Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Impact of Perceived Value on User Acceptance of Mobile Commerce

User acceptance of mobile service is the first step for enterprises to successfully implement mobile commerce. Extant research has tried to explain user acceptance of mobile commerce based on TAM and neglected the impact of usage cost, enjoyment and social evaluation on user behavior. Based on the theory of perceived value,this paper examines the impact of perceived value on user acceptance behavior. Perceived value as a second-order factor includes four dimensions: financial value, quality value, emotional value and social value. We collected 184 valid papers and conducted data analysis with PLS Graph. The results show that perceived value strongly affects trust and satisfaction, further determining user acceptance intention. Among four dimensions, social value has relatively larger effect and financial value has weaker effect.
Left ventricle endocardium segmentation for cardiac CT volumes using an optimal smooth surface

We recently proposed a robust heart chamber segmentation approach based on marginal space learning. In this paper, we focus on improving the LV endocardium segmentation accuracy by searching for an optimal smooth mesh that tightly encloses the whole blood pool. The refinement procedure is formulated as an optimization problem: maximizing the surface smoothness under the tightness constraint. The formulation is a convex quadratic programming problem, therefore has a unique global optimum and can be solved efficiently. Our approach has been validated on the largest cardiac CT dataset (457 volumes from 186 patients) ever reported. Compared to our previous work, it reduces the mean point-to-mesh error from 1.13 mm to 0.84 mm (22% improvement). Additionally, the system has been extensively tested on a dataset with 2000+ volumes without any major failure.
Whole exome sequencing identifies genetic variants in inherited thrombocytopenia with secondary qualitative function defects

Inherited thrombocytopenias are a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by abnormally low platelet counts which can be associated with abnormal bleeding. Next-generation sequencing has previously been employed in these disorders for the confirmation of suspected genetic abnormalities, and more recently in the discovery of novel disease-causing genes. However its full potential has not yet been exploited. Over the past 6 years we have sequenced the exomes from 55 patients, including 37 index cases and 18 additional family members, all of whom were recruited to the UK Genotyping and Phenotyping of Platelets study. All patients had inherited or sustained thrombocytopenia of unknown etiology with platelet counts varying from 11×109/L to 186×109/L. Of the 51 patients phenotypically tested, 37 (73%), had an additional secondary qualitative platelet defect. Using whole exome sequencing analysis we have identified “pathogenic” or “likely pathogenic” variants in 46% (17/37) of our index patients with thrombocytopenia. In addition, we report variants of uncertain significance in 12 index cases, including novel candidate genetic variants in previously unreported genes in four index cases. These results demonstrate that whole exome sequencing is an efficient method for elucidating potential pathogenic genetic variants in inherited thrombocytopenia. Whole exome sequencing also has the added benefit of discovering potentially pathogenic genetic variants for further study in novel genes not previously implicated in inherited thrombocytopenia.
Next-to-next-to-leading order gravitational spin-squared potential via the effective field theory for spinning objects in the post-Newtonian scheme

The next-to-next-to-leading order spin-squared interaction potential for generic compact binaries is derived for the first time via the effective field theory for gravitating spinning objects in the post-Newtonian scheme. The spin-squared sector is an intricate one, as it requires the consideration of the point particle action beyond minimal coupling, and mainly involves the spin-squared worldline couplings, which are quite complex, compared to the worldline couplings from the minimal coupling part of the action. This sector also involves the linear in spin couplings, as we go up in the nonlinearity of the interaction, and in the loop order. Hence, there is an excessive increase in the number of Feynman diagrams, of which more are higher loop ones. We provide all the Feynman diagrams and their values. The beneficial ``nonrelativistic gravitational'' fields are employed in the computation. This spin-squared correction, which enters at the fourth post-Newtonian order for rapidly rotating compact objects, completes the conservative sector up to the fourth post-Newtonian accuracy. The robustness of the effective field theory for gravitating spinning objects is shown here once again, as demonstrated in a recent series of papers by the authors, which obtained all spin dependent sectors, required up to the fourth post-Newtonian accuracy. The effective field theory of spinning objects allows to directly obtain the equations of motion, and the Hamiltonians, and these will be derived for the potential obtained here in a forthcoming paper.
Objective Evaluation of Sylvian Fissure Development by Multiplanar 3‐Dimensional Ultrasonography

