Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prevalence and Factors Associated with Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction in End-Stage Renal Disease Patients on Dialysis.

Background Heart failure is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Previous studies reported various factors associated with left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) in patients with ESRD. Objective To investigate the prevalence and factors associated with LVSD in patients with ESRD on dialysis. Material and Method Patients with ESRD on dialysis who underwent comprehensive transthoracic echocardiography at Siriraj Hospital between 2003 and 2014 were enrolled. LVSD was defined as left ventricular ejection fraction less than 40%. Results One hundred sixty one patients with a mean age of 56.5±15.4 years were included and 46% were female. Regarding mode of dialysis, 25% and 75% of patients were on peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis, respectively. Median duration of dialysis was three years. Smoking, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and hypertension were reported in 30%, 40%, 57%, and 94% of patients, respectively. History of heart failure and coronary artery disease (CAD) were reported in 23% and 24% of cases, respectively. Prevalence of LVSD was 5%. History of heart failure, known CAD, and left ventricular diastolic dimension (LVDd) were found to be univariately associated with LVSD. Multivariate factors associated with LVSD were known CAD (OR 23.67, 95% CI 1.23-456.54, p-value = 0.036) and LVDd (OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.15-2.11, p-value = 0.004). Conclusion Prevalence of LVSD in patients with ESRD on dialysis in the present study was 5%. Known CAD and LVDd were independent predictors of LVSD in this population.
Diagnosis and treatment of autoimmune pancreatitis

Purpose of review Clinical management of autoimmune pancreatitis changed over the last years. The lack of high-quality studies, probably due to the relative rarity of the disease, has not fully clarified many diagnostic and therapeutic aspects. Aim of this review is to overview the literature from a clinical point of view, focusing on diagnostic and therapeutic approach to this complicated disease. Recent findings They have been focused mainly on the risk of misdiagnosing a cancer. Many significant articles have been published on the treatment strategies of autoimmune pancreatitis, considering both induction and maintenance therapy. Summary Diagnosis of autoimmune pancreatitis remains challenging, particularly in focal pancreatic involvement, despite recent advances on imaging modalities. Treatment is based on induction and maintenance phases. Steroid treatment remains the best option to induce remission. Maintenance therapy may be used to prevent disease relapses, and low-dose steroids, azathioprine or rituximab are the therapeutic options. However, it remains unclear which patient needs to be treated.
Performing arts student attitude towards dance games as a Thai dance training tool

UNESCO aims to ensure a better protection of important Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) worldwide and create the awareness of their significance. In Southeast Asia, performing arts is known to be one of the richest and most valuable in ICH. Ministry of Education, Thailand has also enforced Thai dance knowledge into the basic education core curriculum A.D. 2008 under arts learning area. However, no technology has been engaging and involving in the learning process on Thai dance. The technology could be involved in teaching and learning process to engage the learning motivation of the student. This paper is focusing on the attitude of the Thai dance students towards the use of technology such as the dance games utilizing motion sensors for training and practising Thai dance movements based on the Thai dance curriculum.
1.00 (0.88) Tb/s per Wave Capable Coherent Multi-Channel Transmitter (Receiver) InP-Based PICs With Hybrid Integrated SiGe Electronics

We demonstrate multi-channel InP-based coherent transmitter and receiver photonic integrated circuits hybrid integrated with SiGe driving and amplifying electronics both capable of operating at 880 Gb/s and the transmitter alone up to 1 Tb/s per wave. These hybrid assemblies demonstrate optical transmissions across a commercial line system at distances from 200 to 1400 km, with symbol rates between 66–100 GBd, utilizing 16-, 32-, and 64-QAM modulation formats. Additionally, we demonstrate a back-to-back transmission from the TxPIC assembly to a reference receiver at 100 GBd <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\times \,\, 32$ </tex-math></inline-formula>QAM, a 1 Tb/s per wavelength capability.
The Association between Mediterranean Diet and the Risk of Falls and Physical Function Indices in Older Type 2 Diabetic People Varies by Age

