Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Algorithmic Logic-Based Verification with SeaHorn

In this tutorial, I will present SeaHorn, a software verification framework. The key distinguishing feature of SeaHorn is its modular design that separates the concerns of the syntax of the programming language, its operational semantics, and the verification semantics. SeaHorn encompasses several novelties: it (a) encodes verification conditions using an efficient yet precise inter-procedural technique, (b) provides flexibility in the verification semantics to allow different levels of precision, (c) leverages the state-of-the-art in software model checking and abstract interpretation for verification, and (d) uses Horn-clauses as an intermediate language to represent verification conditions which simplifies interfacing with multiple verification tools based on Horn-clauses. SeaHorn provides users with a powerful verification tool and provides researchers with an extensible and customizable framework for experimenting with new software verification techniques.
[The psychometric properties of the new Turkish generic health-related quality of life questionnaire for children (Kid-KINDL)].

OBJECTIVE There are few health-related quality of life (HRQOL) instruments available that have been validated for use with Turkish children. The Kid-KINDL is a generic measure of children's (8-12 years) HRQOL, which contains 24 categorical items that assess 6 dimensions (physical well-being, emotional well-being, self-esteem, family, friends, and school). The Kid-KINDL is available in many languages. Following an elaborate translation procedure and cognitive focus group interviews, the Kid-KINDL was adopted into Turkish. This paper describes the psychometric properties of the new Turkish Kid-KINDL. METHODS In total, 1918 children aged 8-12 years at a school in Manisa completed the Kid-KINDL. A confirmatory approach was used for validity and reliability analysis. Using the Multi-trait/Multi-item analysis program (MAP) item-internal consistency and item-discriminant validity were calculated to confirm the instrument's structure. Likert scaling assumptions were tested and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was applied as well. After modification of 2 unsatisfactory items the Kid-KINDL was administered to a different group of 84 randomly selected children and the analyses were repeated. RESULTS Cronbach's alpha was 0.35-0.78 before and 0.54-0.78 after the scales was modified. MAP-scaling success was 60%-100% before and 90%-100% after the modification. CFA confirmed the Kid-KINDL structure for the original version (RMSEA = 0.077) was less than the modified version (RMSEA = 0.059), although for the latter the sample was rather small. Floor effects were negligible, and ceiling effects reached 19%. CONCLUSION The results indicate that the Turkish Kid-KINDL was a reliable and factorially valid assessment of the children's HRQOL. The modifications made to the 2 unsatisfactory items increased the psychometric quality of the scale.
Enterobacter bacteremia: clinical features and emergence of antibiotic resistance during therapy.

OBJECTIVES To study the effect of previously administered antibiotics on the antibiotic susceptibility profile of Enterobacter, the factors affecting mortality, and the emergence of antibiotic resistance during therapy for Enterobacter bacteremia. DESIGN Prospective, observational study of consecutive patients with Enterobacter bacteremia. SETTING Three university tertiary care centers, one major university-affiliated hospital, and two university-affiliated Veterans Affairs medical centers. PATIENTS A total of 129 adult patients were studied. MEASUREMENTS The two main end points were emergence of resistance during antibiotic therapy and death. MAIN RESULTS Previous administration of third-generation cephalosporins was more likely to be associated with multiresistant Enterobacter isolates in an initial, positive blood culture (22 of 32, 69%) than was administration of antibiotics that did not include a third-generation cephalosporin (14 of 71, 20%; P less than 0.001). Isolation of multiresistant Enterobacter sp. in the initial blood culture was associated with a higher mortality rate (12 of 37, 32%) than was isolation of a more sensitive Enterobacter sp. (14 of 92, 15%; P = 0.03). Emergence of resistance to third-generation cephalosporin therapy (6 of 31, 19%) occurred more often than did emergence of resistance to aminoglycoside (1 of 89, 0.01%; P = 0.001) or other beta-lactam (0 of 50; P = 0.002) therapy. CONCLUSIONS More judicious use of third-generation cephalosporins may decrease the incidence of nosocomial multiresistant Enterobacter spp. , which in turn may result in a lower mortality for Enterobacter bacteremia. When Enterobacter organisms are isolated from blood, it may be prudent to avoid third-generation cephalosporin therapy regardless of in-vitro susceptibility.
Pneumococcal infection and pneumococcal vaccine.

