Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Software Safety: Where's the Evidence?

Standards for safety critical software usually either mandate or recommend development and assessment techniques which are deemed appropriate to reduce the risk of flaws in the software contributing to accidents. These recommendations are usually broken down into a number of "levels" of rigour, with the highest levels being applied where the consequences of failure, or risk, are most severe. The paper discusses the extent to which it is possible to find evidence that there is a genuine variation in risk with level, i.e. that the principles in the standards are sound, and questions some of the assumptions underlying these standards.The paper then goes on to discuss the potential advantages of using product-based evidence to demonstrate safety of software, as opposed to relying on process prescription. It outlines current work on developing and applying "evidence frameworks" as alternatives to the process-based approach, and identifies some of the challenges in gaining widespread acceptance of such approaches.Finally the paper discusses the ALARP principle, and what would be necessary to show that risks associated with safety-critical software have been reduced ALARP. The paper concludes that there are some fundamental difficulties with applying the ALARP principle to software, which neither the process nor evidence-based approaches to demonstrating software safety can readily resolve.
"Exploring Turkish Nurses’ Attitudes towards Death: A Prospective Study"

The impact on the people and cultures vary according to the time of death showed a deep interest in the people living in all cultures and throughout history, have been the subject of experience and ideas. Seen from the outside is not the experience of death is an issue objectively perceived [2]. Life expectancy is increasing in Turkey and around the world. Turkey in 2005, which is 5.7% of the population over the age of 65 in 2009, was 7% in 2050, while 17.6% reported or are expected to reach [3]. In addition to the process of death, such as cancer, especially in chronic diseases that cause distress to pass increased. However, patients and their families to help them deal with the process of death and hospice palliative care in our country, and to support the process of dying patients and their families are not developed and remain alone. Nurses are the largest group of the treatment team who are responsible for taking care of the dying patients and these statistics suggest that nurses will be responsible for the care of a larger population of dying patients in the future. For all these reasons responsible for the care of the patient 24 hours a day and having a large share of the health care system to determine attitudes of nurses to death, and this is one of the current issues in regard to education.
A Fuzzy Description Logic with Product T-norm

Fuzzy description logics (fuzzy DLs) have been proposed as a language to describe structured knowledge with vague concepts. It is well known that the choice of the fuzzy operators may determine some logical properties. However, up to date the study of fuzzy DLs has been restricted to the Lukasiewicz logic and the "Zadeh semantics". In this work, we propose a novel semantics combining the common product t-norm with the standard negation. We show some interesting properties of the logic and propose a reasoning algorithm based on a mixture of tableaux rules and the reduction to mixed integer quadratically constrained programming.
Parathyroid hormone and phosphorus overload in uremia: impact on cardiovascular system.

BACKGROUND Cardiac remodeling in uremia is characterized by left ventricular hypertrophy, interstitial fibrosis and microvascular disease. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in uremic patients, but coronary events alone are not the prevalent cause, sudden death and heart failure are. We studied the cardiac remodeling in experimental uremia, evaluating the isolated effect of parathyroid hormone (PTH) and phosphorus. METHODS Wistar rats were submitted to parathyroidectomy (PTx) and 5/6 nephrectomy (Nx); they also received vehicle (V) and PTH at normal (nPTH) or high (hPTH) doses. They were fed with a poor-phosphorus (pP) or rich-phosphorus (rP) diet and were divided into the following groups: 'Sham': G1 (V+normal-phosphorus diet (np)) and 'Nx+PTx': G2 (nPTH+pP), G3 (nPTH+rP), G4 (hPTH+pP) and G5 (hPTH+rP). After 8 weeks, biochemical analysis, myocardium morphometry and arteriolar morphological analysis were performed. In addition, using immunohistochemical analysis, we evaluated angiotensin II, α-actin, transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) and nitrotyrosine, as well as fibroblast growth factor-23 (FGF-23), fibroblast growth factor receptor-1 (FGFR-1) and runt-related transcription factor-2 (Runx-2) expression. RESULTS Nx animals presented higher serum creatinine levels as well as arterial hypertension. Higher PTH levels were associated with myocardial hypertrophy and fibrosis as well as a higher coronary lesion score. High PTH animals also presented a higher myocardial expression of TGF-β, angiotensin II, FGF-23 and nitrotyrosine and a lower expression of α-actin. Phosphorus overload was associated with higher serum FGF-23 levels and Runx-2, as well as myocardial hypertrophy. FGFR-1 was positive in the cardiomyocytes of all groups as well as in calcified coronaries of G4 and G5 whereas Runx-2 was positive in G3, G4 and G5. CONCLUSION In uremia, PTH and phosphorus overload are both independently associated with major changes related to the cardiac remodeling process, emphasizing the need for a better control of these factors in chronic kidney disease.
Cigarette Smoking and Risk of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma: A Pooled Analysis from the International Lymphoma Epidemiology Consortium (InterLymph)

