331 research outputs found
MuSER (Multiple Sclerosis Expected Rate) Predictive Model Development
No full textMultiple Sclerosis (MS) is the most diffused among rare neurological pathologies, as it affects about 0.031% people all over the world. Its
prevalence in the United States (US) was calculated to be around 0.14%, but according to National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) MS is not
properly monitored and registered within American territory and the creation of a MS archive is expected to ameliorate the calculus accuracy. The
aim of this work is to develop a simple but reliable biostatistical predictive model called MuSER (Multiple Sclerosis Expected Rate); it was projected
based on the ascending trend that was observed during previous studies, although not dependable, is theoretically reliable, at least considering R2
coefficients. Efficiency of MuSER model will be assessed at the end of 2019.
In order to predict MS incidence within an ethnically homogeneous population. Although not absolutely dependable, is theoretically reliable, at
least considering R2 coefficients. Efficiency of MuSER model will be assessed at the end of 2019
Influence of management on the behaviour of pet rabbits in Switzerland
No full textIntroduction
Pet rabbits are reported as being kept in housing systems that neither offer adequate space, nor appropriate environmental or social stimuli. The incapacity to cope with these environments would lead to physical and psychological changes, resulting in increased aggression, destruction, or repetitive behaviours. In industrially kept rabbits, a causal connection between inadequate management conditions and physical or psychological changes has been proven. The purpose of this study was to investigate the husbandry and the behaviour of pet rabbits in Switzerland, and to examine how factors like housing conditions, social environment or activities relate to the behaviour of pet rabbits.Methodology
A questionnaire survey was used to collect data about pet rabbit owners and the husbandry, management and behaviour of their rabbits. 280 questionnaires were distributed to pet owners mainly in veterinary practices/clinics and to privately recruited owners in Switzerland. Questionnaire data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS).Results
80 questionnaires were suitable for analysis. 98.8% of the pet rabbits were provided with hay, 96% with objects to gnaw. Most housing systems contained enrichment objects besides the basic furniture of water or food bowls. 45% of the pet rabbits were kept inside the house or apartment, 55% outside. House rabbits were kept more frequently as single animals and had less stimulation from the company of other household pets. The mean size of housing systems was smaller for inside rabbits, but was compensated by free runs inside or stays outside. Interactions for inside rabbits were longer and consisted of more play and caress. All respondents of the study rated rabbit behaviour equally. Rabbit attachment behaviours scored rather high (mean = 3.1918, std. deviation = 1.070) and were highly positively correlated with owner attachment. Owner attachment did not vary with the different factors. Aggressive behaviours during manipulations by the owners scored low (mean = 1.6315, std. deviation = 0.46795), these behaviours were not predicted by husbandry or housing conditions. Destructive behaviours (mean = 1.7817, std. deviation = 0.73428) showed weak positive correlations with the rabbits’ social environment.Conclusions
Concerns regarding inadequate management and housing conditions of pet rabbits in Switzerland have not been confirmed. However, behaviour was rated by a self-selecting group of generally highly attached owners, thus the husbandry conditions of this sample may not give a true picture of the husbandry and care of pet rabbits in Switzerland in general. The scores for behaviour were not the result of scientific observations under defined and reproducible conditions. Further studies are necessary to evaluate management and housing condition of pet rabbits in Switzerland and in other countries
MUSER: A Multi-View Similar Case Retrieval Dataset
No full textSimilar case retrieval (SCR) is a representative legal AI application that
plays a pivotal role in promoting judicial fairness. However, existing SCR
datasets only focus on the fact description section when judging the similarity
between cases, ignoring other valuable sections (e.g., the court's opinion)
that can provide insightful reasoning process behind. Furthermore, the case
similarities are typically measured solely by the textual semantics of the fact
descriptions, which may fail to capture the full complexity of legal cases from
the perspective of legal knowledge. In this work, we present MUSER, a similar
case retrieval dataset based on multi-view similarity measurement and
comprehensive legal element with sentence-level legal element annotations.
