Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The influence of social determinants on the use of prevention and health promotion services: Results of a systematic literature review

Background: The following analysis aims to determine whether differences in the use of prevention and health promotion services in Germany can be attributed to health inequality between different social status groups measured by education, occupation and income and where certain improvements can be made in health promotion and prevention efforts and research to reduce those differences. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted using MedPilot to identify relevant articles published between 1998 and 2010 in the Medline, Medizinische Gesundheit, CC Med, Deutsches Ärzteblatt and Sozialmedizin (SOMED) databases, the Hogrefe, Karger, Krause and Pachermegg and Thieme publisher databases, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR), the Cochrane Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effectiveness (DARE), and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Results: A total of 23 empirical studies on the topic of “prevention, health prevention and social inequality” met the criteria for inclusion in the review. 20 of the 23 reviewed studies provided relatively clear evidence of a significant association between higher social status and greater use of prevention and health promotion services. According to the reviewed studies, gender tends to have a greater effect on the use of prevention and health promotion services than characteristics of vertical social inequality. No studies were found dealing with tertiary prevention or using qualitative methods to explore their research questions. Conclusions: Overall, the review shows that there is sufficient evidence for the relationship between social status and the use of prevention and health promotion services and that this association is both significant and relevant. There are, however, a few “blind spots” in research on this topic, such as a lack of studies on tertiary prevention, especially with regards to prevention and health promotion services use among men, as well as general studies on health promotion among men and women. There is also a lack of published intervention studies demonstrating how to better reach the socially disadvantaged.
Detection and Recognition of voice disguise

In the field of forensic sciences, finding out a solution to discriminate a normal voice from a disguised voice could provide interesting clues to investigators. Nevertheless, this task is not obvious because of the definition of a “normal voice”, of the natural variability and of the different disguise possibilities. Speaker recognition is unavoidable in the field of forensic identification techniques. Different methods exist, some based on phonetic approaches, some others based on automatic algorithms. Before analysing a voice it could be interesting to evaluate if the voice is disguised or not. This paper presents a discriminative study on four specific voice disguises. The aim is to establish if a recorded voice is disguised or not and what kind of disguise is used. The choice of disguise was based on the answers of 70 persons to the question: which disguise would you use to modify your voice? The four main disguises are: a hand over the mouth, a high pitch, a low pitch, and a pinched nostrils voice. First, a formant analysis is presented on the four disguises and compared to a normal voice, and secondly an automatic classification is realized. The obtained results provide interesting clues of discrimination. Elaboration of the database The database has been elaborated from a set of 20 people for the formant analysis and 30 people for the automatic approach. Different French vowels are pronounced by different individuals as well as ten phonetically balanced sentences and a phonetically balanced text “The North Wind and the Sun”. For the automatic approach a training corpus of 5 minutes for each kind of disguise is extracted from the text, and a 20 seconds (per speaker) test corpus is constituted from a set of different speakers who pronounced the sentences.
Lyapunov exponents of heavy particles in turbulence

Lyapunov exponents of heavy particles and tracers advected by homogeneous and isotropic turbulent flows are investigated by means of direct numerical simulations. For large values of the Stokes number, the main effect of inertia is to reduce the chaoticity with respect to fluid tracers. Conversely, for small inertia, a counterintuitive increase of the first Lyapunov exponent is observed. The flow intermittency is found to induce a Reynolds number dependency for the statistics of the finite-time Lyapunov exponents of tracers. Such intermittency effects are found to persist at increasing inertia.
H2 optimal model reduction - Wilson's conditions for the cross-Gramian I

In (1) optimality conditions for theH2 approximation of linear MIMO systems were written in terms of the controllability and observability Gramians. In this note we obtain those conditions using the cross-Gramian. This approach has some advantages from the computational point of view. Model order reduction (MOR) is a technique widely used for simulation and control design of large scale dynamical sys- tems. The goal of MOR is to obtain a system with a greatly reduced number of states but the same inputs and outputs of the original one, with an error, typically measured by means of a suitable norm of the transfer function, as small as possible for a given degree of the reduction; see (2)(3)(4) for a review of available techniques and examples of application. In (1), the gradients of the H2-norm of the error system were computed in terms of the controllability and observabil- ity Gramian matrices of the original systems, and the resulting stationary points, which can be used to select the reduced or- der model system, were interpreted in terms of tangential inter- polation conditions. In this paper we compute those stationary points in terms of the cross-Gramian matrix, and perform a sim- ilar analysis. Consider a linear time-invariant system represented by ˙ x(t) = Ax(t) + Bu(t); y(t) = Cx(t);
Diagnostic Accuracy of Noninvasive Coronary Angiography in Patients After Bypass Surgery Using 64-Slice Spiral Computed Tomography With 330-ms Gantry Rotation

