Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adaptive Tetrahedral Meshing for Personalized Cardiac Simulations

Personalized simulation for therapy planning in th e clinical routine requires fast and accurate computations. Finite-ele ment (FE) simulations belong to the most commonly used approaches. Based on medical images the geometry of the patient's anatomy must be faithfully represe nted and discretized in a way to find a reasonable compromise between accuracy and speed. This can be achieved by adapting the mesh resolution, and by pr oviding well-shaped elements to improve the convergence of iterative so lvers. We present a pipeline for generating high-quality, adaptive meshes, and s how how the framework can be applied to specific cardiac simulations. Our aim is to analyze the meshing requirements for applications in electrophysiologic al modeling of ventricular tachycardia and electromechanical modeling of Tetralogy of Fallot.
Compression and ranking

A complexity-theoretic approach to the classical data compression problem is to define a notion of language compression by a machine in a certain complexity class, and to study language classes compressible under the above definition. Languages that can be compressed efficiently (e.g. by a probabilistic polynomial time machine) are of special interest. We define the notion of language compressibility, and show that sufficiently sparse “easy” languages (e.g. polynomial time) can be compressed efficiently. We also define a notion of ranking (which is an optimal compression) and show that some “very easy” languages (e.g. unambiguous context-free languages) can be ranked efficiently. We exhibit languages which cannot be compressed or ranked efficiently. The notion of compressibility is closely related to Kolmogorov complexity and randomness. We discuss this relationship and the complexity-theoretic implications of our results.
Epidural Co-Administration of Dexmedetomidine and Levobupivacaine Improves the Gastrointestinal Motility Function after Colonic Resection in Comparison to Co-Administration of Morphine and Levobupivacaine

Gastrointestinal motility may be impaired after intestinal surgery. Epidural morphine is effective in controlling postoperative pain, but can further reduce gastrointestinal motility. Here, we aimed to investigate the effects of epidural dexmedetomidine on gastrointestinal motility in patients undergoing colonic resection. Seventy-four patients undergoing colonic resection were enrolled in this clinical trial and allocated randomly to treatment with dexmedetomidine (D group) or morphine (M group). The D group received a loading dose epidural administration of 3 ml dexmedetomidine (0.5 μg kg-1) and then a continuous epidural administration of 80 μg dexmedetomidine in 150 ml levobupivacaine (0.125%) at 3 ml h-1 for two days. The M group received a loading dose epidural administration of 3 ml morphine (0.03 mg kg-1) and then a continuous epidural administration of 4.5 mg morphine in 150 ml levobupivacaine at 3 ml h-1 for two days. Verbal rating score (VRS), postoperative analgesic requirements, side effects related to analgesia, the time to postoperative first flatus (FFL) and first feces (FFE) were recorded. VRS and postoperative analgesic requirements were not significantly different between treatment groups. In contrast, the time to FFL and time to FFE were significant longer in M group in comparison to D group (P < 0.05). Moreover, patients in M group had a significantly higher incidence of nausea, vomiting, and pruritus (P < 0.05). No patients showed neurologic deficits in either group. In comparison to morphine, epidural dexmedetomidine is safe and beneficial for the recovery of gastrointestinal motility after colonic resection when used as an adjunct with levobupivacaine for postoperative pain control. Trial Registration Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR-TRC-14004644
Stability analysis of indirect adaptive regulating for simple linear control systems

The paper deals with the adaptive regulators for a class of first-order linear continuous-time plants, with different estimators and modified certainty-equivalence control law. We overcame the difficulty of the loss of stabilizability (or controllability) as the estimate of the plant gain is zero and corrected a few mistakes in the paper (Middleton and Kokotovic, 1992). In the constructed adaptive regulating systems, the explicit expression for the phase plane trajectories or the explicit solution completely describing the nonlinear behavior of the resulting closed-loop systems is obtained, and some problems of the resultant adaptive systems, which due to a loss of stabilizability of the estimated model probably are analyzed. Implications of these results for the indirect adaptive regulating case of higher order linear continuous-time plants, with the unknown control direction and model parameters are discussed.
lnvestigating the Desperate Housewives: Using gender-role attitudes to explain women's employment decisions in twenty-three European countries

This paper analyses the impact of a set of gender-role attitudes on the labour market situation of women with and without young children. These attitudes are used as a proxy for stated preferences. Our study covers 23 European countries, using an original up-to-date micro data-set, the European Social Survey (round 2004), completed with regional and national information on the institutional and socio-economic context. In particular, we investigate whether the effect of the presence of young children and the effect of attitudes towards female employment and maternal roles are substitutes, complementary or multiplicative, using interaction variables. We use a multinomial logit regression model to account for three different employment statuses as dependent variable, full-time, part-time and not in employment. Results show substantial cross-country differences in the influence of attitudes on work, which differs by level of education, but not according to the presence of young children. However, the negative effect of young children on the full-time employment of mothers is stronger than the positive effect of egalitarian attitudes in countries with lower subsidised childcare provision. These results refine the discussion on the effect of work/life balance policies in Europe.
Evaluation of Hedge Fund Returns Value at Risk Using GARCH Models

