Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modelling and development of decision model for supplier selection in process industry

The selection of appropriate supplier is one of the most critical decisions in the competitive business environment. In this study a decision support model has been developed for supplier selection using analytic hierarchy process by considering both qualitative and quantitative criteria. The proposed model is illustrated with a case study of an electroplating industry to demonstrate the effectiveness of this model. Through the proposed model, it is promising to effectively combine the specialised knowledge, experience and the quantitative data to select the best suppliers.
99mTc-Based Imaging of Transplanted Neural Stem Cells and Progenitor Cells

Cell therapy for neurologic disorders will benefit significantly from progress in methods of noninvasively imaging cell transplants. The success of current cell therapy has varied, in part because of differences in cell sources, differences in transplantation procedures, and lack of understanding of cell fate after transplantation. Standardization of transplantation procedures will progress with noninvasive imaging. In turn, in vivo imaging will enhance our understanding of neural transplant biology and improve therapeutic outcomes. The goal of this study was to determine the effect of a 99mTc-based probe on neural stem and progenitor cell transplants and validate the SPECT images of the transplanted cells. Methods: We previously developed a method to label neural stem and progenitor cells with 99mTc to visualize these cells in the brain with SPECT. The cells were initially labeled with a permeation peptide carrying a chelate for 99mTc. The proliferation and differentiation characteristics of the labeled cells were studied in tissue culture. In parallel experiments, the labeled cells were stereotactically injected into the rat brain, and the site of transplantation was verified with histochemistry and phosphorimaging. Results: The accuracy of the transplant location obtained by SPECT was confirmed by comparison with phosphorimages and histologic sections of the brain. The labeling did, however, decrease the proliferative capacity of the neural stem and progenitor cells. Conclusion: The labeling technique described here can be used to standardize the location of cell transplants in the brain and quantify the number of transplanted cells. However, a 99mTc-based probe can decrease the cellular proliferation of neural progenitor cells.
EXPLORING USERS’ INTENTION TO USE HEALTH INFORMATION ON A BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEM

This study forms an intact model to present a holistic view of usersâ€™ intention to use health information on the Internet. A survey was conducted to collect 339 questionnaires to validate the proposed model. The results reveal the following: (a) information presentation is significantly related to perceived readability; (b) information authority, word-of-mouth, and information diagnosticity are significantly related to perceived credibility; (c) information quality fit and information relevance are significantly related to perceived usefulness; and (d) perceived readability, perceived credibility, and perceived usefulness are significantly related to the intention to use information. To cite this document: Ying-Chieh Liu, Yu-An Huang, and Ming-Yueh Wang, "Exploring usersâ€™ intention to use health information on a bulletin board system", International Journal of Cyber Society and Education, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 89-96, 2014. Permanent link to this document: http://dx.doi. org/10.7903/ijcse.1166
An adaptive preconditioned conjugate gradient approach for extremely large optimisation problems arising in computational geomechanics

The feasibility of preconditioned conjugate gradient (PCG) for solving extremely large sparse linear systems arising in three-dimensional finite element limit analysis of geotechnical stability problems is studied. With problem size increasing beyond few millions of variables, the use of direct solvers becomes prohibitive (both in storage and computational times) even on modern computers. This motivates the study on possible employment of iterative methods to solve systems of equations resulting from interior point method-based limit analysis formulations. In this paper, an adaptive preconditioning technique based on incomplete Cholesky (IC) preconditioner, as well as a novel implementation scheme for preconditioned conjugate gradient method, is proposed to effectively deal with highly ill-conditioned systems, such as those which occur at last iterations of IPM methods. Numerical tests on some ultra-large scale sample geotechnical problems, along with comparison with other potential solution methods, verify the robustness and efficiency of the proposed approach.
Comparison of 99mTc- and 18F-Ubiquicidin Autoradiography to Anti–Staphylococcus aureus Immunofluorescence in Rat Muscle Abscesses

99mTc-ubiquicidin (UBI) 29-41 is under clinical evaluation for discrimination between bacterial infection and unspecific inflammation. We compared the distribution of 99mTc-UBI 29-41, the potential PET tracers 18F-UBI 29-41 and 18F-UBI 28-41, and 3H-deoxyglucose (DG) in rat muscle abscesses to that of anti–Staphylococcus aureus immunofluorescent imaging. Methods: Calf abscesses were induced in 15 CDF-Fischer rats after inoculation of Staphylococcus aureus. One to 6 d later, either 18F-UBI 29-41 and 3H-DG (n = 5) or 18F-UBI 28-41 and 3H-DG (n = 6) or 99mTc-UBI 29-41 and 3H-DG (n = 4) were injected simultaneously. Dual-tracer autoradiography of the abscess area was compared with the distribution of bacteria and macrophages. Results: The UBI derivates exhibited increased uptake in the abscess area that partly matched 3H-DG uptake and macrophage infiltration but showed no congruity with areas that were highly positive for bacteria. Conclusion: A specific binding of UBI derivatives to Staphylococcus aureus in vivo could not be confirmed in this study.
Fluorescence Reflectance Imaging of Macrophage-Rich Atherosclerotic Plaques Using an αvβ3 Integrin–Targeted Fluorochrome