Background— Multidetector computed tomographic angiography (MDCT) has been shown to allow detection of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) occlusions and stenoses. However, the assessment of native coronary arteries in addition to CABG has thus far not been sufficiently validated. Methods and Results— Fifty patients with a total of 138 CABG (34 mammary grafts, 3 radial grafts, 101 venous grafts) were investigated by MDCT (0.6-mm collimation, 32 detector rows, 2 focal points, 330-ms rotation) 9 to 252 months (mean, 106 months) after surgery. CABG and all native coronary arteries with a diameter of >1.5 mm were evaluated for the presence of significant stenoses (≥50% diameter reduction). Results were compared with quantitative coronary angiography. By MDCT, all CABG were evaluable and were correctly classified as occluded (n=38) or patent (n=100). Sensitivity for stenosis detection in patent grafts was 100% (16/16) with a specificity of 94% (79/84). For the per-segment evaluation of native coronary arteries and distal runoff vessels, sensitivity in evaluable segments (91%) was 86% (87/101) with a specificity of 76% (354/465). If evaluation was restricted to nongrafted arteries and distal runoff vessels, sensitivity was 86% (38/44) with a specificity of 90% (302/334). On a per-patient basis, classifying patients with at least 1 detected stenosis in a CABG, a distal runoff vessel, or a nongrafted artery or with at least 1 unevaluable segment as “positive,” MDCT yielded a sensitivity of 97% (35/36) and specificity of 86% (12/14). Conclusions— We found that 64-slice MDCT permits the evaluation of bypass grafts and the assessment of the native coronary arteries for the presence of stenosis.
A new postural balance control system for rehabilitation training based on virtual cycling

A new rehabilitation training system was developed to improve postural balance control by combining virtual reality technology with an unfixed bicycle. Twenty healthy subjects participated in the present study by riding the virtual cycling system under two different conditions: with or without visual feedback. Data were collected on the following parameters: path deviation, cycling velocity, etc. As a result of conducting the repeated training, results showed improvement not only in the ability to control balance and weight shift but also in the overall cycling ability including the degree of path deviation and the cycling speed. It was concluded that the system was effective as a training device and, in addition, the technology might have a wider applicability to the rehabilitation field.
How Do Entrepreneurial Founding Teams Allocate Task Positions?

How do founding team members allocate task positions when launching new ventures? Answering this question is important because prior work shows both that founding team members often have correlated expertise, thus making task position allocation problematic; and initial occupants of task positions exert a lingering effect on venture outcomes. We draw on status characteristics theory to derive predictions on how co-founders’ specific expertise cues and diffuse status cues drive initial task position allocation. We also examine the performance consequences of mismatches between the task position and position occupant. Qualitative fieldwork combined with a quasi-experimental simulation game and an experiment provides causal tests of the conceptual framework. We find that co-founders whose diffuse status cues of gender (male), ethnicity (white) or achievement (occupational prestige or academic honors) indicated general ability were typical occupants of higher ranked positions, such as CEO role, within the founding team. In addition, specific expertise cues that indicated relevant ability predicted task position allocation. Founding teams created more financially valuable ventures when task position occupants’ diffuse status cues were typical for the position; nonetheless position occupants with high diffuse status cues also appropriated more of the created value. Our results inform both entrepreneurship and status characteristics literature.
THE DEAMMONIFICATION PROCESS IN MOVING BED BIOFILM REACTORS

