Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lorsque les territoires locaux entrent dans l'arène publique ; retours d'expérience en matière de conflits aéroportuaires : Ambiances et espaces sonores

Bien que createurs de richesses pour les territoires d'accueil, les aeroports font face a des oppositions grandissantes. Par l'analyse de quelques conflits aeroportuaires americains et europeens, cet article aborde le pourquoi de ce decalage. Partant du constat que les effets du bruit des avions dessinent des geographies singulieres qui alimentent de plus en plus les contestations locales, nous montrons que les territoires locaux constituent une nouvelle echelle spatiale de reference dans les debats, en plus des echelles plus conventionnelles: l'echelle planetaire de la mobilite aerienne ou metropolitaine des effets economiques regionaux. Et, par les valeurs et legitimites dont ils sont porteurs, par les coalitions entre elus, associations de riverains. qui structurent leurs actions, ces territoires font de plus en plus efficacement barrage aux projets des operateurs et gestionnaires aeroportuaires, au point de parfois voire se redefinir certains des desseins politiques assignes conventionnellement aux aeroports et a leur gestion. L'enjeu de la reinsertion territoriale des aeroports pose alors notamment la question de la mise en oeuvre d'une gouvernance aeroportuaire, associant aussi les acteurs locaux a la prise de decision.
The Shadow of Microblogging Use: Relationship between Usage Types and Addiction

The negative effects of Information System (IS) usage are increasingly drawing attentions from the academic area, where detailed concepts, symptoms, and outcomes are analyzed in various contexts. Microblogging, as a mobile Web 2.0 service, has developed rapidly with a fast-growing user population in recent years. Considering its popularity and addictive attributes in contrast with the limited published research on it, in this paper, based on thorough discussions on prior studies, we argue that microblogging addiction is a psychology status caused by continued use. Drawing upon such understanding, we propose a research model which reveals the relationships between the two major motivations of microblogging use and the four dimensions of addiction, as well as the moderating effects of two personality traits. The design for a survey study to empirically test the proposed model is presented and the measurements of all the constructs in the model are discussed.
Feedback-Based Energy Management in a Standby-Sparing Scheme for Hard Real-Time Systems

The interaction between fault tolerance and energy consumption is an interesting avenue in the realm of designing embedded systems. In this paper, a scheme for reducing energy consumption in conventional standby-sparing systems is introduced. In the proposed method, the primary unit exploits dynamic voltage scaling (DVS) and dynamic power management (DPM) is employed for the spare unit. The framework which is used in the primary unit is composed of a feedback system to follow up workload along with a three-layer yet light-weight energy manager which guarantees hard real-time constraints of the system. Moreover, an optimal approach (but not practical) as a margin for the minimum energy consumption of this system is presented and the capability of other methods in reducing energy consumption is compared. Simulation results show an improvement in energy saving as compared with previous works and also show that the proposed method is near optimal for task sets with different dynamic workloads.
Assessing the impact of waste picking on musculoskeletal disorders among waste pickers in Mumbai, India: a cross-sectional study

Objective To assess the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) as well as the impact of the occupation of waste picking on complaints of MSDs among waste pickers. The study attempts to understand the risk factors for MSDs in various areas of the body. Design A cross-sectional household survey was conducted using a case-control design. The survey instrument for measuring musculoskeletal symptoms was adopted from a standardised Nordic questionnaire. The impact of the occupation of waste picking on MSDs was analysed using the propensity score matching (PSM) method. Participants The study population consisted of waste pickers (n=200) who had been working for at least a year and a control group (n=213) selected from among or living close to the same communities. Results The 12-month prevalence of MSDs was higher among waste pickers (79%) compared to controls (55%) particularly in the lower back (54–36%), knee (48–35%), upper back (40–21%) and shoulder (32–12%). Similar patterns were observed in the 12-month prevalence of MSDs which prevented normal activity inside and outside the home, particularly for the lower back (36–21%), shoulder (21–7%) and upper back (25–12%) for waste pickers and controls. Analysis of the impact of waste picking on complaints of MSDs suggests that the occupation of waste picking raises the risk of MSDs particularly in the shoulder, lower and upper back. Older age and longer duration of work are significant risk factors for MSDs. Conclusions The findings suggest a relatively higher prevalence of MSDs among waste pickers, particularly in the lower and upper back and shoulder, compared to controls. Preventive measures and treatment to minimise the burden of MSDs among waste pickers are strongly recommended.
Rate control for streaming services based on mobility prediction in wireless mobile networks

There are many efforts to adapt streaming services to wireless mobile networks. It is hard to assure the QoS of the streaming services in wireless mobile networks because a terminal moves continuously and causes handoff procedures. We focus on delay factors which occur whenever a terminal moves in the wireless mobile environment. It is assumed that a mobile terminal's movement is based on the Gauss-Markov model with the varying velocity affected by its previous velocity. Using this model, we can predict the mobility pattern of a moving terminal and the delay of streaming services caused from handoff procedures during its moving. To compensate the streaming service delay, the paper proposes a dynamic rate control scheme for streaming services based on the next-handoff prediction using the Gauss-Markov model, which is the predictive mobility model based on the varying velocity and the handoff occurrence rates according to the time.
Survival and dialysis initiation: comparing British Columbia and Scotland registries.

