Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Application of Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback to Medical and Mental Health Disorders

&NA; Heart rate variability (HRV) is a medical index for morbidity and wellness. Lower HRV accompanies many illnesses; high HRV accompanies healthy states, resilience, and optimal functioning. Heart rate variability biofeedback (HRVB) uses real‐time electronic feedback of the moment‐to‐moment changes in HRV to train patients to produce increases in HRV. Outcome studies on HRVB have shown therapeutic benefit for a wide variety of medical and mental health disorders. Lehrer and colleagues have published evidence‐based protocols for HRV assessment and HRV treatment. Here, the authors review outcome studies on a sampling of common disorders: asthma, chronic muscle pain, depression, heart failure, hypertension, and posttraumatic stress disorder. HRVB offers promising therapeutic benefit for any medical or mental health disorder known to be accompanied by autonomic nervous system dysregulation.
Analysis and Comparison of β-galactosidase Production in Escherichia coli BW 25993 / Δ lacI and MG 1655 / Δ lacI Mutants During Conditions of Growth and Catabolite Repression

In previous studies, successful knock-outs of the lacI gene in various Escherichia coli (E. coli) strains was created. Further testing of the MG1655/ΔlacI strain grown at 30 ̊C in M9 glycerol minimal media showed wild type basal levels of β-galactosidase production. Potential explanations for such a result could include faulty chromosomal gene alterations, metabolic alterations due to differences in growth phase, or media selection that introduced catabolite repression exclusively to the MG1655/ΔlacI strain. In this study, a qualitative inspection of growth of wild type and ΔlacI mutant strains of E. coli on various differential and selective plates was used to determine if the strains created in Beamish et al’s study have a faulty chromosome insertion of the kanamycin selection cassette. Quantitative growth and β-galactosidase enzyme activity assays were performed to see if the bacterial growth phase and catabolite repression play a crucial role in the basal β-galactosidase production levels of the MG1655/ΔlacI mutant. Preliminary data revealed that all strains of ΔlacI mutants showed constitutive β-galactosidase production in the absence of an inducer, contrary to previous findings. The study revealed that catabolite repression and early growth up to four hours in relatively low bacterial density are not responsible for the reported wild type basal level production of β-galactosidase seen in the MG1655/ΔlacI mutant in the previous study.
A Multi-Agent Approach to the Game of Go Using Genetic Algorithms

Many researchers have written or attempted to write programs that play the ancient Chinese board game called Go. Although some programs play the game quite well compared with beginners, few play extremely well, and none of the best programs rely on soft computing artificial intelligence techniques like genetic algorithms or neural networks. This paper explores the advantages and possibilities of using genetic algorithms to evolve a multiagent Go player. We show that although individual agents may play poorly, collectively the agents working together play the game significantly better.
Automated method for the detection and segmentation of drusen in colour fundus image for the diagnosis of age-related macular degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the main reasons for visual impairment worldwide. The assessment of risk for the development of AMD requires reliable detection and quantitative mapping of retinal abnormalities that are considered as precursors of the disease. Typical signs of the latter are the so-called drusen that appear as yellowish spots in the retina. Automated detection and segmentation of drusen provide vital information about the severity of the disease. The authors propose a novel method for the detection and segmentation of drusen in colour fundus images. The method combines colour information of the object with its boundary information for the accurate detection and segmentation of drusen. To perform non-uniform illumination correction and to minimise inter-subject variability a novel colour normalisation method has been proposed. Experiments are conducted on publicly available STARE and ARIA datasets. The method achieves an overall accuracy of 96.62% which is about 4% higher than the state-of-the-art method. The sensitivity and specificity of the proposed method are 95.96 and 97.64%, respectively.
Association of Androgenetic Alopecia with Metabolic Syndrome: A Case–control Study on 100 Patients in a Tertiary Care Hospital in South India

Background: Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is the most common cause of hair loss. Although it is a medically benign condition, it can have a significant psychosocial impact on patients. “Metabolic syndrome” (MetS) is a collection of clinical signs that focus on cardiovascular and diabetes-related parameters. Despite the high burden of AGA and MetS in India, specific data on the participants are relatively sparse. Aim of the Study: The aim of is to study the association of AGA with MetS and its parameters. Materials and Methods: A case–control study was undertaken in a tertiary care hospital from December 2015 to November 2016 with 100 cases and controls in the age group of 20–50 years. Diagnosis of MetS was based on the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III. Independent t-test was used as a test of significance. Categorical data were assessed using Chi-square test of significance. P <0.05 was considered to be significant. Results: MetS was seen in 53% of cases and 17% of controls (P = 0.001). The mean serum triglyceride level (P = 0.015, P < 0.05), mean systolic blood pressure (P = 0.003, P < 0.05), high-density lipoprotein levels in males (P < 0.001), and waist circumference in males (P = 0.022, P < 0.05) were statistically significant in patients with androgenetic alopecia when compared to healthy controls. Conclusion: A higher prevalence of MetS was noted in androgenic alopecia. Early screening for MetS is beneficial in patients with androgenic alopecia.
Young Adult Counselors with Diabetes at Diabetes Camps: The Effect of Being a Peer Mentor on Counselors’ Health Behavior