Specifically, we select three perspectives (legal fact, dispute focus, and law
statutory) and build a comprehensive and structured label schema of legal
elements for each of them, to enable accurate and knowledgeable evaluation of
case similarities. The constructed dataset originates from Chinese civil cases
and contains 100 query cases and 4,024 candidate cases. We implement several
text classification algorithms for legal element prediction and various
retrieval methods for retrieving similar cases on MUSER. The experimental
results indicate that incorporating legal elements can benefit the performance
of SCR models, but further efforts are still required to address the remaining
challenges posed by MUSER. The source code and dataset are released at
https://github.com/THUlawtech/MUSER.Comment: Accepted by CIKM 2023 Resource Trac
Public perception of temperament in dogs may be influenced by working roles
No full textThere are multi-factorial influences on people’s perception of the temperament of dogs, including a dog’s perceived role and abilities. Using a 5 point Lickert scale (very friendly – very aggressive), 463 students rated 3 dogs (Labrador, German shepherd and Airedale terrier) pictured alone and with 15 different categories of male and female handler, including assistance dog users, police, pet-owner and rough person. Identical photographs of each dog were used.Overall the Labrador was rated as the friendliest. Dogs alone were rated as less friendly than when with a handler [Labrador (F(14,462)=8.589 P=.000), German shepherd (14,462)=6.513 P=.000), Airedale terrier (F(14,461)=7.587 P=.000)]. The type of handler also influenced the rating. Independent of handler, gender or breed of dog, dogs portrayed as assistance animals were rated as significantly more friendly than when portrayed as a police dog or owned by a rough individual. Conversely police dogs were rated as significantly less friendly.The interesting point is that considerable significant mean differences in rating of handlers appear when adjusted for the (a) effect of the handler on the dog (b) the effect of prior rating of the dog alone on the rating of the dog with a handler and (c) the effect of a handler on rating the dog when controlling for effect of prior rating of the dog alone.Full statistical analysis is available. <br/
Influence of breed, handler appearance and people's experience of dogs on their perception of the temperament of a breed of dog in Ireland
No full textIntroduction: Human attitudes to and perception of dogs vary both between and within societies and cultures and are influenced by many factors including factors unrelated to the dog such as it’s environment. These include cultural factors, personal knowledge, the function of the animal, the perceived intelligence and the appearance of the dog. It is known that the presence of a dog can influence perceptions of the handler but it has not been established whether the characteristics of the handler can influence the perception of the dog. This is especially pertinent to the area of working dogs. German shepherd dogs tend to have a negative image and may be under utilized in assistance dog work due to concerns regarding the public perception of this breed.Methodology: The research was by a questionnaire survey of students at Cork Institute of Technology. Respondents were asked to rate photographs of three breeds of dog alone and to then rate the same dogs with three of fifteen possible categories of “owner”, prior to completing the questionnaire. 463 questionnaires were completed. Results: There was a difference in mean rating for temperament for a dog alone and for the same dog with a handler, and there were between breed differences. Different dog breeds were rated significantly differently (Wilkes Lambda = 0.187, F (13,374) = 125.053 P = .000). There was a significant effect of handler on the perception of the Labrador (LR)(F (14,462) = 8.589 P = .000), of the German shepherd (GSD)(14,462) = 6.513 P = .000) and of the Airedale terrier (AT)(F (14,461) = 7.587 P = .000) The handler categories, which appeared to influence perception most, were the Garda (Police)(male(m) and female(f)); rough male; wheel chair user (m and f); blind person (m and f). Pearson’s correlations revealed consistency in ratings throughout the questionnaire, with or without a visual representation for the LR and for the GSD