Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Interferon‐α therapy for hepatitis c virus infection after liver transplantation

The aims of this pilot study were to evaluate the safety and efficacy of interferon‐α2b for treatment of hepatitis C virus infection in liver transplant recipients, to monitor changes in hepatitis C virus RNA levels with treatment and to determine pretreatment parameters predictive of a complete response. Eighteen patients with documented hepatitis C virus viremia and histological evidence of hepatitis after liver transplantation received 3 million units of α interferon three times weekly for at least 4 mo. Pretreatment serum aminotransferase levels were at least 1.5 times the upper limit of normal and no patient had concomitant hepatitis B virus infection. Response to therapy was defined as normalization of both aspartate and alanine aminotransferase at the end of treatment. Five patients (28%) had a complete response, whereas 13 (72%) had persistent elevation of one or both aminotransferases (nonresponders). At the end of therapy, hepatitis C virus RNA levels were reduced in both responders and nonresponders (p = 0.043 and 0.039, respectively by Wilcoxon signed rank test). After cessation of treatment, aminotransferases remained normal in four of five responders but serum hepatitis C virus RNA levels returned to pretreatment levels in responders and nonresponders. There was no significant change in histological score with therapy. Responders were more likely than nonresponders to have low pretreatment hepatitis C virus RNA levels and low serum bilirubin (p = 0.0004 and 0.0077, respectively). Responders tended to have a prolonged interval between transplantation and initiation of therapy (p = 0.10 by rank logistic regression analysis). Side effects resulted in early cessation of therapy in two patients and dose reduction in six. Histological evidence of possible rejection was seen in one patient. We conclude that normalization of liver enzymes can be seen in patients with posttransplant hepatitis C virus infection on interferon therapy and that treatment is associated with fall in hepatitis C virus RNA levels, regardless of biochemical response. However, virological changes are transient. Pretreatment variables such as hepatitis C virus RNA levels and serum bilirubin may aid in the selection of patients more likely to respond to therapy and the design of future controlled clinical trials. (Hepatology 1994;20:773–779).
Implications of Fail-Forward in an Online Environment under Alternative Grading Schemes.

The concept of fail-forward can be used as a teaching technique to motivate students to learn from their mistakes. For example, when students are allowed to re-work incorrect responses on a test for a partial grade they are failing-forward. In this paper we look at the effects of failingforward on student effort in online learning environments. We consider two alternative grading schemes with different levels of penalties for failure. Under the first grading scheme students are allowed to submit their work up to three times without being penalized. Under the alternative grading scheme students are penalized every time that they answer questions incorrectly. We find that instructors may be able to use the “average of all scores” grading scheme to increase the level of preparation of students even with differences in students’ innate ability. However, the benefits are less pronounced in fully online classes where there is no face-to-face instruction time.
An Empirical Study of the Factors Relating Field Failures and Dependencies

Changing source code in large software systems is complex and requires a good understanding of dependencies between software components. Modification to components with little regard to dependencies may increase have an adverse impact on the quality of the latter, i.e., increase their risk to fail. We conduct an empirical study to understand the relationship between the quality of components and the characteristics of their dependencies such as their frequency of change, their complexity, number of past failures and like. Our study has been conducted on two large software systems: Microsoft VISTA and ECLIPSE. Our results show that components that have outgoing dependencies to components with higher objectoriented complexity tend to have fewer field failures for VISTA, but the opposite relation holds for ECLIPSE. Likewise, other notable observations have been made through our study that (a) confirm that certain characteristics of components increase the risk of their dependencies to fail and (b) some of the characteristics are projectspecific while some were also found to be common. We expect that such results can leveraged to provide new directions for research in defect prediction, test prioritization and related research fields that utilize code dependencies in their empirical analysis. Additionally, these results provide insights to engineers on the potential reliability impacts of new component dependencies based upon the characteristics of the component.
Recovering From Errors in Conversational Dialogue Systems

Spoken dialogue systems can encounter different types of errors, including non-understanding errors. This is where the system realises the user has spoken, but does not understand their utterance. Strategies for dealing with this kind of error have been proposed and tested in the context of slot-filling systems, for example by Dan Bohus with a system which helps reserve conference rooms [1]. However there has been little work into possible strategies for more conversational settings. This dissertation looks at how we could recover from non-understanding errors experienced by a robot tourguide, and tests the strategies in an experimental study. The main hypothesis of this study is that it is beneficial to use strategies which are designed to do something smarter than just asking the user to repeat themselves. The strategies implemented are motivated by the findings of work done on task-based dialogue systems [1, 2, 3], which suggest it is useful to move the user on through the dialogue instead of getting caught up with the non-understanding error.
Design of low voltage BiCMOS power amplifiers for wireless communications

