Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Physical Training on Functional Status in Patients With Prolonged Mechanical Ventilation

Background and Purpose. Patients requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation (PMV) are frequently deconditioned because of respiratory failure precipitated by the underlying disease, the adverse effects of medications, and a period of prolonged immobilization. The effects of 6 weeks of physical training on the strength of respiratory and limb muscles, on ventilator-free time, and on functional status in patients requiring PMV were examined. Subjects. Thirty-nine patients with PMV were initially enrolled in the study and were assigned to either a treatment group (n=20) or a control group (n=19). Three subjects in the treatment group and 4 subjects in the control group died during the 6-week intervention period and thus their data were excluded from the final analysis. Methods. Subjects in the treatment group received physical training 5 days a week for 6 weeks. Strength of respiratory and limb muscles, ventilator-free time, and functional status, which was measured by the Barthel Index of Activities of Daily Living (BI) and Functional Independence Measure (FIM), were examined at baseline and at the third and sixth weeks of the study period. Results. Respiratory and limb muscle strength improved significantly at the third and sixth weeks in the treatment group compared with baseline measurements. Total BI and FIM scores increased significantly in the treatment group and remained unchanged in the control group. Effect sizes of the BI and FIM scores were 2.02 and 1.93, respectively, at the sixth week. Discussion and Conclusion. The results show that a 6-week physical training program may improve limb muscle strength and ventilator-free time and thus improve functional outcomes in patients requiring PMV.
An Autonomous Agent System to Simulate a Set of Robots Exploring a Labyrinth

This work presents an application of the agent technology to the simtdation in the robotic domain. A group of robots cooperate with each other to simulate a large surface which has a labyrinth structure. A robot is represented as a specialist agent which has for task to recognize di~erent paths characterizing this surface. The application is supported by a hybrid and hierarchical architecture model called MAGIQUE I. The interactions between robots are managed by supervisor agents which have a global vision of the labyrinth. The explored parts of the labyrinth are hold at a blackboard structure managed by the supervisor. Agents can communicate either directly by message-passing or indirectly via their supervisor. The paper begins by describing the application and presents different constraints related to the move of the robots. It discusses how the application is implemented in a distributed programming environment and presents also the practical constraints faced in the instantiation of the model. The application addresses also an issue related to the load balancing between robots. Finally, it concludes by investigating a set of issues to explore.
Communication and interpersonal skills enhancement in midwifery: review

Aim: The aim of this study is to analyze the available research evidence on the effectiveness of training methods used in communication and interpersonal skills enhancement in midwifery practice and study. Design: Review. Methods: A systematic search in SCOPUS and PubMed databases was performed, with the following selection criteria for studies: quantitative studies in English between the years 2006-2016, using the key words: communication enhancement, communication training, and midwifery in their abstract or title. Theoretical analyses of the problem and review articles were excluded. The search process resulted in the discovery of nine studies focusing on communication skills enhancement in midwifery. Results: All of the available studies confirmed positive effects on communication skills in general, particularly on self-confidence, self-awareness, subjective feelings of competency, and communication within the team. Roleplay with patient-actors proved to be more effective than patient simulators. Conclusion: Although positive effects of the communication training programs were reported in the articles reviewed, there was a high level of heterogeneity in the intervention methods, length and outcome measures used within the training programs. Research studies comparing the effectiveness of the different training methods, using objective outcome measures, and with good quality methodological background, are needed in this area in order to formulate clear recommendations for practice regarding effective interventions.
Profitability, capacity, and uncertainty: a model of UK manufacturing investment

Standard models fail to explain variation in UK capital investment. This paper develops and tests a new theory based on the insights of Edmond Malinvaud, in which investment under uncertainty is adjusted to balance the cost of excess and deficient capacity. Using quarterly UK manufacturing data on two capital assets (machinery and building) over a 30-year period, we obtain unique cointegrating relationships for the model, linking investment, profitability and capacity utilization. Non-nested testing shows that the estimated model performs similarly to a frequently used survey of investment intentions. Our model also addresses differences in the behaviour of the two asset classes; we show that building investment fell relative to machinery investment over the period, reflecting not only relative prices and profitability, but also long term influences such as technology or governance. At the macro level we find little role for any effects from taxation or financial constraints.
CINEMICROPHOTOGRAPHIC OBSERVATIONS ON GRANULE LYSIS IN POLYMORPHONUCLEAR LEUCOCYTES DURING PHAGOCYTOSIS

