Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Crowdsourcing in biomedicine: challenges and opportunities

The use of crowdsourcing to solve important but complex problems in biomedical and clinical sciences is growing and encompasses a wide variety of approaches. The crowd is diverse and includes online marketplace workers, health information seekers, science enthusiasts and domain experts. In this article, we review and highlight recent studies that use crowdsourcing to advance biomedicine. We classify these studies into two broad categories: (i) mining big data generated from a crowd (e.g. search logs) and (ii) active crowdsourcing via specific technical platforms, e.g. labor markets, wikis, scientific games and community challenges. Through describing each study in detail, we demonstrate the applicability of different methods in a variety of domains in biomedical research, including genomics, biocuration and clinical research. Furthermore, we discuss and highlight the strengths and limitations of different crowdsourcing platforms. Finally, we identify important emerging trends, opportunities and remaining challenges for future crowdsourcing research in biomedicine.
Associations between Meteorological Parameters and Influenza Activity in Berlin (Germany), Ljubljana (Slovenia), Castile and León (Spain) and Israeli Districts

Background Studies in the literature have indicated that the timing of seasonal influenza epidemic varies across latitude, suggesting the involvement of meteorological and environmental conditions in the transmission of influenza. In this study, we investigated the link between meteorological parameters and influenza activity in 9 sub-national areas with temperate and subtropical climates: Berlin (Germany), Ljubljana (Slovenia), Castile and León (Spain) and all 6 districts in Israel. Methods We estimated weekly influenza-associated influenza-like-illness (ILI) or Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) incidence to represent influenza activity using data from each country’s sentinel surveillance during 2000–2011 (Spain) and 2006–2011 (all others). Meteorological data was obtained from ground stations, satellite and assimilated data. Two generalized additive models (GAM) were developed, with one using specific humidity as a covariate and another using minimum temperature. Precipitation and solar radiation were included as additional covariates in both models. The models were adjusted for previous weeks’ influenza activity, and were trained separately for each study location. Results Influenza activity was inversely associated (p<0.05) with specific humidity in all locations. Minimum temperature was inversely associated with influenza in all 3 temperate locations, but not in all subtropical locations. Inverse associations between influenza and solar radiation were found in most locations. Associations with precipitation were location-dependent and inconclusive. We used the models to estimate influenza activity a week ahead for the 2010/2011 period which was not used in training the models. With exception of Ljubljana and Israel’s Haifa District, the models could closely follow the observed data especially during the start and the end of epidemic period. In these locations, correlation coefficients between the observed and estimated ranged between 0.55 to 0.91and the model-estimated influenza peaks were within 3 weeks from the observations. Conclusion Our study demonstrated the significant link between specific humidity and influenza activity across temperate and subtropical climates, and that inclusion of meteorological parameters in the surveillance system may further our understanding of influenza transmission patterns.
Widening Participation in Higher Education: The HEFCE Perspective on Policy and Progress

The first half of the 1990s saw a substantial increase in the number of people participating in higher education, though without a substantial alteration in the social profile of the English student population. However, today, with the Government target of 50 per cent of 18–30 year olds having some experience of higher education by 2010, the sector faces a new challenge in broadening as well as expanding its social base. This article traces different phases in the evolution of the HEFCE widening participation policy and strategy, including its response to the recommendations of the Dearing Report and, more recently, to the joint proposal with the Learning and Skills Council for a strengthening of partnerships between higher education, further education and schools.
Quality improvement methods for system-level stimuli generation

Functional verification of systems is aimed at validating the integration of previously verified components. It deals with complex designs, and invariably suffers from scarce resources. We present a set of methods, collectively known as testing knowledge, aimed at increasing the quality of automatically generated system-level test-cases. Testing knowledge reduces the time and effort required to achieve high coverage of the verified design.
An Improved Cuckoo Search Optimization Algorithm for the Problem of Chaotic Systems Parameter Estimation

This paper proposes an improved cuckoo search (ICS) algorithm to establish the parameters of chaotic systems. In order to improve the optimization capability of the basic cuckoo search (CS) algorithm, the orthogonal design and simulated annealing operation are incorporated in the CS algorithm to enhance the exploitation search ability. Then the proposed algorithm is used to establish parameters of the Lorenz chaotic system and Chen chaotic system under the noiseless and noise condition, respectively. The numerical results demonstrate that the algorithm can estimate parameters with high accuracy and reliability. Finally, the results are compared with the CS algorithm, genetic algorithm, and particle swarm optimization algorithm, and the compared results demonstrate the method is energy-efficient and superior.
Mercury Toxicity: A Family Case Report

