Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessment of Physical Activity by Wearable Technology During Rehabilitation After Cardiac Surgery: Explorative Prospective Monocentric Observational Cohort Study

Background Wearable technology is finding its way into clinical practice. Physical activity describes patients’ functional status after cardiac surgery and can be monitored remotely by using dedicated trackers. Objective The aim of this study was to compare the progress of physical activity in cardiac rehabilitation by using wearable fitness trackers in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery by either the conventional off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB) or the robotically assisted minimally invasive coronary artery bypass (RA-MIDCAB). We hypothesized faster recovery of physical activity after RA-MIDCAB in the first weeks after discharge as compared to OPCAB. Methods Patients undergoing RA-MIDCAB or OPCAB were included in the study. Each patient received a Fitbit Charge HR (Fitbit Inc, San Francisco, CA) physical activity tracker following discharge. Rehabilitation progress was assessed by measuring the number of steps and physical activity level daily. The physical activity level was calculated as energy expenditure divided by the basic metabolic rate. Results A total of 10 RA-MIDCAB patients with a median age of 68 (min, 55; max, 83) years and 12 OPCAB patients with a median age of 69 (min, 50; max, 82) years were included. Baseline characteristics were comparable except for body mass index (RA-MIDCAB: 26 kg/m²; min, 22; max, 28 versus OPCAB: 29 kg/m²; min, 27; max, 33; P<.001). Intubation time (P<.05) was significantly lower in the RA-MIDCAB group. A clear trend, although not statistically significant, was observed towards a higher number of steps in RA-MIDCAB patients in the first week following discharge. Conclusions RA-MIDCAB patients have an advantage in recovery in the first weeks of revalidation, which is reflected by the number of steps and physical activity level measured by the Fitbit Charge HR, as compared to OPCAB patients. However, unsupervised assessment of daily physical activity varied widely and could have consequences with regard to the use of these trackers as research tools.
The rotation rates of massive stars How slow are the slow ones

Context. Rotation plays a key role in the life cycles of stars with masses above∼ 8 M⊙. Hence, accurate knowledge of the rotation rates of such massive stars is critical for understanding th eir properties and for constraining models of their evoluti on. Aims. This paper investigates the reliability of current methods used to derive projected rotation speeds v sin i from line-broadening signatures in the photospheric spectra of massive stars, fo cusing on stars that are not rapidly rotating. Methods. We use slowly rotating magnetic O-stars with well-determined rotation periods to test the Fourier transform (FT) and goodness-of-fit (GOF) methods typically used to infer proje cted rotation rates of massive stars. Results. For our two magnetic test stars with measured rotation periods longer than one year, i.e., with v sin i < 1 km s −1 , we derive v sin i ≈ 40− 50 km s −1 from both the FT and GOF methods. These severe overestimates are most likely caused by an insuffi cient treatment of the competing broadening mechanisms referred to as microturbulence and macroturbulence. Conclusions. These findings warn us not to rely uncritically on results fro m current standard techniques to derive projected rotation speeds of massive stars in the presence of significant additi onal line broadening, at least when v sin i < 50 km s −1 . This may, for example, be crucial for i) determining the statistical dist ribution of observed rotation rates of massive stars, ii) in terpreting the evolutionary status and spin-down histories of rotationally bra ked B-supergiants, and iii) explaining the deficiency of obs erved O-stars with spectroscopically inferred v sin i≈ 0 km s −1 . Further investigations of potential shortcomings of the a bove techniques are presently
A scalable, low-cost VoD server with multicast support

Undoubtedly, video-on-demand technology will play a catalytic role in future entertainment and e-learning systems. The key challenge in VoD domain is to provide interactive services in thousands of potential users at a reasonable cost. We present a scalable, high performance, high availability and low cost VoD system design, based on a cluster of personal computer. The scalability of this design is not restricted to cluster-level, but it can easily be applied to a greater MAN-level. The experimental measurements indicated that our design can support simultaneously 90, 170 or 240 high quality video streams for implementations with 1, 2 or 3 server nodes respectively. We show, using queuing theory analysis that these figures correspond to thousands of real users. We also present a multicast method that further enriches our design increasing its reliability in periods of high demand.
Multi-ModalControlUsingAdaptiveMotionDescription Languages ⋆

In this paper, we address the problem of adaptively enriching motion description languages for multi-modal control by systematically enlarging the set of available modes. This problem is formulated as an optimal control problem, where new modes are designed by combining recurring mode string fragments into smooth, new “meta-modes” and variational arguments are employed to derive optimality conditions for this construction.
Access to affordable and low-income housing in East Asia and the Pacific