Background and Aims: Diabetes and dysglycemia increase the risk of frailty and decreased physical abilities. Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet (MD) may reduce this risk. We hypothesized that adherence to the MD is associated with physical function in older type-2 diabetic patients and that the association is stratified by age. Methods and Results: We recruited type-2 diabetes patients aged >60 years at the Center for Successful Aging with Diabetes at Sheba Medical Center. Health status and demographic data were obtained from medical records. Food Frequency Questionnaire was used for nutritional assessment and calculation of MD score. Physical function indices were determined by a physiotherapist and included: Berg Balance test, Timed Get-Up-and-Go, 6-min walk (6 MW), 10-m walk (10 MW), Four Square Step Test, 30-s chair stand and Grip strength, and activities and instrumental activities of daily living. Among 117 participants (age 70.6 ± 6.5), high adherence to MD was associated with better score on functional tests (low vs. high MD adherence: 9.7% vs. 25%, ANOVA p = 0.02). A significant age by MD interaction was found: a higher adherence to MD was associated with a better 6 MW (low vs. high: 387 ± 35 m vs. 483 ± 26 m; p = 0.001) and higher 10 MW (low vs. high: 1.8 ± 0.16 m/s vs. 2.0 ± 0.13 m/s; p = 0.02) in participants aged >75 years. These associations remained significant after controlling for gender, age, BMI, and physical activity. Conclusion: In the current study, we showed relationships between strength, physical performance, and MD among older diabetic patients. Future studies are needed to confirm this association and establish temporal relationships.
Impacto de la implementación de un centro terciario de ictus en la atención médica de pacientes con ictus isquémico agudo por disección de arterias cervicales.

Evaluamos el impacto que la implementacion del centro terciario de ictus (CTI) en nuestro hospital ha tenido sobre el manejo de los pacientes con ictus isquemico por diseccion de arterias cervicales (DAC) comparando caracteristicas diagnosticas, tratamiento y pronostico en los 9 pacientes atendidos antes de la implementacion del CTI frente a los 26 atendidos tras la implementacion del CTI. Observamos que la implementacion del CTI ha incrementado la frecuencia en el diagnostico de las DAC, ha facilitado realizar un diagnostico mas precoz y ha permitido aumentar las opciones terapeuticas de los pacientes con un ictus agudo por DAC.
Joint routing/encoding-power for network lifetime maximization in WMSN

One of the most important issues, in Wireless Multimedia sensor networks (WMSNs), is to achieve an optimal video data encoding through an efficient resource allocation, while maximizing the overall network lifetime. However, the multimedia data is usually voluminous and delivering the compressed video data to the forwarding node poses an emergent demand, to simultaneously optimizing the video encoding and data routing performance in order to maximize the network lifetime. Based on unknown routing matrix, in this paper, we focus on the integration of routing into the analytic model proposed in our previous work. The simulation results show that our proposed solution consumes less than 0.03% of the total battery and ensures a prolongation of the network lifetime compared to the literature approaches.
Relations between early maternal sensitivity and toddler self‐regulation: Exploring variation by oxytocin and dopamine D2 receptor genes

Gene-by-environment interactions between maternal sensitivity during infancy and child oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR rs53576) and D2 dopamine receptor gene (DRD2 TaqIA, rs1822497) genotypes were explored as predictors of toddlers' well-regulated behavioral and physiological responses to maternal compliance demands. Maternal sensitivity was assessed across a range of mother-child interactions when children were 6 months and 1 year of age (N = 186), and toddler self-regulatory responses were assessed through compliance and vagal withdrawal during a toy clean-up task when children were 2 years of age. Sensitivity-by-OXTR interactions suggested two diathesis-stress patterns, predicting compliance for the GG genotype group, and predicting physiological regulation for the AA/AG genotype group. A main effect for DRD2 genotype indicated that children with an A1 allele displayed less-compliant behavior in toddlerhood. These results suggest that genetic differences may contribute to variation both in risk for self-regulatory difficulties, and in relations between maternal sensitivity and children's responses to compliance demands at different levels of analysis.
Network service chaining using segment routing in multi-layer networks

