Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Seminal: Additive Semantic Content for Multimedia Streams

Technological advances such as higher network bandwidth and greater end-user computing power provide the basis for new types of media rich applications. As applications produce larger numbers of more diverse media streams, the content becomes too overwhelming to be useful in its raw form. The contribution of this work is the initial design of Seminal, a model that solves the problem of multimedia overload by enhancing multimedia streams with semantic information about their content and relationship. The goal of Seminal is to manually or automatically derive semantic meaning from a given set of media streams. When the media streams are presented, archived, or distributed between users, the semantics are used to filter the most relevant information from the entire information base. We have designed a digital classroom-based prototype to validate our assumption that semantic information can be used to allow users to interact in a media
"Soy el que cierra y el que apaga la luz": Cuando el liderazgo de dirigentes comunitarios no empodera a la comunidad* "I'm the One Closing and Turning off the Lights": When Leadership Does not Empower Community Leaders to Community

The aim of the present study is to analyse the social capital in the leadership of diverse kind of grass-roots organisations in two zones of southern Chile and how this inflows on the diverse empowerment levels. The results in base of the social networks qualitative and quantitative data shows that the social capital, both external and internal, are focused on the leaders, which does not allow to the rest of the community members to have access to existent resources inside and outside the organisation. This findings shows that is not enough with the development of the leaders psychological empowerment to develop organisational and community empowerment.
Two Sources of Nonisotropic Radiation From Underground Explosions in Granite

Significant tangential ground motion observed during underground explosions makes it difficult to distinguish them from natural earthquakes. Such motion can be generated by the source geometry and emplacement conditions, by the heterogeneous nature of the rock mass (mechanical properties may vary in space due to the presence of cracks, joints, faults, and various geologic layers) and also by the nonuniform in situ stress state. The last mechanism is increasingly important with depth when the difference in main principal stresses becomes significant. This paper is focused on the role of material strength of the rock mass in generation of nonradial motion during explosions in prestressed media. Numerical modeling of underground chemical explosions in granite at various depths has been conducted to compare two possible mechanisms of shear wave generation. The first, caused by rock mass anisotropy, is important at shallow depth. The second is related to elastic‐plastic relaxation around the cavity created by the explosion. Tangential motions for these two mechanisms have different signatures.
Improving Knowledge Sharing in Embedded Software Production Line

A smoothly running software production line (SPL) requires consistent family-viewpoint awareness among the stakeholders through the development cycle, which in software-intensive products' engineering extends from requirements elicitation and marketing to detailed design and integration testing. To improve knowledge sharing among the stakeholders, we developed a documentation model based on feature modelling, and implemented it in a concurrent and multi-site development environment In this paper we share our experience from the field, gathered during the development and qualitative and quantitative performance analysis of this production-line kind of software development environment.
Evaluations of Actiheart, IDEEA® and RT3 monitors for estimating activity energy expenditure in free-living women

Abstract Activity energy expenditure (AEE) during free-living conditions can be assessed using devices based on different principles. To make proper comparisons of different devices' capacities to assess AEE, they should be evaluated in the same population. Thus, in the present study we evaluated, in the same group of subjects, the ability of three devices to assess AEE in groups and individuals during free-living conditions. In twenty women, AEE was assessed using RT3 (three-axial accelerometry) (AEERT3), Actiheart (a combination of heart rate and accelerometry) (AEEActi) and IDEEA (a multi-accelerometer system) (AEEIDEEA). Reference AEE (AEEref) was assessed using the doubly labelled water method and indirect calorimetry. Average AEEActi was 5760 kJ per 24 h and not significantly different from AEEref (5020 kJ per 24 h). On average, AEERT3 and AEEIDEEA were 2010 and 1750 kJ per 24 h lower than AEEref, respectively (P < 0·001). The limits of agreement (± 2 sd) were 2940 (Actiheart), 1820 (RT3) and 2650 (IDEEA) kJ per 24 h. The variance for AEERT3 was lower than for AEEActi (P = 0·006). The RT3 classified 60 % of the women in the correct activity category while the corresponding value for IDEEA and Actiheart was 30 %. In conclusion, the Actiheart may be useful for groups and the RT3 for individuals while the IDEEA requires further development. The results are likely to be relevant for a large proportion of Western women of reproductive age and demonstrate that the procedure selected to assess physical activity can greatly influence the possibilities to uncover important aspects regarding interactions between physical activity, diet and health.
Using Complete-1-Distinguishability for FSM equivalence checking

