Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Least squares ellipsoid specific fitting

In this paper, a sufficient condition for a quadric surface to be an ellipsoid has been developed and a closed-form solution for ellipsoid fitting is developed based on this constraint, which is a best fit to the given data amongst those ellipsoids whose short radii are at least half of their major radii, in the sense of algebraic distance. A simple search procedure is proposed to pursuit the 'best' ellipsoid when data cannot be well described by this type of ellipsoid. The proposed fitting algorithm is quick, stable and insensitive to small errors in the data.
Incidence of patent foramen ovale and migraine headache in adults with congenital heart disease with no known cardiac shunts

The purpose of this study was to understand why patients with adult congenital heart disease (CHD) but no obvious shunt have an increased frequency of migraine headaches (MH). CHD patients with no known cardiac shunts (CHD‐NKS), based on their echocardiographic or angiographic procedures, were tested for a right‐to‐left shunt using agitated saline contrast transcranial Doppler (TCD). Medical records of 2,920 patients from the UCLA Adult CHD Center were screened to participate in a study to evaluate the prevalence of MH in adults with CHD; 182 patients (6.23%) had CHD‐NKS; of these, 60 (30%) underwent a TCD; 23 (38%) tested positive and 37 (62%) tested negative for a right‐to‐left shunt (P = 0.01 compared with controls). The frequency of MH was 43% in CHD‐NKS compared with 11% in controls (P < 0.0001). TCD demonstrated right‐to‐left shunting in approximately 2/3 of patients with pulmonary stenosis, the Marfan syndrome and congenitally corrected transposition of great vessels, 1/4 of patients with bicuspid aortic valve, 1/5 of patients with mitral valve prolapse and all patients with Ebstein's anomaly. Approximately half of these experienced MH. Patients who had MH did not show a higher frequency of right‐to‐left shunt when compared with patients without MH (P = 0.57). In conclusion, CHD patients with conditions usually not associated with a shunt have a higher than expected prevalence of PFO which permits intermittent right‐to‐left shunting undetected by standard non‐contrast TTE and TEE; the increased prevalence of right‐to‐left shunting may partially explain the higher than expected frequency of migraines. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Pancreaticopleural fistula: an unusual complication of pancreatitis diagnosed with magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography.

CONTEXT Pancreaticopleural fistula is a rare complication of pancreatitis. Pleural effusion resulting from a pancreaticopleural fistula is extremely rare and accounts for less than 1% of cases. Due to non-specific clinical presentations of a pancreaticopleural fistula, imaging plays an important role. Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) is very useful in depicting parenchymal and ductal structural changes along with direct visualization of a pancreaticopleural fistula. CASE REPORT We present the case of a middle-aged male with moderate right pleural effusion who had a history of pancreatitis. MRCP showed chronic pancreatitis with a pancreaticopleural fistula. A brief review of the role of imaging in a pancreaticopleural fistula is discussed along with the case. CONCLUSION MRCP is a useful modality for diagnosing a pancreaticopleural fistula.
Comparison of Biomedical Variables in PCOS Patients with Normal Iranian Women

Objective:To compared serum CRP levels and biochemical relation in PCOS patients with normal Iranian women. Materials and methods:This case-control study was performed on 52 individuals with PCOS (Rotterdam 2003 criteria). The cases were compared to 104 healthy non-PCOS, 20 to 35-year-old female subjects with no history of diabetes or renal diseases. Blood samples were taken on the 2nd to the 5th day of menstrual cycle for the evaluation of CRP levels, triglyceride, insulin, androstronedion, testestrone and total cholesterol. Results:The mean CRP was 1.38 (± 0.43) mg /dl in the PCOS group, and 1.08 (± 0.49) mg /dl (p= 0.240) in control group.High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (HS-CRP) was positively correlated with the Body Mass Index (BMI) (r = 0.36, p= 0. 001). Before adjusting for age and BMI, CRP was correlated with LDL (r= 0.16, p= 0.03), total cholesterol (TC) (r= 0.17, p= 0. 03), Triglycerid (TG) (r= 0.23, p= 0.003), and the insulin (r= 0.20, p= 0. 01) notably in PCOS group. However, after adjustment was made for age and BMI, the correlation was attenuated in PCOS. The regression analyses depicted that CRP level was not under the influence of other medical parameters Conclusion:The results showed that mean CRP level was not significantly different between PCOs and normal women. After adjustment for age and BMI, CRP was not associated with any biochemical marker evaluated in this study. It seems that studied biochemical serum levels were mostly associated with obesity. So reduction of BMI may normalize the serum levels of CRP and other biochemical parameters.
Impact of Specification Abstractions on Client Verification

