Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pelvic floor muscle training versus no treatment, or inactive control treatments, for urinary incontinence in women.

BACKGROUND Pelvic floor muscle training is the most commonly used physical therapy treatment for women with stress urinary incontinence. It is sometimes recommended for mixed and less commonly urge urinary incontinence. OBJECTIVES To determine the effects of pelvic floor muscle training for women with urinary incontinence in comparison to no treatment, placebo or sham treatments, or other inactive control treatments. SEARCH STRATEGY The Cochrane Incontinence Group Specialised Trials Register (searched 18 February 2009) and the reference lists of relevant articles were searched. SELECTION CRITERIA Randomised or quasi-randomised trials in women with stress, urge or mixed urinary incontinence (based on symptoms, signs, or urodynamics). One arm of the trial included pelvic floor muscle training (PFMT). Another arm was a no treatment, placebo, sham, or other inactive control treatment arm. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS Trials were independently assessed for eligibility and methodological quality. Data were extracted then cross-checked. Disagreements were resolved by discussion. Data were processed as described in the Cochrane Handbook (Higgins 2008). Trials were subgrouped by diagnosis. Formal meta-analysis was not undertaken because of study heterogeneity. MAIN RESULTS Fourteen trials involving 836 women (435 PFMT, 401 controls) met the inclusion criteria; twelve trials (672) contributed data to the analysis. Many studies were at moderate to high risk of bias, based on the trial reports. There was considerable variation in interventions used, study populations, and outcome measures.Women who did PFMT were more likely to report they were cured or improved than women who did not. Women who did PFMT also reported better continence specific quality of life than women who did not. PFMT women also experienced fewer incontinence episodes per day and less leakage on short office-based pad test. Of the few adverse effects reported, none were serious. The trials in stress urinary incontinent women which suggested greater benefit recommended a longer training period than the one trial in women with detrusor overactivity (urge) incontinence. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS The review provides support for the widespread recommendation that PFMT be included in first-line conservative management programmes for women with stress, urge, or mixed, urinary incontinence. Statistical heterogeneity reflecting variation in incontinence type, training, and outcome measurement made interpretation difficult. The treatment effect seems greater in women with stress urinary incontinence alone, who participate in a supervised PFMT programme for at least three months, but these and other uncertainties require testing in further trials.
Stopping Rules for Duo-Binary Turbo Codes and Application to HomePlug AV

This paper focuses on the design of stopping rule criteria for duo-binary turbo codes. In particular, single-binary stopping rules are generalized and iteration/semi-iteration based criteria are developed. The proposed solutions are tested using the framework of HomePlug AV, which is the last generation technology for the in-home distribution of audio and video data over existing power-line wiring.
Concomitance of fibromyalgia syndrome and cervical disc herniation

[Purpose] Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) and cervical disc herniation (CDH) are a common diseases commonly encountered in physical therapy clinics. There are also patients who have both of these diseases. In this study we aim to investigated whether FMS is a risk factor for cervical disc herniation and the frequency of their coincident occurrence. [Subjects and Methods] Thirty-five patients having a primary FMS diagnosis according to the American Rheumatism Association criteria are taken into consideration and a control group were the subjects of this study. The two groups were compared with respect to cervical disc hernia using cervical region MRI. [Results] The distribution of disc hernia of 6 fibromyalgia patients who had cervical discopathy was: 16.6% C2–3, 16.6% C5–6, 16.6% C6–7, 33.3% C4–5, C5–6 (two levels in two patients) and 16.6% C4–5, C5–6, C7–1 (three levels in one patient) . The herniation directions were given as: central in 5 levels, right paramedian in 1 level, and left paramedian disc hernia in 1 level. There were 4 cervical disk hernia in the control group. The herniation direction were central in two, right paramedian in one, and left paramedian in one patient. [Conclusion] In this study, the existence of cervical disc herniation in fibromyalgia patients was found to be not different from the normal population.
Automated Detection of Performance Regressions Using Regression Models on Clustered Performance Counters

