Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Padua Research Archive - Institutional Repository

—To sustain the adequate bandwidth demands over rapidly growing multimedia trafﬁc and considering the effectiveness of Information-Centric Networking (ICN), recently, HTTP based Dynamic Adaptive Streaming (DASH) has been introduced over ICN, which signiﬁcantly increases the network bandwidth utilisation. However, we identiﬁed that the inherent features of ICN also causes new vulnerabilities in the network. In this paper, we ﬁrst propose a novel attack called as Bitrate Oscillation Attack (BOA), which exploits fundamental ICN characteristics: in-network caching and interest aggregation, to disrupt DASH functionality. In particular, the proposed attack forces the bitrate and resolution of video received by the attacked client to oscillate with high frequency and high amplitude during the streaming process. To detect and mitigate BOA, we design and implement a reactive countermeasure called Fair-RTT-DAS . Our solution ensures efﬁcient bandwidth utilization and improves the user perceived Quality of Experience (QoE) in the presence of varying content source locations. For this purpose, Fair-RTT-DAS consider DASH’s two signiﬁcant features: round-trip-time (RTT) and throughput fairness. In the presence of BOA in a network, our simulation results show an increase in the annoyance factor in user’s spatial dimension, i.e., increase in oscillation frequency and amplitude. The results also show that our countermeasure signiﬁcantly alleviates these adverse effects and makes dynamic adaptive streaming friendly to ICN’s implicit features.
Guideline Adoption for Community-Acquired Pneumonia in the Outpatient Setting

Adoption of pediatric pneumonia guidelines in the outpatient setting. BACKGROUND: The Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society and Infectious Diseases Society of America national childhood community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) guideline encouraged the standard evaluation and treatment of children who were managed as outpatients. Our objectives were to (1) increase adherence to guideline-recommended diagnostics and antibiotic treatment of CAP at 5 pediatric primary care practices (PPCPs) by using quality-improvement methods and (2) evaluate the association between guideline adherence and unscheduled follow-up visits. METHODS: Immunocompetent children >3 months of age with no complex chronic conditions and who were diagnosed with CAP were eligible for inclusion in this stepped-wedge study. Interventions were focused on education, knowledge of colleagues’ prescribing practices, and feedback sessions. Statistical process control charts were used to assess changes in recommendations and antibiotic treatment. Unscheduled follow-up visits were compared across time by using generalized estimating equations that were clustered by PPCP. RESULTS: CAP was diagnosed in 1906 children. Guideline recommended therapy and pulse oximetry use increased from a mean baseline of 24.9% to a mean of 68.0% and from 4.3% to 85.0%, respectively, over the study period. Among children >5 years of age, but not among those who were younger, the receipt of guideline recommended antibiotics, as compared with nonguideline therapy, was associated with the increased likelihood of unscheduled follow-up (adjusted odds ratio, 2.12; 95% confidence interval: 1.31–3.43). Chest radiographs and complete blood cell counts were rarely performed at baseline. CONCLUSIONS: Recommendations for limited use of chest radiographs and complete blood cell counts and standardized antibiotic therapy in children is supported at PPCPs. However, the guideline may need to include macrolide monotherapy as appropriate antibiotic therapy for older children.
BRCA1-IRIS promotes human tumor progression through PTEN blockade and HIF-1α activation