Push-button automation is an important milestone for verication systems and a likely requirement for mainstream acceptance of the notion of \veried software". Multiple, logically-equivalent specications may dier widely from the standpoint of their ability to contribute to veriable client code. Using the types of problems considered at the VSTTE 2010 competition as motivation, we explore the specication of the same programming concept (lists) using completely dierent mathematical models. In each case we examine the provability of client code based on that concept. Initial results from an experimental exploration are presented along with some hypotheses for best-practices for specication design.
Stochastic-algebraic wideband LSF quantization

This paper describes a fixed-rate quantizer using algebraic techniques as well as conventional stored codebooks to represent the wideband line spectral frequencies (LSF). It is based on two-stage split vector quantization with random and lattice codebooks in the first and second stage, respectively. We investigate the use of variable bit allocation in lattice quantization in order to capture outliers and reduce the overload distortion in spectral quantization, particularly for non-speech signals. Experimental results show that a variable bit allocation in split quantization yields performances slightly better than a fixed allocation at the same rate.
Other-repetition as display of hearing, understanding and emotional stance

In this article, other-repetition after informing statements is investigated in a corpus of institutional encounters between native Norwegian clerks and non-native clients. Such repetition is used to display receipt of information. A plain repeat with falling intonation is described as a display of hearing, whereas a repeat plus a final response particle, ‘ja’ (yes), constitutes a claim of understanding. Repeats with high-tone response particles (rising intonation) in addition display emotional stance, such as surprise or interest, and these are primarily exploited for the purposes of topic organization. In the cross-linguistic context of the current encounters, the native speakers are shown to use receipts as embedded corrections of the non-native speaker’s utterances. The repeats also have certain formal features that are characteristic of the situation, such as less pronominalization and ellipsis, and this is explained as a procedure to ensure the joint construal of linguistic form.
Spectral Domain Second Harmonic Optical Coherence Tomography

The second harmonic generation (SHG) is one of the second order nonlinear optical phenomena that can occur in biological tissues, which contain chiral biological molecules such as collagen fibers. The optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a powerful technology that can produce high resolution cross-sectional images of biological tissues. Recently these two technologies were combined and the second harmonic (SH) OCT was introduced. We demonstrate that the SH-OCT can be configured in spectral domain so that the higher sensitivity and speed can be achieved.
Delay-dependent stability for vector nonlinear stochastic systems with multiple state delays

Global asymptotic stability conditions for vector nonlinear stochastic systems with multiple state delays are obtained based on the convergence theorem for semimartingale inequalities, without assuming the Lipschitz conditions for nonlinear drift functions. The Lyapunov-Krasovskii and degenerate functionals techniques are used. The derived stability conditions are directly expressed in terms of the system coefficients. Nontrivial examples of nonlinear systems satisfying the obtained stability conditions are given.
VizTrails: An Information Visualization Tool for Exploring Geographic Movement Trajectories

