Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prevention of Pain on Injection with Propofol: A Quantitative Systematic Review

The best intervention to prevent pain on injection with propofol is unknown. We conducted a systematic literature search (Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, bibliographies, hand searching, any language, up to September 1999) for full reports of randomized comparisons of analgesic interventions with placebo to prevent that pain. We analyzed data from 6264 patients (mostly adults) of 56 reports. On average, 70% of the patients reported pain on injection. Fifteen drugs, 12 physical measurements, and combinations were tested. With IV lidocaine 40 mg, given with a tourniquet 30 to 120 s before the injection of propofol, the number of patients needed to be treated (NNT) to prevent pain in one who would have had pain had they received placebo was 1.6. The closest to this came meperidine 40 mg with tourniquet (NNT 1.9) and metoclopramide 10 mg with tourniquet (NNT 2.2). With lidocaine mixed with propofol, the best NNT was 2.4; with IV alfentanil or fentanyl, it was 3 to 4. IV lidocaine before the injection of propofol was less analgesic. Temperature had no significant effect. There was a lack of data for all other interventions to allow meaningful conclusions. The diameter of venous catheters and speed of injection had no impact on pain. Implications: IV lidocaine (0.5 mg/kg) should be given with a rubber tourniquet on the forearm, 30 to 120 s before the injection of propofol; lidocaine will prevent pain in approximately 60% of the patients treated in this manner.
Wire length and via reduction for yield enhancement

Wire length reduction along with via minimization results in better performance and higher yield for VLSI circuits. In this paper we present a wire length reduction algorithm for channel routing. The results of our algorithm for a set of benchmark examples are presented. The algorithm produces near optimal results for most of the examples. Surprisingly, our algorithm outperforms most of the previously proposed via minimization algorithms as well. Our results show that both wire length and via minimization problems are closely related to each other but their optimal solutions don't necessarily coincide.
ProfileGuard: Privacy Preserving Obfuscation for Mobile User Profiles

Analytics companies have become an integral part of the mobile advertising industry, enabling successful user targeting via user profiles, derived from the mobile apps installed by specific users. This poses a threat to privacy of such users, when apps indicating sensitive information, e.g., a gaming app showing a gambling problem, are the basis for profiling. In this paper, we propose a ProfileGuard, novel app-based obfuscation mechanism to remove the dominance (prevalence amongst the interest categories present in a user profile) of selected private user profile interest categories. We show, based on extensive experimental evaluation using 2700 Android apps during a 9 month test campaign, that the best trade-off between the level of effort required by the obfuscating system and the resulting privacy protection can be achieved by choosing the obfuscating apps based on similarity with user's existing apps (while ensuring that the selected apps belong to a non-private category). We implement a POC ProfileGuard app to demonstrate the feasibility of an automated obfuscation mechanism. We also provide insights into the broad Google AdMob profiling rules, showing that there is a deterministic mapping of individual apps to profile interests, that profiles based on multiple apps represent a union of individual app profiles and that there is a minimum level of activity necessary for AdMob to build a stable user profile. Finally, we show the resulting effect of obfuscation on the received ads, demonstrating that modifying user profiles to include a richer set of interests results in correspondingly more diverse received ads.
Joint Prediction of Continuous and Discrete States in Time-Series Based on Belief Functions

Forecasting the future states of a complex system is a complicated challenge that is encountered in many industrial applications covered in the community of prognostics and health management. Practically, states can be either continuous or discrete: Continuous states generally represent the value of a signal while discrete states generally depict functioning modes reflecting the current degradation. For each case, specific techniques exist. In this paper, we propose an approach based on case-based reasoning that jointly estimates the future values of the continuous signal and the future discrete modes. The main characteristics of the proposed approach are the following: 1) It relies on the K-nearest neighbor algorithm based on belief function theory; 2) belief functions allow the user to represent his/her partial knowledge concerning the possible states in the training data set, particularly concerning transitions between functioning modes which are imprecisely known; and 3) two distinct strategies are proposed for state prediction, and the fusion of both strategies is also considered. Two real data sets were used in order to assess the performance in estimating future breakdown of a real system.
Temporal and Spatial Variability of Surface Motor Activation Zones in Hemiplegic Patients During Functional Electrical Stimulation Therapy Sessions

The goal of this study was to investigate surface motor activation zones and their temporal variability using an advanced multi-pad functional electrical stimulation system. With this system motor responses are elicited through concurrent activation of electrode matrix pads collectively termed "virtual electrodes" (VEs) with appropriate stimulation parameters. We observed VEs used to produce selective wrist, finger, and thumb extension movements in 20 therapy sessions of 12 hemiplegic stroke patients. The VEs which produce these three selective movements were created manually on the ergonomic multi-pad electrode by experienced clinicians based on visual inspection of the muscle responses. Individual results indicated that changes in VE configuration were required each session for all patients and that overlap in joint movements was evident between some VEs. However, by analyzing group data, we defined the probability distribution over the electrode surface for the three VEs of interest. Furthermore, through Bayesian logic we obtained preferred stimulation zones that are in accordance with our previously reported heuristically obtained results. We have also analyzed the number of active pads and stimulation amplitudes for these three VEs. Presented results provide a basis for an automated electrode calibration algorithm built on a priori knowledge or the starting point for manual selection of stimulation points.
Effective Stemming for Arabic Information Retrieval