Macrophages play an important role during the development and progression of atherosclerotic plaques. αvβ3 integrins are highly expressed by macrophages; thus, targeting αvβ3 may allow targeting of culprit macrophage-loaded atherosclerotic lesions in vivo. Methods: An αvβ3-targeted Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) peptide was labeled with the cyanine 5.5 (Cy 5.5) dye and applied to image atherosclerotic plaques in apolipoprotein E–deficient mice. Results: The peptide–dye conjugate binds to αvβ3 integrin–positive RAW264.7 macrophages with high affinity. Competition experiments confirmed binding specificity of the probe. A significant fluorochrome accumulation in atherosclerotic plaques was demonstrated 24 h after injection by fluorescence reflectance imaging, which was blocked with high efficiency by competition with the unlabeled peptide. Conversely, the nonconjugated dye revealed only a minor fluorescence signal in the plaques. Fluorescence microscopy revealed colocalization of the probe with macrophages in the plaque of a mouse model for accelerated atherosclerosis, which was corroborated in human carotid artery specimens. In addition to macrophage-associated signals, binding of the probe to the neointima or elastica of the arteries was observed. Conclusion: RGD-Cy 5.5, combined with near-infrared optical imaging methods, allows the specific imaging of αvβ3-integrin expression on macrophages recruited to vascular lesions and may serve to estimate macrophage-bound inflammatory activity of atherosclerotic lesions.
Quantum Dots for In Vivo Small-Animal Imaging

Nanotechnology is poised to transform research, prevention, and treatment of cancer through the development of novel diagnostic imaging methods and targeted therapies. In particular, the use of nanoparticles for imaging has gained considerable momentum in recent years. This review focuses on the growing contribution of quantum dots (QDs) for in vivo imaging in small-animal models. Fluorescent QDs, which are small nanocrystals (1–10 nm) made of inorganic semiconductor materials, possess several unique optical properties best suited for in vivo imaging. Because of quantum confinement effects, the emission color of QDs can be precisely tuned by size from the ultraviolet to the near-infrared. QDs are extremely bright and photostable. They are also characterized by a wide absorption band and a narrow emission band, which makes them ideal for multiplexing. Finally, the large surface area of QDs permits the assembly of various contrast agents to design multimodality imaging probes. To date, biocompatible QD conjugates have been used successfully for sentinel lymph node mapping, tumor targeting, tumor angiogenesis imaging, and metastatic cell tracking. Here we consider these novel breakthroughs in light of their potential clinical applications and discuss how QDs might offer a suitable platform to unite disparate imaging modalities and provide information along a continuum of length scales.
Estimation of FAQ knowledge bases by using semantic expressions for questions and answers

This paper presents an estimation method of the FAQ service by introducing the following measurements: 1. user's disrepute for products which defined by four types of classifying questions (IMPOSSIBLE, SIDE EFFECT, INSUFFICIENT and UNCLEAR) and the degree for each type is defined; 2. kindness for solutions replied which defined by four types of classifying answers (ACTION, CONFIRMATION, EXPLANATION, and NO PROBLEM) and the degree for each type is defined; 3. comprehension for answers which defined by semantic expressions of questions and answers; 4. sufficiency and quality for the whole FAQ service that introduced by the measurements 1, 2 and 3.
Analysis of the effect of Headline News in financial market through text categorisation

In this paper, we analyse the relation between stock-price returns and Headline News. Headline News is a very important source of information in asset management and is sent in large quantities every day. We study the effect of more than 13,000 Headline News sent from Jiji Press. We classify Headline News into three types using text categorisation and analyse the reaction of a stock-price return to each types of news. From our research, we figure out following issues: (1) we make the text categorisation system that has about 80% of classification accuracy, (2) this system can extract effective information to stock-price returns from Headline News and (3) such information is more effective to the small firms.
Análise comparativa do teste de caminhada de seis minutos em crianças e adolescentes saudáveis