but not for the AT. The LR has a positive image. The GSD while perceived as having a negative image, appears to have an altered image when seen in a working context, where people described it inferring intelligence and admirable character. The AT is uncommon in Ireland and without media association. This may explain the inconsistencies in ratings when presented either with or without a visual image.Conclusions: People’s perception of the temperament of a breed of dog may be influenced by the breed, by the appearance of the handler and by their experience and knowledge of dogs. The results appear consistent, that is, respondents perceived that the three breeds of dog were either more friendly or less friendly, when presented with certain differing categories of handler
Partitioning of bronchopulmonary carcinoids in two different prognostic categories by Ki-67 score
No full textIntroduction: Histological distinction between typical and atypical bronchopulmonary car- cinoids is based on mitotic activity and necrosis. Regardless of these two parameters, outcome after surgery is often unpredictable. In this study the prognostic value of different clinico-pathological factors was retrospectively analyzed in a large series of patients with bronchopulmonary carcinoid. Materials and Methods: The long-term post-surgical out- come of 106 radically treated patients affected by bronchopulmonary carcinoid from two Italian centers was correlated with tumor characteristics assessed by combining conven- tional histology with a panel of immunohistochemical markers of neuroendocrine differen- tiation (chromogranin-A, NSE) and proliferation activity (Ki-67 score). Results: Carcinoids were assessed as typical (TC = 75; 70.8%) and atypical (AC = 31; 29.2%). Mean follow-up was 8.3 years (range: 0-20; median: 8.0). All cases expressed neuroendocrine markers. At univariate analysis, tumor recurrence [14/75 TC (18.7%), 15/31 AC (48.4%)] correlated with carcinoid histotype (P = 0.003), tumor size (P = 0.012), mitotic index (P = 0.044), Ki-67 score (P < 0.0001), and synchronous node metastasis (P = 0.037). Of these, Cox multivari- ate analysis confirmed only Ki-67 score as independent predictor of disease recurrence (P = 0.009). The best cut-off for Ki-67 score (calculated by ROC curves) discriminating recurrent vs non-recurrent disease was 4% (sensitivity 79.3%; specificity 83.8%; area under the curve 0.85). By stratifying patients according to this cut-off, a significantly dif- ferent disease-free survival was found (log-rank test P < 0.0001). Conclusion: Ki-67 score accurately separates bronchopulmonary carcinoids in two well-distinct histo-prognostic categories. Ki-67 score predicts the patients outcome better than mitotic count, histotype, and tumor stage and it is therefore helpful in establishing the appropriate follow-up. © 2011 Grimaldi, Muser, Beltrami, Machin, Morelli, Pizzolitto, Talmassons, Marciello, Colao, Monaco, Monaco and Faggiano
Phase Correction for Three-Dimensional (3D) Diffusion-Weighted Interleaved EPI Using 3D Multiplexed Sensitivity Encoding and Reconstruction (3D-MUSER)
No full textPurpose
Three‐dimensional (3D) multiplexed sensitivity encoding and reconstruction (3D‐MUSER) algorithm is proposed to reduce aliasing artifacts and signal corruption caused by inter‐shot 3D phase variations in 3D diffusion‐weighted echo planar imaging (DW‐EPI).
Theory and Methods
3D‐MUSER extends the original framework of multiplexed sensitivity encoding (MUSE) to a hybrid k‐space‐based reconstruction, thereby enabling the correction of inter‐shot 3D phase variations. A 3D single‐shot EPI navigator echo was used to measure inter‐shot 3D phase variations. The performance of 3D‐MUSER was evaluated by analyses of point‐spread function (PSF), signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR), and artifact levels. The efficacy of phase correction using 3D‐MUSER for different slab thicknesses and b‐values were investigated.
Results
Simulations showed that 3D‐MUSER could eliminate artifacts because of through‐slab phase variation and reduce noise amplification because of SENSE reconstruction. All aliasing artifacts and signal corruption in 3D interleaved DW‐EPI acquired with different slab thicknesses and b‐values were reduced by our new algorithm. A near‐whole brain single‐slab 3D DTI with 1.3‐mm isotropic voxel acquired at 1.5T was successfully demonstrated.
