Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modeling of the Atrioventricular Node during Atrial Fibrillation to Non-invasively Monitor Drug Effects

Objective: To implement a statistical atrioventricular node model which accounts for important electrophysiological properties, and to use the model to investigate the effect of the atrial fibrillation drugs Carvedilol, Diltiazem, Verapamil and Metoprolol. The model uses a maximum likelihood approach to estimate three parameters, that characterize the probability of an impulse choosing either one of the two nodal pathways, the difference in refractory period between these pathways and the prolongation of the refractory periods. Methods: The analysis was based on ambulatory recordings. Every participant in the study performed five 24-hour recordings, one for each of the drugs and one without. The model was evaluated on simulated RR intervals to test the parameter estimation, and on the ambulatory ECG to test the accuracy of the estimated PDF. Results: The model was accurate when 200 RR intervals or more were present for calculations. The results showed that the estimated PDFs had 77 % agreement with the RR histograms from the ECG signals. For most of the drugs it was possible to see a trend in how they affected the parameters, even though the change was individual for each patient. The parameters were affected differently by the different drugs. Conclusion: This study indicates that the presented model can be used to detect antiarrhythmic drug effect in the atrioventricular node in atrial fibrillation patients. Index terms Atrial fibrillation (AF), atrioventricular (AV), atrioventricular node (AVN), Carvedilol, concealed conduction, Diltiazem, dual pathways, Holter recordings, maximum likelihood estimation (MLE), Metoprolol, refractory period, RR intervals, statistical modeling, Verapamil.
Daily Consumption of Synbiotic Yogurt Decreases Liver Steatosis in Patients with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.

Background Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease in developed and developing countries. The use of synbiotics has been proposed as a probable management strategy for patients with NAFLD. Objective We investigated the effects of synbiotic yogurt on hepatic steatosis and liver enzymes as primary outcomes and on oxidative stress markers, adipokine concentration, and gut peptide concentration as secondary outcomes in patients with NAFLD. Methods In this 24-wk, open-label, randomized controlled clinical trial, 102 patients [50 men and 52 women; mean age: 40 y; body mass index (in kg/m2) (mean ± SD): 31.2 ± 4.9] were randomly assigned to 3 groups, including 2 intervention groups and 1 control group. The intervention groups consumed 300 g synbiotic yogurt containing 108 colony-forming units Bifidobacterium animalis/mL and 1.5 g inulin or conventional yogurt daily and were advised to follow a healthy lifestyle (i.e., diet and exercise). The control group was advised to follow a healthy lifestyle alone. We evaluated differences between groups in liver function measures by using repeated-measures ANOVA, ANCOVA, and logistic regression. Results At the end of the study, the grades of NAFLD, as determined by ultrasonography, showed a significant decrease in the synbiotic group compared with the conventional and control groups (P < 0.001). The following significant mean ± SD decreases were seen in the synbiotic, conventional, and control groups, respectively: serum concentration of alanine aminotransferase (-14.5 ± 15.6 compared with 4.6 ± 15.4 and 3.1 ± 14.4 IU/L; P = 0.008), aspartate aminotransferase (-7.5 ± 6.1 compared with 3.0 ± 8.2 and 3.1 ± 5.7 IU/L; P < 0.001), alkaline phosphatase (-26.2 ± 16.8 compared with 3.4 ± 30.1 and 1.5 ± 31.9 IU/L; P = 0.024), and γ-glutamyltransferase (-6.0 ± 6.0 compared with 1.0 ± 6.4 and 7.6 ± 11.4 IU/L; P < 0.001). Conclusion Synbiotic yogurt consumption improved hepatic steatosis and liver enzyme concentrations in patients with NAFLD. This trial was registered at the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials website (www.irct.ir) as IRCT2017020932417N2.
‘I’ve put diabetes completely on the shelf till the mental stuff is in place’. How patients with doctor-assessed impaired self-care perceive disease, self-care, and support from general practitioners. A qualitative study