The aim of this research paper is to evaluate hedge fund returns Value-at-Risk by using GARCH models. To perform the empirical analysis, one uses the HFRX daily performance hedge fund strategy subindexes and spans the period March 2003 – March 2008. I found that skewness and kurtosis are substantial in the hedge fund returns distribution and the clustering phenomenon is pointed out. These features suggest the use of GARCH models to model the volatility of hedge fund return indexes. Hedge fund return conditional variances are estimated by using linear models (GARCH) and non-linear asymmetric models (EGARCH and TGARCH). Performance of several Value at Risk models is compared; the Gaussian VaR, the student VaR, the cornish fisher VaR, the normal GARCH-type VaR, the student GARCH-type VaR and the cornish fisher GARCH-type VaR. Our results demonstrate that the normal VaR underestimates accurate hedge fund risks while the student and the cornish fisher GARCH-type VaR are more reliable to estimate the potential maximum loss of hedge funds.
Growth and Policy in Developing Countries: A Structuralist Approach

Economic structuralists use a broad, systemwide approach to understanding development, and this textbook assumes a structuralist perspective in its investigation of why a host of developing countries have failed to grow at 2 percent or more since 1960. Sensitive to the wide range of factors that affect an economy's strength and stability, the authors identify the problems that have long frustrated growth in many parts of the developing world while suggesting new strategies and policies to help improve standards of living. After a survey of structuralist methods and post-World War II trends of global economic growth, the authors discuss the role that patterns in productivity, production structures, and capital accumulation play in the growth dynamics of developing countries. Next, it outlines the evolution of trade patterns and the effect of the terms of trade on economic performance, especially for countries that depend on commodity exports. The authors acknowledge the structural limits of macroeconomic policy, highlighting the negative effects of financial volatility and certain financial structures while recommending policies to better manage external shocks. These policies are then further developed through a discussion of growth and structural improvements, and are evaluated according to which policy options-macro, industrial, or commercial--best fit within different kinds of developing economies.
Reforming Teacher Education through Educational Psychology: Kentucky's Example.

This paper discusses the role of educational psychology in meeting the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board (KEPSB) requirements and mandates for the Kentucky Educational Reform Act (KERA) for new and experienced teachers. There are two areas at the university program level where educational psychologists, individually and collectively, could address the concerns of educational reformers and practitioners. The first is the establishment of a core curriculum and pedagogical practices designed to facilitate preservice teachers' mastery of effective teaching procedures and practices. The second is within the context of the college or university classroom. To more effectively incorporate theoretical implications regarding teaching and learning into reform and practice, the focus should be one of integrating science and practice while recognizing the idiosyncratic contexts of classrooms. Because a course in educational psychology seems to be a relatively consistent entity in college and university teacher education programs, it becomes a viable venue for addressing issues of reforming preservice teacher preparation with regard to the presentation, application, and practice of current perspectives, ideologies, and strategies. (Contains 32 references.) (SM) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Educational Psychology in Kentucky 1 Reforming Teacher Education through Educational Psychology: Kentucky's Example Daniel Fasko, Jr., Ronald Skidmore, and Deborah Abell Morehead State University Morehead, KY 40351 606-783-2536 email: d.fasko@rnorehead-st.edu PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY
Dynamics of Rule Induction by Making Queries : Transition Between StrategiesIris

The induction of rules by making queries is a dynamical process based on seeking information. Experimenters typically look for one dominant strategy that is used by subjects, which may or may not agree with normative models of this psychological process. In this study we approach this problem from a diierent perspective, related to work in learning theory (see for example Baum 1991, Freund et al. 1995). Using information theory in a Bayesian framework, we estimated the information gained by queries when the task is to nd a speciic rule in a hypothesis space. Assuming that at each point subjects have a preferred working hypothesis, we considered several possible strategies, and determined the best one so that information gain is maximized at each step. We found that when the conndence in the preferred hypothesis is weak, "Connrmation Queries" result in maximum information gain; the information gained by "Investiga-tion Queries" is higher when the conndence in the preferred hypothesis is high. Considering the dynamical process of searching for the rule, starting with low con-dence in the preferred hypothesis and gradually raising conndence, there should be a transition from the "Con-rmation Strategy" to the "Investigative Strategy", as the search proceeds. If we assume that subjects update their beliefs regarding the task, while performing, we would expect that the "Positive Connrmation Strat-egy" would yield more information at low conndence levels while the "Negative Connrmation Strategy" (simple elimination) would be more informative at higher conndence levels. We tested subjects performance in such a task, using a paradigm introduced by Wason (1960). All subjects rst assumed a hypothesis and then made positive connrma-tion queries. Upon receiving connrmation, half the subjects presented negative connrmation queries and later, half switched into investigative queries before attempting to guess the experimenter's rule. Also, the frequency of queries in the more 'advanced' strategies went down as the conndence level required to evoke the strategy went up. We conclude that subjects appear to be using diierent strategies at diierent stages of the search, which is theoretically optimal when queries are guided by a paradigm that maximizes information gain at each step.
The Productivity Slowdown and the Underground Economy

