Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Enhanced Gabor Feature Based Classification Using a Regularized Locally Tensor Discriminant Model for Multiview Gait Recognition

This paper presents a novel multiview gait recognition method that combines the enhanced Gabor (EG) representation of the gait energy image and the regularized local tensor discriminant analysis (RLTDA) method. EG first derives desirable gait features characterized by spatial frequency, spatial locality, and orientation selectivity to cope with the variations due to surface, shoe types, clothing, carrying conditions, and so on. Unlike traditional Gabor transformation, which does not consider the structural characteristics of the gait features, our representation method not only considers the statistical property of the input features but also adopts a nonlinear mapping to emphasize those important feature points. The dimensionality of the derivation of EG gait feature is further reduced by using RLTDA, which directly obtains a set of locally optimal tensor eigenvectors and can capture nonlinear manifolds of gait features that exhibit appearance changes due to variable viewing angles. An aggregation scheme is adopted to combine the complementary information from differently RLTDA recognizers at the matching score level. The proposed method achieves the best average Rank-1 recognition rates for multiview gait recognition based on image sequences from the USF HumanID gait challenge database and the CASIA gait database.
Mechanical Work, Energetic Cost, and Gait Efficiency in Children With Cerebral Palsy

Abstract Many authors have reported increased energy expenditure during walking in children with hemiplegia. The origin of this increase is not well documented. The aim of our study was to understand better the origin of this increased energy expenditure of walking in children with cerebral palsy (CP) by simultaneously assessing the total mechanical work performed by the muscles and the efficiency of the work production. Twenty independently walking children with spastic, hemiplegic CP and a dynamic foot equinus deformity participated in the study. Instrumented gait analysis, including the analysis of kinematic, mechanical, and energetic variables, was performed. Despite excellent Gross Motor Function Measurement scores (range, 97-99), the energy cost was 1.3 times greater in children with CP than in healthy children. This increase in energy cost was related to an increase in the total positive mechanical work performed by the muscles and not related to a decrease in the efficiency of this work production. This study shows how segmental impairments (foot spastic equinus) increase the total mechanical work performed by the muscles and the energetic cost and how these segmental impairments contribute to the patient's disability. It is useful to associate the clinical examination, classic gait analysis, mechanical work, and energetic assessment to complete the evaluation of the condition of children with CP.
Acute withdrawal syndrome related to the administration of analgesic and sedative medications in adult intensive care unit patients.

OBJECTIVES To estimate the frequency of acute withdrawal syndrome related to the administration of analgesic and sedative medications in mechanically ventilated adult intensive care unit (ICU) patients; to identify associated clinical factors. DESIGN Retrospective review of medical records. SETTING An adult trauma/surgical ICU in an urban Level I trauma center. PATIENTS Twenty-eight mechanically ventilated adult trauma/ surgical ICU patients requiring >7 days of ICU care. INTERVENTIONS None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Daily doses of all opioid, sedative, hypnotic, and major tranquilizer drugs administered to each patient were measured, as was duration of ICU stay, duration of mechanical ventilation, and duration of the administration of analgesic, sedative, and neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBAs) for each patient. All opioids and benzodiazepines were converted to their respective fentanyl and lorazepam equivalent units based on potency and bioavailability. Calculation of the weaning rate for each patient during tapering from opioid and benzodiazepine medications was performed. The presence or absence of acute withdrawal syndrome was identified for each patient. Nine (32.1%) patients developed acute withdrawal syndrome potentially related to the administration of analgesic or sedative medications. Patients in the withdrawal group received significantly higher mean daily (p = .049) and peak (p = .032) doses of fentanyl equivalents, as well as higher mean daily lorazepam equivalents (p = .049) compared with patients not experiencing withdrawal. Patients in the withdrawal group were also significantly more likely to have received neuromuscular blocking agents (p = .004) or propofol (p =.026) for >1 day during ICU admission compared with patients not experiencing withdrawal. Duration of mechanical ventilation (p = .049), benzodiazepine therapy (p = .048), and propofol therapy (p = .049) was also significantly longer in the group experiencing withdrawal. Withdrawal patients received a significantly lower mean daily dose of haloperidol (p = .026). There was a significant association between the development of withdrawal syndrome and the presence of ARDS (p = .017). Finally, the slopes of the lines representing opioid and benzodiazepine drug weaning were more steep for the withdrawal group, although these results did not achieve statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that mechanically ventilated adult patients with extended ICU care (> or =7 days) who receive large doses of analgesic and sedative medications are at risk for acute withdrawal syndromes during drug weaning. The association between ARDS and withdrawal syndrome, combined with the observation that withdrawal syndromes were also associated with the use of neuromuscular blocking agents and prolonged mechanical ventilation, suggests that patients with ARDS may be more likely to receive high doses of analgesic and sedative medications, and are therefore at increased risk for withdrawal syndrome.
Internet-Based Screening for Sexually Transmitted Infections to Reach Nonclinic Populations in the Community: Risk Factors for Infection in Men

