Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Campath-1H Induction and the Incidence of Infectious Complications in Adult Renal Transplantation

Background. The purpose of this study was to evaluate adult renal transplantation patients who received a alemtuzumab (Campath-1H)-based induction protocol for the incidence of infectious complications. Methods. We began using 30 mg Campath-1H intravenously for induction therapy in May 2003. The patients were treated with a maintenance regimen of tacrolimus or mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), and rapidly tapered prednisone; valganciclovir was used for CMV prophylaxis. Forty-nine adult patients who received renal transplants between May 1, 2003 and June 7, 2004 were included. The mean follow-up time was 13.7 months with a range of 10-24 months. Data were collected via a retrospective chart review. Results. The infectious complications noted in the Campath-1H group were compared with a historical group of 56 patients receiving conventional immunosuppression. There was one case of cytomegalovirus (CMV) viremia and two cases of CMV disease (one pneumonitis and one enteritis). There were four cases of urinary tract infection and one extremity cellulitis. One patient developed Cryptococcal meningitis. Eight of the 49 (16%) patients in the Campath group had an infectious complication, compared to 18 out of 56 (32%) in the historical group. Conclusion. Campath-1H induction for renal transplantation appears to have a low incidence of associated infectious complications when compared to historical regimens.
Mining for Image Retrieval System Using Markov Chain Model

In the routines of many users, they need to interact with applications that deal with information retrieval process. These applications always deal with the documents in the database. There is a software which interacts and responds with the top ‘n’ documents from the database. The expectations of the end users are that the application should retrieve the most relevant document in a very less time and provide accuracy. Even though the application is capable of retrieving the documents, there are some constraints that the application needs to deal with. Implementing the retrieving strategy is a challenging task. In this paper we have proposed a method for automatic annotation, indexing and annotation-based retrieval of images. The proposed method initially analyses the user’s query and tries to recognize the relevance between the index structures that were produced for collecting the images. After analysing, the system returns the covet images to the end user with higher clarity and potency. This paper also provides a good survey on the various aspects of information retrieval model.
Effect of center of pressure modulation on knee adduction moment in medial compartment knee osteoarthritis

The knee adduction moment (KAM) provides a major contribution to the elevated load in the medial compartment of the knee. An abnormally high KAM has been linked with the progression of knee osteoarthritis (OA). Footwear‐generated biomechanical manipulations reduce the magnitude of this moment by conveying a more laterally shifted trajectory of the foot's center of pressure (COP), reducing the distance between the ground reaction force and the center of the knee joint, thus lowering the magnitude of the torque. We sought to examine the outcome of a COP shift in a cohort of female patients suffering from medial knee OA. Twenty‐two female patients suffering from medial compartment knee OA underwent successive gait analysis testing and direct pedobarographic examination of the COP trajectory with a foot‐worn biomechanical device allowing controlled manipulation of the COP. Modulation of the COP coronal trajectory from medial to lateral offset resulted in a significant reduction of the KAM. This trend was demonstrated in subjects with mild‐to‐moderate OA and in patients suffering from severe stages of the disease. Our results indicate that controlled manipulation of knee coronal kinetics in individuals suffering from medial knee OA can be facilitated by customized COP modification. © 2011 Orthopaedic Research Society Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 29:1668–1674, 2011
Industrial OCR approaches: architecture, algorithms, and adaptation techniques

Optical Character Recognition is much more than character classification. An industrial OCR application combines algorithms studied in detail by different researchers in the area of image processing, pattern recognition, machine learning, language analysis, document understanding, data mining, and other, artificial intelligence domains. There is no single perfect algorithm for any of the OCR problems, so modern systems try to adapt themselves to the actual features of the image or document to be recognized. This paper describes the architecture of a modern OCR system with an emphasis on this adaptation process.
A Synergetic Model for Implementing Big Data in Organizations: An Empirical Study

