Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Physical Exercise Improves The Functional Capacity and Quality of Life in Patients With Heart Failure

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of physical exercise on the functional capacity and quality of life in heart failure patients. METHODS Forty-two patients of both sexes with heart failure of NYHA class II and III with different etiologies were randomly divided into untrained or trained groups. The six-month exercise program consisted of aerobic training, muscle strength training, agility and joint flexibility activities. Physical fitness was evaluated by testing the performance on these trained components. Quality of life was evaluated by scored answers to a standardized questionnaire involving multiple domains. RESULTS Baseline values did not differ between groups. Improvement in the trained group was identified in all components of functional capacity when compared to the untrained group (p < 0.001). Quality of life improved in the trained patients concerning physical, psychological, social and environmental domains (p < 0.001), whereas no significant change was found in the untrained patients. CONCLUSIONS Guided and monitored physical exercise is safe and has the potential to improve functional capacity and quality of life in heart failure patients with multiple etiologies.
First isolation of Cytophaga psychrophila from a systemic disease in eel and cyprinids

Four Cytophaga psychrophila-like strains were isolated from one eel and 3 species of cyprinids with skin lesions and signs of acute septicaemia in Nordrhein-Westfalen (Germany). The strains proved identical in their phenotypic charactenst~cs to each other and to 3 typical strains of C psychrophila, one of which was the type strain. The identification of the new isolates as C. psl/chrophila was confirmed by rapid s l ~ d e agglutination tests uslng a specific rabbit anti-C. psychrophila serum. This is the first report of C. psychrophila being isolated from non-salmonid fishes. This pathogen, which has provoked heavy losses in rainbow trout hatcheries in France and Germany since 1984-1985, may also have the potential to become a problem for non-salmonids. As with most other bacteria pathogenic for fish, C. psychrophila shows a lack of strict host specificity. Cytophaga psychrophila (= Flexibacter psychro-philus) was originally isolated from diseased coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch in Washington State, USA, in 1948 (Borg 1960). This bacteriumis the causative agent of a systemic infection known as 'cold-water disease', 'low-temperature disease' or 'peduncle disease'. Until 1988, the condition had only been reported in the northern states of the USA and in Canada. However , the same bacterium has been recognized since 1988 in western and central Europe as the causative agent of a serious systemic disease in farmed rainbow trout Oncorl~ynchus myluss (Bernardet et al. 1988, Lehmann et al. 1988). Until recently, the condition was believed to be restricted to salmonids (Oncorhynchus spp., Salvelinus spp., and Salmo spp.). However, in November 1989, examinations of a wild diseased eel Anguilla anguilla from the river Weser in the state of Nordrhein-Westfa-len, Germany, revealed the existence of a Cytophaga psychrophila-like infection (Lehmann et al. 1990). The eel had a body length of 50 cm, was very lethargic, and showed the following gross lesions: haemorrhages in the unpaired fins, dorsal muscular system, peritoneum, and swim-bladder wall; inflammation of the intestine; and a blister in the region of the anus. The river Weser is highly polluted with NaCl and KC1 from salt factories in the east of Germany (average ion concentrations in 1989 at the site where the eel was collected were Na = 860.9 mg l-l , K = 77.2 mg 1-l , and C1 = 1661.4 mg I-'). Bacterial infections with motile Aeromonas and with Vibrio anguiflarum are common among eels in this part of the river. The water temperature in …
Peer Influence, Family Dysfunction or Conditioning? - An Empirical Analysis of Facebook Addiction Predispositions