Background: Internet-based screening for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) has been acceptable to women, and can reach high-risk populations. No prior published data describe internet-based screening for Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and Trichomonas vaginalis in men. We studied whether internet-based screening was acceptable and reached a high-risk population, and what risk factors were associated with STI positivity. Methods: The website, www.iwantthekit. org, encouraged men ≥14 years of age to request a home self-sampling kit and a questionnaire on risk factors and acceptability of internet-based screening. Penile swabs and urine samples were tested for C. trachomatis, N. gonorrhoeae, and T. vaginalis using a nucleic acid amplification test. Risk factors and acceptability were examined using chi squared tests and logistic regression. Results: Of 501 samples received for testing, 106 (21%) were positive for at least one STI, 64 (13%) for chlamydia, 4 (1%) for gonorrhea, and 49 (10%) for trichomonas. In multivariable analyses, age, race, household income, and frequency of condom use were independently associated with infection with at least one STI. Of the total respondents, 34% had a prior STI; 29% reported having a partner with an STI, but only 13% reported always using a condom. Among the men who participated in this study, 77% preferred a self-administered specimen versus attending a clinic, 89% reported that swab use was easy, and 89% reported that they would use internet-based screening again. Conclusions: Men who accessed internet-based screening had known risk factors for STIs and had a high prevalence of infection. Internet-based screening was acceptable and could reach these high-risk men who might not otherwise be reached through traditional means.
Modelling Australia’s imports of goods and services

This paper adds to the relatively scant Australian literature on modelling the demand and supply of Australian imports. We build on earlier demand modelling by deriving conditional import demand relationships via representative household/firm-level utility-maximisation/cost-minimisation problems, which explicitly assume households/firms have both a taste for variety and rival sources of supply. Our estimates of disaggregated price elasticities are consistent with earlier studies in finding relatively low substitutability between imported and domestically produced varieties. Our derivation of the long-run supply framework also adds to the existing literature by explaining why it is necessary for researchers to employ trade-weighted foreign prices in place of individual country prices and providing conditions under which this approach is consistent with the underlying theory. We find that the extent of the foreign cost pass-through to import prices depends critically on the choice of foreign cost variable.
No association between physical activity and telomere length in an elderly Chinese population 65 years and older.

T elomere shortening has been considered an aging marker since it represents lifetime exposure to oxidative and inflammatory stress, and it has been shown to be negatively correlated with age, smoking, and mortality up to age 75 years. A recent article in the Archives reported that the benefits of leisure activity include an association with longer telomere length in middle-aged subjects, after adjusting for confounding factors such as body mass index, smoking, and socioeconomic status, sending a potentially powerful message that regular exercise has antiaging effects. We report a study in an elderly Chinese population 65 years and older that suggests that by age 70 years, this beneficial effect on telomere length is much attenuated.
Forecasting regional chance of occurrence through aggregation of MOS PoPs