Significance Spontaneous overexpression of endogenous IRIS, an alternatively spliced product of the tumor suppressor gene BRCA1, allows it to function as an oncoprotein that stimulates a potentially lethal outcome, i.e. metastasis of human cancer cells to tissues served, in part, by the arterial circulation. It does so by suppressing phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) mRNA synthesis, thereby stabilizing and activating HIF-1α in normoxic cells. Thus, this study provides a strong rationale for exploring the therapeutic value of interfering with spontaneously overexpressed IRIS function in multiple types of tumors that can naturally overexpress it. BRCA1 is an established breast and ovarian tumor suppressor gene that encodes multiple protein products whose individual contributions to human cancer suppression are poorly understood. BRCA1-IRIS (also known as “IRIS”), an alternatively spliced BRCA1 product and a chromatin-bound replication and transcription regulator, is overexpressed in various primary human cancers, including breast cancer, lung cancer, acute myeloid leukemia, and certain other carcinomas. Its naturally occurring overexpression can promote the metastasis of patient-derived xenograft (PDX) cells and other human cancer cells in mouse models. The IRIS-driven metastatic mechanism results from IRIS-dependent suppression of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) transcription, which in turn perturbs the PI3K/AKT/GSK-3β pathway leading to prolyl hydroxylase-independent HIF-1α stabilization and activation in a normoxic environment. Thus, despite the tumor-suppressing genetic origin of IRIS, its properties more closely resemble those of an oncoprotein that, when spontaneously overexpressed, can, paradoxically, drive human tumor progression.
Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Questionnaire for Breast Cancer (FACT-B+4): Italian version validation.

BACKGROUND Improvements in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment led to an increased incidence of survivors' rate. The healthcare system has to face new problems related not only to the treatment of the disease, but also to the management of the quality of life after the diagnosis. The aim of this study was to validate the Italian version of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - Breast (FACT-B+4) questionnaire and to evaluate its reliability. METHODS The questionnaire was administered twice, with an interval of three days between each administration, to a cohort of women of the Breast Surgical Unit, PoliclincoUmberto I. Cronbach's alpha was used as a measure of the internal consistency of the Italian version. RESULTS The Italian version of the tool was administered to 55 subjects. The Cronbach's alpha for most scores registered values >0.7, both at baseline and at the follow-up analysis, therefore the subscale showed good internal consistency. CONCLUSIONS The Italian version of FACT-B+4 demonstrated acceptable reliability properties in the Breast Unit patients. The use of this questionnaire seemed to be effective and in line with the results derived from the English and Spanishversions. Internal consistency and validity had similar performance results.
Inter-rater and test-retest reliability of movement control tests for the neck, shoulder, thoracic, lumbar, and hip regions in military personnel

Strategies are needed to mitigate the high rates and related risks of musculoskeletal complaints and injuries (MSCI) in the military aviator community. Previous work on Swedish Armed Forces (SwAF) soldiers have shown that proper screening methods have been successful in reducing early discharge from military training. Research has pointed at the importance of optimal spinal movement control in military aviators. The aim of this work was to investigate the inter-rater and test-retest reliability of a battery of clinical tests for evaluating movement control in the neck, shoulders, thoracic, lumbar, and hip regions in a population of SwAF military personnel. Inter-rater and test-retest reliability of 15 movement control tests were assessed by crude and prevalence-adjusted kappa coefficient. The study included 37 (inter-rater) and 45 (test-retest) SwAF personnel and was performed with two physiotherapists simultaneously observing and rating the movements on the first occasion and repeated with one physiotherapist on the second occasion. For inter-rater reliability, the kappa coefficient ranged from . 19 to . 95. Seven tests showed substantial to almost perfect agreement (kappa > .60). With the adjusted kappa, three more tests reached the level of substantial agreement. The corresponding values for test-retest reliability ranged from . 26 to . 65. Substantial agreement was attained for two tests, three with adjusted kappa. The following tests can reliably be used when screening for biomechanically less advantageous movement patters in military aviators: Shoulder flexion, and rotation, Neck flexion in sitting and supine, Neck extension and rotation in sitting, Pelvic tilt, Forward lean and Single and Double knee extension tests. Grading criteria for tests in supine and quadruped positions need to be further elaborated.
A just outcome, or ‘just’ an outcome? Towards trauma-informed and survivor-focused emergency responses to sexual assault