Evaluation of fetal cerebral cortex sulcation is important for the pre‐natal diagnosis of neuronal migration disorders. Although abnormal sylvian fissure morphologic features are frequently observed in these conditions, the diagnosis of an abnormal sylvian fissure relies on subjective interpretation of ultrasonographic images. This study was performed to develop an objective ultrasonographic parameter for sylvian fissure evaluation.
La communautarisation de la recherche sur la sécurité: L’appropriation d’un nouveau domaine d’action au nom de l’approche globale

Selon le traite sur l’UE, l’impulsion politique en matiere de securite europeenne vient du Conseil europeen. L’article vise ainsi a comprendre comment la Commission europeenne a reussi avec une serie d’initiatives, notamment en matiere de recherche, a se positionner dans le champ europeen de securite et de defense, et a y jouer un role determinant. L’analyse de la configuration des relations permet de demontrer qu’en faisant un usage habile de ses atouts et de ses ressources au nom de l’approche globale, la Commission produit des effets et renforce sa position dans le champ a l’interface des acteurs etatiques et non etatiques.
Power management of online data-intensive services

Much of the success of the Internet services model can be attributed to the popularity of a class of workloads that we call Online Data-Intensive (OLDI) services. These work-loads perform significant computing over massive data sets per user request but, unlike their offline counterparts (such as MapReduce computations), they require responsiveness in the sub-second time scale at high request rates. Large search products, online advertising, and machine translation are examples of workloads in this class. Although the load in OLDI services can vary widely during the day, their energy consumption sees little variance due to the lack of energy proportionality of the underlying machinery. The scale and latency sensitivity of OLDI workloads also make them a challenging target for power management techniques. We investigate what, if anything, can be done to make OLDI systems more energy-proportional. Specifically, we evaluate the applicability of active and idle low-power modes to reduce the power consumed by the primary server components (processor, memory, and disk), while maintaining tight response time constraints, particularly on 95th-percentile latency. Using Web search as a representative example of this workload class, we first characterize a production Web search workload at cluster-wide scale. We provide a fine-grain characterization and expose the opportunity for power savings using low-power modes of each primary server component. Second, we develop and validate a performance model to evaluate the impact of processor- and memory-based low-power modes on the search latency distribution and consider the benefit of current and foreseeable low-power modes. Our results highlight the challenges of power management for this class of workloads. In contrast to other server workloads, for which idle low-power modes have shown great promise, for OLDI workloads we find that energy-proportionality with acceptable query latency can only be achieved using coordinated, full-system active low-power modes.
Enhancing security via provably trustworthy hardware intellectual property

We introduce a novel hardware intellectual property acquisition protocol, show how it can support the transfer of provably trustworthy modules between hardware IP producers and consumers, and discuss what it might mean for a device to be considered “secure. ” Specifically, we demonstrate the applicability of previous work in the software field of Proof-Carrying Code (PCC) to the problem of hardware trust and use it to combat the threat of hardware IP-level Trojans. We outline a semantic model representing the constructs permissible in a Verilog hardware description language (HDL) and show how this model can be used to reason about the trustworthiness of circuits represented at the register-transfer level (RTL). A discussion of “security-related properties” reveals how rules for trustworthy operation might be established for a particular design without necessarily specifying exact functionality. We then examine a hypothetical scenario involving a consumer with certain security needs and show how our system could be employed to guarantee that these needs are met by a hardware IP vendor's code.
Increased serum levels of complement C3a anaphylatoxin indicate the presence of colorectal tumors.

BACKGROUND & AIMS Late diagnosis of colorectal carcinoma results in a significant reduction of average survival times. Yet despite screening programs, about 70% of tumors are detected at advanced stages (International Union Against Cancer stages III/IV). We explored whether detection of malignant disease would be possible through identification of tumor-specific protein biomarkers in serum samples. METHODS A discovery set of sera from patients with colorectal malignancy (n = 58) and healthy control individuals (n = 32) were screened for potential differences using surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Candidate proteins were identified and their expression levels were validated in independent sample sets using a specific immunoassay (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay). RESULTS By using class comparison and custom-developed algorithms we identified several m/z values that were expressed differentially between the malignant samples and the healthy controls of the discovery set. Characterization of the most prominent m/z values revealed a member of the complement system, the stable form of C3a anaphylatoxin (ie, C3a-desArg). Based on a specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, serum levels of complement C3a-desArg predicted the presence of colorectal malignancy in a blinded validation set (n = 59) with a sensitivity of 96.8% and a specificity of 96.2%. Increased serum levels were also detected in 86.1% of independently collected sera from patients with colorectal adenomas (n = 36), whereas only 5.6% were classified as normal. CONCLUSIONS Complement C3a-desArg is present at significantly higher levels in serum from patients with colorectal adenomas (P < .0001) and carcinomas (P < .0001) than in healthy individuals. This suggests that quantification of C3a-desArg levels could ameliorate existing screening tests for colorectal cancer.
On the limiting distributions of multivariate depth-based rank sum statistics and related tests

