Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Age-associated developmental changes in the activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and causes of prolonged APTT values in healthy Chinese children

Abstract Background: The concept of developmental hemostasis has been universally accepted. Physiological reference ranges for coagulation tests are available for infants and children of different ages. However, on Oriental children they are rare. Methods: Results of preoperative activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) in neonates, infants, children aged 1–18 years and adults with minor elective surgery in a university affiliated hospital were reviewed retrospectively. Plasma activity of factors VIII, IX, XI, XII (FVIII:C, FIX:C, FXI:C, FXII:C) and lupus anticoagulants (LAC) in 47 children with prolonged APTT and 34 adult controls were measured to investigate the causes of prolongation. Results: Compared with adults, APTT values were prolonged significantly and were age-dependent in children, especially in neonates and infants aged 1–6 months. Mean values for FXII:C and FIX:C in children with prolonged APTT values were significantly lower than those in adults (p<0.001). Prolonged APTT values correlated negatively with FXII:C and FIX:C, and weakly with the LAC Screen ratio (LAC-SR) (r0.01=−0.808, –0.705 and 0.372, p=0.000, 0.000 and 0.001, respectively). There was weak negative correlation between FXII:C and LAC-SR (r0.01=−0.277, p=0.012). No significant correlation was seen between prolonged APTT values and FVIII:C or FXI:C. Conclusions: APTT values change dynamically with age during childhood and display a distinct pattern of evolution in children. Lower values of FXII:C and FIX:C, and presence of LAC contribute to the prolongation of APTT values in Chinese children. Clin Chem Lab Med 2009;47:1531–7.
Sensor Placement by Maximal Projection on Minimum Eigenspace for Linear Inverse Problems

This paper presents two new greedy sensor placement algorithms, named minimum nonzero eigenvalue pursuit (MNEP) and maximal projection on minimum eigenspace (MPME), for linear inverse problems, with greater emphasis on the MPME algorithm for performance comparison with existing approaches. In both MNEP and MPME, we select the sensing locations one-by-one. In this way, the least number of required sensor nodes can be determined by checking whether the estimation accuracy is satisfied after each sensing location is determined. For the MPME algorithm, the minimum eigenspace is defined as the eigenspace associated with the minimum eigenvalue of the dual observation matrix. For each sensing location, the projection of its observation vector onto the minimum eigenspace is shown to be monotonically decreasing w.r. t. the worst case error variance (WCEV) of the estimated parameters. We select the sensing location whose observation vector has the maximum projection onto the minimum eigenspace of the current dual observation matrix. The proposed MPME is shown to be one of the most computationally efficient algorithms. Our Monte-Carlo simulations showed that MPME outperforms the convex relaxation method, the SparSenSe method, and the FrameSense method in terms of WCEV and the mean square error (MSE) of the estimated parameters, especially when the number of available sensor nodes is very limited.
“Little” and “Big” Pictures in Our Heads Race, Local Context, and Innumeracy About Racial Groups in the United States

Americans do not know what percentage of the nation's residents are whites, blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and American Indians. Using the 2000 General Social Survey, I find that respondents of all races underestimate the percentages of whites and overestimate the percentages of racial/ethnic minority groups and multiracial Americans in the United States; however, they perceive their local communities quite differently. As a first step toward understanding this discrepancy, I test whether individuals’ local surroundings serve as a source of information for their pictures of the United States. I examine the relationship between “objective” data and respondents’ subjective perceptions of where they live, and compare their respective effects on Americans’ perceptions of the nation. Multivariate multilevel analyses show that respondents’ perceptions of different racial group sizes in their communities are the strongest predictors of innumeracy at the national level, while “objective” racial context measured at the local level has less of an effect. These findings have important implications for research on racial context, which assumes that census numbers for respondents’ locales are good proxies for their perceptions of the size of racial/ethnic groups in their communities. Furthermore, these findings suggest that scholars need to start thinking about why whites and non-whites have similar “big pictures” of the nation, why their “little pictures” vary a great deal, and why the motivations for over- and underestimation may differ by racial/ethnic group.
Genetic determinants of response to clopidogrel and cardiovascular events.

