Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Global Optimizations by Intermittent Diffusion

We propose an intermittent diﬀusion(ID) method to ﬁnd global minimizers of a given function g : R n → R . The main idea is to add intermittent, instead of continuously diminishing, random perturbations to the gradient ﬂow generated by g , so that the trajectories can quickly escape from one minimizer and approach other minimizers. The associated Fokker-Planck equations for existing global optimization algorithms that use continuously diminishing random perturbations are of parabolic types. For the ID method, its Fokker-Planck equation is degenerate and alternates between hyperbolic and parabolic types. It is because of this alternation, we have a numerical algorithm which is eﬃcient. We prove that with probability arbitrarily close to 1, one can ﬁnd by using the ID algorithm, a good approximation to the global minimizer in a ﬁnite time T provided T is suﬃcently large. We also prove that for any given ﬁnite set of minimizers of g , any trajectories of the ID method will visit an arbitrary small neighborhood of each minimizer with positive probability. Numerical simulations show that the proposed method achieves signiﬁcant improvements in terms of the time and the frequencies of visiting the global minimizers over some existing global optimization algorithms.
Cardiovascular health of Finnish war evacuees 60 years later

Background. Early life experiences might have long-term effects on health. Aim. To assess prevalence of cardiovascular disease and diabetes in later life among individuals exposed to traumatic separation in early childhood due to World War II. Methods. Of the participants of the Helsinki Birth Cohort 1934–44 Study (n=2003), 320 had been evacuated abroad to temporary foster care in childhood. The remaining participants served as controls. The mean age at evacuation was 4.8 (SD=2.4) years and the mean duration of the evacuation was 1.7 (SD=1.0) years. Results. Cardiovascular morbidity was higher among the former war evacuees (14.7% versus 7.9%; odds ratio (OR)=2.0, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.4–2.9; P<0.001). A similar difference in prevalence of type 2 diabetes was observed (19.7% versus 14.8%; OR=1.4, 95% CI 1.1–1.9, P=0.025). The former war evacuees were also more likely to be hypertensive (P<0.05). The effects on morbidity were not explained by age at testing or socio-economic circumstances in childhood or adulthood. Conclusion. Early life traumatic events may extend lifelong effects on health. This study is among the first to show that early life trauma predicts higher prevalence of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes in late adulthood, in a longitudinal clinical study setting.
Gene amplification in non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma

Summary. Among 426 consecutively ascertained and karyotypically abnormal non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) tumours, cytological evidence for gene amplification in the form of homogeneously staining regions (HSRs) was encountered in nine cases of large cell diffuse lymphoma (LC‐DL). The mean age of patients with HSRs was 62·9 years and four died within a year of diagnosis. To identify candidate gene(s) amplified in these tumours, we performed a Southern blot analysis of tumour DNA using probes for 23 known protooncogenes and the multidrug resistance gene, PGY1, Besides a two‐fold amplification of the BCL2 gene in two cases, no evidence for overt amplification of any of the genes assayed was found. To confirm DNA amplification in these specimens we performed the DNA in‐gel renaturation assay. Evidence for presence of amplified DNA fragments was obtained in four of seven specimens. These results suggest amplification of a novel gene(s). To our knowledge, this is the first formal study of gene amplification in a large consecutively ascertained series of fresh lymphoma biopsies.
A Knowledge-based Telemonitoring Platform for Application in Remote Healthcare

Telemonitoring systems have been shown to greatly reduce medical costs while improving the quality of medical care. Today, the main factors restricting the development and popularization of Telemonitoring systems include scalability and compatibility. The challenge for the remote healthcare lies in the variety of heterogeneous medical sensors which need to be dynamically removed or added to the environment according to the health care needs. This paper presents the design for an ontology-based context model and related middleware that provides a reusable and extensible application platform for Remote Healthcare. We designed the ontology context model to describe physiological parameters, medical tasks and the patient’s personal profile. Developers may extend the ontology model by considering new requirements as needed.
Shame memories and psychopathology in adolescence: The mediator effect of shame