Across the world, the housing sector plays a key role in local and national economies, and expanding access to housing can encourage more equitably shared economic growth. This report surveys current policy interventions designed to encourage affordable housing in East Asia and the Pacific (EAP). The purpose of this report is to provide a general overview of the recent trends in urbanization and development in EAP and to consider different forms of government, market, and nonprofit actions that support housing affordability. It will also highlight key constraints and barriers that restrict the provision of low-cost housing in urban areas. Housing is important because it represents a significant household expenditure. The report assesses the strengths and limitations of affordable housing strategies used by different countries throughout EAP. This report offers broad conclusions that account for the broad social, political, and institutional variation among EAP countries; as such, these conclusions may well be applicable to more than one country context. The report also provides specific recommendations for improvement where existing interventions are new or have proven less successful. The report is divided into following chapters: chapter one gives introduction. Chapter two examines trends in urbanization rates, economic development, and inequality in order to introduce the need for high-quality, low-cost housing options. Chapter three examines EAP regional trends in urban housing affordability for owners and renters from select cities. Chapter four outlines future directions for affordable housing provision based on a comparative consideration of international best practices. Finally, chapter five surveys different affordable housing policies currently in place in EAP and summarizes their strengths and weaknesses.
The Human Gastric Pathogen Helicobacter pylori and Its Association with Gastric Cancer and Ulcer Disease

With the momentous discovery in the 1980's that a bacterium, Helicobacter pylori, can cause peptic ulcer disease and gastric cancer, antibiotic therapies and prophylactic measures have been successful, only in part, in reducing the global burden of these diseases. To date, ~700,000 deaths worldwide are still attributable annually to gastric cancer alone. Here, we review H. pylori's contribution to the epidemiology and histopathology of both gastric cancer and peptic ulcer disease. Furthermore, we examine the host-pathogen relationship and H. pylori biology in context of these diseases, focusing on strain differences, virulence factors (CagA and VacA), immune activation and the challenges posed by resistance to existing therapies. We consider also the important role of host-genetic variants, for example, in inflammatory response genes, in determining infection outcome and the role of H. pylori in other pathologies—some accepted, for example, MALT lymphoma, and others more controversial, for example, idiopathic thrombocytic purpura. More recently, intriguing suggestions that H. pylori has protective effects in GERD and autoimmune diseases, such as asthma, have gained momentum. Therefore, we consider the basis for these suggestions and discuss the potential impact for future therapeutic rationales.
artículos originales Twitter Investment Alerts for Ibex 35 Securities

a Doctor, professor, Rey Juan Carlos University, Spain. E-mail: raul.gomez. martinez@urjc.es b Doctor, professor, Rey Juan Carlos University, Spain. E-mail: marialuisa.medrano@urjc.es c Máster, Head of Open Innovation, BBVA, Spain. E-mail: ja.gallego. vazquez@bbva.com abStRaCt This paper sought to find the statistical relationship between Twitter messages and the evolution of the Spanish stocks mentioned in Tweets. We analyzed information from Twitter to evaluate stock sentiment using Stockbuzz the first tool to gather information from the social network in Spanish. Stockbuzz has been developed by Spanish bank BBVA and shows the investors’ mood for the IBEX 35 Spanish index. We use the application on investment decision making and calculate the average return depending on positive or negative Investors’ Mood. We conclude that twitter is a valid tool to generate investment alerts.
Métallurgie en mise en forme à chaud

Cet article est consacre a la metallurgie en mise en forme par deformation a chaud. Apres quelques notions sur le traitement thermodynamique, sont abordees successivement les deformations faibles ou moderees, puis les deformations elevees, ainsi que les evolutions de microstructure qui en decoulent, notamment les recristallisations dynamiques continues et discontinues. Cette etude oblige a la definition de plusieurs parametres, dont les potentiels des vitesses de deformation et des contraintes, et la presentation des lois de comportement empiriques et physiques. Pour finir, sont presentes les elements de base permettant d’elaborer un modele de recristallisation dynamique, accompagnes d'exemples de resultats specifiques aux deux types de recristallisation.
Propiedad familiar y actividad innovadora desde un enfoque de capacidades dinámicas. Caso Navesco