Regional sets of point probabilities [e.g., model output statistics (MOS) probability of precipitation (PoP) forecasts] can be used to forecast both the expected areal coverage and the regional chance of occurrence. The former is just a data quality check given the statistical equivalence of the spatial average of point probabilities and the expected value of areal coverage. The latter, however, is a new product with utility to those users whose actions depend upon the occurrence of the event anywhere within their region of operation. While the method is demonstrated here using MOS PoP forecasts, potential applications include any weather variable for which point probability forecasts are available operationally. The forecasting of thunderstorm chance of occurrence for fire weather planning is one such application. For this demonstration, MOS PoP forecasts are matched with the corresponding National Centers for Environmental Prediction Stage IV precipitation analyses. Comparison of regional average PoP with fractional area coverage verifies their equivalence, but reveals a MOS station location bias to the drier lowlands in the inter-mountain West. Regional chance of occurrence is forecast via logistic regression with the mean and standard deviation of the region’s MOS PoP forecasts as predictors. Hindcast results show significant skill, but the regression equations vary by both season and location.
Determination of morphine, morphine-3-glucuronide, and morphine-6-glucuronide in plasma after intravenous and intrathecal morphine administration using HPLC with electrospray ionization and tandem mass spectrometry.

High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to atmospheric pressure ionization (API) mass spectrometry (MS) has become a useful technique in the direct analysis of low concentrations of conjugated opiate metabolites. Previous methods using HPLC with traditional detection methods do not have the sensitivity to detect low concentrations of most conjugated drug metabolites. Methods using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) require hydrolysis and derivatization of the sample followed by an indirect quantitation of conjugated metabolites. Recently, several reports have described direct analysis of opiates and their glucuronide conjugates by HPLC and API-MS. These methods report lower limits of detection than GC-MS methods and quantitation in the low nanogram-per-milliliter range for the glucuronide metabolites of morphine. This report describes an HPLC-electrospray-MS-MS method capable of detecting subnanogram concentrations of morphine (MOR) and its 3- and 6-glucuronide metabolites (M3G and M6G, respectively). The assay has a dynamic range of 250-10,000 pg/mL for M3G and M6G and 500-10,000 pg/mL for MOR. Inter- and intra-assay precision and accuracy varied by less than 8% for all analytes at 750-, 2500-, and 7500-pg/mL concentrations. This assay was used for the determination of MOR, M3G, and M6G in human plasma after intravenous (i.v.) and intrathecal (i.t.) administration of MOR and its effects on the ventilatory response to hypoxia. Peak plasma concentrations of MOR and M6G were measured 1 h after i.v. administration of MOR. Peak concentrations of M3G were measured 2 h after i.v. administration of MOR. After i.t. administration of MOR, peak concentrations of M3G were measured 8 h postdose. MOR was not detected in plasma of patients administered MOR i.t. Subnanogram concentrations of M6G were measured in the plasma of five of nine patients administered MOR i.t.
Selective compressed sensing: Another compressed sensing approach for frequency-domain analysis

This paper proposes selective compressed sensing, an extension of the conventional compressed sensing that effectively compresses the frequency band(s) of interest while maintaining a backward compatibility with the compressed sensing. We exploit the fact that several sensing applications are interested in analyzing specific frequency bands only. In contrast to most conventional researches that use a random matrix as a measurement matrix, we present an optimized measurement matrix using the Walsh-Hadamard matrix and demonstrate that our selective compressed sensing method can reduce the amount of sensing data required to be transmitted. Compressed sensing can reconstruct all frequencies evenly from the raw data; the accuracy of the reconstructed data is primarily determined by the sparsity of the measurement signal. However, the compression process in the proposed selective compressed sensing method bypasses the calculation of unnecessary Fourier frequency band signals during the measurement. To reduce computational instructions and enable real-time compression by the resource-constrained microprocessors, we introduce two new techniques: the measurement matrix separations and the fast Walsh-Hadamard transform (FWHT) sorted by sequency. We demonstrate that this compression algorithm can reduce the number of instructions to approximately 1/512 of that of the compressed sensing to extract 40% of the whole spectrum from the raw data, when the data chunk size is 4096 bytes.
Speech Emotion Recognition Method Based on Improved Decision Tree and Layered Feature Selection