Research on shame and shame memories and their impact on psychopathology is scarce in adolescence. This study explored the relationships among these variables in this developmental period and tested a mediator model in which current shame feelings (external and internal shame) were predicted to be mediators between shame memories traumatic and centrality features and depressive and anxiety symptoms. Three hundred and fifty four adolescents were assessed on measures of shame traumatic memory, centrality of shame memory, external shame, internal shame and depression and anxiety symptoms. Path analysis results showed that current feelings of external and internal shame fully mediated the effect of centrality of shame memory on depression and anxiety symptoms and partially mediated the effect of shame traumatic memory on these psychopathological indicators. These findings emphasise the role of external and internal shame on how shame experiences that become traumatic and central memories to self-identity impact on psychopathology, validating the biopsychosocial model of shame in adolescence. In addition, our study may contribute to develop clinical assessment and intervention with adolescents.
Health care of children living with their mother in prison compared with the general population

Background: Italian law allows female prisoners in specific "nest areas" to keep their babies with them until the child reaches the age of 3 years. We describe health care of children living in the nest areas and we compare this condition with the general population. Methods: Our study was conducted in the female detention centre of Rome Rebibbia, Italy. Clinical diaries of all babies have been screened. The pediatrics ambulatory of A. Gemelli Hospital of Rome provided all data for comparison. Results: We describe 391 children (150 in the prison group, G1; 150 children with Italian parents, G2, and 91 children with foreign parents, G3) with similar characteristics. There were statistical differences between-groups in respect of the auxological data, gestational age (lower in G1 vs G2, p < 0.0004, and lower in G1 vs G3, p < 0.03), time of weaning age earlier in G1 vs G2, (p < 0.035), number of respiratory infective disease (G1>G2, p < 0.0001, and G1>G3, p < 0.003). We also found inadequate immunisation status in children at their admission to prison. According to our observations children received good sanitary assistance inside the prison and the adjustment of their immunisation status when they stayed in prison for a long enough period. Conclusions: The significant information shown by our data suggest that children living in prison with their mothers represent a vulnerable group with particular healthcare needs.
Fractal features based technique to identify subtle forearm movements and to measure alertness using physiological signals (sEMG, EEG)

This research paper reports the use of fractal features based technique in physiological signals like surface electromyogram (sEMG), electroencephalogram (EEG) which has gained increasing attention in biosignal processing for medical and healthcare applications. This research reports the use of fractal dimension, a fractal complexity measure in physiological signals and also reports identification of a new feature of sEMG, maximum fractal length (MFL), as a better measure of small or low level changes in the human activity. The authors propose that FD is a useful indicator of the complexity in signals and MFL is a useful indicator of the level of activity, and the combination of these is suitable for identifying actions and gestures corresponding to low-level muscle contraction using surface EMG signal and using EEG to estimate operatorpsilas global level of alertness. The results indicate that MFL is correlated with the fluctuations of the userpsilas task performance and putative level.
Experts as facilitators for the implementation of social media in the library? A social network approach

Based on the social capital theory, we assume that personal and professional experts are both relevant to people’s competence development. However, to date, there is little empirical evidence of how professional experts can support, or impede, people in learning how to deal with social media. The goal of this study is to examine the role and position of social media experts in the distribution of information on social media within the library as organization. Design/ methodology/ approach – We draw upon social network and qualitative methods, within three public libraries located in Belgium. Findings – The findings suggest that as the most central actors, social media experts in a library play a significant role in either supporting or constraining the distribution of information on social media. Research limitations/ implications – While the sample size was chosen to conduct a mixed methods study that would explore how the position of a social media expert in an organization such as the library facilitates or prevents the exchange of social media information, we acknowledge the need for large-scale empirical studies that can substantiate our findings in larger and more diverse samples. Originality/ value – This unique study explores how the role and position social media experts in Belgian public libraries can support, or impede, librarians in learning how to deal with social media. This study is useful for other public libraries who want to implement social media, establish a social media policy and/ or provide social media training.
Treatment of primary immune-mediated hemolytic anemia with mycophenolate mofetil in two cats.