Network service chaining, originally conceived in the network function virtualization (NFV) framework for software defined networks (SDN), is becoming an attractive solution for enabling service differentiation enforcement to microflows generated by data centers, 5G fronthaul and Internet of Things (IoT) cloud/fog nodes, and traversing a metro-core network. However, the current IP/MPLS-over optical multi-layer network is practically unable to provide such service chain enforcement. First, MPLS granularity prevents microflows from being conveyed in dedicated paths. Second, service configuration for a huge number of selected flows with different requirements is prone to scalability concerns, even considering the deployment of a SDN network. In this paper, effective service chaining enforcement along traffic engineered (TE) paths is proposed using segment routing and extended traffic steering mechanisms for mapping micro-flows. The proposed control architecture is based on an extended SDN controller encompassing a stateful path computation element (PCE) handling microflow computation and placement supporting service chains, whereas segment routing allows automatic service enforcement without the need for continuous configuration of the service node. The proposed solution is experimentally evaluated in segment routing over an elastic optical network (EON) network testbed with a deep packet inspection service supporting dynamic and automatic flow enforcement using Border Gateway Protocol with Flow Specification (BGP Flowspec) and OpenFlow protocols as alternative traffic steering enablers. Scalability of flow computation, placement, and steering are also evaluated showing the effectiveness of the proposed solution.
Women's experiences with water birth: A matched groups prospective study

BACKGROUND Water birth has become an increasingly popular childbirth option, but has also come under scrutiny because of its possible risks and benefits. The primary objective of this study was to explore potential benefits of water birth by comparing the experiences of women who gave birth in water versus conventionally. We also compared maternal and newborn outcomes. METHODS We performed a prospective study of 66 women who had water births and 132 who had conventional births. Data collected included demographics, labor and birth characteristics, perinatal outcomes, and maternal scores on the Childbirth Experience Questionnaire (CEQ). Groups were matched for variables known to influence CEQ scores. RESULTS Women in the water birth group had more positive childbirth experiences compared with the conventional birth group (P < .001), and also compared with the subgroup of women who had epidural anesthesia (P = .002). After controlling for potential confounders, water birth was associated with a decreased likelihood of perineal lacerations requiring repair (P = .001) and a higher rate of breastfeeding initiation in the delivery room (P < .001). Adverse outcomes such as neonatal intensive care unit admission, blood loss >500 mL, 3rd/4th degree lacerations, and perinatal infections were rare. The study was not sufficiently powered to detect differences in rare outcomes. CONCLUSION Water birth was associated with more positive maternal childbirth experiences as represented by CEQ scores. Adverse outcomes were rare in both the water birth and conventional birth groups.
SDN-Enabled Traffic-Aware Load Balancing for M2M Networks

This paper proposes a traffic-aware load balancing scheme for machine-to-machine (M2M) networks using software-defined networking (SDN). Load balancing techniques are essential for M2M networks to relieve the heavy loading caused by bursty traffic. Leveraging the capability of SDN to monitor and control the network, the proposed load balancing scheme can satisfy different quality of service requirements through traffic identification and rerouting. Experimental results show that the proposed scheme can reduce service response time up to 50% compared to the non-SDN load balancing scheme.
On Capacity-Based Codebook Design and Advanced Decoding for Sparse Code Multiple Access Systems

