Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Do viewpoints lead to better conceptual models? An exploratory case study

The use of viewpoints has long been proposed as a technique to structure evolving requirements models. In theory, viewpoints should provide better stakeholder traceability, and the ability to discover important requirements by comparing viewpoints. However, this theory has never been tested empirically. This paper reports on an exploratory case study of a key hypothesis of the viewpoints theory, namely that by creating separate viewpoint models to represent different stakeholder contributions, and explicitly merging them, important hidden requirements can be discovered. The case study compared two modelling teams using the i* notation to capture requirements for new Web-based counselling services for a large charitable organisation. One team used viewpoints; the other did not. The conclusions include that viewpoint merging improves the understanding of the problem domain, but is very time consuming. The process of merging was more important than the merged product. The study also indicates a need for better model management tools, as both teams encountered difficulty in managing large, evolving models.
Pharmacokinetics of different formulations of oral azacitidine (CC‐486) and the effect of food and modified gastric pH on pharmacokinetics in subjects with hematologic malignancies

Parenteral azacitidine improves overall survival in higher‐risk myelodysplastic syndromes. An oral azacitidine formulation would allow extended dosing schedules, potentially improving safety and/or efficacy. Two Phase 1 studies evaluated the pharmacokinetics (PK) of oral azacitidine in subjects with hematologic malignancies. Study 1 evaluated different oral formulations (immediate release tablet [IRT], enteric‐coated tablet, and capsule; N = 16). Study 2 assessed the effect of food (Part 1; N = 17) and gastric pH modulation with omeprazole (Part 2; N = 14) on oral azacitidine PK. Azacitidine plasma concentration–time profiles for IRT and capsule formulations were similar, with more rapid time to maximum plasma concentration (Tmax) than the enteric‐coated tablet. Study 2 evaluated only IRT formulations of oral azacitidine. Under fed condition, Tmax was delayed ∼1.5 hours but area under the concentration–time curve (AUC∞) and maximum plasma concentrations (Cmax) were comparable under fed and fasted conditions. Mean azacitidine AUC∞ and Cmax increased upon omeprazole co‐administration (18.3% and 13.2%, respectively, vs. oral azacitidine alone), but not to a clinically meaningful extent. High inter‐subject variability in AUC∞ and Cmax (%CV range 46.4–68.9%) was observed. Oral azacitidine is rapidly absorbed with little or no effect of food on PK parameters, and does not require dose adjustments when taking a proton‐pump inhibitor.
Is cohabitation more egalitarian? The Division of household labor in five European countries

This article compares the gendered allocation of household labor between married and cohabiting couples in five European countries: Germany, France,the United Kingdom, Italy, and Spain, testing whether cohabitors show more egalitarian divisions of labor and hypothesizing that the effect of cohabitation differs across countries, depending on the baseline equality and on the meaning of cohabitation. In order to examine to what extent there is equality, not only each partners' contribution to the total housework time is considered but also who does what: Some tasks are more constraining than others, and gender and partnership differences specific to those tasks are investigated too. The empirical analysis is based on Multinational Time Use Surveys (N=58,490), using ordinary least squares linear regression models. Results show that cohabiting couples have a more egalitarian division of labor but that there are important country differences.
Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor d ( PPAR d ) Induces Estrogen Receptor-Positive Mammary Neoplasia through an In fl ammatory andMetabolic Phenotype Linked to mTor Activation