Performance testing is conducted before deploying system updates in order to ensure that the performance of large software systems did not degrade (i.e., no performance regressions). During such testing, thousands of performance counters are collected. However, comparing thousands of performance counters across versions of a software system is very time consuming and error-prone. In an effort to automate such analysis, model-based performance regression detection approaches build a limited number (i.e., one or two) of models for a limited number of target performance counters (e.g., CPU or memory) and leverage the models to detect performance regressions. Such model-based approaches still have their limitations since selecting the target performance counters is often based on experience or gut feeling. In this paper, we propose an automated approach to detect performance regressions by analyzing all collected counters instead of focusing on a limited number of target counters. We first group performance counters into clusters to determine the number of performance counters needed to truly represent the performance of a system. We then perform statistical tests to select the target performance counters, for which we build regression models. We apply the regression models on new version of the system to detect performance regressions. We perform two case studies on two large systems: one open-source system and one enterprise system. The results of our case studies show that our approach can group a large number of performance counters into a small number of clusters. Our approach can successfully detect both injected and real-life performance regressions in the case studies. In addition, our case studies show that our approach outperforms traditional approaches for analyzing performance counters. Our approach has been adopted in industrial settings to detect performance regressions on a daily basis.
Effect of Calcination Temperature and MgO Crystallite Size on MgO/TiO2 Catalyst System for Soybean Transesterification

— The effect of calcination temperature and MgO crystallite sizes on the structure and catalytic performance of TiO 2 supported nano-MgO catalyst for the trans -esterification of soybean oil has been studied. The catalyst has been prepared by deposition precipitation method, characterised by XRD and FTIR and tested in an autoclave at 225 o C. The soybean oil conversion after 15 minutes of the trans -esterification reaction increased when the calcination temperature was increased from 500 to 600 o C and decreased with further increase in calcination temperature. Some glycerolysis activity was also detected on catalysts calcined at 600 and 700 o C after 45 minutes of reaction. The trans -esterification reaction rate increased with the decrease in MgO crystallite size for the first 30 min.
A real-time task scheduling algorithm for multicore embedded systems

Processors are becoming into multicore ones. The same trend is also emerging in embedded systems. More cores on the single chip provide better concurrent of the tasks. However, the task scheduling becomes the new challenge of embedded operating system. It is still an important issue that how the tasks in multicore embedded system can be scheduled efficiently under the condition of ensuring the real-time constraint. When the number of processor cores increases continuously, such situation also relates to task scheduling for efficiency. In this paper, a novel scheduling algorithm is proposed for multicore embedded systems with the satisfied real-time condition. When the number of on-chip cores increase, this algorithm can meet the new requirements. The experimental results show that our algorithm has achieved its target.
Iterative fractionation of recycling receptors from lysosomally destined ligands in an early sorting endosome

To study the fusion and separation of endocytic compartments, we have used digital image analysis to quantify the accumulation of fluorescent ligands in endosomes during continuous endocytosis for periods of 1-20 min. Fluorescently labeled transferrin (Tf) and low density lipoproteins (LDL) were used as markers of recycling receptors and lysosomally directed ligands respectively. By measuring the intensity of individual endosomes, we found that the amount of LDL per endosome increases 30-40-fold between 1 and 10 min and then plateaus. In contrast, the amount of Tf per endosome reaches a steady state within 2 min at a level that is only three to four times that at 1 min. We used pulse-chase double label methods to demonstrate that Tf cycles through the compartment in which the LDL accumulates. When both Tf and LDL are added to cells simultaneously for 2 min, nearly all endosomes contain both labels. With 2-4 min further incubation in the absence of external ligands, LDL-containing compartments become depleted of Tf as Tf is directed to para-Golgi recycling endosomes. However, if Tf is added to the medium 2-4 min after a pulse with LDL, most of the LDL-containing endosomes become labeled with Tf. The data indicate that at least 30-40 endocytic vesicles containing both Tf and LDL fuse with an endosomal compartment over a period of 5-10 min. LDL accumulates within this compartment and Tf is simultaneously removed. Simple mathematical models suggest that this type of iterative fractionation can lead to very high efficiency sorting.
A modeling study of nerve fascicle stimulation

