Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Standardized Psychometric Assessment of Altered States of Consciousness (ASCs) in Humans

The APZ questionnaire was developed in order to explore hypotheses on ASCs. First -- in a series of 11 experiments using different induction methods on N = 393 healthy subjects -- the hypothesis was tested that ASCs have major dimensions in common irrespective of the mode of their induction. In the International Study on Altered States of Consciousness (ISASC) the external validity of the experimental results was assessed. The ISASC was carried out on a total of N = 1133 subjects in six countries. The main results of the experimental studies were corroborated in the field studies. The results can be summarized as follows: the common denominator of ASCs is described by three oblique dimensions, designated as "Oceanic Boundlessness (OSE)", "Dread of Ego Dissolution (AIA)" and "Visionary Restructuralization (VUS)". The reliability and validity of the scales are satisfactory. Tested versions of the APZ scales are available in English (UK, USA), German, Italian and Portuguese. Psychometrically as yet untested versions exist in Dutch, Finnish, French, Greek, Spanish and Russian. The APZ questionnaire has become the international standard for the assessment of ASCs, thus helping to integrate research. A psychometrically improved version exists in German (OAV questionnaire). The BETA questionnaire, which measures the dimensions "Vigilance Reduction (VIR)" and "Auditive Alteration (AVE)" is also available in German. These dimensions are most likely etiology-dependent.
Analyses for High‐Resolution Projections Through the End of the 21st Century for Precipitation Extremes Over the United States

This study compares an ensemble of dynamically downscaled projections of extreme daily precipitation over the contiguous United States (CONUS). With a grid spacing of 12 km and a domain that encompasses most of North America, we use the Weather Research and Forecast model as a regional climate model. We incorporate initial and boundary conditions from three different Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 Earth system models (ESMs). We focus on precipitation extremes in the future climate (2045–2054 and 2085–2094) by comparing a business‐as‐usual high‐emissions scenario to emissions from a historical period (1995–2004). In the historical period, the Weather Research and Forecasting‐downscaled simulations result in significant improvements over the ESMs for precipitation extremes. In the analyses of future climate, there is a large increase in the projected frequency of extreme precipitation events over the entire CONUS and a decrease in median precipitation days. Moreover, most regions show an increase in the number of dry days in the future scenarios. The magnitude of extreme precipitation events is projected to increase in the CONUS at all temperatures above freezing. The strongest precipitation events will increase in intensity, primarily because of a shift in precipitation distribution due to the increase in near‐surface air temperatures (Clausius‐Claperyon relationship). However, these events are also affected by changes in some atmospheric dynamical factors, such as stronger low level jet, especially over the Midwestern United States. In addition, compared to those calculated by the ESMs, the downscaled projections show important regional differences in the frequency and magnitude of extreme precipitation events.
Cavernous Angioma of the Corpus Callosum Presenting with Acute Psychosis

Psychiatric symptoms may occasionally be related to anatomic alterations of brain structures. Particularly, corpus callosum lesions seem to play a role in the change of patients' behavior. We present a case of a sudden psychotic attack presumably due to a hemorrhagic cavernous angioma of the corpus callosum, which was surgically removed with complete resolution of symptoms. Although a developmental defect like agenesis or lipoma is present in the majority of these cases, a growing lesion of the corpus callosum can rarely be the primary cause. Since it is potentially possible to cure these patients, clinicians should be aware of this association.
The RWTH Aachen machine translation system for IWSLT 2011

In this paper the statistical machine translation (SMT) systems of RWTH Aachen University developed for the evaluation campaign of the International Workshop on Spoken Language Translation (IWSLT) 2011 is presented. We participated in the MT (English-French, Arabic-English, ChineseEnglish) and SLT (English-French) tracks. Both hierarchical and phrase-based SMT decoders are applied. A number of different techniques are evaluated, including domain adaptation via monolingual and bilingual data selection, phrase training, different lexical smoothing methods, additional reordering models for the hierarchical system, various Arabic and Chinese segmentation methods, punctuation prediction for speech recognition output, and system combination. By application of these methods we can show considerable improvements over the respective baseline systems.
Measures of pituitary gland and stalk: from neonate to adolescence