This paper describes a design technique for low voltage RF power amplifiers aimed at wireless communications. A power amplifier prototype was designed using this technique for a standard 0.8 /spl mu/m BiCMOS process. The circuit presents a small signal gain of 24.3 dB. Its output power is 27 dBm with a gain of 20.3 dB when biased with 3 V power supply at 1.9 GHz.
Medical Informatics: Computer Applications in Health Care

The formidable title of this well-written textbook belies its readability and usefulness. While the terms informatics and computers can turn all but the computer literate away in disinterest or even fear, this book is useful to many, computerophilic or not. It is written by a veritable Who's Who in medical informatics (the "rapidly developing scientific field that deals with the storage, retrieval, and optimal use of biomedical information, data, and knowledge for problem solving and decision making"). The two editors, two associate editors, and 24 authors are all well published and leaders in the field. Yet, unlike some books with many authors, this one is well conceived and edited. There is agreement of terminology throughout and little overlap of topics. The need for a book such as this is well understood. As the editors state, "The practice of medicine is inextricably entwined with the management of information. " With all the
Federated Security: The Shibboleth Approach

Number 4 2004 • EDUCAUSE QUARTERLY 13 The Fifth Annual Educause Current Issues Survey1 ranked “security and identity management” near the top of the list of critical IT challenges on campus today. Recognition of the crucial importance of securing networked resources led Internet2 to establish its Middleware Initiative (I2MI) in 1999. While Internet2 was founded to develop and deploy advanced network technologies and applications, it was clear from the start that high-speed networks would simply provide a quicker path to abuse unless improved methods of managing and controlling access to resources were developed and deployed along with those networks. I2MI has brought together campus middleware architects to work on fundamental issues in authentication, authorization, and directory services to make secure inter-institutional services possible and practical. The most innovative I2MI effort to date is the Shibboleth Project.2 Its primary product, the Shibboleth System,  supports secure user access to Webbased resources;  enables independent organizations to federate to extend the capabilities of their existing identity-management services;  supports multi-organizational federations to enable scalable use of the technology;  encourages attribute-based authorization;  provides controls to protect the privacy of personal information; Federated Security: The Shibboleth Approach
Multinet Bayesian network models for large-scale transcriptome integration in computational medicine

S.B. , C.S. M.I. T. , 2011 Submitted to the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Engineering in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology May 2012 Copyright 2012 Tiffany J. Lin. All rights reserved. The author hereby grants to M.I. T. permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly paper and electronic copies of this thesis document in whole and in part in any medium now known or hereafter created.
JFP volume 4 issue 1 Cover and Back matter

Dr Andrews here provides a homogeneous treatment of the semantics of both theoretical and practical logic programming languages. Researchers interested in logic programming or semantics, as well as artificial intelligence search strategies will want to consult this book as the only source for some essential and new ideas in the area. £25.00 net HB 0 52143219 7 116 pp. 1992 Distinguished Dissertations in Computer Science 4
Learning and Categorization in Modular Neural Networks

Part 1 CALM - Categorizing And Learning Module: introduction description of CALM simulation studies of perfromance and self-organization in CALM. Part 2 Application: psychological models pattern recognition as a practical application genetic algorithms - modularity, learning and network design. Part 3 Evaluation of CALM.
Implementing the Flinders Model of self-management support with Aboriginal people who have diabetes : findings from a pilot study

A pilot program for Aboriginal people with diabetes on Eyre Peninsula, South Australia, aimed to test the acceptability and impact of using the Flinders model of self-management care planing to improve patient self-management. A community development approach was used to conduct a twelve-month demonstration project. Aboriginal health workers (AHWs) conducted patient-centred, self-management assessment and care planning. Impacts were measured by patient-completed diabetes self-management assessment tool, goal achievement, quality of life and clinical measures at baseline and 12 months. Impact and acceptability were also assessed by semi-structured interviews and focus groups of AHWs. Sixty Aboriginal people with type 2 diabetes stated their main problems as family and social dysfunction, access to services, nutrition and exercise. Problems improved by 12% and goals by 26%, while quality of life scores showed no significant change. Self-management scores improved in five of six domains. Mean HbA1c reduced from 8.74-8.09 and mean blood pressure was unchanged. AHWs found the process acceptable and appropriate for them and their patients. It was concluded that a diabetes self-management program provided by AHWs is acceptable, improves self-management and is seen to be useful by Aboriginal communities. Barriers include lack of preventative health services, social problems and time pressure on staff. Enablers include community concern regarding the prevalence and mortality associated with diabetes.
A Neighbor-finding Algorithm Involving the Application of SNAM in Binary-Image Representation

