nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Short term effect on pain and function of neurophysiological education and sensorimotor retraining compared to usual physiotherapy in patients with chronic or recurrent non specific low back pain, a pilot randomized controlled trial
Venue: BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders
Year: 2015

BackgroundNon specific chronic low back pain (NSCLBP) is a major health problem. Identification of subgroups and appropriate treatment regimen was proposed as a key priority by the Cochrane Back Review Group. We developed a multimodal treatment (MMT) for patients with moderate to severe disability and medium risk of poor outcome. MMT includes a) neurophysiological education on the perception of pain to decrease self limitation due to catastrophizing believes about the nature of NSCLBP, b) sensory training of the lower trunk because these patients predominantly show poor sensory acuity of the trunk, and c) motor training to regain definite movement control of the trunk.A pilot study was conducted to investigate the feasibility of MMT, prior to a larger RCT, with focus on patients' adherence and the evaluation of short term effects on pain and disability of MMT when compared to usual physiotherapy.MethodWe conducted a randomised controlled trial (RCT) in a primary care physiotherapy centre in Switzerland. Outcome assessment was 12 weeks after baseline. Patients with NSCLBP, considerable disability (five or more points on the Roland and Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) and medium or high risk of poor outcome on the Keele Start Back Tool (KSBT) were randomly allocated to either MMT or usual physiotherapy treatment (UPT) by an independent research assistant. Treatment included up to 16 sessions over 8 to 12 weeks. Both groups were given additional home training of 10 to 30 minutes to be performed five times per week. Adherence to treatment was evaluated in order to assess the feasibility of the treatment. Assessments were conducted by an independent blinded person. The primary outcome was pain (NRS 0 10) and the secondary outcome was disability (RMDQ) Between group effects with Student's t test or the Mann Whitney U test and the standardized mean difference of the primary outcome were calculated.ResultsTwenty eight patients (46% male, mean age 41.5 years (SD 10.6) were randomized to MMT (n 14) or UPT (n 14) Patients' adherence to treatment was >80% in both groups. Pain reduction (NRS; [95% CI] was 2.14 [1.0 to 3.5] in the MMT and 0.69 2.0 to 2.5. in the UPT. The between group difference was 1.45 [0.0 to 4.0] (p 0.03) representing a moderate effect size of 0.66 0.1 to 1.5] Reduction in disability on the RMDQ was 6.71 [4.2 to 9.3] in MMT and 4.69 [1.9 to 7.4] in UPT, with a non significant between group difference of 2.02 1.5 to 5.6] (p 0.25) The required sample size for a RCT with six months follow up was estimated at 170 patients.ConclusionsMMT was found to be feasible and to significantly reduce pain in the short term when compared with UPT. A future RCT with a six month follow up would require approximately 170 patients.
An automatic water detection approach using Landsat 8 OLI and Google Earth Engine cloud computing to map lakes and reservoirs in New Zealand
Venue: Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
Year: 2019

Monitoring water surface dynamics is essential for the management of lakes and reservoirs, especially those are intensively impacted by human exploitation and climatic variation. Although modern satellites have provided a superior solution over traditional methods in monitoring water surfaces, manually downloading and processing imagery associated with large study areas or long time scales are time consuming. The Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform provides a promising solution for this type of "big data" problems when it is combined with the automatic water extraction index (AWEI) to delineate multi temporal water pixels from other forms of land use/land cover. The aim of this study is to assess the performance of a completely automatic water extraction framework by combining AWEI, GEE, and Landsat 8 OLI data over the period 2014 2018 in the case study of New Zealand. The overall accuracy (OA) of 0.85 proved the good performance of this combination. Therefore, the framework developed in this research can be used for lake and reservoir monitoring and assessment in the future. We also found that despite the temporal variability of climate during the period 2014 2018, the spatial areas of most of the lakes (3840) in the country remained the same at around 3742 km2. Image fusion or aerial photos can be employed to check the areal variation of the lakes at a finer scale.
APCNN: Tackling Class Imbalance in Relation Extraction through Aggregated Piecewise Convolutional Neural Networks
Venue: 2019 6th Swiss Conference on Data Science (SDS)
Year: 2019

