Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Epidemiology of borderline oxacillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Pediatric cystic fibrosis

A single‐center retrospective study was undertaken in children with cystic fibrosis (CF) to evaluate (1) risk factors for acquisition; (2) molecular epidemiology; and (3) impact on disease progression of borderline oxacillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus (BORSA) versus mecA‐positive methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The study comprised of (1) identification of all children with at least one respiratory specimen positive for either BORSA or MRSA during the study period; (2) compilation of relevant clinical and epidemiological data from 12‐month period leading up to first positive (index) culture; (3) microbiological and molecular characterization of index isolates and (4) measurement of subsequent clinical outcome. Thirty‐eight children were identified with at least one positive isolate; 4 were excluded due to insufficient clinical or laboratory data. Eighteen children (53%) grew BORSA in their index culture. Children who acquired BORSA only (n = 16) were more likely to have had prior MSSA colonization (P < 0.0001). Usage of oral cephalexin (P < 0.01) and inhaled tobramycin (P < 0.03) prior to index culture was significantly and independently associated with acquisition of BORSA. The majority of BORSA isolates were hyper β‐lactamase producers and susceptible to a greater range of antibiotics. Strain relatedness was not evident within the BORSA group. There was no difference in disease progression between the two groups. This is the first study to demonstrate that a significant proportion of S. aureus isolates with methicillin resistance in the CF population are BORSAs that lack mecA. Antibiotic pressure may lead to the development of BORSA in CF patients. Prospective studies are needed to assess its clinical impact. Pediatr. Pulmonol. 2011; 46:489–496. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
A Role for the Locus Ceruleus in Reward Processing: Encoding Behavioral Energy Required for Goal-Directed Actions

The locus ceruleus (LC) is a small nucleus in the dorsal pons that innervates most of the forebrain, with the exception of the striatum. The LC is the main source of norepinephrine (NE) in the brain, and this LC–NE system is typically associated with arousal, vigilance states, attention, and
Promoting Ethics In The Workplace: Why Not Reflect General Organizational Justice?

Recent decades reveal increasing academic and practitioner interest in improving corporations’ social and ethical reputations. Efforts to promote ethics usually focus on the implementation of explicit, formal mechanisms, aimed at transmitting ethical and moral content and reflecting an interest in behavioural ethics. Although the efficacy of these mechanisms has been demonstrated, such efforts may fail if ethics does not exist in reality in the normal procedures and operations of the firm and in the treatment employees perceive from their employers. Organizational justice is an antecedent of ethical behaviour, though most research depicting this link has centred exclusively on assessing (un)ethical behaviours directed toward the organization. Other insights, however, might suggest a relationship between organizational justice perceptions and general ethical behaviour; therefore, this study conducts an empirical examination of survey data from 436 Spanish banking employees to discern their perceptions of organizational justice by top management and whether these perceptions are related to general ethical/unethical behaviours. Findings, finally, reveal that such perceptions have positive effects on workforce general ethics. That is, actions and efforts by top management that signal organizational justice can help promote ethics among a wider workforce. These findings have substantial practical implications, as well as insights for further research.
Rhythm analysis of texts using Natural Language Processing

The paper is introducing a research aiming to analyze rhythm in various genres of texts. After a review of the literature on rhythm formalization in texts, a Natural Language Processing application was developed for analyzing the rhythmicity in three cases: poem, prose, and political speech. The application implemented three formal approaches for rhythm analysis, proposed for the Romanian and French languages. Factors such as: rhythmic unit, rhythmic structure, and rhythmic index were considered. Comparisons are made between different genres, approaches, and languages.
Detection of eating and drinking arm gestures using inertial body-worn sensors

We propose a two-stage recognition system for detecting arm gestures related to human meal intake. Information retrieved from such a system can be used for automatic dietary monitoring in the domain of behavioural medicine. We demonstrate that arm gestures can be clustered and detected using inertial sensors. To validate our method, experimental results including 384 gestures from two subjects are presented. Using isolated discrimination based on HMMs an accuracy of 94% can be achieved. When spotting the gestures in continuous movement data, an accuracy of up to 87% is reached.
Determination of Integrated HPV58 Sequences in Cervical Lesions

Integration of high-risk HPV in host genome is an important event in cervical cancer development. This study was aimed to analyze the integration of HPV58, a high-risk type that is prevalent in cervical lesions from southeastern Asia. Detection of integrated papillomavirus sequences by ligation-mediated polymerase chain reaction followed by DNA sequencing revealed 8 integrations in 5 samples, and virus integration was found present in 2 samples with early lesion. Sequence analysis of the viral-cellular junctions showed that E1 disruption in virus genome was an early and common event during HPV58 infection. In 6 integrations, DNA fragments of HPV58 genome integrated into the repetitive element sequences of host genome.
Vingt ans de recherche positive en comptabilité financière

