nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Local Correlation-based Fingerprint Matching

Most fingerprint matching systems are based on matching minutia points between two fingerprint images. Each minutia is represented by a fixed number of attributes such as the location, orientation, type and other local information. A hard decision is made on the match between a pair of minutiae based on the similarity of these attributes. In this paper, we present a minutiae matching algorithm that uses spatial correlation of regions around the minutiae to ascertain the quality of each minutia match. The proposed algorithm has two main advantages. Since the gray level values of the pixels around a minutia point retain most of the local information, spatial correlation provides an accurate measure of the similarity between minutia regions. Secondly, no hard decision is made on the correspondence between a minutia pair. Instead the quality of all the minutiae matches are accumulated to arrive at the final matching score between the template and query fingerprint impressions. Experiments on a database of 160 users (4 impressions per finger) indicate that the proposed algorithm serves well to complement the 2D dynamic programming based minutiae matching technique; a combination of these two methods can reduce the false non-match rate by approximately 3.5% at a false match rate of 0.1%.
Altered corticostriatal functional connectivity in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Neurobiological models of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) emphasize disturbances in the function and connectivity of brain corticostriatal networks, or "loops." Although neuroimaging studies of patients have supported this network model of OCD, very few have applied measurements that are sensitive to brain connectivity features.



Using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging, we tested the hypothesis that OCD is associated with disturbances in the functional connectivity of primarily ventral corticostriatal regions, measured from coherent spontaneous fluctuations in the blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signal.



Case-control cross-sectional study.



Hospital referral OCD unit and magnetic resonance imaging facility.



A total of 21 patients with OCD (10 men, 11 women) and 21 healthy control subjects matched for age, sex, and estimated intelligence.



Voxelwise statistical parametric maps testing the strength of functional connectivity of 4 striatal seed regions of interest (dorsal caudate nucleus, ventral caudate/nucleus accumbens, dorsal putamen, and ventral putamen) with remaining brain areas.



For both groups, there was a clear distinction in the pattern of cortical connectivity of dorsal and ventral striatal regions, consistent with the notion of segregated motor, associative, and limbic corticostriatal networks. Between groups, patients with OCD had significantly increased functional connectivity along a ventral corticostriatal axis, implicating the orbitofrontal cortex and surrounding areas. The specific strength of connectivity between the ventral caudate/nucleus accumbens and the anterior orbitofrontal cortex predicted patients' overall symptom severity (r(2) = 0.57; P < .001). Additionally, patients with OCD showed evidence of reduced functional connectivity of the dorsal striatum and lateral prefrontal cortex, and of the ventral striatum with the region of the midbrain ventral tegmental area.



This study directly supports the hypothesis that OCD is associated with functional alterations of brain corticostriatal networks. Specifically, our findings emphasize abnormal and heightened functional connectivity of ventrolimbic corticostriatal regions in patients with OCD.
Effects of aromatherapy on sleep quality and anxiety of patients.

In intensive care units (ICUs), patients cannot sleep well. Aromatherapy is used for depression, anxiety, relaxation and disorders related with sleep and stress.



This study aimed to investigate the effect of lavender essential oil on the sleep quality and anxiety level of patients in coronary ICU.



A total of 60 patients in coronary ICU participated in this study.



A randomized controlled study was conducted with 60 patients in a province located in the southeast of Turkey.



After informing the patients in both groups about the study, they were administered a questionnaire, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) scale. The patients in the intervention group were given 2% lavender essential oil via inhalation for 15 days after which they were administered the same scales again to evaluate the sleep quality and anxiety. As for the control group, they were administered the same scales again after 15 days without the inhalation of lavender essential oil.



Comparison of the PSQI and BAI scores of the patients in the control and intervention groups before and after the intervention showed statistically significant differences in the change in favour of the intervention group (p < 0·05).



Lavender essential oil increased quality of sleep and reduced level of anxiety in patients with coronary artery disease.


 TO CLINICAL PRACTICE
As a non-invasive, cheap, easily applicable, cost-effective, independent nursing intervention and appropriate for cardiac patients, lavender essential oil could be applied in ICUs.
Securing the Cloud - Governance, Risk, and Compliance Issues Reign Supreme

Rhonda Farrell University of Fairfax, Vienna, VA  While acknowledging the many benefits that cloud computing solutions bring to the world, it is important to note that recent research and studies of these technologies have identified a myriad of potential governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) issues. While industry clearly acknowledges their existence and seeks to them as much as possible, timing-wise it is still well before the legal framework has been put in place to adequately protect and adequately respond to these new and differing global challenges. This paper seeks to inform the potential cloud adopter, not only of the perceived great technological benefit, but to also bring to light the potential security, privacy, and related GRC issues which will need to be prioritized, managed, and mitigated before full implementation occurs.
Low THD multipliers for BCM buck and cascaded buck-boost PFC converters

