Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Collaborative Ranking via Learning Social Experts

Recommendation as a universal service has driven much research works, among which explicit feedback estimation (e.g., Rating prediction in the Netflix competition) is probably the most well-known and well-studied problem. However, in various online and mobile applications, data resources of implicit feedbacks from users' interaction behaviors and linked connections from pervasive social media sites are more abundant. In this paper, we aim to integrate the users' implicit feedbacks and social connections in order to improve the ranking-oriented recommendation performance. One fundamental challenge is the noise of the social connections, which may cause incorrect social influences during learning of users' preferences. As a response, we propose to learn social experts (rather than to rely on connected individual users) as the major influence source for a certain user, which is likely to generate more accurate social influences. Specifically, we design a novel user preference generation function so as to seamlessly incorporate influences from the learned social experts. We then develop a general learning algorithm correspondingly, i.e., Collaborative ranking via learning social experts (CRSE). To verify our idea of learning social experts, we study the ranking performance of CRSE on two real-world datasets, and find that it can produce more accurate recommendations than the state-of-the-art methods.
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Pigs and Farm Workers on Conventional and Antibiotic-Free Swine Farms in the USA

Much uncertainty remains about the origin and public health implications of livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA). This study aimed to investigate the occurrence and prevalence of MRSA in general and LA-MRSA in particular in pigs and farm workers in five states. We collected nasal swabs from pigs and farm workers at 45 swine herds (21 antibiotic-free herds; 24 conventional herds) in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina and Ohio. MRSA was isolated from 50 of 1085 pigs (4.6%) and 31 of 148 (20.9%) of farm workers. MRSA-positive pigs and people were clustered in four conventional swine farms in Iowa and Illinois. Based on genotyping, spa type t034, a common livestock associated variant, was predominant among both human and swine isolates. These results confirm the presence of LA-MRSA in pigs and swine farm workers in the USA, but the prevalence found is relatively low compared with European studies.
Caspase-3 Activity Predicts Local Recurrence in Rectal Cancer

Purpose: Radiotherapy followed by total mesorectal excision surgery has been shown to significantly reduce local recurrence rates in rectal cancer patients. Radiotherapy, however, is associated with considerable morbidity. The present study evaluated the use of biochemical detection of enzymatic caspase-3 activity as preoperative marker for apoptosis to preselect patients that are unlikely to develop a local recurrence to spare these patients from overtreatment and the negative side effects of radiotherapy. Experimental Design: Nonirradiated freshly frozen tissue samples from 117 stage III rectal cancer patients were collected from a randomized clinical trial that evaluated preoperative radiotherapy in total mesorectal excision surgery. Additional frozen archival tissues from 47 preoperative biopsies and corresponding resected colorectal tumors were collected. Level of apoptosis was determined by measuring the enzymatic activity of caspase-3 in a biochemical assay. Results: In tumor tissue, caspase-3 activity lower than the median was predictive of 5-year local recurrence (hazard ratio, 7.4; 95% confidence interval, 1.7-32.8; P = 0.008), which was unaffected by adjustment for type of resection, tumor location, and T status (adjusted hazard ratio, 7.5; 95% confidence interval, 1.7-34.1; P = 0.009). Caspase-3 activity in preoperative biopsies was significantly correlated with caspase-3 activity in corresponding resected tumors (r = 0.56; P < 0.0001). Conclusion: Detection of tumor apoptosis levels by measuring caspase-3 activity, for which a preoperative biopsy can be used, accurately predicted local recurrence in rectal cancer patients. These findings indicate that caspase-3 activity is an important denominator of local recurrence and should be evaluated prospectively to be added to the criteria to select rectal cancer patients in which radiotherapy is redundant.
Effect of clomiphene upon plasma FSH-activity and hypothalamic FSH-RF content in ovariectomized estrogen-progesterone blocked rats.