Conclusion
3D phase correction for 3D interleaved DW‐EPI data is made possible by 3D‐MUSER, thereby improving feasible slab thickness and maximum feasible b‐value. Magn Reson Med 79:2702–2712, 2018. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine
Management and behaviour of pet rabbits in Switzerland
No full textIntroduction: Problem behaviour in pet rabbits may be related to inappropriate environments (McBride et al, 2004). Laboratory studies, e.g. Chi et al (2004) have shown a causal connection between management and behaviour change. The present study surveyed Swiss rabbit owners to investigate the relationship between husbandry and rabbit behaviour. Methodology: Questionnaire data of housing, social grouping, feeding, exercise, interaction with owners and owner attachment (Zasloff, 1996) was collected. 21 Likert scale questions, such as ‘does your rabbit bite when being caressed?’ gave data of destructive, marking, affiliative and aggressive behaviour towards people and conspecifcs. 280 questionnaires were distributed to pet owners via veterinary surgeries in Switzerland. Data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Results: 80 questionnaires were suitable for analysis. 98.8% of the pet rabbits were provided with hay, 96% with objects to chew. Most housing systems contained enrichment objects in addition to water or food bowls. 45% of the rabbits were kept inside the house or apartment, 55% outside. House rabbits were more frequently kept as single animals, the mean size of their housing systems was smaller, interactions with people were longer and consisted of more play and caressing. All respondents rated rabbit behaviour equally. Rabbit attachment behaviours scored high (mean=3.1918, std.deviation=1.070) and were positively correlated with owner attachment [r=0.389, p=0.002]. Intraspecific aggression (mean=1.2667, std.deviation=0.55132) and aggression towards owners (mean=1.6315, std.deviation= 0.46795) scored low; these were not predicted by environmental conditions. Destructive behaviours (mean=1.7817, std.deviation=0.73428) showed weak positive correlations with the rabbits’ social environment. Conclusions: Overall, the rabbits of this study appear to be kept under adequate conditions and scored low in aggressive or destructive behaviour. This suggests that improving housing conditions could prevent these behaviours in pet rabbits. However, rabbit behaviour was scored by a group of self-elected, highly attached rabbits owners, thus more studies are necessary. <br/
2-DIMENSIONAL ORIENTATIONAL MOTION AS A MULTICHANNEL REACTION BY COMPUTER-SIMULATION
No full textThe orientational diffusion of a nitrogen molecule N-2 in a three-dimensional crystal of argon atoms is studied by using the reaction coordinate formalism and the Bennett-Chandler approach. To study the two-dimensional orientational diffusion the reaction coordinate formalism has to be generalized to multichannel reactions. The rate coefficient for the motion between the six stable orientational states is determined from correlation function expressions, which include corrections to transition-state theory due to recrossings of free energy barriers. At high temperatures the simulation results are compared with results obtained by standard molecular dynamics methods. At low temperatures the transmission coefficient is computed and the dependence of the plateau value upon the density of the surrounding argon matrix and upon the isotopes, chosen to form the N-2 molecule, is investigated. (C) 1995 American Institute of Physics
MusER: Musical Element-Based Regularization for Generating Symbolic Music with Emotion
No full textGenerating music with emotion is an important task in automatic music generation, in which emotion is evoked through a variety of musical elements (such as pitch and duration) that change over time and collaborate with each other. However, prior research on deep learning-based emotional music generation has rarely explored the contribution of different musical elements to emotions, let alone the deliberate manipulation of these elements to alter the emotion of music, which is not conducive to fine-grained element-level control over emotions. To address this gap, we present a novel approach employing musical element-based regularization in the latent space to disentangle distinct elements, investigate their roles in distinguishing emotions, and further manipulate elements to alter musical emotions. Specifically, we propose a novel VQ-VAE-based model named MusER. MusER incorporates a regularization loss to enforce the correspondence between the musical element sequences and the specific dimensions of latent variable sequences, providing a new solution for disentangling discrete sequences. Taking advantage of the disentangled latent vectors, a two-level decoding strategy that includes multiple decoders attending to latent vectors with different semantics is devised to better predict the elements. By visualizing latent space, we conclude that MusER yields a disentangled and interpretable latent space and gain insights into the contribution of distinct elements to the emotional dimensions (i.e., arousal and valence). Experimental results demonstrate that MusER outperforms the state-of-the-art models for generating emotional music in both objective and subjective evaluation. Besides, we rearrange music through element transfer and attempt to alter the emotion of music by transferring emotion-distinguishable elements
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