The objectives of positive accounting research are twofold. First, it is aimed at determining the usefulness of accounting numbers for valuation purposes by investigating the relation between accounting figures and stock prices. Second it provides explanations of accounting practices by focusing on agency and political costs. This article reviews the positive accounting literature. It describes its evolution and the current state of positive accounting theory.
A Framework for Developing Real-Time OLAP algorithm using Multi-core processing and GPU: Heterogeneous Computing

The overwhelmingly increasing amount of stored data has spurred researchers seeking different methods in order to optimally take advantage of it which mostly have faced a response time problem as a result of this enormous size of data. Most of solutions have suggested materialization as a favourite solution. However, such a solution cannot attain Real-Time answers anyhow. In this paper we propose a framework illustrating the barriers and suggested solutions in the way of achieving Real-Time OLAP answers that are significantly used in decision support systems and data warehouses.
THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE RORSCHACH INKBLOT METHOD AND CHANGES IN AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM ACTIVITY

The administration of some psychological methods can be a temporary source of stress and evoke in some patients a pathophysiological reaction with a negative health outcome. The aim of the study was to fi nd out whether the administration of the Rorschach Inkblot Method (RIM) can change the autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity in terms of shifting the sympathovagal balance towards sympathetic activity. The RIM test was applied to 39 healthy females (22.8 ± 2.4 years). ANS activity was measured by the spectral analysis of heart rate variability (SA HRV) before, during, and after the RIM test. The same algorithm as in the previous procedure was employed in 30 healthy females (21.41 ± 1.7 years), however the Stroop color word test (SCWD), a very powerful stressor with a marked impact on ANS activity, instead of the RIM, was administered. Five relative parameters of SA HRV were used: percentages of VLF (very low frequency), LF (low frequency) and HF (high frequency) components (from the spectral power total) and VLF/HF and LF/HF ratios. Changes in VLF/HF and LF/HF during the RIM and SCWT tests were used to compare the tests. During the RIM administration, a signifi cant decrease in spectral power in HF (%), a signifi cant increase in VLF (%) and LF (%), and a signifi cant increase in LF/HF and VLF/HF ratios have been shown. No signifi cant differences in VLF/HF (markers of stressful situations) among the RIM and the SCWT were found. The administration of the RIM can act as a powerful stressor and causes a signifi cant decrease in parasympathetic activity and the shift of sympathovagal balance towards sympathetic activity. Administration of RIM and SCWT tests can produce stress of comparable intensity, with a similar impact on ANS activity.
A Multimethod Examination of the Benefits and Detriments of Intragroup Conflict

I would like to thank Jennifer A. Chatman, Margaret Neale, Elizabeth Weldon, Dawn lacobucci, and Oswald Werner for comments on earlier drafts. I would also like to thank Linda Pike for her tremendous help, as well as Robert I. Sutton and three anonymous reviewers. This study examines the structure of 105 work groups and management teams to address the question of whether conflict can be beneficial. Multiple methods were used to examine the effects of conflict on both individualand group-level variables to provide a more refined model of intragroup conflict. Results show that whether conflict was beneficial depended on the type of conflict and the structure of the group in terms of task type, task interdependence, and group norms. Relationship and task conflicts were negatively associated with individuals' satisfaction, liking of other group members, and intent to remain in the group. In groups performing very routine tasks, disagreements about the task were detrimental to group functioning. In contrast, in groups performing nonroutine tasks, disagreements about the tasks did not have a detrimental effect, and in some cases, such disagreements were actually beneficial. Contrary to expectations, norms encouraging open discussion of conflict were not always advantageous. The results suggest that while such norms were associated with an increase in the number and intensity of relationship conflicts, they did not increase members' ability to deal with the conflicts constructively. The model developed here contributes to an integrated perspective on organizational conflict. '
Specific Detection of Rinderpest Virus by Real-Time Reverse Transcription-PCR in Preclinical and Clinical Samples from Experimentally Infected Cattle

ABSTRACT A highly sensitive detection test for Rinderpest virus (RPV), based on a real-time reverse transcription-PCR (rRT-PCR)system, was developed. Five different RPV genomic targets were examined, and one was selected and optimized to detect viral RNA in infected tissue culture fluid with a level of detection ranging from 0.59 to 87.5 50% tissue culture infectious doses (TCID50) per reaction depending on the viral isolate. The strain sensitivity of the test was validated on 16 RPV strains belonging to all three phylogenetic branches described for RPV. No cross-reactivity was detected with closely related peste des petit ruminants or with symptomatically similar viruses, including all seven serotypes of foot-and-mouth disease virus, two serotypes of vesicular stomatitis virus, bluetongue virus, and bovine herpes virus type 2. In samples from experimentally infected cattle, our real-time RT-PCR test was significantly more sensitive than the gold standard test of virus isolation, allowing the detection of the disease 2 to 4 days prior to the appearance of clinical signs. The comparison of clinical samples with putative diagnostic value from live animals showed that conjunctival swabs and blood buffy coat were the samples of choice for epidemiological surveillance, while lymph nodes performed the best as postmortem specimens. This portable and rapid real-time RT-PCR has the capability of the preclinical detection of RPV and provides differential diagnosis from look-alike diseases of cattle. As RPV is declared globally eradicated, this test provides an important rapid virus detection tool that does not require the use of infectious virus and allows the processing of a large number of samples.
Reverse-engineering in spiking neural networks parameters: exact deterministic parameters estimation