The high increase of usage rates of Social Networking Sites (SNS) such as Facebook are a worldwide phenomenon as are people spending hours in Facebook especially among young adolescents. However, beside their useful and enjoyable features, SNS like Facebook have also proven to have undesired outcomes in terms of technostress, social overload, or even addiction. Addiction as a variable in adoption models has been introduced into the IS community by Turel and Serenko (2011) who operationalized online-auction addiction and assessed its impact on adoption determinants as perceived usefulness. By means of an empirical study of 125 young adults, the present research shifts the focus to the causes of addiction using the example of Facebook. We thereby focus on three groups of addiction predispositions (Family dysfunction, peer influence and behavioral conditioning) and empirically investigate their impact on Facebook addiction.
Feature-Based Color Image Watermarking Using Intensity Probability Density and Color Invariance Model

By using intensity probability density and color invariance model, a novel feature-based color image watermarking method is proposed in this paper. Firstly, the uniform and robust feature points are extracted in the color invariance model by utilizing modified speeded up robust features (SURF) detector, in which the intensity probability density gradient is used instead of intensity gradient. Then, the affine invariant colored local ellipse regions (LERs) are constructed adaptively according to the variation of local intensity probability density. Finally, the digital watermark is embedded into the affine invariant colored LERs based on statistical theory and image histogram invariant theory. Experimental results support the potential of the proposed approach.
Development and validation of an immunosuppressant therapy adherence barrier instrument.

BACKGROUND To decrease allograft rejection as a result of non-adherence to immunosuppressant therapy (IST), a valid and reliable instrument that measures solid organ transplant patients' adherence barriers is needed. METHODS An immunosuppressant therapy barrier scale (ITBS) was developed to assess transplant patients' perceived barriers to IST adherence and was completed by 222 transplant patients who lived in Georgia, USA. A renal transplant population subset was used to test the ITBS reliability and validity. Scale reliability was estimated using Cronbach's alpha coefficient of internal consistency; scale dimensionality was assessed using principal components analysis. The criterion-related validity of the scale was assessed by relating subscale scores to adherence measures and graft rejection. Nomological validity was assessed by relating barrier subscales to specific patient factors. RESULTS Two subscales that represented 'controllable' and 'uncontrollable' barriers were found. Cronbach's alpha coefficients demonstrated acceptable reliabilities of 0.93, 0.86 and 0.91 for the 'uncontrollable' and 'controllable' subscales, and for the entire ITBS, respectively. The ITBS subscales correlated negatively with a self-reported measure of IST adherence, IST serum concentrations and IST pharmacy refill adherence rate (P<0.01). The 'uncontrollable barrier' subscale was positively correlated to kidney graft rejection (P<0.01), thus demonstrating the ITBS's validity. Males and older patients reported more adherence barriers (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS The ITBS is a reliable and valid instrument that can be used to measure patients' perceived barriers to IST adherence.
Beam Training Optimization for Millimeter Wave Communication

Beam Training Optimization for Millimeter Wave Communication Evan R. Ding Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Professor Sumit Roy Electrical Engineering Millimeter wave (mmWave) technology has emerged as a promising solution to the spectrum demands of 5G networks. To achieve the necessary link budget for high throughput data transfer, mmWave links employ beamforming using antenna arrays with a large number of elements. However, this introduces the need for beam training, the process of finding beam alignments that can support a robust data link. Due to the dynamic nature of 5G environments, beam training must be conducted quickly since devices move in and out of communication range over short time scales. In this thesis, the optimization of beam training is explored within this context. Specifically, we derive a complexity bound for beam training in the limited scope of an idealized Boolean model, and a class of algorithms which achieve the bound is presented. The performance of these algorithms in non-ideal contexts are evaluated through simulation, and improvements over the existing IEEE 802.11ad standard are demonstrated.
Trans-Translation in Helicobacter pylori: Essentiality of Ribosome Rescue and Requirement of Protein Tagging for Stress Resistance and Competence

