Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Payoff in the Health-Care Industry : A Longitudinal Study ' SARV

With the enormous investments in Information Technology (IT), the question of payoffs from IT has become increasingly important. Organizations continue to question the benefits from IT investments especially in conjunction with corporate initiatives such as business process reengineering (BPR). Furthermore, the impact of technology on nonfmancial outcomes such as customer satisfaction and quality is gaining interest. However, studies examining the IT-^erformance relationship have been far from conclusive. The difficulty in identifying impacts from technology has been the isolation of benefits of IT from other factors that may also contribute to organizational performance. Furthermore, benefits from technology investments may be realized over an extended period of time. Finally, IT benefits may accrue when they are done in concert with other organizational initiatives such as business process reengineering. This calls for studies that take into account control variables as well as data that span time periods. In this study, we examine monthly data collected from eight hospitals over a recent three-year time period. We specify propositions that relate investments in IT to performance, and the combined effect of technology and BPR on performance. We draw Journal of Management Informalion Systems I Spring 2000, Vol. 16. No. 4. pp. A1-67. ©2000 M.ESha(pe, Inc. vi/a-xm 12000 $9.56 + 0.00. 42 DEVARAJ AND KOHLI upon the literature in health-care management to incorporate appropriate control variables in the analyses. Our results provide support for the IT-^erfonnance relationship that is observed after certain time lags. Such a relationship may not be evident in cross-sectional or snapshot data analyses. Also, results indicate support for the impact of technology contingent on BPR practiced by hospitals.
Efficient Method for Processing Consecutive Events over Streams with a Negation Link

Recently developed query processors for complex events filter data streams to match specific patterns and transform streaming data into meaningful information. To specify the patterns to be matched, complex event processing languages adopt a negation to present an event that should not appear at a specific position. A negation engenders more expressive query forms; however, the indexes must be looked up for each result sequence. In this paper, we review an efficient processing technique for a negation and propose the consecutive event processing in negations (CEPIN) for processing consecutive events in a query with negations. The key component of this proposal is the investigation as to whether the present event type is identical to a previous event type. If it is identical, a calculation to determine the resulting sequence range is not necessary; moreover, the time required for the processing of a negation and the reverse order of a link can be saved. Our experiment shows a reduction in the number of processes and calculations required per event.
Biological Control of Mosquito Vectors: Past, Present, and Future

Mosquitoes represent the major arthropod vectors of human disease worldwide transmitting malaria, lymphatic filariasis, and arboviruses such as dengue virus and Zika virus. Unfortunately, no treatment (in the form of vaccines or drugs) is available for most of these diseases and vector control is still the main form of prevention. The limitations of traditional insecticide-based strategies, particularly the development of insecticide resistance, have resulted in significant efforts to develop alternative eco-friendly methods. Biocontrol strategies aim to be sustainable and target a range of different mosquito species to reduce the current reliance on insecticide-based mosquito control. In this review, we outline non-insecticide based strategies that have been implemented or are currently being tested. We also highlight the use of mosquito behavioural knowledge that can be exploited for control strategies.
Spiking generation in semiconductor laser by optoelectronic feedback

The Chaos in single-mode semiconductor lasers is generated by means of an optoelectronic feedback. Chaotic dynamics have been generated due to the semiconductor laser model with optoelectronics feedback under appropriate conditions. MATLAB packages have been used to simulate the behavior of the semiconductor laser diodes with optoelectronics feedback. According to the chaos simulation technique, we have studied the model properties. And determine the control parameters that lead to regular behavior. Chaotic behavior has been generated by use the simulated model of OEFSL under appropriate conditions. We have a lot consider effectively analyze the behavior of a dynamical system under the influence control parameters such as bias current (δ0), feedback strength (ε) and the population inversion (γ).
Assessing the ability of health information systems in hospitals to support evidence-informed decisions in Kenya

Background Hospital management information systems (HMIS) is a key component of national health information systems (HIS), and actions required of hospital management to support information generation in Kenya are articulated in specific policy documents. We conducted an evaluation of core functions of data generation and reporting within hospitals in Kenya to facilitate interpretation of national reports and to provide guidance on key areas requiring improvement to support data use in decision making. Design The survey was a cross-sectional, cluster sample study conducted in 22 hospitals in Kenya. The statistical analysis was descriptive with adjustment for clustering. Results Most of the HMIS departments complied with formal guidance to develop departmental plans. However, only a few (3/22) had carried out a data quality audit in the 12 months prior to the survey. On average 3% (range 1–8%) of the total hospital income was allocated to the HMIS departments. About half of the records officer positions were filled and about half (13/22) of hospitals had implemented some form of electronic health record largely focused on improving patient billing and not linked to the district HIS. Completeness of manual patient registers varied, being 90% (95% CI 80.1–99.3%), 75.8% (95% CI 68.7–82.8%), and 58% (95% CI 50.4–65.1%) in maternal child health clinic, maternity, and pediatric wards, respectively. Vital events notification rates were low with 25.7, 42.6, and 71.3% of neonatal deaths, infant deaths, and live births recorded, respectively. Routine hospital reports suggested slight over-reporting of live births and under-reporting of fresh stillbirths and neonatal deaths. Conclusions Study findings indicate that the HMIS does not deliver quality data. Significant constraints exist in data quality assurance, supervisory support, data infrastructure in respect to information and communications technology application, human resources, financial resources, and integration.
Heads-up engagement with the real world: multimodal techniques for bridging the physical-digital divide