Abstract Objective: This paper investigated patients’ experiences of disease and self-care as well as perceptions of the general practitioner’s role in supporting patients with impaired self-care ability. Design: Qualitative interviews with 13 patients with type 2 diabetes, concurrent chronic diseases, and impaired self-care ability assessed by a general practitioner. We analyzed our data using systematic text condensation. The shifting perspectives model of chronic illness formed the theoretical background for the study. Results: Although most patients experienced challenges in adhering to recommended self-care activities, many had developed additional, personal self-care routines that increased wellbeing. Some patients were conscious of self-care trade-offs, including patients with concurrent mental disorders who were much more attentive to their mental disorder than their somatic diseases. Patients’ perspectives on diseases could shift over time and were dominated by emotional considerations such as insisting on leading a normal life or struggling with limitations caused by disease. Most patients found support in the ongoing relationship with the same general practitioner, who was valued as a companion or appreciated as a trustworthy health informant. Conclusion: Patient experiences of self-care may collide with what general practitioners find appropriate in a medical regimen. Health professionals should be aware of patients’ prominent and shifting considerations about the emotional aspects of disease. Patients valued the general practitioner’s role in self-care support, primarily through the long-term doctor-patient relationship. Therefore, relational continuity should be prioritized in chronic care, especially for patients with impaired self-care ability who often have a highly complex disease burden and situational context. Key points Little is known about the perspectives of disease and self-care in patients with a doctor-assessed impaired ability of self-care. • Although patients knew the prescribed regimen they often prioritized self-care routines that increased well-being at the cost of medical recommendations. • Shifting emotional aspects were prominent in patients’ considerations of disease and sustained GPs’ use of a patient-centred clinical method when discussing self-care. • Relational continuity with general practitioners was a highly valued support and should be prioritized for patients with impaired self-care.
Thwarting Location Inference Attacks in Database-Driven Spectrum Sharing

The use of geolocation databases (GDBs) for enabling spectrum sharing has been mandated by the Federal Communications Commission in the U.S. TV band and the 3.5 GHz band, and it is very likely to be adopted for spectrum sharing in other bands as well. Although using GDBs is a practical approach for enabling spectrum sharing, it raises a potentially serious operational security problem, especially when some of the primary users (PUs) are federal government entities, including military users. In this paper, we show that malicious queries can readily infer the locations of PUs by making multiple queries to the database even if the database’s responses to queries do not directly reveal such information. To address this issue, we propose a perturbation-based optimal obfuscation strategy that can be implemented by the GDB to preserve the location privacy of PUs. The proposed obfuscation strategy is optimal in the sense that it maximizes PUs’ location privacy while ensuring that the expected degradation in the secondary users’ utility due to obfuscated responses does not exceed a threshold. Using results from extensive simulations, we demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed scheme in countering location inference attacks, including the inference strategy described in the paper.
Non intrusive selective facial feature tracking: A fuzzy control approach

This paper presents a real time facial feature tracking system employing an inexpensive imaging device and two servo motors, to control the pan and tilt of the camera, for face tracking to capture vital facial features. Kanade Lucas Tomasi (KLT) method was adopted to track the facial features. The system was tested on various indoor and outdoor environments and the method shows good robustness and accuracy with a success rate of 95.7%. The proposed method has the ability to track from a selection of facial parts in comparison to being confined to track only the face.
Association between snacking patterns, energy and nutrient intakes, and body mass index among school adolescents in Kuala Lumpur

Snacking patterns among adolescence is important as it is associated with energy and nutrient intakes and consequently body mass index (BMI). The aim of the study was to evaluate the snacking patterns and also to assess whether snacking frequency is associated with energy and nutrient intakes, as well as BMI among the adolescents. Body mass index was assessed by anthropometric measurement with height and weight measurement. The snacking patterns were evaluated with questionnaire while dietary data was collected by food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and one-day 24-hour diet recall. A total of 156 adolescents aged 13-15 years old from two secondary schools in Kuala Lumpur were involved in this study. Results showed that most respondents (48.7%) consumed snacks once a day. More than half (64.7%) of them reported having afternoon snack and the most common context for snacking were while watching television (59.6%). The most frequently consumed snacks included fruits, sweets, breads, milk, soft drinks and caffeinated beverages. The most common meal and snacking patterns in majority (23.1%) was composed of three main meals plus two snacks per day. There was significant difference between meal and snacking patterns and energy and macronutrients intakes (p<0.05). A total of 24.4% of daily energy intake came from snack consumption, while the energy contribution of protein, carbohydrate and fat intake from snacks were 18.7%, 26.6% and 23.7% of their daily energy intakes, respectively. More frequent snack intake contributes to higher energy intake. Moreover, the more frequent snack intake, the more carbohydrate intake from snack as compared to protein and fat intake. However, there was no significant association between snacking patterns and BMI. In conclusion, these findings indicated that snacking patterns was associated with energy and nutrient intakes but no association with BMI among the respondents. Keyword: Adolescents, Body mass index, Energy and nutrient intakes,Snacks
Face Recognition Using Wavelets Transform and 2 D PCA by SVM Classifier

