Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Development of an infection screening system for entry inspection at airport quarantine stations using ear temperature, heart and respiration rates

After the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003, many international airport quarantine stations conducted fever-based screening to identify infected passengers using infrared thermography for preventing global pandemics. Due to environmental factors affecting measurement of facial skin temperature with thermography, some previous studies revealed the limits of authenticity in detecting infectious symptoms. In order to implement more strict entry screening in the epidemic seasons of emerging infectious diseases, we developed an infection screening system for airport quarantines using multi-parameter vital signs. This system can automatically detect infected individuals within several tens of seconds by a neural-network-based discriminant function using measured vital signs, i.e., heart rate obtained by a reflective photo sensor, respiration rate determined by a 10-GHz non-contact respiration radar, and the ear temperature monitored by a thermography. In this paper, to reduce the environmental effects on thermography measurement, we adopted the ear temperature as a new screening indicator instead of facial skin. We tested the system on 13 influenza patients and 33 normal subjects. The sensitivity of the infection screening system in detecting influenza were 92.3%, which was higher than the sensitivity reported in our previous paper (88.0%) with average facial skin temperature.
Effects of Porosity and Mixed Convection on MHD Two Phase Fluid Flow in an Inclined Channel

The present study deals with the flow and heat transfer analysis of two immiscible fluids in an inclined channel embedded in a porous medium. The channel is divided in two phases such that a third grade fluid occupies the phase I and a viscous fluid occupies the phase II. Both viscous and third grade fluids are electrically conducting. A constant magnetic field is imposed perpendicular to the channel walls. The mathematical model is developed by using Darcy's and modified Darcy's laws for viscous and third grade fluids respectively. The transformed ordinary differential equations are solved numerically using a shooting method. The obtained results are presented graphically and influence of emerging parameters is discussed in detail.
Cellular streptolysin S-related hemolysins of group A Streptococcus C203S

Group A streptococci strain C203S, grown in heart infusion broth with 0.3% maltose, produce two cellular hemolysins related to extracellular streptolysin S (SLS). Enzymatic lysis of the streptococci by group C streptococcal phage-associated lysin results in release of low titer, labile hemolysin, which can be stabilized by ribonucleic acid (RNA)-core (RNA preparation from yeast). This labile hemolysin can be detected only after the higher titer cellular streptolysin O is removed by erythrocyte membranes or inactivated by N-ethylmaleimide. The other cellular SLS-related hemolysin is released in a latent state (potential hemolysin) which can be activated to high-titer hemolysin by sonication with RNA-core. The titer of such activated hemolysin depends upon the intensity of sonic energy, duration of sonication, and amount of RNA-core. RNA obtained from the streptococci is far less effective than RNA-core. When the cocci are disrupted by sonication or grinding, potential hemolysin and/or activated form may be released, depending upon the conditions employed. The potential hemolysin material is large and heterogeneous; activation appears to involve, in part, disaggregation or fragmentation. Labile hemolysin, potential hemolysin, and the activated form of potential hemolysin can all be converted to hemolysin having the same hemolytic and physical properties as RNA-core SLS, suggesting that all have the same hemolytic moiety. The presence of glucose in heart infusion broth prevents formation of both potential hemolysin and RNA-core SLS by log-phase cells, whereas addition of glucose to a culture in heart infusion broth with 0.3% maltose stops accumulation of potential hemolysin but does not affect continuation of RNA-core SLS release. These results suggest that potential hemolysin is a cellular precursor to RNA-core SLS.
Design and Implementation of Floating Point Stack on General RISC Architecture

This paper presents a framework for implementing the X86 FP stack used in an x86-compliant processor based on a general RISC architecture. Architectural supports are added to a typical RISC architecture to maintain the FP stack status. Some speculative techniques are applied to the decode stage to enable pipelined and efficient FP operations. An optimized register renaming scheme is proposed to eliminate redundant micro-ops in FP programs, resulting in an increased performance while mitigating the burden on register rename table. The simulation results show that on average more than 10% fmov micro-ops are removed. Elimination of micro-ops significantly speeds up the execution of programs. The IPC increases are as high as 30% for some programs, and near 10% on average
Interpreting the ERM Crisis: Country-Specific and Systemic Issues

The crisis of the European exchange-rate system (ERM) in 1992093 was a critical event in the post- Bretton Woods history of the international monetary system. A full understanding of the causes, origins, and implications of the ERM breakdown can privide policy lessons that are particularly relevant, although by no means confined, to the current debate on the monetary future of Europe.
Analysis of nonstationarities in EEG signals for improving brain-computer interface performance

Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) research aims at the automatic translation o f neural commands into control signals. These can then be used to control applications s uch a text input programs, electrical wheelchairs or neuroprostheses. A BCI sy stem can, e.g., serve as a communication option for severely disabled patients or as an additional man-ma chine interaction channel for healthy users. In the classical “operant cond iti ing” approach, subjects had to undergo weeks or months of training to adjust their brain sign als to the use of the system. The Berlin Brain-Computer Interface project (BBCI) h as developed an Electroencephalogram-(EEG-)based system which overcomes the need for operant conditioning with advanced machine learning methods. By adapting classifiers to the h ig ly subject-specific brain signals, even subjects with no prior experience in B CI can achieve high information transfer rates from their first session. However, after an initial calibration, the brain signals are rarely so stationa ry th t the first classifier can be reused in the next experimental session. Even if the clas sifier was fitted to the subject on data from the same day, we sometimes encountered long perio ds of l w performances. These drawbacks can clearly impede the continuous use of the system, which is particularly important for disabled people. The reason for this flaw is the nonstationarity in the EEG data. Due to changes in the characteristic properties of the data, classification can often be corrupte d. In this work, I will present a new framework for nonstationary data analy sis, which encompasses methods for the quantification and visualization of nonstationary p rocesses. The analysis of data acquired in BCI experiments will be used to exemplify the powe r f the methods. In particular, I show some neurophysiological evidence for the sources of the nonstationarity. Once the underlying reasons for the nonstationarity are know n, classification can be adaptively enhanced; I will present some surprisingly simple methods . Finally, I will construct classifiers that are largely robust against the changes f rom one experimental session to the next. This novel type of classifiers can be applied without initia l cal bration and has the potential to drastically improve the applicability of BCI devices for d aily use. While the BCI scenario was used as a testbed for the framework, it can be a ppli d to a wide range of problems. Nonstationarity can occur in any field of machine le arning, whenever the measured systems under observation change their proper ties over time.
Investigation of Data Communication Networks to Enable Demand Response and Dynamic Tariffs

Demand-side Response and dynamic tariffs are two examples of advanced functionality that may benefit both electricity consumers and distribution network operators. To be successful, the ICT infrastructure needs to be able to reliably cope with the data traffic. Within the wider UK context of the proposed centralised smart meter data transmission scenario, this paper demonstrates the scaling capability of two widely exploited communications protocols. Both payload (transmission overhead) and end-to-end delay times are examined.
A novel compressed data transmission scheme in slowly time-varying channel

Compressed sensing (CS) has attracted a lot of research interests in data transmission, since it can significantly reduce the redundancy of the data while still holding the information completely. Generally, in order to deal with the experienced time-varying channel, the data transmission scheme based on CS needs to estimate the channel frequently. In this paper, we propose a novel CS-based data transmission scheme for slowly time-varying channel, which estimates channel and reconstructs data jointly. Specifically, the scheme consists of a data reconstruction part and a channel state information (CSI) update part. The former reconstructs the data with inaccurate CSI by modeling the problem as a perturbed CS reconstruction problem. The latter updates the CSI with the reconstruction result as a semi-blind channel estimation problem. Comparing with the classical scheme, the proposed one enjoys a reduced cost by avoiding inserting pilots into data frame frequently. Simulation results demonstrate that our proposed scheme works robustly in slowly time-varying channel and the performance is comparable to that of the scheme reconstructing the data with perfect CSI.
Pancreatic sonography: Past and present

Prior to the advent of cross‐sectional imaging, the diagnosis of pancreatic disease and its extent could not be obtained without surgery. Ultrasound is a noninvasive modality which has been evolving over the last 7‐10 years. The purpose of this review will be to determine the present status of ultrasound in the evaluation of adult and pediatric pancreatic disease. Also, its role with regard to computed tomography (CT) and interventional techniques will be discussed. Indexing Words: Pancreas · Ultrasound · Pancreatitis · Pancreatic carcinoma.
Efficient Two-Dimensional Data Allocation in IEEE 802.16 OFDMA

In IEEE 802.16, the wireless resources are logically partitioned into 5-ms frames, which extend in two dimensions: time and frequency. To break down the complexity of resource allocation at the base station, a split approach has been proposed in the literature, where the tasks of scheduling packets and allocating them into frames are solved in separate and subsequent stages. In this paper, we focus on the allocation task alone, which is addressed in its full complexity, i.e., by considering that data within the frame must be allocated as bursts with rectangular shape, each consisting of a set of indivisible sub-bursts, and that a variable portion of the frame is reserved for in-band signaling. After proving that the resulting allocation problem is NP-hard, we develop an efficient heuristic algorithm, called Recursive Tiles and Stripes (ℜTS), to solve it. ℜTS, in addition to handling a more general problem, is shown to perform better than state-of-the-art solutions via numerical analysis with realistic system parametrization. Furthermore, an extensive evaluation of the interaction between the scheduler and the allocator is carried out in a wide variety of network scenarios .
Colony dispersal and the evolution of queen morphology in social Hymenoptera.