Boundary conduction mode control is a convenient and low cost method for realizing power factor correction in boost and flyback converters. A signal proportional to the input sinusoid is used as a reference for shaping an inductor current. For a boost converter, this renders the input current to be sinusoidal, but it causes distortion in Flyback and buck derived converters. Mathematically, it can be shown that a different multiplier is needed for buck derived and Flyback converters to achieve a sinusoidal input current. In this paper, we develop peak current reference multipliers for Boundary Conduction Mode (BCM) control of buck derived converters. These multipliers are to be implemented in typical low cost BCM controllers. We derive a new multiplier for a buck PFC, and extend this to a cascaded buck boost (also known as a four switch buck boost) PFC as a composite multiplier. For the cascaded buck boost, we also implement a control scheme to handle the transition between buck and boost modes. We provide experimental results in both topologies.
Modeling Trust for Rating Prediction in Recommender Systems

Traditional recommender systems usually ignore the social interactions between users in a social network and assume that users are independent and identically distributed. This assumption hinders the users to have access to personalized recommendations based on their circle of trusted friends. To model the recommender systems more accurately and realistically, we propose a social trust model and use the probabilistic matrix factorization method to predict user rating for products based on user-item rating matrix. The effect of users friends tastes is modeled using a real-valued trust which is defined based on importance and similarity between users. Similarity is modeled using a rating-based (Vector Space Similarity algorithm) and connection-based methods; centrality is quantified using degree and eigen-vector centralities. To validate the proposed method, rating estimation is performed on the Epinions dataset. Experiments show that our method provides better prediction when using trust relationship based on centrality and similarity rather than using the binary values. Also, degree centrality is shown to be more effective compared to the eigen-vector centrality. In addition, trust model using connection-based similarity is observed to have better performance compared to the ones that use rating-based similarity.
Attachment and autism: parental attachment representations and relational behaviors in the parent-child dyad.

While attachment research has demonstrated that parents' internal working models of attachment relationships tend to be transmitted to their children, affecting children's developmental trajectories, this study specifically examines associations between adult attachment status and observable parent, child, and dyadic behaviors among children with autism and associated neurodevelopmental disorders of relating and communicating. The Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) was employed to derive parental working models of attachment relationships. The Functional Emotional Assessment Scale (FEAS) was used to determine the quality of relational and functional behaviors in parents and their children. The sample included parents and their 4- to 16-year-old children with autism and associated neurodevelopmental disorders. Hypothesized relationships between AAI classifications and FEAS scores were supported. Significant correlations were found between AAI classification and FEAS scores, indicating that children with autism spectrum disorders whose parents demonstrated secure attachment representations were better able to initiate and respond in two-way pre-symbolic gestural communication; organize two-way social problem-solving communication; and engage in imaginative thinking, symbolic play, and verbal communication. These findings lend support to the relevance of the parent's state of mind pertaining to attachment status to child and parent relational behavior in cases wherein the child has been diagnosed with autism or an associated neurodevelopmental disorder of relating and communicating. A model emerges from these findings of conceptualizing relationships between parental internal models of attachment relationships and parent-child relational and functional levels that may aid in differentiating interventions.
FPGA based implementation of BPSK and QPSK modulators using address reverse accumulators

Implementation of digital modulators on Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) is a research area that has received great attention recently. Most of the research has focused on the implementation of simple digital modulators on FPGAs such as Amplitude Shift Keying (ASK), Frequency Shift Keying (FSK), and Phase Shift Keying (PSK). This paper presented a novel method of implementing Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) along with Binary PSK (BPSK) using accumulators with a reverse addressing technique. The implementation of the BPSK modulator required two sinusoidal signals with 180-degree phase shift. The first signal was obtained using Look Up Table(LUT) based on Direct Digital Synthesizer (DDS) technique. The second signal was obtained by using the same LUT but after inverting the most significant bit of the accumulator to get the out of phase signal. For the QPSK modulator, four sinusoidal waves were needed. Using only one LUT, these waves were obtained. The first two wave were generated by using two accumulators working on the rising edge and the falling edge of a perfect twice frequency square wave clock which results in a 90-degree phase shift. The other waves were obtained from the same accumulators after reversing the most significant bit in each one. The implementation of the entire systems was done in the Very high speed integrated circuit Hardware Description Language (VHDL) without the help of Xilinx System Generator or DSP Builder tools as many papers did.
E-sports on the rise?: Critical considerations on the growth and erosion of organized digital gaming competitions