The pneumococcus (Streptococcus pneumoniae) is a major cause of pneumonia, otitis media and meningitis throughout the world. Although the mortality resulting from pneumococcal infection has declined strikingly since the introduction of the sulfonamides, penicillin and other antibiotics, what limited epidemiologic evidence is available suggests that the attack rates of pneumococcal infections have diminished little, if at all. The pneumococcus is still the major cause of community-acquired bacterial pneumonia, and it is estimated that there are now approximately a half million pneumococcal pneumonias annually in the United States. Pneumococcal otitis media is one of the commonest bacterial infections of infancy and .
Distributed Defeasible Reasoning in Ambient Intelligence

Ambient Computing environments host various agents that collect, process, change and share the available context information. The imperfect nature of context, the open and dynamic nature of ambient environments, the difierent viewpoints from which the ambient agents face the same context, and their heterogeneity with respect to the language and inference system that they use, have introduced new challenges in the study of Distributed AI. The current paper presents a knowledge representation model based on the Multi-Context Systems paradigm that handles these requirements by modeling ambient agents as peers in a P2P system, local context knowledge as peer rule theories, and mapping rules, through which the ambient agents exchange context information, as defeasible rules. To resolve potential inconsistencies that may arise from the interaction of local theories through the mappings (global con∞icts), the proposed method uses a preference relation on the system peers, which may express the trust that an agent has in the knowledge imported by other agents. On top of this model, we have developed four alternative strategies for global con∞icts resolution, which difier in the type and extent of context knowledge that the ambient agents exchange in order to evaluate the quality of the imported context information. The four strategies have been respectively implemented in four versions of a distributed reasoning algorithm for query evaluation in Multi-Context Systems.
Incidence of prostate cancer and marital status.

Analyses were made of the marital status of 48,106 men with adenocarcinoma of the prostate, who were reported to the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program of the National Cancer Institute during the 9 years ending in 1981. The hypothesis tested was that widowers and possibly divorced men were at higher risk for developing this cancer than were married men. Age- and marital-specific incidence rates were calculated for 4 age groups (45-54, 55-64, 65-74, and greater than or equal to 75 yr) for U.S. white, black, and Puerto Rico Hispanic men. Risks for other marital status groups were calculated relative to "married. " Among the 45-54 age group, all ethnic groups had an excess risk for widowed as compared to the risk for married men [whites, relative risk (RR) = 1.7; blacks, RR = 1.5; Hispanics, RR = 2.5]. These excesses were not significantly different from unity. In the other 3 age groups and among each ethnic group, among whom 97.3% of all prostate cancers occurred, there was no suggestion of an excess risk for the development of prostate cancer among widowed men relative to married men. Unexpected findings were significant deficits in risk for single, separated, and divorced white men as compared to the risk for married men. Thus this study does not support an association between widowerhood and an increased risk for the development of prostate cancer. Additional studies are required to investigate a suggestion of decreased risk for older, separated, and divorced men.
Mining Interaction Patterns among Brain Regions by Clustering

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) provides the potential to study brain function in a non-invasive way. Massive in volume and complex in terms of the information content, fMRI data requires effective, and efficient data mining techniques. Recent results from neuroscience suggest a modular organization of the brain. To understand the complex interaction patterns among brain regions we propose a novel clustering technique. We model each subject as multivariate time series, where the single dimensions represent the fMRI signal at different anatomical regions. In contrast to previous approaches, we base our cluster notion on the interactions between the univariate time series within a data object. Our objective is to assign objects exhibiting a similar intrinsic interaction pattern to a common cluster. To formalize this idea, we define a cluster by a set of mathematical models describing the cluster-specific interaction patterns. Based on this novel cluster notion, we propose interaction K-means (IKM), an efficient algorithm for partitioning clustering. An extensive experimental evaluation on benchmark data demonstrates the effectiveness and efficiency of our approach. The results on two real fMRI studies demonstrate the potential of IKM to contribute to a better understanding of normal brain function and the alternations characteristic for psychiatric disorders.
Staphylococcal septic emboli in an injection drug user.