Background: Environmental pollution exposes humans to toxic substances. Herein we present 5 family members aged20-54 years that were poisoned by liquid mercury. Case Reports: Case 1 presented to our clinic with cough, fever, and night sweats. The patient had neutropenia, anemia,and pneumonia, rapidly developed acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and died on day 4 of hospitalization.Her WBC count was 0.4 × 10³ mm-3 (normal range: 4.3-10.3 × 103 mm-3) and Hb was 10.8 g dL–1 (normal range: 11.5-16.0 g dL–1). Case 2 presented with bicytopenia; the leukocyte count was 1.3 × 103 mm-3 (normal range: 4.3-10.3 × 103mm-3) and the PLT count was 88 × 103 mm-3 (normal range: 150-400 × 103 mm-3). Cases 2 and 3 had toxic peripheralneuropathy. The PLT count in case 3 was 123 × 103 mm-3 (normal range: 150-400 × 103 mm-3). Cases 4 and 5 presentedwith fatigue and headache; these 2 patients did not have positive findings, apart from high levels of mercury in theblood. We have written informed consent. Conclusion: We think that heavy metal exposure—although rare—should be considered in patients that present withnumerous symptoms involving multiple systems, including the cardiovascular, respiratory, and neurological systems.The present report is unique in that in describes mercury poisoning in 5 members of the same family.
The Emerging Role of Self-Perception in Student Intentions

Recruitment and retention of women has been a persistent problem in the field of computer science. With a growing number of jobs that require a computer science degree, this problem does not only affect computer science departments with low enrollment, but also impacts industry. There is still no universally accepted explanation for the underrepresentation of women in the computing field. Various solutions have been implemented in an attempt to resolve this problem and yet gender imbalance in fields related to computer science persists. In this paper we study how perceptions held by students influence their intention to pursue computer science. Through a descriptive study, using a survey given out to first semester students in a computer science class, we measure perceptions, attitudes, self-efficacy, and identity, then we study the correlations between them and students' intentions to further pursue computer science. Our goal is to understand how determinative these constructs are to having students continue in the major. Interestingly, self-perception, in terms of self-efficacy (does the student feel they are able to use computer science techniques to solve a problem) and identity (does the student see themselves as a computer scientist), emerged as the primary driver for differences in intention. Many other aspects turned out not to exhibit statistically significant gender differences. Understanding at a detailed level what factors influence students to pursue computer science is critical in devising effective interventions that may increase participation in computer science.
A comparison of three different models for estimating relative risk in meta‐analysis of clinical trials under unobserved heterogeneity

We focus on the comparison of three statistical models used to estimate the treatment effect in meta‐analysis when individually pooled data are available. The models are two conventional models, namely a multi‐level and a model based upon an approximate likelihood, and a newly developed model, the profile likelihood model which might be viewed as an extension of the Mantel–Haenszel approach. To exemplify these methods, we use results from a meta‐analysis of 22 trials to prevent respiratory tract infections. We show that by using the multi‐level approach, in the case of baseline heterogeneity, the number of clusters or components is considerably over‐estimated. The approximate and profile likelihood method showed nearly the same pattern for the treatment effect distribution. To provide more evidence two simulation studies are accomplished. The profile likelihood can be considered as a clear alternative to the approximate likelihood model. In the case of strong baseline heterogeneity, the profile likelihood method shows superior behaviour when compared with the multi‐level model. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Why Technological Spillovers elude Developing Countries A Dynamic Non-linear Model

This paper attempts to theoretically understand the process of catching-up or falling behind particularly within the context of developing countries. The main aim of the paper consists in investigating the impact of domestic innovation, via its interaction with the learning capability, on the technology gap of an economy. More specifically, we seek to shed some light on why the tendency for poor countries to fall further behind, despite efforts to improve their learning capabilities, appears pervasive. Our analysis is based on a simple model of technology gap elaborated by Verspagen (1991). We find that domestic innovation, a critical component for the development of an absorptive capacity, is a significant determinant of whether an economy catches-up or falls further behind.
Saccade Reaction Times Are Influenced by Caudate Microstimulation Following and Prior to Visual Stimulus Appearance