A nerve-stimulation model incorporating realistic cross-sectional nerve geometries and conductivities is discussed. The potential field in the volume conductor was calculated numerically using the variational method. Nerve fiber excitation was described by the model of McNeal (ibid., vol.BME-23, p.329-37, 1976). Cross-sectional geometries of small monofascicular rat common peroneal nerve and multifascicular human deep peroneal nerve were taken as sample geometries. Selective stimulation of a fascicle was theoretically analyzed for several electrode positions: outside the nerve, in the connective tissue of the nerve, and inside a fascicle. The model results predict that the use of intraneural or even intrafascicular electrodes is necessary for selective stimulation of fascicles not lying at the surface of the nerve. Model predictions correspond to experimental results on intrafascicular and extraneural stimulation of rat common peroneal nerve and to results on muscle selective stimulation in multifascicular dog sciatic nerve using an extraneural multielectrode configuration. <<ETX>>
Extracting information from a query image, for content based image retrieval

This paper describes a method to solve the problem of Object-Centric Content Based Image Retrieval (CBIR), motivated by concepts from theory of cognitive sciences. According to cognitive models, there are two lobes in human brain, one is responsible to solve the problem of object recognition, while the other solves the problem of localization (or detection). It is the exchange of mutual information (back and forth) between these two lobes which enables the human brain to simultaneously detect and recognize the objects in a complex scene. Based on the above cognitive paradigm, we propose a RADAR (Retrieval After Detection and Recognition) framework, to solve the problem of object-centric CBIR. Our proposed RADAR framework helps to simultaneously detect and recognize the object in a given test sample for retrieval task. Object-Centric CBIR retrieves a set of samples from a database of identified categories, similar to the categories in a query image using a matching criteria based on features extracted from the localized region(s). Results are shown using various real-world datasets (including PASCAL VOC) to exhibit the performance of the proposed method.
Merging Mouse Transcriptome Analyses with Parkinson's Disease Linkage Studies

Abstract The hallmark of Parkinson's disease (PD OMIM #168600) is the degeneration of the nigral dopaminergic system affecting approximately 1% of the human population older than 65. In pursuit of genetic factors contributing to PD, linkage and association studies identified several susceptibility genes. The majority of these genes are expressed by the dopamine-producing neurons in the substantia nigra. We, therefore, propose expression by these neurons as a selection criterion, to narrow down, in a rational manner, the number of candidate genes in orphan PD loci, where no mutation has been associated thus far. We determined the corresponding human chromosome locations of 1435 murine cDNA fragments obtained from murine expression analyses of nigral dopaminergic neurons and combined these data with human linkage studies. These fragments represent 19 genes within orphan OMIM PD loci. We used the same approach for independent association studies and determined the genes in neighborhood to the peaks with the highest LOD score value. Our approach did not make any assumptions about disease mechanisms, but it, nevertheless, revealed α-synuclein, NR4A2 (Nurr1), and the tau genes, which had previously been associated to PD. Furthermore, our transcriptome analysis identified several classes of candidate genes for PD mutations and may also provide insight into the molecular pathways active in nigral dopaminergic neurons.
Electrically configurable electroforming and bipolar resistive switching in Pt/TiO2/Pt structures

