An extension of SPARQL for expressing qualitative preferences

In this paper we present SPREFQL, an extension of the SPARQL language that allows appending a PREFER clause that expresses "soft" preferences over the query results obtained by the main body of the query. The extension does not add expressivity and any SPREFQL query can be transformed to an equivalent standard SPARQL query. However, clearly separating preferences from the "hard" patterns and filters in the WHERE clause gives queries where the intention of the client is more cleanly expressed, an advantage for both human readability and machine optimization. In the paper we formally define the syntax and the semantics of the extension and we also provide empirical evidence that optimizations specific to SPREFQL improve run-time efficiency by comparison to the usually applied optimizations on the equivalent standard SPARQL query.Comment: Accepted to the 2017 International Semantic Web Conference, Vienna, October 201

Application of Mental Skills Training in Surgery: A Review of Its Effectiveness and Proposed Next Steps

Introduction: Mental skills training, which refers to the teaching of performance enhancement and stress management psychological strategies, may benefit surgeons. Our objective was to review the application of mental skills training in surgery and contrast it to other domains, examine the effectiveness of this approach in enhancing surgical performance and reducing stress, and provide future directions for mental skills training in surgery. Materials and Methods: A systematic literature search of MEDLINE, PubMed, PsycINFO, and ClinicalKey was performed between 1996 and 2016. Keywords included were mental readiness, mental competency, mental skill, mental practice, imagery, mental imagery, mental rehearsal, stress management training, stress coping, mental training, performance enhancement, and surgery. Reviews of mental skills interventions in sport and well-regarded sport psychology textbooks were also reviewed. Primary outcome of interest was the effect of mental skills on surgical performance in the simulated or clinical environment. Results: Of 490 identified abstracts, 28 articles met inclusion criteria and were reviewed. The majority of the literature provides evidence that mental imagery and stress management training programs are effective at enhancing surgical performance and reducing stress. Studies from other disciplines suggest that comprehensive mental skills programs may be more effective than imagery and stress management techniques alone. Conclusions: Given the demonstrated efficacy of mental imagery and stress management training in surgery and the incremental value of comprehensive mental skills curricula used in other domains, a concerted effort should be made to apply comprehensive mental skills curricula during surgical training

Development of ASMBS Research Agenda for Bariatric Surgery Using the Delphi Methodology

Background While the number of research publications related to bariatric surgery have increased remarkably in the past decade, research efforts remain uncoordinated and have limited focus, and numerous important questions remain unanswered. Objective To generate a research agenda in bariatric surgery. Setting National survey. Methods The membership of the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) was asked to submit research questions needed to advance the field of bariatric surgery. An expert panel grouped and collated submitted questions and redistributed them back to the membership to rate their importance on a 5-point Likert scale using a 3-round modified Delphi methodology. The top research questions were determined based on provided rankings. Results Two hundred ninety-two research questions were initially submitted that were collapsed to 59 unique questions. The ratings for the top 40 questions ranged from 2.67–4.33 (overall mean, 3.46). The highest-ranked questions centered on the mechanisms of effectiveness of bariatric surgery for weight loss and diabetes resolution, the underlying etiology of weight recidivism, and predictors of success. Conclusions A research agenda for bariatric surgery was developed using the Delphi methodology. This research agenda may enhance the ability of investigators and funding organizations, including the ASMBS, to focus attention to areas most likely to advance the field, and by editors and reviewers to assess the merit and relevance of scientific contributions

Multimodal Affective State Recognition in Serious Games Applications

A challenging research issue, which has recently attracted a lot of attention, is the incorporation of emotion recognition technology in serious games applications, in order to improve the quality of interaction and enhance the gaming experience. To this end, in this paper, we present an emotion recognition methodology that utilizes information extracted from multimodal fusion analysis to identify the affective state of players during gameplay scenarios. More specifically, two monomodal classifiers have been designed for extracting affective state information based on facial expression and body motion analysis. For the combination of different modalities a deep model is proposed that is able to make a decision about player’s affective state, while also being robust in the absence of one information cue. In order to evaluate the performance of our methodology, a bimodal database was created using Microsoft’s Kinect sensor, containing feature vectors extracted from users' facial expressions and body gestures. The proposed method achieved higher recognition rate in comparison with mono-modal, as well as early-fusion algorithms. Our methodology outperforms all other classifiers, achieving an overall recognition rate of 98.3%