One of the major difficulties in applying distant supervision to relation extraction is class imbalance, as the distribution of relations appearing in text is heavily skewed. This is particularly damaging for the multi instance variant of relation extraction. In this work, we introduce a new model called Aggregated Piecewise Convolutional Neural Networks, or APCNN, to address this problem. APCNN relies on the combination of two neural networks, a novel objective function as well as oversampling techniques to tackle class imbalance. We empirically compare APCNN to state of the art approaches and show that it outperforms previous multi instance approaches on two standard datasets.
Photothermal Frequency Response Characterization of Large Deformation Multi layer Thin Film Structures
Venue: 2020 Joint Conference of the IEEE International Frequency Control Symposium and International Symposium on Applications of Ferroelectrics (IFCS ISAF)
Year: 2020

In this work, small signal AC photothermal actuation of a large deformation, out of plane thin film structure is demonstrated and the frequency response up to 1 kHz is experimentally measured for laser illumination at a wavelength of 1532 nm. Results from frequency sweeps at different AC modulated laser power levels are coincident with a sub resonant single pole thermal response with effective cutoff frequencies ~50 Hz. The maximum angular motion magnitude was ~1.5deg observed at 38 W/cm2 average incident power and modulation frequencies 10 Hz. No mechanical resonant modes were observed, which was in agreement with simulation using commercial FEA software and additional laser vibrometry performed. The photoactuation measured is attributed to the inherent photoabsorption inherent to a portion of the multilayer stack of the support arms of the structure combined with slight asymmetries in the geometry and alignment of the incident infrared laser. This works shows a viable means quantifying the precision in motion that can be expected for remote actuation of these types of structures via photo illumination.
Maritime Culture in the Netherlands: accessing the late medieval maritime cultural landscapes of the north eastern Zuiderzee
Year: 2019

This paper examines the theory and practice of the maritime cultural landscape in general, and projects the theoretical concepts and aspects involved on the highly dynamic late medieval north eastern Zuiderzee region in the Netherlands. The cultivation of land and marine erosion (floods and rising sea level) are considered as the main factors that caused the transformation of the physical landscape of this region from peatlands with freshwater basins into a tidal lagoon. As a consequence, multiple settlements drowned, large areas of land submerged, and culture and the landscape gradually became more maritime, giving the research area a cultural identity and dimension.
Alternative Estimates of the Cost of Equity Capital for Australian Firms
Year: 2007

We estimate the cost of equity capital for a sample of Australian firms using the CAPM and valuation models which are based on analyst forecasts of earnings and dividends. We find that the use of a composite of time series and analyst forecasts rather than raw analyst forecasts results in cost of capital estimates that better explain the cross sectional variation in future stock returns. Cost of capital estimates from the CAPM provide the weakest explanation of future stock returns. Cost of capital estimates from the valuation models are also found to be significantly related to key firm characteristics such as size, book to market and financial leverage. A variant of the dividend discount model provides the best cost of capital estimates when judged by their ability to explain the cross section of future returns and their association with firm risk characteristics.
INDUSTRIAL SYMBIOSIS IN A CIRCULAR ECONOMY: TOWARDS FIRMS' SUSTAINABLE COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
Venue: International Journal of Mechatronics and Applied Mechanics
Year: 2019

The main objective of this article is to provide a comprehensive view of academic studies that address simultaneously the circular economy and industrial symbiosis, based on bibliometric data for the years 1900 to 2018. Data are collected in Web of Science using the VOSviewer software. Bibliometric indicators, network citation, cluster analysis, and density view analysis are used. From our findings we highlight four clusters in the research, which help to contextualize the literature review: (a) circular economy: approaches and tools; (b) industrial symbiosis Dynamics; (c) circular economy: strategies and performance; (d) the efficiency of resources in symbiosis industry. This study also establishes perspectives for future lines of research and, correspondingly, seeks to provide a theoretical basis that can serve as a starting point for future studies.
Single phase standalone photovoltaic micro system with six level inverter topology
Venue: Microsystem Technologies
Year: 2019