The effect of clomiphene upon the FSH-RF content of the hypothalamus and plasma FSH-activity in ovariectomized, estrogen- progesterone blocked rats was examined. After the iv injection of 100–300 μg of clomiphene/ rat There was a significant decrease of hypothalamic FSH-RF content with a corresponding increase of plasma FSH-activity. The method described by Igarashi and McCann was used to measure FSH. An FSH-releasing effect of vasopressin which was contained in the hypothalamic extracts could be ruled out. It was concluded that clomiphene acts directly on hypothalamic receptor sites or interacts with estrogens at these sites, which results in a release of FSH-RF (Endocrinology 84: 946, 1969)
Factors affecting school participation in Turkey: an analysis of regional differences1

There are thousands of children who remain out of school at both primary and secondary levels in Turkey. The current disparities in access to education in Turkey are mostly driven by systematic regional differences and high gender inequalities. Although several existing studies have paid close attention to gender-based inequities in school access, none of the existing studies have attempted to systematically understand regional differences in schooling. This study therefore intends to address this gap in the literature. Results of the study indicated several key factors, such as gender, household poverty and gender role attitudes, that contributes to the regional inequalities in access to education in Turkey. Based on these findings, suggestions for policy makers and future research were made.
Split-Bregman-based sparse-view CT reconstruction

Total variation minimization has been extensively researched for image denoising and sparse view reconstruction. These methods show superior denoising performance for simple images with little texture, but result in texture information loss when applied to more complex images. It could thus be beneficial to use other regularizers within medical imaging. We propose a general regularization method, based on a split-Bregman approach. We show results for this framework combined with a total variation denoising operator, in comparison to ASD-POCS. We show that sparse-view reconstruction and noise regularization is possible. This general method will allow us to investigate other regularizers in the context of regularized CT reconstruction, and decrease the acquisition times in µCT.
Factors Associated With Health-Related Quality of Life among Hypertensive Patients in Kathmandu, Nepal

Introduction Nepal has a high prevalence of hypertension. While improving the overall health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is a central tenet to public health plans in developed nations, this focus has yet to be articulated in Nepal. Therefore, this study aims to identify the factors associated with HRQOL among hypertensive patients in Nepal. Method The EuroQol-5Dimension HRQOL survey was administered to 180 hypertensive patients, attending the outpatient clinic at Shahid Gangalal National Heart Center in Kathmandu, Nepal. Multiple linear regression models, adjusted for age and sex, were used to identify factors associated with HRQOL. Results The mean age and EuroQol visual analytic scale of the participants were 53.2 years and 63.7, respectively. Age [β = −0.56; 95% confidence interval (CI): −0.75 to −0.37], income (β = 0.02; 95% CI: 0.01, 0.03), family size (β = −0.98; 95% CI: −1.89, −0.07), number of antihypertensive drugs use (β = 4.62; 95% CI: 1.33, 7.90), and compliance to dietary salt advise (β = 4.86; 95% CI: 0.29, 9.43) were significant factors associated with HRQOL among participants. In addition, levels of education and self-perceived health were associated in a positive gradient to HRQOL. In mediation analysis, both, dietary low salt compliance and use of antihypertensive drugs, had a significant direct effect on HRQOL, and the use of antihypertensive drugs did not significantly mediate the relationship between dietary salt compliance and HRQOL. Conclusion Various factors were found to be associated with HRQOL among hypertensive patients in Kathmandu. Assessing HRQOL is a valuable technique to identify populations in need of services and interventions. This assessment can serve as a baseline, and in conjunction with multiple stakeholders, can guide public health policy, planning, and practices, especially those aimed toward improving the HRQOL of Nepalese with hypertension.
Nonlocal Markovian models for image denoising