Functional responses of uremic single skeletal muscle fibers to redox imbalances

BACKGROUND: The exact causes of skeletal muscle weakness in chronic kidney disease (CKD) remain unknown with uremic toxicity and redox imbalances being implicated. To understand whether uremic muscle has acquired any sensitivity to acute redox changes we examined the effects of redox disturbances on force generation capacity. METHODS: Permeabilized single psoas fibers (N =37) from surgically induced CKD (UREM) and sham-operated (CON) rabbits were exposed to an oxidizing (10 mM Hydrogen Peroxide, H2O2) and/or a reducing [10 mM Dithiothreitol (DTT)] agent, in a blind design, in two sets of experiments examining: A) the acute effect of the addition of H2O2 on maximal (pCa 4.4) isometric force of actively contracting fibers and the effect of incubation in DTT on subsequent re-activation and force recovery (N =9 CON; N =9 UREM fibers); B) the effect of incubation in H2O2 on both submaximal (pCa 6.2) and maximal (pCa 4.4) calcium activated isometric force generation (N =9 CON; N =10 UREM fibers). RESULTS: Based on cross-sectional area (CSA) calculations, a 14 % atrophy in UREM fibers was revealed; thus forces were evaluated in absolute values and corrected for CSA (specific force) values. A) Addition of H2O2 during activation did not significantly affect force generation in any group or the pool of fibers. Incubation in DTT did not affect the CON fibers but caused a 12 % maximal isometric force decrease in UREM fibers (both in absolute force p =0.024, and specific force, p =0.027). B) Incubation in H2O2 during relaxation lowered subsequent maximal (but not submaximal) isometric forces in the Pool of fibers by 3.5 % (for absolute force p =0.033, for specific force p =0.019) but not in the fiber groups separately. CONCLUSIONS: Force generation capacity of CON and UREM fibers is affected by oxidation similarly. However, DTT significantly lowered force in UREM muscle fibers. This may indicate that at baseline UREM muscle could have already been at a more reduced redox state than physiological. This observation warrants further investigation as it could be linked to disease-induced effects

Mastering Stress: Mental Skills and Emotional Regulation for Surgical Performance and Life

Mental skills and emotional regulation training are gaining acceptance in surgical education as vital elements of surgeon development. These skills can effectively enhance technical skill development, improve well-being, and promote career longevity. There is evidence emerging in the surgical education literature to support the incorporation of mental skills and emotional regulation training curricula in residency training. In this study, we present the existing evidence supporting the use of this training with high performers to reduce stress and optimize well-being and performance. We also consider the recent research emerging in surgical education that offers validity evidence for use of mental skills training with surgeons. Finally, we provide a framework to guide the incorporation of these skills throughout the career of a surgeon and suggest methods to promote the development of mental skills training efforts nationally

On the Complexity of Query Result Diversification

Query result diversification is a bi-criteria optimization problem for ranking query results. Given a database D, a query Q and a positive integer k, it is to find a set of k tuples from Q(D) such that the tuples are as relevant as possible to the query, and at the same time, as diverse as possible to each other. Subsets of Q(D) are ranked by an objective function defined in terms of relevance and diversity. Query result diversification has found a variety of applications in databases, information retrieval and operations research. This paper studies the complexity of result diversification for relational queries. We identify three problems in connection with query result diversification, to determine whether there exists a set of k tuples that is ranked above a bound with respect to relevance and diversity, to assess the rank of a given k-element set, and to count how many k-element sets are ranked above a given bound. We study these problems for a variety of query languages and for three objective functions. We establish the upper and lower bounds of these problems, all matching, for both combined complexity and data complexity. We also investigate several special settings of these problems, identifying tractable cases. 1

Update of the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI) Core Syllabus for the European Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Certification Exam

An updated version of the European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI) Core Syllabus for the European Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (CMR) Certification Exam is now available online. The syllabus lists key elements of knowledge in CMR. It represents a framework for the development of training curricula and provides expected knowledge-based learning outcomes to the CMR trainees, in particular those intending to demonstrate CMR knowledge in the European CMR exam, a core requirement in the CMR certification process

Retention of basic laparoscopic skills after a structured training program

The purpose of this study was to test the retention of basic laparoscopic skills on a box trainer 1 year after a short training program. For a prior study, eight medical students without prior experience (novices) underwent baseline testing, followed by five weekly training sessions and a final test. During each of seven sessions, they performed five tasks on an inanimate box trainer. Scores were calculated by adding up the time to completion of the task with penalty points, consequently rewarding speed and precision. The sum score was the sum of the five scores. One year later, seven of them underwent retention testing for the current study. The final test results were compared with retention test results as a measure of durability of acquired skills. Novices’ scores did not worsen significantly for four out of five tasks (i.e., placing a pipe cleaner p = 0.46, placing beads p = 0.24, cutting a circle p = 0.31, and knot tying p = 0.13). However, deterioration was observed in the performance on stretching a rubber band (p < 0.05), as well as in the sum score (p < 0.05). Nevertheless, all retention scores remained better than the baseline results. In conclusion, basic laparoscopic skills acquired during a short training program merely sustain over time. However, ongoing practice is advisable, especially to preserve tissue-handling skills, since these may be the first to deteriorate