This paper introduces the use of the Complete-1-Distinguishability (C-1-D) property for simplifying FSM verification. This property eliminates the need for a traversal of the product machine for the implementation and the specification. Instead, a much simpler check suffices. This check consists of first obtaining a 1-equivalence mapping between states of the two machines, and then checking that it is a bisimulation relation. The C-1-D property can be used directly on specifications for which it naturally holds a condition that has not been exploited thus far in FSM verification. We also show how this property can be enforced on arbitrary FSMs by exposing some of the latch outputs as pseudo-primary outputs during synthesis and verification. In this sense, our synthesis/verification methodology provides another point in the tradeoff curve between constraints-on-synthesis versus complexity-of-verification. Practical experiences with using this methodology have resulted in success with several examples for which it is not possible to complete verification using existing implicit state space traversal techniques.
Gap junctional intercellular communication as a target for liver toxicity and carcinogenicity

Direct communication between hepatocytes, mediated by gap junctions, constitutes a major regulatory platform in the control of liver homeostasis, ranging from hepatocellular proliferation to hepatocyte cell death. Inherent to this pivotal task, gap junction functionality is frequently disrupted upon impairment of the homeostatic balance, as occurs during liver toxicity and carcinogenicity. In the present paper, the deleterious effects of a number of chemical and biological toxic compounds on hepatic gap junctions are discussed, including environmental pollutants, biological toxins, organic solvents, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, peroxides, metals and phthalates. Particular attention is paid to the molecular mechanisms that underlie the abrogation of gap junction functionality. Since hepatic gap junctions are specifically targeted by tumor promoters and epigenetic carcinogens, both in vivo and in vitro, inhibition of gap junction functionality is considered as a suitable indicator for the detection of nongenotoxic hepatocarcinogenicity.
Applying Propensity Score Methods in Medical Research: Pitfalls and Prospects

The authors review experimental and nonexperimental causal inference methods, focusing on assumptions for the validity of instrumental variables and propensity score (PS) methods. They provide guidance in four areas for the analysis and reporting of PS methods in medical research and selectively evaluate mainstream medical journal articles from 2000 to 2005 in the four areas, namely, examination of balance, overlapping support description, use of estimated PS for evaluation of treatment effect, and sensitivity analyses. In spite of the many pitfalls, when appropriately evaluated and applied, PS methods can be powerful tools in assessing average treatment effects in observational studies. Appropriate PS applications can create experimental conditions using observational data when randomized controlled trials are not feasible and, thus, lead researchers to an efficient estimator of the average treatment effect.
Late mortality experience in five-year survivors of childhood and adolescent cancer: the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study.