The term BIG DATA has been increasingly used recently. Big data refers to the massive amount of data that are processed and analyzed using sophisticated technology to gain relevant insights that will help top executives with the decision-making process. This study is an attempt to investigate the big data implementation in organizations. The literature review reveals an initial model of indicators that might affect big data implementation. This model was examined and extended by primary data collected from key people CEO and managers from ten organizations. The extended model of indicators, which is the result from this research, includes the factors that would affect the success or failure of big data implementation in organizations. The research findings showed the following factors: top management support, organizational change, IT infrastructure, skilled professional, contents i.e. data, data strategy, data privacy and security.
The Dynamics of Click-and-Mortar Electronic Commerce: Opportunities and Management Strategies

Many traditional brick-and-mortar businesses supplement their physical outlets with e-commerce capabilities on the Web, but there has been little empirical research on the underlying dynamics of the "click-and-mortar" business approach. This paper develops a conceptual framework that highlights the four types of synergies obtained by integrating e-commerce with physical infrastructures: cost savings, improved differentiation, enhanced trust, and market extension. Case studies of click-and-mortar enterprises provide concrete examples ofthese synergybenefits and ofthe managerial actions needed to prevent channel conflicts.
Stabilising agent design for the control of interconnected systems

This article presents a new control design strategy for stabilising large-scale interconnected systems operating in semi-automatic control modes. The large-scale system is modelled by subsystems connected to each other in an arbitrary configuration. Each subsystem is regulated by a dedicated multivariable controller that also allows for a manual control mode. The notion of asymptotically positive realness constraint (APRC) is introduced and applied for deriving the interconnection stabilisability condition in the time domain. The interactions between subsystems are taken into consideration in the stability condition. The APRC is subsequently employed in the so-called stabilising agent to accommodate the closed-loop control and man-in-the-loop coexistence. The multipliers of the APRC quadratic supply rate are updated on-the-fly to ensure that the constraint satisfaction of stabilising agents is recursively feasible. The stabilising agents are developed independently from the control law under the same auspice controller. Due to this independence, operational errors from the manual control adjustments, that may destabilise the control systems, can be avoided. The decentralised agents render stabilising bounds for the manipulated variables in the automatic control mode, and at the same time, provide warning signals and manipulation guidance for the operators to prevent possible plant-wide destabilisation in the manual control mode. Our main results are illustrated through numerical simulations for an industrial modular system.
A Novel Method for Resolving and Completing Authors’ Country Affiliation Data in Bibliographic Records

Abstract Purpose Our work seeks to overcome data quality issues related to incomplete author affiliation data in bibliographic records in order to support accurate and reliable measurement of international research collaboration (IRC). Design/methodology/approch We propose, implement, and evaluate a method that leverages the Web-based knowledge graph Wikidata to resolve publication affiliation data to particular countries. The method is tested with general and domain-specific data sets. Findings Our evaluation covers the magnitude of improvement, accuracy, and consistency. Results suggest the method is beneficial, reliable, and consistent, and thus a viable and improved approach to measuring IRC. Research limitations Though our evaluation suggests the method works with both general and domain-specific bibliographic data sets, it may perform differently with data sets not tested here. Further limitations stem from the use of the R programming language and R libraries for country identification as well as imbalanced data coverage and quality in Wikidata that may also change over time. Practical implications The new method helps to increase the accuracy in IRC studies and provides a basis for further development into a general tool that enriches bibliographic data using the Wikidata knowledge graph. Originality This is the first attempt to enrich bibliographic data using a peer-produced, Web-based knowledge graph like Wikidata.
General Self-Efficacy Beliefs , Life Satisfaction and Burnout in Traffic Wardens