The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-d (PPARd) regulates a multitude of physiological processes associated with glucose and lipid metabolism, inflammation, and proliferation. One or more of these processes are potential risk factors for the ability of PPARd agonists to promote tumorigenesis in themammary gland. In this study, we describe a new transgenic mouse model in which activation of PPARd in the mammary epithelium by endogenous or synthetic ligands resulted in progressive histopathologic changes that culminated in the appearance of estrogen receptorand progesterone receptor-positive and ErbB2-negative infiltrating ductal carcinomas. Multiparous mice presented with mammary carcinomas after a latency of 12 months, and administration of the PPARd ligand GW501516 reduced tumor latency to 5 months. Histopathologic changes occurred concurrently with an increase in an inflammatory, invasive, metabolic, and proliferative gene signature, including expression of the trophoblast gene, Plac1, beginning 1 week after GW501516 treatment, and remained elevated throughout tumorigenesis. The appearance ofmalignant changes correlatedwith a pronounced increase in phosphatidylcholine and lysophosphatidic acid metabolites, which coincided with activation of Akt andmTor signaling thatwere attenuated by treatmentwith themTor inhibitor everolimus. Ourfindings are thefirst to show a direct role of PPARd in the pathogenesis of mammary tumorigenesis, and suggest a rationale for therapeutic approaches to prevent and treat this disease. Cancer Res; 73(14); 1–13. 2013 AACR.
Needs assessment of rural and remote women travelling to the city for breast cancer treatment

The purpose of this study was to assess the needs of rural women travelling to the city for breast cancer treatment. Participants included 80 women aged between 34 and 80 years living in rural NSW and South Australia who travelled for breast cancer treatment. After completing treatment, participants completed a brief telephone survey on the needs of rural women travelling for treatment. Findings revealed that more than 90% of women travelled for treatment due to the lack of available treatment centres closer to home and on average they spent 6.79 weeks (SD=4.73) away from their home and family. Findings also showed that 89% identified specific problems for rural women, with social and practical support being primary concerns. Although the majority of women were provided with some type of social support, only 39% of women received financial assistance and 19% of these women had trouble claiming money for which they were eligible. Recommendations of appropriate interventions to ensure equity in the availability and access to breast cancer treatment for all women are discussed.
Turning down the noise in the blogosphere

In recent years, the blogosphere has experienced a substantial increase in the number of posts published daily, forcing users to cope with information overload. The task of guiding users through this flood of information has thus become critical. To address this issue, we present a principled approach for picking a set of posts that best covers the important stories in the blogosphere. We define a simple and elegant notion of coverage and formalize it as a submodular optimization problem, for which we can efficiently compute a near-optimal solution. In addition, since people have varied interests, the ideal coverage algorithm should incorporate user preferences in order to tailor the selected posts to individual tastes. We define the problem of learning a personalized coverage function by providing an appropriate user-interaction model and formalizing an online learning framework for this task. We then provide a no-regret algorithm which can quickly learn a user's preferences from limited feedback. We evaluate our coverage and personalization algorithms extensively over real blog data. Results from a user study show that our simple coverage algorithm does as well as most popular blog aggregation sites, including Google Blog Search, Yahoo! Buzz, and Digg. Furthermore, we demonstrate empirically that our algorithm can successfully adapt to user preferences. We believe that our technique, especially with personalization, can dramatically reduce information overload.
Comparative effectiveness of lumbar stabilization, dynamic strengthening, and Pilates on chronic low back pain: randomized clinical trial

The aim of the present study was to compare three different forms of exercises namely lumbar stabilization, dynamic strengthening, and Pilates on chronic low back pain (LBP) in terms of pain, range of motion, core strength and function. In this study, 44 subjects suffering from non-specific LBP for more than 3 months were randomly allocated into the lumbar stabilization group, the dynamic strengthening group, and the Pilates group. Ten sessions of exercises for 3 weeks were prescribed along with interferential current and hot moist pack. Pain was assessed by visual analog scale, functional affection by modified Oswestry Disability Questionnaire, range of motion by assessing lumbar flexion and extension by modified Schober test and core strength was assessed by pressure biofeedback on day 1 and day 10 of the treatment. There was reduction of pain, improvement in range of motion, functional ability and core strength in all the 3 exercise groups. The improvement was significantly greater in the lumbar stabilization group for all the outcome measures, when compared the posttreatment after 10th session. Pairwise comparison showed that there was greater reduction of disability in the Pilates group than the dynamic strengthening group. It was concluded that the lumbar stabilization is more superior compared to the dynamic strengthening and Pilates in chronic nonspecific LBP. However, long-term benefits need to be assessed and compared with prospective follow-up studies.
Pilot Feasibility Study of Transbronchial Needle Forceps: A New Tool for Obtaining Histology Samples From Mediastinal Subcarinal Lymph Nodes