OBJECTIVE To describe the use of oral mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) as an adjunctive therapy in 2 cats with primary immune-mediated hemolytic anemia. CASE SERIES SUMMARY Two cats suffering from presumptive primary immune mediated hemolytic were treated with MMF as part of their treatment regimens. Both cats had improved complete blood counts following therapy. NEW OR UNIQUE INFORMATION PROVIDED This is the first reported use of oral MMF as adjunctive treatment for cats with immune-mediated hemolytic anemia. Outcome was favorable in both cats and no adverse effects were noted from the MMF.
Social Sensing: A New Approach to Understanding Our Socioeconomic Environments

The emergence of big data brings new opportunities for us to understand our socioeconomic environments. We use the term social sensing for such individual-level big geospatial data and the associated analysis methods. The word sensing suggests two natures of the data. First, they can be viewed as the analogue and complement of remote sensing, as big data can capture well socioeconomic features while conventional remote sensing data do not have such privilege. Second, in social sensing data, each individual plays the role of a sensor. This article conceptually bridges social sensing with remote sensing and points out the major issues when applying social sensing data and associated analytics. We also suggest that social sensing data contain rich information about spatial interactions and place semantics, which go beyond the scope of traditional remote sensing data. In the coming big data era, GIScientists should investigate theories in using social sensing data, such as data representativeness and quality, and develop new tools to deal with social sensing data.
A comparison study on algorithms for incremental update of frequent sequences

The problem of mining frequent sequences is to extract frequently occurring subsequences in a sequence database. Algorithms on this mining problem include GSP, MFS, and SPADE. The problem of incremental update of frequent sequences is to keep track of the set of frequent sequences as the underlying database changes. Previous studies have extended the traditional algorithms to efficiently solve the update problem. These incremental algorithms include ISM, GSP+ and MFS+. Each incremental algorithm has its own characteristics and they have been studied and evaluated separately under different scenarios. This paper presents a comprehensive study on the relative performance of the incremental algorithms as well as their non-incremental counterparts. Our goal is to provide guidelines on the choice of an algorithm for solving the incremental update problem given the various characteristics of a sequence database.
Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviors, and Retinal Vascular Caliber in Children and Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes

PurposeThe aim of this study was to investigate associations of physical activity and sedentary behaviors with retinal vascular caliber in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes. DesignThis was a hospital-based cross-sectional study. MethodsA study of 122 children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes was conducted over an 8-month period. Self-reported physical activity time and time spent watching TV or playing computer or video games were obtained using interviewer-administered questionnaires. Retinal vascular caliber was measured by a trained grader using a standardized protocol and later summarized as central retinal artery equivalent (CRAE) and central retinal vein equivalent (CRVE) using a semiautomated computer program. ResultsAfter adjusting for confounders (age, sex, ethnicity, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, HbA1c, maternal smoking status, age at which cow’s milk was introduced, and CRVE/CRAE, respectively), narrower CRAE was independently related to more time spent playing computer/video games [ExpB = −3.85; 95% confidence interval (CI), −6.41 to −1.29; P = 0.004], whereas wider CRVE was independently related to lower physical activity level (ExpB = −1.08; 95% CI, −2.01 to −0.15; P = 0.03) and more time spent playing computer/video games (ExpB = 4.72; 95% CI, 0.52–8.92; P = 0.02). Television viewing time was not associated with retinal vascular caliber after adjustment. ConclusionsThe results of this study suggest that physical activity and sedentary behaviors in the form of “screen viewing time” are associated with retinal vessel caliber early in life. These results suggest that retinal vascular caliber may provide prognostic information beyond current traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Future longitudinal and interventional studies are warranted to evaluate the relevance of these observations.
Expression profile of FSHD supports a link between retinal vasculopathy and muscular dystrophy

