representation of this type. Techniques can be recalled from the memory when required. Because of the many para llels between the cognitive and neural processes, brain processes, which are associated with thoughts, imagination and attention, can be made visible due to the electrical activity of the neural networks involved. Intensive reproduction of experiences also has an effect on other physiological functions, making these another sign of heightened mental processing. Bearing in mind these premises and in relation to the more general question posed at the outset of this article, we can thus derive the following, more specific question: Does the process of imagining dance choreography in the mind over and over again produce changes in the cortical and neural activities of dancers as a result of the related demand placed on the CNS, and to what extent does this imagining affect activity in the cardiac, respiratory and muscular systems?
Performance of a Bluetooth system in multipath fading channels and interference

Bluetooth is an emerging, short range, indoor wireless network technology, based on FH-CDMA/TDD, which allows a collection of devices to form small overlapping networks, called piconets, in an ad hoc fashion. The performance of a Bluetooth link is evaluated in multipath fading channels in the presence of interference from an IEEE 802.11b wireless local area network (WLAN).
Estimating T-cell repertoire diversity: limitations of classical estimators and a new approach

A highly diverse T-cell receptor (TCR) repertoire is a fundamental property of an effective immune system, and is associated with efficient control of viral infections and other pathogens. However, direct measurement of total TCR diversity is impossible. The diversity is high and the frequency distribution of individual TCRs is heavily skewed; the diversity therefore cannot be captured in a blood sample. Consequently, estimators of the total number of TCR clonotypes that are present in the individual, in addition to those observed, are essential. This is analogous to the ‘unseen species problem’ in ecology. We review the diversity (species richness) estimators that have been applied to T-cell repertoires and the methods used to validate these estimators. We show that existing approaches have significant shortcomings, and frequently underestimate true TCR diversity. We highlight our recently developed estimator, DivE, which can accurately estimate diversity across a range of immunological and biological systems.
Sensitivity Distribution Properties of a Phase-Shifted Fiber Bragg Grating Sensor to Ultrasonic Waves

In this research, the sensitivity distribution properties of a phase-shifted fiber Bragg grating (PS-FBG) to ultrasonic waves were investigated employing the surface attachment method. A careful consideration was taken and examined by experimental results to explain that the distances and angles between the sensor and ultrasonic source influence not only the amplitudes, but also the initial phases, waveforms, and spectra of detected signals. Furthermore, factors, including the attachment method and the material's geometric dimensions, were also discussed. Although these results were obtained based on PS-FBG, they are also applicable to a normal FBG sensor or even an optical fiber sensor, due to the identical physical changes induced by ultrasonic waves in all three. Thus, these results are useful for applications of optical fiber sensors in non-destructive testing and structural health monitoring.
Fast real-time image reconstruction with helical cone-beam ART

A method that can fast, real-time get the projection matrix in ART reconstruction is proposed based on helical cone-beam CT trajectory in this paper. For a given ray this method can rapidly acquire the indices and corresponding lengths of the voxels passed through by this ray through sorting the intersections between the ray and mesh planes. Meanwhile we only store the projection matrix elements required for a given ray and release them after using them. By doing so the computation time and the storage space are significantly reduced. The experimental results show that this method can heighten the speed and better suppress noise.
Charge trapping and degradation of HfO/sub 2//SiO/sub 2/ MOS gate stacks observed with enhanced CAFM

In this letter, a prototype of conductive atomic force microscope with enhanced electrical performance has been used to separately investigate the effect of the electrical stress on the SiO/sub 2/ and the HfO/sub 2/ layers of a high-/spl kappa/ gate stack. Charge trapping in HfO/sub 2/ native defects and degradation of both layers have been observed, depending on the stress level.
Tinkering and gender in end-user programmers' debugging

