Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Blockchain: Solving the privacy and research availability tradeoff for EHR data: A new disruptive technology in health data management

A blockchain powered Health information ecosystem can solve a frequently discussed problem of the lifelong recorded patient health data, which seriously could hurdle the privacy of the patients and the growing data hunger of the research and policy maker institutions. On one side the general availability of the data is vital in emergency situations and supports heavily the different research, population health management and development activities, on the other side using the same data can lead to serious social and ethical problems caused by malicious actors. Currently, the regulation of the privacy data varies all over the world, however underlying principles are always defensive and protective towards patient privacy against general availability. The protective principles cause a defensive, data hiding attitude of the health system developers to avoid breaching the overall law regulations. It makes the policy makers and different — primarily drug — developers to find ways to treat data such a way that lead to ethical and political debates. In our paper we introduce how the blockchain technology can help solving the problem of secure data storing and ensuring data availability at the same time. We use the basic principles of the American HIPAA regulation, which defines the public availability criteria of health data, however the different local regulations may differ significantly. Blockchain's decentralized, intermediary-free, cryptographically secured attributes offer a new way of storing patient data securely and at the same time publicly available in a regulated way, where a well-designed distributed peer-to-peer network incentivize the smooth operation of a full-featured EHR system.
Determinants of intention to quit smoking among Dutch employees: the influence of the social environment.

BACKGROUND This study examines the influence of the social environment in worksites on employees' intention to quit smoking by applying the attitude-social influence-efficacy model. METHODS Regression analyses were conducted with 509 smoking employees from eight Dutch worksites. Variables of interest were attitudes toward smoking, perceived social pressure to quit, perceived smoking behavior of others, self-efficacy, demographics, smoking history variables, company type, and smoking tolerance. RESULTS Attitude, social pressure from people out-side the worksetting (partner, children), and self-efficacy explained 23% of the variance for intention. Past behavior increased the adjusted R2 from 0.23 to 0.29. Social influences in the worksite were unrelated to employees' intention to quit smoking. CONCLUSIONS It was concluded that, in Dutch work-sites, social influences stemming from people at work have less influence on employees' intention to quit smoking than other important people outside the work situation. Implications for smoking control strategies in worksites are briefly discussed.
Software Failure Modes and Effects Analysis

This concept paper discusses the possible use of failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) as a means to produce more reliable software. FMEA is a fault avoidance technique whose objective is to identify hazards in requirements that have the potential to either endanger mission success or significantly impact life-cycle costs. FMEA techniques can be profitably applied during the analysis stage to identify potential hazards in requirements and design. As hazards are identified, software defenses can be developed using fault tolerant or self-checking techniques to reduce the probability of their occurrence once the program is implemented. Critical design features can also be demonstrated a priori analytically using proof of correctness techniques prior to their implementation if warranted by cost and criticality.
Estimation of Basic Activities of Daily Living Using ZigBee 3D Accelerometer Sensor Network

Recently, how to support and care elderly people is serious problem. Modern approach is trying to support to keep health (body and mental) seniors living alone, but it is hard to keep a health by oneself. Our aim is monitoring a user's life for providing suitable services to keep his/her health. To providing suitable service, life log is very useful information. However, traditional monitoring system is only focusing elementary motion, walking, sleeping, and so on. We deal with recognizing advanced motions by using transportation data from an area to other areas in a house. These advanced motion logs support not only elderly but also care stuff or family who plans supports. In daily life, our motion is very variety. Therefore we focused on Basic Activities of Daily Living (ADL) which categories normally doing in daily life such as feeding, bathing, homemaking, and so on. In this research, we pick up 11 motion from ADL for recognition.
Application of wavelet threshold method to DTG signal processing

In the process of azimuth measuring, the output signal of a gyro always contains noises caused by gyro drifting and ambient environmental influence. In order to reduce the noises and recover the original signal, conventional digital filtering methods such as IIR and FIR could be used. But the outputs of these filters would be distorted or in lack of smoothness under some special conditions. Wavelet analysis is suitable to this circumstance for its characteristic of multi-resolution of time and frequency and localization in space. Therefore, a wavelet threshold filter is designed, and the simulating result is given. A comparison was made on the results of wavelet threshold, IIR and FIR filtering method. The analysis demonstrates that wavelet threshold filtering performance is the best.
Analysis of multiple exposures in the case‐crossover design via sparse conditional likelihood

