Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Blood optical properties at various glucose level values in THz frequency range

The number of diabetics is rapidly growing every day in all parts of the world. By the year 2010, the number of patients suffering from diabetes had amounted to more than 230 million people, which is estimated as 3.5% of the whole world adult population [1]. According to expert forecasts, this number is projected to double by the year 2025, which is going to be 7% of whole Earth population. It was calculated that every 10 seconds someone in the world dies due to diabetes and its complications, which is 3 million people per year. The average life expectancy of children with diabetes is less than 28.3 years of onset. Diabetes is considered to be the fourth most common cause of death in industrialized countries. Vascular complications due to diabetes cause early disability and high mortality. Mortality from heart diseases and strokes is 2-3 times more likely for patients suffering from diabetes, whereas blindness, nephropathy and lower limbs gangrene happen respectively 10, 12-15 times, and almost 20 times more often for diabetics than general population. The number and strength of complications depend directly on the blood glucose level control quality. At the moment, the blood glucose level measurements are performed by glucometers [2,3]. This method requires that a patient makes a finger puncture for every measurement. About five punctures per day should be done for proper glucose monitoring, which is about 1,800 punctures per year. Besides, each measurement by glucometer requires a distinct test strip. Expenses for 1,800 test strips could be estimated as about 450 euros per year. It is also necessary to take into account that each puncture has a risk of blood poisoning. Using non-invasive techniques for glucose level control could reduce the amount of possible risky manipulations by 1800 per year. Moreover, it is worth mentioning that only eight of ten fingers are suitable for puncturing, and the constant skin damage which cannot be avoided is quite annoying for the patients. Most biomolecules have characteristic signature frequencies in the terahertz (THz) range, which can reveal their presence and determine the concentration. Therefore, this paper is intended to study the blood optical properties in the THz frequency range in order to determine THz radiation effect on blood. The main aim of this investigation is to determine the effect of blood glucose concentration on the blood optical properties. In the case if blood optical properties vary at different glucose concentrations having a proportional relationship between them, these results will confirm the possibility of development of non-invasive procedures for blood glucose level diagnostics.
The Denser the Merrier? The Developing Story of Vascular Calcification.

The coronary artery calcium (CAC) score, the Agatston score, is a robust noninvasive surrogate marker of coronary atherosclerosis, which is strongly associated with increased risk of incident cardiovascular events and mortality.1 Its ability to predict adverse cardiovascular outcome is incremental to traditional risk factors used in clinical risk prediction,2,3 and it has been validated by studies on a wide spectrum of sex, age, ethnic, and racial backgrounds.1,4 The association between vascular calcification and worse prognosis has also been documented in other extracoronary vascular territories.5,6 In particular, the presence and extent of abdominal aortic calcification (AAC), measured using the Agatston method, is associated with a higher risk of incident cardiovascular events and mortality in several studies.7 See Article by Forbang et al The Agatston score has been developed to quantify the total amount of vessel calcification, and it is calculated by multiplying the calcification area by a density factor.8 This calculation assumes that any increase in the amount of calcification would indicate a higher atherosclerosis burden and worse prognosis. Yet, recent studies have questioned whether both components of the score, calcification area and density, have similar implications for prognosis. In a previous analysis of MESA (Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis),9 the investigators estimated the averaged CAC density by dividing the Agatston CAC score by the CAC volume. In this study, the coronary calcium …
Cohesion Metrics for Evaluating Semantic Web Ontologies

With the widespread development of the Semantic Web, large-scale ontologies are being developed in more real-world applications to represent and integrate knowledge and data. There is an increasing need for measuring the cohesion of these ontologies for better understanding, maintenance, reuse and integration. The ontology cohesion metrics proposed in this paper can be used as a very useful complementarity of existing ontology cohesion metrics. Specifically, we first propose a set of evaluation metrics to measure the cohesion of ontologies based on directed acyclic graph. Following the framework for software measurement validation, we then evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed metrics theoretically. Finally, we conduct experiments using a set of classical ontologies; the results show that the proposed metrics are reasonable and effective.
Closed-Form Treatment of the Interactions between Neuronal Activity and Timing-Dependent Plasticity in Networks of Linear Neurons