Phagocytosis of yeast cell walls and of Bacillus megaterium by human, rabbit, and chicken polymorphonuclear leucocytes has been observed by phase contrast microscopy and recorded on motion picture film. In suitably thin preparations intracellular events could be visualized well. Lysis of cytoplasmic granules began early in the course of the ingestion process, rupture occurring only in granules adjacent to the microorganism being engulfed. Formation of a visible vacuole about the ingested particle frequently followed degranulation. Chicken polymorphonuclear leucocytes, with their large phase-dense granules, were particularly suitable subjects for observations on detailed morphologic aspects of granule lysis. Rupture took place rapidly (0.1 second or less); in place of the granule there appeared a clear zone, often with a small phase-dense round structure in its center. Also accompanying granule lysis was an increase in phase density of the adjacent surface of the microorganism. Over the course of the following few seconds the darkening on the organism faded, the dense small body disappeared from view, and the clear zone contracted towards the engulfed particle. The observations are discussed in relation to the hypothesis that fusion takes place between the granule membrane and the invaginated cell membrane overlying the ingested particle, with discharge of granule contents directly into the phagocytic vacuole.
Clustering Algorithm for Spatial Data Mining: An Overview

data mining practice for the extraction of useful information and knowledge from massive and complex spatial database. Most research in this area has focused on efficient clustering algorithm for spatial database to analyze the complexity. This paper introduces an active spatial data mining approach that extends the current spatial data mining algorithms to efficiently support user-defined triggers on dynamically evolving spatial data. It shows that spatial data mining is a promising field, with fruitful research results and many challenging issues.
Multi-lingual Geographical Information Retrieval

This paper reports on the results of our experiments in the Monolingual English, German and Portuguese tasks and the Bilingual German topics on English collections, English topics on German collections and English topics on Portuguese collections tasks. Seven runs were submitted as official runs, four for the monolingual task and three for the bilingual task. We used the Terrier (TERabyte RetrIEveR) Information Retrieval Platform version 2.1 to index and query the collections. Experiments were performed for both tasks using the Inverse Document Frequency model with Laplace after-effect and normalization 2. Topics were processed automatically and the only fields considered were the title and the description. We included the title field only for an experiment with the Portuguese collection. The stopword list provided by Terrier was used to index all the collections. Results for both the monolingual and bilingual tasks were low in terms of precision and recall mainly due to the following reasons: 1) no manual processing was done; 2) no query expansion based on automated relevance feedback was added; 3) no experiments including the narrative field were run; 4) no terms were translated for the bilingual task; 5) no German and Portuguese stopword lists were used instead of the default stopword list; and 6) no pre-processing or removal of diacritic marks was performed. We are running new experiments to address some of the issues aforementioned and determine the impact they have on retrieval performance.
Systems development with systematic software reuse: an empirical analysis of project success factors

Systematic reuse of previously written code is a way to increase software development productivity as well as the quality of the software (Gaffney/Durek 1989; Banker/Kauffman 1991; Basili et al. 1996). If previously tested components are reused in a new software project, they are more likely to be error free than new components. This reduces the overall failure rate of the software project. Hence, high quality software can be built by incorporating reused components into the software project. Companies employing a reuse methodology have to engage in three major activities: the reuse, the retrieval, and the production of reusable software components. While there has been some examination of the organizational factors that make companies succeed or fail in their reuse attempts (i.e., Frakes/Fox 1995; Frakes/Isoda 1994), there is a need for a more rigorous, empirically-based study of these issues at the level of the individual project.
Portfolio Allocation for Sellers in Online Advertising

In markets for online advertising, some advertisers pay only when users respond to ads. So publishers estimate ad response rates and multiply by advertiser bids to estimate expected revenue for showing ads. Since these estimates may be inaccurate, the publisher risks not selecting the ad for each ad call that would maximize revenue. The variance of revenue can be decomposed into two components -- variance due to `uncertainty' because the true response rate is unknown, and variance due to `randomness' because realized response statistics fluctuate around the true response rate. Over a sequence of many ad calls, the variance due to randomness nearly vanishes due to the law of large numbers. However, the variance due to uncertainty doesn't diminish. We introduce a technique for ad selection that augments existing estimation and explore-exploit methods. The technique uses methods from portfolio optimization to produce a distribution over ads rather than selecting the single ad that maximizes estimated expected revenue. Over a sequence of similar ad calls, ads are selected according to the distribution. This approach decreases the effects of uncertainty and increases revenue.
An Interleaved Soft Switching Boost Converter with Bidirectional Full Bridge Inverter for Photo Voltaic Power Generation