The vast and ever-increasing collection of geo-tagged digital content about the physical world around us has prompted the development of interaction methods for various different scenarios. However, the map-based views common on desktop computers are not always appropriate when considering mobile usage. The aim of this research is to provide suitable methods that can encourage user interaction with geo-located digital content, avoiding unnecessary interference with the user's immersion in the physical world around them. This extended abstract outlines the work published to date, suggests future areas of research, and highlights the key contributions brought to the HCI community.
Parallel evolutionary pathways to antibiotic resistance selected by biocide exposure

Objectives Biocides are widely used to prevent infection. We aimed to determine whether exposure of Salmonella to various biocides could act as a driver of antibiotic resistance. Methods Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium was exposed to four biocides with differing modes of action. Antibiotic-resistant mutants were selected during exposure to all biocides and characterized phenotypically and genotypically to identify mechanisms of resistance. Results All biocides tested selected MDR mutants with decreased antibiotic susceptibility; these occurred randomly throughout the experiments. Mutations that resulted in de-repression of the multidrug efflux pump AcrAB-TolC were seen in MDR mutants. A novel mutation in rpoA was also selected and contributed to the MDR phenotype. Other mutants were highly resistant to both quinolone antibiotics and the biocide triclosan. Conclusions This study shows that exposure of bacteria to biocides can select for antibiotic-resistant mutants and this is mediated by clinically relevant mechanisms of resistance prevalent in human pathogens.
Explorer Perceptual learning in visual hyperacuity : A reweighting model

Improvements of visual hyperacuity are a key focus in research of perceptual learning. Of particular interest has been the specificity of visual hyperacuity learning to the particular features of the trained stimuli as well as disruption of learning that occurs in some cases when different stimulus features are trained together. The implications of these phenomena on the underlying learning mechanisms are still open to debate; however, there is a marked absence of computational models that explore these phenomena in a unified way. Here we implement a computational learning model based on reweighting and extend it to enable direct comparison, by means of simulations, with a variety of existing psychophysical data. We find that this very simple model can account for a diversity of findings, such as disruption of learning of one task by practice on a similar task, as well as transfer of learning across both tasks and stimulus configurations under certain conditions. These simulations help explain existing results in the literature as well as provide important insights and predictions regarding the reliability of different hyperacuity tasks and stimuli. Our simulations also shed light on the model’s limitations, for example in accounting for temporal aspects of training procedures or dependency of learning with contextual stimuli, which will need to be addressed by future research. 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Gabor barcodes for medical image retrieval

In recent years, advances in medical imaging have led to the emergence of massive databases, containing images from a diverse range of modalities. This has significantly heightened the need for automated annotation of the images on one side, and fast and memory-efficient content-based image retrieval systems on the other side. Binary descriptors have recently gained more attention as a potential vehicle to achieve these goals. One of the recently introduced binary descriptors for tagging of medical images are Radon barcodes (RBCs) that are driven from Radon transform via local thresholding. Gabor transform is also a powerful transform to extract texture-based information. Gabor features have exhibited robustness against rotation, scale, and also photometric disturbances, such as illumination changes and image noise in many applications. This paper introduces Gabor Barcodes (GBCs), as a novel framework for the image annotation. To find the most discriminative GBC for a given query image, the effects of employing Gabor filters with different parameters, i.e., different sets of scales and orientations, are investigated, resulting in different barcode lengths and retrieval performances. The proposed method has been evaluated on the IRMA dataset with 193 classes comprising of 12,677 x-ray images for indexing, and 1,733 x-rays images for testing. A total error score as low as 351 (≈ 80% accuracy for the first hit) was achieved.
Cutting Edge: The Pathogenicity of IFN-γ–Producing Th17 Cells Is Independent of T-bet