Background The ubiquitous bacterial trans-translation is one of the most studied quality control mechanisms. Trans-translation requires two specific factors, a small RNA SsrA (tmRNA) and a protein co-factor SmpB, to promote the release of ribosomes stalled on defective mRNAs and to add a specific tag sequence to aberrant polypeptides to direct them to degradation pathways. Helicobacter pylori is a pathogen persistently colonizing a hostile niche, the stomach of humans. Principal Findings We investigated the role of trans-translation in this bacterium well fitted to resist stressful conditions and found that both smpB and ssrA were essential genes. Five mutant versions of ssrA were generated in H. pylori in order to investigate the function of trans-translation in this organism. Mutation of the resume codon that allows the switch of template of the ribosome required for its release was essential in vivo, however a mutant in which this codon was followed by stop codons interrupting the tag sequence was viable. Therefore one round of translation is sufficient to promote the rescue of stalled ribosomes. A mutant expressing a truncated SsrA tag was viable in H. pylori, but affected in competence and tolerance to both oxidative and antibiotic stresses. This demonstrates that control of protein degradation through trans-translation is by itself central in the management of stress conditions and of competence and supports a regulatory role of trans-translation-dependent protein tagging. In addition, the expression of smpB and ssrA was found to be induced upon acid exposure of H. pylori. Conclusions We conclude to a central role of trans-translation in H. pylori both for ribosome rescue possibly due to more severe stalling and for protein degradation to recover from stress conditions frequently encountered in the gastric environment. Finally, the essential trans-translation machinery of H. pylori is an excellent specific target for the development of novel antibiotics.
Improving extractive dialogue summarization by utilizing human feedback

Automatic summarization systems usually are trained and evaluated in a particular domain with fixed data sets. When such a system is to be applied to slightly different input, labor- and cost-intensive annotations have to be created to retrain the system. We deal with this problem by providing users with a GUI which allows them to correct automatically produced imperfect summaries. The corrected summary in turn is added to the pool of training data. The performance of the system is expected to improve as it adapts to the new domain.
Analysis of Drivers' Responses under Hazardous Situations in Vehicle Traffic

This study focused on the analysis of drivers' reactions under hazardous scenarios in vehicle traffic. Driving behavior signals were utilized to detect a chain of changes in driver status and to retrieve incidents from a large real-world driving database obtained from the center for integrated acoustic information research (CIAIR). All the existing 25 potentially hazardous scenes in the database were hand-labeled and categorized. A new feature, based on joint-histograms of these behavioral signals and their dynamics was proposed and utilized to indicate anomalies in driving behavior. Brake pedal force-based method attained a true positive (TP) rate of 100% for a false positive (FP) rate of 4.5%, concerning the detection of 17 scenes where drivers slammed on the brakes. Results stressed the relevance of individuality in drivers' reactions for this retrieval. In 11 of the 25 hand-labeled scenes, drivers reacted verbally. Scenes where high-energy words were present were adequately retrieved by the speech-based detection, which achieved a TP rate of 54% (6 scenes), for a FP rate of 6.4%. In addition, the proposed integration method, which combined brake force and speech signals, was satisfactory in boosting the detection of the most subjectively dangerous situations.
Almost Optimal Lower Bounds for Problems Parameterized by Clique-Width

We obtain asymptotically tight algorithmic bounds for Max-Cut and Edge Dominating Set problems on graphs of bounded clique-width. We show that on an $n$-vertex graph of clique-width $t$ both problems (1) cannot be solved in time $f(t)n^{o(t)}$ for any function $f$ of $t$ unless exponential time hypothesis fails, and (2) can be solved in time $n^{O(t)}$.
Competitive Multifacility Location on Networks: The (R|Xp)-Medianoid Problem

We investigate the (r|Xp)-medianoid problem for networks. This is a competitive location problem that consists of determining the locations of facilities belonging to a firm in order to maximize its market share in a space where a competitor is already operating with facilities. We consider six scenarios resulting from the combination of three customer choice rules (binary, partially binary, and proportional) with two types of services (essential and unessential). Known discretization results about the existence of a solution for the set of nodes are extended. Some examples and computational experience using heuristic algorithms are presented.
Biologics in Paediatric Crohn's Disease