BACKGROUND Pharmacogenetic determinants of the response of patients to clopidogrel contribute to variability in the biologic antiplatelet activity of the drug. The effect of these determinants on clinical outcomes after an acute myocardial infarction is unknown. METHODS We consecutively enrolled 2208 patients presenting with an acute myocardial infarction in a nationwide French registry and receiving clopidogrel therapy. We then assessed the relation of allelic variants of genes modulating clopidogrel absorption (ABCB1), metabolic activation (CYP3A5 and CYP2C19), and biologic activity (P2RY12 and ITGB3) to the risk of death from any cause, nonfatal stroke, or myocardial infarction during 1 year of follow-up. RESULTS Death occurred in 225 patients, and nonfatal myocardial infarction or stroke in 94 patients, during the follow-up period. None of the selected single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in CYP3A5, P2RY12, or ITGB3 were associated with a risk of an adverse outcome. Patients with two variant alleles of ABCB1 (TT at nucleotide 3435) had a higher rate of cardiovascular events at 1 year than those with the ABCB1 wild-type genotype (CC at nucleotide 3435) (15.5% vs. 10.7%; adjusted hazard ratio, 1.72; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.20 to 2.47). Patients carrying any two CYP2C19 loss-of-function alleles (*2, *3, *4, or *5), had a higher event rate than patients with none (21.5% vs. 13.3%; adjusted hazard ratio, 1.98; 95% CI, 1.10 to 3.58). Among the 1535 patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention during hospitalization, the rate of cardiovascular events among patients with two CYP2C19 loss-of-function alleles was 3.58 times the rate among those with none (95% CI, 1.71 to 7.51). CONCLUSIONS Among patients with an acute myocardial infarction who were receiving clopidogrel, those carrying CYP2C19 loss-of-function alleles had a higher rate of subsequent cardiovascular events than those who were not. This effect was particularly marked among the patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00673036.)
Computer vision based gaze tracking for accident prevention

Distracted driving is one of the main causes of vehicle collisions in India. Passively monitoring a driver's activities constitutes the basis of an automobile safety system that can potentially reduce the number of accidents by estimating the driver's focus of attention. Automotive vehicles are increasingly being equipped with accident avoidance and warning systems for avoiding the potential collision with an external object, such as another vehicle or a pedestrian. Upon detecting a potential factor, such systems typically initiate an action to avoid the collision and/or provide a warning to the vehicle operator. In this paper a complete accident avoidance system is proposed by determining the driver's behavior. As the main causes of vehicle accident were related to human factors, they could be labeled in one of the two main driver's distraction categories (Alcohol Consumption, Drowsiness and distracted vision). The aim of the proposed system is to help in analyzing the factors associated with driver's behavior for the development of accident avoidance systems. The main causes of the traffic accidents, discovered in the analysis of the driver behavior with the help of our system, will be used for the development of assistant devices and alarm systems that could help the driver to avoid risky situations. In this project we are implementing two image processing tool to get the facial geometry based eye region detection for eye closure identification, combined tracking and detection of vehicles. Frequencies of eye blinking and eye closure are used as the indication of sleepy and warning sign is then generated for recommendation; (b) outside an ego vehicle, road traffic is also analyzed.
The prediction of the thermophysical properties and the solidification of commercial alloys.

The behaviour of the multicomponent alloys used by industry can often be quite complex. For example during solidification the chemical composition of the liquid phase may vary considerably. A knowledge of the way in which variations of composition affect thermophysical properties can help industry to avoid any harmful side effects and may also act as a valuable aid to process optimisation. It is, however, expensive to provide all the required data by direct measurement, especially in cases where the industrial liquid is highly corrosive or dangerous to handle in a laboratory environment. A number of models have been developed to estimate the enthalpies, heat capacities, densities, viscosities, thermal and electrical conductivities of multicomponent, commercial alloys in the solid and liquid states. Many of these have been reviewed here and some of the estimated values compared with measured values for the properties of various commercial alloys. The report also includes, as an appendix, a review of experimental and numerical methods for determining the solidification path in commercial alloys provided by Dr J D Hunt. The report is intended to be used in conjunction with Virtual Measurement System software developed at NPL to provide key information to engineers and metallurgists concerned with the solidification of commercial alloys. The tools, based on the models described in this report combined with critically assessed data developed and compiled at NPL over the years, are being validated simultaneously via a programme of measurement on specific materials chosen such that they are representative of those used by industry.
CTRP‐3 is permeable to the blood–brain barrier and is not regulated by glucose or lipids in vivo

C1q/TNF‐related protein‐3 (CTRP‐3) represents a novel anti‐inflammatory and antidiabetic adipokine secreted by adipose tissue. The physiological and postprandial regulation of CTRP‐3 remains obscure and it is not known whether CTRP‐3 is permeable to the brain. The postprandial regulation of CTRP‐3 during an oral glucose tolerance test (n = 100) and an oral lipid tolerance test (n = 100) in humans was investigated. Moreover, CTRP‐3 concentrations were measured in paired serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples of patients (n = 270) undergoing neurological evaluation. The expression of CTRP‐3 mRNA was investigated in adipocytes upon stimulation with glucose, sex hormones and a broad panel of fatty acids.
Effects of fat digestion on appetite , antropyloroduodenal motility , and gut hormones in response to duodenal fat infusion in humans