We adapt the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (lasso) and other sparse methods (elastic net and bootstrapped versions of lasso) to the conditional logistic regression model and provide a full R implementation. These variable selection procedures are applied in the context of case‐crossover studies. We study the performances of conventional and sparse modelling strategies by simulations, then empirically compare results of these methods on the analysis of the association between exposure to medicinal drugs and the risk of causing an injurious road traffic crash in elderly drivers. Controlling the false discovery rate of lasso‐type methods is still problematic, but this problem is also present in conventional methods. The sparse methods have the ability to provide a global analysis of dependencies, and we conclude that some of the variants compared here are valuable tools in the context of case‐crossover studies with a large number of variables. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The relationship between demographic groups and perception of inclusion in a South African organisation

The extreme demographic-role misrepresentation within organisations is a key business and societal issue in post- Apartheid South Africa. This research relates to deepening the understanding about the perception of inclusion with respect to demographic groups such as race/ethnicity, gender, age, tenure, religion, sexual orientation, disability, position/grade, department, as well as site location. Secondly, it seeks to understand which groups perceive inclusion less positively than other groups, when we consider the occurrence of all the groups simultaneously using structural equation modelling (SEM).
Evaluation of brain metabolism in steno-occlusive carotid artery disease by proton MR spectroscopy: a correlative study with oxygen metabolism by PET.

UNLABELLED Carotid occlusive diseases may cause ischemic changes in both the gray matter and the white matter as a result of hemodynamic compromise. To validate the use of proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) in evaluating the carotid occlusive diseases, we compared changes in peaks of choline, in the sum of creatine and phosphocreatine, and in N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA) of the white matter with cortical oxygen metabolism measured by PET. METHODS Eleven patients with unilateral steno-occlusive carotid artery disease underwent PET and MRS. Ten age-matched healthy volunteers underwent MRS. No subjects had cortical infarction. MRS was performed bilaterally in the centrum semiovale. Regional blood flow, regional metabolic rate of oxygen (rCMRO2), and regional oxygen extraction fraction (rOEF) of the cerebral cortex were measured by the steady-state method with 15O gas. RESULTS The asymmetry index of the ratio of NAA to the sum of creatine and phosphocreatine (NAA/Cr) correlated positively with the asymmetry index of rCMRO2 (r = 0.77; P < 0.01). Because rCMRO2 is a marker of tissue viability, the NAA/Cr of the centrum semiovale may reflect viable neuronal cells. The asymmetry index of the ratio of choline to the sum of creatine and phosphocreatine (Cho/Cr) showed a significant positive correlation with the asymmetry index of rOEF (r = 0.65; P < 0.05). All but 1 patient with an increased Cho/Cr (>1.03) showed an increase in rOEF of the ipsilateral cortex (>0.56). This finding may indicate membrane damage caused by ischemia, because the centrum semiovale is the deep watershed zone. CONCLUSION The metabolic changes in the centrum semiovale detected by proton MRS reflect a hemodynamically compromised state and are useful in evaluating tissue viability.
Acute Laryngeal Dystonia With Novel Antipsychotics: A Case Report and Review of Literature.

To the Editors: P rolactin is a hormone secreted by lactotroph cells in the anterior pituitary. The main inhibitory regulation is made by dopamine that binds dopamine receptors D2 on the membrane of lactotroph cells. Antipsychotic medications that block D2 receptors can eliminate the inhibitory effect of dopamine on prolactin secretion. The clinical significance of untreated hyperprolactinemia is based largely on the sex and age of the patients. Hyperprolactinemia is associated with menstrual irregularities, infertility, galactorrhea, gynecomastia, and sexual dysfunction. These adverse effects increase risk of nonadherence and pose challenges in the long-term management of schizophrenia. Furthermore, elevated prolactin may be associated with decreased bone density through increasing bone turnover. This adverse effect constitutes a major problem in geriatric patients given associated risk of falling and increased morbidity. This report describes a 70-year-old man with schizophrenia who failed multiple antipsychotic monotherapy trials including quetiapine, olanazpine, ziprasidone, and aripiprazole. He responded fairly well to risperidone; however, he developed galactorrhea when the dose was increased to 6 mg/d, which caused nonadherence with medication. His prolactin level was 60 ng/mL, and his brain MRI excluded pituitary adenoma. His dual x-ray absorptiometry bone scan showed low bone density. His neurological and medical examinations were unremarkable. There were no concurrent medications. Risperidone was reduced to 4 mg/d that caused relapse of his delusions. Risperidone was increased again to 6 mg/d, and aripiprazole 5 mg/d was added. His prolactin level was reduced to 25 ng/mL in 4 weeks, and his galactorrhea disappeared. The patient was restored to his previous level of improvement. He was referred to medicine to evaluate his bone density. Pathologic hyperprolactinemia is defined as consistently elevated serum prolactin concentration (>25 ng/mL) in the absence of pregnancy or postpartum lactation. The degree of elevation of serum prolactin levels is related to the type of antipsychotic, dose, sex, and age of the patient. A total of 42% to 47% of men and 48% to 93% of premenopausal women diagnosed with schizophrenia who take typical
Loss optimizing control of a multiphase interleaving DC-DC converter for use in a hybrid electric vehicle drivetrain