Network activity and network connectivity mutually influence each other. Especially for fast processes, like spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP), which depends on the interaction of few (two) signals, the question arises how these interactions are continuously altering the behavior and structure of the network. To address this question a time-continuous treatment of plasticity is required. However, this is - even in simple recurrent network structures - currently not possible. Thus, here we develop for a linear differential Hebbian learning system a method by which we can analytically investigate the dynamics and stability of the connections in recurrent networks. We use noisy periodic external input signals, which through the recurrent connections lead to complex actual ongoing inputs and observe that large stable ranges emerge in these networks without boundaries or weight-normalization. Somewhat counter-intuitively, we find that about 40% of these cases are obtained with a long-term potentiation-dominated STDP curve. Noise can reduce stability in some cases, but generally this does not occur. Instead stable domains are often enlarged. This study is a first step toward a better understanding of the ongoing interactions between activity and plasticity in recurrent networks using STDP. The results suggest that stability of (sub-)networks should generically be present also in larger structures.
Chemically Amplified Positive Resists for Two‐Photon Three‐Dimensional Microfabrication

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Extending the school grounds?--Bullying experiences in cyberspace.

BACKGROUND Bullying is a national public health problem affecting millions of students. With the rapid increase in electronic or online communication, bullying is no longer limited to schools. The goal of the current investigation was to examine the overlap among targets of, and the similarities between, online and in-school bullying among Internet-using adolescents. Additionally, a number of common assumptions regarding online or cyberbullying were tested. METHODS An anonymous Web-based survey was conducted with one thousand four hundred fifty-four 12- to 17-year-old youth. RESULTS Within the past year, 72% of respondents reported at least 1 online incident of bullying, 85% of whom also experienced bullying in school. The most frequent forms of online and in-school bullying involved name-calling or insults, and the online incidents most typically took place through instant messaging. When controlling for Internet use, repeated school-based bullying experiences increased the likelihood of repeated cyberbullying more than the use of any particular electronic communication tool. About two thirds of cyberbullying victims reported knowing their perpetrators, and half of them knew the bully from school. Both in-school and online bullying experiences were independently associated with increased social anxiety. Ninety percent of the sample reported they do not tell an adult about cyberbullying, and only a minority of participants had used digital tools to prevent online incidents. CONCLUSIONS The findings have implications for (1) school policies about cyberbullying, (2) parent education about the risks associated with online communication, and (3) youth advice regarding strategies to prevent and deal with cyberbullying incidents.
Sublanguage Dependent Evaluation: Toward Predicting NLP performances

In Natural Language Processing (NLP) Evaluation, such as MUC (Hirshman, 1998), TREC (Harman, 1998), GRACE (Adda et al., 1997), SENSEVAL (Kilgariff, 1998), metrics on the performances, such as precision, recall, or f-measure are used. Nevertheless, performance results are often average measurements computed over the complete test. They do not give any clues about the system’s robustness. We conceive evaluations being not only a processs to show how good the systems are on a given dataset, but also as an aid for choosing which system or approach to use to build a NLP application for a specific subset of the language. In this case, knowing which system performs better on average does not help us to find which is the best for a given subset of a language. As a matter of fact, this aspect of the reuse paradigm is rarely investigated in the litterature about workbenches especially designed to adapt quickly to new language resources, such as GATE (Cunningham, 1997), In the present article, the existing approaches which take into account language heterogeneity and offer methods to identify sublanguages are presented. Then we propose a new metric to assess robustness and we study the existence of a correlation between the performance variations observed for POS tagging and the different sublanguages identified in the Penn Tree Bank Corpus. The work we present here is a first step in the development of predictive evaluation methods, intended to propose new tools to help in determining in advance the range of performance that can be expected from a system on a given dataset. keywords : (predictive) evaluation, POS tagging, textual typology, sublanguages, performance variations.
The Over-expression of the β2 Catalytic Subunit of the Proteasome Decreases Homologous Recombination and Impairs DNA Double-Strand Break Repair in Human Cells

By a human cDNA library screening, we have previously identified two sequences coding two different catalytic subunits of the proteasome which increase homologous recombination (HR) when overexpressed in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Here, we investigated the effect of proteasome on spontaneous HR and DNA repair in human cells. To determine if the proteasome has a role in the occurrence of spontaneous HR in human cells, we overexpressed the β2 subunit of the proteasome in HeLa cells and determined the effect on intrachromosomal HR. Results showed that the overexpression of β2 subunit decreased HR in human cells without altering the cell proteasome activity and the Rad51p level. Moreover, exposure to MG132 that inhibits the proteasome activity reduced HR in human cells. We also found that the expression of the β2 subunit increases the sensitivity to the camptothecin that induces DNA double-strand break (DSB). This suggests that the β2 subunit has an active role in HR and DSB repair but does not alter the intracellular level of the Rad51p.
Recommending intra-institutional scientific collaboration through coauthorship network visualization

