Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ranking the effectiveness of autologous blood conservation measures through validated modeling of independent clinical data

Future supply with allogeneic blood transfusions faces several crucial challenges that warrant thorough (re‐)evaluation of existing alternatives. Meta‐analyses have indicated a significant potential for autologous blood conservation (ABC) measures to reduce the need for allogeneic blood transfusions. The quality of currently available studies, however, prohibits definite conclusions. Under these circumstances, mathematical modeling offers unique opportunities to compare various ABC measures and to test the impact of different variables on efficacy and effectiveness.
Precoding in Multibeam Satellite Communications: Present and Future Challenges

Whenever multibeam satellite systems target very aggressive frequency reuse in their coverage area, inter-beam interference becomes the major obstacle for increasing the overall system throughput. As a matter of fact, users located at the beam edges suffer from very large interference for even a moderately aggressive planning of reuse-2. Although solutions for inter-beam interference management have been investigated at the satellite terminal, it turns out that the performance improvement does not justify the increased terminal complexity and cost. In this article, we pay attention to interference mitigation techniques that take place at the transmitter (i.e., the gateway). Based on this understanding, we provide our vision on advanced precoding techniques and user clustering methods for multibeam broadband fixed satellite communications. We also discuss practical challenges to deploy precoding schemes and the support introduced in the recently published DVB-S2X standard. Future challenges for novel configurations employing precoding are also provided.
Progression model for pancreatic cancer.

It has been >10 years since Vogelstein and colleagues [(1][1] [, 2)][2] proposed a progression model for colorectal neoplasia in which they hypothesized that the progression from normal colonic epithelium, to small adenomatous polyps, to infiltrating adenocarcinoma is associated with the activation
Achieving end-to-end delay bounds by EDF scheduling without traffic shaping

Earliest deadline first scheduling with per-node traffic shaping (RC-EDF) has the largest schedulable region among all practical policies known today and has been considered a good solution for providing end-to-end packet delay bounds. In order to harness the traffic burstiness inside a network to satisfy the schedulability condition of EDF, per-node traffic shaping has been believed to be necessary. However, shaping introduces artificial packet delays. We show that by deadline assignments at each node that are strict time-shifting of the source packet arrival times, the functionality of shaping can be implicitly realized; the resulting schedulable region of the new scheduling policy is as large as that of RC-EDF. We name the new policy deadline-curve based EDF (DC-EDF). Not only working in a natural work-conserving way, when the global schedulability condition fails DC-EDF will also work in a "best-effort" way to allow packets excessively delayed at previous nodes to catch up and meet the end-to-end delay bounds. Therefore, DC-EDF is likely to provide "tight" statistical delay bounds. We also prove that a known EDF policy without traffic shaping also has a schedulable region as large as that of RC-EDF.
Priming of CD4+ T cells and development of CD4+ T cell memory; lessons for malaria

CD4 T cells play a central role in the immune response to malaria. They are required to help B cells produce the antibody that is essential for parasite clearance. They also produce cytokines that amplify the phagocytic and parasitocidal response of the innate immune system, as well as dampening this response later on to limit immunopathology. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms by which T helper cells are activated and the requirements for development of specific, and effective, T cell memory and immunity is essential in the quest for a malaria vaccine. In this paper on the CD4 session of the Immunology of Malaria Infections meeting, we summarize discussions of CD4 cell priming and memory in malaria and in vaccination and outline critical future lines of investigation. B. Stockinger and M.K. Jenkins proposed cutting edge experimental systems to study basic T cell biology in malaria. Critical parameters in T cell activation include the cell types involved, the route of infection and the timing and location and cell types involved in antigen presentation. A new generation of vaccines that induce CD4 T cell activation and memory are being developed with new adjuvants. Studies of T cell memory focus on differentiation and factors involved in maintenance of antigen specific T cells and control of the size of that population. To improve detection of T cell memory in the field, efforts will have to be made to distinguish antigen‐specific responses from cytokine driven responses.
Effects of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) on early stages of tendon healing: A rat patellar tendon model

We studied the effects of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) on cell proliferation, type III collagen expression, ultimate stress and the pyridinoline content in the early stages of healing in rat patellar tendon. 96 male Sprague Dawley rats were injected with increasing doses of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) at 3 days after a "window defect" was induced in the mid-part of the patellar tendon. They were killed at 7 and 14 days after the injury. A dose-dependent increase in the number of proliferating cells and the level of expression of type III collagen was demonstrated at only 7 days post-injury. On the other hand, we found no effects of bFGF on ultimate stress and the pyridinoline content of healing tendons. Only time significantly affected both strength-associated parameters. We showed that in vivo supplementation with bFGF affected the initial events of healing such as cell proliferation and type III collagen expression.
Features of Situations: A Two-Mode Clustering Study of Situation Prototypes