In this paper, in order to improve the classification accuracy with features as few as possible, a new hierarchical recognition method based on an improved SVM decision tree and the layered feature selection method combining neural network with genetic algorithm are proposed. The improved SVM decision tree is constructed according to confusion degrees between two emotions or those between two emotion groups. The classifier in each node of the improved decision tree is a SVM. On the emotional speech corpus recorded by our workgroup including 7 emotions, with the features and parameters gotten by the method combining neural network with genetic algorithm, improved SVM decision tree, multi-SVM, SVM-based binary decision tree, the traditional SVM-based decision directed acyclic graph and HMM are evaluated respectively. The experiments reveal that, compared with the other four methods, the proposed method in this paper appears better classification accuracy with fewer features and less time.
RANIBIZUMAB MONOTHERAPY VERSUS SINGLE-SESSION VERTEPORFIN PHOTODYNAMIC THERAPY COMBINED WITH AS-NEEDED RANIBIZUMAB TREATMENT FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF NEOVASCULAR AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION

Purpose: To compare verteporfin photodynamic therapy combined with intravitreal ranibizumab (combination therapy) versus ranibizumab monotherapy for management of neovascular age-related macular degeneration. Methods: Thirty patients (40 eyes) with neovascular age-related macular degeneration were prospectively allocated to combination therapy or monotherapy. In monotherapy, the induction phase consisted of 3 consecutive monthly ranibizumab injections (0.5 mg), while the combination therapy had a single session of photodynamic therapy with intravitreal ranibizumab. Follow-up treatment for either group consisted only of additional as-needed ranibizumab injections. The main outcome measure was that a proportion of eyes losing <15 letters of visual acuity after 12 months. Results: Except for 1 eye in combination therapy, all eyes in both groups lost <15 letters of visual acuity. At 12 months, there was a mean gain of +12 letters and +3.2 letters for monotherapy and combination therapy, respectively (relative percent change of 32% vs. 7%, P = 0.03). Anatomical improvement was similar in both groups. After induction, the time until ranibizumab retreatment was longer for combination therapy (P = 0.002) while ranibizumab injections were required more frequently with monotherapy (P = 0.015). Conclusion: Ranibizumab monotherapy showed greater improvement in visual acuity versus combination therapy. However, combination therapy required fewer ranibizumab injections. Larger trials need to confirm the findings of this pilot study.
Decentralisation, Economic Inequality and Insurgency

Abstract This paper investigates if devolution of political power in conflict-affected areas can reduce violence. Political decentralisation has been widely recognised to improve access to local public services. By providing institutional means to address local grievances, its role in diffusing social tensions has also been suggested. However, there is lack of systematic evidence on the role of local self-government in mitigating social-unrest arising due to local socio-economic issues. Our paper addresses this gap in the literature by assessing the impact of a local government institution, introduced in the Adivasi districts in 1996, on Maoist insurgency in India. The local councils aimed at addressing Adivasi grievances by recognising their traditional lifestyle and land, forests, and water rights, thereby reducing their incentive to participate in insurgency. However, empirical analysis performed using difference-in-difference methodology suggests that Maoist insurgency, as reported in Global Terrorism Database, increased post-decentralisation. We make sure this result is robust to various alternative explanations including state-level policy changes and political environment. Drawing on extensive empirical tests as well as existing qualitative studies, we show that an unequal local power structure and weak state-capacity in implementing the decentralisation programme resulted in local elites appropriating its benefits. This increased Adivasis grievances and consequently insurgency.
Suppression of lymphocyte proliferation by a retroviral p15E‐derived hexapeptide