Abstract. Currently, the state-of-the art methods for image denoising are patch-based approaches. Redundant information present in nonlocal regions (patches) of the image is considered for better image modeling, resulting in an improved quality of filtering. In this respect, nonlocal Markov random field (MRF) models are proposed by redefining the energy functions of classical MRF models to adopt a nonlocal approach. With the new energy functions, the pairwise pixel interaction is weighted according to the similarities between the patches corresponding to each pair. Also, a maximum pseudolikelihood estimation of the spatial dependency parameter (β) for these models is presented here. For evaluating this proposal, these models are used as an a priori model in a maximum a posteriori estimation to denoise additive white Gaussian noise in images. Finally, results display a notable improvement in both quantitative and qualitative terms in comparison with the local MRFs.
The Measurement and Impact of Workplace Cyberbullying

This thesis investigates workplace cyberbullying, defined as a situation where over time, an individual is repeatedly subjected to perceived negative acts conducted through technology (for example, phone, email, web sites, social media) which are related to their work context. In this situation the target of workplace cyberbullying has difficulty defending him or herself against these actions. The thesis has two broad aims: (1) to develop a workplace cyberbullying measurement scale; and (2) to investigate the impact of workplace cyberbullying on employees. Workplace cyberbullying is conceptualised in this thesis by drawing on the traditional workplace bullying and cyberbullying literature. A rationale is presented for investigating it as a distinct form of workplace bullying and four separate studies address the development of the workplace cyberbullying measure (WCM). The first study generated measurement items by asking employees to describe cyberbullying behaviours. The behaviours were sorted into categories using content analysis and converted into measurement items. In the second study, the relative severity of each item was assessed so that the measure could be weighted according to severity. In the third study, the 34 item WCM was completed by a sample of 424 employees. A two factor structure (comprising work-related cyberbullying and person-related cyberbullying) was compared to a unidimensional factor structure and the measure was refined into a 17 item instrument. During the fourth study the nomological network of the WCM was constructed and further reliability and validity evidence was obtained. The fifth and final study then used the WCM to investigate the impact of workplace cyberbullying within a theoretical framework. The theoretical and practical contributions of the studies are discussed along with directions for future research.
A Study of Sulphatoxymelatonin Excretion and Gonadotropin Status During Weight Gain in Anorexia Nervosa

To clarify a controversy as to whether melatonin secretion is related to body weight, urinary sulphatoxymelatonin (aMT6s) excretion was estimated in 10 patients with anorexia nervosa before and after weight gain, and compared with 10 age-matched controls. There was no change in aMT6s excretion after weight gain, and no significant difference between the patients and control groups at either point. Significant increases in plasma LH, FSH, and estradiol were detected after weight gain in anorexic patients, independent of aMT6s excretion.
Capping computation time and storage requirements for appearance-based localization with CAT-SLAM

Appearance-based localization is increasingly used for loop closure detection in metric SLAM systems. Since it relies only upon the appearance-based similarity between images from two locations, it can perform loop closure regardless of accumulated metric error. However, the computation time and memory requirements of current appearance-based methods scale linearly not only with the size of the environment but also with the operation time of the platform. These properties impose severe restrictions on longterm autonomy for mobile robots, as loop closure performance will inevitably degrade with increased operation time. We present a set of improvements to the appearance-based SLAM algorithm CAT-SLAM to constrain computation scaling and memory usage with minimal degradation in performance over time. The appearance-based comparison stage is accelerated by exploiting properties of the particle observation update, and nodes in the continuous trajectory map are removed according to minimal information loss criteria. We demonstrate constant time and space loop closure detection in a large urban environment with recall performance exceeding FAB-MAP by a factor of 3 at 100% precision, and investigate the minimum computational and memory requirements for maintaining mapping performance.
Validez del modelo bidimensional de socialización parental en diferentes entornos sociales de la cultura española: implicaciones para el ajuste psicosocial de los adolescentes