The work deals with six level inverter topology for single phase standalone photovoltaic (PV) based micro system with reduced device count. Fundamental switching scheme has been presented using selective harmonic elimination pulse width modulation (SHE PWM) method to calculate the switching angles for optimization of harmonics and to eliminate the lowest order harmonic from the system. The Perturb and Observe algorithm is used for tracking the maximum power point for the triggering of DC DC boost regulator conversion stage. Complete control scheme has been given with different modes of operation. The PV micro system has been simulated and tested in Matlab simulink environment. Total harmonic distortion analysis for the output voltage and current without and with filter has also been carried out for the system under test.
Semi Structured Data Model for Big Data (SS DMBD)
Venue: DATA
Year: 2019

New business applications require flexibility in data model structure and must support the next generation of web applications and handle complex data types. The performance of processing structured data through a relational database has become incompatible with big data challenges. Nowadays, there is a need to deal with semi structured data with a flexible schema for different applications. Not only SQL (NoSQL) has been presented to overcome the limitations of relational databases in terms of scale, performance, data model, and distribution system. Also, NoSQL supports semi structured data and can handle a huge amount of data and provide flexibility in the data schema. But the data models of NoSQL systems are very complex, as there are no tools available to represent a scheme for NoSQL databases. In addition, there is no standard schema for data modelling of document oriented databases. This study proposes a semi structured data model for big data (SS DMBD) that is compatible with a document oriented database, and also proposes an algorithm for mapping the entity relationship (ER) model to SS DMBD. A case study is used to evaluate the SS DMBD and its features. The results show that this model can address most features of semi structured data.
Via Verde sobre la antigua traza del ferrocarril en Palmar Sur (Costa Rica)
Year: 2019

Este proyecto es el de una Via Verde sobre la antigua traza del ferrocarril de la United Fruit Company (tambien conocida como la Compania Bananera) que cultivo banano en las fincas situadas en el valle de Diquis en la zona del Pacifico Sur de Costa Rica. La Via Verde tendra su inicio el municipio de Palmar Sur y llegara hasta el Sitio Museo Finca 6. Los dos municipios cuya poblacion seria beneficiaria de la construccion de la Via Verde y su explotacion turistica son Palmar Sur y Sierpe. El proyecto se dividira en dos fases. Este Trabajo Fin de Grado desarrolla el diseno de la Fase I: Palmar Sur Museo Finca 6. Se propone para su redaccion futura la Fase II: Museo  Se ha decidido que el punto de particion entre estas dos fases sea el Museo Finca 6 por su interes arquitectonico e historico basado en la coleccion de esferas precolombinas y el yacimiento arqueologico presente en sus terrenos. Esta decision de separar el proyecto en dos fases se ha tomado por motivos economicos. Asi se podra presupuestar cada fase por separado y comenzar la construccion de esta Via Verde de forma mas economica.
A Novel Multi objective Physiological Control System for Rotary Left Ventricular Assist Devices
Venue: Annals of Biomedical Engineering
Year: 2017

Various control and monitoring algorithms have been proposed to improve the left ventricular assist device (LVAD) therapy by reducing the still occurring adverse events. We developed a novel multi objective physiological control system that relies on the pump inlet pressure (PIP) Signal processing algorithms have been implemented to extract the required features from the PIP. These features then serve for meeting various objectives: pump flow adaptation to the perfusion requirements, aortic valve opening for a predefined time, augmentation of the aortic pulse pressure, and monitoring of the LV pre and afterload conditions as well as the cardiac rhythm. Controllers were also implemented to ensure a safe operation and prevent LV suction, overload, and pump backflow. The performance of the control system was evaluated in vitro, under preload, afterload and contractility variations. The pump flow adapted in a physiological manner, following the preload changes, while the aortic pulse pressure yielded a threefold increase compared to a constant speed operation. The status of the aortic valve was detected with an overall accuracy of 86% and was controlled as desired. The proposed system showed its potential for a safe physiological response to varying perfusion requirements that reduces the risk of myocardial atrophy and offers important hemodynamic indices for patient monitoring during LVAD therapy.
Decoupling Representation Learning from Reinforcement Learning
Venue: ICML
Year: 2021