Arabic has a very rich and complex morphology. Its appropriate morphological processing is very important for Information Retrieval (IR). In this paper, we propose a new stemming technique that tries to determine the stem of a word representing the semantic core of this word according to Arabic morphology. This method is compared to a commonly used light stemming technique which truncates a word by simple rules. Our tests on TREC collections show that the new stemming technique is more effective than the light stemming.
An agent design pattern classification scheme: capturing the notions of agency in agent design patterns

Agent technology is increasingly being used to develop software systems in different domains. Hence particular design problems are recurring in different multiagent systems development projects. In order to enhance the reuse of proven solutions to recurring design problems, agent design patterns are being identified and documented. Understandably, most of the available work on agent design patterns reflect object oriented concepts (classes, objects, inheritance, etc) and exhibit an implementation bias. It is preferable for these patterns to reflect the notions of agency and be described at the right level of abstraction. In this paper, we present a new agent design pattern classification scheme that is structured to better reflect the notions of agency and allow varying levels of abstraction in describing agent design patterns. We also show how four different agent design patterns fit into our classification scheme.
Mixed-ligand metal-organic frameworks with large pores: gas sorption properties and single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformation on guest exchange.

Two isomorphous 3D metal-organic frameworks, {[Cu2(BPnDC)2(bpy)]. 8 DMF.6 H2O}n (1) and {[Zn2(BPnDC)2(dabco)]. 13 DMF.3 H2O}n (2), have been prepared by the solvothermal reactions of benzophenone 4,4'-dicarboxylic acid (H2BPnDC) with Cu(NO3)(2). 2.5 H2O and 4,4'-bipyridine (bpy), and with Zn(NO3)(2). 6 H2O and 4-diazabicyclo[2.2. 2]octane (dabco), respectively. Compounds 1 and 2 are composed of paddle-wheel {M2(O2CR)4} cluster units, and they generate 2D channels with two different large pores (effective size of larger pore: 18.2 A for 1, 11.4 A for 2). The framework structure of desolvated solid, [Cu2(BPnDC)2(bpy)]n (SNU-6; SNU=Seoul National University), is the same as that of 1, as evidenced by powder X-ray diffraction patterns. SNU-6 exhibits high permanent porosity (1.05 cm3 g(-1)) with high Langmuir surface area (2910 m2 g(-1)). It shows high H2 gas storage capacity (1.68 wt % at 77 K and 1 atm; 4.87 wt % (excess) and 10.0 wt % (total) at 77 K and 70 bar) with high isosteric heat (7.74 kJ mol(-1)) of H2 adsorption as well as high CO2 adsorption capability (113.8 wt % at 195 K and 1 atm). Compound 2 undergoes a single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformation on guest exchange with n-hexane to provide {[Zn2(BPnDC)2(dabco)]. 6 (n-hexane). 3 H2O}n (2hexane). The transformation involves dynamic motion of the molecular components in the crystal, mainly a bending motion of the square planes of the paddle-wheel units resulting from rotational rearrangement of phenyl rings and carboxylate planes of BPnDC2-.
Hyaluronate degradation affects ventricular function of the early postlooped embryonic rat heart in situ.

Hyaluronic acid is the major glycosaminoglycan of the early cardiac extracellular matrix or "cardiac jelly," yet little is known about its role in the ontogeny of early ventricular performance. To investigate the in situ effect of hyaluronate degradation on ventricular function, whole rat embryos were cultured in rat serum alone (control embryos) or rat serum plus 20 TRU/mL of Streptomyces hyaluronidase (treatment embryos) from gestational day 9.5 (before formation of the heart tube) through initial looping of the heart. Cardiac function was measured before looping (24 hours in culture) and immediately after looping (36 hours in culture) by video motion analysis of the external wall motion of the bulbus cordis and primitive ventricle. Degradation of hyaluronic acid in the treated embryos was confirmed by Alcian blue staining at pH 2.5. Significant increases in heart rate, circumferential shortening fraction, maximum velocity of circumferential contraction, and maximum velocity of circumferential relaxation were observed with looping in both control and treatment embryos. Although there was minimal difference in ventricular performance between control and treatment embryos before looping, there was a significant increase in all parameters of ventricular performance in the hyaluronidase-treated embryos immediately after looping of the heart. Endocardial cushions were absent in hyaluronidase-treated embryos, and an additional group of embryos cultured in the presence of Streptomyces hyaluronidase for 48 to 72 hours failed to develop endocardial cushions. These experiments are the first to (1) document a quantifiable increase in ventricular performance during early cardiac looping and (2) demonstrate that hyaluronate degradation results in abnormal endocardial cushion formation and altered ventricular performance of the postlooped heart. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
A typology of the part‐time workforce: Differences on job attitudes and turnover