Abstract Objective: The aim of this study is to provide normative data about pituitary diameters in a pediatric population. Pituitary imaging is important for the evaluation of the hypothalamo-pituitary axis defect. However, data about normal pituitary gland diameters and stalk are limited, especially in children. Structure and the measurements of pituitary gland and pituitary stalk may change due to infection, inflammation, or neoplasia. Methods: Among 14,854 cranial/pituitary gland magnetic resonance imaging scans performed from 2011 to 2013, 2755 images of Turkish children aged between 0 and 18 were acquired. After exclusions, 517 images were left. Four radiologists were educated by an experienced pediatric radiologist for the measurement and assessment of the pituitary gland and pituitary stalk. Twenty cases were measured by all radiologists for a pilot study and there was no interobserver variability. Results: There were 10–22 children in each age group. The maximum median height of the pituitary gland was 8.48±1.08 and 6.19±0.88 mm for girls and boys, respectively. Volumes were also correlated with gender similar to height. Minimum median height was 3.91±0.75 mm for girls and 3.81±0.68 mm for boys. The maximum and minimum pituitary stalk basilar artery ratios for girls were 0.73±0.12 and 0.59±0.10 mm. The ratios for boys were 0.70±0.12 and 0.56±0.11 mm. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated the pituitary gland and stalk size data of children in various age groups from newborn to adolescent. It is thought that these data can be applied in clinical practice. Future prospective follow-up studies with larger samples, which correlate the structural findings with the clinical and laboratory results are awaited.
Prognostic factors in gastric stump carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE To compare prognostic results in patients with gastric stump cancer (GSC) versus those with primary gastric cancer (PGC). SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA Gastric stump carcinomas have often been described as having low resectability rates and a poor prognosis. METHODS Results of surgical treatment of 50 patients with GSC were compared with that of 516 patients with PGC. RESULTS The resectability rate was 94% for GSC patients and 96.5% for PGC patients, without significant differences in terms of postoperative complications, death rate, and median survival time (31.6 vs. 32.9 months). The multivariate analysis showed an independent prognostic effect for R0 resection, pT1 and pT2 category, and age older than 65 years. CONCLUSION The prognosis after resection and adequate lymphadenectomy does not differ between patients with GSC and PGC.
Good learners for evil teachers

We consider a supervised machine learning scenario where labels are provided by a heterogeneous set of teachers, some of which are mediocre, incompetent, or perhaps even malicious. We present an algorithm, built on the SVM framework, that explicitly attempts to cope with low-quality and malicious teachers by decreasing their influence on the learning process. Our algorithm does not receive any prior information on the teachers, nor does it resort to repeated labeling (where each example is labeled by multiple teachers). We provide a theoretical analysis of our algorithm and demonstrate its merits empirically. Finally, we present a second algorithm with promising empirical results but without a formal analysis.
1 Landmarks in the History of BinocularRivalry

Why, in recent years, have so many perceptual psychologists, cognitive neuroscientists, neurophysiologists, philosophers, and the occasional Nobel laureate gotten excited about binocular rivalry? Why has the study of rivalry developed into a veritable industry occupying the time and resources of some of our best and brightest? It is true that many used to think that rivalry was fundamental to vision, occurring all of the time for all of us (Asher, 1953). But the weight of evidence now runs against this so-called suppression theory (O'Shea, 1987), at least the more radical version equating binocular single vision with wholesale monocular dominance (for a more refined version of suppression theory, see Wolfe, 1986). So, except for some individuals with eye misalignment, binocular rivalry is a laboratory artifact—the result of " optical trickery, " as Gibson (1966) put it. Why, then, the upsurge of interest in the phenomenon? These days a single answer to this question echoes throughout the vision literature: binocular rivalry provides a potentially powerful tool for learning about the neural concomitants of visual awareness or, as some have dubbed it, the " neural correlates of consciousness " (Crick and Koch, 1998). To illustrate rivalry's utility, consider the pair of dissimilar pictures shown in figure 1.1a (see also plate 1). Suppose the picture of the house is viewed by one eye and the picture of the face is viewed by the other eye. Even though these pictures are continuously imaged on the two retinas, we tend to see only one of the two at any given moment—the temporary " winner " dominates perception and the loser is vanquished, or suppressed, from conscious awareness. Of course, victory by one image is only temporary, for sooner or later the suppressed image will achieve dominance and the previously dominant image will be erased from awareness; these alternations in perceptual dominance will continue for as long as the dissimilar images are viewed, 2 Randolph Blake a b c d 3 Landmarks in the History of Binocular Rivalry with the rate of alternations varying markedly among individuals (for more discussion of individual differences, see chapter 15 in this volume). Figures 1.1b–d show other examples of dichoptic half-images that produce vigorous rivalry; some of those rival figures are also shown as anaglyphs in color plate 1. Readers with access to red/green viewing glasses can experience rivalry without having to free-fuse the two rival pairs. These fluctuations in perception …
Rehabilitation for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