This study examined the effects of electrical forming methods on the bipolar resistance switching (BRS) behavior in Pt/TiO2/Pt sandwich structures. The BRS is confined to a region near the ruptured end of conducting nanofilaments, which are composed of a TinO2n − 1 Magnéli phase formed by electroforming. The intermediate phase with an oxygen vacancy concentration between the insulating TiO2 and the residual conducting filament that formed at the interface region was considered to be the switching layer (SL). The change in filament shape caused by a variation in the compliance current during filament formation resulted in a different filament rupture location and SL configuration. Precise control of the filament formation and rupture process resulted in SLs connected in an anti-parallel configuration. It was possible to reconfigure the SLs in the same fashion without any restraints, which allowed an unlimited memristive operation to be achieved. This paper presents a new technique in voltage sweep mode that applies a compliance current as a tool to achieve a memristor with unlimited operation.
Body-based interfaces

This research explores different ways to use features of one's own body for interacting with computers. In the future, such "body-based" interfaces may be put into good use for wearable computing or virtual reality systems as part of a 3D multi-modal interface, freeing the user from holding interaction devices. We have identified four types of body-based interfaces: the Body-inspired-metaphor uses various parts of the body metaphorically for interaction; the Body-as-interaction-surface simply uses parts of the body as points of interaction; Mixed-mode mixes the former two; Object-mapping spatially maps the interaction object to the human body. These four body-based interfaces were applied to three different applications (and associated tasks) and were tested for their performance and utility. It was generally found that, while the body-inspired-metaphor produced the lowest error rate, it required a longer task completion time and caused more fatigue due to the longer hand moving distance. On the other hand, the body-as-interaction-surface was the fastest, but produced many more errors.
Crosslinking of membrane-embedded cysteines reveals contact points in the EmrE oligomer

EmrE is a small multidrug transporter that extrudes various drugs in exchange with protons, thereby rendering Escherichia coli cells resistant to these compounds. In this study, relative helix packing in the EmrE oligomer solubilized in detergent was probed by intermonomer crosslinking analysis. Unique cysteine replacements in transmembrane domains were shown to react with organic mercurials but not with sulfhydryl reagents, such as maleimides and methanethiosulfonates. A new protocol was developed based on the use of HgCl2, a compound known to react rapidly and selectively with sulfhydryl groups. The reaction can bridge vicinal pairs of cysteines and form an intermolecular mercury-linked dimer. To circumvent problems inherent to mercury chemistry, a second crosslinker, hexamethylene diisocyanate, was used. After the HgCl2 treatment, excess reagent was removed and the oligomers were dissociated with a strong denaturant. Only those previously crosslinked reacted with hexamethylene diisocyanate. Thus, vicinal cysteine-substituted residues in the EmrE oligomer were identified. It was shown that transmembrane domain (TM)-1 and TM4 in one subunit are in contact with the corresponding TM1 and TM4, respectively, in the other subunit. In addition, TM1 is also in close proximity to TM4 of the neighboring subunit, suggesting possible arrangements in the binding and translocation domain of the EmrE oligomer. This method should be useful for other proteins with cysteine residues in a low-dielectric environment.
The mechanics of human smooth pursuit eye movement.

Dodge, in 1903, was among the first to draw a distinction between saccadic and smooth pursuit human eye movements. Saccadic movements have attracted much attention because they reflect the most rapid activity of a very fast mammalian skeletal muscle. Smooth pursuit movements, however, constitute a large portion of ocular activity and while some descriptions of them exist (Rashbass, 1961; Westheimer, 1954) and some theories have been proposed on their integration into ocular targetfollowing (Young & Stark, 1963), a more thorough examination of them and their concomitant muscular activity seems desirable as a preface to further investigations into the oculomotor system. The experiments reported here elucidate the nature of the net active state tension in the horizontal recti that accelerates the eye in smooth pursuit movements from one velocity to another in about 130 msec. These experiments also indicate that the sampled data system analogy of eye movements proposed by Young & Stark (1963), while quite successful for saccadic movements, seems not pertinent to the smooth pursuit system for which the stimulus-response relation appears to be continuous in nature.
Color Preference and Familiarity in Performance on Brand Logo Recall