A 35-year-old woman presented with a 1-week history of fever and malaise. She was in an acutely ill state. An HIV screening test was negative. No heart murmurs were noted on auscultation. Computed tomography revealed multiple patchy nodules throughout both lungs, some with cavitation and infiltration. The nodules were randomly distributed throughout a background of multifocal consolidation; however, they favored the peripheral zones (Picture). Blood cultures were positive for Staphylococcus aureus. Transthoracic echocardiography demonstrated areas of vegetation involving the tricuspid valve. Patients with tricuspid valve infective endocarditis (IE) often do not have detectable heart murmurs (1). The patient later confessed that she was an injection drug user (IDU). Unlike in Western countries (2), right-sided endocarditis is rare in Japan, although the prevalence of IDUs is increasing. Japanese clinicians should consider right-sided IE even in patients without murmurs when septic pulmonary emboli with staphylococcemia are detected.
Scheduling crowdsensing data to smart city applications in the cloud

Mobile phones and their sensing capabilities might be the main source of data for smart city applications. However, before sending a large amount of data to the cloud, it is essential to make sure that the data collected are useful. In this paper, we present a cloud architecture for smart city applications that provides, as a main service, a scheduler for controlling the transmission of data to the cloud. This scheduler will run as close to the crowd data sources as possible (i.e., public local servers). Data with a high priority value are sent to the cloud first. We designed an application for the Android platform to carry out experiments with the scheduling process. The simulation results are included in this paper.
The chemical energetics of muscle contraction I. Activation heat, heat of shortening and ATP utilization for activation-relaxation processes

Measurements have been made of the changes in adenosine triphosphate and inorganic phosphate associated with activation and shortening in isolated sartorius muscles of Rana pipiens at 0°C. The muscles were pretreated with 2, 4-dinitrofluorobenzene to inhibit adenosine triphosphate: creatine phosphotransferase. When unloaded muscles were stimulated electrically, allowed to shorten fully and stay shortened during further stimulation, it was found that the usage of adenosine triphosphate (and production of inorganic phosphate) per pulse became less and less at greater rates of stimulation. The adenosine triphosphate usage per second reached a plateau and continued for a short while after the last pulse. This adenosine triphosphate is presumably used almost entirely for pumping calcium. Very little adenosine triphosphate was used per pulse by muscles in hypertonic solutions. These muscles passed normal action potentials but did not shorten or develop tension. Muscles which were re-extended after each of a series of almost completely unloaded shortenings had been completed used only the small amount of extra adenosine triphosphate needed for the little extra work done. Even the total breakdown of adenosine triphosphate was much too small to account for the heat of shortening, if this heat is assumed to be degraded free energy from adenosine triphosphate. Experiments were carried out according to Professor A. V. Hill’s ‘Further challenge to biochemists’. They showed that less adenosine triphosphate was used in the first 200 ms by a lightly loaded isotonic muscle than by an isometric muscle. Thus the heat of shortening, which is observed only while the muscle is shortening but not in the whole contraction-relaxation cycle, cannot be degraded free energy from adenosine triphosphate.
From fusion to re-ranking: a semantic approach

A number of works have shown that the aggregation of several Information Retrieval (IR) systems works better than each system working individually. Nevertheless, early investigation in the context of CLEF Robust-WSD task, in which semantics is involved, showed that aggregation strategies achieve only slight improvements. This paper proposes a re-ranking approach which relies on inter-document similarities. The novelty of our idea is twofold: the output of a semantic based IR system is exploited to re-weigh documents and a new strategy based on Semantic Vectors is used to compute inter-document similarities.
Effect of the sintering parameters on structure of the gradient tool materials