Social Hymenoptera show two contrasting strategies of colony reproduction. A reproductive female can raise the first generation of brood alone (independent foundation), or a colony can divide into autonomous parts in which the reproductive female is helped by sterile relatives (fission, budding, swarming). In independent-founding ants, queens can histolize their flight muscles after dispersal; in many species, large flight muscles and metabolic reserves reduce or eliminate the need for risky foraging trips during the vulnerable solitary stage. Colony division is a derived strategy, and we review the selective pressures leading to its occurrence in the different social taxa. In various ants, fission coexists with independent foundation, and alate queens are retained. However, in ants exhibiting obligate fission (e.g. all army ants and many Ponerinae), queens are permanently wingless (ergatoid), or the queen caste is missing altogether. When reproductive females are flightless, dispersal distances and colonization ability are reduced, and there are extensive modifications in mating behavior and resource allocation. We focus on the characteristics of fission in the phylogenetically primitive ants Ponerinae in which both ergatoid queens and gamergates occur. The ground-living habits of ants have permitted extensive changes in the phenotypes of their reproductive females, unlike in wasps and bees.
Remote Tactile Transmission with Time Delay for Robotic Master–Slave Systems

This study develops a method to compensate for the communication time delay for tactile transmission systems. For transmitting tactile information from remote sites, the communication time delay degrades the validity of feedback. However, so far time delay compensation methods for tactile transmissions have yet to be proposed. For visual or force feedback systems, local models of remote environments were adopted for compensating the communication delay. The local models cancel the perceived time delay in sensory feedback signals by synchronizing them with the users' operating movements. The objectives of this study are to extend the idea of the local model to tactile feedback systems and develop a system that delivers tactile roughness of textures from remote environments to the users of the system. The local model for tactile roughness is designed to reproduce the characteristic cutaneous deformations, including vibratory frequencies and amplitudes, similar to those that occur when a human finger scans rough textures. Physical properties in the local model are updated in real-time by a tactile sensor installed on the slave-side robot. Experiments to deliver the perceived roughness of textures were performed using the developed system. The results showed that the developed system can deliver the perceived roughness of textures. When the communication time delay was simulated, it was confirmed that the developed system eliminated the time delay perceived by the operators. This study concludes that the developed local model is effective for remote tactile transmissions.
Feature Selection in Multi-instance Learning ∗

This paper focuses on the feature selection in multi-instance learning. A new version of support vector machine named p-MISVM is proposed. In the p-MISVM model, the problem needs to be solved is non-differentiable and non-convex. By using the constrained concave-convex procedure (CCCP), a linearization algorithm is presented that solves a succession of fast linear programs that converges to a local optimal solution. Furthermore, the lower bounds for the absolute value of nonzero components in every local optimal solution is established, which can eliminate zero components in any numerical solution. The numerical experiments show that the p-MISVM is effective in selecting relevant features, compared with the popular MICA.
Percolated Monte Carlo simulation approach for optimization of soft real-time system design

A novel concept of probabilistic design for soft real-time systems and a simulation methodology to optimize the design are proposed. Motivated by the challenge of how to design but not over-design, the Probabilistic Design, is the process of accurately accounting for and mitigating the effects of variation in part geometry and other environmental conditions while at the same time optimizing a target performance factor. Using classical mathematical methods, probabilistic design can be a very difficult and complex task. Our goal is to bridge the gap between real-time analysis and optimization for robust and reliable system design. Our method that is both simple and novel takes advantage of soft real-time systempsilas unique features to avoid over-designing the system.
Clinical and pathologic manifestation of oesophagostomosis in African great apes: does self‐medication in wild apes influence disease progression?

Nodular worms (Oesophagostomum spp.) are common intestinal parasites found in cattle, pig, and primates including humans. In human, they are responsible for serious clinical disease called oesophagostomosis resulting from the formation of granulomas, caseous lesions or abscesses in intestinal walls. In wild great apes, the fecal prevalence of this parasite is high, but little information is available concerning the clinical signs and lesions associated. In the present study, we describe six cases of multinodular oesophagostomosis in free‐ranging and ex‐captive chimpanzees and captive gorillas caused by Oesophagostomum stephanostomum. While severe clinical signs associated with this infection were observed in great apes raised in sanctuaries, nodules found in wild chimpanzees do not seem to affect their health status. One hypothesis to explain this difference would be that in wild chimpanzees, access to natural environment and behavior such as rough leaves swallowing combined with ingestion of plants having pharmacological properties would prevent severe infection and decrease potential symptoms.
Urinary level of nickel and acute leukaemia in Chinese children