CKS‐17 (LQNRRGLDLLFLKEGGL), a synthetic peptide derived from a conserved region of retroviral transmembrane proteins, has previously been shown to suppress severaldifferent immune effector mechanisms. The present study was undertaken to further delineate immunosuppressive site(s) of CKS‐17. Overlapping hexapeptides covering the complete sequence of CKS‐17 were synthesized. One CKS‐17‐derived hexapeptide, LDLLFL, suppressed ligand [CD3, interleukin (IL)‐2]‐induced lymphocyte proliferation. Spontaneous proliferation of transformed lymphoid cell lines, as well as cell lines from myeloid or epitheloid origin, was not inhibited byLDLLFL. Full suppression required the continuous presence of LDLLFL during culturing, and did not involve interference with monocyte function. Radiolabeling studies showed that the hexapeptide did not compete with IL‐2 for IL‐2 receptor binding. Most likely the LDLLFL motif inteferes with steps shared bythe IL‐2 and CD3 receptor‐induced signaling pathways. Since LDLLFL displays multiple immunosuppressive activities, it may constitute a biologically relevant immunosuppressive site of retroviral transmembrane proteins.
Serum concentration of macrophage‐derived chemokine may be a useful inflammatory marker for assessing severity of atopic dermatitis in infants and young children

Chemokines are responsible for the trafficking of leukocytes to sites of inflammation. Serum chemokine levels were previously shown to be increased in adult patients with atopic dermatitis (AD). We tested whether serum concentrations of chemokines, including macrophage‐derived chemokine (MDC), thymus and activation‐regulated chemokine (TARC), eotaxin (EOX), interferon gamma inducible protein 10 (IP‐10) and monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP‐1), are useful inflammatory markers for assessing AD severity in infants and young children. To investigate this, we assessed the severity of AD clinically using the SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) index system. Serum chemokine concentrations were determined by sandwich enzyme immunoassay. Twenty AD patients with a median age of 2.1 years [interquartile range (IQR): 0.6–4.2] were recruited. Their SCORAD score was 23.5 (12.5–33.5). Serum concentrations of MDC, TARC, EOX, IP‐10 and MCP‐1 were 2551 (1978–3935), 1469 (1125–3070), 68 (57–85), 126 (101−226) and 518 (419–614) pg/ml, respectively. Serum MDC levels correlated with SCORAD (r = 0.608, p = 0.004) and its extent (r = 0.629, p = 0.003) and intensity (r = 0.557, p = 0.011) components. Serum TARC concentration showed weaker correlation with extent (r = 0.474, p = 0.035) and intensity (r = 0.465, p = 0.039) of skin involvement but not SCORAD. The median serum levels of MDC (3131 vs. 2394 pg/ml; p = 0.031) and EOX (80 vs. 61 pg/ml; p = 0.046) were also higher in children with moderate as compared with mild AD. The other chemokines did not correlate with AD severity. In conclusion, our results suggest that serum MDC concentration may be a useful inflammatory marker for assessing AD severity in infants and young children.
Subscription Rate and Volatility

This article investigates the relationship between subscription rate and aftermarket volatility for IPOs issued in India during the period 2002–12. The empirical findings corroborate the evidence that subscription rate is a good indicator of aftermarket volatility for the IPO stocks. This study also finds that retail subscription rate is relatively more significant and powerful in predicting volatility than institutional investors. Surprisingly, offer size, investment bank prestige and debt–equity ratio is insignificant in explaining aftermarket volatility. The outcome can be used by the market participants to understand the potential fluctuations in the prices. This article also evaluates volatility of the IPO stocks on listing day. JEL Classification: G12
Best Practices in Evaluating Worksite Health Promotion Programs

Program evaluation is generally recognized as a "best practice" activity for worksite health promotion programs. The importance of "best practice" worksite health promotion programming is increasing with the stakes anticipated by health care reform. Volvo's health promotion activities are used as an example of "best practice" programming with a particular focus on creating a dashboard of evaluation metrics that can meet the accountability needs of senior management. The role of a comprehensive evaluation framework using nine components is explored along with reasonable expectations for program outcomes. Finally, stakeholder utility from the evaluation approach is explored.