In this paper, the application of a multiphase interleaving DC-DC converter in the drivetrain of an electric vehicle is studied. At first, a method for controlling the converter is proposed which ensures its operation under variable switching frequency and changing of the number of active phases. The implemented cascade control is designed with the help of a small signal model of the multiphase converter. The controller also features a nonlinear feedforward compensator to improve the transient performance. In the next step, different loss optimizing strategies are developed and discussed, based on the temperature-dependent loss model of the drivetrain. These strategies are to vary switching frequency, DC-link voltage and the number of active phases as well as a so-called passive mode operation. Finally, the efficiency difference between a conventional drivetrain and the modified one is presented which shows efficiency improvement especially at partial load. A test setup is also constructed for experimental results which will be presented at the end of this paper.
Working Paper 05-15 - Evaluation of federal tax incentives for private R&D in Belgium: An update

This paper presents the results of a second evaluation of the tax incentives that were introduced – between 2005 and 2008 – by the Belgian federal government to support R&D activities of private companies. Compared with the first assessment, carried out in 2012, this evaluation extends the period considered by two years (2010 and 2011) and provides the results of a first assessment of the tax credit for investment in R&D and the tax deduction of 80% of qualifying gross patent income that were introduced in 2007. The second evaluation also elaborates on the difficulties of estimation procedures to establish the “causal” effect of public support and the importance to account for the strong persistence in firm-level R&D expenditures.
A Physics-Based Analytical Model for Perovskite Solar Cells

Perovskites are promising next-generation absorber materials for low-cost and high-efficiency solar cells. Although perovskite cells are configured similar to the classical solar cells, their operation is unique and requires development of a new physical model for characterization, optimization of the cells, and prediction of the panel performance. In this paper, we develop such a physics-based analytical model to describe the operation of different types of perovskite solar cells, explicitly accounting for nonuniform generation, carrier selective transport layers, and voltage-dependent carrier collection. The model would allow experimentalists to characterize key parameters of existing cells, understand performance bottlenecks, and predict performance of perovskite-based solar panel - the obvious next step to the evolution of perovskite solar cell technology.
Ellagic acid enhances the antinociceptive action of carbamazepine in the acetic acid writhing test with mice

Abstract Context: Ellagic acid (EA) produced antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects through the central and peripheral sites of action. Objective: The objective of the current study was to examine the functional interaction between ellagic acid and carbamazepine (CBZ) on pain. Materials and methods: Fourteen groups of mice (8–10 each) were used in this study. Pain was induced by intraperitoneal acetic acid in mice (writhing test) and the functional interaction was analyzed using the isobolographic method. EA at doses 0.3, 1, 3, and 10 mg/kg and carbamazepine at doses 3, 10, 20, and 30 mg/kg, alone and also in combination (1/2, 1/4, and 1/8 of the drug’s ED50) were intraperitoneally administered 30 min before acetic acid (0.6% v/v). Then, the abdominal writhes were counted during a 25-min period. Results: EA (0.3–10 mg/kg, i.p.) and CBZ (3–30 mg/kg, i.p.) inhibited the writhing response evoked by acetic acid. Fifty percent effective dose (ED50) values against this tonic pain were 1.02 mg/kg and 6.40 mg/kg for EA and CBZ, respectively. The antinociception induced by EA showed higher potency than that of carbamazepine. Co-administration of increasing fractional increments of ED50 values of EA and CBZ produced additive interaction against writhing responses, as revealed by isobolographic analysis. Discussion and conclusion: These results suggest that a combination of carbamazepine and ellagic acid may be a new strategy for the management of neuropathic pain such as what occurs in trigeminal neuralgia, since the use of carbamazepine is often limited by its adverse effects and by reduction of its analgesic effect through microsomal enzyme induction.
Human Papillomavirus and Overexpression of P16INK4a in Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer

BACKGROUND P16INK4a overexpression has been identified as a specific biomarker in high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV)–infected cervical (pre)cancer lesions. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the overexpression of this cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor in skin tumors depending on HPV infections, we analyzed normal skin, benign skin disease, and skin cancer specimens. METHODS Biopsies of 23 patients with normal histology (3), psoriasis (2), verrucae vulgaris (2), actinic keratoses (5), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in situ (3), Bowen's carcinoma (1), and SCC (7) were analyzed. Specimens of 23 patients were immunostained using the monoclonal antibody E6H4 specific for p16INK4a. HPV status was assessed by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) system to detect all currently known HPV types. MY (MY09/MY11 and MYN9/MYN10)-, CP (CP65/CP70 and CP66/CP69)-nested PCR, and three single PCR methods CN1, CN3, and CN4 were used in a first step, and HPV typing was performed by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Only β-globin–positive patients were included in this study. RESULTS HPV DNA was detected in all actinic keratoses, SCC in situ, Bowen's carcinoma, and SCC, in 50% (one of two) of verrucae vulgaris, in 66% (two of three) of normal skin, and in none of two psoriasis. P16INK4a expression was not detected in normal skin, psoriasis, and verrucae vulgares. Overexpression of p16INK4a was detected in a subset of dysplastic cells (10% to 80%) of all skin (pre)cancer lesions such as actinic keratoses, SCC in situ, Bowen's carcinoma, and SCC infected with HPV independent of sun exposure. CONCLUSION P16INK4a appears to be overexpressed in a portion of dysplastic cells from actinic keratoses and SCC. Further studies to examine the association of HPV infection and the overexpression of p16INK4a are warranted.
Uncovering a clinical portrait of sluggish cognitive tempo within an evaluation for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A case study

Despite the burgeoning scientific literature examining the sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) construct, very little is known about the clinical presentation of SCT. In clinical cases where SCT is suspected, it is critical to carefully assess not only for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) but also for other comorbidities that may account for the SCT-related behaviors, especially internalizing symptoms and sleep problems. The current case study provides a clinical description of SCT in a 7-year-old girl, offering a real-life portrait of SCT while also providing an opportunity to qualitatively differentiate between SCT and ADHD, other psychopathologies (e.g. depression, anxiety), and potentially related domains of functioning (e.g. sleep, executive functioning [EF]). “Jessica” was described by herself, parents, and teacher as being much slower than her peers in completing schoolwork, despite standardized testing showing Jessica to have above average intelligence and academic achievement. Jessica’s parents completed rating scales indicating high levels of SCT symptoms and daytime sleepiness, as well as mildly elevated EF deficits. More research is needed to determine how to best conceptualize, assess, and treat SCT, and Jessica’s case underscores the importance of further work in this area.
Optimization of Log-linear Machine Translation Model Parameters Using SVMs

The state-of-the art in statistical machine translation is based on a log-linear combination of different models. In this approach, the coefficients of the combination are computed by using the MERT algorithm with a validation data set. This algorithm presents high computational costs. As an alternative, we propose a novel technique based on Support Vector Machines to calculate these coefficients using a loss function to be minimized. We report the experiments on a Italian-English translation task showing encouraging results.
Canine Eruption in Patients with Complete Cleft Lip and Palate

Objective: To describe erupting maxillary canine positions in patients with bone-grafted alveolar clefts. Sample: The sample consisted of 101 cleft sites from patients with complete unilateral or bilateral cleft lip and palate who had early (≤9 years) or late (>9 years) secondary alveolar bone grafts. Methods: Canine position was assessed using panoramic radiographs taken before and after alveolar bone grafts. Vertical canine positions were assessed using the long axis of the maxillary permanent canine relative to a 90° vertical reference line. Lateral canine positions were defined using the relationship between the canine tip and the midplane of the lateral incisor root. Anomalous lateral incisors were recorded. Statistical analysis included Student's t tests and chi-square tests. Results: Patients with alveolar clefts had a 20-fold increased risk for canine impaction, based on erupting canine positions. Abnormal vertical canine positions decreased following early and late alveolar bone grafts (p < .05), whereas abnormal lateral canine positions increased following late alveolar bone grafts (p < .01). Of the cleft sites with altered canine positions, 61% also had a lateral incisor anomaly. Based on canine position, the non–cleft-side canine had the same risk for impaction as the cleft-side canine. Conclusions: Patients with alveolar clefts have a significantly higher risk for canine impaction compared with patients without clefts. Timing of alveolar bone grafts and lateral incisor anomalies influenced the risk for canine impaction. An alveolar bone graft should be planned in accordance with maxillofacial development, including the eruption of teeth adjacent to the cleft.
Multiplexed fluorescence detection of phosphorylation, glycosylation, and total protein in the proteomic analysis of breast cancer refractoriness

The Multiplexed Proteomics (MP) technology is a new approach that permits quantitative, multicolor fluorescence detection of proteins in one‐dimensional or two‐dimensional gels. This methodology allows for multiplexed identification and differential analysis of phosphoproteins, glycoproteins, and total proteins within a single gel electrophoresis experiment. Here the MP system was applied to the differential proteomic analysis of pregnancy‐induced refractoriness to breast cancer using a rat model system. Differential analyses identified multiple proteins with altered phosphorylation, glycosylation, or protein expression patterns.