espanolDesde el enfoque de capacidades dinamicas se analiza si la propiedad familiar afecta la actividad innovadora, a partir de la identificacion de los factores relevantes de una empresa para innovar y obtener ventaja competitiva, en condiciones de rapido cambio e incertidumbre. Esta relacion se ilustra con el caso de la empresa Navesco, actualmente con una destacada presencia entre los lideres de transporte maritimo global. Los resultados muestran la relevancia de la propiedad familiar sobre la actividad innovadora, y su efecto sobre la dinamica empresarial, contribuyendo a aclarar la literatura existente. EnglishFrom the dynamic capabilities approach it analyses if the family ownership affects innovative activity, from identifying the relevant factors of a firm to innovate and gain competitive advantage in conditions of rapid change and uncertainty. This relationship is illustrated by the case of the firm Navesco, currently with a strong presence among the leaders in global maritime transport. The results show the importance of family ownership on innovative activity, and its effect on business dynamics, helping to clarify the existing literature
Rozpoznawanie numerów tablic rejestracyjnych pojazdów z wykorzystaniem deskryptora HOG dla obrazów zaszumionych poddanych binaryzacji

In this paper the results of experiments related to the verification of results of recognition of vehicles’ register plate digits are presented for images contaminated by different types of noise. During the experiments the images containing both Gaussian and impulse noise have been considered. The results obtained for them have been compared to those achieved for the images without noise. Due to the computational efficiency reasons the necessity of binarization has been assumed, which has been conducted using well-known methods proposed by Otsu and Sauvola. Both color and binary images have been divided into two groups being the training and test sets. For those images the values of the HOG descriptor, which is one of the most recent tools used for shape detection in images, have been calculated. Local features represented by the HOG descriptor have been then used in the classification process based on the Support Vector Machines (SVMs). Achieved results confirm the strong influence of both the HOG cell size as well as the chosen binarization algorithm (if applied) on the digits recognition accuracy. An interesting conclusion resulting from the conducted experiments is related to the relatively small impact of noise on the classification results using the HOG cell size equal to 4×4 pixels for the binary images obtained using Otsu’s algorithm.
LSI implementation of pulse-output neural network with programmable synapse

A microchip of a neural circuit with pulse representation has been fabricated. The neuron output is a voltage pulse train. The synapse is a constant current source whose output is proportional to the duty ratio of neuron output. Membrane potential is charged by collection of synaptic currents through an RC circuit, providing analog operation similar to the biological neural system. A 4-b SRAM (static random-access memory) was used as the memory of a synaptic weight. The measured I/O characteristics of the neurons and the synapses were as expected. The ability of the network operation was demonstrated by assigning the synaptic weights as an A/D converter. <<ETX>>
TALN Archives : a digital archive of French research articles in Natural Language Processing (TALN Archives : une archive numérique francophone des articles de recherche en Traitement Automatique de la Langue) [in French]

TALN Archives : a digital archive of French research articles in Natural Language Processing Scientific research is an incremental process. Reviewing the literature is the first step to do before starting a new research project. The French Natural Language Processing (NLP) community produces numerous scientific publications which are scattered across different sources and for which no metadata is available. This paper presents the construction ofTALN Archives, a digital archive of French research articles whose aim is to provide efficient access to articles in the NLP field. We also present an analysis of the collaboration network constructed from the metadata and disclose the identity of the Kevin Bacon of theTALN Archives,i.e.the most central author in the collaboration network.
Burnout among students of medical universities in Poland

Abstract Introduction. Burnout among medical students have been thoroughly studied in a number of countries worldwide. Little is known about medical students burnout in the Central European countries. Material and methods. The study is based on the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory, adapted for measurement of burnout among medical students. The questionnaire contained 6 numerical scale questions about respondents’ satisfaction with studies, university and educational achievements. Students of Polish medical universities were recruited via closed Facebook groups of their faculties. As a result, 778 questionnaires were gathered and analysed. A cluster analysis was performed with the special cluster analysis tool of the Statistica 12 - six questions with numerical scale were used as cluster analysis variables. Results. Almost 19% of the subjects reported a high or very high total burnout rate - it was almost 40% for both personal and work-related burnout, but less than 5% for patient-related burnout. The cluster analysis revealed three distinctive groups - dissatisfied, middling and satisfied with their studies and university. For both the total and partial scores, the highest burnout was observed among the dissatisfied, the lowest among the satisfied, while the middling group had the average score. Discussion. A significant level of burnout among Polish medical students, reported in the current study, is consistent with results of numerous investigations performed worldwide. As only 5% of the respondents scored high in patient-related burnout, a question emerges as to whether burnout is more related to clinical subjects or to high learning load. Conclusions. The current study reveals a significant level of burnout among Polish medical students. Both improved education quality and interesting and innovative teaching methods may possibly prevent high burnout among medical students.
The Expanding Role of Computed Tomography Angiography in the Evaluation of Atherosclerotic Coronary Artery Disease

Atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (CAD) comprises subclinical CAD, stable angina and acute coronary syndrome (ACS). ACS is further classified as a ST-elevated myocardial infarction, non-ST-elevated myocardial infarction, and unstable angina (UA). Atherosclerotic CAD is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in developed countries. Due to recent rapid technological advances, a computed tomography angiography (CTA) enables the evaluation of patients with nonspecific acute and stable chest pain. This article provides an overview of atherosclerotic CAD, the advantages and disadvantages of CTAs as compared to competing imaging modalities, and adjunct methods to overcome the drawbacks of CTAs. OveRvIew Of aTheROsCleROTIC CORONaRy aRTeRy DIsease
Poster Abstract: Storage-Centric Debugging of Performance Problems in Sensor Networks

After almost ten years of research into sensor networks, deployments continue to fail [5]. Such failures are due to the distributed nature of sensor networks and the complex interactions of protocols [1]. A variety of debugging tools have been developed to determine the exact causes of failures, and to mitigate the poor visibility into the operation of many sensor network protocols [8]. Performance debugging of sensor networks has been limited to testbed experiments in the pre-deployment phase, where the developer typically has access to a separate wired channel for unintrusive debugging. Since it is difficult to mimic the environment of a deployed network in a testbed, debugging tools for deployed networks are desirable. Examples of tools developed for this purpose are Sympathy [6] and Clairvoyant [4]. These tools are limited to data of low detail or low-rate querying, however, since the performance debugging itself must not cause further protocol disturbances. We propose a storage-centric method for debugging where performance and log data are stored locally on the node. This method opens new possibilities for debugging: 1) A node can process the data itself. 2) Neighbors can share performance and log data to detect root causes of problems and maybe even resolve problems. 3) An operator can in an efficient one-hop batch download the data using a mobile node. 4) A node can decide on its own when it is time to send stored log data to the sink for processing. 5) The sink can request data on demand at the desired level of granularity.
The impact of automated support for linking equivalent requirements based on similarity measures

When developing systems of systems, requirements tend to be redundant especially when running large numbers of projects, with many requirements per project, and diverse sources of requirements. It is therefore necessary to consolidate requirements by identifying the ones that are equivalent in order to avoid redundant work. The aim of this paper is to evaluate requirement similarity measurement to support analysts when linking equivalent requirements. The evaluation is conducted based on the requirements management process of an Italian company in the defense and aerospace domain. Our empirical investigation combines a controlled experiment with graduate students and an industrial case study. Results clearly show that one cannot expect any significant advantage in general. The level of support provided by similarity measures significantly depends on their level of credibility, that is the extent to which similarity measurement reliably indicates the equivalence of requirements. On average, given the credibility distribution observed in our industrial case study, showing similarity measurement to analysts is expected to: 1) improve by 20% the number of equivalence links identified per minute and 2) decrease by 40% the number of incorrect links. Finally, we investigate whether there is an effective way to combine human judgment and similarity measurement to effectively determine equivalence links. Based on machine learning, our approach yielded positive results both in terms of the correctness of the links and the speed at which they are established. Moreover, this hybrid solution is effective even when the credibility of similarity measurement is half the average we observed in our industrial case study. In conclusion, our results confirm and complement past empirical studies on the practical benefit, in terms of both quality and speed, of adopting requirement similarity measurement for linking equivalent requirements.
Graph representation of images in scale-space with application to face detection

In the image recognition problem, it is very important how we represent the image. Considering this, we propose a new representational method of images based on the stability in scale-space. In our method, the image is segmented and represented as a hierarchical region graph in scalespace. The object is represented as feature graph, which is subgraph of region graph. In detail, the region graph is defined on the image with the relation of each segment hierarchically. And the feature graph is determined based on the ”life-time” of the graph of the object in scale-space. This ”life-time” means how long feature graph lives when the scale parameter is increased. We apply our method to the face detection problem, which is foundmental and difficult problem in face recognition. We determine the feature graph of the frontal human face statistical point of view. We also build the face detection system using this feature graph to show how our method works efficiently.
Random sampling of Latin squares via binary contingency tables and probabilistic divide-and-conquer

We demonstrate a novel approach for the random sampling of Latin squares of order~$n$ via probabilistic divide-and-conquer. The algorithm divides the entries of the table modulo powers of $2$, and samples a corresponding binary contingency table at each level. The sampling distribution is based on the Boltzmann sampling heuristic, along with probabilistic divide-and-conquer.