Among the various biometric methods, face recognition has become one of the most challenging tasks in the pattern recognition field during the past decades. An integrated algorithm for face recognition is proposed based on the respective advantages of wavelets transform (WT), 2D Principle Component Analysis (PCA) and Support Vector Machines (SVM) in this paper. At first stage, the original images are decomposed into low frequency images by applying wavelets transform, the high-frequency components were ignored, while the low-frequency components which contains the primary information can be obtained. And then 2D PCA algorithm is used to deal with feature extraction. After generating feature vector, distance classifier and SVM are used for classification stage. Experiments with two face databases show that the proposed method has accuracy and robust for face recognition.
A review of multimodal transportation optimization model

The major component of logistic system is multimodal transportation. This paper presents the various alternative methodologies available to multimodal transportation planning. There is an application need for network modeling approach the optimization of people and freight transportation with different techniques. In the process of selecting the most efficient transportation modes, a multimodal transport costD model is used to demonstrate and clarify multimodal transport routing alternatives. Risk factors are also considered for each route, transport modes and nodal links. The goal of this paper is to review literature concerning a generic multi transportation network model based on implementation of computational techniques to increase efficiency.
Effect of bone morphogenetic protein 9 on osteoblast differentiation of cells grown on titanium with nanotopography

Among bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), BMP‐9 has been described as one with higher osteogenic potential. Here, we aimed at evaluating the effect of BMP‐9 on the osteoblast differentiation of cells grown on titanium (Ti) with nanotopography, a well‐known osseoinductive surface. MC3T3‐E1 cells were grown either in absence or presence of BMP‐9 (20 nM) on Ti with nanotopography (Ti‐Nano) or machined Ti (Ti‐Machined) for up to 21 days to evaluate the gene expression of RUNX2, osterix, osteocalcin, bone sialoprotein, SMAD6 and SMAD4, protein expression of SMAD4, ALP activity and extracellular matrix mineralization. As expected BMP‐9 increased osteoblast differentiation irrespective of Ti surface topography; however, the cells grown on Ti‐Nano were more responsible to BMP‐9 compared with cells grown on Ti‐machined. This could be, at least in part, due to the fact that Ti‐Nano may act on both ways, by increasing the activation (SMAD4) and decreasing the inhibition (SMAD6) of the signaling pathway triggered by BMP‐9, while Ti‐Machined only decrease the inhibition (SMAD6) of this pathway. In conclusion, the combination of the osteogenic potential of BMP‐9 with the osseoinductive capacity of Ti‐Nano could be a promising strategy to favor the osseointegration of Ti implants.
Business and IT Alignment with SEAM

Aligning business with IT requires understanding goals, strategies and needs. To be able to express them, an enterprise model can be developed. We present some of the traditional techniques used for the development of an enterprise model (value system, BPMN, UML) and compare them with a systemic method (SEAM). This comparison is done by presenting a real project done at the Swiss Federal Statistical Office. We also show that the concepts of goals, strategies and needs correspond to interpretations of the stakeholders of the enterprise model.
Non-syndromic craniosynostosis in children: Scoping review

Background Craniosynostosis (CS) is a complex condition consisting of the early fusion of one or more cranial sutures in the intrauterine stage. The affected infant exhibits abnormal head shape at time of birth or shortly thereafter. It can be observed in normal individuals (non-syndromic CS or NSCS) or as a part of a multisystem syndrome. The purposes of the present article were to carry out a scoping review on Non-Syndromic CS and to discuss the most important findings retrieved. Material and Methods The steps of this scoping review were as follows: first, to pose a research question; second, to identify relevant studies to answer the research question; third, to select and retrieve the studies; fourth, to chart the critical data, and finally, to collate, summarize, and report the results from the most important articles. Relevant articles published over a 20-year period were identified and retrieved from five Internet databases: PubMed; EMBASE; Cochrane Library; Google Scholar, and EBSCO. Results Fourteen articles were finally included in the present scoping review. The following four most important clinical issues are discussed: (i) normal cranial development, clinical manifestations, and pathogenesis of NCSC; (ii) clinical evaluation of NCSC; (iii) treatment and post-surgical follow-up; and (iv) additional considerations. Conclusions NSCS may be present with associated head shapes. Multiple early surgical reconstructive options are currently available for the disorder. Pediatric Dentistry practitioners must be familiarized with this condition and form part of a multi-approach health team as those responsible for the opportune oral health care of the affected child. Key words:Craniosynostosis, cranial development, children, scoping review, dental management.
The mediating effect of self-esteem on the relationship between perceived discrimination and psychological well-being in immigrants