In an effort to overcome limitations of reward driven feature learning in deep reinforcement learning (RL) from images, we propose decoupling representation learning from policy learning. To this end, we introduce a new unsupervised learning (UL) task, called Augmented Temporal Contrast (ATC) which trains a convolutional encoder to associate pairs of observations separated by a short time difference, under image augmentations and using a contrastive loss. In online RL experiments, we show that training the encoder exclusively using ATC matches or outperforms end to end RL in most environments. Additionally, we benchmark several leading UL algorithms by pre training encoders on expert demonstrations and using them, with weights frozen, in RL agents; we find that agents using ATC trained encoders outperform all others. We also train multi task encoders on data from multiple environments and show generalization to different downstream RL tasks. Finally, we ablate components of ATC, and introduce a new data augmentation to enable replay of (compressed) latent images from pre trained encoders when RL requires augmentation. Our experiments span visually diverse RL benchmarks in DeepMind Control, DeepMind Lab, and Atari, and our complete code is available at this https URL.
The role of sleep hygiene in promoting public health: A review of empirical evidence.
Venue: Sleep medicine reviews
Year: 2015

The ineffectiveness of sleep hygiene as a treatment in clinical sleep medicine has raised some interesting questions. If it is known that, individually, each specific component of sleep hygiene is related to sleep, why wouldn't addressing multiple individual components (i.e. sleep hygiene education) improve sleep? Is there still a use for sleep hygiene? Global public health concern over sleep has increased demand for sleep promotion strategies accessible to the population. However, the extent to which sleep hygiene strategies apply outside clinical settings is not well known. The present review sought to evaluate the empirical evidence for sleep hygiene recommendations regarding exercise, stress management, noise, sleep timing, and avoidance of caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, and daytime napping, with a particular emphasis on their public health utility. Thus, our review is not intended to be exhaustive regarding the clinical application of these techniques, but rather to focus on broader applications. Overall, though epidemiologic and experimental research generally supported an association between individual sleep hygiene recommendations and nocturnal sleep, the direct effects of individual recommendations on sleep remains largely untested in the general population. Suggestions for clarification of sleep hygiene recommendations and considerations for the use of sleep hygiene in nonclinical populations are discussed.
Justicia ambiental vs capitalismo global: experiencias, debates y conflictos en el Peru
Year: 2018

El estudio detiene su analisis en las multiples manifestaciones socioambientales germinadas en el territorio peruano frente a un capitalismo globalizado. La metodologia toma su impulso en la investigacion documental y el analisis bibliografico. Ante la expansion de la actividad minera en los ultimos anos y de los altos impactos socio ambientales provocados en el Peru, los afectados emprenden luchas en busca del reconocimiento de una justicia ambiental. Para los vulnerables en Santa Ana (2011) Conga (2011 2014) Las Bambas (2015) y Tia Maria (2015) la idea de justicia climatica es un derecho que esta siendo lesionado.  The study stops its analysis in the multiple socio environmental manifestations germinated in the Peruvian territory against a globalized capitalism. The methodology takes its momentum in the documentary research and the bibliographical analysis. Faced with the expansion of mining activity in recent years and the high socio environmental impacts provoked in Peru, those affected undertake struggles in search of the recognition of environmental justice. For the vulnerable in Santa Ana (2011) Conga (2011 2014) Las Bambas (2015) and Tia Maria (2015) the idea of climate justice is a right that is being injured.  Mining Activity, Latin America, Climate Change, Socio Environmental Conflicts, Extractivism.
Taylorism 2.0: Gamification, Scientific Management and the Capitalist Appropriation of Play
Year: 2014