Purpose: The purpose of this work was to obtain gradient tool materials, based on the unalloyed steel reinforced with HS6-5-2 high-speed steel, through using the conventional powder metallurgy method and sintering in the vacuum furnace at the range of temperature from 1190°C to 1250°C, in steps of 20°C, for 30 and 60 minutes. Design/methodology/approach: In presented work gradient materials were obtained through powder metallurgy consisting uniaxial compacting method and sintering. The unalloyed steel was fabricated by mixing iron and graphite powders. Structural examinations were carried out by optical microscopy methods assisted with the computer image analysis, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray microanalysis. Findings: It was found out, that increase of the sintering temperature contribute to the undergo coagulation on the grain boundary or creation of the large allocations on the grain boundary of the carbides in the matrix. As well, it was proved, that incompleted sintering process was caused by too low sintering temperature. Practical implications: Such gradient material may be applied for turning tools. Originality/value: A forming methods were developed for unalloyed steel and high-speed steel powders, which made it possible to obtain specimens with six layers in its structure. The material presented in this paper has layers, at one side consisting unalloyed steel and at the other side high-speed steel. The layers inside the material are mixes of the high-speed steel and unalloyed steel powders in the relevant proportions.
The optical properties of biological tissues in the terahertz wavelength range

The terahertz (THz) region of the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum is defined as frequencies ranging from 0.1 to 10 THz. The optical properties of biological tissues have been characterized in neighboring spectral regions; however, few studies have been conducted that have examined these properties in the THz wavelength range. In this study, we used a far-infrared optically-pumped terahertz laser system, a reflection spectrometer system, and photothermal radiometric techniques to characterize the optical properties of water and biological tissues. The reflection spectrometer system performed well at lower frequencies, but proved to be unsuitable for frequencies greater than 2.52 THz. The suboptimal performance was determined to be primarily due to the higher transmission losses of the lenses, and the increased atmospheric losses that are associated with higher terahertz frequencies. The waveguide studies corroborated these findings and served to demonstrate that purging the laser beam path with nitrogen gas was an effective way to markedly reduce THz beam propagation losses. Given this finding, we have designed a temperature-controlled, nitrogen gas purged THz enclosure. The preliminary studies using photothermal radiometric techniques appeared to provide reasonable measures for the absorption coefficient (μa) of water at THz frequencies. In future studies, the tissue property measurements will made within the custom-designed enclosure using photothermal radiometric techniques.
Modulation of Mitochondrial Bioenergetics in the Isolated Guinea Pig Beating Heart by Potassium and Lidocaine Cardioplegia: Implications for Cardioprotection

Mitochondria are damaged by cardiac ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury but can contribute to cardioprotection. We tested if hyperkalemic cardioplegia (CP) and lidocaine (LID) differently modulate mitochondrial (m) bioenergetics and protect hearts against I/R injury. Guinea pig hearts (n = 71) were perfused with Krebs Ringer's solution before perfusion for 1 minute just before ischemia with either CP (16 mM K+) or LID (1 mM) or Krebs Ringer's (control, 4 mM K+). The 1-minute perfusion period assured treatment during ischemia but not on reperfusion. Cardiac function, NADH, FAD, m[Ca2+], and superoxide (reactive oxygen species) were assessed at baseline, during the 1-minute perfusion, and continuously during I/R. During the brief perfusion before ischemia, CP and LID decreased reactive oxygen species and increased NADH without changing m[Ca2+]. Additionally, CP decreased FAD. During ischemia, NADH was higher and reactive oxygen species was lower after CP and LID, whereas m[Ca2+] was lower only after LID. On reperfusion, NADH and FAD were more normalized, and m[Ca2+] and reactive oxygen species remained lower after CP and LID. Better functional recovery and smaller infarct size after CP and LID were accompanied by better mitochondrial function. These results suggest that mitochondria may be implicated, directly or indirectly, in protection by CP and LID against I/R injury.
Mucin Muc2 Deficiency and Weaning Influences the Expression of the Innate Defense Genes Reg3β, Reg3γ and Angiogenin-4