Crohn's disease affects increasing numbers of children worldwide. Generally, childhood-onset disease runs a more severe course than in adults and has a greater impact on quality of life. Therapy in children must take account of a different set of risks for toxicity compared to adults, but also to their longevity. Biologic drugs present remarkable advantages in terms of disease control for children, especially in those whose disease cannot be controlled with conventional therapies, but their long-term risks are still being assessed. Data regarding biologic use in children is limited and mostly amounts to case series, but results have been promising, both in terms of controlling disease activity and improving growth parameters. Adverse reactions are infrequent in the short term, but loss of response is a long-term problem, particularly in children. More information is needed about very long term risks. Infliximab and adalimumab are the most studied agents in children, while there is relatively limited data on certolizumab and natalizumab. Further collection of data on these agents is still needed, but this should not restrict access to these agents for children in whom no other agent is effective.
Encrypted key exchange: password-based protocols secure against dictionary attacks

Classic cryptographic protocols based on user-chosen keys allow an attacker to mount password-guessing attacks. A combination of asymmetric (public-key) and symmetric (secret-key) cryptography that allow two parties sharing a common password to exchange confidential and authenticated information over an insecure network is introduced. In particular, a protocol relying on the counter-intuitive motion of using a secret key to encrypt a public key is presented. Such protocols are secure against active attacks, and have the property that the password is protected against offline dictionary attacks. <<ETX>>
Including Context in a Transactional Recommender System Using a Pre-filtering Approach: Two Real E-commerce Applications

Recent research has shown that including context in a recommender system may improve its performance. The context-based recommendation approaches are classified as pre-filtering, post-filtering and contextual modeling. Moreover, in real e-commerce applications, collecting ratings may be quite difficult. It is possible to use purchasing frequencies instead of ratings, but little research has been done. The research contribution of this work lies in studying when and how including context with a pre-filtering approach improves the performance of a recommender system using transactional data. To this aim, we studied the interaction between homogeneity and sparsity, in several experimental settings. The experiments were done on two databases coming from two actual e-commerce applications.
Stimulated acoustic emission detected by transcranial color doppler ultrasound : a contrast-specific phenomenon useful for the detection of cerebral tissue perfusion.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Experimental and clinical data suggest that insonation of echo-contrast agents with high acoustical power produces disintegration of microbubbles, resulting in a pseudo-Doppler phenomenon called stimulated acoustic emission (SAE). The purpose of this study was to investigate whether SAE might be detected by transcranial color Doppler imaging and whether these signals might be used for cerebral tissue perfusion measurements. METHODS Nonmoving microbubbles (SHU 563 A) were insonated in vitro through the temporal parts of a human cadaver skull, and contrast signals were detected by velocity-coded color Doppler and power Doppler recordings. Transcranial color as well as power Doppler investigations were performed in 10 healthy volunteers with the echo-contrast agent Levovist (SHU 508 A). RESULTS Color Doppler signals indicating SAE were observed in vitro and in transcranial human investigations. These signals were characterized by a mosaic of color Doppler pixels ranging over the full color scale. Apparent velocity information and spatial distribution of SAE signals changed from image frame to image frame. In the experimental model, the intensity of SAE signals decreased exponentially over time. With an increase of acoustic power, there was a significant increase of the maximum signal intensity (P<0.01) and a significantly shortened signal duration (P<0.01), consistent with stronger and more rapid disintegration. In humans, SAE signals were clearly detected in cerebral tissue regions. The intensity of SAE signals in those regions (eg, temporal cortex, 3.7+/-1.2 dB) was approximately 8 times lower than the signal enhancement in the major cerebral arteries (eg, in the MCA, 29.5+/-5.6). CONCLUSIONS Echo-contrast specific color Doppler signals known as SAE are detectable by transcranial color and power Doppler sonography. Signals due to SAE might represent tissue perfusion, thereby providing a method for imaging flow with transcranial ultrasound.
On the Role of Quality Attributes in Specifying Software / System Architecture for Intelligent Systems