PURPOSE Survivors of childhood and adolescent cancer are at risk for long-term effects of disease and treatment. The Childhood Cancer Survivor Study assessed overall and cause-specific mortality in a retrospective cohort of 20,227 5-year survivors. PATIENTS AND METHODS Eligible subjects were individuals diagnosed with cancer (from 1970 to 1986) before the age of 21 who had survived 5 years from diagnosis. Underlying cause of death was obtained from death certificates and other sources and coded and categorized as recurrent disease, sequelae of cancer treatment, or non-cancer-related. Age and sex standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were calculated using United States population mortality data. RESULTS The cohort, including 208,947 person-years of follow-up, demonstrated a 10.8-fold excess in overall mortality (95% confidence interval, 10.3 to 11.3). Risk of death was statistically significantly higher in females (SMR = 18.2), individuals diagnosed with cancer before the age of 5 years (SMR = 14.0), and those with an initial diagnosis of leukemia (SMR = 15.5) or CNS tumor (SMR = 15.7). Recurrence of the original cancer was the leading cause of death among 5-year survivors, accounting for 67% of deaths. Statistically significant excess mortality rates were seen due to subsequent malignancies (SMR = 19.4), along with cardiac (SMR = 8.2), pulmonary (SMR = 9.2), and other causes (SMR = 3.3). Treatment-related associations were present for subsequent cancer mortality (radiation, alkylating agents, epipodophyllotoxins), cardiac mortality (chest irradiation, bleomycin), and other deaths (radiation, anthracyclines). No excess mortality was observed for external causes (SMR = 0.8). CONCLUSION While recurrent disease remains a major contributor to late mortality in 5-year survivors of childhood cancer, significant excesses in mortality risk associated with treatment-related complications exist up to 25 years after the initial cancer diagnosis.
PROSPECTIVE AUDIT OF LAPAROSCOPIC CHOLECYSTECTOMY EXPERIENCE AT A SECONDARY REFERRAL CENTRE IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Backgrouond: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is now the gold standard procedure for symptomatic gallstone disease. Nevertheless, there are still several controversies such as the need for routine intraoperative cholangiogram (IOC), the indications for and results of early laparoscopic cholecystectomy in the setting of acute cholecystitis and the use of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography versus laparoscopic common bile duct (CBD) exploration for intraoperatively detected choledocholithiasis. The aim of this study was to investigate some of these controversies.
A Digital-Based Analog Differential Circuit

A novel, digital-in-concept approach in the design of analog differential circuits, suitable to very low voltage, aggressively scaled, pure digital integrated circuit technologies, is explored in this paper. A differential stage based on the proposed technique is presented and its operation as a voltage comparator and as an operational amplifier in negative feedback configurations is discussed and demonstrated on the basis of theory and simulations. The practical feasibility of the proposed approach is finally verified by experiments carried out on a proof-of-concept prototype.
Optical I/O technology for tera-scale computing

The microprocessor architecture transition from multi-core to many-core will drive increased chip-to-chip I/O bandwidth demands at processor/memory interfaces and in multi-processor systems. Future architectures will require bandwidths of 200GB/s to 1.0TB/s and will bring about the era of tera-scale computing. To meet these bandwidth demands, traditional electrical interconnect techniques require increases in circuit complexity and costlier materials. However, without lower loss electrical interconnects, this method of increasing I/O bandwidth in electrical links eventually comes at the cost of reducing interconnect link length, reducing signal integrity or increasing power consumption. Optical interconnect with its terahertz bandwidth, low loss, and low cross-talk has been proposed to replace electrical interconnect between chips [1]. This paper describes results for both near and long-term chip-to-chip optical interconnect architectures.
Effect of two light-emitting diode (LED) and one halogen curing light on the microleakage of Class V flowable composite restorations.