Background: The International Lymphoma Epidemiology Consortium (InterLymph) provides an opportunity to analyze the relationship between cigarette smoking and non-Hodgkin lymphoma with sufficient statistical power to consider non-Hodgkin lymphoma subtype. The results from previous studies of this relationship have been inconsistent, likely due to the small sample sizes that arose from stratification by disease subtype. To clarify the role of cigarette smoking in the etiology of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, we conducted a pooled analysis of original patient data from nine case-control studies of non-Hodgkin lymphoma conducted in the United States, Europe, and Australia. Methods: Original data were obtained from each study and uniformly coded. Risk estimates from fixed-effects and two-stage random-effects models were compared to determine the impact of interstudy heterogeneity. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were derived from unconditional logistic regression models, controlling for study center, age, sex, and race. Results: In our pooled study population of 6,594 cases and 8,892 controls, smoking was associated with slightly increased risk estimates (OR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.00-1.15). Stratification by non-Hodgkin lymphoma subtype revealed that the most consistent association between cigarette smoking and non-Hodgkin lymphoma was observed among follicular lymphomas (n = 1452). Compared with nonsmokers, current smokers had a higher OR for follicular lymphoma (1.31; 95% CI, 1.12-1.52) than former smokers (1.06; 95% CI, 0.93-1.22). Current heavy smoking (≥36 pack-years) was associated with a 45% increased OR for follicular lymphoma (1.45; 95% CI, 1.15-1.82) compared with nonsmokers. Conclusions: Cigarette smoking may increase the risk of developing follicular lymphoma but does not seem to affect risk of the other non-Hodgkin lymphoma subtypes we examined. Future research is needed to determine the biological mechanism responsible for our subtype-specific results.
Tiling, Block Data Layout, and Memory Hierarchy Performance

Recently, several experimental studies have been conducted on block data layout in conjunction with tiling as a data transformation technique to improve cache performance. In this paper, we analyze cache and translation look-aside buffer (TLB) performance of such alternate layouts (including block data layout and Morton layout) when used in conjunction with tiling. We derive a tight lower bound on TLB performance for standard matrix access patterns, and show that block data layout and Morton layout achieve this bound. To improve cache performance, block data layout is used in concert with tiling. Based on the cache and TLB performance analysis, we propose a data block size selection algorithm that finds a tight range for optimal block size. To validate our analysis, we conducted simulations and experiments using tiled matrix multiplication, LU decomposition, and Cholesky factorization. For matrix multiplication, simulation results using UltraSparc II parameters show that tiling and block data layout with a block size given by our block size selection algorithm, reduces up to 93 percent of TLB misses compared with other techniques. The total miss cost is reduced considerably. Experiments on several platforms show that tiling with block data layout achieves up to 50 percent performance improvement over other techniques that use conventional layouts. Morton layout is also analyzed and compared with block data layout. Experimental results show that matrix multiplication using block data layout is up to 15 percent faster than that using Morton data layout.
Unified shear strength model for reinforced concrete beams - Part I: Development