The study aims to explore the relationship among General Self-Efficacy Beliefs, Life Satisfaction and Burnout among 120 male traffic wardens in Lahore city. A cross sectional research design was employed by using random sampling technique in study. The scales of General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) and Maslach Burnout InventoryGeneral Survey (MBI-GS) were used. To calculate the relations and predictability between the variables, Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient and Multiple Regression Analysis were used. As the results of the analysis indicate the relationship between the variables of General Self-Efficacy Beliefs, Life Satisfaction and Burnout (the three scales of Burnout include Professional Efficacy, Cynicism and Exhaustion) were statistically found significant at 0.01 and 0.05 levels. The results of Regression Analysis proved the hypothesis that General Self-Efficacy Beliefs and Life Satisfaction were significant predictors of all three Burnout subscales. Furthermore demographic characteristics age, family income, number of years in job (traffic warden), number of General Self-Efficacy Beliefs, Life Satisfaction and Burnout in Traffic Wardens 127 hours spent at work place were found to be significant predictors of Burnout.
Nod Detection in Human-Robot Interaction

Nodding is an important factor in human communication, providing a physical cue for socially communicative acts such as turn taking, backchanneling, and confirmation. In this article, we describe a vision-based online head nodding detector that works with monocular camera images. Using SVM regression, our system estimates the head pose based on facial landmarks. Subsequence dynamic time-warping is then used to compare head pose features against nod templates. In contrast to many other previous implementations, our system was evaluated with study participants who were not instructed to reply by nodding, and shows good results while maintaining a low false positive rate.
Hepatic Stellate Cells Require a Stiff Environment for 1 Myofibroblastic Differentiation 2 3

45 46 The myofibroblastic differentiation of hepatic stellate cells (HSC) is a critical event in liver 47 fibrosis and is part of the final common pathway to cirrhosis in chronic liver disease from 48 all causes. The molecular mechanisms driving HSC differentiation are not fully 49 understood. Because macroscopic tissue stiffening is a feature of fibrotic disease, we 50 hypothesized that mechanical properties of the underlying matrix are a principal 51 determinant of HSC activation. Methods: Primary rat HSC were cultured on inert 52 polyacrylamide supports of variable but precisely defined shear modulus (stiffness) 53 coated with different extracellular matrix proteins or poly-L-lysine. HSC differentiation 54 was determined by cell morphology, immunofluorescence staining, and gene 55 expression. Results: HSC became progressively myofibroblastic as substrate stiffness 56 increased on all coating matrices, including Matrigel. The degree rather than speed of 57 HSC activation correlated with substrate stiffness, with cells cultured on supports of 58 intermediate stiffness adopting stable intermediate phenotypes. Quiescent cells on soft 59 supports were able to undergo myofibroblastic differentiation with exposure to stiff 60 supports. Stiffness-dependent differentiation required adhesion to matrix proteins and 61 the generation of mechanical tension. Transforming growth factor-β treatment enhanced 62 differentiation on stiff supports, but was not required. Conclusions: HSC differentiate to 63 myofibroblasts in vitro primarily as a function of the physical rather than the chemical 64 properties of the substrate. HSC require a mechanically stiff substrate, with adhesion to 65 matrix proteins and the generation of mechanical tension, in order to differentiate. These 66 findings suggest that alterations in liver stiffness are a key factor driving the progression 67 of fibrosis. 68 69
DDoS Attack and Defense: Review of Some Traditional and Current Techniques

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks exhaust victim's bandwidth or services. Traditional architecture of Internet is vulnerable to DDoS attacks and an ongoing cycle of attack & defense is observed. In this paper, different types and techniques of DDoS attacks and their countermeasures are reviewed. The significance of this paper is the coverage of many aspects of countering DDoS attacks including new research on the topic. We survey different papers describing methods of defense against DDoS attacks based on entropy variations, traffic anomaly parameters, neural networks, device level defense, botnet flux identifications and application layer DDoS defense. We also discuss some traditional methods of defense such as traceback and packet filtering techniques so that readers can identify major differences between traditional and current techniques of defense against DDoS attacks. Before the discussion on countermeasures, we mention different attack types under DDoS with traditional and advanced schemes while some information on DDoS trends in the year 2012 Quarter-1 is also provided. We identify that application layer DDoS attacks possess the ability to produce greater impact on the victim as they are driven by legitimate-like traffic making it quite difficult to identify and distinguish from legitimate requests. The need of improved defense against such attacks is therefore more demanding in research. The study conducted in this paper can be helpful for readers and researchers to recognize better techniques of defense in current times against DDoS attacks and contribute with more research on the topic in the light of future challenges identified in this paper.
tressed swelling clay rpita