Two experiments assessed effects of color preference and brand-logo familiarity on recall performance. Exp. 1 explored the color preferences, using a forced-choice technique, of 189 women and 63 men. Taiwanese college students ages 18 to 20 years (M = 19.4, SD = 1.5). The sequence of the three most preferred colors was white, light blue, and black and of the three least preferred colors was light orange, dark violet, and dark brown. Exp. 2 investigated the effects of color preference based on the results of Exp. 1 and brand-logo familiarity on recall. A total of 27 women and 21 men, Taiwanese college students ages 18 to 20 years (M = 19.2, SD = 1.2) participated. They memorized a list of 24 logos (four logos shown in six colors) and then performed sequential recall. Analyses showed color preference significantly effected recall accuracy. Accuracy for high color preference was significantly greater than that for low preferences. Results showed no significant effects of brand-logo familiarity or sex on accuracy. In addition, the interactive effect of color preference and brand-logo familiarity on accuracy was significant. These results have implications for the design of brand logos to create and sustain memory of brand images.
Reducing the Memory Size of a Fuzzy Case-Based Reasoning System Applying Rough Set Techniques

Early work on case-based reasoning (CBR) reported in the literature shows the importance of soft computing techniques applied to different stages of the classical four-step CBR life cycle. This correspondence proposes a reduction technique based on rough sets theory capable of minimizing the case memory by analyzing the contribution of each case feature. Inspired by the application of the minimum description length principle, the method uses the granularity of the original data to compute the relevance of each attribute. The rough feature weighting and selection method is applied as a preprocessing step prior to the generation of a fuzzy rule system, which is employed in the revision phase of the proposed CBR system. Experiments using real oceanographic data show that the rough sets reduction method maintains the accuracy of the employed fuzzy rules, while reducing the computational effort needed in its generation and increasing the explanatory strength of the fuzzy rules
Comparison of Multiple Agent-Based Organizations for Satellite Constellations (TechSat21)

A comparison is made of several autonomous software architectures for multiple satellite systems. Multiple, agent-based satellite systems are envisioned because they are capable of higher performance, lower cost, better fault tolerance, recone gurability, and upgradability. Software agents are dee ned at the spacecraft and functional levels, using a wide variety of algorithms including multivariable control, linear programming, fuzzy logic, contract net protocol, negotiation, and radar placement. The agent dee nitions allow many types of agent-based software architectures to be developed. Several novel agent-based architectures with a more traditional system for a distributed space-based radar mission are compared. Agent-based simulations of several mission scenarios show the autonomous operation of different organizations of increasing autonomy and compare the benee ts and drawbacks of each.
Trace Sampling for Desktop Applications on Windows NT

This paper examines trace sampling for a suite of desktop application traces on Windows NT. This paper makes two contributions: we compare the accuracy of several sampling techniques to determine cache miss rates for these workloads, and we present a victim cache architecture study that demonstrates that sampling can be used to drive such studies. Of the sampling techniques used for the cache miss ratio determinations, stitch, which assumes that the state of the cache at the beginning of a sample is the same as the state at the end of the previous sample, is the most effective for these workloads. This technique is more accurate than the others and is reliable for caches up to 64KB in size.
A Basal Dromaeosaurid and Size Evolution Preceding Avian Flight

Fossil evidence for changes in dinosaurs near the lineage leading to birds and the origin of flight has been sparse. A dinosaur from Mongolia represents the basal divergence within Dromaeosauridae. The taxon's small body size and phylogenetic position imply that extreme miniaturization was ancestral for Paraves (the clade including Avialae, Troodontidae, and Dromaeosauridae), phylogenetically earlier than where flight evolution is strongly inferred. In contrast to the sustained small body sizes among avialans throughout the Cretaceous Period, the two dinosaurian lineages most closely related to birds, dromaeosaurids and troodontids, underwent four independent events of gigantism, and in some lineages size increased by nearly three orders of magnitude. Thus, change in theropod body size leading to flight's origin was not unidirectional.