Adolescents and young adults (AYA) with type I diabetes (T1D) often struggle with illness management. Although diabetes camps have been shown to improve blood sugar control among campers, the effect of the camp experience on counselors’ diabetes self-management has never been studied. In addition to the camp environment, it was hypothesized that peer factors among counselors, such as diabetes role modeling, would positively influence diabetes self-care behaviors and that counselors would be able to select diabetes role models based on these appropriate self-management behaviors. Counselors with T1D working at 2 summer camps were recruited to participate. Participants completed questionnaires including the Diabetes Behavior Rate Scale (DBRS) and a peer-assessment form in which participants were asked to nominate friends and diabetes role models, and to assign a role model score for each counselor. Hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c), a measure of blood sugar control, was obtained pre- and post-camp. Thirty-three participants completed the study. The average HbA1c score decreased 0.4% ( p < .01) over the 6 to 10 weeks of camp indicating improved metabolic control at camp. The number of nominations for diabetes role model was associated with diabetes self-care ( r = 0.351, p = 0.027). Diabetes role model scores were not associated with diabetes self-care ( r = 0.272, p = 0.074). There was no correlation between HbA1c and diabetes self-care. The findings suggest that the camp counselor role is a potential target for intervention to promote positive outcomes for AYA with T1D. Lessons learned from how AYA with diabetes support one another at camp can be applied to community-based interventions for youth with T1D or other chronic illnesses.
The Origin and Evolution of Planetary Nebulae

This authoritative volume provides a comprehensive review of the origin and evolution of planetary nebulae. It covers all the stages of their evolution, carefully synthesizes observations from across the spectrum, and clearly explains all the key physical processes at work. Particular emphasis is placed on observations from space, using the Hubble Space Telescope, the Infrared Space Observatory, and the ROSAT satellite. This book presents a thoroughly modern understanding of planetary nebulae, integrating developments in stellar physics with the dynamics of nebular evolution. It also describes exciting possibilities such as the use of planetary nebulae in determining the cosmic distance scale, the distribution of dark matter and the chemical evolution of galaxies. This book provides graduate students with an accessible introduction to planetary nebulae, and researchers with an authoritative reference. It can also be used as an advanced text on the physics of the interstellar medium.
Near-infrared spectra of laboratory H 2 O – CH 4 ice mixtures

We present 1.25–19 μm infrared spectra of pure solid CH4 and H2O/CH4 = 87, 20, and 3 solid mixtures at temperatures from 15 to 150 K. We compare and contrast the absorptions of CH4 in solid H2O with those of pure CH4. Changes in selected peak positions, profiles, and relative strength with temperature are presented, and absolute strengths for absorptions of CH4 in solid H2O are estimated. Using the two largest (ν3 + ν4) and (ν1 + ν4) near-IR absorptions of CH4 at 2.324 and 2.377 μm (4303 and 4207 cm−1), respectively, as examples, we show that peaks of CH4 in solid H2O are at slightly shorter wavelength (higher frequency) and broader than those of pure solid CH4. With increasing temperature, these peaks shift to higher frequency and become increasingly broad, but this trend is reversible on re-cooling, even though the phase transitions of H2O are irreversible. It is to be hoped that these observations of changes in the positions, profiles, and relative intensities of CH4 absorptions with concentration and temperature will be of use in understanding spectra of icy outer Solar System bodies. © 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Locality sensitive hashing based space partitioning approach for indexing multidimensional feature vectors of fingerprint image data

In recent years, biometric applications have significantly gained popularity. Such applications involve voluminous databases of high dimensional data. These enormous databases increase the cost of identification and degrade the system performance. To resolve such an issue a plethora of algorithms based on geometric hashing, k–d tree, k-means clustering, etc., have been proposed in the literature. Although, these algorithms solve a number of concomitant challenges of multi-dimensional data, yet, they fail to present a universal solution. In this study, we propose an indexing mechanism, which partitions the data space effectively into zones and blocks using a set of hash functions. Furthermore, the index locations are divided into maximum nine sub-locations to store data. This helps in carrying out an efficient search of the queried data, thereby minimising the false acceptance and rejection rate. To validate the proposed approach, the mechanism has been applied to the fingerprint verification competition and National Institute of Standards and Technology fingerprint image databases. The experimental results substantiate the efficacy of our approach in terms of accuracy, speed, reduction of search space and the number of comparisons to store and retrieve data.
Providing a Baseline in Software Process Improvement Education with Lego Scrum Simulations