Sparse code multiple access (SCMA) is a promising non-orthogonal air-interface technology for its ability to support massive connections. In this paper, we design the multiuser codebook and the advanced decoding from the perspective of the theoretical capacity and the system feasibility. First, different from the lattice-based constellation in point-to-point channels, we propose a novel codebook for maximizing the constellation constrained capacity. We optimize a series of 1-D superimposed constellations to construct multi-dimensional codewords. An effective dimensional permutation switching algorithm is proposed to further obtain the capacity gain. Consequently, it shows that the performance of the proposed codebook approaches the Shannon limit and achieves significant gains over the other existing ones. Furthermore, we provide a symbol-based extrinsic information transfer tool to analyze the convergence of SCMA iterative detection, where the complex codewords are considered in modeling the a priori probabilities instead of assuming the binary inputs in previous literature. Finally, to approach the capacity, we develop a low-density parity-check code-based SCMA receiver. Most importantly, by utilizing the EXIT charts, we propose an iterative joint detection and decoding scheme with only partial inner iterations, which exhibits significant performance gain over the traditional one with separate detection and decoding.
An investigation into improving the measurement of the water content of transformer electrical insulation

Direct and indirect techniques are available to measure the water content of the cellulosic insulation of a power transformer. The measurement of the water content of cellulose is necessary because if it becomes too high, bubbles of water will be ejected from the cellulose insulation which may cause failure. Taking a sample of oil for Karl Fischer titration analysis is a simple and cheap laboratory based method to estimate the water content of the cellulosic insulation. However, it has been suggested in an IEEE Standard that errors of up to 200 % can be present. Due to a utility often operating a large number of power transformers, it is not practical to use better online methods (due to installation costs) or dielectric response (having to disconnect the unit) to monitor water content in a financially constrained economy. Therefore, a field study was performed to investigate how to improve the accuracy of determining the water content of paper using the traditional Karl Fischer titration method.
The Nature of Defenses Used by School-Aged Children with ADHD

THE NATURE OF DEFENSES USED BY SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN WITH ADHD by Laurie G. Slodounik Advisor: Steven B. Tuber, PhD. This study sought to develop a more nuanced clinical picture of children with ADHD by examining the relationship between their emotional dysregulation and their use of defense mechanisms—the unconscious mental processes that guard against strong emotions. Children’s responses to the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) were examined for evidence of defense mechanisms using an empirically validated scale, the Defense Mechanism Manual. The study employed a mixed between-within nonequivalent group design to examine the responses of 37 children ages 7-10. It was hypothesized that children with ADHD would use more frequent and more immature defenses than their peers without the disorder. Additionally, those TAT cards designated as “high arousal” were predicted to elicit more defense mechanisms than those considered to be less emotionally stimulating. Results indicated that ADHD was not a significant predictor of defense use. However, arousal level and age were found to be significant predictors of defense use. Implications of these findings and directions for future research were discussed.
Delay model and machine learning exploration of a hardware-embedded delay PUF

A special class of Physically Unclonable Functions (PUF) called strong PUFs are characterized as having an exponentially large challenge-response pair (CRP) space. However, model-building attacks with machine learning algorithms have shown that the CRP space of most strong PUFs can be predicted using a relatively small subset of training samples. In this paper, we investigate the delay model of the Hardware-Embedded deLay PUF (HELP) and apply machine learning algorithms to determine its resilience to model-building attacks. The delay model for HELP possesses significant differences when compared with other delay-based PUFs such as the Arbiter PUF, particularly with respect to the composition of the paths which are tested to generate response bits. We show that the complexity of the delay model in combination with a set of delay post processing operations carried out within the HELP algorithm significantly reduce the effectiveness of model-building attacks.
Strategy-Proof Mechanism for Provisioning and Allocation Virtual Machines in Heterogeneous Clouds

In this paper, we address the problem of heterogeneous physical machines resource management (HPMRM); that is, providing and allocating multiple virtual machine (VM) instances from heterogeneous physical machines to maximize social welfare. Although existing allocation mechanisms allocate VMs to users through the single-mapping mechanism, such allocations cannot guarantee maximum social welfare or efficient utilization of multiple types of resources for cloud providers. Thus, we consider the multi-mapping mechanism, which permits mapping VMs allocated to one user to physical machines for VM provisioning and allocation. This can result in improved social welfare and lead to less resource fragmentation. We formulate the HPMRM problem in an auction-based setting, and design optimal and approximate mechanisms to solve it. In addition, we show that our proposed mechanism is strategy-proof; that is, our proposed mechanism drives the system into an equilibrium where no users have incentives to maximize their own profit by untruthfully reporting their requests. Furthermore, we analyze the approximation ratio of our proposed approximation algorithm. We also perform experiments to investigate the performance of our proposed approximation mechanism compared to the optimal mechanism. Experimental results demonstrate that our proposed approximation mechanism can obtain near optimal solutions and significantly improve allocation efficiency, while generating greater social welfare.
Prevalence of syringomyelia in clinically unaffected Cavalier King Charles Spaniels in Germany (2006–2016)

