Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A maximum a posteriori approach of hyperanalytic wavelet based image denoising in a multi-wavelet context

In this paper we propose the use of a new implementation of the hyperanalytic wavelet transform, (HWT), in association with a Maximum a Posteriori (MAP) filter named bishrink. Such a denoising method is sensitive to the selection of the mother wavelets used for the computation of the HWT. Taking into account the drawbacks of the bishrink filter and the sensibility with the selection of the mother wavelets we propose a denoising method in two stages in a multi-wavelet context. Some simulation examples and comparisons prove the performances of the proposed denoising method.
Prioritized Subset Analysis: Improving Power in Genome-wide Association Studies

Background: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are now feasible for studying the genetics underlying complex diseases. For many diseases, a list of candidate genes or regions exists and incorporation of such information into data analyses can potentially improve the power to detect disease variants. Traditional approaches for assessing the overall statistical significance of GWAS results ignore such information by inherently treating all markers equally. Methods: We propose the prioritized subset analysis (PSA), in which a prioritized subset of markers is pre-selected from candidate regions, and the false discovery rate (FDR) procedure is carried out in the prioritized subset and its complementary subset, respectively. Results: The PSA is more powerful than the whole-genome single-step FDR adjustment for a range of alternative models. The degree of power improvement depends on the fraction of associated SNPs in the prioritized subset and their nominal power, with higher fraction of associated SNPs and higher nominal power leading to more power improvement. The power improvement can be substantial; for disease loci not included in the prioritized subset, the power loss is almost negligible. Conclusion: The PSA has the flexibility of allowing investigators to combine prior information from a variety of sources, and will be a useful tool for GWAS.
Associations of cold temperatures with GP consultations for respiratory and cardiovascular disease amongst the elderly in London.

BACKGROUND The relationships between cold temperatures and cardio-respiratory mortality in the elderly are well documented. We wished to determine whether similar relationships exist with consultations in the primary care setting and to assess the lag time at which the effects were observed. METHODS Generalized additive models were used to regress time-series of daily numbers of general practitioner (GP) consultations by the elderly against temperature, after control for possible confounders and adjustment for overdispersion and serial correlation. Consultation data were available from between 38 452 and 42 772 registered patients aged >or=65 years from 45-47 London practices contributing to the General Practice Research Database between January 1992 and September 1995. RESULTS There was little relationship between consultations for respiratory disease and mean temperature on the same day as the day of consultation. However, a strong association was apparent with temperature levels up to 15 days previously, with an increase in consultations being observed particularly as temperatures drop below 5 degrees C. Every 1 degrees C decrease in mean temperatures below 5 degrees C was associated with a 10.5% (95% CI: 7.6%, 13.4%) increase in all respiratory consultations. No relationship was observed between cold temperatures and GP consultations for cardiovascular disease. CONCLUSIONS Our study suggests a delayed effect of a drop in temperature on consultations for respiratory disease in the primary care setting. Information such as this could be used to help prepare practices to anticipate increases in respiratory consultation rates associated with low temperatures.
Circulating interleukin-6 and rheumatoid arthritis

AbstractInterleukin-6 (IL-6), as a pleiotropic cytokine, has been demonstrated to be closely associated with the pathogenisis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, whether this association is causal or not remains unclear, because of the multifactorial role of IL-6 and related confounding factors. We aimed to evaluate the causal relevance between circulating IL-6 levels and the risk of RA through meta-analytical Mendelian randomization approach. IL-6 gene -174G/C variant was selected as an instrument in this Mendelian randomization meta-analysis. Article identification and data collection were conducted in duplicate and independently by 2 authors. The STATA software was used for data analysis. In total, 15 and 5 articles on the association of the -174G/C variant with RA risk and circulating IL-6 level, respectively, were included. The overall analysis showed that C allelic and GC+CC genotype were significantly with 1.59-fold (95% CI: 1.19–2.14) and 1.63-fold (95% CI: 1.17–2.26) increased risk of developing RA, respectively. Asian populations showed stronger association with 4.55-fold (95% CI: 1.62–12.75), 1.84-fold (95% CI: 1.13–2.99), and 4.69-fold (95% CI: 1.68–13.14) increased RA risk in carriers of -174C allelic, CC, and GC+CC genotype, respectively. Carriers of GC+CC genotype showed significant reduction in the circulating IL-6 level compared with GG carriers (WMD = −0.77; 95% CI: −1.16 to −0.38; P = 0.000) in overall populations. Mendelian randomization presented 6% and 22% increased risk of RA with 0.1 pg/mL reduction of circulating IL-6 level in overall and Asian populations, respectively. This Mendelian randomization meta-analysis demonstrated that the long-term genetically reduced circulating IL-6 level might be causally related to a higher risk of RA, especially in Asian populations.
Goal-setting participation as strategic measurement performance for enhancing managerial performance through procedural fairness and interpersonal trust