Sexual assault is one of the most violating and traumatising forms of abuse encountered by emergency department providers. Because the vast majority of sexual assaults are perpetrated by someone known, and possibly even related to the survivor, feelings of profound betrayal and loss of trust can make emergency clinical evaluation, including forensic evidence collection, particularly challenging.1 As described in the EMJ paper by Muldoon and colleagues, the collection of forensic evidence by specially trained clinicians may increase the effectiveness of legal prosecution, and is often assumed to be a ‘just’ or, in other words, desired outcome.2 The decision to obtain, and then process, forensic evidence, however, must be an individual, personal decision made by each and every survivor, informed by their own priorities, values and needs, and supported non-judgementally by emergency healthcare providers acting in a trauma-informed manner. ‘Just’ outcomes are unique for each patient and thus should be defined by each individual sexual assault survivor. The survivor’s decisions can be informed, but should neither be directed nor influenced by healthcare providers, administrators, law enforcement personnel, researchers or any other entity. Organisational policies …
Tactile sensing and feedback in SEMG hand

Active hand prostheses controlled using surface electromyography (SEMG) signals have been used for decades to restore the grasping function. Amputees with myoelectric hands wish to control the prostheses according to their own will and act like human hands as much as possible. Therefore, substantial research efforts have been put forth to advance the control of myoelectric hands. However, the tactile sensing and feedback of the myoelectric hands are still missing, thus limit hand grasp capabilities. In fact, integration of tactile sensing and feedback with hand prostheses plays an important role in improving the manipulation performance and enhancing perceptual embodiment for users. This paper reviews current state-of-the-art of tactile sensing technologies, including tactile sensor types and integration methods. Then, it introduces the basic theory of SEMG signals and presents an overview of the sensory feedback employed to prosthetic hand. The paper concludes with a detailed discussion of challenging issues and future developments.
Throughput maximization in wireless powered communication networks with minimum node throughput requirement

This paper considers wireless powered communication network consisting of one hybrid access point and a set of one‐hop nodes. Hybrid access point conducts wireless energy transfer (WET) in the downlink and nodes conduct wireless information transmissions (WITs) in the uplink based on the time division multiple access (TDMA) mode. Specifically, for the scenario where each node has its own minimum throughput requirement and different nodes' data have different levels of utility, we aim to achieve the minimum node throughput constrained weighted sum throughput maximization (MT‐WSTM) by jointly optimizing the time allocations of the WET and the WITs. First, we formulate the MT‐WSTM problem as a nonlinear optimization problem and further transform it into a more tractable form. Then, we prove the MT‐WSTM problem is convex and develop an efficient algorithm utilizing the dual decomposition technique to obtain the optimal solution of this problem. Compared with two schemes which use the optimal WET time and allocate the surplus WIT time evenly to all nodes and solely to the best node, respectively, the weighted sum throughput of the MT‐WSTM scheme is obviously larger in both homogeneous and heterogeneous scenarios.
Speech & Speaker recognition for Romanian Language

The present paper illustrates the main methods that can be employed to build a speech and speaker recognition system for Romanian language. To this aim, we start by presenting the classical approach of extracting the Mell Frequency Cepstral Coefficients features from a dataset of speech signals (which represents some words/phrases in Romanian language). The recognition is done either by using Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) or by training an Convolutional Neural Network. A comparison between these models is presented and commented. Once such a system is developed, we proceed further by implementing an application that listens and executes some predefined commands. In our setup, the system performs two main tasks: it recognizes the user by his voice and executes a task corresponding to the vocal command.
Olfactory ensheathing cells abutting the embryonic olfactory bulb express Frzb, whose deletion disrupts olfactory axon targeting