During the development of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), the proportion of pathogenic and myelin-specific cells within CNS-infiltrating cytokine-producing Th cells is unknown. Using an IL-17A/IFN-γ double reporter mouse and I-Ab/myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein 38–49 tetramer, we show in this study that IL-17+IFN-γ+ Th cells, which are expanded in the CNS during EAE, are highly enriched in myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein–specific T cells. We further demonstrate that IL-23 is essential for the generation and expansion of IFN-γ–producing Th17 cells independently of the Th1-associated transcription factors T-bet, STAT1, and STAT4. Furthermore, Th17 and IL-17+IFN-γ+ Th cells can induce CNS autoimmunity independently of T-bet. Whereas T-bet is crucial for Th1-mediated EAE, it is dispensable for Th17 cell–mediated autoimmunity. Our results suggest the existence of different epigenetic programs that regulate IFN-γ expression in Th1 and Th17 cells.
Clinician and caregiver-administered treatment for naming in neurodegenerative disease

Aphasia treatment research to-date indicates that lexical retrieval training can result in improved naming ability. Traditionally, treatment is administered by a speechlanguage pathologist, with little involvement of caregivers or carry-over of practice into the home. The current study examined the effects of a lexical retrieval training hierarchy that was implemented by both a clinician and, subsequently, by a trained caregiver. Two dyads, each consisting of one individual with lexical retrieval impairment due to neurodegenerative disease and a caregiver, participated in the study. Participants initially received treatment administered by a graduate student clinician. Caregivers were subsequently trained, with clinician support and feedback, to administer the same lexical retrieval treatment in a second phase of intervention. Results indicated medium and large effect sizes for clinicianand caregiver-trained items. Participants’ perceptions of treatment benefits and implications for future research are discussed.
Quantifying cell–matrix adhesion dynamics in living cells using interference reflection microscopy

Focal adhesions and podosomes are integrin‐mediated cell‐substratum contacts that can be visualized using interference reflection microscopy (IRM). Here, we have developed automated image‐processing procedures to quantify adhesion turnover from IRM images of live cells. Using time sequences of images, we produce adhesion maps that reveal the spatial changes of adhesions and contain additional information on the time sequence of these changes. Such maps were used to characterize focal adhesion dynamics in mouse embryo fibroblasts lacking one or both alleles of the vinculin gene. Loss of vinculin expression resulted in increased assembly, disassembly and/or in increased translocation of focal adhesions, suggesting that vinculin is important for stabilizing focal adhesions. This method is also useful for studying the rapid dynamics of podosomes as observed in primary mouse dendritic cells.
A descriptive model of visual scanning

When designing a representation, a designer implicitly formulates a sequence of visual tasks required to understand and use the representation effectively. This paper aims to make the sequence of visual tasks explicit, in order to help designers eliciting their design choices. In particular, we present a set of concepts to systematically analyze what a user must theoretically do to decipher representation. The analysis consists of a decomposition of the activity of scanning into elementary visualization operations. We show how the analysis applies to various existing representations, and how expected benefits can be expressed in terms of elementary operations. The set of elementary operations form the basis of a shared, common language for representation designers. The decomposition highlights the challenges encountered by a user when deciphering a representation, and helps designers to exhibit possible flaws in their design, justify their choices, and compare designs.
Praxis and Practice Architectures in Mathematics Education

This paper discusses the way “right conduct” in education – praxis – is embedded in social practices – practice architectures – which enable and constrain conduct in three dimensions: cultural-discursive, material-economic, and social-political, or “sayings”, “doings”, and “relatings”. It is argued that changing professional practices like mathematics education is not just a matter of changing the understandings (cf. sayings), skills, and capabilities (cf. doings) or values and norms (cf. relatings) of practitioners, but also changing the practice architectures that enable and constrain practitioners’ actions and interactions. The practice architectures of mathematics education are constructed not only by the knowledge, capabilities, and values internal to traditions in mathematics education but also by meta-practices external to those traditions – particularly the meta-practices of educational administration and policy making, initial and continuing teacher education, and educational research and evaluation. Today, the elaborateness, the rigidity and the compulsions associated with these meta-practices threaten the vitality of education in general, including mathematics education. Educators are thus confronted by an invidious choice. Should they conduct their practice as praxis, oriented by tradition and by considerations of the good for each person and the good for humankind as these are expressed in the conduct of education as a practice, as agents of education? Or should they conduct themselves as the operatives of the education systems in which they find themselves, following the rules and procedures that constitute the functional rationality of those systems?
IRAK-1 bypasses priming and directly links TLRs to rapid NLRP3 inflammasome activation