This research is a study of the behavior of the performance measurement strategy. Behavior is related to the participation of managers in setting performance goals that are measured in terms of financial and on-financial, that can affect managerial performance, with an intervening variable procedural fairness and interpersonal trust. The object of research was carried out at the level of middle and lower level managers in all companies in the Province of Banten and West Java are registered in the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), with a sample of 205 managers. Results of the study showed that the manager's participation in setting performance goals that are measured in terms of financial and non-financial positively affect performance and managerial and procedural fairness. Beside, interpersonal trust partially mediates the effect of goal-setting participation managers on managerial performance.
Planar multi-band monopole antenna for WWAN/LTE operation in a mobile device

By using the loop parasitic shorted strip, a small-size uniplanar antenna with multi-band WWAN/LTE operation in the mobile device is proposed. The obtained impedance bandwidths across dual operating bands approach 277 MHz and 1176 MHz at the LTE and WWAN bands, respectively. The proposed uniplanar antenna reduces the antenna size by at least 22% since the overall antenna size is only 35 × 10 × 0.8 mm3. The measured peak gains and antenna efficiencies are approximately 2.6/3.8 dBi and 83/81% for the LTE/WWAN bands, respectively. Moreover, with a compact structure, the proposed planar antenna can be deposited inside the mobile device and complies with the body specific absorption rate (SAR) requirement (<; 1.6 W/kg for 1-g body tissue) for practical applications.
The Impact of Interactivity on Comprehending 2D and 3D Visualizations of Movement Data

GPS, RFID, and other technologies have made it increasingly common to track the positions of people and objects over time as they move through two-dimensional spaces. Visualizing such spatio-temporal movement data is challenging because each person or object involves three variables (two spatial variables as a function of the time variable), and simply plotting the data on a 2D geographic map can result in overplotting and occlusion that hides details. This also makes it difficult to understand correlations between space and time. Software such as GeoTime can display such data with a three-dimensional visualization, where the 3rd dimension is used for time. This allows for the disambiguation of spatially overlapping trajectories, and in theory, should make the data clearer. However, previous experimental comparisons of 2D and 3D visualizations have so far found little advantage in 3D visualizations, possibly due to the increased complexity of navigating and understanding a 3D view. We present a new controlled experimental comparison of 2D and 3D visualizations, involving commonly performed tasks that have not been tested before, and find advantages in 3D visualizations for more complex tasks. In particular, we tease out the effects of various basic interactions and find that the 2D view relies significantly on “scrubbing” the timeline, whereas the 3D view relies mainly on 3D camera navigation. Our work helps to improve understanding of 2D and 3D visualizations of spatio-temporal data, particularly with respect to interactivity.
ANTECEDENTES DA RETENÇÃO DE CLIENTES NO CONTEXTO DE UMA INSTITUIÇÃO DE ENSINO SUPERIOR Customer Retention Antecedents In The Higher Education Institution Context