AbstractOBJECTIVE: To develop a meta-analysis to determine the effectiveness of rehabilitation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE, CINHAL, and Cochrane Library searches for trials of rehabilitation for COPD patients. Abstracts presented at national meetings and the reference lists of pertinent articles were reviewed. STUDY SELECTION: Studies were included if: trials were randomized; patients were symptomatic with forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) <70% or FEV1 divided by forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC) <70% predicted; rehabilitation group received at least 4 weeks of rehabilitation; control group received no rehabilitation; and outcome measures included exercise capacity or shortness of breath. We identified 69 trials, of which 20 trials were included in the final analysis. DATA EXTRACTION: Effect of rehabilitation was calculated as the standardized effect size (ES) using random effects estimation techniques. RESULTS: The rehabilitation groups of 20 trials (979 patients) did significantly better than control groups on walking test (ES=0.71; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.43 to 0.99). The rehabilitation groups of 12 trials (723 patients) that used the Chronic Respiratory Disease Questionnaire had less shortness of breath than did the control groups (ES=0.62; 95% CI, 0.35 to 0.89). Trials that used respiratory muscle training only showed no significant difference between rehabilitation and control groups, whereas trials that used at least lower-extremity training showed that rehabilitation groups did significantly better than control groups on walking test and shortness of breath. Trials that included severe COPD patients showed that rehabilitation groups did significantly better than control groups only when the rehabilitation programs were 6 months or longer. Trials that included mild/moderate COPD patients showed that rehabilitation groups did significantly better than control groups with both short- and long-term rehabilitation programs. CONCLUSION: COPD patients who receive rehabilitation have a better exercise capacity and they experience less shortness of breath than patients who do not receive rehabilitation. COPD patients may benefit from rehabilitation programs that include at least lower-extremity training. Patients with mild/moderate COPD benefit from short- and long-term rehabilitation, whereas patients with severe COPD may benefit from rehabilitation programs of at least 6 months.
Toward measuring network security using attack graphs

In measuring the overall security of a network, a crucial issue is to correctly compose the measure of individual components. Incorrect compositions may lead to misleading results. For example, a network with less vulnerabilities or a more diversified configuration is not necessarily more secure. To obtain correct compositions of individual measures, we need to first understand the interplay between network components. For example, how vulnerabilities can be combined by attackers in advancing an intrusion. Such an understanding becomes possible with recent advances in modeling network security using attack graphs. Based on our experiences with attack graph analysis, we propose an integrated framework for measuring various aspects of network security. We first outline our principles andmethodologies. We then describe concrete examples to buildintuitions. Finally, we present our formal framework. It is our belief that metrics developed based on the proposed framework will lead to novel quantitative approaches to vulnerability analysis, network hardening, and attack response.
A Csf1r-EGFP Transgene Provides a Novel Marker for Monocyte Subsets in Sheep

Expression of Csf1r in adults is restricted to cells of the macrophage lineage. Transgenic reporters based upon the Csf1r locus require inclusion of the highly conserved Fms-intronic regulatory element for expression. We have created Csf1r-EGFP transgenic sheep via lentiviral transgenesis of a construct containing elements of the mouse Fms-intronic regulatory element and Csf1r promoter. Committed bone marrow macrophage precursors and blood monocytes express EGFP in these animals. Sheep monocytes were divided into three populations, similar to classical, intermediate, and nonclassical monocytes in humans, based upon CD14 and CD16 expression. All expressed EGFP, with increased levels in the nonclassical subset. Because Csf1r expression coincides with the earliest commitment to the macrophage lineage, Csf1r-EGFP bone marrow provides a tool for studying the earliest events in myelopoiesis using the sheep as a model.
Meta-analysis of the correlation between Helicobacter pylori infection and autoimmune thyroid diseases

Objective This study presents a systematic meta-analysis of the correlation between Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection and autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITD). Materials and Methods Fifteen articles including 3,046 cases were selected (1,716 observational and 1,330 control cases). These data were analyzed using Stata12.0 meta-analysis software. Results H. pylori infection was positively correlated with the occurrence of AITD (OR = 2.25, 95% CI: 1.72–2.93). Infection with H. pylori strains positive for the cytotoxin-associated gene A (CagA) were positively correlated with AITD (OR = 1.99, 95% CI: 1.07–3.70). There was no significant difference between infections detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and other methods (χ2 = 2.151, p = 0.143). Patients with Grave’s disease (GD) and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) were more susceptible to H. pylori infection (GD: OR = 2.78, 95% CI: 1.68–4.61; HT: OR = 2.16, 95% CI: 1.44–3.23), while the rate of H. pylori infection did not differ between GD and HT (χ2 = 3.113, p = 0.078). Conclusions H. pylori infection correlated with GD and HT, and the eradication of H. pylori infection could reduce thyroid autoantibodies.
Towards Using a Within-Class Dissimilarity Method For Intrusion Detection in Computer Networks