This paper describes the development of a theoretical model to predict the shear strength of reinforced concrete beams with and without shear reinforcement. It was assumed that the shear strength of concrete beams can be determined from the failure of the compression zone of a beam cross section. The shear strength of the compression zone was evaluated, considering the interaction between the shear strength and normal stresses developed by the flexural moment. The failure mechanism of the compression zone changes from a tension failure to a compression failure as the shear span-to-depth ratio decreases. The transition of the failure mechanism was properly addressed by considering the geometry of the beam and using material failure criteria of concrete. The proposed strength model can describe the failure mechanisms of both slender beams and deep beams with and without shear reinforcement. This model is verified and further discussed in a companion paper.
An Effector-Reduced Anti-β-Amyloid (Aβ) Antibody with Unique Aβ Binding Properties Promotes Neuroprotection and Glial Engulfment of Aβ

Passive immunization against β-amyloid (Aβ) has become an increasingly desirable strategy as a therapeutic treatment for Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, traditional passive immunization approaches carry the risk of Fcγ receptor-mediated overactivation of microglial cells, which may contribute to an inappropriate proinflammatory response leading to vasogenic edema and cerebral microhemorrhage. Here, we describe the generation of a humanized anti-Aβ monoclonal antibody of an IgG4 isotype, known as MABT5102A (MABT). An IgG4 subclass was selected to reduce the risk of Fcγ receptor-mediated overactivation of microglia. MABT bound with high affinity to multiple forms of Aβ, protected against Aβ1–42 oligomer-induced cytotoxicity, and increased uptake of neurotoxic Aβ oligomers by microglia. Furthermore, MABT-mediated amyloid plaque removal was demonstrated using in vivo live imaging in hAPP(V717I)/PS1 transgenic mice. When compared with a human IgG1 wild-type subclass, containing the same antigen-binding variable domains and with equal binding to Aβ, MABT showed reduced activation of stress-activated p38MAPK (p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase) in microglia and induced less release of the proinflammatory cytokine TNFα. We propose that a humanized IgG4 anti-Aβ antibody that takes advantage of a unique Aβ binding profile, while also possessing reduced effector function, may provide a safer therapeutic alternative for passive immunotherapy for AD. Data from a phase I clinical trial testing MABT is consistent with this hypothesis, showing no signs of vasogenic edema, even in ApoE4 carriers.
Comparison of agility demands of small-sided games in elite Australian football.

PURPOSE To compare the agility demands of 4 small-sided games (SSGs) and evaluate the variability in demands for elite Australian Football (AF). METHODS Fourteen male elite Australian Football League (AFL) players (mean ± SD; 21.7 ± 3.1 y, 189.6 ± 9.0 cm, 88.7 ± 10.0 kg, 39.4 ± 57.1 games) completed 4 SSGs of 3 × 45-s bouts each with modified designs. Video notational analysis, GPS at 5 Hz, and triaxial accelerometer data expressed the external player loads within games. Three comparisons were made using a paired t test (P < .05), and magnitudes of differences were reported with effect size (ES) statistics. RESULTS Reduced area per player (increased density) produced a small increase in total agility maneuvers (SSG1, 7.2 ± 1.3; SSG2, 8.8 ± 4.1), while a large 2D player load was accumulated (P < .05, ES = 1.22). A reduction in players produced a moderate (ES = 0.60) total number of agility maneuvers (SSG 3, 11.3 ± 6.1; SSG 2, 8.3 ± 3.6); however, a greater variability was found. The implementation of a 2-handed-tag rule resulted in a somewhat trivial decline (P > .05, ES = 0.16) in agility events compared with normal AFL tackling rules (SSG 2, 8.3 ± 3.6; SSG 4, 7.8 ± 2.6). CONCLUSIONS SSG characteristics can influence agility-training demand, which can vary considerably for individuals. Coaches should carefully consider SSG design to maximize the potential to develop agility for all players.
Function Approximation with Neural Networks and Local Methods: Bias, Variance and Smoothness