For improving research productivity, quality and dissemination, we propose the development of a visual recommendation tool summing up scientific collaboration best-practices found in literature. Social Network Analysis are applied to a coauthorship network for generating a Potential Collaboration Index (PCI) based on productivity, connectivity, similarity and expertise. This work is evaluated by recommending intra-institutional collaboration in a comprehensive university. The accuracy of PCI is documented, along with suggestions and comments from 27 interviewed researchers.
Common Schemas in Temporal Abstraction

Temporal databases store large quantities of raw data. Reasoning from such data requires abstraction. Temporal abstraction is a kind of temporal-reasoning that concentrates on abstracting temporal data. A language for temporal abstraction is presented, and common schemas of temporal abstraction are analyzed. The language can serve as the basis for a query language that supports temporal or spatial abstractions.
Polyranking for Polynomial Loops

Although every terminating loop has a ranking function, not every loop has a ranking function of a restricted form, such as a lexicographic tuple of polynomials over program variables. We propose polyranking functions as a generalization of ranking functions for analyzing termination of loops. We dene lexicographic polyranking functions in a general context and then specialize their synthesis and application to loops with polynomial guards and assignments of polynomial expressions. Finally, we demonstrate that our prototype implementation for C source code scales to large software projects, proving termination for a high percentage of targeted loops.
Visual servoing of an autonomous helicopter in urban areas using feature tracking

We present the design and implementation of a vision‐based feature tracking system for an autonomous helicopter. Visual sensing is used for estimating the position and velocity of features in the image plane (urban features like windows) in order to generate velocity references for the flight control. These visual‐based references are then combined with GPS‐positioning references to navigate towards these features and then track them. We present results from experimental flight trials, performed in two UAV systems and under different conditions, that show the feasibility and robustness of our approach. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Theoretical and implementation aspects in the mechanization of the metatheory of programming languages

Interactive theorem provers are tools designed for the certification of formal proofs developed by means of man-machine collaboration. Formal proofs obtained in this way cover a large variety of logical theories, ranging from the branches of mainstream mathematics, to the field of software verification. The border between these two worlds is marked by results in theoretical computer science and proofs related to the metatheory of programming languages. This last field, which is an obvious application of interactive theorem proving, poses nonetheless a serious challenge to the users of such tools, due both to the particularly structured way in which these proofs are constructed, and to difficulties related to the management of notions typical of programming languages like variable binding. This thesis is composed of two parts, discussing our experience in the development of the Matita interactive theorem prover and its use in the mechanization of the metatheory of programming languages. More specifically, part I covers: - the results of our effort in providing a better framework for the development of tactics for Matita, in order to make their implementation and debugging easier, also resulting in a much clearer code; - a discussion of the implementation of two tactics, providing infrastructure for the unification of constructor forms and the inversion of inductive predicates; we point out interactions between induction and inversion and provide an advancement over the state of the art. In the second part of the thesis, we focus on aspects related to the formalization of programming languages. We describe two works of ours: - a discussion of basic issues we encountered in our formalizations of part 1A of the Poplmark challenge, where we apply the extended inversion principles we implemented for Matita; - a formalization of an algebraic logical framework, posing more complex challenges, including multiple binding and a form of hereditary substitution; this work adopts, for the encoding of binding, an extension of Masahiko Sato's canonical locally named representation we designed during our visit to the Laboratory for Foundations of Computer Science at the University of Edinburgh, under the supervision of Randy Pollack.
Gene replacement in Lactobacillus helveticus

An efficient method for gene replacement in Lactobacillus helveticus CNRZ32 was developed by utilizing pSA3 as an integration vector. This plasmid is stably maintained in CNRZ32 at 37 degrees C but is unstable at 45 degrees C. This method consisted of a two-step gene-targeting technique: (i) chromosomal integration of a plasmid carrying an internal deletion in the gene of interest via homologous recombination and (ii) excision of the vector and the wild-type gene via homologous recombination, resulting in gene replacement. By using this procedure, the chromosomal X-prolyl dipeptidyl aminopeptidase gene (pepXP) of CNRZ32 was successfully inactivated.
Why do physicians order unnecessary preoperative tests? A qualitative study.

