Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A practical guide for the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric pneumonia.

OBJECTIVE To develop guidelines for the diagnosis and management of community-acquired pediatric pneumonia. OPTIONS Clinical assessment, radiography, laboratory testing, and empirical antimicrobial therapy. OUTCOMES Increased awareness of age-related causes, improved accuracy of clinical diagnosis, better utilization of diagnostic testing and the rational use of empirical antimicrobial therapy resulting in more rapid diagnosis, initiation of appropriate therapy and decreased morbidity and mortality. EVIDENCE A MEDLINE search for relevant articles published from 1996 to September 1996 using the MeSH terms "pediatric," "pneumonia," "respiratory tract infection," "pneumonitis," "etiology," "diagnosis," "therapy," "antibiotics," "resistance," "radiology," "microbiology" and "biochemistry. " VALUES A hierarchical evaluation of the strength of evidence modified from the methods of the Canadian Task Force on the Periodic Health Examination was used. When application of the hierarchy was not feasible or appropriate, different evaluation criteria were used. BENEFITS, HARMS AND COSTS Increased awareness of the causes of pneumonia, accurate diagnosis and prompt treatment should reduce costs associated with unnecessary investigations and complications due to inappropriate treatment. RECOMMENDATIONS Age is the best predictor of the cause of pediatric pneumonia, viral pneumonia being most common during the first 2 years of life. The absence of a symptom cluster of respiratory distress, tachypnea, crackles and decreased breath sounds accurately excludes the presence of pneumonia (level II evidence). Bacterial cultures of samples from the nasopharynx and throat have no predictive value; however, Gram staining and culture of sputum from older children and adolescents are useful (level III evidence). Oral antimicrobial therapy will provide adequate coverage for most mild to moderate forms of pneumonia in children (level III evidence). Parenteral therapy is typically reserved for neonates and patients with severe pneumonia admitted to hospital (level III evidence). VALIDATION These recommendations are based on consensus of Canadian experts in infectious diseases and microbiology. They are the only guidelines to address antimicrobial treatment from an age-related, etiologic perspective. SPONSOR The development of these guidelines and the technical support and assistance of Core Health Inc. in preparing this manuscript were funded through an unrestricted educational grant from Abbott Laboratories Canada. The sponsoring company was not involved in determining the membership of the consensus group or the content of the guidelines.
Polling systems with simultaneous arrivals

The authors analyze polling systems with multiple types of simultaneous arrivals, namely, batches of customers may arrive at the different queues at an arrival epoch. The authors consider cyclic polling systems with N queues, general service time distribution in each queue, and general switchover times. For both the exhaustive and the gated service disciplines the authors derive the necessary equations for computing the N expected waiting time figures. A pseudo conservation law for these system is also derived. The authors compare several special cases of the correlated arrivals polling system, discuss the computational aspects of the numerical method, and examine the applicability of the analysis to other polling systems. >
Mining ChIP-chip data for transcription factor and cofactor binding sites

MOTIVATION Identification of single motifs and motif pairs that can be used to predict transcription factor localization in ChIP-chip data, and gene expression in tissue-specific microarray data. RESULTS We describe methodology to identify de novo individual and interacting pairs of binding site motifs from ChIP-chip data, using an algorithm that integrates localization data directly into the motif discovery process. We combine matrix-enumeration based motif discovery with multivariate regression to evaluate candidate motifs and identify motif interactions. When applied to the HNF localization data in liver and pancreatic islets, our methods produce motifs that are either novel or improved known motifs. All motif pairs identified to predict localization are further evaluated according to how well they predict expression in liver and islets and according to how conserved are the relative positions of their occurrences. We find that interaction models of HNF1 and CDP motifs provide excellent prediction of both HNF1 localization and gene expression in liver. Our results demonstrate that ChIP-chip data can be used to identify interacting binding site motifs. AVAILABILITY Motif discovery programs and analysis tools are available on request from the authors.
On the Preliminary Test Backfitting and Speckman Estimators in Partially Linear Models and Numerical Comparisons

Przystalski and Krajewski (2007) proposed the restricted backfitting (RBCF) estimator and restricted Speckman (RSPC) estimator for the treatment effects in a partially linear model when some additional exact linear restrictions are assumed to hold. In this article, we introduce the preliminary test backfitting (PTBCF) estimator and preliminary test Speckman (PTSPC) estimator when the validity of the restrictions is suspected. Performances of the proposed estimators are examined with respect to the mean squared error (MSE) criterion. In addition, numerical behaviors of the proposed estimators are illustrated and compared via a Monte Carlo simulation study.
The Traits One Can Trust