We review the use of global and local methods for estimating a function mapping from samples of the function containing noise. The relationship between the methods is examined and an empirical comparison is performed using the multi-layer perceptron (MLP) global neural network model, the single nearest-neighbour model, a linear local approximation (LA) model, and the following commonly used datasets: the Mackey-Glass chaotic time series, the Sunspot time series, British English Vowel data, TIMIT speech phonemes, building energy prediction data, and the sonar dataset. We find that the simple local approximation models often outperform the MLP. No criterion such as classification/prediction, size of the training set, dimensionality of the training set, etc. can be used to distinguish whether the MLP or the local approximation method will be superior. However, we findthat if we consider histograms of the -NN density estimates for the training datasets then we can choose the best performing method a priori by selecting local approximation when the spread of the density histogram is large and choosing the MLP otherwise. This result correlates with the hypothesis that the global MLP model is less appropriate when the characteristics of the function to be approximated varies throughout the input space. We discuss the results, the smoothness assumption often made in function approximation, and the bias/variance dilemma.
Stability and Stabilizability of Switched Linear Systems: A Survey of Recent Results

During the past several years, there have been increasing research activities in the field of stability analysis and switching stabilization for switched systems. This paper aims to briefly survey recent results in this field. First, the stability analysis for switched systems is reviewed. We focus on the stability analysis for switched linear systems under arbitrary switching, and we highlight necessary and sufficient conditions for asymptotic stability. After a brief review of the stability analysis under restricted switching and the multiple Lyapunov function theory, the switching stabilization problem is studied, and a variety of switching stabilization methods found in the literature are outlined. Then the switching stabilizability problem is investigated, that is under what condition it is possible to stabilize a switched system by properly designing switching control laws. Note that the switching stabilizability problem has been one of the most elusive problems in the switched systems literature. A necessary and sufficient condition for asymptotic stabilizability of switched linear systems is described here.
Computing Borel's Regulator

We present an infinite series formula based on the Karoubi-Hamida integral, for the universal Borel class evaluated on H_{2n+1}(GL(C)). For a cyclotomic field F we define a canonical set of elements in K_3(F) and present a novel approach (based on a free differential calculus) to constructing them. Indeed, we are able to explicitly construct their images in H_3(GL(C)) under the Hurewicz map. Applying our formula to these images yields a value V_1(F), which coincides with the Borel regulator R1(F) when our set is a basis of K_3(F) modulo torsion. For F = Q(e^{2? i/3}) a computation of V_1(F) has been made based on our techniques.
Localization of Cardiac-Induced Signal Change in fMRI

Signal detection in the analysis of blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) may be greatly hindered by cardiac pulsatility artifacts. Vessel pulsation, cerebrospinal fluid movement, and tissue deformation are all associated with the cardiac cycle and all can produce fMRI signal variance. Most cognitive fMRI studies do not utilize a method of cardiac-related noise reduction, in part because of the lack of information on the regional significance and magnitude of cardiac-related signal variance in the brain. In this paper we present a topographical description of the regions showing significant contributions of cardiac-related signal variance. The results are highly consistent across subjects and suggest that reduced sensitivity due to cardiac-induced noise in the BOLD signal is systematically greater in specific areas, typically near major blood vessels. Significant effects of cardiac-related variability were found on average in 27.5 +/- 8.0% of voxels. Strong influences were found along the vertebrobasilar arterial system near the medial areas of the brain, along the middle cerebral artery near the anterior temporal lobes and in the insula, and along the anterior cerebral artery in the anterior interhemispheric fissure in the medial frontal lobes. Significant effects were also observed in the sigmoid transverse and superior sagittal sinus regions. These results identify regions in which fMRI will have reduced sensitivity due to increased signal variation produced by cardiac pulsatility.
A Bayesian Mixed Effects Model of Literary Character

We consider the problem of automatically inferring latent character types in a collection of 15,099 English novels published between 1700 and 1899. Unlike prior work in which character types are assumed responsible for probabilistically generating all text associated with a character, we introduce a model that employs multiple effects to account for the influence of extra-linguistic information (such as author). In an empirical evaluation, we find that this method leads to improved agreement with the preregistered judgments of a literary scholar, complementing the results of alternative models.
The Association of C-Reactive Protein Levels With Carotid Intima-Media Complex Thickness and Plaque Formation in the General Population