BACKGROUND Outcomes are a major metric for evaluating effectiveness of dialysis. Comparisons between different populations reveal significant variation. In addition, the question of optimal timing of dialysis start lacks robust data from which to generate conclusions. METHODS This study compares dialysis survival in two geographically similar areas, Scotland and British Columbia, Canada (BC). The effect of eGFR at dialysis start on survival was also measured. Incident adult dialysis populations of Scotland (n = 3372) and BC (n = 3927), 2000-05 were compared. Mortality Hazard ratios (HR) were calculated using a Cox proportional hazards model. Multivariate analysis included pre-dialysis eGFR, registry, age, sex, dialysis modality, year of start, pre-dialysis haemoglobin and primary renal diagnosis. RESULTS Median survival times from start of dialysis were 38 (35-40) and 44 (42-47) months in Scotland and BC, respectively, giving an unadjusted mortality HR, Scotland versus BC, of 1.20 (95% C.I. 1.12-1.29). BC patients started dialysis at a higher eGFR (8.9 ml/min/1.73 m(2)) than Scotland (7.5 ml/min/1.73 m(2)), and prior to modelling higher starting eGFR was associated with higher mortality (1 ml/min/1.73 m(2) increase, HR = 1.028; 95% C.I. 1.021-1.035). BC patients were also older and had more diabetic renal disease. In multivariate analysis, lower starting eGFR was associated with better survival, and Scotland had greater mortality than BC. General population mortality and transplantation rate had only minor influence. CONCLUSIONS Concepts of 'late' versus 'early' start dialysis based on eGFR alone may need modification given the complexity and confounding reasons for dialysis initiation.
Efficient θ-subsumption under Object Identity

Efficiency of the first-order logic proof procedure is a major issue when deduction systems are to be used in real environments, both on their own and as a component of other systems (e.g., learning systems). Hence, the need of techniques that can speed up such a process. This paper proposes a proof procedure that works under the Object Identity assumption, and shows experimental results in support of its performance. Imposing the Object Identity bias does not limit expressive power, while turning out to be even more intuitive to the human way of thinking than the classical setting.
Dermatology Residency Selection Criteria with an Emphasis on Program Characteristics: A National Program Director Survey

Background. Dermatology residency programs are relatively diverse in their resident selection process. The authors investigated the importance of 25 dermatology residency selection criteria focusing on differences in program directors' (PDs') perception based on specific program demographics. Methods. This cross-sectional nationwide observational survey utilized a 41-item questionnaire that was developed by literature search, brainstorming sessions, and online expert reviews. The data were analyzed utilizing the reliability test, two-step clustering, and K-means methods as well as other methods. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in PDs' perception regarding the importance of the selection criteria based on program demographics. Results. Ninety-five out of 114 PDs (83.3%) responded to the survey. The top five criteria for dermatology residency selection were interview, letters of recommendation, United States Medical Licensing Examination Step I scores, medical school transcripts, and clinical rotations. The following criteria were preferentially ranked based on different program characteristics: “advanced degrees,” “interest in academics,” “reputation of undergraduate and medical school,” “prior unsuccessful attempts to match,” and “number of publications. ” Conclusions. Our survey provides up-to-date factual data on dermatology PDs' perception in this regard. Dermatology residency programs may find the reported data useful in further optimizing their residency selection process.
Conservative Parallel Simulation of ATM Networks

A new Conservative algorithm for both parallel and sequential simulation of networks is described. The technique is motivated by the construction of a high performance simulator for ATM networks. It permits very fast execution of models of ATM systems, both sequentially and in parallel. A simple analysis of the performance of the system is made. Initial performance results from parallel and sequential implementations are presented and compared with comparable results from an optimistic TimeWarp based simulator. It is shown that the conservative simulator performs well when the "density" of messages in the simulated system is high, a condition which is likely to hold in many interesting ATM scenarios.
Worksite health promotion using individual counselling and the effectiveness on sick leave; results of a randomised controlled trial