Significance Toll-like receptors recognize conserved molecules that are expressed by both harmless (commensal) and harmful (virulent) microbes. Another set of receptors, nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptors (NLRs), are expressed in the cytosol and recognize virulence factors and toxins from pathogenic microbes. Previous studies on TLRs and NLRs have suggested that TLR signaling primes the NLR inflammasome pathway. Here we discovered that TLRs, via the signaling molecule IL-1 receptor-associated kinase, directly regulate activation of a specific NLR, nucleotide binding and oligomerization, leucine-rich repeat, pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3). This is important because when infection occurs, the virulent/pathogenic microorganisms activate both of these receptors. We also found that simultaneous activation of TLRs and NLRP3 is important for rapid innate immune response by the host. Pathogenic infections and tissue injuries trigger the assembly of inflammasomes, cytosolic protein complexes that activate caspase-1, leading to cleavage of pro-IL-1β and pro-IL-18 and to pyroptosis, a proinflammatory cell death program. Although microbial recognition by Toll-like receptors (TLRs) is known to induce the synthesis of the major caspase-1 substrate pro-IL-1β, the role of TLRs has been considered limited to up-regulation of the inflammasome components. During infection with a virulent microbe, TLRs and nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptors (NLRs) are likely activated simultaneously. To examine the requirements and outcomes of combined activation, we stimulated TLRs and a specific NLR, nucleotide binding and oligomerization, leucine-rich repeat, pyrin domain-containing 3 (NLRP3), simultaneously and discovered that such activation triggers rapid caspase-1 cleavage, leading to secretion of presynthesized inflammatory molecules and pyroptosis. This acute caspase-1 activation is independent of new protein synthesis and depends on the TLR-signaling molecule IL-1 receptor-associated kinase (IRAK-1) and its kinase activity. Importantly, Listeria monocytogenes induces NLRP3-dependent rapid caspase-1 activation and pyroptosis, both of which are compromised in IRAK-1–deficient macrophages. Our results reveal that simultaneous sensing of microbial ligands and virulence factors by TLRs and NLRP3, respectively, leads to a rapid TLR- and IRAK-1–dependent assembly of the NLRP3 inflammasome complex, and that such activation is important for release of alarmins, pyroptosis, and early IFN-γ production by memory CD8 T cells, all of which could be critical for early host defense.
Deep optical observations of the central X-ray source in the Puppis A supernova remnant

Context. X-ray observations revealed a group of radio-silent isolated neutron stars (INSs) at the centre of young supernova remnants (SNRs), dubbed central compact objects or CCOs, with properties different from those of classical rotation-powered pulsars. In at least three cases, evidence points towards CCOs being low-magnetized INSs, born with slow rotation periods, and possibly accreting from a debris disc of material formed out of the supernova event. Understanding the origin of the diversity of the CCOs can shed light on supernova explosion and neutron star formation models. Optical/infrared (IR) observations are crucial to test different CCO interpretations. Aims. The aim of our work is to perform a deep optical investigation of the CCO RX J0822.0-4300 in the Puppis A SNR, one of the most poorly understood in the CCO family. Methods. By using as a reference the Chandra X-ray coordinates of RX J0822.0-4300 we performed deep optical observations in the B , V and I bands with the Very Large Telescope ( VLT ). Results. We found no candidate optical counterpart within $3 \sigma$ of the computed Chandra X-ray position down to $5 \sigma$ limits of B ~ 27.2, V ~ 26.9, and I ~ 25.6, the deepest obtained in the optical band for this source. Conclusions. These limits confirm the non-detection of a companion brighter than an M 5 dwarf. At the same time, they do not constrain optical emission from the neutron star surface, while emission from the magnetosphere would require a spectral break in the optical/IR.
Defining the Integration Capacity of Embryonic Stem Cell‐Derived Photoreceptor Precursors

Retinal degeneration is a leading cause of irreversible blindness in the developed world. Differentiation of retinal cells, including photoreceptors, from both mouse and human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), potentially provide a renewable source of cells for retinal transplantation. Previously, we have shown both the functional integration of transplanted rod photoreceptor precursors, isolated from the postnatal retina, in the adult murine retina, and photoreceptor cell generation by stepwise treatment of ESCs with defined factors. In this study, we assessed the extent to which this protocol recapitulates retinal development and also evaluated differentiation and integration of ESC‐derived retinal cells following transplantation using our established procedures. Optimized retinal differentiation via isolation of Rax.GFP retinal progenitors recreated a retinal niche and increased the yield of Crx+ and Rhodopsin+ photoreceptors. Rod birth peaked at day 20 of culture and expression of the early photoreceptor markers Crx and Nrl increased until day 28. Nrl levels were low in ESC‐derived populations compared with developing retinae. Transplantation of early stage retinal cultures produced large tumors, which were avoided by prolonged retinal differentiation (up to day 28) prior to transplantation. Integrated mature photoreceptors were not observed in the adult retina, even when more than 60% of transplanted ESC‐derived cells expressed Crx. We conclude that exclusion of proliferative cells from ESC‐derived cultures is essential for effective transplantation. Despite showing expression profiles characteristic of immature photoreceptors, the ESC‐derived precursors generated using this protocol did not display transplantation competence equivalent to precursors from the postnatal retina. Stem Cells2012;30:1424–1435