Background and Purpose— An inflammatory response has been associated with the development of atherosclerosis. Our aim was to clarify which atherosclerotic changes (intima-media complex thickness [IMT] increase, plaque formation, and arterial dilatation) are associated with C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and to determine whether there are any gender differences. Methods— Carotid ultrasound and measurement of high-sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) levels were performed in 2056 subjects selected from a general population (mean age 58.3 years; 1290 men). Results— In both genders, IMT significantly increased with increasing hs-CRP quartile (P<0.001), but this relationship disappeared after adjustment for age and other traditional cardiovascular risk factors. In men, but not women, carotid luminal diameter significantly increased with increasing hs-CRP levels (P<0.05), but again, this relationship disappeared with adjustment for age and other risk factors. However, in men, but not women, plaque score increased significantly with increasing hs-CRP quartile (P<0.01), even after adjustment for age and other traditional risk factors. Conclusions— CRP level was closely associated with early atherosclerotic changes represented by carotid plaque formation. However, the IMT increase was strongly associated with aging and other traditional cardiovascular risk factors rather than CRP level. In the general population, CRP may serve as a complementary and quantitative marker for atherosclerotic plaque formation in men but not women.
Bosentan Is a Substrate of Human OATP1B1 and OATP1B3: Inhibition of Hepatic Uptake as the Common Mechanism of Its Interactions with Cyclosporin A, Rifampicin, and Sildenafil

The elimination process of the endothelin receptor antagonist bosentan (Tracleer) in humans is entirely dependent on metabolism mediated by two cytochrome P450 (P450) enzymes, i.e., CYP3A4 and CYP2C9. Most interactions with concomitantly administered drugs can be rationalized in terms of inhibition of these P450 enzymes. The increased bosentan concentrations observed in the presence of cyclosporin A, rifampicin, or sildenafil, however, are incompatible with this paradigm and prompted the search for alternative mechanisms governing these interactions. In the present article, we identify bosentan and its active plasma metabolite, Ro 48-5033 (4-(2-hydroxy-1,1-dimethyl-ethyl)-N-[6-(2-hydroxy-ethoxy)-5-(2-methoxy-phenoxy)-[2,2′]bipyrimidinyl-4-yl]-benzenesulfonamide), as substrates of the human organic anion transporting polypeptides (OATP) OATP1B1 and OATP1B3. Bosentan uptake into Chinese hamster ovary cells expressing these OATP transporters was efficiently inhibited by cyclosporin A and rifampicin with IC50 values significantly below their effective plasma concentrations in humans. The phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor sildenafil was also shown to interfere with OATP-mediated transport, however, at concentrations above those achieved in therapeutic use. Therefore, inhibition of bosentan hepatic uptake may represent an alternative/complementary mechanism to rationalize some of the pharmacokinetic interactions seen in therapeutic use. A similar picture has been drawn for drugs like pitavastatin and fexofenadine, drugs that are mainly excreted in unchanged form. Bosentan elimination, in contrast, is entirely dependent on metabolism. Therefore, the described interactions with rifampicin, cyclosporin A, and, to a lesser extent, sildenafil represent evidence that inhibition of hepatic uptake may become the rate-limiting step in the overall elimination process even for drugs whose elimination is entirely dependent on metabolism.
Non-breeding season events influence sexual selection in a long-distance migratory bird

The study of sexual selection has traditionally focused on events and behaviours immediately surrounding copulation. In this study, we examine whether carry-over effects from the non-breeding season can influence the process of sexual selection in a long-distance migratory bird, the American redstart (Setophaga ruticilla). Previous work on American redstarts demonstrated that overwintering in a high-quality habitat influences spring departure dates from the wintering grounds, advances arrival dates on the breeding grounds and increases apparent reproductive success. We show that the mixed-mating strategy of American redstarts compounds the benefits of overwintering in high-quality winter habitats. Males arriving to breed in Canada from high-quality winter habitats arrive earlier than males from poor-quality habitats, resulting in a lower probability of paternity loss, a higher probability of achieving polygyny and ultimately higher realized reproductive success. Such results suggest that the process of sexual selection may be influenced by events interacting throughout the annual cycle.