In this study, an interleaved soft switching Boost Converter is used to track the maximum power point of PV array and full bridge inverter is used to stabilize the dc bus voltage. In this method, an interleaved technique is adopted to reduce the current rating of each device. Switching losses are reduced by adapting a zero voltage transition which increases the efficiency of the system. The experimental results are verified using Power SIM simulation software during open loop and closed loop operation. Compared to hard switching technique the results imply that 1% of overall efficiency is improved in this system.
Sequence Capture of Dual-digest RADseq Libraries with Identifiable Duplicates 1 ( RADcap ) 2 3

6 Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA 7 Department of Environmental Health Science, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA 8 Department of Animal Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801, USA 9 MycroArray, 5692 Plymouth Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48105, USA 10 Department of Biological Sciences and Museum of Natural Science, Louisiana State University, 11 Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA 12
Systematic assessment of terrestrial biogeochemistry in coupled climate–carbon models

With representation of the global carbon cycle becoming increasingly complex in climate models, it is important to develop ways to quantitatively evaluate model performance against in situ and remote sensing observations. Here we present a systematic framework, the Carbon‐LAnd Model Intercomparison Project (C‐LAMP), for assessing terrestrial biogeochemistry models coupled to climate models using observations that span a wide range of temporal and spatial scales. As an example of the value of such comparisons, we used this framework to evaluate two biogeochemistry models that are integrated within the Community Climate System Model (CCSM) – Carnegie‐Ames‐Stanford Approach′ (CASA′) and carbon–nitrogen (CN). Both models underestimated the magnitude of net carbon uptake during the growing season in temperate and boreal forest ecosystems, based on comparison with atmospheric CO2 measurements and eddy covariance measurements of net ecosystem exchange. Comparison with MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) measurements show that this low bias in model fluxes was caused, at least in part, by 1–3 month delays in the timing of maximum leaf area. In the tropics, the models overestimated carbon storage in woody biomass based on comparison with datasets from the Amazon. Reducing this model bias will probably weaken the sensitivity of terrestrial carbon fluxes to both atmospheric CO2 and climate. Global carbon sinks during the 1990s differed by a factor of two (2.4 Pg C yr−1 for CASA′ vs. 1.2 Pg C yr−1 for CN), with fluxes from both models compatible with the atmospheric budget given uncertainties in other terms. The models captured some of the timing of interannual global terrestrial carbon exchange during 1988–2004 based on comparison with atmospheric inversion results from TRANSCOM (r=0.66 for CASA′ and r=0.73 for CN). Adding (CASA′) or improving (CN) the representation of deforestation fires may further increase agreement with the atmospheric record. Information from C‐LAMP has enhanced model performance within CCSM and serves as a benchmark for future development. We propose that an open source, community‐wide platform for model‐data intercomparison is needed to speed model development and to strengthen ties between modeling and measurement communities. Important next steps include the design and analysis of land use change simulations (in both uncoupled and coupled modes), and the entrainment of additional ecological and earth system observations. Model results from C‐LAMP are publicly available on the Earth System Grid.
Two channel estimation methods for amplify-and-forward relay networks

In this paper, we investigate the performance of amplify-and-forward relaying with two different pilot-symbol-assisted channel estimation methods. In the first estimation method, the cascaded channel consisting of source-to-relay and relay-to-destination links is estimated at the destination terminal. In the second estimation method, the estimation of cascaded channel is disintegrated into separate estimations of source-to-relay and relay-to-destination links which are carried out at the relay and destination terminals, respectively. The latter method involves feed-forwarding a quantized version of the source-to-relay channel estimate to the destination terminal. Our simulation results demonstrate that cascaded channel estimator outperforms its competitor with small number of quantization bits. As the number of employed quantization bits increase, disintegrated channel estimator approaches to its competitor eventually outperforming it.
Pregnancy after transfer of embryos which were generated from in-vitro matured oocytes.

In-vitro maturation of human oocytes is an important technique in assisted reproduction due to its potential for reducing the use of fertility drugs. We offered this technique as an alternative to cancelling the cycle to a patient who was at risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) after treatment with gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogue (GnRHa) and human menopausal gonadotrophin (HMG). The patient had 40 visible antral follicles with a maximum diameter of 13 mm and an oestradiol concentration of 14,000 pmol/l on cycle day 12. Immature oocytes were aspirated transvaginally under ultrasound guidance. Ten cumulus-enclosed oocytes were harvested and nine of them completed nuclear maturation to metaphase II after 48 h in culture. By 18 h after an intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) procedure, seven of these metaphase II stage oocytes displayed two distinct pronuclei and two polar bodies. All fertilized oocytes but one underwent cleaveage; four of these were transferred 2 days later. Endometrial priming was initiated with 8 mg oestradiol valerate daily from the day of oocyte retrieval and 50 mg progesterone was injected i.m. daily starting 2 days after that. A single intrauterine sac was seen containing one fetus with positive fetal heart beat on ultrasound at 7 weeks of gestation. Unfortunately, the pregnancy ended at 24 weeks shortly after premature rupture of membranes; a live healthy-looking girl was delivered who died 18 days later.
SSC: Gesture-based game for initial dementia examination