Differences between full-time (FT) and part-time (PT) employees have long been of interest to organizational psychologists. While most research assumes PT employees are a single, undifferentiated group, some studies have established the diversity of the PT workforce, particularly in terms of participation in other work and non-work roles. An important gap in this research concerns how different types of PT employees may differ from one another, as well as from FT employees. In this study, we proposed and tested a typology of the PT workforce. We identified several groups of PT employees with substantially different patterns of involvement in school, family, and work roles. The PT groups had generally more favourable job attitudes than did the FT employees. Although the PT groups generally had higher turnover than the FT employees, we found substantial differences among the groups in their turnover behaviour. We discuss the implications of our findings for future work status research and for managing the PT workforce.
Multi-dimensional sensor data aggregator for adaptive network management in M2M communications

This paper proposes a method of aggregating tempo-spatial data generated by sensors deployed in buildings or houses. The size of each sensor data such as temperature is usually small, but it often involves many additional data to represent its attribute values like time, location, data type and data precision. This would often increase the traffic volume between sensor gateway at building/home side and service providers at server side. In our method, such sensor data are packed into multidimensional matrices indexed by those attribute values for more compact representation, and the compressed sensing technique is adaptively applied to further reduce the data size. The method was applied to a field trial with KDDI corporation to collect data from 29 community facilities, and the traffic volume was reduced to 50% with reasonable precision of data restoration.
Going Where the Ad Leads You: On High Advertised Prices and Searching Where to Buy

An important role of informative advertising is to inform consumers of the simple fact that the shop that advertises sells a particular product. This information may help consumers to save on their search activities: instead of wandering around, a consumer can simply visit the shop that has advertised, knowing that there he can find the commodity he is looking for. The implications of this simple fact have not been studied before. Using game theoretic reasoning in a model that combines consumer search and firms' advertising we show that firms may find it optimal to advertise prices that are higher than nonadvertised prices. The important mechanism underlying this result is that advertising lowers the expected search cost for consumers. Through this analysis we provide a new insight into the role of informative advertising.
Facultative Parthenogenesis in Vertebrates: Reproductive Error or Chance?

Parthenogenesis, the development of an embryo from a female gamete without any contribution of a male gamete, is very rare in vertebrates. Parthenogenetically reproducing species have, so far, only been found in the Squamate reptiles (lizards and snakes). Facultative parthenogenesis, switching between sexual and clonal reproduction, although quite common in invertebrates, e.g. Daphnia and aphids, seems to be even rarer in vertebrates. However, isolated cases of parthenogenetic development have been reported in all vertebrate groups. Facultative parthenogenesis in vertebrates has only been found in captive animals but might simply have been overlooked in natural populations. Even though its evolutionary impact is hard to determine and very likely varies depending on the ploidy restoration mechanisms and sex-determining mechanisms involved, facultative parthenogenesis is already discussed in conservation biology and medical research. To raise interest for facultative parthenogenesis especially in evolutionary biology, I summarize the current knowledge about facultative parthenogenesis in the different vertebrate groups, introduce mechanisms of diploid oocyte formation and discuss the genetic consequences and potential evolutionary impact of facultative parthenogenesis in vertebrates.
Application-aware Retiming of Accelerators: A High-level Data-driven Approach

Flexibility at hardware level is the main driving force behind adaptive systems whose aim is to realise microarhitecture deconfiguration 'online'. This feature allows the software/hardware stack to tolerate drastic changes of the workload in data centres. With emerge of FPGA reconfigurablity this technology is becoming a mainstream computing paradigm. Adaptivity is usually accompanied by the high-level tools to facilitate multi-dimensional space exploration. An essential aspect in this space is memory orchestration where on-chip and off-chip memory distribution significantly influences the architecture in coping with the critical spatial and timing constraints, e.g. Place and Route. This paper proposes a memory smart technique for a particular class of adaptive systems: Elastic Circuits which enjoy slack elasticity at fine level of granularity. We explore retiming of a set of popular benchmarks via investigating the memory distribution within and among accelerators. The area, performance and power patterns are adopted by our high-level synthesis framework, with respect to the behaviour of the input descriptions, to improve the quality of the synthesised elastic circuits.
Diverse pattern of protease inhibitor resistance mutations in HIV‐1 infected patients failing nelfinavir