By making work seem more like leisure time, gamification and corporate training games serve as a mechanism for solving a range of problems and, significantly, of increasing productivity. This piece examines the implications of gamification as a means of productivity gains that extend Frederick Winslow Taylor's principles of scientific management, or Taylorism. Relying on measurement and observation as a mechanism to collapse the domains of labour and leisure for the benefit of businesses (rather than for the benefit or fulfillment of workers) gamification potentially subjugates all time into productive time, even as business leaders use games to mask all labour as something to be enjoyed. In so doing, this study argues, the agency of individuals whether worker or player becomes subject to the rationalized nature of production. This rationalization changes the nature of play, making it a duty rather than a choice, a routine rather than a process of exploration. Taken too far or used unthinkingly, it renders Huizinga's magic circle into one more regulated office cubicle.
Investigation of energy dependence of EBT and EBT 2 gafchromic film.
Venue: Medical physics
Year: 2010

The purpose of this study was to quantify the extent of energy dependence of Gafchromic film to x ray energies ranging in quality from 105 kVp to 6 MV, and relate this dependency to the film's chemical composition and date of production.  Lots of Gafchromic EBT film manufactured in 2004 and 2005 together with more recent batches produced in 2007 were evaluated for energy dependence. Multiple batches of EBT 2 film were also evaluated. Energy dependence was quantified as Rx the ratio of net optical density (netOD) measured at a given energy x relative to the netOD measured at 6 MV, as measured on a linear accelerator. Rx was evaluated for beam qualities of 105 and 220 kVp on a clinical orthovoltage unit using two separate techniques a flatbed scanner (Epson) and a real time fiber optic readout system. Neutron activation analysis for chlorine and bromine content was performed on all the films to determine whether the composition of the film had changed between batches of film exhibiting different energy dependence responses.  For batches of EBT manufactured in 2007, R105 kVp was 0.75 and R220 kVp was 0.85, indicating an under response at orthovoltage energies. These results were confirmed using both the Epson flatbed scanner as well as the real time readout system. For batches of EBT film manufactured before 2006, Rl05 kVp ranged from 0.9 to 1.0. The results from the neutron activation analysis confirmed a direct relationship between the concentration of chlorine and the magnitude of under response at orthovoltage energies. EBT 2 film exhibited R105 kVp values ranging from 0.79 (under response) to 1.20 (over response) among batches containing varying concentrations of bromine, chlorine, and potassium.  The results of this study indicated that differences in energy response of EBT and EBT 2 films were due to differences in the chemical composition and therefore the effective atomic number of the film, which have changed over time. To achieve an energy independent dosimeter over a range of kilovoltage energies, the effective atomic number of the dosimeter must be closely matched to that of water. Small deviations in chemical composition can lead to large deviations in response as a function of energy.
Two at Once: Enhancing Learning and Generalization Capacities via IBN Net
Venue: ECCV
Year: 2018

Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have achieved great successes in many computer vision problems. Unlike existing works that designed CNN architectures to improve performance on a single task of a single domain and not generalizable, we present IBN Net, a novel convolutional architecture, which remarkably enhances a CNN's modeling ability on one domain (e.g. Cityscapes) as well as its generalization capacity on another domain (e.g. GTA5) without finetuning. IBN Net carefully integrates Instance Normalization (IN) and Batch Normalization (BN) as building blocks, and can be wrapped into many advanced deep networks to improve their performances. This work has three key contributions. (1) By delving into IN and BN, we disclose that IN learns features that are invariant to appearance changes, such as colors, styles, and virtuality/reality, while BN is essential for preserving content related information. (2) IBN Net can be applied to many advanced deep architectures, such as DenseNet, ResNet, ResNeXt, and SENet, and consistently improve their performance without increasing computational cost. (3) When applying the trained networks to new domains, e.g. from GTA5 to Cityscapes, IBN Net achieves comparable improvements as domain adaptation methods, even without using data from the target domain. With IBN Net, we won the 1st place on the WAD 2018 Challenge Drivable Area track, with an mIoU of 86.18%