We consider the deterministic evolution of a time-discretized network with spiking neurons, where synaptic transmission has delays, modeled as a neural network of the generalized integrate-and-fire (gIF) type. The purpose is to study a class of algorithmic methods allowing one to calculate the proper parameters to reproduce exactly a given spike train, generated by an hidden (unknown) neural network. This standard problem is known as NP-hard when delays are to be calculated. We propose here a reformulation, now expressed as a Linear-Programming (LP) problem, thus allowing us to provide an efficient resolution. This allows us to “reverse engineer” a neural network, i.e. to find out, given a set of initial conditions, which parameters (i.e., synaptic weights in this case), allow to simulate the network spike dynamics. More precisely we make explicit the fact that the reverse engineering of a spike train, is a Linear (L) problem if the membrane potentials are observed and a LP problem if only spike times are observed. Numerical robustness is discussed. We also explain how it is the use of a generalized IF neuron model instead of a leaky IF model that allows us to derive this algorithm. Furthermore, we point out how the L or LP adjustment mechanism is local to each unit and has the same structure as an “Hebbian” rule. A step further, this paradigm is easily generalizable to the design of input-output spike train transformations. This means that we have a practical method to “program” a spiking network, i.e. find a set of parameters allowing us to exactly reproduce the network output, given an input. Numerical verifications and illustrations are provided.
Positive Inotropic Effect of Calcitonin Gene‐Related Peptide Mediated by Cyclic AMP in Guinea Pig Heart

The mechanism of cardiac actions of rat calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) was analyzed on isolated guinea pig hearts. CGRP exerted a positive inotropic effect in a dose-dependent manner on the electrically driven left atria bat not on the ventricles. Immunohistochemical studies demonstrated that CGRP-like immunoreactive nerves were distributed densely in the myocardia of the atria but only sparsely in those of the ventricles. The CGRP-induced augmentation of the contraction was accompanied by the shortening of the time to peak force and the increase in the relaxation velocity. The positive inotropic response to CGRP was significantly enhanced by isobutylmethylxanthine and was attenuated by adenosine. CGRP increased the action potential amplitude and prolonged action potential duration at the level of 50% repolarization in the left atria. In the preparations, which were partially depolarized with an increase in extracellular potassium, CGRP induced slow response action potentials. These electrophysiological results indicate that CGRP causes an increase in the slow inward Ca2+ current. The cyclic AMP content in the left atria significantly increased following the addition of CGRP, the time course of which was nearly consistent with that of the augmentation of the contractile force. In the membrane preparation of the atria, the activity of adenylate cydase was enhanced by CGRP in a dose-dependent manner. These effects of CGRP are qualitatively similar to those of β-adrenoceptor stimulation. It is concluded that the CGRP-induced response in the guinea pig atria is attributed to the activation of adenylate cyclase via stimulation of its specific receptor and the subsequent increase in the intracellular cyclic AMP level.
Pure oxide structure for temperature stabilization and performance enhancement of CMOS-MEMS accelerometer

In this study, the stacking of pure oxide layers as the mechanical structures for CMOS-MEMS accelerometer has been developed and demonstrated for the first time. Thus, the distribution of metal-oxide composites in CMOS-MEMS accelerometer is changed from area to line. Such design has the following advantages: (1) the initial deformation of suspended MEMS structures due to the residual stresses of metal-oxide films is reduced, (2) the thermal deformation of suspended MEMS structures due to the thermal expansion coefficient (CTE) mismatch of metal-oxide films is also suppressed, and (3) the parasitic capacitance of sensing electrodes routing underneath the proof-mass can be further reduced. Thus, the accelerometer has higher sensitivity with less thermal drift. Compare with the existing metal-oxide composites accelerometer, the pure oxide accelerometer increases sensitivity of 7-fold, and decreases the structure-deformation (measured by radius-of-curvature (ROC) of proof-mass) of 2.1-fold (by residual stresses) and 2.4-fold (by temperature change). Moreover, the noise floor reduced 4.7-fold.
Model-Based Relational RL When Object Existence is Partially Observable