At a recent Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything), Emmett Shear, CEO of Twitch.tv, the leading live video platform for streaming games, claimed that in a decade e-sports will be bigger than athletic sports [7]. While his statement was both hyperbolic and speculative, the particulars were not: e-sports tournaments have spectator numbers in the millions, recent franchise games have logged over a billion hours of gameplay, while experts and amateur e-sports enthusiasts alike regularly broadcast and share their competitive play online [1, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10]. The growing passion for mainstream e-sports is apparent, though there are also interesting, less visible happenings on the periphery of the e-sports media industry - notably, the acts of life and death that happen off the polished main stage. Smaller tournaments have been cut to make way for major e-sports franchises [11]; games with a strong culture of dark play have attempted to encourage esport iterations, encountering conflict where bribery and espionage is interwoven with traditional sporting structures ; and third party organizations have created new ways to watch, participate, celebrate, but also profit from one's love of games . In these actions, we find some of the ways in which competitive games and gaming lifestyles are extended, but also often dissolved from the main stages of e-sports. At a broader level, these events allow us to witness the growth and sedimentation of this new socio-technical form. Simultaneously, we observe its erosion as the practices and form of e-sports are subject to the compromises demanded by processes of cultural and audience reception, and attempts to maximise cultural appeal and commercial success. It is in the interplay between this ceaseless growth and erosion that the significance of e-sport can be found. E-sport represents a rare opportunity to observe the historical emergence of interactive gaming in a sporting 'skin', as well as new forms of sports-like competition realised through interactive gaming platforms. The position of this panel moves beyond questions of (sports) disciplinary rivalry to consider how e-sports extend our understanding of sports and competitive games more broadly. Drawing on qualitative studies, theoretical considerations, and practical work, this panel explores the tensions, but also the new "sporting" possibilities which emerge in moments of transition -- between the life and death of a tournament, the extension of spectatorship opportunities, the construction of a competitive gaming scene, and the question of how to best conceptualise e-sport at the intersection of gaming and sport.
Non-invasive measurement of blood glucose of diabetic based on IR spectroscopy

This paper describes a Non-invasive measurement of blood glucose of diabetic based on infrared spectroscopy. We measured the spectrum of human finger by using the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) of attenuated total reflection (ATR). In this paper, We would like to report the accuracy of the calibration models when we measured the blood glucose of diabetic.
Design Considerations for Very High Frequency dc-dc Converters

This document describes several aspects relating to the design of dc-dc converters operating at frequencies in the VHF range (30-300 MHz). Design considerations are treated in the context of a dc-dc converter operating at a switching frequency of 100 MHz. Gate drive, rectifier and control designs are explored in detail, and experimental measurements of the complete converter are presented that verify the design approach. The gate drive, a self-oscillating multi-resonant circuit, dramatically reduces the gating power while ensuring fast onoff transitions of the semiconductor switch. The rectifier is a resonant topology that absorbs diode parasitic capacitance and is designed to appear resistive at the switching frequency. The small sizes of the energy storage elements (inductors and capacitors) in this circuit permit rapid start-up and shut-down and a correspondingly high control bandwidth. These characteristics are exploited in a high bandwidth hysteretic control scheme that modulates the converter on and off at frequencies as high as 200 kHz.
Elevated Liver Enzymes in Asymptomatic Patients – What Should I Do?

Elevated liver enzymes are a common scenario encountered by physicians in clinical practice. For many physicians, however, evaluation of such a problem in patients presenting with no symptoms can be challenging. Evidence supporting a standardized approach to evaluation is lacking. Although alterations of liver enzymes could be a normal physiological phenomenon in certain cases, it may also reflect potential liver injury in others, necessitating its further assessment and management. In this article, we provide a guide to primary care clinicians to interpret abnormal elevation of liver enzymes in asymptomatic patients using a step-wise algorithm. Adopting a schematic approach that classifies enzyme alterations on the basis of pattern (hepatocellular, cholestatic and isolated hyperbilirubinemia), we review an approach to abnormal alteration of liver enzymes within each section, the most common causes of enzyme alteration, and suggest initial investigations.
Smart Memories: a modular reconfigurable architecture