We introduce a novel anomaly intrusion detection method based on a Within-Class Dissimilarity WCD. This approach functions by using an appropriate metric WCD to measure the distance between an unknown user and a known user defined respectively by their profile vectors. First of all, each user performs a set of commands (events) on a given system (Unix for example). The events vector of a given user profile is a binary vector, such that an element of this vector is equal to “1” if an event happens, and to “0” otherwise. In addition to that, each users class k has a typical profile defined by the vector Pk, in order to test if a new user i defined by its profile vector Pi belongs to the same class k or not. The Pk vector is a weighted events vector Ek , such that each weight represents the number of occurrences of an event ek. If the “distance” dki (measured by a dissimilarity parameter) between an unknown profile Pi and a known profile Pk is reasonable according to a given threshold and to some constraints, then there is no intrusion. Else, the user i is suspicious. A simple example illustrates the WCD procedure. Some terminology concerning the three activities of the security audit, and a survey of intrusion detection methods are presented. Key-Words: Intrusion detection, Audit trail analysis, Within-Class Dissimilarity, User behavior, Anomaly intrusion detection, Misuse intrusion detection.
Smart nanoprobes for ultrasensitive detection of breast cancer via magnetic resonance imaging

Antibody-conjugated hydrophilic magnetic nanocrystals for use as smart nanoprobes were developed for ultrasensitive detection of breast cancer via magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. MnFe2O4 nanocrystals (MNCs) for use as MR imaging contrast agents were synthesized by thermal decomposition to take advantage of their MR signal enhancement effect. The MNC surfaces were then modified with amphiphilic tri-block copolymers (dicarboxy poly(ethylene glycol)–block-poly(propylene glycol)–block-poly(ethylene glycol)), not only allowing the MNCs to transfer from the organic to the aqueous phase, but also increasing the colloidal stability of the MNCs by masking poly(ethylene glycol). The physicochemical properties of the synthesized hydrophilic magnetic nanocrystals (HMNCs) were fully investigated. Trastuzumab (TZ), a monoclonal antibody against human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER2/neu), was further conjugated on the surface of HMNCs to specifically target HER2/neu over-expressed breast cancer cells. MR imaging analysis of target cells treated with TZ-conjugated HMNCs (TZ-HMNCs) clearly demonstrated their potential as high-performance nanoprobes for selective imaging.
Waterfilling Estimation for AWGN MIMO Channel Modeled as a Random Matrix

Waterfilling solutions provide optimal power distribution in multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO)system design. However, the optimal distribution is usually obtained through costly computational processes, such as the determination of the system eigenvalues. For communication channels in a fast paced environment, the costs are even higher due to the necessity of tracking channel changes. In addition, the computational costs increase with the number of inputs and outputs, i.e. the size of the MIMO channel matrix. A solution for reducing the computational burden is to utilize pre-determined waterfilling based on the channel’s statistics. No updates are required unless the channel statistical characteristics change. This work studies waterfilling estimations based on random matrix theory. The results can be applied when the channel coefficients follow a Rayleigh distribution and the noise is additive, white, and Gaussian.
Declarative composition and peer-to-peer provisioning of dynamic Web services

The development of new services through the integration of existing ones has gained a considerable momentum as a means to create and streamline business-to-business collaborations. Unfortunately, as Web services are often autonomous and heterogeneous entities, connecting and coordinating them in order to build integrated services is a delicate and time-consuming task. In this paper, we describe the design and implementation of a system through which existing Web services can be declaratively composed, and the resulting composite services can be executed following a peer-to-peer paradigm, within a dynamic environment. This system provides tools for specifying composite services through. statecharts, data conversion rules, and provider selection, policies. These specifications are then translated into XML documents that can be interpreted by peer-to-peer inter-connected software components, in order to provision the composite service without requiring a central authority.
Economic values and Indigenous Protected Areas across Northern Australia. Final report

We undertook a systematic review of the empirical valuation literature relating to benefits associated with Indigenous protected Areas (IPAs), revealing that some benefits are quantified in monetary terms more frequently than others, both in Australia and elsewhere. This does not mean that the quantified benefits are more important than other benefits. Instead it indicates that they are easier to quantify. As a result, there are substantive gaps in our understanding of numerous benefits – of their value to different people, in different contexts, in their entirety, and relative to other benefits (Section 5). Our research indicated that while a lack of price does not mean lack of value, it often means lack of ‘visibility’ or ‘presence’. So, vitally important non-market goods and services associated with IPAs may be overlooked, particularly by decision-makers who are driven by quantitative and/or economic data. It is important to find ways of highlighting the importance of those non-market benefits, so that resources can be directed in a manner that generates most benefit per dollar spent.