Understanding the way people move through urban areas represents an important problem that has implications for a range of societal challenges such as city planning, public transportation, or crime analysis. In this paper, we present an interactive visualization tool called VizTrails for exploring and understanding such human movement. It features visualizations that show aggregated statistics of trails for geographic areas that correspond to grid cells on a map, e.g., on the number of users passing through or on cells commonly visited next. Amongst other features, system allows to overlay the map with the results of SPARQL queries in order to relate the observed trajectory statistics with its geo-spatial context, e.g., considering a city's points of interest. The systems functionality is demonstrated using trajectory examples extracted from the social photo sharing platform Flickr. Overall, VizTrails facilitates deeper insights into geo-spatial trajectory data by enabling interactive exploration of aggregated statistics and providing geo-spatial context.
Patterns of psychotherapeutic practice and professionalisation in Germany

The seasoned tradition of psychotherapy as a part of the health system has led to a professionalisation of psychotherapy in Germany at a relatively high level. Since 1999, psychotherapy has been specifically regulated by a law defining access to training in psychotherapy and child and adolescent psychotherapy for psychologists and other professionals. In addition, psychotherapeutic specialisations are part of at least three specific postgraduate medical training programs. Besides outpatient psychotherapy, the German health system provides a close network of counselling centres, as well as inpatient psychotherapeutic/psychosomatic departments. Ten years after the enactment of the law of psychotherapy (‘Psychotherapeutengesetz’), the German government has commissioned a scientific expertise related to the need for potential legal changes in the training and service system.
Imaging algorithms for locating damage via in situ ultrasonic sensors

Permanently mounted ultrasonic sensors arranged as a spatially distributed array are being considered for in situ monitoring of the integrity of structural components. Here we consider two imaging algorithms for locating damage based upon changes in received signals. All transducer pairs in the array are considered, with each transducer acting in turn as a transmitter and the remaining transducers as receivers. The first imaging algorithm is based upon spatially distributing the differenced signals between each transducer pair as per expected arrival times for discrete scatterers. The resulting images, which consist of concentric ellipses, are summed over all pairs to form the final image. The second algorithm is based upon the cross correlation between waveforms originating from the same transmitter and received by two different transducers. The cross correlation waveforms, which capture the time difference of arrival between two pairs, are similarly distributed and summed to form the final image via a hyperbolic rather than an elliptical relationship. Results are shown for artificial damage in an aluminum plate.
Agroecology, Small Farms, and Food Sovereignty

Global forces are challenging the ability of developing countries to feed themselves. A number of countries have organized their economies around a competitive export-oriented agricultural sector, based mainly on monocultures. It may be argued that agricultural exports of crops such as soybeans from Brazil make significant contributions to the national economies by bringing in hard currency that can be used to purchase other goods from abroad. However, this type of industrial agriculture also brings a variety of economic, environmental, and social problems, including negative impacts on public health, ecosystem integrity, food quality, and in many cases disruption of traditional rural livelihoods, while accelerating indebtedness among thousands of farmers.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.
Psychiatric symptomatology among wives of soldiers following combat stress reaction: The role of the social network and marital relations

Abstract Living with a veteran who has sustained a combat stress reaction (CSR) during wartime or who is currently suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may often be accompanied by increased levels of psychopathology and social dysfunction among wives. The current study examined 44 wives of CSR veterans in order to determine whether relations with other members of the social network may reduce the risk of psychiatric symptomatology among these wives and thereby compensate them for the loss of support in their marital relationship. Findings show that the only relationship within the immediate or extended family consistently related with wives' mental health is that with the veteran husband. The second aim of this study was to examine which aspects of the marital relationship are associated with wives' mental health. Results show that the only marital factor which makes a significant and independent contribution to wives' mental health is the degree of expressiveness in the relationship.
Expanding Citations in a Paper by Summarizing References Based on Co-Occurring Terms

Scientific articles are formed of citations which need further explored. Previous work deals with the case that citations in a paragraph talk about co-occurring terms. This paper discusses the case that citations situated in different parts of a scientific article talk about same terms. We use the co-occurring terms in citations to summarize the cited papers. The resultant summaries are then used as the complement of the paper for human to read. Experiments show that our approach outperforms MEAD and LEAD by ROUGE evaluation.
Maneuvering Target Tracking in Cluttered Background Based on Color Invariance and Support Vector Machine