A depth-based rank sum statistic for multivariate data introduced by Liu and Singh [J. Amer. Statist. Assoc. 88 (1993) 252-260] as an extension of the Wilcoxon rank sum statistic for univariate data has been used in multivariate rank tests in quality control and in experimental studies. Those applications, however, are based on a conjectured limiting distribution, provided by Liu and Singh [J. Amer. Statist. Assoc. 88 (1993) 252-260]. The present paper proves the conjecture under general regularity conditions and, therefore, validates various applications of the rank sum statistic in the literature. The paper also shows that the corresponding rank sum tests can be more powerful than Hotelling's T 2 test and some commonly used multivariate rank tests in detecting location-scale changes in multivariate distributions.
Distinct domains in Nbs1 regulate irradiation-induced checkpoints and apoptosis

The chromosomal instability syndromes Nijmegen breakage syndrome (NBS) and ataxia telangiectasia (AT) share many overlapping phenotypes, including cancer predisposition, radiation sensitivity, cell-cycle checkpoint defects, immunodeficiency, and gonadal dysfunction. The NBS protein Nbs1 is not only a downstream target of AT mutated (ATM) kinase but also acts upstream, promoting optimal ATM activation, ATM recruitment to breaks, and ATM accessibility to substrates. By reconstituting Nbs1 knockout mice with bacterial artificial chromosomes, we have assessed the contribution of distinct regions of Nbs1 to the ATM-dependent DNA damage response. We find that T cell and oocyte development, as well as DNA damage-induced G2/M and S phase checkpoint arrest and radiation survival are dependent on the N-terminal forkhead-associated domain, but not on the principal residues phosphorylated by ATM (S278 and S343) or on the evolutionarily conserved C-terminal region of Nbs1. However, the C-terminal region regulates irradiation-induced apoptosis. These studies provide insight into the complex interplay between Nbs1 and ATM in the DNA damage response.
Analyse simultanée de questions ouvertes et de questions fermées méthodologie, exemple

Usuellement, dans l'analyse de resultats d'enquetes, les reponses aux questions ouvertes sont traitees par analyse des correspondances binaires et les reponses aux questions fermees sont traitees par analyse des correspondances multiples. On peut souhaiter introduire dans une meme analyse ces deux types de donnees en actif. Se posent alors plusieurs problemes, en particulier celui de l'equilibre, au sein d'une analyse globale, entre les differents ensembles de donnees. Nous presentons ici une extension de l'analyse factorielle multiple pour ce type de donnees, a la fois dans son principe methodologique et dans une application.
IFN-λ4 Attenuates Antiviral Responses by Enhancing Negative Regulation of IFN Signaling

Type III IFNs are important mediators of antiviral immunity. IFN-λ4 is a unique type III IFN because it is produced only in individuals who carry a dG allele of a genetic variant rs368234815-dG/TT. Counterintuitively, those individuals who can produce IFN-λ4, an antiviral cytokine, are also less likely to clear hepatitis C virus infection. In this study, we searched for unique functional properties of IFN-λ4 that might explain its negative effect on hepatitis C virus clearance. We used fresh primary human hepatocytes (PHHs) treated with recombinant type III IFNs or infected with Sendai virus to model acute viral infection and subsequently validated our findings in HepG2 cell line models. Endogenous IFN-λ4 protein was detectable only in Sendai virus–infected PHHs from individuals with the dG allele, where it was poorly secreted but highly functional, even at concentrations < 50 pg/ml. IFN-λ4 acted faster than other type III IFNs in inducing antiviral genes, as well as negative regulators of the IFN response, such as USP18 and SOCS1. Transient treatment of PHHs with IFN-λ4, but not IFN-λ3, caused a strong and sustained induction of SOCS1 and refractoriness to further stimulation with IFN-λ3. Our results suggest unique functional properties of IFN-λ4 that can be important in viral clearance and other clinical conditions.
Natural asynchronies in audiovisual communication signals regulate neuronal multisensory interactions in voice-sensitive cortex