In view of the low execution efficiency and poor practicability of the existing neighbor-finding method, a fast neighbor-finding algorithm is put forward on the basis of Square Non-symmetry and Anti-packing Model (SNAM) for binary-image. First of all, the improved minor-diagonal scanning way is applied to strengthen SNAM’s adaptability to various textures, thus reducing the total number of nodes after coding; then the storage structures for its sub-patterns are standardized and a grid array is used to recover the spatial-position relationships among sub-patterns, so as to further reduce the complexity of the neighbor-finding algorithm. Experimental result shows that this method’s execution efficiency is significantly higher than that of the classic Linear Quad Tree (LQT)-based neighbor-finding method.
Measurement-Based Wireless LAN Troubleshooting

Wireless networks based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards are becoming increasingly common. Their widescale deployment introduces a set of new operational problems concerning connectivity, security and quality-of-service. This paper describes a set of measurement tools for troubleshooting and securing a set of geographically overlapping wireless networks in infrastructure mode and in ad hoc mode. These tools improve on existing mechanisms by analyzing link-layer sequence numbers, deducing link congestion based on retransmission traces and by detecting cross-channel interference based on observing sets of neighboring or overlapping channels at the same time. The paper illustrates the effectiveness of these new measurement techniques through a series of short, real-world experiments.
The Impact of Information and Communication Technology on Interpreter Training

Abstract CAIT (Computer Assisted Interpreter Training) is a relatively new field of Interpreting Studies which began to develop in the mid 1990s. The impetus behind CAIT is an attempt to exploit the multimedia capabilities of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to enhance the teaching and learning of interpreting in various ways. The present feature article offers an overview of the three major approaches that have been developed within CAIT over its ten-year history. Integrative CAIT relies on digital speech banks or repositories to provide students with suitable materials for classroom use or self-study, with computers playing the twofold role of tutor and stimulus. Intelligent CAIT has flourished on the back of new dedicated authoring programs which enable interpreter trainers to easily create various types of exercises and provide trainees with tools to optimize the use of the available resources; in an environment where the computer plays the role of tool, intelligent CAIT applications incorporate new utilities to increase interaction between computer and users and to situate learning in more realistic contexts. The third approach, based on Virtual Learning Environments, seeks to exploit the opportunities offered by computer-mediated communication tools and make the teaching and learning of interpreting more immersive by applying aspects of simulation technology available in computer games. As the overview progresses, the reader is introduced to a number of state-of-the-art CAIT programs and applications.
Anxiety and Abstraction: Kleist and Brentano on Caspar David Friedrich

Kleist's short commentary on Caspar David Friedrich's Monk by the Sea is cited as a matter of course in discussions of that ever more rediscoverable painter and especially this pivotally important picture. As both men were all but totally misunderstood and rejected by their contemporaries, the writer was peculiarly qualified to champion the painter. Kleist would be dead of his own hand a year later, while Friedrich would end obscure and half-mad, and it remained for a more existential age to appreciate fully the problematic aspects of their work and lives.
Development of combined GPS L1/L2C acquisition and tracking methods for weak signals environments

Acquiring and tracking signals such as legacy GPS L1 C/A can prove challenging under adverse conditions. Increasing the processing gain by 20 dB usually requires long coherent integrations which remain limited by the 50 Hz data bits transmitted. Fortunately, the GPS has been modernized with the addition of a civil signal, namely L2C, on the L2 frequency band. In this book, acquisition and tracking methods making use of both the L1 C/A and L2C signals in a combined manner are developed and tested. Three best-performing acquisition methods are described theoretically and compared. The first method implies a non-coherent summation of L1 and L2 correlator outputs. The second method implements an independent differential summation of L1/L2 correlator outputs and the third method represents a non-coherent plus dependent differential summation. Regarding tracking sensitivity, L1 C/A and L2C code and phase discriminator outputs are combined through a Kalman filter estimating the relative delay between L1 and L2, the L2 code and phase errors, the L2 frequency error and the L2 phase acceleration error. Results are shown in terms of sensitivity compared to standard single frequency tracking.
Optimal Control of a Biological Wastewater Treatment Process with Intermittent Aeration

In this paper, the optimal control of a biological wastewater treatment process with intermittent aeration is discussed in order to design the aeration strategy (air-on and air-o¤ periods) which minimizes the energy dissipated by the aeration system, with adherence to the limits of the e­ uent requirements and the operating constraints. The dynamic model is rst presented based on the Activated Sludge Model No. 3 (ASM3) and the object-oriented modeling language Modelica. Next, the optimization problem is formulated and used with a receding horizon in model predictive control (MPC). The simulation results show that signi cant improvements can be achieved with respect to the initial aeration strategy, with reductions in the energy comsumption by 33% for the optimal control over one day and by 16% for MPC over 7 days.
A High Performance Hardware Architecture of Sub-Pixel Interpolator for H.264/AVC Encoder