Clay minerals are present in most sedimentary rocks. They find applicability in a wide range of disciplines, such as material, soil, earth, environmental, and biological sciences. Despite their abundance and use, swelling of clays under stress has not received enough scientific attention. We used a twomethod approach, consisting of molecular simulation and nanoindentation measurements on montmorillonite. Our analyses of the molecular structure of montmorillonite at various stresses and hydration states showed that swelling behaves in a nonlinear way with stress. Nanoindentation results of Young’s modulus agree with our simulation results, showing the importance of the interlayer in composite clay properties.
Effects of an exercise intervention using Dance Dance Revolution on endothelial function and other risk factors in overweight children.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether an exercise intervention using an active video game (Dance Dance Revolution [DDR]) is effective in improving endothelial dysfunction (EDF) and other risk factors in overweight children. DESIGN Thirty-five children (Body mass index > or = 85(th) percentile, mean age 10.21+/-1.67 years, 17 females) with EDF were assessed for flow-mediated dilation (FMD), lipids, insulin, glucose, NO(2)+NO(3), asymmetric dimethylarginine, symmetric dimethylarginine, l-arginine, height, weight, aerobic fitness, and blood pressure. In a subsample, tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin-6, C-reactive protein, and adiponectin were also assessed. Subjects were randomly assigned to 12-weeks of aerobic exercise (EX) using DDR or to a non-exercising delayed-treatment control group (DTC). RESULTS EX had significant improvements in FMD ( 5.56+/-5.04% compared with 0.263+/-4.54%, p=0.008), exercise time on the graded exercise test (53.59+/-91.54 compared with -12.83+/-68.10 seconds, p=0.025), mean arterial pressure (MAP) (-5.62+/-7.03 compared with -1.44+/-2.16 mmHg, p=0.05), weight (0.91+/-1.53 compared with 2.43+/-1.80 kg, p=0.017) and peak VO(2) (2.38+/-3.91 compared with -1.23+/-3.18 mg/kg/min, p=0.005) compared with the DTC. Thirteen EX subjects achieved normal EDF while ten did not. These groups differed at baseline with regard to total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL). CONCLUSION Twelve weeks of DDR-use improved FMD, aerobic fitness, and MAP in overweight children. Improvements occurred without changes in inflammatory markers or nitric oxide production. The results document the need to explore relationships between obesity, endothelial function, inflammation, lipids, exercise intensity, and gender in a larger sample of overweight children.
Comparative performance of equalizers for linear constellation precoded coherent optical OFDM systems

Coherent optical orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (CO-OFDM) system has become attractive for use in the long haul optical transmission in the recent years. This paper extends the linear constellation precoding to the CO-OFDM system to form LCP-CO-OFDM system in order to combat the problem of large peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) associated with the OFDM transmission scheme. In addition, three equalization-based algorithms, minimum mean square error (MMSE), zero forcing (ZF) and maximum likelihood (ML) algorithms are employed for the LCP-CO-OFDM system. The simulation results obtained suggest that the LCP-CO-OFDM system demonstrates superiority to the uncoded CO-OFDM system. The ML-based equalizer also shows the best performance in comparison with the two other equalizers, while ZF-based equalizer shows the worst performance in comparison with the LCP-CO-OFDM system.
Automatische Emotionserkennung aus sprachlicher und manueller Interaktion