Trustworthiness is a vital pillar of various social interactions hinging upon trust. However, the underlying determinants of trustworthiness—especially in terms of (basic) personality traits—are insufficiently understood. Specifically, three mechanisms underlying trustworthiness have been proposed: unconditional kindness, positive reciprocity, and negative reciprocity. The present research aims to disentangle these mechanisms using a trait-based approach, relying on the HEXACO (Honesty-Humility, Emotionality, eXtraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness to Experience) model of personality. In three studies, participants acted as the trustee in the trust game. All studies revealed consistent support for the unconditional kindness mechanism, showing an exclusive link between Honesty-Humility and trustworthiness, irrespective of the level of prior trust. In turn, positive and negative reciprocity could not account for the pattern of results. In addition, our results reconcile the inconsistent evidence on the relation between Big Five-Agreeableness and trustworthiness: Unconditional kindness only refers to one component of the broad Big Five-Agreeableness factor (which subsumes various cooperative tendencies).
Modeling tools for detecting DoS attacks in WSNs

Detecting denial-of-service (DoS) attacks and reducing the energy consumption are two important and frequent requirements in wireless sensor networks (WSNs). In this paper, we propose an energy-preserving solution to detect compromised nodes in hierarchically clustered WSNs. DoS detection is based on using dedicated inspector nodes (cNodes) whose role is to analyze the traffic inside a cluster and to send warnings to the cluster head whenever an abnormal behavior (i.e., high packets throughput) is detected. With previously introduced DoS detection schema, cNodes are statically displaced in strategic positions within the network topology. This guarantees good detection coverage but leads to quickly draining cNodes battery. In this paper, we propose a dynamic cNodes displacement schema according to which cNodes are periodically elected among ordinary nodes of each atomic cluster. Such a solution results in a better energy balance while maintaining good detection coverage. We analyze the tradeoffs between static and dynamic solutions by means of two complementary approaches: through simulation with the NS-2 simulation platform and by means of statistical model checking with the Hybrid Automata Stochastic Logic. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
XACCT's Common Reliable Accounting for Network Element (CRANE) Protocol Specification Version 1.0

This document defines the Common Reliable Accounting for Network Element (CRANE) protocol that enables efficient and reliable delivery of any data, mainly accounting data from Network Elements to any systems, such as mediation systems and Business Support Systems (BSS)/ Operations Support Systems (OSS). The protocol is developed to address the critical needs for exporting high volume of accounting data from NE's with efficient use of network, storage, and processing resources.
A Dynamic-Programming Heuristic for Regular Grid-Graph Partitioning

Previous researchers have demonstrated that striping heuristics produce very good (and, in some cases, asymptotically optimal) partitions for regular grid graphs. These earlier methods differed in the domains of application and the stripe-height selection process, and did not have polynomial run-time guarantees. In this paper, we transform the stripe selection problem for general grid graphs into a shortest path problem. The running time for the entire process of transforming the problem and solving for the shortest path is polynomial with respect to the length of input for the original problem. Computational results are presented that demonstrate improved solution quality for general domains.
Real-time and high-resolution 3D imaging system using light-section method and smart CMOS sensor

This paper presents the first real-time 3D imaging system based on the light-section method with VGA pixel resolution. A 3D measurement system has a wide variety of applications fields, however it is difficult for the conventional imaging systems to realize a real-time and high-resolution 3D measurement based on the light-section method since it requires a lot of frames per range map to acquire the positions of a scanning laser beam. Our developed image sensor achieves 41.7k fps position detection of a projected sheet beam in 640 /spl times/ 480 pixel resolution. An integrated system controller implemented on an FPGA performs sensor control, light projection control, range data pre-processing and suppression of redundant data transmission for the fatal problems of the real-time system. Our developed 3D imaging system achieves 23.3 range maps/s with 0.87 mm range accuracy at a distance of 1200 mm.
An Algorithm for Transformation of an Arbitrary Switching Function to a Completely Symmetric Function

It is well known that any switching function may be transformed into a completely symmetric function when repetition of the input variables is allowed. We present an algorithm that may be applied to reduce the number of repeated variables when the transformation is performed. The method is based on an iterative construction of symmetric functions by admitting an increasing number of variables towards a completely symmetric function. The algorithm produces a near minimal number of the total number of inputs in the resultant symmetric function. This algorithm can also be used to determine all partially symmetric variable sets of a given function.
A note on quantum algorithms and the minimal degree of ε-error polynomials for symmetric functions

The degrees of polynomials representing or approximating Boolean functions are aprominent tool in various branches of complexity theory. Sherstov [31] recently characterizedthe minimal degree dege(f) among all polynomials (over R) that approximatea symmetric function f : {0, 1}n → {0, 1} up to worst-case error e: dege(f) =Θ(deg1/3(f) + √n log(1/e). In this note we show how a tighter version (without thelog-factors hidden in the Θ-notation), can be derived quite easily using the close connectionbetween polynomials and quantum algorithms.
Universal fault-tolerant quantum computation in the presence of spontaneous emission and collective dephasing.