Empresas prestadoras de servicos de sucesso direcionam suas estrategias para os clientes, visando a manutencao e a ampliacao das trocas relacionais, tendo a retencao de clientes como o principal foco. Sendo assim, para o desenvolvimento deste estudo, foi realizada a adaptacao de um Modelo Teorico com base no estudo desenvolvido por Hennig-Thurau e Klee (1997), considerando os construtos Satisfacao de Clientes, Qualidade Percebida e Confianca como antecedente da Retencao de Clientes. Para tanto, foi implementada uma survey aplicada no contexto de uma Instituicao de Ensino Superior (IES). Para analise dos dados, foi empregada a Modelagem de Equacoes Estruturais (MME). Os resultados da pesquisa comprovam que a Satisfacao de Clientes, a Qualidade Percebida e a Confianca (no provedor de servicos) sao vitais para o estimulo a Retencao de Clientes.
Novel audio features for capturing tempo salience in music recordings

In music compositions, certain parts may be played in an improvisational style with a rather vague notion of tempo, while other parts are characterized by having a clearly perceivable tempo. Based on this observation, we introduce in this paper some novel audio features for capturing tempo-related information. Rather than measuring the specific tempo of a local section of a given recording, our objective is to capture the existence or absence of a notion of tempo, a kind of tempo salience. By a quantitative analysis within an Indian music scenario, we demonstrate that our audio features capture the aspect of tempo salience well, while being independent of continuous fluctuations and local changes in tempo.
Challenges and opportunities of sensory plasticity after SCI

Even in cases of spinal cord injury (SCI) where sensory perceptions do not arise from stimuli applied to below-level regions, sensory input to the spinal cord, carried by spinal sensory afferents, still occurs and influences the central and autonomic nervous systems (CNS, ANS). This is true also of the vagal system which provides non-spinal innervation of viscera below many spinal cord injuries. It is therefore important to consider (1) how the neurochemical, anatomical, and electrophysiological properties of these sensory neurons, and the processing of the inputs by the CNS and ANS, is altered by SCI, (2) whether and how they may play a role in pathologies, and (3) how they may interact with treatment strategies. This Research Topic addresses plasticity of sensory systems after SCI, with a non-exclusive focus on systems below the level of the injury. POST-SCI AUTONOMIC DYSFUNCTIONS The ANS controls systems below the level of consciousness and this is often taken for granted until something goes awry. Those living with SCI are acutely aware of the functions regulated, or more often dysregulated, by the ANS. One of the most pressing of these issues is autonomic dysreflexia (AD), a chronic and com
Wie kann der Hausarzt den Patienten zu Selbstregulation und Selbstverantwortung motivieren?

Zusammenfassung Non-Compliance gründet nicht selten im Problem, dass Patienten nicht nur ihre medizinischen, sondern auch ihre psychosozialen Anliegen mit in die Sprechstunde und den Therapieprozess bringen. Diese sind ihnen selbst jedoch in der Regel nicht bewusst, geschweige denn sind sie ausformuliert. Um den Kommunikations- und Therapiefluss wiederherzustellen, steht der Arzt vor der berufsbildfremden Aufgabe, den Patienten in psychosozialer Hinsicht zu coachen. Kompetente Patienten möchten gern etwas für sich selbst tun, wissen aber oft nicht, was und kennen ihre Ressourcen nicht. Das Patientencoaching bietet für beide Herausforderungen kommunikatorische Möglichkeiten, die der Arzt selbst leicht und ohne Zeitverlust anwenden kann.
Synergy between phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt pathway and Bcl-xL in the control of apoptosis in adenocarcinoma cells of the lung