We and others previously showed that in mouse embryos lacking the transcription factor Sox10, olfactory ensheathing cell (OEC) differentiation is disrupted, resulting in defective olfactory axon targeting and fewer gonadotropin‐releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons entering the embryonic forebrain. The underlying mechanisms are unclear. Here, we report that OECs in the olfactory nerve layer express Frzb—encoding a secreted Wnt inhibitor with roles in axon targeting and basement membrane breakdown—from embryonic day (E)12.5, when GnRH neurons first enter the forebrain, until E16.5, the latest stage examined. The highest levels of Frzb expression are seen in OECs in the inner olfactory nerve layer, abutting the embryonic olfactory bulb. We find that Sox10 is required for Frzb expression in OECs, suggesting that loss of Frzb could explain the olfactory axon targeting and/or GnRH neuron migration defects seen in Sox10‐null mice. At E16.5, Frzb‐null embryos show significant reductions in both the volume of the olfactory nerve layer expressing the maturation marker Omp and the number of Omp‐positive olfactory receptor neurons in the olfactory epithelium. As Omp upregulation correlates with synapse formation, this suggests that Frzb deletion indeed disrupts olfactory axon targeting. In contrast, GnRH neuron entry into the forebrain is not significantly affected. Hence, loss of Frzb may contribute to the olfactory axon targeting phenotype, but not the GnRH neuron phenotype, of Sox10‐null mice. Overall, our results suggest that Frzb secreted from OECs in the olfactory nerve layer is important for olfactory axon targeting.
Cultural Effects on Use of Online Social Media for Health-Related Information Acquisition and Sharing in Taiwan

ABSTRACT The aims of this study were to use the technology acceptance model to examine how the cultural characteristics of social media users in Taiwan affect their use of social media for acquiring and sharing health-related information and to examine how their use of online social media benefits their social relationships and health self-efficacy. The research model in this quantitative cross-sectional study was tested with data collected from 321 active Facebook users in Taiwan. All three cultural characteristics/dimensions considered in the research model (masculinity, collectivism, and uncertainty avoidance) significantly affected the perceived usefulness and the perceived ease of using the online social media platform. However, masculinity had a significant positive effect on perceived usefulness but not on perceived ease of use. These results imply that technology tools for people in high masculinity cultures should be designed to maximize the effectiveness of the technology for achieving goals rather than to maximize the ease of using the technology. On the other hand, the use of online social media for acquiring and sharing health-related information significantly affected the social relationships of users but not their health self-efficacy. The results of this study imply that participants in online communities share health-related information not only to enhance their health but also to form strong social connections. This study proposes a new construct of technology acceptance, acquisition, and sharing of health-related information and investigates its effects on social relationships and health self-efficacy.
HSTREAM: A Directive-Based Language Extension for Heterogeneous Stream Computing

Big data streaming applications require utilization of heterogeneous parallel computing systems, which may comprise multiple multi-core CPUs and many-core accelerating devices such as NVIDIA GPUs and Intel Xeon Phis. Programming such systems require advanced knowledge of several hardware architectures and device-specific programming models, including OpenMP and CUDA. In this paper, we present HSTREAM, a compiler directive-based language extension to support programming stream computing applications for heterogeneous parallel computing systems. HSTREAM source-to-source compiler aims to increase the programming productivity by enabling programmers to annotate the parallel regions for heterogeneous execution and generate target specific code. The HSTREAM runtime automatically distributes the workload across CPUs and accelerating devices. We demonstrate the usefulness of HSTREAM language extension with various applications from the STREAM benchmark. Experimental evaluation results show that HSTREAM can keep the same programming simplicity as OpenMP, and the generated code can deliver performance beyond what CPUs-only and GPUs-only executions can deliver.
Comparative effectiveness of radical prostatectomy with adjuvant radiotherapy versus radiotherapy plus androgen deprivation therapy for men with advanced prostate cancer

Men with locally advanced prostate cancer (LAPCa) or regionally advanced prostate cancer (RAPCa) are at high risk for death from their disease. Clinical guidelines support multimodal approaches, which include radical prostatectomy (RP) followed by radiotherapy (XRT) and XRT plus androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). However, there are limited data comparing these substantially different treatment approaches. Using Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)–Medicare data, this study compared survival outcomes and adverse effects associated with RP plus XRT versus XRT plus ADT in these men.
Fair Scheduling in Resonant Beam Charging for IoT Devices