AIM The disadvantages of light cured composite resin materials with respect to microleakage are predominantly a result of polymerization shrinkage upon curing. It has been shown curing methods play a significant role in polymerization shrinkage of light-cured composite resins. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of light-emitting diode (LED) light curing units (LCUs) compared with a halogen LCU on microleakage of three different flowable composites using self-etch adhesives. METHODS AND MATERIALS A total of 63 extracted human premolars were prepared with standardized Class V cavity preparations on the buccal and lingual surfaces of each tooth. The occlusal margin of the cavities was located on the enamel and the gingival margin was on dentin. Teeth were randomly assigned to three groups of 21 teeth each as follows: Group 1: Adper Prompt L-Pop + Filtek Flow (3M ESPE); Group 2: AdheSE + Tetric Flow (Ivoclar, Vivadent); and Group 3: Clearfil Protect Bond + Clearfil Protect Liner F (Kuraray Medical Inc.). All the groups were subdivided into three groups according to the curing lights used (n=7). Two LED LCUs, Elipar FreeLight and Elipar FreeLight 2 (3M ESPE), and one halogen-based LCU, Hilux Expert (Benlioglu ), were used. All teeth were then immersed in 0.5% basic fuchsin dye solution for 24 hours after thermocycling (500 cycles; between 5 degrees C to 55 degrees C). The teeth then were longitudinally sectioned and observed under a stereomicroscope (40X magnification) by two examiners. The degree of dye penetration was recorded separately for enamel and dentin. Data were analyzed with the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests with the Bonferroni correction. RESULTS No statistically significant differences in microleakage were observed between groups either on enamel or dentin (p>0.05). CONCLUSION With the limitation of this in vitro study, the differences in microleakage between LCUs used were not statistically significantly different. Elipar Free Light 2 reduces curing time which can be considered as an advantage.
Developmental changes in visual short-term memory in infancy: evidence from eye-tracking

We assessed visual short-term memory (VSTM) for color in 6- and 8-month-old infants (n = 76) using a one-shot change detection task. In this task, a sample array of two colored squares was visible for 517 ms, followed by a 317-ms retention period and then a 3000-ms test array consisting of one unchanged item and one item in a new color. We tracked gaze at 60 Hz while infants looked at the changed and unchanged items during test. When the two sample items were different colors (Experiment 1), 8-month-old infants exhibited a preference for the changed item, indicating memory for the colors, but 6-month-olds exhibited no evidence of memory. When the two sample items were the same color and did not need to be encoded as separate objects (Experiment 2), 6-month-old infants demonstrated memory. These results show that infants can encode information in VSTM in a single, brief exposure that simulates the timing of a single fixation period in natural scene viewing, and they reveal rapid developmental changes between 6 and 8 months in the ability to store individuated items in VSTM.
Cosmological Constant or Intergalactic Dust? Constraints from the Cosmic Far-Infrared Background

Recent observations of Type Ia supernovae (SNe) at redshifts 0 < z < 1 reveal a progressive dimming that has been interpreted as evidence for a cosmological constant of ΩΛ ~ 0.7. An alternative explanation of the SN results is an open universe with ΩΛ = 0 and the presence of ≳0.1 μm dust grains with a mass density of Ωdust ~ a few × 10-5 in the intergalactic (IG) medium. The same dust that dims the SNe absorbs the cosmic UV/optical background radiation around ~1 μm, and reemits it at far-infrared (FIR) wavelengths. Here we compare the FIR emission from IG dust with observations of the cosmic microwave (CMB) and cosmic far-infrared backgrounds (FIRB) by the DIRBE/FIRAS instruments. We find that the emission would not lead to measurable distortion of the CMB, but would represent a substantial fraction (≳75%) of the measured value of the FIRB in the 300-1000 μm range. This contribution would be marginally consistent with the present unresolved fraction of the observed FIRB in an open universe. However, we find that IG dust probably could not reconcile the standard Ω = 1 CDM model with the SN observations, even if the necessary quantity of dust existed. Future observations, capable of reliably resolving the FIRB to a flux limit of ~0.5 mJy, along with a more precise measure of the coarse-grained FIRB, will provide a definitive test of the IG dust hypothesis in all cosmologies.
Oral versus vaginal misoprostol for cervical priming in first-trimester abortion: a randomized trial