BackgroundCutting transbronchial histology needles to obtain tissue cores from hilar/mediastinal lymph nodes or masses adjacent to the tracheobronchial tree are able to provide adequate histology tissue samples in only 38% to 78% of cases. The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a new instrument developed to obtain a fragment of a tissue for histologic diagnosis of enlarged subcarinal lymph nodes. MethodsThe transbronchial needle forceps (TBNF) is a sampling instrument that combines the characteristics of a needle (beveled tip for penetrating through the bronchial wall) with that of a forceps (2 serrated jaws for grasping the biopsy). The external diameter of the needle forceps is 1.5 mm. ResultsFourteen patients (11 male, 3 female; mean age: 51 y) with subcarinal lymph node enlargement greater than 2 cm in short axis were included in this pilot study. TBNF provided tissue for histologic diagnosis in 8 patients (57.1%). In 4 patients (28.5%) TBNF could not be inserted through the bronchial wall. For patients in whom it was possible to insert the TBNF, a tissue core adequate for histologic examination was obtained in 9 (90%) and a diagnosis in 8 (80%) (non-small-cell lung cancer in 3, sarcoidosis in 2, small cell lung cancer in 1, tuberculosis in 1, and Hodgkin lymphoma in 1). No clinically significant procedure-related complications were encountered. ConclusionsThis study demonstrates that, when insertion through the bronchial wall is possible, TBNF safely provides diagnostic histologic specimens of subcarinal lymphadenopathy in a large percentage of cases.
A low cortisol response to acute stress is related to worse basal memory performance in older people

Age-related memory decline has been associated with a faulty regulation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA-axis). The aim of this study was to investigate whether the magnitude of the stress-induced cortisol increase is related to memory performance when memory is measured in non-stressful conditions. To do so, declarative and working memory performance were measured in 31 men and 35 women between 55 and 77 years of age. On a different day, the magnitude of their cortisol response to acute psychosocial stress was measured. The relationship between the cortisol response and memory performance was U shaped: a low cortisol response to stress was related to poorer declarative and working memory performance, whereas those who did not increase their cortisol levels and those who had the largest cortisol increase had better declarative and working memory capabilities. Sex did not moderate these relationships. These results suggest that a low cortisol response to stress could reflect a defective HPA-axis response to stressors that is accompanied by poorer memory performance. Conversely, a high cortisol response seems to reflect a correct functioning of the HPA-axis and may protect against memory deficits in the later stages of human life.
Real-time estimation of human body posture from monocular thermal images

This paper introduces a new real-time method to estimate the posture of a human from thermal images acquired by an infrared camera regardless of the back-ground and lighting conditions. Distance transformation is performed for the human body area extracted from the thresholded thermal image for the. Calculation of the center of gravity. After the orientation of the upper half of the body is obtained by calculating the moment of inertia, significant points such as the top of the head, the tips of the hands and foot are heuristically located. In addition, the elbow and foot positions are estimated from the detected (significant) points using a genetic algorithm based learning procedure. The experimental results demonstrate the robustness of the proposed algorithm and real-time (faster than 20 frames per second) performance.
The effect of high iron doses (Fe2+) on the growth of broccoli plants (Brassica oleracea var. Italica).