Aims: To investigate the effectiveness of a worksite health promotion programme by individual counselling on sick leave. Methods: Three municipal services of Enschede, the Netherlands, participated in this trial. A total of 299 civil servants were measured at baseline and were randomised by cluster into the intervention (n = 131) or the control group (n = 168). During nine months, subjects in the intervention group received a total of seven consultations, particularly aimed at increasing their physical activity level and improving their dietary habits. Both the intervention and the control subjects received written information as to several lifestyle factors. Sick leave data regarding the nine month intervention period (from May until January) were collected from each municipal service’s personnel department. In addition, sick leave data concerning the nine month period pre- and post-intervention were collected. Sick leave data were analysed using multilevel analysis. Results: For both groups, the mean sick leave rate during the intervention increased compared to before the intervention. After the intervention period, the control group increased even more (from 22.9 to 27.6 days), whereas the intervention group slightly decreased (from 21.5 to 20.5 days). Median values of sick leave rate decreased for both groups. No statistically significant intervention effect was found. In both groups, the mean sick leave frequency slightly decreased over time (intervention effects were not significant). Conclusions: Results showed no significant effect of individual counselling on sick leave. Continued research investigating the effectiveness of this individual counselling programme on several health related outcomes is useful to clarify the trend observed in sick leave.
A cGMP‐dependent protein kinase is implicated in wild‐type motility in C. elegans

In mammals, cyclic GMP and cGMP‐dependent protein kinases (cGKs) have been implicated in the regulation of many neuronal functions including long‐term potentiation and long‐term depression of synaptic efficacy. To develop Caenorhabditis elegans as a model system for studying the neuronal function of the cGKs, we cloned and characterized the cgk‐1 gene. A combination of approaches showed that cgk‐1 produces three transcripts, which differ in their first exon but are similar in length. Northern analysis of C. elegans RNA, performed with a probe designed to hybridize to all three transcripts, confirmed that a major 3.0 kb cgk‐1 transcript is present at all stages of development. To determine if the CGK‐1C protein was a cGMP‐dependent protein kinase, CGK‐1C was expressed in Sf9 cells and purified. CGK‐1C shows a Ka of 190 ± 14 nm for cGMP and 18.4 ± 2 µm for cAMP. Furthermore, CGK‐1C undergoes autophosphorylation in a cGMP‐dependent manner and is inhibited by the commonly used cGK inhibitor, KT5823. To determine which cells expressed CGK‐1C, a 2.4‐kb DNA fragment from the promoter of CGK‐1C was used to drive GFP expression. The CGK‐1C reporter construct is strongly expressed in the ventral nerve cord and in several other neurons as well as the marginal cells of the pharynx and intestine. Finally, RNA‐mediated interference of CGK‐1 resulted in movement defects in nematode larvae. These results provide the first demonstration that cGMP‐dependent protein kinase is present in neurons of C.elegans and show that this kinase is required for normal motility.
Towards Classification of Web Ontologies for the Emerging Semantic Web

The massive growth in ontology development has opened new research challenges such as ontology management, search and retrieval for the entire semantic web community. These results in many recent developments, like OntoKhoj, Swoogle, OntoSearch2, that facilitate tasks user have to perform. These semantic web portals mainly treat ontologies as plain texts and use the traditional text classification algorithms for classifying ontologies in directories and assigning predefined labels rather than using the semantic knowledge hidden within the ontologies. These approaches suffer from many types of classification problems and lack of accuracy, especially in the case of overlapping ontologies that share common vocabularies. In this paper, we define an ontology classification problem and categorize it into many sub-problems. We present a new ontological methodology for the classification of web ontologies, which has been guided by the requirements of the emerging Semantic Web applications and by the lessons learnt from previous systems. The proposed framework, OntClassifire, is tested on 34 ontologies with a certain degree of overlapping domain, and effectiveness of the ontological mechanism is verified. It benefits the construction, maintenance or expansion of ontology directories on the semantic web that help to focus on the crawling and improving the quality of search
Essays on managing cultural impacts in multinational projects

Cultural differences have become more perceivable at the same time as national borders have become less relevant and economic systems more dependent on each other. Current concepts about culture do not seem to help in understanding the differences and their effects in practice. Despite the previous efforts within the project management discipline, a large variety of concepts and the lack of practical solutions are leading to disregarding especially the innovation potential arising from multiculturalism. This thesis consists of a summary and three essays, which are based on three research settings exploited in parallel in the essays. The first essay illustrates the variety of cultural conditions causing challenges between unified project practices and the flexibility of action in individual projects. The second essay reveals the tactics of Finnish project managers when navigating in multicultural project encounters, and the third essay depicts key elements of cross-cultural competence by comparing the differences between the approaches of masters and novices in culturally slanted project encounters. The first attribute and at the same time limitation associated with the concept of culture is nation, which often (almost always in daily conversation) is used as an equivalent to the word culture. National culture has been found to be obsolescent when managing cultural diversity in a multinational business environment, although it can sometimes be a relevant unit of analysis if linked to, for example, the political and legal institutions of the nation. The external variations of cultural spheres cause problems internally when applying the unified project process model and take attention away from external challenges. Secondly, culture is basically seen as causing only challenges, that is, having a negative influence. Especially on the level of an organisation the actions were directed to decrease or eliminate the possible problems. The individual project managers, on the other hand, saw diversity as more fine-grained and sought the subsequent opportunities. Thirdly, both cultural and project management knowledge are context related. The project manager should be able to change the approach if necessary in the situation at hand.
Strategic Performance Management Systems: Impact on Business Results