The objective of this study was to compare the oral and vaginal administration of misoprostol for cervical priming before surgical abortion up to 63 days' gestation. A total of 900 pregnant women, with ages ranging from 18 to 42 years, who asked for pregnancy termination, were included in this study. Women were randomly allocated to one of the following groups: oral administration of 400 μg misoprostol, 8 h before aspiration; and vaginal self-administration of 400 μg misoprostol, 4 h before aspiration. During admission, all subjects were checked on a 15-min basis. The preoperative cervical dilatation achieved was the main outcome assessed. The cervix was dilated (Hegar ≥ 8) in 348 (78%) subjects from the oral treatment group and in 391 (87%) women from the vaginal treatment group; this difference was statistically significant (p = 0.0004). The mean dilatation achieved in the oral treatment group was 8.1 mm (SD 1.6 mm) and it was 8.5 mm (SD 1.5 mm) in the vaginal treatment group; this difference was statistically significant (p = 0.0001). The frequencies of side-effects such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and chills reported by women from the vaginal misoprostol group were 10, 8, 18 and 4 times lower, respectively, than those reported by subjects from the oral misoprostol group. In conclusion, vaginal self-administration of misoprostol was the best administration route, as it obtained the same or greater priming effectiveness of the cervix in half the time with a much lower frequency of side-effects.
Showcase of the WearUI Technology Multi-touch Wearable Vest

The team created a vest in order to showcase the WearUI technology developed by Manish Bhardwaj and Mayank Garg. The vest utilizes a multi-direction touch pad in the form of a cross in order to capture gestures by the wearer through capacitive sensing. These gestures are sent through Bluetooth to control a device. We further developed upon the WearUI technology by showing the use of a smaller form factor for the circuitry. General Terms: wearable, device, human factor, capacitive sensing
Outcomes are Worse in US Patients Undergoing Surgery on Weekends Compared With Weekdays

Background:Increasing surgical access to previously underserved populations in the United States may require a major expansion of the use of operating rooms on weekends to take advantage of unused capacity. Although the so-called weekend effect for surgery has been described in other countries, it is unknown whether US patients undergoing moderate-to-high risk surgery on weekends are more likely to experience worse outcomes than patients undergoing surgery on weekdays. Objective:The aim of this study was to determine whether patients undergoing surgery on weekends are more likely to die or experience a major complication compared with patients undergoing surgery on a weekday. Research Design:Using all-payer data, we conducted a retrospective cohort study of 305,853 patients undergoing isolated coronary artery bypass graft surgery, colorectal surgery, open repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm, endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm, and lower extremity revascularization. We compared in-hospital mortality and major complications for weekday versus weekend surgery using multivariable logistic regression analysis. Results:After controlling for patient risk and surgery type, weekend elective surgery [adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=3.18; 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.26–4.49; P<0.001] and weekend urgent surgery (AOR=2.11; 95% CI, 1.68–2.66; P<0.001) were associated with a higher risk of death compared with weekday surgery. Weekend elective (AOR=1.58; 95% CI, 1.29–1.93; P<0.001) and weekend urgent surgery (AOR=1.61; 95% CI, 1.42–1.82; P<0.001) were also associated with a higher risk of major complications compared with weekday surgery. Conclusions:Patients undergoing nonemergent major cardiac and noncardiac surgery on the weekends have a clinically significantly increased risk of death and major complications compared with patients undergoing surgery on weekdays. These findings should prompt decision makers to seek to better understand factors, such physician and nurse staffing, which may contribute to the weekend effect.
Query Results Ready, Now What?

A major hardness of processing searches issued in the form of keywords on structured data is the ambiguity problem. A set of keywords itself is not a complete piece of information and may imply different information needs from different users. Although state-of-the-art keyword search engines are usually able to automatically identify meaningful connections among keywords in the data, users may still be frequently overwhelmed by the huge number of results and face much trouble in selecting the relevant ones. Many search engines attempt to rank the results in order of their inferred relevance, however, it is virtually impossible for a ranking scheme to be perfect and works properly for all users and all queries. In this paper we discuss several post-processing methods for keyword searches on structured data, which ease the users’ task of ﬁnding and digesting relevant results from all results returned for a keyword query. The methods to be discussed include generating result snippets, differentiating selected results as well as query expansion. Each of these methods helps users gracefully get the relevant information in its own way. At last we discuss the remaining challenges in post-processing keyword searches on structured data.