Tests were carried out under greenhouse conditions in Tunja (Colombia) in order to evaluate the effect of Fe 2+ toxicity on the growth of broccoli plants. ‘Legacy’ hybrid Brassica oleracea var. Italica plantlets were grown in glass containers with a nutritive solution. Iron sulfate was added to the substrate in order to produce excess iron at concentrations of 100 and 200 mg L -1 ; a control without iron sulfate applications was used. The following evaluations were made: leaf area, total dry weight of the plants, distribution of dry mass (DM) in the different organs, absolute growth rate, relative growth rate, net assimilation rate and the root:shoot ratio. The total DM decreased drastically in the plants subjected to excess Fe 2+ , the growth indices progressively decreased with increases in the Fe 2+ concentrations in the substrate and the distribution of DM in the organs varied as a function of the needs of the plants, with 15.85 and 11.10% less DM in the roots of the plants subjected to Fe 2+ than in the control plants, at 100 and 250 mg L -1 , respectively.
Cadmium-exposed population in Mae Sot District, Tak Province: 1. Prevalence of high urinary cadmium levels in the adults.

BACKGROUND In Mae Sot District, Tak Province, Thailand, the paddy fields receiving irrigation from the two creeks and crops grown in the areas were found to contain markedly elevated cadmium levels during the surveys in 2001-2004. OBJECTIVE The present report carried out a survey in 2004 to determine urinary cadmium, a good index of excessive cadmium exposure and body burden, among the exposed residents aged 15 years and older in these contaminated areas. MATERIAL AND METHOD Morning urine samples were collected from the subjects and then kept frozen until cadmium analysis. Urinary cadmium was determined using the atomic absorption spectrometry and urinary creatinine was determined using a method of reaction with picric acid at alkaline pH and colorimetry. RESULTS Of the 7,697 persons surveyed, only 45.6% had urinary cadmium levels < 2 microg/g creatinine. About 4.9% were between 5 and 10 microg/g creatinine and 2.3% had cadmium concentrations > 10. The urinary cadmium level was greater among women than men and increased with increasing age. Smokers were more likely to have high urinary cadmium than non-smokers. Persons who mainly consumed rice grown locally in the contaminated areas had higher urinary cadmium than those who did not. CONCLUSION Persons who had high urinary cadmium levels and might have cadmium-induced toxic effects should be screened for early detection of chronic cadmium toxicity. Smoking cessation programs should be one component of preventive action beneficial for the study population. The production of rice and other crops for human consumption should be prohibited to prevent further accumulation of cadmium in the body of the exposed population.
A Comparative Study of Kernel Functions for Primal-Dual Interior-Point Algorithms in Linear Optimization

Recently, so-called self-regular barrier functions for primal-dual interior-point methods (IPMs) for linear optimization were introduced. Each such barrier function is determined by its (univariate) self-regular kernel function. We introduce a new class of kernel functions. The class is defined by some simple conditions on the kernel function and its derivatives. These properties enable us to derive many new and tight estimates that greatly simplify the analysis of IPMs based on these kernel functions. In both the algorithm and its analysis we use a single neighborhood of the central path; the neighborhood naturally depends on the kernel function. An important conclusion is that inverse functions of suitable restrictions of the kernel function and its first derivative more or less determine the behavior of the corresponding IPMs. Based on the new estimates we present a simple and unified computational scheme for the complexity analysis of kernel function in the new class. We apply this scheme to seven specific kernel functions. Some of these functions are self-regular, and others are not. One of the functions differs from the others, and from all self-regular functions, in the sense that its growth term is linear. Iteration bounds for both large- and small-update methods are derived. It is shown that small-update methods based on the new kernel functions all have the same complexity as the classical primal-dual IPM, namely, $O(\sqrt{n}\log\frac{n}{\e})$. For large-update methods the best obtained bound is $O(\sqrt{n}(\log n)\log\frac{n}{\e})$, which until now has been the best known bound for such methods.
A Novel Simulation Methodology for Accelerating Reliability Assessment of SSDs