Over the last decades, empirical research has repeatedly demonstrated the influence of the different forms of parents' conduct in the socialization process on children’s psychological and social adjustment. Research on family socialization has traditionally been based on the theoretical model of two theoretically independent dimensions (acceptance/involvement and strictness/imposition, Darling & Steinberg, 1993; Maccoby & Martin, 1983) and four typologies (authoritative, indulgent, authoritarian and neglectful), each one is characterized by a particular acting style in facing their children's socialization. There are important discussions in the scientific literature about which parenting style is the optimum for the adequate psychosocial adjustment of children. Owing to this debate, the general objective of the present thesis, which is presented as a collection of six publications, is to analyze which parenting style is related to the best results in the psychosocial adjustment of Spanish adolescents. For this purpose, three broad sets of criteria, each one covers a different area of children’s adjustment, were assessed: school adjustment, psychological adjustment and behavioral problems. Thus, in the first chapter, the importance of family as the primary socialization agent as well as the adolescence as the transitional developmental stage between childhood and adulthood, are briefly introduced. Subsequently, the theoretical model of two-dimensions and four-typologies is described in detail. Then, the different results obtained in the empirical research on this topic are revised to set the general and specific objectives of this thesis. Afterwards, the different publications carried out in order to reply to the proposed objectives are presented in the second chapter. Finally, the main conclusions reached from the results obtained are explained in the third chapter.
ScienceDirect Information Technology and Quantitative Management ( ITQM 2015 ) The Use of AHP for IT Project Priorization – A Case Study for Oil & Gas Company

As market dynamics and complexity increase, the selection of IT projects, which are important to align enterprise operations and strategy, face challenges from cost-benefit related conception, to criteria for project definition. This research has the objective to present a case study for the process of adoption of a multi-criteria method through AHP – Analytic Hierarchy Process by a large Brazilian multinational company in the oil & gas segment. The authors prepared a descriptive qualitative research based on survey data from semi-structured interviews with key company professionals involved throughout the implementation process. The results obtained indicated that the company, based on a medium to long term strategic plan passed by the realignment in the criteria of the decision-making model, through the enhancement of demand and project portfolio prioritization under IT. The study also aims to explore from company ́s senior management expectations up to the details on the challenges encountered during implementation and use of the method chosen by the corporation. © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of the organizers of ITQM 2015
Function of the mammalian postorbital bar

Complete postorbital bars, bony arches that encompass the lateral aspect of the eye and form part of a circular orbit, have evolved homoplastically multiple times during mammalian evolution. Numerous functional hypotheses have been advanced for postorbital bars, the most promising being that postorbital bars function to stiffen the lateral orbit in taxa that have significant angular deviation between the temporal fossa and the bony orbit. Without a stiff lateral orbit the anterior temporalis muscle and fascia potentially would pull on the postorbital ligament, deform the orbit, and cause disruption of oculomotor precision. Morphometric data were collected on 1,329 specimens of 324 taxa from 16 orders of extant eutherian and metatherian mammals in order to test whether the orientation of the orbit relative to the temporal fossa is correlated with the replacement of the postorbital ligament with bone. The allometric and ecological influences on orbit orientation across mammals are also explored. The morphometric results corroborate the hypothesis: Shifts in orbit orientation relative to the temporal fossa are correlated with the size of the postorbital processes, which replace the ligament. The allometric and ecological factors that influence orbit orientation vary across taxa. Postorbital bars stiffen the lateral orbital wall. Muscle pulleys, ligaments, and other connective tissue attach to the lateral orbital wall, including the postorbital bar. Without a stiff lateral orbit, deformation due to temporalis contraction would displace soft tissues contributing to normal oculomotor function. J. Morphol. , 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Chemical Synthesis of Ubiquitin Chains