Summary Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence of syringomyelia in clinically unaffected Cavalier King Charles Spaniels (CKCS) in Germany. Material and methods: From 2006 to 2016 a total of 339 asymptomatic CKCSs from all over Germany were included. Age ranged from 3 months to 11 years (mean 3.72 years ± 2.17 years). T1- and T2-weighted magnetic resonance images of the head and cervical spine were obtained. Results: Overall, 163 out of 339 (48.1 %) CKCSs showed evidence of syringomyelia. The results (odds ratio of 1.27 per year; p < 0.0001) corroborate the findings of other studies, in which the risk of developing syringomyelia increases with age. Conclusion and clinical relevance: In conclusion, around half of the dogs within the German CKCS population are affected by syringomyelia. The prevalence of syringomyelia of the German CKCS population is similar to that of the British CKCS population, which is subjected to breeding strategies on the basis of magnetic resonance imaging investigations.
Flexible Actuator With Variable Stiffness and Its Decoupling Control Algorithm: Principle Prototype Design and Experimental Verification

This paper presents a flexible actuator with variable stiffness and its associated decoupling control algorithm. The elastic cell consists of two opposite-handed torsion springs and two cam-bearing followers (CBFs). Stiffness regulation is realized by changing the contact point position between the torsion spring and the CBFs. The CBFs are pulled via wire rope transmission and their movement direction is perpendicular to the torsion direction of the springs, thereby resulting in rolling friction. Such a design ensures a wide range of stiffness variations and small energy consumption for stiffness regulation, and contributes to a compact actuator design. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed mechanism has good stiffness regulation and can reduce stiffness rapidly after collision. The dynamics of load side and motor side are controlled separately by a decoupling control algorithm based on the projection between the virtual torque and the commands of motor position and velocity. The virtual torque required to track the joint trajectory is calculated according to a hybrid proportional–derivative control algorithm, which incorporates a disturbance compensator composed of a smooth saturation function. The spring–damper model is successfully applied to the projection between the virtual torque, and the commands of motor position and velocity algorithm design. The feasibility of the designed actuator and the effectiveness of the control algorithm are demonstrated by trajectory–tracking control experiments under various operating conditions.
Myofascial trigger points in patients with temporomandibular joint disc displacement with reduction: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Objective The objective of this retrospective study was to evaluate the impact of myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) in patients with articular disc displacement with reduction (DDWR) and to identify which clinical variables are associated with the concomitant presence of DDWR and MTrPs. Material and Methods 130 patients were selected that sought treatment due to joint pain, with ages ≥18 years, of both genders, with DDWR confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging. The sample was divided into two groups: Group 1, patients with DDWR and MTrPs (N=101); and Group 2, patients with DDWR and no MTrPs (N=29). Information on gender, age, pain duration, pain scores, and maximal interincisal distance (MID) were collected. The logistic regression model was used and the odds ratios (OR) was calculated (p<0.05). Results Group 1 presented statistically significant higher mean pain scores (p=0.007), and smaller MID (p=0.0268) than Group 2. OR were significant for the pain scores (1.429), MID (0.937) and gender (women) (2.810). Conclusions Patients with DDWR and MTrPs had increased pain scores and a MID decrease compared to patients with DDWR and no MTrPs. The variables pain scores, MID, and gender (women) showed a significant association with the concomitant presence of DDWR and MTrPs.