This study proposes and tests a model to explain the impact on business results of a specific type of information systems: Strategic Performance Measurement Systems (SPMS). Drawing from the literatures in management, information systems, and accounting, the model proposes that SPMS information technology (IT) variables, which include both technical characteristics and technical outcomes, affect business results. Those IT variables are, in turn, affected by SPMS system variables (information quality and system design). Finally, IT and system variables are affected by organizational variables related to information processing capabilities and requirements. Using path analysis, we found empirical support for the model by analyzing data from large-scale survey with a sample of 1,990 respondents. System effectiveness and Internet usage were the two IT variables found to have the most impact on business results. Furthermore, system design had a significant role in determining all IT variables that had an impact on business results.
Aida-based Communication for Distributed Time-critical Applications

We propose AIDA, a novel elaboration on Michael O. Rabin's IDA 21], which allows the retrieval of information striped across a number of sinks in a distributed environment. We show that using striping, along with a small dynamically-controlled amount of redundancy, stringent timing constraints imposed on periodic as well as sporadic communication requests in a distributed real-time system can be fulllled up to any degree of conndence. AIDA is a probabilistic protocol in the sense that it does not guarantee the fullllment of hard time constraints. Instead, it guarantees a lower bound on the probability of fulllling such constraints. We contrast AIDA with traditional communication scheduling techniques used in conjunction with time-critical applications in general, and distributed multimedia systems in particular. The suitability of AIDA-based bandwidth allocation for a variety of time-critical applications is established and plans for future research experiments are mentioned.
An IR-based evaluation framework for web search query segmentation

This paper presents the first evaluation framework for Web search query segmentation based directly on IR performance. In the past, segmentation strategies were mainly validated against manual annotations. Our work shows that the goodness of a segmentation algorithm as judged through evaluation against a handful of human annotated segmentations hardly reflects its effectiveness in an IR-based setup. In fact, state-of the-art algorithms are shown to perform as good as, and sometimes even better than human annotations a fact masked by previous validations. The proposed framework also provides us an objective understanding of the gap between the present best and the best possible segmentation algorithm. We draw these conclusions based on an extensive evaluation of six segmentation strategies, including three most recent algorithms, vis-a-vis segmentations from three human annotators. The evaluation framework also gives insights about which segments should be necessarily detected by an algorithm for achieving the best retrieval results. The meticulously constructed dataset used in our experiments has been made public for use by the research community.
Randomized multicenter comparison of conventional anticoagulation versus antiplatelet therapy in unplanned and elective coronary stenting. The full anticoagulation versus aspirin and ticlopidine (fantastic) study.

BACKGROUND Dual therapy with ticlopidine and aspirin has been shown to be as effective as or more effective than conventional anticoagulation in patients with an optimal result after implantation of intracoronary metallic stents. However, the safety and efficacy of antiplatelet therapy alone in an unselected population has not been evaluated. METHODS Patients were randomized to conventional anticoagulation or to treatment with antiplatelet therapy alone. Indications for stenting were classified as elective (decided before the procedure) or unplanned (to salvage failed angioplasty or to optimize the results of balloon angioplasty). After stenting, patients received aspirin and either ticlopidine or conventional anticoagulation (heparin or oral anticoagulant). The primary end point was the occurrence of bleeding or peripheral vascular complications; secondary end points were cardiac events (death, infarction, or stent occlusion) and duration of hospitalization. RESULTS In 13 centers, 236 patients were randomized to anticoagulation and 249 to antiplatelet therapy. Stenting was elective in 58% of patients and unplanned in 42%. Stent implantation was successfully achieved in 99% of patients. A primary end point occurred in 33 patients (13.5%) in the antiplatelet group and 48 patients (21%) in the anticoagulation group (odds ratio=0.6 [95% CI 0.36 to 0.98], P=0.03). Major cardiac-related events in electively stented patients were less common (odds ratio=0.23 [95% CI 0.05 to 0.91], P=0.01) in the antiplatelet group (3 of 123, 2.4%) than the anticoagulation group (11 of 111, 9.9%). Hospital stay was significantly shorter in the antiplatelet group (4.3+/-3.6 versus 6. 4+/-3.7 days, P=0.0001). CONCLUSIONS Antiplatelet therapy after coronary stenting significantly reduced rates of bleeding and subacute stent occlusion compared with conventional anticoagulation.