Resonant beam charging (RBC) is the wireless power transfer (WPT) technology, which can provide high-power, long-distance, mobile, and safe wireless charging for Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Supporting multiple IoT devices charging simultaneously is a significant feature of the RBC system. To optimize the multiuser charging performance, the transmitting power should be scheduled for charging all IoT devices simultaneously. In order to keep all IoT devices working as long as possible for fairness, we propose the first access first charge (FAFC) scheduling algorithm. Then, we formulate the scheduling parameters quantitatively for algorithm implementation. Finally, we analyze the performance of FAFC scheduling algorithm considering the impacts of the receiver number, the transmitting power, and the charging time. Based on the analysis, we summarize the methods of improving the WPT performance for multiple IoT devices, which include limiting the receiver number, increasing the transmitting power, prolonging the charging time, and improving the single-user’s charging efficiency. The FAFC scheduling algorithm design and analysis provide a fair WPT solution for the multiuser RBC system.
Combining topic-based model and text categorisation approach for utterance understanding in human-machine dialogue

In the present paper, we suggest an implementation of an automatic understanding system of the statement in human-machine communication. The architecture we adopt is based on a stochastic approach that assumes that the understanding of a statement is nothing but a simple theme identification process. Therefore, we present a new theme identification method based on a documentary retrieval technique which is text (document) classification (Bawakid and Oussalah, 2010). The method we suggest was validated on a basic platform that gives information related to university schooling management (querying a student database), taking into consideration a textual input in French. This method has achieved a theme identification rate of 95% and a correct utterance understanding rate of about 91.66%.
Adaptive biokinetic modelling of iodine-131 in thyroid cancer treatments: implications on individualised internal dosimetry

Nowadays therapies involving radioiodine (I-131) represent 84% of the total metabolic treatments in Europe, according to the last report of the European Association of Nuclear Medicine in relation to treatment planning for molecular radiotherapy. Last recommendations of the European Council, i.e. 2013/59/Euroatom, mandates that metabolic treatments should be planned according to the radiation doses delivered to individual patients, analogous to external beam radiotherapy. In this work, we present a novel biokinetic model for I-131 that allows on to obtain realistic activity distributions for particular patients with thyroid cancer in absence of metastasis. Other models existing in the literature present either a too simple metabolic description to obtain realistic results or a too complex one for adapting the model to individual patients, and many of these models are not indicated for metabolic treatments. The individualisation of activity distribution is obtained by an optimisation method that adjusts our model to a set of experimental measurements. Significant differences in terms of absorbed doses are observed between our model and the standard generalist models, especially in terms of red marrow absorbed dose.
Factors that influence medical student learning in the operating room

Abstract Introduction: The operating room (OR) is a dynamic, high-pressure clinical setting that offers a unique workplace-based learning environment for students. We undertook a narrative synthesis of the literature to identify factors that influence medical student learning in the OR, and we recommend educational strategies that maximize “theater-based learning”. Methods: Key words were searched across three databases PubMed, EMBASE and ERIC (Education Resource Information Center). Eligible studies included original articles published after 1997 presenting empirical research on factors that influence medical students learning in the OR. Methodological quality was measured using the Newcastle-Ottawa Score for education. Results: We identified 764 studies on the topic of student learning in the OR, of which 16 studies fulfilled inclusion criteria. The quality assessments demonstrated a mean value of 2.1 out of a maximum of 6. Conclusions: We identified five key domains that influence student learning in the OR: emotional factors, socio-environmental factors, organizational factors, factors related to educational relevance and factors related to the educator. Educational strategies to enhance theater-based learning include: an induction and physical orientation, clear learning objectives, educator feedback, and simulation.