Trends in VLSI technology scaling demand that future computing devices be narrowly focused to achieve high performance and high efficiency, yet also target the high volumes and low costs of widely applicable general purpose designs. To address these conflicting requirements, we propose a modular reconfigurable architecture called Smart Memories, targeted at computing needs in the 0.1μ technology generation. A Smart Memories chip is made up of many processing tiles, each containing local memory, local interconnect, and a processor core. For efficient computation under a wide class of possible applications, the memories, the wires, and the computational model can all be altered to match the applications. To show the applicability of this design, two very different machines at opposite ends of the architectural spectrum, the Imagine stream processor and the Hydra speculative multiprocessor, are mapped onto the Smart Memories computing substrate. Simulations of the mappings show that the Smart Memories architecture can successfully map these architectures with only modest performance degradation.
A very low power CMOS potentiostat for bioimplantable applications

In this paper, we describe a new structure for designing low power potentiostats, which are suitable for electrochemical sensors used in biomedical implants. The low power consumption is a result of using just one operational amplifier in the structure. The structure is also inherently very low noise because it amplifies the output current of the sensor in current mode which can then be converted to the desirable variable; i.e., voltage, frequency, pulse width, etc. Finally we present a new topology for the design of a low power operational amplifier dedicated to driving super capacitive chemical sensors.
Using virtual reality environment to facilitate training with advanced upper-limb prosthesis.

Technological advances in upper-limb prosthetic design offer dramatically increased possibilities for powered movement. The DEKA Arm system allows users 10 powered degrees of movement. Learning to control these movements by utilizing a set of motions that, in most instances, differ from those used to obtain the desired action prior to amputation is a challenge for users. In the Department of Veterans Affairs "Study to Optimize the DEKA Arm," we attempted to facilitate motor learning by using a virtual reality environment (VRE) program. This VRE program allows users to practice controlling an avatar using the controls designed to operate the DEKA Arm in the real world. In this article, we provide highlights from our experiences implementing VRE in training amputees to use the full DEKA Arm. This article discusses the use of VRE in amputee rehabilitation, describes the VRE system used with the DEKA Arm, describes VRE training, provides qualitative data from a case study of a subject, and provides recommendations for future research and implementation of VRE in amputee rehabilitation. Our experience has led us to believe that training with VRE is particularly valuable for upper-limb amputees who must master a large number of controls and for those amputees who need a structured learning environment because of cognitive deficits.
Role of ceramide 1 in the molecular organization of the stratum corneum lipids.

The main barrier of the skin is formed by the lipids in the apical skin layer, the stratum corneum (SC). In SC mainly ceramides (CER), free fatty acids (FFA) and cholesterol (CHOL) are present. The CER are composed of at least six different fractions. CER 1 has an exceptional molecular structure as it contains a linoleic acid linked to a long-chain omega-hydroxy acid (C > 30). The SC lipids are organized in two lamellar phases with periodicities of approximately 6 and 13 nm, respectively. Recent studies revealed that ceramides isolated from pig SC mixed with cholesterol in confined ratios mimic stratum corneum lipid phase behavior closely (Bouwstra, J.A., et al. 1996. ). In this paper the role of CER 1 for the SC lipid lamellar organization was studied. For this purpose lipid phase behavior of mixtures of CHOL and total ceramide fraction was compared with that of mixtures of CHOL and a ceramide mixture lacking CER 1. These studies showed that in the absence of CER 1 almost no long periodicity phase was formed over a wide CHOL/CER molar ratio. A model is proposed for the molecular arrangement of the two lamellar phases. This model is based on the dominant role CER 1 plays in the formation of the long periodicity phase, electron density distribution calculations, and observations, such as i) the bimodal distribution of the fatty acid chain lengths of the ceramides, ii) the phase separation between long-chain ceramides and short-chain ceramides in a monolayer approach, and iii) the absence of swelling of the lamellae upon increasing the water content organization in SC. In this molecular model the short periodicity phase is composed of only two high electron density regions indicating the presence of only one bilayer, similar to that often found in phospholipid membranes. The molecular arrangement in the long periodicity phase is very exceptional. This phase most probably consists of two broad and one narrow low electron density regions. The two broad regions are formed by partly interdigitating ceramides with long-chain fatty acids of approximately 24-26 C atoms, while the narrow low-electron density region is formed by fully interdigitating ceramides with a short free fatty acid chain of approximately 16 to 18 C atoms.
Effects of traditional, blended and e-learning on students' achievement in higher education

The study investigates the relationship between e-learning, blended learning and classroom learning with students' achievement. Two experimental groups together with a control group from Umm Al-Qura University in Saudi Arabia were identified randomly. To assess students’ achievement in the different groups, preand postachievement tests were used. The results of the study (N=148) show that there was a statistically significant difference between the three methods in terms of students’ achievement favouring the blended learning method (n=55) with a substantial effect size of 1.34 (Hedges’ g). No significant difference was found between the e-learning (n=43) and traditional learning groups (n=50) in terms of students’ achievement and with a negligible effect size of 0.02.