The aim of the study was to describe the pattern of resistance mutations in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV‐1) infected patients experiencing their first protease inhibitor (PI) failure on nelfinavir (NFV)‐containing therapy. Earlier PI‐naïve patients (n = 172) with NFV‐containing therapy were therefore retrospectively studied. Plasma HIV RNA from 43 failing patients was sequenced. In addition, virus from the baseline was sequenced in 29 patients. Failure was defined as two consecutive measurements of viral load of >50 copies/ml after 6 months treatment. Subtyping was done in most patients (n = 118). At baseline, the V82A mutation was found in four PI‐naïve patients of whom two failed therapy exhibiting this mutation. At therapy failure, 17 of the 43 (40%) patients had primary PI mutations. In nine subjects, RTI‐mutations only were found and 17 patients had a wild‐type virus. Patients with primary PI and/or RTI mutations had a higher viral load at failure than those who failed with wild‐type virus. A surprisingly diverse pattern of primary PI mutations was seen: M46I (n = 7), D30N (n = 6), L90M (n = 5), and V82A (n = 4). Four patients exhibited more than one primary PI mutation. PI‐naïve patients in Sweden may harbor PI‐resistant virus and resistance testing should be considered before treatment. Patients who fail NFV may develop the M46I mutation, which has been related earlier to mainly other PI. The diverse pattern of the evolved PI‐mutations and the relative low occurrence of the D30N mutation in the material was unexpected and did not seem to be related to the viral subtype. J. Med. Virol. 76:447–451, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Cooperation and the Use of Coercion by Groups and Individuals

In two experiments, male and female subjects, either as individuals or as groups, participated in a Prisoner's Dilemma and could communicate either threats of punishment for target noncooperation or promises of their own cooperation. In Experiment 1 they opposed a live target; in Experiment 2 they opposed a simulated target who was either cooperative or competitive in response to the subjects' messages. The major finding was that groups more strongly preferred the use of threats than did individuals. Groups were more competitive than individuals at the outset in both experiments; in Experiment 2 the difference was found consistently on message-related trials. In Experiment 2 there was also a series of interactions generally showing that individual women opposing a cooperative target were most cooperative and conciliatory, while men in groups opposing a competitive target were most competitive and coercive. Postexperimental ratings of the simulated target indicated a polarization of impressions in the groups. Women targets in Experiment 1 were more cooperative against individuals than against groups; there was no difference for men. Targets opposing groups rated the opponent as less likable and less credible than targets opposing individuals.
Robust Synchronization of an Array of Coupled Stochastic Discrete-Time Delayed Neural Networks

This paper is concerned with the robust synchronization problem for an array of coupled stochastic discrete-time neural networks with time-varying delay. The individual neural network is subject to parameter uncertainty, stochastic disturbance, and time-varying delay, where the norm-bounded parameter uncertainties exist in both the state and weight matrices, the stochastic disturbance is in the form of a scalar Wiener process, and the time delay enters into the activation function. For the array of coupled neural networks, the constant coupling and delayed coupling are simultaneously considered. We aim to establish easy-to-verify conditions under which the addressed neural networks are synchronized. By using the Kronecker product as an effective tool, a linear matrix inequality (LMI) approach is developed to derive several sufficient criteria ensuring the coupled delayed neural networks to be globally, robustly, exponentially synchronized in the mean square. The LMI-based conditions obtained are dependent not only on the lower bound but also on the upper bound of the time-varying delay, and can be solved efficiently via the Matlab LMI Toolbox. Two numerical examples are given to demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed synchronization scheme.
Investigating the Moderating Role of Reflective Capacity in the Link between Attachment Security and Personal Resilience in Young Adults

Title of Document: INVESTIGATING THE MODERATING ROLE OF REFLECTIVE CAPACITY IN THE LINK BETWEEN ATTACHMENT SECURITY AND PERSONAL RESILIENCE IN YOUNG ADULTS Yueher Ma, Master of Arts, 2006 Directed by: Professor Charles J. Gelso, Department of Psychology Previous research suggested that reflective capacity could help mothers who suffered from childhood deprivation better manage the challenging task of parenting and form secure bonding with their infants. The purpose of this present study was to examine whether reflective capacity might act as protective factor in assisting young adults, especially those with more insecure attachment styles (i.e., dismissing, preoccupied, and fearful), to better cope with challenges in life. The results of this study revealed moderate correlations between attachment security and personal resilience as well as between reflective capacity and personal resilience in the young adult population. Although the data in the current study disconfirmed the proposed model of reflective capacity as a moderator in the link between attachment security and personal resilience, they appeared to support the model of reflective capacity as a mediator in the relation between attachment security and personal resilience. INVESTIGATING THE MODERATING ROLE OF REFLECTIVE CAPACITY IN THE LINK BETWEEN ATTACHMENT SECURITY AND PERSONAL RESILIENCE IN YOUNG ADULTS