OBJECTIVE: To perform a comparative analysis of the six-minute walk test in healthy children and adolescents in corridors of 30.5m (100 feet) 20m (65.6 feet) in length. METHODS: We evaluated 67 participants (36 boys and 31 girls), aged 7 to 14 years old, from public schools of a city in a metropolitan area. All were submitted to four walking tests, two in each of the corridors. The variables analyzed were: walked distance, work rate, mean blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen saturation. Statistical analysis was performed using one-way ANOVA for repeated measures and significance level at p<0.05. RESULTS: The comparison between the tests in each corridor and between the best tests in the different corridors did not show significant differences in the blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen saturation. The walked distance was not statistically different in the two tests on each corridor. However, the participants covered greater distances on the 30.5m corridor (p<0.05) compared to the best test between corridors. However, this increase was less than 10%. Regarding the cardiac overload and the work rate, there were no significant differences between the corridors. CONCLUSIONS: There were differences in walked distance between the corridors, however they were less than 10% with no significant changes in the other measured parameters. Therefore, the 20m corridor had a good reproducibility for the population of this study.
Clarification of the price fluctuation mechanism in financial markets: disparity in forecast accuracy among investors and asset price fluctuations

This research analysed the impact of the disparity in forecast accuracy among investors in the financial markets. This analysis has found the following interesting phenomena: 1) depending on market environments, investors with good forecast accuracy do not always survive in the market; 2) where the performance measurement period is short, there may be a negative influence such as deviation from the fundamental value of trading prices. These results suggest the need for examining various factors when considering the impact of information technologies such as the text mining technique on financial markets, and are of great significance from both practical and academic viewpoints.
Arterial Wall Dosimetry for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Patients Treated with Radioimmunotherapy

Tumors in non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) patients are often proximal to the major blood vessels in the abdomen or neck. In external-beam radiotherapy, these tumors present a challenge because imaging resolution prevents the beam from being targeted to the tumor lesion without also irradiating the artery wall. This problem has led to potentially life-threatening delayed toxicity. Because radioimmunotherapy has resulted in long-term survival of NHL patients, we investigated whether the absorbed dose (AD) to the artery wall in radioimmunotherapy of NHL is of potential concern for delayed toxicity. SPECT resolution is not sufficient to enable dosimetric analysis of anatomic features of the thickness of the aortic wall. Therefore, we present a model of aortic wall toxicity based on data from 4 patients treated with 131I-tositumomab. Methods: Four NHL patients with periaortic tumors were administered pretherapeutic 131I-tositumomab. Abdominal SPECT and whole-body planar images were obtained at 48, 72, and 144 h after tracer administration. Blood-pool activity concentrations were obtained from regions of interest drawn on the heart on the planar images. Tumor and blood activity concentrations, scaled to therapeutic administered activities—both standard and myeloablative—were input into a geometry and tracking model (GEANT, version 4) of the aorta. The simulated energy deposited in the arterial walls was collected and fitted, and the AD and biologic effective dose values to the aortic wall and tumors were obtained for standard therapeutic and hypothetical myeloablative administered activities. Results: Arterial wall ADs from standard therapy were lower (0.6–3.7 Gy) than those typical from external-beam therapy, as were the tumor ADs (1.4–10.5 Gy). The ratios of tumor AD to arterial wall AD were greater for radioimmunotherapy by a factor of 1.9–4.0. For myeloablative therapy, artery wall ADs were in general less than those typical for external-beam therapy (9.4–11.4 Gy for 3 of 4 patients) but comparable for 1 patient (32.6 Gy). Conclusion: Blood vessel radiation dose can be estimated using the software package 3D-RD combined with GEANT modeling. The dosimetry analysis suggested that arterial wall toxicity is highly unlikely in standard dose radioimmunotherapy but should be considered a potential concern and limiting factor in myeloablative therapy.
High-precision localisation algorithm in wireless sensor networks

This paper is concerned with the nodes localisation approaches in wireless sensor networks by adding two new variables, proportionality coefficient and deviation. This idea is different from the generally used least square nodes localisation methods which only consider coordinates of nodes. It is shown that if the measurement error between a blind node and each of its adjacency nodes is a linear combination of a fixed proportion and fixed deviation. The real position of blind nodes can be determined by filtering the errors. Even though the proportionality coefficient and deviation are uncertain, if the changes generated by random disturbances are small enough, the localisation errors can be reduced greatly by using the proposed method. The computational time is shorter than existing ones since only the time of solving linear equations is needed. If the errors need to reduce by iterations, a stable result can be obtained after ten iterations. It can be seen that only the measurement errors and the stability of the measurement are required but the communications cost is not required. Moreover, the proposed method possesses the conditions of parallel algorithm, i.e., it is available for multi-nodes.
Modified Adaptive Cuckoo Search (MACS) algorithm and formal description for global optimisation