We consider learning and planning in relational MDPs when object existence is uncertain and new objects may appear or disappear depending on previous actions or properties of other objects. Optimal policies actively need to discover objects to achieve a goal; planning in such domains in general amounts to a POMDP problem, where the belief is about the existence and properties of potential not-yet-discovered objects. We propose a computationally efficient extension of model-based relational RL methods that approximates these beliefs using discrete uncertainty predicates. In this formulation the belief update is learned using probabilistic rules and planning in the approximated belief space can be achieved using an extension of existing planners. We prove that the learned belief update rules encode an approximation of the exact belief updates of a POMDP formulation and demonstrate experimentally that the proposed approach successfully learns a set of relational rules appropriate to solve such problems.
To stand sitting! Bi-cultural dilemmas in a large group in Aotearoa New Zealand

The large group often reveals what a society has tried to forget. In 2007 the Aotearoa New Zealand Psychotherapy Association took the unusual step of deciding not only to have a large group but also to make it the central experience at their annual conference in Napier. This paper reflects on my experience as conductor and focuses on projective processes that brought buried aspects of the colonial history of Aotearoa New Zealand to the surface.The aim of the conference was to provide an opportunity to ‘Weave our living stories together’ as a way of encountering the bicultural history of Aotearoa New Zealand. The whole experience touched some deep and painful places. As I worked with the material in the months afterwards, it became clear that this large group gave some clues about what Volkan has called ‘the chosen trauma’ (Volkan, 1997, p.48). Strong feelings connected to what Mäori, the indigenous peoples, ‘thought they gave and what the coloniser claimed’ have been unconsciously transmitted through the generations (Walker, 1990, p.96). The original ‘abyss’ of misunderstandings inextricably linked to the Treaty of Waitangi live on as if in a shadow to everyday life2. At the time, remnants of this history could only be enacted. Three years on, thinking, talking and some understanding has been able to replace what was too distressing to contemplate at the time.
Non-invasive contrast enhancement for retinal fundus imaging

Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) is vision loss impairment due to complication arising from diabetic condition affecting the retina. It is known that the foveal avascular zone (FAZ) enlarges with progression of DR due to the loss of capillaries in perifoveal capillary network. However, normal retinal fundus images suffer from low and varied contrast problems. A non-invasive digital image enhancement technique called RETICA has been developed that overcomes the problem of varied and low contrast in fundus images. RETICA first normalises the varied contrast using a Retinex-based method that separates the illumination from the reflectance part of the image followed by ICA that forms the original retinal pigment makeup namely the macular, haemoglobin and melanin retinal pigment. The technique has been applied on our FINDeRS dataset contained 175 fundus images and another 35 fundus image pairs obtained from an earlier study containing colour fundus images and their corresponding fluorescein fundus angiogram (FFA) images. For the 35 image pairs, RETICA achieved an average contrast improvement factor (CIF) of up to 5.46 compared to the invasive FFA at 5.12. For the FINDeRS images, RETICA achieved an average CIF of 5.63 with denoising. The RETICA image enhancement technique potentially reduces the need for the invasive fluorescein angiogram in DR assessment.
A message-passing algorithm for counting short cycles in a graph

This paper presents a distributed message-passing algorithm for counting short cycles in a graph. For bipartite graphs, which are of particular interest in coding, the algorithm is capable of counting cycles of length g; g+2; . ; 2g-2, where g is the girth of the graph. For a general (non-bipartite) graph, cycles of length g; g+1; . ; 2g-1 can be counted. The algorithm is based on performing integer additions and subtractions in the nodes of the graph and passing extrinsic messages to adjacent nodes. The complexity of the proposed algorithm grows as O(g|E|2), where |E| is the number of edges in the graph. For sparse graphs, the proposed algorithm significantly outperforms the existing algorithms in terms of computational complexity and memory requirements.
The Aging Males' Symptoms rating scale: cultural and linguistic validation into English

Unlike in women, where instruments are available to measure the severity of symptoms, cross-culturally validated instruments are lacking for aging males. This study set out to conduct a translation and cultural validation of the 'Aging Males' Symptoms' (AMS) scale, originally developed in German, into English for use in North America and the UK. Following international methodological recommendations, the AMS scale was translated in a standardized way consisting of forward translation, quality control, backward translation and a pretest. Five experienced bilingual translators and reviewers were involved. Many difficulties of compatibility between the cultural backgrounds of Germany, the UK and North America were identified and resolved by consensus. This resulted in one version for British and American English. A pretest in volunteers demonstrated clarity and understandability across social classes, but also suggested minor changes in the instrument. A preliminary test-retest comparison of the final scale showed high reliability with a correlation coefficient of 0.93 for the total AMS score. The AMS scale is a valuable tool for assessing symptoms in the aging male. This scale can be used in German and English speaking countries. Flemish and Finnish versions are also in use.