Background & Aims: The presence of nutrients in the small intestine slows gastric emptying and suppresses appetite and food intake; these effects are partly mediated by the release of gut hormones, including cholecystokinin. We investigated the hypothesis that the modulation of antropyloroduodenal motility, suppression of appetite, and stimulation of cholecystokinin and glucagon-like peptide-1 secretion by intraduodenal fat are dependent on triglyceride hydrolysis by lipase. Methods: 16 healthy, young, lean men were studied twice in double-blind, randomised, crossover fashion. Ratings for appetite-related sensations, antropyloroduodenal motility and plasma cholecystokinin and glucagon-like peptide-1 concentrations were measured during a 120 min duodenal infusion of a triglyceride emulsion (2.8 kcal/min), on one day with, on the other without, 120 mg tetrahydrolipstatin, a potent lipase inhibitor. Immediately following the duodenal fat infusion, food intake at a buffet lunch was quantified. Results: Lipase inhibition with tetrahydrolipstatin was associated with reductions in tonic and phasic pyloric pressures, increased numbers of isolated antral and duodenal pressure waves and stimulation of antropyloroduodenal pressure wave sequences (all P<0.05). Scores for prospective consumption and food intake at lunch were greater, and nausea scores slightly less, and the rises in plasma cholecystokinin and glucagon-like peptide-1 were abolished (all P<0.05). Conclusion: Lipase inhibition attenuates the effects of duodenal fat on antropyloroduodenal motility, appetite and cholecystokinin and glucagon-like peptide-1 secretion.
Who Gets Involved in Collective Action?: Social Psychological Determinants of Individual Participation in Trade Unions

This study examined social psychological factors associated with willingness to participate in collective action. These factors were group identification, collectivist orientation, outgroup stereotyping, perceived intergroup conflict, egoistic and collective relative deprivation, and political efficacy. Three hundred and fifty members of a trade union completed questionnaires where items measured these factors along with their prospective participation in a range of union activities. Regression analyses indicated that the most significant correlate of participation was the strength of the respondent's sense of group identification. Other significant correlates were collectivist orientation and the degree to which the outgroup (management) was perceived in a stereotypical fashion. Further analyses were undertaken to examine the possible moderating effect of group identification on the relationships between independent and dependent variables. These indicated a broadly similar pattern of results for both strong and weak group identifiers though collective relative deprivation appeared to be somewhat more important for strong identifiers and political efficacy somewhat more important for weak identifiers. These findings are discussed in the context of research into social identity and collective action in other settings.
Contour extraction and tracking of moving vehicles for traffic monitoring

A robust algorithm is proposed in this paper for contour extraction and tracking of moving vehicles. A snake model is modified, in which directional information is utilized to guide the 'snaxel' behavior. Then an adaptive shape restriction is applied to govern the snake's motion, and a Kalman filter is employed to estimate the spatio-temporal relationship between successive frames. Moreover, several improvements are made to compensate for the snake's vulnerability to fake edges. All these steps contribute to a satisfying overall performance in contour extraction and tracking of moving vehicles for real traffic monitoring.
Bio-Inspired Electronic-Mutation with genetic properties for Secured Identification

One essential security weakness in many modern systems is the difficulty of managing secured and provable-identities for all participating entities. In this work we introduce a process for generating a secret provable identity for electronic devices. The identity is created through a random process that is triggered as an electronic-Mutation (EM) once at a user-defined time after device manufacture. The result should be a provable, certified, secret, unclonable, and unchangeable identity that can serve as an electronic DNA (e-DNA) for the device. The identity is self- created similar to naturally occurring Physical Unclonable Functions (PUF), such that it is infeasible even for the unit manufacturer to create duplicate identities. The proposed identity should in difference to PUF evolve through the lifetime of the device allowing for easier detection of fraud attacks. The identity should also possibly diffuse in all system entities similar to the diffusion of biological DNA in all entities of a living organism. Many legal and criminal issues plaguing mass public-commerce, e-Government and mobile systems could be easily resolved through such an identification technology.
Risk attitudes and migration experience

Although risk and uncertainty are intrinsic to human migration, there is surprisingly little explicit research on the willingness to take risks in this context. This paper analyses whether migrants are more or less likely than non‐migrants to be risk tolerant, and whether these differences are gendered. Attitudes are explored in terms of responses under conditions of both risk and uncertainty, and self‐assessment of capabilities is also taken into account. The research is based on a sample of students who provide a relatively homogeneous group in socio‐economic terms, and relatively large numbers of individuals with experiences of temporary migration. Their attitudes to risk were assessed under experimental conditions, which measured their willingness to take risks on hypothetical gambles under different conditions. While there are some differences between males and females, and between migrants and non‐migrants, the outstanding finding is the far greater risk tolerance of female migrants as opposed to female non‐migrants, especially when compared to males.
Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Text Mining 2.1.1 Vector Space Model 2.1.2 More Sophisticated Representations