Reliability is an important factor to consider when designing and deploying SSDs in storage systems. Both the endurance and the retention time of flash memory are affected by the history of low-level stress and recovery patterns in flash cells, which are determined by the workload characteristics, the time during which the workload utilizes the SSD, and the FTL algorithms. Accurately assessing SSD reliability requires simulating several years' of workload behavior, which is time consuming. This paper presents a methodology that uses snapshot-based sampling and clustering techniques to help reduce the simulation time while maintaining high accuracy. The methodology leverages the key insight that most of the large changes in retention time occur early in the lifetime of the SSD, whereas most of the simulation time is spent in its later stages. This allows simulation acceleration to focus on the later stages without significant loss of accuracy. We show that our approach provides an average speed-up of 12X relative to detailed simulation with an error of 3.21% in the estimated mean and 6.42% in the estimated standard deviation of the retention times of the blocks in the SSD.
Acute effects of betahistine hydrochloride on food intake and appetite in obese women: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND Central nervous system histaminergic tone is thought to play a role in appetite regulation. In animal models, histamine receptor 1 (HRH1) agonists and histamine receptor 3 (HRH3) antagonists decrease food intake. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to examine the acute effects of betahistine hydrochloride (an HRH1 agonist and HRH3 antagonist) on food intakes and appetites. DESIGN The study was a proof-of-concept, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, dose-ranging study performed to examine the effects of betahistine in women with class I or II obesity [body mass index (BMI; in kg/m²) of 30-39.99]. After a 24-h placebo run-in period, subjects received a placebo (n = 19) or 48 (n = 19), 96 (n = 17), or 144 (n = 21) mg betahistine/d for 24 h. Treatment was followed by a buffet test meal to assess energy intake. Hunger, satiety, and desire to eat were measured after consuming the meal by using visual analog scales. Data were analyzed by using regression models with the assumption that there would be an increasing effect of betahistine doses. Analyses were adjusted for age, log fat and lean mass, food preferences, and intake during a buffet test meal obtained during the placebo run-in period. RESULTS Of the 79 obese women (mean ± SD age: 42 ± 11 y; BMI: 35 ± 3) enrolled in the study, 76 women completed the study. The betahistine dose did not significantly change intakes from those observed during the run-in period of the buffet test meal (P = 0.78). Hunger, fullness, and desire to eat (all P > 0.62) similarly showed no differences according to the betahistine dose. CONCLUSIONS Betahistine did not produce an effect on food intakes or appetites. More potent histaminergic modulators may be required to elucidate the possible role of histaminergic pathways in human obesity. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00459992.
Reduced residual conduction gaps and favourable outcome in contact force-guided circumferential pulmonary vein isolation

Abstract Aims Although contact force (CF)-guided circumferential pulmonary vein isolation (CPVI) for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) is useful, AF recurrence at long-term follow-up still remains to be resolved. The purpose of this study was to assess safety and efficacy of CF-guided CPVI and to compare residual conduction gaps during CPVI and long-term outcome between the conventional (non-CF-guided) and the CF-guided CPVI. Methods and results We studied the 50 consecutive PAF patients undergoing CPVI by a ThermoCool EZ Steer catheter (conventional group, mean age 61 ± 10 years) and the other 50 consecutive PAF patients by a ThermoCool SmartTouch catheter (CF group, 65 ± 11 years). The procedure parameters and residual conduction gaps during CPVI, and long-term outcome for 12 months were compared between the two groups. Circumferential pulmonary vein isolation was successfully accomplished without any major complications in both groups. Total procedure and total fluoroscopy times were both significantly shorter in the CF group than in the conventional group (160 ± 30 vs. 245 ± 61 min, P < 0.001, and 17 ± 8 vs. 54 ± 27 min, P < 0.001, respectively). Total number of residual conduction gaps was significantly less in the CF group than in the conventional group (2.7 ± 1.7 vs. 6.3 ± 2.7, P < 0.05). The AF recurrence-free rates after CPVI during 12-month follow-up were 96% (48/50) in the CF group and 82% (41/50) in the conventional group (P = 0.02 by log rank test). Multivariate Cox regression analysis further supported this finding. Conclusion Contact force-guided CPVI is safe and more effective in reducing not only the procedure time but also the AF recurrence than the conventional CPVI, possibly due to reduced residual conduction gaps during CPVI procedure.