Bio-inspired algorithms, through imitating the regular pattern of life forms, often produce unexpected results. A novel global optimisation algorithm, Cuckoo Search (CS), is an example that simulates the brood behaviour of some species of cuckoos. By using Levy distribution, the flying pattern of cuckoos is also imitated. However, the potential of cuckoo's search pattern is not fully discovered in CS algorithm. In this article, we introduce the CS algorithm and associated Levy flights. A Modified Adaptive Cuckoo Search (MACS) is then proposed by introducing grouping, parallel, incentive, adaptive and information-sharing characteristics. Also, the formal descriptions of improving strategies are given. The proposed algorithm improves the basic CS algorithm without losing the characteristic of high-efficiency search of Levy flights. Experiment results show that MACS outperforms basic CS algorithm on most test problems and possesses application potential for real-world problems.
PET and PET/CT of the Neck Lymph Nodes Improves Risk Prediction in Patients with Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Oral Cavity

We prospectively evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of 18F-FDG PET in the detection of neck lymph node metastases in patients with oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). We also sought to evaluate whether pretreatment PET visual scores in the neck lymph nodes may improve risk stratification. Methods: We enrolled 473 OSCC patients (445 men and 28 women; mean age ± SD, 50.9 ± 11.7 y) without distant metastases. All participants underwent 18F-FDG PET within 2 wk before surgery and neck dissection. Histopathology was taken as the reference standard for neck lymph node status. The duration of follow-up was at least 24 mo in all surviving patients. Results: 18F-FDG PET correctly diagnosed 164 of 211 patients with neck metastases and 152 of 262 subjects without pathologic neck metastases, resulting in a patient-based sensitivity and specificity of 77.7% and 58.0%, respectively. In Cox models adjusting for age, sex, traditional risk factors, and treatment modality, PET results at the neck lymph nodes were significantly and independently associated with rates of neck control, distant metastasis, disease-free survival, disease-specific survival, and overall survival. Notably, the results of the c-statistics demonstrated that PET score improved the accuracy of risk prediction in terms of overall and disease-free survival rates. Conclusion: PET findings at the neck lymph nodes have limited sensitivity and specificity for primary staging of OSCC but improve risk stratification beyond that of traditional risk factors.
Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Participatory Empowerment Group for Chinese Type 2 Diabetes Patients

Objective: This study evaluated the effectiveness of a Participatory Empowerment Group (PEG) for Chinese type 2 diabetes patients in Shanghai. Method: A randomized waiting list control and pretest and posttest comparisons were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention by comparing blood sugar level and health-related quality of life. Results: Before the intervention, scores on both blood sugar and quality of life did not differ significantly between the experimental and control groups. After the intervention, participants in the experimental group scored higher on quality of life and lower on blood sugar level compared to the control group. Conclusions: The PEG was effective in enhancing the quality of life of Chinese type 2 diabetes patients.
A fast static gesture recognition method

Gesture recognition has become a hot spot in human interaction technology. But the difference of skin colour, the complexity of the background and the rotation of the gesture make it difficult to complete gesture segmentation and recognition. To overcome the impact of the difference of skin colour, in this paper gesture images are split out based on skin colour in the hue saturation value (HSV) colour space combined with the mean-shift algorithm. Then the Hu invariable moments of the gesture images are calculated as the feature vector to overcome the impact of the rotation of gesture. In the experiment 660 images were collected from 10 experimenters. Three hundred and thirty images of those were made up by left-hand gestures and the rest were made up by right-hand gestures. The experimental results show the accuracy of this algorithm is from 90% to 100% with single-hand static gestures.
Low serum cholesterol, serotonin metabolism, and violent death

textabstractA high serum cholesterol level is a well documented risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Consequently, a low serum cholesterol has in general been viewed as beneficial. However, since the early 70s, results from several cohort studies and randomized trials have suggested that low or lowered cholesterol may increase the risk of dying from non-atherosclerotic causes. A number of reviews discussing the putative association between low serum cholesterol levels and increased mortality has been published. These reviews focused mainly on the possibility of a causal relation between low cholesterol and mortality from cancer. Although cancer mortality remains an important issue, the scope of recent studies on the association between low or lowered cholesterol and mortality has broadened towards all non-cardiovascular causes of death including accidents, violence and suicide. In the present paper the evidence is reviewed for an association between low or lowered cholesterol levels and aggression, impulsivity and (mortality from) suicide. Both studies addressing 'naturally' occurring low cholesterol levels and studies in which a low cholesterol was the result of (drug) intervention are discussed. This distinction is important from an etiological point of view, notably because a 'naturally' occurring low cholesterol reflects the lower end of the cholesterol distribution while lowered cholesterol levels of patients with hypercholesterolemia are still in the upper part of the distribution. Moreover, the duration of being 'exposed' to lower cholesterol levels is longer in those with 'naturally' occurring low cholesterol levels compared to those with 'lowered' cholesterol concentrations. The currently most important hypothesis to explain an association between naturally occurring low cholesterol and violent death, involving dietary induced serotonin changes as a mediating factor, is discussed in detail.