Nowadays, a great deal of the literature in most domains is available in text or document format. Document collections – sometimes referred to as text or document databases – are characterized by being very dynamic. They contain documents from various sources such as news articles, research publications, digital libraries, emails, and web pages. Perhaps, the wide-world advent of the Internet is one of the main reasons for the rapid growth in the sizes of those collections. Most data mining tools and algorithms assume that the data being mined have some sort of structuring – e.g. relational tables in databases or data cubes in data warehouses ([20], chapter 2). Given that text has no structure, the task of text mining appears to be impossible. However, some models have been developed to impose some sort of structure on text, namely the term space model [44] [45] [46]. In this model, a document is presented as a vector in the term space – terms are used as features or dimensions. The data structure resulting from representing all the documents in the collections as term vectors is referred to as the document-by-term matrix. Given that the term space has thousands of dimensions, many algorithms fail to scale-up. This very high dimensionality of the term space must be addressed carefully in any text-mining-related attempt. Within the term space model, a lot of different representations exist. On one extreme there is the binary representation in which a document is represented as a binary vector where a 1 bit in slot i implies the existence of the corresponding term ti in the document, and a 0 bit implies its absence. This model is fast and efficient to implement 2 but clearly lacks the degree of accuracy needed because most of the semantics is lost. On the other extreme, there is the frequency representation where a document is represented as a frequency vector [44] [45] [46]. Many types of frequency measures exist: term frequency (TF), (term frequency)x(inverse document frequency) (TFxIDF), normalized TF, and the like. This representation is obviously more accurate than the binary one but is not as easy and efficient to implement. In this thesis, we deal with one area in text mining, namely text categorization. Formally speaking, text categorization is the process of automatically labeling unlabeled text documents by their corresponding categories based entirely on their content. A category can be a subject under which …
Exact models of extremal dyonic four-dimensional black hole solutions of heterotic string theory.

Families of exact (0,2) supersymmetric conformal field theories of magnetically and electrically charged extremal 4D black hole solutions of heterotic string theory are presented. They are constructed using a (0,1) supersymmetric SL(2,[ital openR])[times]SU(2) Weiss-Zumino-Witten model where anomalously embedded U(1)[times]U(1) subgroups are gauged. Crucial cancellations of the U(1) anomalies coming from the supersymmetric fermions, the current algebra fermions, and the gauging ensure that there is a consistency of these models at the quantum level. Various 2D models, which may be considered as building blocks for extremal 4D constructions, are presented. They generalize the class of 2D models which might be obtained from gauging SL(2,[ital openR]) and coincide with known heterotic string backgrounds. The exact conformal field theory presented by Giddings, Polchinski, and Strominger describing the angular sector of the extremal magnetically charged black hole is a special case of this construction. An example where the radial and angular theories are mixed nontrivially is studied in detail, resulting in an extremal dilatonic Taub-NUT-like dyon.
The Evolving Retirement Income Package: Trends in Adequacy and Equality in Nine OECD Countries

This series is designed to make available to a wider readership selected labour market and social policy studies prepared for use within the OECD. Authorship is usually collective, but principal writers are named. The papers are generally available only in their original language - English or French - with a summary in the other. Comment on the series is welcome, and should be sent to the Directorate for Education, Employment, Labour and Social Affairs, 2, rue Andre-Pascal, 75775 PARIS CEDEX 16, France, Additional, limited copies are available on request. The opinions expressed and arguments employed here are the responsibility of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the OECD Applications for permission to reproduce or translate all or part of this material should be made to; Head of Publications Service OECD
CHAPTER X Human-Robot Interaction in the MOnarCH project

This paper presents the design of the human-robot interaction (HRI) architecture developed in the context of the European project MOnarCH. In this project a team of robots operates in the pediatric ward of an oncological hospital. In this scenario the robots operate for long periods interacting with the different people they encounter: children, staff, etc. We present an HRI architecture that is capable of managing the different situations that the robots might face while interacting with people. We model these interactions as multimodal dialogues in which the robot has to perceive the current situation and express itself in a cohesive and coherent manner.
Cortical Connectivity Patterns During Imagination Of Limb Movements In Normal Subjects And In A Spinal Cord Injured Patient

The problem of the definition and evaluation of brain connectivity has become a central one in neuroscience during the latest years, as a way to understand the organization and interaction of cortical areas during the execution of cognitive or motor tasks. In this paper we propose the use of the DTF method on cortical signals estimated from high resolution EEG recordings. An application of the proposed technique to the estimation of cortical connectivity pattern in normal subjects and in one spinal cord injured patient is also provided