Background: Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is caused by deletions within a tandem array of D4Z4 repeats on chromosome 4q35. In addition to muscle degeneration, most patients with FSHD develop abnormalities of the retinal vasculature. Previous work has suggested that muscle degeneration in FSHD results from increased expression of genes proximal to the deletion, including FRG1. Objectives: To reexamine this mechanism and identify pathways that are abnormally regulated early in the disease process. Methods: We prospectively studied gene expression in skeletal muscle in patients with FSHD (n = 19) vs healthy individuals (n = 30) and patients with myotonic dystrophy type 1 (n = 12). We used oligonucleotide microarrays for global analysis of gene expression and reverse transcriptase-PCR (RT-PCR) to assess expression or alternative splicing for particular genes. Results: Expression of FRG1 was not increased in patients with FSHD, either by microarray analysis or quantitative RT-PCR. Among genes on 4q35, only LRP2BP showed upregulation that was specific to FSHD. However, neither LRP2BP nor FRG1 showed imbalance of allelic expression by RT-PCR. After filtering out genes that showed similar dysregulation in other forms of muscular dystrophy, only 44 genes were specifically upregulated early in FSHD. Among these, 34 genes were characterized or partially characterized, of which 11 (32%) had a role in vascular smooth muscle or endothelial cells. Conclusion: Expression of genes on chromosome 4q35 was normally regulated in the early stages of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy. Our results support a possible link between muscular dystrophy and retinal vasculopathy in facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy.
A consistent conditional moment test of functional form

In this paper, it will be shown that any conditional moment test of functional form of nonlinear regression models can be converted into a chi-square test that is consistent against all deviations from the null hypothesis that the model represents the conditional expectation of the dependent variable relative to the vector of regressors. Copyright 1990 by The Econometric Society. (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
Self-screening for rectal sexually transmitted infections: human papillomavirus.

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Iso 11354-2 for the Evaluation of eHealth Platforms

Open software platforms are a recent innovation in the healthcare sector to foster integrated care scenarios. An important quality feature to facilitate innovation and to create an active platform ecosystem is openness. The openness is strongly influenced by the interoperability potential of the platforms. Hence, the assessment of the interoperability potential is a crucial task for evaluating the quality of platforms. However, there is a need for methodological support fostering the evaluation of eHealth platforms. Based on a design science research approach, the article shows, how the Maturity Model for Enterprise Interoperability (ISO 11353-2) can be instantiated in the healthcare domain. We describe a quantitative evaluation model which operationalizes the evaluation process of eHealth platforms. The contribution purposes to improve the transparency and reliability of the evaluation process. Furthermore, the introduced approach reduces the dependence on an evaluation team and facilitates the implementation of assessments.
Intelligent file transfer for smart handheld devices based on mobile cloud computing

Most methods of file transfer between mobile devices have to take considerable time to obtain and input target identifiers. To speed up file sharing of mobile devices, an intelligent file transfer framework is designed based on mobile cloud computing. Only single‐finger action is performed in the proposed framework, which just drags the file to the target face on the touchscreen of a mobile device. The dragged file can be transmitted to the target receiver who can either get the file immediately as her/his mobile device is online or receive the file later after connecting to the Internet. Our framework provides the following features: (i) users do not need to know the target identifier in advance; (ii) users do not need to input identity information by themselves; and (iii) users can select a specific target among multiple candidates from the camera of a mobile device. The intelligent file transfer framework reveals an efficient architecture and innovative user interfaces to transfer files between mobile devices, which can significantly reduce the complexity and difficulty of file sharing. An Android‐based prototype is implemented to verify the feasibility and superiority of our framework. Experimental results show that our approach outperforms existing schemes and can save large amounts of time in file sharing for mobile users. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Ease of tracheal intubation through the intubating laryngeal mask during manual in‐line head and neck stabilisation

We studied 40 anaesthetised and paralysed patients, in a randomised manner, to compare the ease of tracheal intubation either using a Macintosh laryngoscope and gum elastic bougie (group C) with the ease of tracheal intubation through the intubating laryngeal mask using a fibreoptic bronchoscope (group L), during manual in‐line stabilisation of the patient's head and neck. In both groups, a maximum of 120 s was allowed for attempts at tracheal intubation. The ease of placement of the intubating laryngeal mask or tracheal intubation was assessed using a 100‐mm visual analogue scale (VAS). In patients in whom tracheal intubation succeeded, time for intubation was measured. The intubating laryngeal mask was placed successfully in 19 of 20 patients, with the median VAS of 18 mm (95% CI: 13–32 mm). The success rate of tracheal intubation in group L (17 patients) was significantly higher than in group C (nine patients) (p < 0.01), tracheal intubation in group L was significantly easier than intubation in group C (p < 0.001; 95% CI for difference in VAS: 18–68 mm) and time taken for tracheal intubation was significantly shorter in group L than in group C (95% CI for difference: 8–50 s).