Earlier research on gender effects with software features intended to help problem-solvers in end-user debugging environments has shown that females are less likely to use unfamiliar software features. This poses a serious problem because these features may be key to helping them with debugging problems. Contrasting this with research documenting males' inclination for tinkering in unfamiliar environments, the question arises as to whether encouraging tinkering with new features would help females overcome the factors, such as low self-efficacy, that led to the earlier results. In this paper, we present an experiment with males and females in an end-user debugging setting, and investigate how tinkering behavior impacts several measures of their debugging success. Our results show that the factors of tinkering, reflection, and self-efficacy, can combine in multiple ways to impact debugging effectiveness differently for males than for females.
Peak shift and epidemiology in a seasonal host–nematode system

Insight into the dynamics of parasite–host relationships of higher vertebrates requires an understanding of two important features: the nature of transmission and the development of acquired immunity in the host. A dominant hypothesis proposes that acquired immunity develops with the cumulative exposure to infection, and consequently predicts a negative relationship between peak intensity of infection and host age at this peak. Although previous studies have found evidence to support this hypothesis through between-population comparisons, these results are confounded by spatial effects. In this study, we examined the dynamics of infection of the nematode Trichostrongylus retortaeformis within a natural population of rabbits sampled monthly for 26 years. The rabbit age structure was reconstructed using body mass as a proxy for age, and the host age–parasite intensity relationship was examined for each rabbit cohort born from February to August. The age–intensity curves exhibited a typical concave shape, and a significant negative relationship was found between peak intensity of infection and host age at this peak. Adult females showed a distinct periparturient rise in T. retortaeformis infection, with higher intensities in breeding adult females than adult males and non-breeding females. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis of an acquired immune response of the host to a parasite infection, supporting the principle that acquired immunity can be modelled using the cumulative exposure to infection. These findings also show that seasonality can be an important driver of host–parasite interactions.
Adaptive control methodology for the compensation of linear and non linear parametric disturbances

controller is called for that provides a uniformly satisfactory performance in the presence of parametric uncertainties and variations. The adaptive approach to this problem is to design a controller with varying parameters, which are adjusted in such a way that they adapt to and accommodate the uncertainties and variations in the plant to be controlled by providing such a time-varying solution. The exact nature of which is determined by the nature and magnitude of the parametric uncertainties, the closed loop adaptive system seeks to enable a better performance. The result that have accrued in the field of adaptive control over the past three decades have provided a framework within which such time varying adaptive controller can be designed to yield stability and robustness in various control tasks. adaptive control deals with parametric uncertainties in control system and could be defined as the combination of a parametric estimator, which generate parameter estimates online with a control law in order to control class of plant (is the combination of process and actuator, which is a device that can influences the controlled variable of the process) whose parameter are completely unknown and/or could change with the time in a unpredictable manner. So from this paper we are trying to find auxiliary process variable that correlate well with the change in process dynamics. And also various approaches" to the manipulation with unpredictable parametric uncertainties
NEGATIVE LONGITUDINAL CORRELATION FOR ISOTROPIC FLOWS

Examples of physically reasonable homogeneous, isotropic, threedimensional divergence-free vector fields with longitudinal correlation negative on some interval are presented. The negativity of the longitudinal correlation persists in the Galerkin approximation of the hydrodynamic equations at least for some time. Both the outline of the mathematical arguments and the numerical implementation are included.
Screening on Perpetration and Victimization of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV): Two Studies on the Validity of an IPV Screening Instrument in Patients in Substance Abuse Treatment

Background About 50% of patients in substance abuse treatment with a partner perpetrated and/or experienced intimate partner violence in the past year. To date, there are no screeners to identify both perpetrators and victims of partner intimate violence in a substance abusing population. We developed a 4 item screening instrument for this purpose, the Jellinek Inventory for assessing Partner Violence (J-IPV). Important strengths of the J-IPV are that it takes only 2 minutes to administer and is easy to use and to score. Methods To investigate the validity of the J-IPV, two independent studies were conducted including 98 and 99 participants, respectively. Aim of the second study was to cross-validate findings from the first study. Psychometric properties of the J-IPV were determined by calculating sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value, and positive and negative likelihood ratio’s by comparing J-IPV outcomes to outcomes on the Revised Conflict Tactics Scales (‘gold standard’). Also, receiver operator characteristics (ROC)-curves were determined to weight sensitivity and specificity as a result of different J-IPV cutoffs, and the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated. Results Results of the first study demonstrated that the J-IPV possesses good psychometric properties to detect perpetrators and victims of any as well as severe intimate partner violence. Results from the second study replicated findings from the first study. Conclusions We recommend administering the J-IPV to patients entering substance abuse treatment. If perpetrators and victims of partner violence are identified, action can be taken to stop IPV perpetration and arrange help for victims, for example by offering perpetrators treatment or by providing safety planning or advocacy interventions to victims.
International risk sharing and low cross-country consumption correlations: are they really inconsistent?