A universal and fault-tolerant scheme for quantum computation is proposed which utilizes a class of error correcting codes that is based on the detection of spontaneous emission (of, e.g., photons, phonons, and ripplons). The scheme is compatible with a number of promising solid-state and quantum-optical proposals for quantum computer implementations, such as quantum dots in cavities, electrons on helium, and trapped ions.
Induction of an antibody response in cultures of human peripheral blood lymphocytes

A culture system is descirbed which provides adequate conditions for in vitro immunization of humand peripheral blood lymphocytes to heterologous erythrocytes. Making use of this method we could obtain, with a number of different donors, an antibody response which peaked at about day 8 of culture with 30-300 plaque-forming cells (PFC) per 10(6) input lymphocytes. However, in a number of experiments poor or negative results were obtained, even with donors that had previously given good response. This variability in the results was shown not to be due to a too low number of precursor cells present in the blood and could be overcome by treating the cells, before initiation of the culture, with a factor produced by mouse T cells educated to sheep erythrocytes (SRBC). Under these conditions a PFC responce was obtained which peaked at about day 8 and which in some experiments could be as high as 20,000 PFC per 10(6) input lymphocytes. Paralleling the increase in PFC was an increase in cell number. The cells recovered from the treated cultures were at all times more numerous than in the nontreated cultures. The height of both the proliferative and antibody-producing responses varied from experiment to experiment, a higher proliferative response, accompanying a higher PFC response. Although the mechanisms that are at the basis of the antibody response in vitro described in this paper still need to be clarified, this system may become a useful tool in studying the immune response in man.
Structured Data Extraction

The internet is swarming with home-pages and sites that sells/rents products of various kinds. Often these products are published on the companies web-sites, but there’s seldom a standardized way to collaborate the marketing of these products. Companies often decline to publish competitors products on their site, so it would be nice to have an independent free service gathering all information and publishing it in a centralized fashion. Since all information already is available on the net, the service only has to gather, normalize and store the information to make it searchable for a wider clientele. This master’s thesis focus on the problem of collecting this product information and the various methods that are available to do this. The main objective of this project is to implement a development environment to handle this task in an easy, perpicious and monitorable manner. The in-depth study of this thesis is focused on structured data extraction and the efficency, usability and level of automatization of the algorithms available to accomplish this. The result of this thesis is the implementation and evaluation of PIEME (Product Information Extraction and Monitor Environment), which will apply an algorithm designed for the purpose of extracting product information in an automatized fashion.
Automated control of multiple virtualized resources

Virtualized data centers enable sharing of resources among hosted applications. However, it is difficult to satisfy service-level objectives(SLOs) of applications on shared infrastructure, as application workloads and resource consumption patterns change over time. In this paper, we present AutoControl, a resource control system that automatically adapts to dynamic workload changes to achieve application SLOs. AutoControl is a combination of an online model estimator and a novel multi-input, multi-output (MIMO) resource controller. The model estimator captures the complex relationship between application performance and resource allocations, while the MIMO controller allocates the right amount of multiple virtualized resources to achieve application SLOs. Our experimental evaluation with RUBiS and TPC-W benchmarks along with production-trace-driven workloads indicates that AutoControl can detect and mitigate CPU and disk I/O bottlenecks that occur over time and across multiple nodes by allocating each resource accordingly. We also show that AutoControl can be used to provide service differentiation according to the application priorities during resource contention.
Type-based specialization of xml transformations

It is often convenient to write a function and apply it to a specific input. However, a program developed in this way may be inefficient to evaluate and difficult to analyze due to its generality. In this paper, we propose a technique of new specialization for a class of XML transformations, in which no output of a function can be decomposed or traversed. Our specialization is type-based in the sense that it uses the structures of input types; types are described by regular hedge grammars and subtyping is defined set-theoretically. The specialization always terminates, resulting in a program where every function is fully specialized and only accepts its rigid input. We present several interesting applications of our new specialization, especially for injectivity analysis.
Marking Embryonic Stem Cells with a 2A Self-Cleaving Peptide: A NKX2-5 Emerald GFP BAC Reporter