Several cognitive models suggest that saccade RTs are controlled flexibly not only by mechanisms that accumulate sensory evidence after the appearance of a sensory stimulus (poststimulus mechanisms) but also by mechanisms that preset the saccade control system before the sensory event (prestimulus mechanisms). Consistent with model predictions, neurons in structures tightly related to saccade initiation, such as the superior colliculus and FEF, have poststimulus and prestimulus activities correlated with RTs. It has been hypothesized that the BG influence the saccade initiation process by controlling both poststimulus and prestimulus activities of superior colliculus and FEF neurons. To examine this hypothesis directly, we delivered electrical microstimulation to the caudate nucleus, the input stage of the oculomotor BG, while monkeys performed a prosaccade (look toward a visual stimulus) and antisaccade (look away from the stimulus) paradigm. Microstimulation applied after stimulus appearance (poststimulus microstimulation) prolonged RTs regardless of saccade directions (contra/ipsi) or task instructions (pro/anti). In contrast, microstimulation applied before stimulus appearance (prestimulus microstimulation) shortened RTs, although the effects were limited to several task conditions. The analysis of RT distributions using the linear approach to threshold with ergodic rate model revealed that poststimulus microstimulation prolonged RTs by reducing the rate of rise to the threshold for saccade initiation, whereas fitting results for prestimulus microstimulation were inconsistent across different task conditions. We conclude that both poststimulus and prestimulus activities of caudate neurons are sufficient to control saccade RTs.
Influence of knowledge of sprint number on pacing during repeated-sprint exercise.

PURPOSE The anticipation of exercise-induced stress influences performance during continuous exercise. However, not all exercise is continuous. This study explores the influence of prior knowledge of sprint number on mechanical work, surface EMG, and RPE during repeated-sprint exercise (RSE). METHODS Fourteen athletes performed three RSE in random order. In one trial, subjects were informed that they would perform ten 6-s cycle sprints (with 24 s of rest) and then completed 10 sprints (control trial, CL). In a second trial, subjects were told to perform five sprints, but after the fifth sprint, they were asked to perform an additional five sprints (deception trial, DC). In a third trial, subjects were not told how many sprints they would be performing but were stopped after 10 sprints (unknown trial, UN). Data were recorded for every sprint. RESULTS Both the initial sprint work and work accumulated during the first five sprints were greater (6.5%, P < 0.05) in the DC than in the CL and UN trials. Furthermore, the work accumulated during the ten sprints was lower (4.0%, P < 0.05) in the UN trial than in the two other trials. The EMG was greater (P < 0.05) in the DC than in the CL and UN trials during the initial sprint (8.8%) and during the first five sprints (9.1%). The sprint-induced decrease in EMG and work occurred earlier in the UN trial compared with the CL and DC trials. The RPE profile was similar in all trials. CONCLUSIONS Results demonstrate that pacing occurs during short repeated-sprint efforts in anticipation of the number of sprints that are included in the trial.
State estimation of distribution networks through the real-time measurements of the smart meters

Smart Grids support the active participation of end customers in the energy market. The smart meters that are the most important devices of the advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) monitor the loads and energy resources. Therefore, the smart meters measure the states of a distribution network. Thereby, this work proposes the development of an algorithm that builds a scheme to estimate the states of all elements of a distribution network through the real-time measurement data. The performance of this scheme is faster than the traditional methods because this scheme of state estimation is not interactive. Moreover, the proposed algorithm is capable of building this scheme even after it has lost the communication with some smart meters once the measurement data are redundant. Lastly, the efficiency of the proposed methodology is result of a model of the distribution transformer that connects the medium-voltage (MV) and low-voltage (LV) networks.
Tagging and parsing with cascaded Markov models: automation of corpus annotation

This thesis presents new techniques for parsing natural language. They are based on Markov Models, which are commonly used in part-of-speech tagging for sequential processing on the world level. We show that Markov Models can be successfully applied to other levels of syntactic processing. first two classification task are handled: the assignment of grammatical functions and the labeling of non-terminal nodes. Then, Markov Models are used to recognize hierarchical syntactic structures. Each layer of a structure is represented by a separate Markov Model. The output of a lower layer is passed as input to a higher layer, hence the name: Cascaded Markov Models. Instead of simple symbols, the states emit partial context-free structures. The new techniques are applied to corpus annotation and partial parsing and are evaluated using corpora of different languages and domains. Ausgehend von Markov-Modellen, die fur das Part-of-Speech-Tagging eingesetzt werden, stellt diese Arbeit Verfahren vor, die Markov-Modelle auch auf weiteren Ebenen der syntaktischen Verarbeitung erfolgreich nutzen. Dies betrifft zum einen Klassifikationen wie die Zuweisung grammatischer Funktionen und die Bestimmung von Kategorien nichtterminaler Knoten, zum anderen die Zuweisung hierarchischer, syntaktischer Strukturen durch Markov-Modelle. Letzteres geschieht durch die Reprasentation jeder Ebene einer syntaktischen Struktur durch ein eigenes Markov-Modell, was den Namen des Verfahrens pragt: Kaskadierte Markov-Modelle. Deren Zustande geben anstelle atomarer Symbole partielle kontextfreie Strukturen aus. Diese Verfahren kommen in der Korpusannotation und dem partiellen Parsing zum Einsatz und werden anhand mehrerer Korpora evaluiert.
DEWS 2006 4 A-i 13 Unsupervised Fraud Detection in Time Series data