A critical aspect of software process education in general and software process improvement (SPI) education in particular is to give students the chance to experience processes and issues associated with process at first hand. This is, however, often difficult in an educational setting since providing a meaningful project in which to apply a process can take away time and focus from the intended learning objectives. Instead, miniatures and simulations can be used to create an environment in which students can interact with processes directly without taking up large parts of the curriculum. In this paper, we report on our experience of using Lego Scrum simulations in an SPI course at the Bachelor level. The simulations are used both to introduce a baseline for the students to let them experience process issues directly, create an improvement plan that addresses observed issues, and to apply and evaluate the plan in a second simulation. This allows students to engage with SPI methods practically, instead of purely theoretically, and allows the teacher to refer to the shared experience throughout the course. The collected data shows that the approach is suitable, but that students struggle with the demand of putting an improvement plan into practice. We show which issues commonly occur in the simulations and thus allow teachers who adopt the practice to scaffold it and react accordingly, in particular to empower the students to take on responsibility for the improvement of the process.
Improving Antenatal Care Services Utilization in Ethiopia: An Evidence–Based Policy Brief

The World Health Organization recommends a minimum of four antenatal care visits. However, global estimates indicate that only about half of all pregnant women receive this recommended amount of care. The objective of this evidence brief is to summarize the best available evidence describing the low levels of antenatal care service utilization in Ethiopia and to outline potential solutions to address the problem. The policy brief brings together global research evidence from systematic reviews and local evidence to inform deliberations about improving antenatal care service utilization in Ethiopia. Only 32% of Ethiopian women with live birth received at least four visits during the length of their pregnancy, which is below the global average (54%). The predominant underlying factors for the low coverage of antenatal care services include: socio-cultural and economic barriers, poor access to health services, and poor quality of antenatal care services. Potential policy options to address the need for improving antenatal care coverage and service utilization in Ethiopia include the following: (i) Behavioral Change Communication (BCC) might increase utilization of health services by pregnant mothers (ii) mobile health (mHealth) interventions probably increases the attendance of health care appointments (iii) Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programmes may increase antenatal care attendance since it increases health care seeking behavior.
Graphene and chiral nematic liquid crystals: a focus on lasing

This work presents the interaction of self-assembled liquid crystalline (LC) unidimensional photonic structures on the surface of polycrystalline graphene. Further, this surface effect is studied through different substrate geometries in the test devices. Primarily, these devices are characterised through polarizing optical microscopy (POM) and their laser emission features in the dye-doped chiral systems. Then the conductive nature of graphene is utilized to apply external electric fields to the photonic medium and its effect is envisaged. These graphene-based devices demonstrate a unique result in polarizing optical micrographs and electro-optic responses which indicates the presence of multidirectional domain formations. Additionally, the LC band-edge lasing from graphene cells is found to be anisotropic and depends on the directionality of the optical pump. This work attempts to lay the foundation for the implementation of a new class of defused chiral nematic liquid crystal based devices e.g. optical filters, notch filters, colour reflectors, and light shutters and may add toward the knowledge base necessary in the substitution of Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) with graphene in traditional LC based display devices.
Random or evolutionary search for object‐oriented test suite generation?

An important aim in software testing is constructing a test suite with high structural code coverage, that is, ensuring that most if not all of the code under test have been executed by the test cases comprising the test suite. Several search‐based techniques have proved successful at automatically generating tests that achieve high coverage. However, despite the well‐established arguments behind using evolutionary search algorithms (eg, genetic algorithms) in preference to random search, it remains an open question whether the benefits can actually be observed in practice when generating unit test suites for object‐oriented classes. In this paper, we report an empirical study on the effects of using evolutionary algorithms (including a genetic algorithm and chemical reaction optimization) to generate test suites, compared with generating test suites incrementally with random search. We apply the EVOSUITE unit test suite generator to 1000 classes randomly selected from the SF110 corpus of open‐source projects. Surprisingly, the results show that the difference is much smaller than one might expect: While evolutionary search covers more branches of the type where standard fitness functions provide guidance, we observed that, in practice, the vast majority of branches do not provide any guidance to the search. These results suggest that, although evolutionary algorithms are more effective at covering complex branches, a random search may suffice to achieve high coverage of most object‐oriented classes.
The use of distraction, acceptance, and mindfulness-based techniques in the treatment of pediatric pain