Background Fluorescent reporters are useful for assaying gene expression in living cells and for identifying and isolating pure cell populations from heterogeneous cultures, including embryonic stem (ES) cells. Multiple fluorophores and genetic selection markers exist; however, a system for creating reporter constructs that preserve the regulatory sequences near a gene's native ATG start site has not been widely available. Methodology Here, we describe a series of modular marker plasmids containing independent reporter, bacterial selection, and eukaryotic selection components, compatible with both Gateway recombination and lambda prophage bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) recombineering techniques. A 2A self-cleaving peptide links the reporter to the native open reading frame. We use an emerald GFP marker cassette to create a human BAC reporter and ES cell reporter line for the early cardiac marker NKX2-5. NKX2-5 expression was detected in differentiating mouse ES cells and ES cell-derived mice. Conclusions Our results describe a NKX2-5 ES cell reporter line for studying early events in cardiomyocyte formation. The results also demonstrate that our modular marker plasmids could be used for generating reporters from unmodified BACs, potentially as part of an ES cell reporter library.
Comparison of collocation extraction measures for document indexing

Automatic extraction of collocations from a corpus is a well-known problem in the field of natural language processing. It is typically carried out by employing some kind of a statistical measure that indicates whether or not two words occur together more often than by chance. As there is an abundance of these measures proposed by various authors, we have compared some of them on a task of extracting collocations from a corpus of Croatian legal documents for the purpose of document indexing. We propose and evaluate extensions of these measures for collocations consisting of three words
Traceability and SysML design slices to support safety inspections: A controlled experiment

Certifying safety-critical software and ensuring its safety requires checking the conformance between safety requirements and design. Increasingly, the development of safety-critical software relies on modeling, and the System Modeling Language (SysML) is now commonly used in many industry sectors. Inspecting safety conformance by comparing design models against safety requirements requires safety inspectors to browse through large models and is consequently time consuming and error-prone. To address this, we have devised a mechanism to establish traceability between (functional) safety requirements and SysML design models to extract design slices (model fragments) that filter out irrelevant details but keep enough context information for the slices to be easy to inspect and understand. In this article, we report on a controlled experiment assessing the impact of the traceability and slicing mechanism on inspectors' conformance decisions and effort. Results show a significant decrease in effort and an increase in decisions' correctness and level of certainty.
Transdifferentiation of Adipose-Derived Stem Cells into Keratinocyte-Like Cells: Engineering a Stratified Epidermis

Skin regeneration is an important area of research in the field of tissue-engineering, especially for cases involving loss of massive areas of skin, where current treatments are not capable of inducing permanent satisfying replacements. Human adipose-derived stem cells (ASC) have been shown to differentiate in-vitro into both mesenchymal lineages and non-mesenchymal lineages, confirming their transdifferentiation ability. This versatile differentiation potential, coupled with their ease of harvest, places ASC at the advancing front of stem cell-based therapies. In this study, we hypothesized that ASC also have the capacity to transdifferentiate into keratinocyte-like cells and furthermore are able to engineer a stratified epidermis. ASC were successfully isolated from lipoaspirates and cell sorted (FACS). After sorting, ASC were either co-cultured with human keratinocytes or with keratinocyte conditioned media. After a 14-day incubation period, ASC developed a polygonal cobblestone shape characteristic of human keratinocytes. Western blot and q-PCR analysis showed the presence of specific keratinocyte markers including cytokeratin-5, involucrin, filaggrin and stratifin in these keratinocyte-like cells (KLC); these markers were absent in ASC. To further evaluate if KLC were capable of stratification akin to human keratinocytes, ASC were seeded on top of human decellularized dermis and cultured in the presence or absence of EGF and high Ca2+ concentrations. Histological analysis demonstrated a stratified structure similar to that observed in normal skin when cultured in the presence of EGF and high Ca2+. Furthermore, immunohistochemical analysis revealed the presence of keratinocyte markers such as involucrin, cytokeratin-5 and cytokeratin-10. In conclusion this study demonstrates for the first time that ASC have the capacity to transdifferentiate into KLC and engineer a stratified epidermis. This study suggests that adipose tissue is potentially a readily available and accessible source of keratinocytes, particularly for severe wounds encompassing large surface areas of the body and requiring prompt epithelialization.
Stem/Progenitor Cells, Atherosclerosis and Cardiovascular Regeneration

Regenerative cell based therapy has potential to become effective adjuvant treatment for patients with atherosclerotic disease. Although data from animal studies support this notion, clinical studies undertaken in patients with acute and chronic coronary artery disease do not conclusively demonstrate benefits of such therapy. There are many questions on the stem cell translational roadmap. The basic mechanisms of stem cell-dependent tissue regeneration are not well understood. There is a debate regarding characterization of specific cell types conferring therapeutic effects. In particular, the role of endothelial progenitor cells as a specific reparative cell subtype is questioned, and the role of myeloid cell linage in fostering of vasculo- and angiogenesis is being increasingly appreciated. Intense discussions surround the place of stem/progenitor cells in atherosclerosis progression, plaque destabilization and vessel remodeling. This paper summarizes the current knowledge on the regenerative stem/progenitor cell definitions, mechanisms of stem cell trafficking, homing and their involvement in atherosclerosis progression.