BACKGROUND Routine preoperative testing is ineffective and costly. We explored reasons for the continued use of unnecessary preoperative tests and approaches to limit such testing. METHODS We interviewed 23 physicians and nurse administrators involved in preoperative decision-making in our local health care environment. We conducted interviews using a semi-structured format and analyzed the data using a template organizing style. RESULTS Some interviewees feel routine preoperative tests are beneficial, others are ambivalent about preoperative tests in their practice, and many believe there is considerable unnecessary testing. As interviewees discussed factors that lead to the ordering of unnecessary preoperative tests, five major themes emerged: practice tradition, belief that other physicians want the tests done, medicolegal worries, concerns about surgical delays or cancellation, and lack of awareness of evidence and guidelines. Interviewees suggested that a consensus guideline, improved education, and increased collaboration between specialities could decrease unnecessary testing. CONCLUSIONS Our qualitative findings demonstrate barriers to limiting unnecessary preoperative testing but also suggest interventions that could improve the preoperative testing process. Minimizing unnecessary preoperative tests could decrease cost, maximize quality, and improve the patient experience.
Involvement of Apolipoprotein E in the Hematogenous Route of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 to the Central Nervous System

ABSTRACT Apolipoprotein E (ApoE), a constituent of the lipoproteins, may be relevant in herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infection of the central nervous system (CNS), since HSV-1 binds to human serum ApoE lipoproteins. This study demonstrates the involvement of ApoE in the hematogenous route of HSV-1 to the CNS.
The Role of Enterprise Architecture in Healthcare-IT

As far as Enterprise Architecture is a strategic planning tool, Main objective of architecture is to define the layout of organizational components and relationship among them in order to understand the integration of objects for further improvement. Enterprise architecture has several benefits and it is imperative for defining the IT components and their association with human (paramedical staff)involvement. However, the problem is, how to choose and create enterprise architecture framework for healthcare. Due to importance and pragmatic of enterprise architecture, the architectural concepts should be clear to senior management. Since, it is their responsibility to select the appropriate organizational architecture/framework for Business-IT alignment. Paper provides the enterprise architecture concepts. Since, it provides the overall picture of organizational concepts of well known architectural framework. Paper also proposed ArchiMate framework for modeling the healthcare organizations due to its coherence within EA elements. The main reason behind the use of such framework is the limitations of the existing ones in this cohesiveness of EA elements.
Systemic Problems in Information Technology Adoption and Use: A Systems Thinking Perspective

Understanding and creating the conditions under which information systems will be embraced by human organizations (thinking systems) remain a high-priority research issue. Despite numerous benefits associated with Information Technology (IT), there exist some intervening factors (systemic problems or issues) that impede technology’s widespread adoption and use in organisations. Established information technology adoption models like TAM, TRA etc. view technology adoption from the users’ perspective without taking a strategic perspective into account. As an alternative focus we suggest that addressing systemic problems can be a method of reducing fundamental barriers to organizational progress. This paper presents some real life examples of IT projects in organizations which experienced failures or barriers related to IT adoption processes. The issues are framed as systemic problems and are analysed from a ‘systems thinking’ perspective. The paper argues that some of the issues contributing to the failure/barrier cannot be easily explained by traditional user acceptance models like TAM or TAM2. The paper presents a number of systems thinking principles that can be used to analyse organizational contexts. It also provides some recommendations and suggests a new research direction based on the marriage of ‘Systems Thinking’ approaches and ‘Adoption Model Theories’. This research will help in identifying the relationships between the determinant factors of the technology acceptance models and the concepts involved in systems thinking approaches. We believe the integration of the two approaches will facilitate improved technology adoption, organizational learning and change.
Nonlinear finite element scheme for modeling the magnetoelastic response of magnetostrictive smart structures

A variational statement of the nonlinear boundary value problem of magneto-mechanical interactions in magnetostrictive materials is presented. Some of the complexities arising out of the nature of these interactions are pointed out. A finite element code developed on the basis of a linearized version of the above variational statement is used to model the behavior of an idealized magnetostrictive actuator. The strong influence of coupling constants on the induced magnetic field is demonstrated through our coupled finite element analysis. Errors that are possible in uncoupled analyses are illustrated and the need for fully coupled analyses of general two or three dimensional actuator configurations is brought out.