Maneuvering targets tracking in cluttered environment is a challenging problem in computer vision because of the difficulty of distinguishing the target from the background. In this paper, we treat tracking as a binary classification problem and employ support vector machine to suppress the background. In order to enhance the robustness against illumination changes, we propose to combine color invariance with traditional RGB values to train the SVM. First, we use expectation maximization algorithm to extract the target from the environment; then, RGB and color invariance values are used to train SVM. In the incoming frames, pixels in regions of interest are classified by SVM and the confidence map is produced, which will afterward be used by traditional tracking approach to track the target, in this paper, we employ particle filter. Experimental results on challenging sequences validate the effectiveness of the proposed method in cluttered background target tracking.
A Fine-Grained and Dynamic MapReduce Task Scheduling Scheme for the Heterogeneous Cloud Environment

MapReduce framework is becoming more and more popular in various applications. However, Hadoop is a seriously limited by its MapReduce scheduler which does not work well in the heterogeneous environment. LATE MapReduce scheduling algorithm takes heterogeneous environment into consideration. However, it falls short of solving the poor performance due to the static manner during computing the tasks progress. In order to improve the cluster performance in a heterogeneous cloud environment, FiGMR -- a Fine-Grained and dynamic MapReeduce scheduling algorithm, is proposed. FiGMR can significantly reduce the tasks execution time and improve the resources utilization. FiGMR includes historical and real-time online information obtained from each node to select the appropriate parameters to find the real slow task dynamically. Meanwhile, in order to further improve the cluster performance, FiGMR classifies map nodes into high-performance map node and low-performance map node. FiGMR classifies slow tasks into slow map tasks and slow reduce tasks. Map/Reduce slow nodes means nodes which execute map/reduce tasks using a longer time than most other nodes. In this way, FiGMR launches backup map tasks on nodes which are high-performance map nodes.
Limitations on Variance-Reduction and Acceleration Schemes for Finite Sums Optimization

We study the conditions under which one is able to efficiently apply variance-reduction and acceleration schemes on finite sum optimization problems. First, we show that, perhaps surprisingly, the finite sum structure by itself, is not sufficient for obtaining a complexity bound of $\tilde{\cO}((n+L/\mu)\ln(1/\epsilon))$ for $L$-smooth and $\mu$-strongly convex individual functions - one must also know which individual function is being referred to by the oracle at each iteration. Next, we show that for a broad class of first-order and coordinate-descent finite sum algorithms (including, e.g., SDCA, SVRG, SAG), it is not possible to get an `accelerated' complexity bound of $\tilde{\cO}((n+\sqrt{n L/\mu})\ln(1/\epsilon))$, unless the strong convexity parameter is given explicitly. Lastly, we show that when this class of algorithms is used for minimizing $L$-smooth and convex finite sums, the optimal complexity bound is $\tilde{\cO}(n+L/\epsilon)$, assuming that (on average) the same update rule is used in every iteration, and $\tilde{\cO}(n+\sqrt{nL/\epsilon})$, otherwise.
Debiasing through Law

In many settings, human beings are boundedly rational. A distinctive and insufficiently explored legal response to bounded rationality is to attempt to debias through law by steering people in more rational directions. In many domains, existing legal analyses emphasize the alternative approach of insulating outcomes from the effects of boundedly rational behavior, which itself is taken as a given. In fact, however, many legal strategies are efforts to engage in the different approach of debiasing through law by reducing or even eliminating people’s boundedly rational behavior. This paper offers a general account of how debiasing through law does or could work to address legal questions across a range of areas, from consumer safety law to corporate law to property law. Discussion is also devoted to the risks of government manipulation and overshooting that are sometimes raised when debiasing through law is employed.
The allelic spectrum of Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease in over 17,000 individuals with neuropathy