Distraction is a common cognitive-behavioral technique utilized by parents and health care professionals to alleviate suffering associated with pediatric pain (McGrath, 1990; DeMore & Cohen, 2005; Koller & Goldman, in press). Distractionbased techniques are a standard component of wellsupported cognitive-behavioral treatments for both acute (Powers, 1999) and chronic pain (Chambers et al., 2004; Robins et al., 2005; Palermo et al., 2009; Noel et al., in press). Studies have generally shown that distraction has small to moderate effects on acute pain in pediatric populations (e.g. Chambers et al., 2009) although there may be discrepancies in its effectiveness due to inconsistency across outcomes measured, treatment setting, child age, and delivery method (Piira et al., 2006; Dahlquist et al., 2007; Koller & Goldman, in press; Verhoeven et al., in press). Although distraction is frequently a component of larger treatment packages for youth with chronic pain, there is currently no evidence that the use of distraction techniques in isolation offers specific benefits for this population. In recent years there has been an increased focus on the development and utilization of acceptance and mindfulness-based interventions for use with pediatric populations (Thompson & Gauntlett-Gilbert, 2008; Wicksell et al., 2009; Burke, 2010; Feinstein et al., 2011; Masuda et al., 2011). In apparent contrast to distraction techniques, acceptance and mindfulness-based interventions emphasize exposure (rather than distraction or avoidance) to moment-to-moment private experiences, even when these experiences are aversive (e.g. pain), and attempt to teach youth to approach unpleasant experiences in a nonjudgmental and accepting way (Hayes et al., 1999; Bishop et al., 2004). Such practices may include exposure exercises, mindfulness meditation, and cognitive defusion techniques in an effort to increase engagement with and motivation to complete daily activities, despite having pain (Palermo, 2009). Although acceptance and mindfulness-based strategies appear at first glance to be antithetical to distraction techniques, these two strategies may at times be theoretically and practically compatible. In the following commentary, we will review literature related to the use of both distraction and acceptance-based interventions for the treatment of acute and chronic pediatric pain, while exploring both topographical and functional understanding of these approaches. We will integrate commentary on contexts in which they may be most effective, and finally discuss areas for future research and clinical application.
Crustal and upper mantle velocity structure of the Salton Trough, southeast California

This paper presents data and modelling results from a crustal and upper mantle wide-angle seismic transect across the Salton Trough region in southeast California. The Salton Trough is a unique part of the Basin and Range province where mid-ocean ridge/transform spreading in the Gulf of California has evolved northward into the continent. In 1992, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted the final leg of the Pacific to Arizona Crustal Experiment (PACE). Two perpendicular models of the crust and upper mantle were fit to wide-angle reflection and refraction travel times, seismic amplitudes, and Bouguer gravity anomalies. The first profile crossed the Salton Trough from the southwest to the northeast, and the second was a strike line that paralleled the Salton Sea along its western edge. We found thin crust (-21-22 km thick) beneath the axis of the Salton Trough (Imperial Valley) and locally thicker crust (-27 km) beneath the Chocolate Mountains to the northeast. We modelled a slight thinning of the crust further to the northeast beneath the Colorado River (-24 km) and subsequent thickening beneath the metamorphic core complex belt northeast of the Colorado River. There is a deep, apparently young basin (-5-6 km unmetamorphosed sediments) beneath the Imperial Valley and a shallower (-2-3 km) basin beneath the Colorado River. A regional 6.9-km/s layer (between -15-km depth and the Moho) underlies the Salton Trough as well as the Chocolate Mountains where it pinches out at the Moho. This lower crustal layer is spatially associated with a low-velocity (7.6-7.7 km/s) upper mantle. We found that our crustal model is locally compatible with the previously suggested notion that the crust of the Salton Trough has formed almost entirely from magmatism in the lower crust and sedimentation in the upper crust. However, we observe an apparently magmatically emplaced lower crust to the northeast, outside of the Salton Trough, and propose that this layer in part predates Salton Trough rifting. It may also in part result from migration of magmatic spreading centers associated with the southern San Andreas fault system. These spreading centers may have existed east of their current loca- tions in the past and may have influenced the lower crust and upper mantle to the east of the current Salton Trough.
Right ventricular failure in the ICU : A practical approach

Right ventricular (RV) failure is an often undertreated entity due to its multifactorial and complex pathophysiology. In contrast to the muscular high-pressure generating left ventricle, the thinwalled crescend-shaped RV optimizes venous return and enables continuous ejection of blood into a low-resistance, highly compliant pulmonary vascular system. RV dysfunction leads to impaired RV filling with increased right atrial pressures and venous congestion. Additionally, progressive RV overload will cause leftward shifting of the intraventricular septum with reduced LV filling, low cardiac output and multi organ failure. Besides treatment of major potentially reversible precipitants, supportive treatment remains the cornerstone in the management of RV failure and comprises 1. optimizing RV preload and cardiac output and 2) reducing RV afterload. This review presents a comprehensive approach of patients with RV failure in the ICU.