The 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), an oxidized nucleoside of DNA, not only is a widely used biomarker for the measurement of endogenous oxidative DNA damage but might also be a risk factor for many diseases including cancer. Metal exposure may play an important role in oxidative DNA damage among children. However, few studies on urinary 8-OHdG and metals have been conducted in children with acute leukemia. In the present study, urinary Ni and 8-OHdG were examined in 116 children with acute leukaemia (94 acute lymphoid leukaemia [ALL] and 22 acute myeloid leukaemia [AML]) and 51 healthy child controls. Our result showed that urinary Ni in acute leukaemia patients (ALL: 68.40 ± 133.98, AML: 41.48 ± 76.31 ng/mg creatinine) was significantly higher than that in controls (62.47 ± 124.90 vs 17.63 ± 46.17 ng/mg creatinine, P < 0.05). Similarly, the pretherapy level of urinary 8-OHdG in patients (ALL: 11.83 ± 16.23, AML: 12.36 ± 11.36 ng/mg creatinine) was significantly elevated compared with controls (11.92 ± 15.42 vs 4.03 ± 4.70 ng/mg creatinine, P < 0.05). Moreover, urinary 8-OHdG and urinary Ni showed a weak but significant association with increased risk of childhood leukaemia. The present study suggests that Ni may be an etiologic factor for childhood acute leukaemia by oxidative DNA damage.
Midlatitude Oceanic Cloud and Precipitation Properties as Sampled by the ARM Eastern North Atlantic Observatory

Marine low clouds are critical to the climate system because of their extensive coverage and associated controls on boundary layer dynamics and radiative energy balance. The primary foci for this study are marine low cloud observations over a heavily instrumented site on the Azores archipelago in the Eastern North Atlantic and their associated raindrop size distribution (DSD) properties, relative low cloud contributions to the precipitation, and additional sampling (instrument, environmental) considerations. The contribution from low clouds (e.g., cloud top < 4 km) to the overall precipitation over midlatitude oceans is poorly understood, in part because of the lack of coupled, high‐quality measurements of precipitation and low cloud properties. Cloud regime and precipitation breakdowns performed for a multiyear (2014–2017) record emphasize diurnal precipitation and raindrop size distribution characteristics for both low and deeper clouds, as well as differences between the two disdrometer types used. Results demonstrate that marine low clouds over this Eastern North Atlantic location account for a significant (45%) contribution to the total rainfall and exhibit a diurnal cycle in cloud (thickness, top, and base) and precipitation characteristics similar to satellite records. Additional controls on observed surface rainfall characteristics of low clouds allowed by the extended ground‐based facility data sets are also explored. From those analyses, it is suggested that the synoptic state exerts a significant control on low cloud and surface precipitation properties.
Ethical Issues in the Treatment of Applicants to APA-Accredited Ph.D. Programs

This paper examines some of the ethical issues involved in the treatment of applicants to highly competitive APA-accredited clinical and counseling psychology Ph.D. programs. These issues are analyzed in terms of the 1992 APA Ethics Code as well as the basic ethical principles of nonmaleficence, beneficence, justice, fidelity, and autonomy. Issues considered include the applicability of the 1992 APA Ethics Code to the selection process, the obligation to provide applicants accurate and complete information, dual relationships in the selection process, the treatment of rejected or wait-listed applicants, discrimination in the selection process, psychological assessment and research in the selection process, and legal resolutions which pertain to the selection process. In analyzing these issues, the paper calls attention to the need for psychologists functioning as admissions evaluators to be aware of and sensitive to the ethical issues relevant to the selection process.
Who you live with and where you live: setting the context for health using multiple membership multilevel models

Study objective: Previous studies into the effect of area of residence on individuals’ health have not accounted for changing residency over time, although few people remain resident in the same area throughout their life. Furthermore, few studies of area effects on health have accounted for the clustering of health at the household level. These methodological problems may have led previous studies to under estimate or over estimate the size of area level effects. This study uses multiple membership multilevel models to investigate whether longitudinal analyses of area effects on health need to take account of clustering at the household level. Setting and participants: A longitudinal survey (1991–1999) of a nationally representative sample of British households (5511 households with 10 264 adult members). Design: Two level (individuals within households or areas) and three level (individuals within households within areas) multiple membership models of SF-36 physical and mental health functioning scores at wave nine were analysed adjusting for age, gender, education, marital, employment, and smoking status from previous waves. Results: Physical and mental health functioning seem to cluster within households. Accounting for changes in household membership over time increases estimates of the clustering in functioning at the household level. The clustering of functioning within area wards is reduced when the clustering within households and risk factors for functioning are taken into account. Conclusions: Clustered sampling units within study designs should be taken account of in individual level analyses. Changes in these units over time should be accounted for in longitudinal analysis.