Chemical synthesis of complex biomolecules such as proteins is a challenging adventure, yet rewarding in driving various biochemical and biophysical research activities. Over the years, the refinement of peptide synthesis and invention of ligation methodologies have led to the successful synthesis of several complex protein targets. Ubiquitin bioconjugates, which are being studied intensively by many groups due to their involvement in numerous biological processes, represent a fine example where chemistry is greatly aiding these studies. In this article, we describe the synthetic routes and strategies to prepare different ubiquitin analogs with desired modifications, as well as di‐ubiquitin chains. © 2015 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Explore the Relationship Among Lung Cancer Stigma, Social Support, and Psychosocial Distress

OF DISSERTATION EXPLORE THE RELATIONSHIP AMONG LUNG CANCER STIGMA, SOCIAL SUPPORT, AND PSYCHOSOCIAL DISTRESS There is longstanding causal relationship between cigarette smoking and lung cancer. Smoke-free policies and anti-smoking campaigns have been linked to the decline in smoking acceptance and contribute to the unintended consequence of stigmatizing smokers. Lung cancer is viewed as a self-inflicted disease and patients’ feel judged in a manner different from other cancers affecting social interactions between family, friends, and healthcare professionals. Lung cancer stigma contributes to depression, anxiety, poor self-esteem, guilt, shame, blame, threatens a person’s social identity, and limits social support that deeply affects patients and their support persons. This dissertation contains a review of the literature related to smoking and stigma, an evaluation of the psychometric properties of an investigator-developed instrument, “Lung Cancer Stigma Scale” (LuCaSS) and the main findings from a cross-sectional observational study of 104 lung cancer patients assessing factors associated with lung cancer stigma. The Model of Stigma Induced Identity Threat provides the framework to examine stigma and the relationship between social constraints, self-esteem, and smoking and to test whether social support mediates the relationship between stigma, and depression/anxiety. The LuCaSS was a reliable and valid instrument measuring lung cancer stigma (alpha = 0.89). The principle components analysis determined three subscales measuring internalized stigma: social rejections/judgment, blame/guilt, and shame. Social constraints, self-esteem, smoking each significantly contributed to the prediction of stigma controlling for SES. Lung cancer patients with greater social constraints and lower self-esteem and who were smokers scored higher on stigma. Social support was a mediator for the relationship between stigma and depression but not for anxiety. The findings are consistent with Stigma Induced Identity Threat Model. A stigmatized identity can lead to stress-related health outcomes such as depression. A lung cancer diagnosis has numerous negative psychosocial effects on patients. Integrating stigma tools (i.e. LuCaSS) in practice settings may assist with determining potential stigma related distress among lung cancer patients. Emphasizing the need for social support and implementing more advocacy efforts may also help minimize the effects of stigma and depression. Future studies are necessary to further examine the role of social support in minimizing stigma and psychosocial distress.
Capturing appearance variation in active appearance models

The paper presents an extension of active appearance models (AAMs) that is better capable of dealing with the large variation in face appearance that is encountered in large multi-person face data sets. Instead of the traditional PCA-based texture model, our extended AAM employs a mixture of probabilistic PCA to describe texture variation, leading to a richer model. The resulting extended AAM can be efficiently fitted to held-out test images using an adapted version of the inverse compositional algorithm: the computational complexity scales linearly with the number of components in the texture mixture. The results of our experiments on three face data sets illustrate the merits of our extended AAM.
A Major Role for the Minor Capsid Protein of Human Papillomavirus Type 16 in Immune Escape1

High-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection of the cervical epithelium is causally linked with the generation of cervical cancer. HPV does not activate Langerhans cells (LC), the APC at the site of infection, leading to immune evasion. The HPV protein responsible for inducing this immune escape has not been determined. We demonstrate that LC exposed to the minor capsid protein L2 in HPV16L1L2 virus-like particles do not phenotypically or functionally mature. However, HPV16L1 virus-like particles significantly induce activation of LC. Our data suggest that the L2 protein plays a specific role in the induction of this immune escape of HPV16 through the manipulation of LC. This novel function is the first immune modulating action attributed to the L2 protein and adds significantly to our understanding of the mechanism of HPV immune escape.