The design of H.264/AVC interpolation unit is very challenging for the high memory bandwidth and large calculation complexity caused by the new coding features of variable block size (VBS) and 6-tap filter. In this paper, a novel one-step interpolation implementation algorithm is proposed which can effectively reduce processing cycle because of its less memory accessing. Moreover, a data reuse scheme is used to save processing cycle and memory bandwidth. A high performance hardware architecture is implemented according to the methods mentioned above. As a result, 26% memory bandwidth reduction and 45% processing cycle reduction are achieved, which shows that our architecture is an efficient hardware accelerating solution and can be used in real-time encoder.
Framework for online classroom tool for collaborative learning in undergraduate Pathology teaching

Pathology is one of the key focuses in any medical curriculum, which helps students to understand the causes and nature and effects of diseases. Conventionally, pathology is being taught using macroscopic and microscopic specimens combined with didactic teaching methodologies. Peer assisted learning is a commonly observable teaching learning method in studying macroscopic specimen especially among Sri Lankan medical undergraduates. However, the main drawback of the conventional laboratory based peer assisted learning is that the group of students have to be in the pathology museum physically to successfully engaged in the learning process and the teacher has to be available to clarify matters arising from the student centered learning exercise. On the contrary, online learning frees students and teacher from the need to be in a single physical location and online content delivery is gaining increasing popularity in medical curriculum. The proposed tool is the result of exploring the possibility of applying instructional designing and content delivery principals for pathology to facilitate peer assisted learning. This tool will assist integrating pathology with clinical presentation of diseases in developing a supplementary content management system for the pathology macroscopic and microscopic specimen studying process in medical undergraduate curricula. Keywords: Pathology, Learning Management System, peer assisted learning, instructional designing, student centred teaching, on line assessment, large group teaching Sri Lanka Journal of Bio-Medical Informatics 2010; 1 (3):155-162 DOI: 10.4038/sljbmi.v1i3. 1770
Adaptive rapidly-exploring random tree for efficient path planning of high-degree-of-freedom articulated robots

This article proposes a method for the path planning of high-degree-of-freedom articulated robots with adaptive dimensionality. For efficient path planning in a high-dimensional configuration space, we first describe an adaptive body selection that selects the robot bodies depending on the complexity of the path planning. Then, the involved joints of the selected body are included in the planning process. That is, it builds the C-space (configuration space) with adaptive dimensionality for sampling-based path planner. Next, by using adaptive body selection, the adaptive rapidly-exploring random tree (RRT) algorithm is introduced, which incrementally grows RRTs in the adaptive dimensional C-space. We show through several simulation results that the proposed method is more efficient than the basic RRT-based path planner, which requires full-dimensional planning.
The Ontology of Primary Immunodeficiency Diseases (PIDs): Using PIDs to Rethink the Ontology of Phenotypes

Primary immunodeficiency diseases (PIDs) are the consequence of genetic disorders and usually manifest themselves in very young patients. Because of their rarity, they are notoriously difficult to diagnose both for general practitioners and clinicians. In this paper, we present the foundations of an ontology of PIDs, which will be at the heart of an expert system designed to assist the clinician in the diagnosis of these diseases. To achieve this, the PIDOntology characterises Primary Immunodefieciencies in terms of Phenotypes. While there are a number of different ontologies already available that allow the description of phenotypes and phenotypic qualities, these have a number of associated ontological problems, which we will also address as part of this paper. We use the subtype of Hyper-IgE Syndrome caused by a STAT3 defects as an example of a primary immunodeficiency and show how the clinical phenotype of the disease can be modeled in terms of other phenotypes by introducing the notion of the “phene”. Furthermore, we develop patterns for different types of phenes and show, that these patterns can be mapped onto more traditional entity-quality statements, which are the current state of the art in phenotypic modeling.
DStretch® et l'amélioration des images numériques: applications à l'archéologie des images rupestres

Parmi les outils actuellement disponibles pour l’etude des arts rupestres, DStretch® pour ImageJ© concu specifiquement pour l’amelioration des images numeriques de pictogrammes, semble etre l’un des plus performants pour « ressusciter » des images tres estompees tout en etant rapide, facile d’utilisation et peu onereux. Il est l’une des meilleures facons d’atteindre ce qui devrait constituer desormais les nouvelles normes d’amelioration d’image pour les peintures rupestres, ainsi que, dans certains cas, les gravures.