We report the frequency, positive rate, and type of mutations in 14 genes (PMP22, GJB1, MPZ, MFN2, SH3TC2, GDAP1, NEFL, LITAF, GARS, HSPB1, FIG4, EGR2, PRX, and RAB7A) associated with Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease (CMT) in a cohort of 17,880 individuals referred to a commercial genetic testing laboratory. Deidentified results from sequencing assays and multiplex ligation‐dependent probe amplification (MLPA) were analyzed including 100,102 Sanger sequencing, 2338 next‐generation sequencing (NGS), and 21,990 MLPA assays. Genetic abnormalities were identified in 18.5% (n = 3312) of all individuals. Testing by Sanger and MLPA (n = 3216) showed that duplications (dup) (56.7%) or deletions (del) (21.9%) in the PMP22 gene accounted for the majority of positive findings followed by mutations in the GJB1 (6.7%), MPZ (5.3%), and MFN2 (4.3%) genes. GJB1 del and mutations in the remaining genes explained 5.3% of the abnormalities. Pathogenic mutations were distributed as follows: missense (70.6%), nonsense (14.3%), frameshift (8.7%), splicing (3.3%), in‐frame deletions/insertions (1.8%), initiator methionine mutations (0.8%), and nonstop changes (0.5%). Mutation frequencies, positive rates, and the types of mutations were similar between tests performed by either Sanger (n = 17,377) or NGS (n = 503). Among patients with a positive genetic finding in a CMT‐related gene, 94.9% were positive in one of four genes (PMP22, GJB1, MPZ, or MFN2).
6S: Distributing Crawling and Searching Across Web Peers

A collaborative peer network application called 6Search (6S) is proposed to address the scalability limitations of centralized search engines. 6S peers depend on a local adaptive routing algorithm to dynamically change the topology of the peer network and search for the best neighbors to answer their queries. We validate prototypes of the 6S network via simulations with 70− 500 model users based on actual Web crawls and find that the network topology rapidly converges from a random network to a small world network, with clusters emerging from user communities with shared interests. We finally compare the quality of the results with those obtained by centralized search engines such as Google, suggesting that 6S can draw advantages from the context and coverage of the peer collective.
Insights into Professional Development for Teachers of English Language Learners: A Focus on Using Students' Native Languages in the Classroom

This study examines factors impacting teacher learning during and after an online professional development program focused on teaching English language learners in U.S. schools. Research focused on nonbilingual K–12 teachers' changing perspectives on the role of students' native languages in classroom teaching and learning during and after the professional development program. Case studies of two teachers suggest that teachers who do not consider themselves bilingual do not necessarily hold negative views about native languages but that they require institutional support to move beyond “honoring” native languages to incorporating them into daily instruction. Further, institutional support for native-language use can be influential in changing teachers' practices and perspectives.
Familial clustering and genetic heterogeneity in Meniere's disease

The aims of this study were to estimate the prevalence of familial cases in patients with Meniere's disease (MD) and to identify clinical differences between sporadic and familial MD. We recruited 1375 patients with definite MD according to the American Academy of Otolaryngology‐Head and Neck Surgery criteria, obtaining the familial history of hearing loss or episodic vertigo by direct interview or a postal survey in 1245 cases in a multicenter study. Familial clustering was estimated by the recurrence risk ratio in siblings (λs) and offspring (λo) using intermediate and high prevalence values for MD in European population. A total of 431 patients (34%) reported a familial history of hearing loss or recurrent vertigo and 133 patients had a relative with possible MD. After clinical reevaluation, 93 relatives in 76 families were diagnosed of definite MD (8.4%), including three pairs of monozygotic twins. λs and λo were 16–48 and 4–12, respectively. We observed genetic heterogeneity, but most families had an autosomal dominant inheritance with anticipation. No clinical differences were found between sporadic and familial MD, except for an early onset in familial cases. We may conclude that MD has a strong familial aggregation and that sporadic and familial MDs are clinically identical.