Significance Social animals often combine vocal and facial signals into a coherent percept, despite variable misalignment in the onset of informative audiovisual content. However, whether and how natural misalignments in communication signals affect integrative neuronal responses is unclear, especially for neurons in recently identified temporal voice-sensitive cortex in nonhuman primates, which has been suggested as an animal model for human voice areas. We show striking effects on the excitability of voice-sensitive neurons by the variable misalignment in the onset of audiovisual communication signals. Our results allow us to predict the state of neuronal excitability from the cross-sensory asynchrony in natural communication signals and suggest that the general pattern that we observed would generalize to face-sensitive cortex and certain other brain areas. When social animals communicate, the onset of informative content in one modality varies considerably relative to the other, such as when visual orofacial movements precede a vocalization. These naturally occurring asynchronies do not disrupt intelligibility or perceptual coherence. However, they occur on time scales where they likely affect integrative neuronal activity in ways that have remained unclear, especially for hierarchically downstream regions in which neurons exhibit temporally imprecise but highly selective responses to communication signals. To address this, we exploited naturally occurring face- and voice-onset asynchronies in primate vocalizations. Using these as stimuli we recorded cortical oscillations and neuronal spiking responses from functional MRI (fMRI)-localized voice-sensitive cortex in the anterior temporal lobe of macaques. We show that the onset of the visual face stimulus resets the phase of low-frequency oscillations, and that the face–voice asynchrony affects the prominence of two key types of neuronal multisensory responses: enhancement or suppression. Our findings show a three-way association between temporal delays in audiovisual communication signals, phase-resetting of ongoing oscillations, and the sign of multisensory responses. The results reveal how natural onset asynchronies in cross-sensory inputs regulate network oscillations and neuronal excitability in the voice-sensitive cortex of macaques, a suggested animal model for human voice areas. These findings also advance predictions on the impact of multisensory input on neuronal processes in face areas and other brain regions.
Macrophage activation governs schistosomiasis‐induced inflammation and fibrosis

Macrophages regulate the initiation, maintenance, and resolution of chronic inflammatory responses and their function depends on their activation status. Studies in mice infected with the helminth parasite Schistosoma mansoni have been particularly helpful in defining the in vivo function of classically and alternatively activated macrophages (AAMϕs). These studies have shown that AAMϕs protect mice from acute and chronic S. mansoni infection through distinct mechanisms, which are discussed in this Viewpoint.
Plasma polyunsaturated fatty acids and the decline of renal function.

BACKGROUND Recent studies suggest an association between polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and the development of chronic kidney disease. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between PUFAs and renal function in older adults. METHODS We performed a cross-sectional and prospective analysis of 931 adults, > or = 65 years old, enrolled in the InCHIANTI study, a population-based cohort in Tuscany, Italy. Plasma PUFAs were measured at enrollment, and creatinine clearance was estimated by the Cockcroft-Gault equation at baseline and after 3-year follow-up. RESULTS At enrollment, participants with higher creatinine clearance had higher concentrations of HDL cholesterol, total plasma PUFAs, plasma n-3 fatty acid (FA), and plasma n-6 FA and lower triglycerides. From enrollment to the 3-year follow-up visit, creatinine clearance declined by 7.8 (12.2) mL/min (P <0.0001). Baseline total plasma PUFAs, n-3 FA, n-6 FA, and linoleic, linolenic, and arachidonic acids were strong independent predictors of less steep decline in creatinine clearance from baseline to follow-up (P <0.0001, after adjusting for baseline creatinine clearance). After adjusting for baseline creatinine, baseline total plasma PUFAs, n-3 FA, and linoleic, linolenic, and arachidonic acids were negatively associated with creatinine at 3-year follow-up. Participants with higher plasma PUFAs at enrollment had a lower risk of developing renal insufficiency, defined by a creatinine clearance <60 mL/min, during 3-year follow-up. CONCLUSION High PUFA concentrations, both n-3 FA and n-6 FA, may attenuate the age-associated decline in renal function among older community-dwelling women and men.
Beamforming design and user grouping for FDD massive MIMO systems

This paper considers a frequency-division-duplexing (FDD) massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system that operates with two-stage beamforming based on user grouping. In this system, we propose a first stage beamformer and a user grouping method for the two-stage beamforming. The proposed first stage beamformer maximizes an approximate sum rate calculated from the second-order statistic of the channels. The proposed user grouping method improves both the spatial orthogonality among different groups and the effective channel gain of in-group users. Simulation results show the sum rate gain achieved by both the proposed first stage BF and user grouping methods, compared to conventional methods.