A new statistical procedure, two-mode clustering analysis, was used to examine consensual beliefs about the features of situations typically occurring within the university milieu. Forty-eight students were asked to keep a written record of the situations they encountered over a 1-week period. The 30 most frequently mentioned situation labels were presented to an independent sample of subjects for rating on bipolar scales. A two-mode hierarchical clustering analysis of the situation-by-feature rating data yielded nine clusters showing how situations relate to each other, how situation-descriptive features relate to each other, and, most important, how situations and features relate to each other Additionally, an overlapping clustering solution was derived illuminating the fuzzy nature of situation categories. Implications of the present methodology for research on situation cognition are discussed.
From Events to Reactions: A Progress Report

Syndicate is a new coordinated, concurrent programming language. It occupies a novel point on the spectrum between the shared-everything paradigm of threads and the shared-nothing approach of actors. Syndicate actors exchange messages and share common knowledge via a carefully controlled database that clearly scopes conversations. This approach clearly simplifies coordination of concurrent activities. Experience in programming with Syndicate, however, suggests a need to raise the level of linguistic abstraction. In addition to writing event handlers and managing event subscriptions directly, the language will have to support a reactive style of programming. This paper presents event-oriented Syndicate programming and then describes a preliminary design for augmenting it with new reactive programming constructs.
When bystanders become bothersome: The negative consequences of bystander conflict and the moderating role of resilience

Bystander conflict is a situation in which employees are hindered in their work by parties not involved in the primary process. Public service employees and emergency care workers, such as ambulance employees and firefighters, often encounter this kind of conflict with potentially far-reaching detrimental effects for public or patient safety. Unfortunately, until now, bystander conflict has hardly received scientific attention. In this paper, we will present the results of an experiment (Study 1) and a simulation study (Study 2). Taken together, the results indicate that bystander conflict is negatively related to the affective, behavioural, and cognitive outcomes of individuals. Higher levels of bystander conflict were associated with more negative and less positive feelings (Studies 1, 2), unfavourable bystander appraisals (Studies 1, 2), and lower levels of performance (Study 2). Additionally, Study 2 revealed that bystander conflict was negatively and indirectly related to positive affect and performance through cognitive capacity. We investigated the moderating role of resilience, in order to provide insight into potential factors alleviating these negative associations. In both studies, resilience alleviated the negative associations of bystander conflict. Overall, the results of the two studies provide a first step towards a theory on bystander conflict.
Usage pattern of synthetic food colours in different states of India and exposure assessment through commodities preferentially consumed by children

Exposure studies in children are emphasized nowadays given children's higher consumption vulnerability. The present study generated national-level data covering 16 major states of India on the usage pattern of colours and it identified food commodities through which a particular colour has the scope to exceed ADI limits. Out of the total analysed samples, 87.8% contained permitted colours, of which only 48% adhered to the prescribed limit of 100 mg kg−1. The majority of candyfloss, sugar toys, beverages, mouth fresheners, ice candy and bakery product samples exceeded the prescribed limit. Non-permitted colours were mostly prevalent in candyfloss and sugar toy samples. Though sunset yellow FCF (SSYFCF) and tartrazine were the two most popular colours, many samples used a blend of two or more colours. The blend of SSYFCF and tartrazine exceeded the prescribed limit by a factor of 37 in one sample, and the median and 95th percentile levels of this blend were 4.5- and 25.7-fold, respectively. The exposure assessment showed that the intake of erythrosine exceeded the ADI limits by two to six times at average levels of detected colours, whereas at the 95th percentile level both SSYFCF and erythrosine exceeded the respective ADI limits by three- to 12-fold in all five age groups. Thus, the uniform prescribed limit of synthetic colours at 100 mg kg−1 under Indian rules needs to be reviewed and should be governed by consumption profiles of the food commodities to check the unnecessary exposure of excessive colours to those vulnerable in the population that may pose a health risk.
Myticalins: A Novel Multigenic Family of Linear, Cationic Antimicrobial Peptides from Marine Mussels (Mytilus spp.)