The aim of the study is to analyze the mediating effect of self-esteem on the relationship between perceived discrimination and psychological well-being in South American immigrants in Chile. An analytical, cross sectional, non-experimental design was used. We evaluated 853 Peruvians and Colombians living in the northern cities of Arica, Antofagasta, and Santiago de Chile, the capital located in the center of the country. The instruments used were the Ryff Psychological Well-being Scale, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the Perceived Discrimination Scale by Basabe, Paez, Aierdi and Jiménez-Aristizabal. We used the estimation method (RWLS) and polychoric correlation matrices, to estimate the effect size and overall fit of the direct effect models of discrimination and self-esteem on psychological well-being, and indirect and total effects of discrimination mediated by self-esteem. While both populations reported similar levels of perceived discrimination, it was found that the means in psychological well-being and self-esteem of the Colombian population were significantly higher than that of the Peruvian population. Regarding self-esteem, the results provided evidence for the possible mediating effect on the relationship between perceived discrimination and psychological well-being. This research aims to contribute to the development of interventions seeking to strengthen self-esteem in order to circumvent possible negative consequences of perceived discrimination, as a consequent, improving immigrants´ personal resources to successfully cope with the diverse demands of their new context.
Low dimensional feature vector based on the combination of fractional fourier transformand graph signal processing for facial expression recognition

Fractional Fourier Transform (FRFT) as a time-frequency analysis tool has been used for the facial expression recognition. However, the major problem is that the length of the feature vector is quite large. We have proposed the use of the graph signal processing (GSP) to reduce the dimension of the FRFT feature vector. Compared to the FRFT, the accuracy of the facial expression recognition rate increases by the combined FRFT-GSP method. Experimental results on CK+ database demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed work.
Video watermarking equations using DWT and DCT sub-sub bands for secure transmission over communication channels: A research paper

Video Watermarking is an important feature of the data security and the secure data transmission of the secrete data. Video watermarking can be very useful when the data size is large and also if the data is in complex format. In this paper the algorithm is based on the frame data rate and single frame data hiding is concentrated. The algorithm developed can be altered according to the frame rate and also the data hiding can be done over the selected data frames, the algorithm is firstly triggered only for the 1280×960 frame size though it can be of any size but because of the available hardware and resources this size has been selected.
A feed forward based smart link management scheme for future generation network

Future generation network is a 4G and 4G network extension that provides higher data rate by combining multiple technologies and channels through a demand based selection of the appropriate one. This implements an evolved node base station (eNB). The Integrated eNB's in future generation network are responsible for seamless switching between different technologies and channels. Such a switching decision is often affected by several parameters like available bandwidth, desired load, inter channel interference, available signal to noise ratio, fading, downlink power and so on. Regular switching between channels result in waste of a portion of bandwidth in control signal whereas delayed switching results in low packet delivery ratio and in turn low data rate. Hence, an optimal solution is desired to maintain high data rate under scalable future network. In this work, we propose an optimal smart link management (SLM) and power allocation using a Feed Forward Neural Network based machine learning framework for channel condition classification. The system is trained with probe packets under controlled conditions. The eNB nodes then manage the channel resources based on resource constraints during communication of performance parameters. Results shows that the proposed system improves effective throughput, packet delivery ratio, power consumption and handoff latency in comparison with conventional linear techniques.
The Relationship between the Values of Primary School and Music Teacher Candidates and Their Cheating Attitudes

The aim of this research is to examine the relationship between the values of primary and music teacher candidates and their cheating attitudes in terms of different variables. The study group of the research is composed of 249 students who are studying at the Departments of Primary School Teaching and Music Education at Adnan Menderes University Faculty of Education. In the research, Portrait Values Questionnaire and personal information form were used. In the analysis of data, t test, ANOVA, correlation analysis and tukey HSD test was used. It was detected that teacher candidates had high levels of value perceptions and the three most important values were universalism, security and self-direction. It was found that there was a statistically significant difference in primary school and music teacher candidates in all values except achievement, hedonism and stimulation according to their departments. This difference was on behalf of primary school teacher candidates. Another conclusion of the research was the gender variable. In all values except power, significant difference was on behalf of females. When the value scores of primary school and music teacher candidates were examined, all the values except for power were on behalf of freshmen. It was seen that there were significant differences between the teacher candidates’ academic achievement perceptions and their value scores of achievement, stimulation, self-direction, universalism, benevolence, tradition, conformity and security except power and hedonism values. Findings related to cheating, which was another variance of the research, are as follows; cheating attitudes of primary school and music teacher candidates were moderate. It was detected that the participants had negative attitudes towards cheating. A significant difference was detected in cheating attitude according to the department. In other words, it was seen that music teacher candidates were more positive towards cheating. When cheating attitudes according to gender variable were examined, it was seen that there was a significant difference on behalf of females.