In recent years, researchers in software engineering have been exploring a range of issues on software and system architectures. One area that directly affects intelligent system is software and system architecture. Recent findings offer evidence that software architecture can be developed based on a set of well-defined concepts and methods. In this paper, we examine this line of research and its role in the field of intelligent systems. We suggest using architecture lifecycle as an approach to deriving architectures for intelligent systems. We introduce intelligence quality attribute and propose using it with a set of existing quality attributes to support incremental, evolutionary specification and evaluation of intelligent software/system architectures.
High Performance Waveform Generator Design for Full-Coherent Millimeter-Wave Radar

Millimeter-wave radar has attracted much attention as a replacement of some infrared or laser systems currently in use. In this paper, an approach of developing high performance waveform for full-coherent millimeter-wave radar is proposed. With good frequency configuration and optimal utilization of DDS (direct digital synthesizer), PLL (phase locked loop) and FPGA (field programming gate array), the developed radar waveform generator implemented with low complexity has the good performance of both spectrum purity (phase noise and spur level) and switching speed. The measurement results show that, in S/C band, the local oscillator's bandwidth is 480MHz and the minimum frequency step is 15MHz, the spur level is better than -65dBc, the phase noise level is better than -94dBc/Hz@1kHz, the maximum frequency switching time is less than 15mus.
Reflections on “assessing tourist behavioral intentions through perceived service quality and customer satisfaction”

ABSTRACT The paper published in 2007 develops a model that increases understanding of the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction and treats behavioral intentions as an outcome of both constructs. The proposed model identifies some appropriate measures for these constructs using a questionnaire distributed to consumers visiting spa resorts. This commentary essay addresses the theoretical contributions it made and points out empirical limitations and meaningful extensions of the study.
Closing the mind's eye: deactivation of visual cortex related to auditory task difficulty

Blood oxygen-level-dependent signal decreases relative to baseline (deactivations) can occur with stimulation of an opposing sensory modality. Here, we show the importance of the difficulty of an auditory task on the deactivation of visual cortical areas. Participants performed an auditory temporal-order judgment task in conjunction with sparse-sampling functional MRI at both moderate and high levels of difficulty (adjusted for each individual's own threshold). With moderate difficulty, small deactivations were observed not only in parietal and cingulate cortex, but occipital cortex as well. When the same task was more difficult, deactivations increased significantly to include a greater extent of functionally defined visual cortex. Together, these results suggest that cross-modal deactivations occur in compensation for task difficulty, perhaps acting as an intrinsic filter for nonrelevant information.
Semantic aspect derivation of the Praxème methodology from the elaborate lexicon extended language

This paper treats the representation of the intentional aspect of the Praxème methodology in the elaborate lexicon extended language with a conceptual view, noted eLEL, facilitates automatic derivation into semantic aspect of this methodology. Because it is the terminology database, brings together the specific terms used by the enterprise, and has a UML metamodel, which enables to properly satisfy this derivation. In this case, the eLEL as the intentional aspect becomes the initial phase of Praxème. Therefore, our strategy is to use eLEL models to automatically derive the semantic aspect of Praxème. To do this, we will establish rules for deriving eLEL models of class diagrams and UML state machine. These rules are then translated into ATL code to obtain UML diagrams in XMI format. In turn, the UML diagrams in XMI format will be transformed to obtain the concrete UML diagrams. Then, the results of this derivation process are UML diagrams in Ecore and XMI format and concrete UML diagrams that are components of the semantic aspect of the Praxème methodology. In short, our method proposes the derivation of UML class diagram from natural language. Finally, we tested our approach on a case study by comparing it with two other approaches, different from our own. The results shows that our method is useful to stakeholders, as it can bring about a complete and exact software specification in a very short time.