The application of high-throughput sequencing technologies to non-model organisms has brought new opportunities for the identification of bioactive peptides from genomes and transcriptomes. From this point of view, marine invertebrates represent a potentially rich, yet largely unexplored resource for de novo discovery due to their adaptation to diverse challenging habitats. Bioinformatics analyses of available genomic and transcriptomic data allowed us to identify myticalins, a novel family of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) from the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis, and a similar family of AMPs from Modiolus spp. , named modiocalins. Their coding sequence encompasses two conserved N-terminal (signal peptide) and C-terminal (propeptide) regions and a hypervariable central cationic region corresponding to the mature peptide. Myticalins are taxonomically restricted to Mytiloida and they can be classified into four subfamilies. These AMPs are subject to considerable interindividual sequence variability and possibly to presence/absence variation. Functional assays performed on selected members of this family indicate a remarkable tissue-specific expression (in gills) and broad spectrum of activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Overall, we present the first linear AMPs ever described in marine mussels and confirm the great potential of bioinformatics tools for the de novo discovery of bioactive peptides in non-model organisms.
Uniform Path Selection of Feasible Paths as a Stochastic Constraint Problem

Automatic structural test data generation is a real challenge of Software Testing. Statistical structural testing has been proposed to address this problem. This testing method aims at building an input probability distribution to maximize the coverage of some structural criteria. Under the all paths testing objective, statistical structural testing aims at selecting each feasible path of the program with the same probability. In this paper, we propose to model a uniform path selector of feasible paths as a stochastic constraint program. Stochastic constraint programming is an interesting framework which combines stochastic decision problem and constraint solving. This paper reports on the translation of uniform feasible path selection problem into a stochastic constraint problem. An implementation which uses the library PCC(FD) of SICStus Prolog designed for this problem is detailed. First experimentations, conducted over a few academic examples, show the interest of our approach.
Classification of normal/abnormal heart sound recordings based on multi-domain features and back propagation neural network

This paper aims to classify a single PCG recording as normal or abnormal for computer-aided diagnosis. The proposed framework for this challenge has four steps: preprocessing, feature extraction, training and validation. In the preprocessing step, a recording is segmented into four states, i.e., the first heart sound, systolic interval, the second heart sound, and diastolic interval by the Springer Segmentation algorithm. In the feature extraction step, the authors extract 324 features from multi-domains to perform classification. A back propagation neural network is used as predication model. The optimal threshold for distinguishing normal and abnormal is determined by the statistics of model output for both normal and abnormal. The performance of the proposed predictor tested by the six training sets is sensitivity 0.812 and specificity 0.860 (overall accuracy is 0.836). However, the performance reduces to sensitivity 0.807 and specificity 0.829 (overall accuracy is 0.818) for the hidden test set.
An Algorithm for Estimating Fundamental Matrix Based on Removing the Exceptional Points

In this paper, an algorithm for estimating fundamental matrix based on removing the exceptional points is proposed. It uses normalized 8-point algorithm to estimate the initial value of the fundamental matrix, and then refines it by eliminating the exceptional points. Furthermore, the Genetic Algorithm(GA) is used to optimize the initial fundamental matrix by minimizing the Sampson error. Experiment results show that our algorithm is quite correct and reasonable for estimating the fundamental matrix.
[Physical activity for the elderly].

UNLABELLED Prolongation of life expectancy requires inevitable care for the quality of life of the elderly. Regular physical activity has a very important role in preserving the quality of life and independence, and not only reducing illness and mortality. A better understanding of this issue should enable us to set guidelines for regular physical activity for the elderly. The reaction to regular physical activity of older adults without cardiovascular diseases is similar to the reaction of young people to regular physical activity. In men, the mechanism of cardiovascular adaptation is mainly central, while in old women it is mainly peripheral. Elderly with cardiovascular diseases suffer from oxygen consumption and cardiac output reduction, compared to healthy old people. They also enjoy the cardiovascular benefits of aerobic physical activity and gain the risk factors profile improvement. Therefore, it is recommended to include aerobic physical activity as an integrative part of the daily lifestyle. Resistance strength training in elderly of both sexes leads to similar or even higher values for muscle mass and strength compared to young people, reduces the body fat mass, body weight and helps to preserve the active tissue mass. More beneficial effects of physical activity are: an improvement of posture and physical stability, improved flexibility and mobility capacity, a better cognitive function and a lower level of depression. The beneficial effects of physical activity in the very aged and frail elderly include physiological, metabolic, psychological and functional adaptations, which can substantially contribute to the quality of life and cannot be achieved by other treatments. SUMMARY Participation in a regular physical activity program is an effective and secure means to avoid and reduce the functional decline associated with aging and to improve the quality of life. The recommended exercise program is multifactorial and includes aerobic and resistance training, and exercises of balance and flexibility.
STATE OF THE ART THE EFFECTS OF OXYTOCIN ADMINISTRATION IN CHILDREN WITH AUTISTIC SPECTRUM DISORDERS