Adenocarcinomas of the lung commonly show an increase in the activity of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling pathway, yet many are resistant to apoptosis induced by the inhibition of PI3K. We hypothesized that Bcl-xL would have a synergistic effect on the apoptotic response induced by inhibition of the PI3K/Akt pathway in lung adenocarcinoma. To test this, we examined the effect of the PI3K inhibitor (LY294002) on lung adenocarcinoma cell lines expressing varying levels of Bcl-xL. We found that cells that overexpress Bcl-xL are resistant to LY294002-induced apoptosis, whereas cells that express little Bcl-xL readily are not. Restoring Bcl-xL expression in cells that express low level of Bcl-xL conferred resistance to apoptosis in response to LY294002. The simultaneous inhibition of the PI3K/Akt pathway by LY294002 or Akt1 small interfering RNA and Bcl-xL function by ABT-737 or Bcl-xL small interfering RNA greatly enhanced the apoptotic response. Moreover, this response was associated with the induction of proapoptotic BH3-only Bcl-2 family member Bim. Our data suggest that PI3K/Akt and Bcl-xL pathways control cell death in lung adenocarcinoma cells in a synergistic manner. Modulation of Bcl-xL expression may represent one important strategy to optimize the efficacy of therapeutic agents targeting the PI3K/Akt pathway in adenocarcinoma of the lung. [Mol Cancer Ther 2009;8(1):101–9]
On the relationship between knowledge and memory for pictures: Evidence from the study of patients with semantic dementia and Alzheimer's disease

Current views of long-term memory presume that both the hippocampal complex and the neocortex play interactive, but separate, roles in the storage of memories. While the neocortex is considered the eventual and permanent store for our memories, the encoding of recently experienced events is thought to be initially dependent upon the hippocampus and closely related structures. Neuropsychological studies have demonstrated that damage to the medial temporal lobe results in a retrograde amnesia extending back in time, with better preservation of older memories. The converse pattern has been shown in patients with semantic dementia, who have focal atrophy of the inferolateral temporal neocortex, but relative sparing of the hippocampal complex (Graham & Hodges, 1997). Here we demonstrate that such patients can show relatively preserved new learning on a forced-choice recognition memory test (based on real and chimeric animals), while patients in the early amnestic phase of Alzheimer's disease show severely impaired learning on the same test. This result provides support for the view that new learning is primarily dependent upon the hippocampus and related structures. (JINS, 1997, 3, 534–544.)
Catholic Thought and Intellectual Property: Learning from the Ethics of Obligation

The twelfth century canon lawyer Gratian once wrote “Feed the man dying of hunger, because if you have not fed him you have killed him. ” If Gratian were alive today, he might take a look at the current state of global health and say, “Succor the woman dying of disease, because if you have not helped her you have killed her. ” Both of these statements express an ethical obligation: if I have food, and someone else who is hungry does not, I am obligated to share my food. Likewise, if I have medicine, and someone else who is sick does not, I am obligated to share my medicine. Unfortunately, with regard to medicines and other essential products, modern institutions of intellectual property often fail to enforce or even recognize such ethical obligations. In some ways, these institutions uphold an even harsher attitude toward intellectual property than other types of property. With food, even if the hungry person receives no bread, he is still permitted to produce his own. With medicines, medical technologies, and other types of goods that are protected by institutions of intellectual property, the law can and often does prevent the sick person from producing her own.
Neutralization of tumour necrosis factor (TNF) but not of IL‐1 reduces inflammation in chronic dextran sulphate sodium‐induced colitis in mice

The cytokines TNF and IL‐1 have been implicated as mediators of the inflammatory processes in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). To investigate the role of these cytokines in mucosal inflammation we used anti‐cytokine strategies in a mouse model of acute and chronic colitis. Mice which received 5% dextran sulphate sodium (DSS) in their drinking water showed signs of acute colitis on day 4, with severe weight loss and bloody diarrhoea. Chronic colitis was established after four cycles of feeding 5% DSS for 7 days and water for 10 days, with the mice showing diarrhoea but no weight loss. In acute colitis, treatment with anti‐IL‐1 reagents, anti‐TNF MoAb, or dexamethasone (DEX) led to aggravation. By contrast, in chronic colitis, treatment of mice with several IL‐1 activity‐inhibiting reagents failed to show significant effects, whereas anti‐TNF MoAb or DEX significantly reduced the colitis. We conclude that in acute colitis IL‐1 and TNF are beneficial, whereas in chronic colitis, TNF but not IL‐1 seems to play a major role in perpetuation of chronic inflammation.
Numerical solution of hybrid fuzzy differential equations by fuzzy neural network