Background Mucin Muc2 is the structural component of the intestinal mucus layer. Absence of Muc2 leads to loss of this layer allowing direct bacterial-epithelial interactions. We hypothesized that absence of the mucus layer leads to increased expression of innate defense peptides. Specifically, we aimed to study the consequence of Muc2 deficiency (Muc2−/−) on the expression of regenerating islet-derived protein 3 beta (Reg3β), regenerating islet-derived protein 3 gamma (Reg3γ), and angiogenin-4 (Ang4) in the intestine shortly before and after weaning. Methods Intestinal tissues of Muc2−/− and wild-type (WT) mice were collected at postnatal day 14 (P14, i.e. pre-weaning) and P28 (i.e. post-weaning). Reg3β, Reg3γ, and Ang4 expression was studied by quantitative real-time PCR, Western-blot, in situ hybridization, and immunohistochemistry. Results Reg3β and Reg3γ were expressed by diverging epithelial cell types; namely enterocytes, Paneth cells, and goblet cells. Additionally, Ang4 expression was confined to Paneth cells and goblet cells. Expression of Reg3β, Reg3γ, and Ang4 differed between WT and Muc2−/− mice before and after weaning. Interestingly, absence of Muc2 strongly increased Reg3β and Reg3γ expression in the small intestine and colon. Finally, morphological signs of colitis were only observed in the distal colon of Muc2−/− mice at P28, where and when expression levels of Reg3β, Reg3γ, and Ang4 were the lowest. Conclusions Expression of Reg3 proteins and Ang4 by goblet cells point to an important role for goblet cells in innate defense. Absence of Muc2 results in up-regulation of Reg3β and Reg3γ expression, suggesting altered bacterial-epithelial signaling and an innate defense response in Muc2−/− mice. The inverse correlation between colitis development and Reg3β, Reg3γ, and Ang4 expression levels might point toward a role for these innate defense peptides in regulating intestinal inflammation.
Chemistry of one-dimensional metallic edge states in MoS2 nanoclusters

Nanostructures often have unusual properties that are linked to their small size. We report here on extraordinary chemical properties associated with the edges of two-dimensional MoS2 nanoclusters, which we show to be able to hydrogenate and break up thiophene (C4H4S) molecules. By combining atomically resolved scanning tunnelling microscopy images of single-layer MoS2 nanoclusters and density functional theory calculations of the reaction energetics, we show that the chemistry of the MoS2 nanoclusters can be associated with one-dimensional metallic states located at the perimeter of the otherwise insulating nanoclusters. The new chemistry identified in this work has significant implications for an important catalytic reaction, since MoS2 nanoclusters constitute the basis of hydrotreating catalysts used to clean up sulfur-containing molecules from oil products in the hydrodesulfurization process.
Influence of the preheating of bonding agents on the degree of conversion and bond durability in tridimensional dentin cavities

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the degree of conversion (DC) of dental bonding agents at different temperatures and the bond durability of restorations bonded with preheated dental bonding agents. Materials and methods: Three multistep adhesive systems, including one 3-step etch-and-rinse (Adper Scotchbond Multipurpose Plus) and two 2-step self-etching systems (Clearfil SE Bond; Filtek Low-Shrinkage Adhesive System), were evaluated. Dental bonding agents were preheated at 25, 37, and 60 °C. Bar-shaped specimens (n = 5) were prepared for DC analysis. Fourier Transform Infrared/Attenuated Total Fluorescence spectra were obtained, and the DC was calculated by comparing the aliphatic bonds/reference peaks of nonpolymerized and polymerized materials. For bond durability analysis, tridimensional dentin cavities were prepared in 180 bovine incisors, which were then restored. Samples were stored in water for 24 h, and half of them were subjected to additional degradation with 10% NaOCl for 5 h. The push-out bond strength test was performed in a universal testing machine until failure. Failure modes were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. Data were analyzed by analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Tukey’s tests (p < 0.05). Results: Dental bonding agents preheated at 60 °C showed higher DC values than those preheated at 25 and 37 °C. The temperature of the dental bonding agent did not influence the bond durability, although fewer adhesive failures were observed in restorations bonded with dental bonding agents at 60 °C. Conclusion: Although the preheating of dental bonding agents can increase the DC, it may not improve the bond durability of dentin restorations.