Integration emotionaler Aspekte ist Basis naturlicher und zukunftsweisender Mensch-Maschine-Kommunikation. Vor diesem Hintergrund werden innovative Verfahren zur robusten maschinellen Erkennung menschlicher Gefuhle aus Sprache und Daten der manuellen Interaktion beschrieben. Auf Signalebene werden evolutionare Generierung und Selektion neuartiger Merkmale vorgestellt. Hinsichtlich optimaler Leistung erfolgen extensive Vergleiche dynamischer Modellierung und mittels deskriptiver Statistik gebildeter Funktionale sowie diverser Klassifikations- und Ensembletechniken. Die inhaltliche Interpretation emotionaler Auserungen stutzt die Erkennung und ermoglicht sie auch aus geschriebenem Text. Ein Exkurs in die Spracherkennung und String-Matching behandelt die Texterfassung. Abschliesend wird eine synergetische multimodale Fusion aller Information geleistet. Drei Szenarien - robuste Sprachverarbeitung, Musiksuche und Interaktion im Fahrzeug - demonstrieren praxistauglichen Einsatz und Transfer.
New Evidence of a Dihydropyridine-Activated Cationic Channel in the MDCK Cell Line

Newborn rat distal cells express an apical Ca2+ channel activated by dihydropyridine drugs. Similarly, in Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells, nifedipine increased Ca2+i in a concentration-dependent manner (IC50 = 4 µM) in fura-2-loaded cells. Response to nifedipine was abolished by EGTA, suggesting that it depends on extracellular calcium. Ca2+ channel antagonist isradipine and agonist BayK8644 increased Ca2+i indicating that this effect is related to the dihydropyridine group. Diltiazem (20 µM) and gadolinium (200 µM) decreased the nifedipine effect (62 and 43%, respectively). Lanthanum (100 µM) did not change the response. Valinomycin clamping of the membrane potential did not modify nifedipine-induced increment, indicating that it was unrelated to potassium fluxes. We performed whole cell clamp experiments in MDCK cells maintained at –50 mV with perfusion solution containing 10 mM CaCl2. Nifedipine (20 µM) induced an increase in current (1.2 ± 0.3 nA), which was partially inhibited by Gd3+. No significant current was induced by nifedipine in the presence of 0.5 mM EGTA. To determine the effects of nifedipine on the membrane potential, we performed oxonol fluorescence experiments. The addition of nifedipine or Bay K8644 induced depolarization, highly dependent on external sodium. Nifedipine (20 µM) induced depolarization of 6.9 ± 0.8 mV (n = 21). EC50 to nifedipine was in the 10 µM range. We conclude that MDCK cells exhibit a dihydropyridine-activated cationic channel.
Global lipidomics identified plasma lipids as novel biomarkers for early detection of lung cancer

Purpose Lipids play roles in membrane structure, energy storage, and signal transduction as well as in human cancers. Here we adopt lipidomics to identify plasma lipid markers for early screening and detection of lung cancer. Experimental Design Using mass spectrometry, we profiled 390 individual lipids using training and validation strategy in a total of 346 plasma samples from 199 early NSCLC patients, including 113 adenocacinoma and 86 squamous cell cancers (SqCC), and from 147 healthy controls. Results In the training stage, we found distinct lipid groups that were significantly distributed between NSCLC cases and healthy controls. We further defined a panel of four lipid markers (LPE(18:1), ePE(40:4), C(18:2)CE and SM(22:0)) for prediction of early cancer with a accuracy of 82.3% AUC (Area under ROC curve), sensitivity of 81.9% and specificity of 70.7% at the training stage and yielded the predictive power with accuracy (AUC,80.8%), sensitivity 78.7%, specificity 69.4% and in the validation stage. Conclusions Using lipidomics we identified several lipid markers capable of discerning early stage lung carcinoma from healthy individuals, which might be further developed as a quick, safe blood test for early diagnosis of this disease.