Fraud detection is of great importance to financial institutions. This paper is concerned with the problem of finding outliers in time series financial data using Peer Group Analysis (PGA), which is an unsupervised technique for fraud detection. The objective of PGA is to characterize the expected pattern of behavior around the target sequence in terms of the behavior of similar objects, and then to detect any difference in evolution between the expected pattern and the target. The tool has been applied to the stock market data, which has been collected from Bangladesh Stock Exchange to assess its performance in stock fraud detection. We observed PGA can detect those brokers who suddenly start selling the stock in a different way to other brokers to whom they were previously similar. We also applied tstatistics to find the deviations effectively.
What's Holding Back Social Entrepreneurship? Removing the Impediments to Theoretical Advancement

Abstract This article summarizes four contributions that were presented in a professional development workshop at the 2013 Academy of Management conference. The goal of the workshop was to discuss impediments to the theoretical advancement of social entrepreneurship. This paper's first two contributors discuss assumptions and boundaries of social entrepreneurship, exhibiting contrasting views of whether theory should be aggregated or disaggregated. The other two scholars focus on specific topics that advance social entrepreneurship research, specifically, studying the implicit normative underpinning of social entrepreneurship and social innovation processes. This is part three of a three-part series dealing with the future of social entrepreneurship research and theory.
Parental Consent and Children’s Rights in Europe: A Balancing Act

Abstract Three recent European Court of Human Rights cases of discrimination in education against Roma raise the question of what conditions must be present for parents to give ‘meaningful’ consent in decisions pertaining to their children and whether such consent can be meaningful when a fundamental freedom is at stake. The paper investigates the nature and limits of parental consent and makes the case for a ‘threshold’ above which respect for the dignity of the parents requires meaningful consent for any decision pertaining to their children and below which respect for the human rights of the child prohibits interference with the exercise of a right. Identifying the exact location of the threshold in any specific case requires local‐level public deliberation; insisting that decisions meet those threshold conditions, and enforcing their recognition, is a job for the Court.
Choice in Multitasking

Objective: The objective was to establish the nature of choice in cognitive multitasking. Background: Laboratory studies of multitasking suggest people are rational in their switch choices regarding multitasking, whereas observational studies suggest they are not. Threaded cognition theory predicts that switching is opportunistic and depends on availability of cognitive resources. Method: A total of 21 participants answered e-mails by looking up information (similar to customer service employees) while being interrupted by chat messages. They were free to choose when to switch to the chat message. We analyzed the switching behavior and the time they needed to complete the primary mail task. Results: When participants are faced with a delay in the e-mail task, they switch more often to the chat task at high-workload points. Choosing to switch to the secondary task instead of waiting makes them slower. It also makes them forget the information in the e-mail task half of the time, which slows them down even more. Conclusion: When many cognitive resources are available, the probability of switching from one task to another is high. This does not necessarily lead to optimal switching behavior. Application: Potential applications of this research include the minimization of delays in task design and the inability or discouragement of switching in high-workload moments.
Structure and Orientation of Pardaxin Determined by NMR Experiments in Model Membranes*

Pardaxins are a class of ichthyotoxic peptides isolated from fish mucous glands. Pardaxins physically interact with cell membranes by forming pores or voltage-gated ion channels that disrupt cellular functions. Here we report the high-resolution structure of synthetic pardaxin Pa4 in sodium dodecylphosphocholine micelles, as determined by 1H solution NMR spectroscopy. The peptide adopts a bend-helix-bend-helix motif with an angle between the two structure helices of 122 ± 9°, making this structure substantially different from the one previously determined in organic solvents. In addition, paramagnetic solution NMR experiments on Pa4 in micelles reveal that except for the C terminus, the peptide is not solvent-exposed. These results are complemented by solid-state NMR experiments on Pa4 in lipid bilayers. In particular, 13C-15N rotational echo double-resonance experiments in multilamellar vesicles support the helical conformation of the C-terminal segment, whereas 2H NMR experiments show that the peptide induces considerable disorder in both the head-groups and the hydrophobic core of the bilayers. These solid-state NMR studies indicate that the C-terminal helix has a transmembrane orientation in DMPC bilayers, whereas in POPC bilayers, this domain is heterogeneously oriented on the lipid surface and undergoes slow motion on the NMR time scale. These new data help explain how the non-covalent interactions of Pa4 with lipid membranes induce a stable secondary structure and provide an atomic view of the membrane insertion process of Pa4.