The productivity slowdown in the 1970s and 1980s has received a great deal of attention in die literature. Most studies have assumed that the data measuring output are correct and that data problems are primarily in the area of measuring capital. This paper shows that a significant part of the observed productivity slowdown is due to the underreporting of income due to the growth of the underground economy.
Ordered Vertex Removal and Subgraph Problems Vertex Removal and Graph Problems

Several new graph theoretic problems, which arise naturally from existing coloring algorithms, are de ned. The complementary High Degree Vertex Removal Problem and Low Degree Vertex Removal Problem are both shown to be NP-complete. The Low Degree Subgraph Problem is de ned and shown to be NP-complete, whereas, the \complementary" problem for high degree subgraphs was previously shown to be P-complete. Since the obvious sequential algorithms for computing the low degree subgraph and high degree subgraph are based on high degree vertex removal and low degree vertex removal respectively, we nd this is an interesting result. The \greedy" versions of the vertex removal and subgraph problems are shown to be P-complete. In addition, a natural lexicographic version of the Low Degree Subgraph Problem is shown to be NP-complete. 3
Anomalous effects due to the inertial anti-gravitational potential of the sun

It is introduced inertial anti-gravitational potential into the theory of gravity to stop gravitational collapse at the nuclear density and thus prevent singularities. It is considered effective gravity which includes Newtonian potential and inertial anti-gravitational potential. It is investigated footprints of the effective gravity in the solar system. The inertial anti-gravitational potential of the sun allows to explain the anomalous acceleration of Pioneer 10 and 11, the anomalous increase in the lunar semi-major axis, the residuals of the seasonal variation of the proper angular velocity of the earth, the anomalous increase of the Astronomical Unit, the anomalous shift of the perihelion of mercury.
Learning to Price

Is monetary policy less effective in increasing real output during uncertain times? We argue that firm uncertainty adds flexibility to the aggregate price level and thus the effects of monetary policy are reduced in times of high uncertainty. To construct the argument we develop a price-setting model where firms have imperfect information about their nominal cost and must forecast it to set their prices. Our measure of uncertainty is firms' forecast variance and it is the result of an endogenous learning process. In normal times, the information friction delays the response of prices to a monetary shock and produces large and persistent real effects on output. In highly uncertain times, however, these real effects are reduced. The reason is that highly uncertain firms become more responsive to new information -which comes with noise- and adjust their prices more often.
Evaluation of use and cost of medical care of common lumbar disorders in Korea: cross-sectional study of Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service National Patient Sample data

Objectives To assess medical care and costs of the 3 highest prevalence lumbar disorders—non-specific low back pain (nLBP), intervertebral disc disorder (IDD) and spinal stenosis (SS)—from national billing data to provide basic information for standards of appropriate management. Design Retrospective analysis of National Health Insurance National Patient Sample data provided by the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA). Setting 2011 claims data from all medical institutions which filed billing statements to HIRA. Participants A total of 135 561 patients with lumbar disorder who received medical services during 2011. Outcome measures Patient characteristics, medical procedures, medication, cost, injection and surgery. Results In the nLBP and IDD groups, the 50–59 age range had the highest prevalence, whereas prevalence increased with age in SS. All 3 groups showed a higher percentage in women. The average treatment cost was 196 552 KRW in the nLBP and 362 050 KRW in the IDD group, and highest in the SS group at 439 025 KRW. While in the nLBP group women spent more on medical expenses, in the other 2 groups men showed higher expenditure. Expenditure grew with age in the nLBP and SS groups, whereas that of the IDD group peaked in their 40s. Analgesics were used in 73.43% of patients with nLBP, 82.64% of patients with IDD and 86.46% of patients with SS, and opioids in 4.12% of patients with IDD and 5.36% of patients with SS. Surgery rates were highest in the SS group at 4.85%, with 0.9% for nLBP and 4.59% for IDD. The most frequent injection code was lumbar/caudal epidural nerve block. Expenditure and surgery rates were higher in the injection than in the non-injection subgroup in all 3 groups. Conclusions Patterns of medical care of most frequent lumbar disorders from HIRA data showed significant difference between groups and provide a basic standard for future usual care guidelines linked with health policy and budget appropriation.
Karyological investigations and new chromosome number reports in Bellevalia Lapeyrouse, 1808 and Muscari Miller, 1758 (Asparagaceae) from Algeria

Abstract Karyological investigations were carried out on four species of Bellevalia Lapeyrouse, 1808 and Muscari Miller, 1758 (Asparagaceae) sampled in contrasting bioclimatic conditions of Algeria. The endemic Bellevalia mauritanica Pomel, 1874 was found to have a tetraploid cytotype 2n = 4x = 16 and an octoploid 2n = 8x = 32 which is a new report. The chromosome number 2n = 2x = 18 in Muscari comosum (Linnaeus, 1753) Miller, 1768 and Muscari maritimum Desfontaines, 1798 was in conformity with earlier reports. The latter species reveals a lesser bimodality of the karyotype. Within Muscari neglectum Gussone ex Tenore, 1842 pentaploid (2n = 5x = 45), hexaploid (2n = 6x = 54) and very rare octoploid cytotype (2n = 8x = 72) have been reported in Algeria. Principal component analysis performed on basis of karyotype parameters, showed a segregation of the different cytotypes. This study provides new karyological information, which is discussed in a taxonomic context.
BetterRelations : Detailed Evaluation of a Game to Rate Linked Data Triples

While associations between concepts in our memory have different strengths, the explicit strengths Linked Data edge weights are missing. As a result Linked Data is of limited use for Artificial Intelligence with respect to the simulation of human thinking. In order to build a collection of such edge weights, we created a web-game prototype that ranks triples by importance. In this paper we explain the game’s concept, summarize Linked Data related implementation aspects, and include a detailed evaluation of the game.
Catalytic Flash Pyrolysis of Biomass Using Different Types of Zeolite and Online Vapor Fractionation

Bio-oil produced from conventional flash pyrolysis has poor quality and requires expensive upgrading before it can be used as a transportation fuel. In this work, a high quality bio-oil has been produced using a novel approach where flash pyrolysis, catalysis and fractionation of pyrolysis vapors using two stage condensation are combined in a single process unit. A bench scale unit of 1 kg/h feedstock capacity is used for catalytic pyrolysis in an entrained down-flow reactor system equipped with two-staged condensation of the pyrolysis vapor. Zeolite-based catalysts are investigated to study the effect of varying acidities of faujasite Y zeolites, zeolite structures (ZSM5), different catalyst to biomass ratios and different catalytic pyrolysis temperatures. Low catalyst/biomass ratios did not show any significant improvements in the bio-oil quality, while high catalyst/biomass ratios showed an effective deoxygenation of the bio-oil. The application of zeolites decreased the organic liquid yield due to the increased production of non-condensables, primarily hydrocarbons. The catalytically produced bio-oil was less viscous and zeolites were effective at cracking heavy molecular weight compounds in the bio-oil. Acidic zeolites, H-Y and H-ZSM5, increased the desirable chemical compounds in the bio-oil such as phenols, furans and hydrocarbon, and reduced the undesired compounds such as acids. On the other hand reducing the acidity of zeolites reduced some of the undesired compounds in the bio-oil such as ketones and aldehydes. The performance of H-Y was superior to that of the rest of zeolites studied: bio-oil of high chemical and calorific value was produced with a high organic liquid yield and low oxygen content. H-ZSM5 was a close competitor to H-Y in performance but with a lower yield of bio-oil. Online fractionation of catalytic pyrolysis vapors was employed by controlling the condenser temperature and proved to be a successful process parameter to tailor the desired bio-oil properties. A high calorific value bio-oil having up to 90% organics was produced using two staged condensation of catalytic pyrolysis vapor. Zeolite-based acidic catalysts can be used for selective deoxygenation, and the catalytic bio-oil quality can be further improved with staged vapor condensation.
Are Nash Bargaining Wage Agreements Unique? An Investigation into Bargaining Sets for Firm-Union Negotiations

The shapes of the bargaining sets for firm-union negotiations are rigorously analyzed in two cases, according to whether bargaining is over wages alone (with employment set according to the labor demand schedule) or over both wages and employment. When bargaining concerns wages only, the bargaining set becomes a one-dimensional curve and so the standard theory of the Nash bargaining solution does not apply. Therefore, existence and uniqueness conditions are proved directly. The Kalai-Smorodinsky solution is also analyzed and results are illustrated using a constant elasticity example. Copyright 1996 by Royal Economic Society.