In dynamic-equilibrium trade models, the common assumption that asset markets are complete implies that correlations of consumption. across countries should be quite high. In contrast, measured consumption correlations tend to be rather low. While some suggest this implies that asset market incompleteness is a fundamental feature determining international trade dynamics, this paper provides an example of a simple model economy in which complete markets can be associated with consumption correlations that are lower than output correlations. Conditions for substitution elasticities associated with this result are derived for a two-country, two-good endowment model with heterogeneous agents. Copyright 1997 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
A probabilistic interpretation of the parametrix method.

In this article, we introduce the parametrix method for constructions of fundamental solutions as a general method based on semigroups and difference of generators. This leads to a probabilistic interpretation of the parametrix method that are amenable to Monte Carlo simulation. We consider the explicit examples of continuous diffusions and jump driven stochastic differential equations with Ho lder continuous coefficients.
Comparison of sequence of trunk and arm motions between short and long official distance groups in javelin throwing

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of sequences of the trunk and arm angular motions on the performance of javelin throwing. In this study, 32 male and 30 female elite javelin throwers participated and were separated into a short official distance group or a long official distance group in each gender. Three-dimensional coordinates of 21 body landmarks and 3 marks on the javelin in the best trial were collected for each subject. Joint center linear velocities and selected trunk and arm segment and joint angles and angular velocities were calculated. The times of the initiations of the selected segment and joint angular motions and maximum angular velocities were determined. The sequences of the initiations of the selected segment and joint angular motions and maximum angular velocities were compared between short and long official distance groups and between genders. The results demonstrated that short and long official distance groups employed similar sequences of the trunk and arm motions. Male and female javelin throwers employed different sequences of the trunk and arm motions. The sequences of the trunk and arm motions were different from those of the maximal joint center linear velocities.
Reduced hippocampal volumes associated with the long variant of the serotonin transporter polymorphism in major depression.

BACKGROUND Substantial evidence supports a role for dysfunction of the serotonin transporter in the pathogenesis of major depression. Several studies have found reciprocal interactions between the serotonergic system and both brain-derived neurotrophic factor and glutamate, which are known to modulate or affect hippocampal morphologic characteristics. OBJECTIVE To examine the influence of a polymorphism (5-HTTLPR) in the promoter region of the serotonin transporter gene on hippocampal volumes in patients with major depression and healthy controls. DESIGN Baseline investigation of a prospective magnetic resonance imaging study with a 4-year follow-up period. PATIENTS We examined 40 inpatients with major depression as well as 40 healthy controls matched for age, sex, and handedness. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Subjects underwent high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging. Furthermore, genotyping for the 5-HTTLPR biallelic polymorphism was performed, which consists of a 44-base pair insertion (L allele) or deletion (S allele). RESULTS Patients with the L/L homozygous genotype had significantly smaller hippocampal gray matter (left hemisphere: P=.003; right hemisphere: P=.01) and white matter volumes (left hemisphere: P=.001; right hemisphere: P=.002) than controls with this genotype. No significant differences were found between patients and controls with the L/S or S/S genotype. Moreover, patients with the L/L genotype had significantly smaller hippocampal white matter volumes than those with the L/S or S/S genotype (P=.03). CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that homozygosity for the L allele is associated with decreased hippocampal volumes in patients with major depression but not in healthy controls. A possible explanation is that the interaction between the serotonergic system and neurotrophic factors as well as excitatory amino acid neurotransmission may affect hippocampal morphologic characteristics.