Oxytocin is one of the most researched hormones of the past two decades. Recent studies have proven its involve-ment in several behavioral patterns, like attachment, assuming risks and social interaction. Furthermore, it has been shown that oxytocin plays an important role in the mother-infant bonding. It also has promising results in various psychiatric conditions. The aim of this review is to summarize the findings regarding the effects of oxytocin adminis-tration in children with autistic spectrum disorders.
Family meaning of self‐starvation: themes discerned in family treatment in Hong Kong

This study aims to identify themes from the treatment of Chinese families with an adolescent or an adult member suffering from anorexia nervosa (AN), through a multiple case study. This study reveals that self-starvation may be regarded as a cultural metaphor. Four major themes emerged at the family level: self-starvation as an expression of love and control, coalition of the AN daughter with the mother, family loyalty, and the powerlessness and helplessness of the mother. The themes identified are narrative accounts of the Hong Kong Chinese families, rather than causal explanations proposed by Western literature. The emerging themes are believed to be constructed and legitimized by traditional Chinese cultural values, with females being subordinated to and dependent on males and the self being subjugated to or sacrificed for the collective. Treatment implications are discussed.
An Efficient Three Party Authenticated Key Exchange for Mobile Communications

In three-party password based key exchange protocol, a client is allowed to share a human-memorable password with a trusted server such that two clients can negotiate a session key to communicate with each other secretly. Recently, many three-party password based key exchange protocols have been developed. However, these proposed schemes cannot simultaneously achieve security and efficiency. Based on elliptic curve cryptography (ECC), this article will propose a new three-party password based authenticated key exchange scheme. The proposed method not only reduces computation cost for remote users and a trusted server but also is more efficient than previously proposed schemes. It is very suitable for hardware-limited users such as mobile units or smart cards.
Intimations of postmodernity in sports tourism at the Tour de France

Despite the burgeoning literature on sports tourism research the area is dominated by descriptive and anachronistic typologies. Consequently, some scholars have called for greater connectivities between sports tourism and related academic specialities. Accordingly, this article uses a case study of the 2011 Tour de France to suggest how sports tourism research can benefit from the sociological perspective of postmodernism. We support our argument by focusing on processes of mobile subjectivities and perceived authenticity among members of a commercially organised cycling and spectating trip.
A controlled trial with vasopressin analogue (DGAVP) on cognitive recovery immediately after head trauma

Recent evidence suggests that the vasopressin analogue desglycinamide-arginine8-vasopressin (DGAVP) might specifically benefit mild brain trauma patients. We investigated the effect of intranasal DGAVP treatment in 32 patients who had sustained a mild head injury for 3 months in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, matched-pairs study. DGAVP did not have a positive effect on cognitive recovery in this group of mildly affected patients.
Business undergraduates' knowledge monitoring accuracy: how much do they know about how much they know?

It has been argued that the ability of students to appreciate the extent of their own knowledge is essential to enable them to appreciate where gaps may exist and prompt the development of remedial learning strategies. This article reports on a study investigating this capability in which 307 business undergraduates provided 7525 judgements on the state of their own knowledge in respect of issues addressed in their study programme. The findings indicated a general tendency for overconfidence in knowledge, which was more evident in those studying on the first year of their degree programme than students in their second year. These findings suggest that effective learning may be hampered by students’ ignorance of gaps in their knowledge, particularly in the early stages of academic programmes, and that they may benefit from interventions to assist them in developing a better appreciation of their current state of knowledge.
Who will benefit from ‘the sociocultural turn’ in education?

There is much to admire in a new volume edited by Harry Daniels, Hugh Lauder, and Jill Porter, entitled Educational Theories, Cultures and Learning: A Critical Perspective. Each of these editors has established welldeserved reputations for their important contributions to educational scholarship in the fields of sociocultural research in education, special education, and the state-economy, so it was with great anticipation that I read this book. With 17 chapters, only three of which have been previously published elsewhere, and with 24 authors, this volume contains essays and research on a range of topics, from how globalisation affects policy convergences, to the powerful use (and misuse) of metaphors in educational theory and policy debates, to the crucial importance of identity development throughout childhood and into adulthood, and how students and schools handle school transfers and other social challenges. If there is one common denominator among all of the chapters it is that these authors appear to share a basic sociocultural or historical-cultural theoretical outlook, rooted in a neo-Vygotskian tradition of educational theory, emphasising the social aspects of learning and development. By admission of its editors, it is a book of questions rather than solutions. The editors write in the opening paragraph: