Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Epidemic of Rumors: How Stories Shape Our Perceptions of Disease

An Epidemic of Rumors: How Stories Shape Our Perceptions of Disease. By Jon D. Lee. (Logan, UT: Utah State University Press, 2014. Pp. xi + 219, acknowledgments, introduction, epilogue, index, references. $26.95 paper, $21.00 e-book.)It turns out that epidemics are a laughing matter-and also a matter of conspiracy theory and rumor. In An Epidemic of Rumors: How Stones Shape our Perceptions of Disease folklorist Jon D. Lee sets out to show how perceptions of diseases were formed through the circulation of narratives during the SARS epidemic of 2003, and how these stories affected behavior. More broadly this book describes patterned ways communities tend to respond to the news of emerging diseases. Central to Lee's project is a desire to foster better communication between lay audiences and the expert knowledge disseminators of public health, media, and academic institutions. While such experts may scoff at or dismiss popular narratives about diseases, Lee examines lay beliefs with the "experience-centered approach" (as exemplified by David Hufford) that takes seriously the observations and reasoning skills of ordinary people. Many of the narratives shared among lay observers of epidemics manifest xenophobic fears, and Lee shows that though experts may deride popular rumors they are often partially responsible for propelling problematic messages that exacerbate fear and suspicion.An Epidemic of Rumors begins with a meticulous timeline of the public health sector's, the media's, and (to a lesser extent) the medical research community's responses to SARS as they unfolded between April and July of 2003. Lee relies heavily on media sources to construct the timeline, a strategy that illuminates some processes more than others. The mass media's extraordinary ability to distill information from the scientific community for lay audiences makes them an important go-between. At the same time the media's tendencies to oversimplify, distort information, and inundate the public with sensationalist headlines created the context for public panic and the temporary collapse of the tourist industry in SARS hotspots in Asia and Canada. Thus public health reports are the building blocks of rumor and conspiracy theory spread via news media, internet, and word of mouth.The chapters that follow plunge the reader into the scholarship on and content of folk discourses of disease. Primarily the focus is on rumors and conspiracy theories about the origins and spread of diseases. Lee ranges himself among scholars of folklore and cultural studies (including Diane Goldstein, Patricia Turner, Charles Briggs, and Gary Alan Fine) and shows how SARS rumors borrow heavily from the template of other epidemic rumor cycles. The usual suspects of animal origins or "outsiders" are blamed for spreading the disease. Rumors and jokes about diseases have the power to naturalize the connection between racial categories and particular diseases. …
Information Miner - a Data Analysis Platform

Knowledge discovery and information mining have long been recognized as important tools for prediction and decision making. But the process { from data preparation and selection of appropriate methods to a properly congured, well-tested analysis setup { can be time-consuming. In recent years easy to use software that supports experts in model construction has become available. Advocating a vertical system, this paper will introduce a toolkit for the construction of complex application-specic information mining solutions from components. Moreover, it outlines how extensions and suggested concepts may contribute to further improving support for the information mining process.
Envy and Its Transmutations.

A routine fact of life is that we often meet people who are superior to us in some way. When their superiority matters to us, we can feel envy. Here is Shakespeare's Cassius, a literary prototype of the envying person, as he protests the honors being heaped on Caesar: Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world Like a Colossus, and we petty men Walk under his huge legs and peep about To find ourselves dishonorable graves. (Shakespeare, 1599/1934, p. 41) These words show an important quality of envy. The envying person notices another's advantage or superiority and feels inferior . Caesar was an exceptional man who had achieved military and political greatness, and Cassius felt undersized and trivial next to his grand presence. Envy begins with an unflattering social comparison resulting in a quick, painful perception of inferiority (e.g., Foster, 1972; Parrott, 1991; Salovey & Rodin, 1984; Silver & Sabini, 1978; Smith, 1991; Smith et al., 1999). It is worth dwelling on why an unflattering social comparison might catch our attention and then create a painful emotion such as envy. From an evolutionary point of view, it is highly adaptive for people to have an inclination to scan their environment for threats of all kinds. In terms of potential threats from others, this also means that people should have the capacity and the inclination to assess their rank (e.g., Beach & Tesser, 2000; Buunk & Ybema, 1997; Frank, 1999; Gilbert, 1992; Smith, 2000).
Associations between childhood biomedical factors, maternal smoking, personality traits, Body and Mass Index and the prevalence of asthma in adulthood

Objective: The study set out to investigate socio-economic, biomedical, health and behavioural and psychological factors in childhood and adulthood associated with the prevalence of asthma in adulthood, drawing data from The National Child Development Studies (NCDS), a birth cohort in the UK. Design: The National Child Development Study, a nationally representative sample of 17,415 babies born in Great Britain in 1958 and followed up at 7, 11, 33 and 50 years was used. Main Outcome Measure: The prevalence of asthma at age 50 was the outcome measure. The analytic sample consists of 5118 participants with complete data on a set of measures at birth, at ages 7, 11, 33 and 50 years. Results: Using logistic regression analyses, results showed that childhood asthma (OR = 6.77: 4.38–10.48, p < .001) and respiratory symptoms (OR = 1.83: 1.18–2.86, p < .01), maternal smoking during pregnancy (OR = 1.26: 1.00–1.59, p < .05), Body and Mass Index (BMI) (OR = 1.03: 1.02–1.05, p < .001), traits Neuroticism (OR = 1.13: 1.01–1.21, p < .05) and Conscientiousness (OR = 0.76: 0.76–0.96, p < .01), as well as sex (OR = 1.49: 1.15–1.94, p < .001) were all significantly associated with the prevalence of asthma in adulthood. Conclusion: The study shows that both childhood and adulthood psychological and sociological factors are significantly associated with the prevalence of asthma in adulthood, though more work need to be done in this area.
Primary User-Aware Optimal Discovery Routing for Cognitive Radio Networks

Routing protocols in multi-hop cognitive radio networks (CRNs) can be classified into two main categories: local and global routing. Local routing protocols aim at decreasing the overhead of the routing process while exploring the route by choosing, in a greedy manner, one of the direct neighbors. On the contrary, global routing protocols choose the optimal route by exploring the whole network to the destination paying the flooding overhead cost. In this paper, we propose a primary user-aware <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$k$</tex-math><alternatives> <inline-graphic xlink:href="abdelmessih-ieq1-2828104.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>-hop routing scheme where <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$k$</tex-math><alternatives> <inline-graphic xlink:href="abdelmessih-ieq2-2828104.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula> is the discovery radius. This scheme can be plugged into any CRN routing protocol to adapt, in real time, to network dynamics like the number and activity of primary users. The aim of this scheme is to cover the gap between local and global routing protocols for CRNs. It is based on balancing the routing overhead and the route optimality, in terms of primary users avoidance, according to a user-defined utility function. We analytically derive the optimal discovery radius (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$k$</tex-math><alternatives><inline-graphic xlink:href="abdelmessih-ieq3-2828104.gif"/> </alternatives></inline-formula>) that achieves this target. Evaluations on NS2 with a side-by-side comparison with traditional CRNs protocols show that our scheme can achieve the user-defined balance between the route optimality, which in turn reflected on throughput and packet delivery ratio, and the routing overhead in real time.
Expression of annexin II and stromal tenascin C promotes epithelial to mesenchymal transition and correlates with distant metastasis in pancreatic cancer

The interaction between cancer cells and stromal components contributes to cancer invasion and metastasis in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). The present study investigated the role of the correlation between annexin II (ANX2) and stromal tenascin C (TNC) with the progression of PDAC. The functions of the expression ANX2 and TNC were assessed in in vitro experiments using mouse and human PDAC cells, and the clinical effect was analyzed using immunohistochemistry with surgically resected PDAC tissues. The effects on epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), invasion, putative cancer stemness, and anoikis resistance were examined in vitro using murine precancerous pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN) cells and murine and human invasive PDAC cells with ANX2 knockdown using specific small interfering RNA (siRNA)s and recombinant TNC (rTNC). ANX2 was expressed at a high level in primary PanIN cells and invasive PDAC cells, compared with the levels in liver metastatic PDAC cells. In the ANX2-knockdown cells, there were fewer cells with a morphological mesenchymal appearance in three-dimensional culture and invasion was reduced compared with that in the control cells. Morphological change into the mesenchymal phenotype and invasion were enhanced by rTNC treatment in the control PDAC cells but not in the ANX2-knockdown cells. Pancreatosphere formation assays showed that ANX2 and TNC facilitated the maintenance of stem-like characters in PDAC cells. Furthermore, anoikis assays indicated that the interaction of ANX2-TNC contributed to anoikis resistance in PDAC cells. In the immunohistochemistry analyses, the group with a high expression of ANX2 and high stromal TNC was significantly correlated with distant metastasis, and was associated with hematogenous/peritoneal recurrence and poor outcomes following surgery in resected human primary PDAC tissues. In conclusion, the results demonstrated that ANX2 and stromal TNC regulated invasion in addition to stemness and anoikis resistance, which are crucial for metastasis in the progression of PDAC. These results indicate the potential of the ANX2-TNC axis as a therapeutic target for PDAC metastasis.
Impact Assessment of GNSS Spoofing Attacks on INS/GNSS Integrated Navigation System

In the face of emerging Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) spoofing attacks, there is a need to give a comprehensive analysis on how the inertial navigation system (INS)/GNSS integrated navigation system responds to different kinds of spoofing attacks. A better understanding of the integrated navigation system’s behavior with spoofed GNSS measurements gives us valuable clues to develop effective spoofing defenses. This paper focuses on an impact assessment of GNSS spoofing attacks on the integrated navigation system Kalman filter’s error covariance, innovation sequence and inertial sensor bias estimation. A simple and straightforward measurement-level trajectory spoofing simulation framework is presented, serving as the basis for an impact assessment of both unsynchronized and synchronized spoofing attacks. Recommendations are given for spoofing detection and mitigation based on our findings in the impact assessment process.
Relación entre alexitimia y hostiliadad : ¿una asociación influida por el mlestar psicológico?

Este arliculo examino las relaciones entre la alexitimia y sus dimensiones (dificultad para identificar sentimientos, dificultad para describirlos, y pensamiento orientado al exterior) con el estres psicologico (vulnerabilidad y estado depresivo) y la hostilidad (ira manifiesta, ira suprimida, cinismo y rumiacion) Ademas estudio si la asociacion de la alexitimia con la hostilidad estaba influida por el estres psicologico. 436 parlicipantes completaron medidas de alexitimia, malestar psicologico y hostilidad. La alexitimia correlaciono positivamente con el estres psicologico, y predijo todos los criterios elegidos. La dificultad en identificar y describir sentimientos predijeron la ira manifiesta y suprimida, y el cinismo. La rumiacion fue explicada solo por la dificultad en describir sentimientos. El estres psicologico influyo sobre la contribucion de la alexitimia al enfado manifiesto y la rumiacion. Este efecto fue menor para la ira suprimida y el cinismo. Se discutio el deficit en el manejo del enfado y la tendencia al estres en individuos alexitimicos. enfado manifiesto y la rumiacion. Este efecto fue menor para la ira suprimida y el cinismo. Se discutio el deficit en el manejo del enfado y la tendencia al estres en individuos alexitimicos.
Rehabilitation nutrition in pressure ulcer management with type 2 diabetes: a case report.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Severe infection, inadequate food intake, and pressure ulcers in patients with type 2 diabetes can result in malnutrition. We describe a case in which rehabilitation nutrition was effective for treat-ing a pressure ulcer in a malnourished patient with type 2 diabetes. METHODS AND RESULTS A 58-year-old man with type 2 diabetes was diagnosed with hidradenitis suppurativa on the left buttock and thigh and a severe pres-sure ulcer on his left kneecap. Malnutrition was related to hypermetabolism caused by chronic hidradenitis suppu-rativa and inadequate protein-energy intake before admission. We initiated a rehabilitation nutrition intervention to improve physical function and to treat a pressure ulcer by prescribing 2,000 kcal/day of food, including 80 g of protein, and physical rehabilitation for 40 minutes/day. The patient showed good progress in terms of his physical function and healing of the pressure ulcer. After prescribing 2,250 kcal/day of food, including 85 g of protein, and physical rehabilitation for 60 minutes/day, HbA1c levels increased to 7.4%. The energy prescription was de-creased to 2,000 kcal/day to improve glycemic levels. Then, the patient's weight decreased and his hand grip strength became weaker. On day 134 and discharge the patient could walk independently with a t-cane and ankle supporter. By day 14 after discharge, the pressure ulcer had epithelialized. CONCLUSION Rehabilitation nutrition management improved physical function and facilitated pressure ulcer healing in a malnourished patient with type 2 diabetes. Close conjoint management of hyperglycemia was also necessary.
Preterm delivery is associated with an increased risk of epithelial ovarian cancer among parous women

Epithelial ovarian cancer is a fatal disease of largely unknown etiology. Higher parity is associated with reduced risk of ovarian cancer. However, among parous women, the impact of pregnancy‐related factors on risk is not well understood. This population‐based case–control study included all parous women with epithelial ovarian cancer in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden during 1967–2013 (n = 10,957) and up to 10 matched controls (n = 107,864). We used conditional logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for pregnancy‐related factors and ovarian cancer risk by histological subtype. Preterm delivery was associated with an increased risk [pregnancy length (last pregnancy) ≤30 vs. 39–41 weeks, OR 1.33 (95% CI 1.06–1.67), adjusted for number of births]; the OR increased as pregnancy length decreased (p for trend < 0.001). Older age at first and last birth was associated with a decreased risk [first birth: 30–39 vs. <25 years: adjusted OR 0.76 (95% CI 0.70–0.83); last birth 30–39 vs. <25 years: adjusted OR 0.76 (95% CI 0.71–0.82)]. Increasing number of births was protective [≥4 births vs. 1; OR 0.63 (95% CI 0.59–0.68)] for all subtypes, most pronounced for clear‐cell tumors [OR 0.30, (95% CI 0.21–0.44), pheterogeneity < 0.001]. No associations were observed for multiple pregnancies, preeclampsia or offspring size. In conclusion, in addition to high parity, full‐term pregnancies and pregnancies at older ages were associated with decreased risk of ovarian cancer. Our findings favor the cell clearance hypothesis, i.e. a recent pregnancy provides protection by clearing of precancerous cells from the epithelium of the ovary/fallopian tubes, mediated by placental or ovarian hormones.
Association of ambient particulate matter with heart failure incidence and all-cause readmissions in Tasmania: an observational study

Objectives We sought to investigate the relationship between air quality and heart failure (HF) incidence and rehospitalisation to elucidate whether there is a threshold in this relationship and whether this relationship differs for HF incidence and rehospitalisation. Methods This retrospective observational study was performed in an Australian state-wide setting, where air pollution is mainly associated with wood-burning for winter heating. Data included all 1246 patients with a first-ever HF hospitalisation and their 3011 subsequent all-cause readmissions during 2009–2012. Daily particulate matter <2.5 µm (PM2.5), temperature, relative humidity and influenza infection were recorded. Poisson regression was used, with adjustment for time trend, public and school holiday and day of week. Results Tasmania has excellent air quality (median PM2.5=2.9 µg/m3 (IQR: 1.8–6.0)). Greater HF incidences and readmissions occurred in winter than in other seasons (p<0.001). PM2.5 was detrimentally associated with HF incidence (risk ratio (RR)=1.29 (1.15–1.42)) and weakly so with readmission (RR=1.07 (1.02–1.17)), with 1 day time lag. In multivariable analyses, PM2.5 significantly predicted HF incidence (RR=1.12 (1.01–1.24)) but not readmission (RR=0.96 (0.89–1.04)). HF incidence was similarly low when PM <4 µg/m3 and only started to rise when PM2.5≥4 µg/m3. Stratified analyses showed that PM2.5 was associated with readmissions among patients not taking beta-blockers but not among those taking beta-blockers (pinteraction=0.011). Conclusions PM2.5 predicted HF incidence, independent of other environmental factors. A possible threshold of PM2.5=4 µg/m3 is far below the daily Australian national standard of 25 µg/m3. Our data suggest that beta-blockers might play a role in preventing adverse association between air pollution and patients with HF.
Soft Robotic Grippers