This paper presents a novel system assisting medical dementia examination in a joyful way: the object just needs to play a popular game SSC against the computer during the examination. The SSC game’s target is to detect the player’s reacting capability, which is related closely with dementia. Our system reaches this target with some advantages: there are no temporal and spatial constraints at all. There is no cost, and it can even improve people’s mental status. Hand talk technology and EHMM gesture recognition approach are employed to realize the human computer interface. Experiments showed that this system can evaluate people’s reacting capability effectively and is helpful for initial dementia examination.
Living ups and down: The Life Experiences of the Spinal Cord Injured in Winter Sport of Tube-riding: A Qualitative Phenomenology Research

Winter sports are very entertaining, exciting, and pleasurable but they can be simultaneously very dangerous and hazardous with the high ratio of damages. The hostile environment, equipments, devices, and the athlete's lack of sufficient skills cause the increase in the amount of damages and dangers derived from them. One of the winter sports is tube-riding. Because the tube-rider does not have any controls on the tube with regard to the speed control, path direction, brake, and stop, it leads to the high amount of damages; therefore this study aims to investigate the life experiences of the spinal cord injured in the winter sport of tube-riding. The researcher used a quantitative approach of qualitative phenomenology in the study. The participants were the spinal cord injured who were selected among the injured of winter sport of Koohrang tube-riding piste in Chaharrmahal and Bakhtiari province. The sampling was aim based and finally through data saturation, six spinal cord injured were selected for the study. Data were collected by the interviewing the participants deeply and then were noted completely. Data analysis was based on Colaizzi approach. After analyzing the data, the life living up and down theme was elicited. The theme includes four subsets: 1) Physically living ups and down, 2) Mental, psychical, and emotional living ups and down, 3) Economical living ups and down, and 4) Social living ups and down. The obtained results of the study present a deep understanding of the life experiences of the spinal cord injured in the winter sport of tube-riding to the nurses and hygienic observers and also it is a warning for people and authorities to prevent and decrease the damages of this winter sport. Abedi HA, Ghani Dehkordi F, Hajinezhad MA, Najafi Khah MA, Ghezelsefli Z, Esmaeili Vardanjani SA. The Life Experiences of the Spinal Cord Injured in the Winter Sport of Tube-riding: A Qualitative Phenomenology Research. Life Sci J 2012;9(4):5529-5535] (ISSN:1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite. com. 820
A power supply design of body sensor networks for health monitoring of neonates

Critically ill new born babies are extremely tiny and vulnerable to external disturbance. Non-invasive health monitoring with body sensor networks is crucial for the survival of these neonates and the quality of their life later on. A key question for health monitoring with body sensor networks is how to obtain reliable electrical power for the sensors, signal amplifiers, filters and transmitters. We propose a wireless power supply based on the principle of inductive contactless energy transfer for use in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The proposed power supply satisfies the requirements of neonatal monitoring and provides continuous power when the neonate is inside the incubator or during Kangaroo mother care. A prototype is designed and built to demonstrate the performance of the power supply and the possibilities for aesthetic features. Experimental results show that the prototype transfers approximately 840 mW of power.
Mixed L/sup 1//H/sub /spl infin// suboptimal controllers for continuous-time systems

A successful controller design paradigm must take into account both model uncertainty and design specifications. Model uncertainty can be addressed using either H/sub /spl infin// or L/sup 1/ robust control theory, depending upon the uncertainty characterisation. However, these frameworks cannot accommodate the realistic case where the design specifications include both time and frequency domain constraints. In this paper we present a design procedure for suboptimal L/sup 1//H/sub /spl infin// controllers. These controllers allows for minimizing the worst-case peak output due to bounded persistent disturbances, while, at the same time, satisfying an H/sub /spl infin//-norm constraint upon some closed-loop transfer function of interest. The main result of the paper shows that rational mixed L/sup 1//H/sub /spl infin// suboptimal controllers can be obtained by solving a sequence of problems, each one consisting of a finite-dimensional convex optimization and a standard, unconstrained H/sub /spl infin// problem.