The hybrid fuzzy dierential equations have a wide range of applications in science and engineering. We consider the problem of nding their numerical solutions by using a novel hybrid method based on fuzzy neural network. Here neural network is considered as a part of large eld called neural computing or soft computing. The proposed algorithm is illustrated by numerical examples and the results obtained using the scheme presented here agree well with the analytical solutions. equations; Fuzzy neural networks; Learning algorithm. |||||||||||||||| |||||||||||||||| |{
A Two-Phase Context-Sensitive Service Composition Method with the Workflow Model in Cyber-Physical Systems

The requirement of integrating a large number of heterogeneous cyber and physical entities in cyber-physical systems (CPSs) motivates the use of a service-oriented architecture (SOA), which can support the composition of two or more available functionalities to form a complex service. This paper presents a context-sensitive service composition framework in CPS with dependability requirements. Firstly, an ontology model is proposed for context-sensitive specification of the service capabilities of physical entities. Then we propose a service spanning tree (SST) based hierarchical service management scheme for efficient atomic service clustering and management, and a service workflow spanning graph (SWSG) is used to map the workflow-based abstract process model of a given task to multiple sets of atomic service instances. Finally, we present a two-phase context-sensitive service composition optimization mechanism, which is able to select out the optimal service providers to implement the task effectively and dependably. The experiment results show that the precision and efficiency of service discovery, the success ratio of workflow execution, as well as the performance of service combination optimization algorithm have been greatly improved with our proposed method.
Perceptions of Teaching Practice Exercise among University Pre-Service Education Students

This study was predicated on the need to examine supervisory practices of teaching practice supervisors as well to identify the perceptions of pre-service teacher education students of various aspects of assessment practices. It is borne out of incessant complaints from lecturers and students of certain practices that might constitute impediments as far as achieving the overall objective of preparing student-teachers for the task of classroom teaching is concerned. The study examined the students‘ perceptions of common practices of Teaching Practice Supervisors, use of instructional resources, classroom control, ethics of the profession, psychological tendencies (anxiety/fear), teaching methodology and student assessment strategies. A sample of 520 out of 5,200 (10%) pre-service students was randomly selected to respond to the questionnaire. A 50-item questionnaire with reliability co-efficient of 0.81 was used to collect data for the study. The researchers found some undesirable supervisory practices; that students agree with use of instructional resources; classroom control strategies; good assessment practices and are aware of and hold in high regards ethical issues that relate to the teaching profession (but not reflected in actual observations). The psychological disposition was low psychological disposition towards teaching under supervision but appreciable when teaching without supervision. Respondents however disagree with assertions on teaching methodology. It is therefore negative practices and perceptions which negate the principle of objective assessment should be discouraged by acquainting lecturers and students with knowledge of best practices through seminars and publication of manuals for up-to-date information.
Religious Subcultures and Political Tolerance: Do Denominations Still Matter?

This study examines the variation of religious groups in levels of political tolerance and addresses the extent to which these various groups exhibit particular subcultural traits based on data from the 1985, 1987, and 1988 General Social Surveys. The study considers current debates over the categorization of religious denominations and presents results using three popular classificatory strategies. Analyses of group differences and levels of homo/heterogeneity within denominations support the use of "religious families" as a classificatory strategy to examine attitudes toward civil liberties. Several promising directions for further research on contemporary denominational variations are discussed.
Microsatellite repeat instability and neurological disease

Over 20 unstable microsatellite repeats have been identified as the cause of neurological disease in humans. The repeat nucleotide sequences, their location within the genes, the ranges of normal and disease‐causing repeat length and the clinical outcomes differ. Unstable repeats can be located in the coding or the non‐coding region of a gene. Different pathogenic mechanisms that are hypothesised to underlie the diseases are discussed. Evidence is given both from studies in simple model systems and from studies on human material and in animal models. Since somatic instability might affect the clinical outcome, this is briefly touched on. Available data and theories on the timing and mechanisms of the repeat instability itself are discussed, along with factors that have been observed to affect instability. Finally, the question of why the often harmful unstable repeats have been maintained throughout evolution is addressed.