Advances in soft robotics, materials science, and stretchable electronics have enabled rapid progress in soft grippers. Here, a critical overview of soft robotic grippers is presented, covering different material sets, physical principles, and device architectures. Soft gripping can be categorized into three technologies, enabling grasping by: a) actuation, b) controlled stiffness, and c) controlled adhesion. A comprehensive review of each type is presented. Compared to rigid grippers, end‐effectors fabricated from flexible and soft components can often grasp or manipulate a larger variety of objects. Such grippers are an example of morphological computation, where control complexity is greatly reduced by material softness and mechanical compliance. Advanced materials and soft components, in particular silicone elastomers, shape memory materials, and active polymers and gels, are increasingly investigated for the design of lighter, simpler, and more universal grippers, using the inherent functionality of the materials. Embedding stretchable distributed sensors in or on soft grippers greatly enhances the ways in which the grippers interact with objects. Challenges for soft grippers include miniaturization, robustness, speed, integration of sensing, and control. Improved materials, processing methods, and sensing play an important role in future research.
Backward nested descriptors asymptotics with inference on stem cell differentiation

For sequences of random backward nested subspaces as occur, say, in dimension reduction for manifold or stratified space valued data, asymptotic results are derived. In fact, we formulate our results more generally for backward nested families of descriptors (BNFD). Under rather general conditions, asymptotic strong consistency holds. Under additional, still rather general hypotheses, among them existence of a.s. local twice differentiable charts, asymptotic joint normality of a BNFD can be shown. If charts factor suitably, this leads to individual asymptotic normality for the last element, a principal nested mean or a principal nested geodesic, say. It turns out that these results pertain to principal nested spheres (PNS) and principal nested great subsphere (PNGS) analysis by Jung et al. (2010) as well as to the intrinsic mean on a first geodesic principal component (IMo1GPC) for manifolds and Kendall's shape spaces. A nested bootstrap two-sample test is derived and illustrated with simulations. In a study on real data, PNGS is applied to track early human mesenchymal stem cell differentiation over a coarse time grid and, among others, to locate a change point with direct consequences for the design of further studies.
An intelligent pre-processing framework for standardizing medical images for CAD and other post-processing applications

There is an increasing need to provide end-users with seamless and secure access to healthcare information acquired from a diverse range of sources. This might include local and remote hospital sites equipped with different vendors and practicing varied acquisition protocols and also heterogeneous external sources such as the Internet cloud. In such scenarios, image post-processing tools such as CAD (computer-aided diagnosis) which were hitherto developed using a smaller set of images may not always work optimally on newer set of images having entirely different characteristics. In this paper, we propose a framework that assesses the quality of a given input image and automatically applies an appropriate pre-processing method in such a manner that the image characteristics are normalized regardless of its source. We focus mainly on medical images, and the objective of the said preprocessing method is to standardize the performance of various image processing and workflow applications like CAD to perform in a consistent manner. First, our system consists of an assessment step wherein an image is evaluated based on criteria such as noise, image sharpness, etc. Depending on the measured characteristic, we then apply an appropriate normalization technique thus giving way to our overall pre-processing framework. A systematic evaluation of the proposed scheme is carried out on large set of CT images acquired from various vendors including images reconstructed with next generation iterative methods. Results demonstrate that the images are normalized and thus suitable for an existing LungCAD prototype1.