Reference should be written as: " Yang, J. (2016). The deammonification process in moving bed biofilm reactors. PhD thesis. TRITA LWR PHD-2016:05 ". SUMMARY In order to decrease the risk of eutrophication in natural water bodies, the requirements for wastewater treatment plants' (WWTPs) discharge has become stricter than previously. Around 15-20% of the nitrogen load in the mainstream comes from reject water which is produced in sludge treatment line. The partial nitritation/anammox process, which is also called deammonification, appears to be a good alternative to treat reject water. However, for this process to be effective, control strategies which are reliable and require less maintenance are needed. In this thesis, different control strategies were studied at pilot scale in order to optimise the deammonification process operated in a Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR) for reject water treatment. Meanwhile, the processes were monitored by microbial activity tests, Specific Anammox Activity (SAA), Oxygen Uptake Rate (OUR), and Nitrate Uptake Rate (NUR) tests, in order to measure the anammox, ammonium and nitrite oxidizers and denitrifiers activity, respectively. Intermittent aeration and redox (ORP) as control parameters were studied. The results showed that intermittent aeration, with 15min non-aerated period in one hour cycle, could reduce the aeration time without any loss of process efficiency. A Redox value of pE=0 gave the best operational condition. When the redox value was fixed at 0, the aeration could adjust itself even if there was different nitrogen loads applied in the system. Pilot scale plants with deammonification MBBR were operated at decreasing temperatures and diluted influent nitrogen concentrations towards to mainstream conditions. The reactor was run at different temperatures (25-19°C) to test the process stability and it showed that the process started to become unstable when the temperature was at 19°C. Free ammonia (FA) concentration in the reactor increased even though the nitrogen load and DO concentration were adjusted. Moreover, a new treatment line with combined Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) reactor and MBBR with deammonification process was established, with the aim of being applied in the mainstream treatment. The study results indicated that when the influent of deammonification process shifted from reject water to UASB effluent, which corresponded to an inlet ammonium concentration of 100 mg/l, the deammonification started to show unstable performance. During the whole operation, anammox and ammonium oxidizers were the dominating groups of bacteria. Due to the increased attention on global warming and greenhouse gas emissions, …
Analytical Performance Evaluation of Frame Synchronization for Data with Known, Unequal Distribution over Binary Symmetric Channel

In a prior work, we derived the LLRTD metric for frame synchronization over a binary symmetric channel (BSC), where data frames are of unknown and unequal lengths and with synchronization words aperiodically inserted, data symbols have a known, unequal distribution. The performance of the metric was evaluated using simulations. Here we provide an analytical performance evaluation for the LLRTD metric. For the purpose of comparison, we also provide an analytical performance evaluation for the hard correlation (HC) metric in the case where the data has a known, unequal distribution. The results obtained for both metrics are found to be in line with the simulation results earlier obtained and confirm that the LLRTD outperforms the HC metric in all cases considered.
Right hippocampal contribution to visual memory: a presurgical and postsurgical study in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy

OBJECTIVES Existing speculations regarding the cognitive functions of the right hippocampus suggest a special involvement in non-verbal memory functions. However, all supporting evidence in epileptic patients came from postoperative studies that did not consider the preoperative functioning level. The present study investigates in patients with right temporal lobe epilepsy (RTLE), both preoperatively and postoperatively, the role of the right hippocampus for visual memory, visuoconstruction, and spatial visualisation. METHODS Two groups of patients with RTLE with and without right hippocampal damage (HC+/n=15 vHC−/n=13) were set up retrospectively thereby taking into account the surgical treatment (selective amygdalohippocampectomyv temporal resections sparing the hippocampus), the postoperative pathological findings (hippocampal sclerosis in the HC+ group) and the seizure outcome (all seizure free). The two groups were compared with regard to their neuropsychological performance preoperatively and 3 months after temporal lobe surgery. RESULTS The preoperative results indicated impaired visual memory performance only for the HC+patients, whereas the HC− patients exhibited no deficiencies in any of the assessed functions. Postoperatively, both groups exhibited partially improved performances. The type of surgical treatment had no different effects on the postoperative performance changes. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that hippocampal damage is the major cause of non-verbal memory deficiencies in preoperative patients with right temporal lobe epilepsy. Hence the results support and extend findings from previous postoperative studies. Right hippocampal resections did not increase the preoperative visual memory deficiencies, thus supporting the view that right temporal lobe resection in general bears only small risks for cognitve deteriorations.
Pegfilgrastim and daily granulocyte colony-stimulating factor: patterns of use and neutropenia-related outcomes in cancer patients in Spain – results of the LEARN Study

Daily granulocyte colony-stimulating factors [(G-CSFs); e.g. filgrastim, lenograstim] are frequently used to reduce the duration of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia (CIN) and the incidence of febrile neutropenia (FN) in cancer patients. A pegylated formulation of filgrastim, pegfilgrastim, which is administered once per cycle, was introduced in Spain in 2003. LEARN was a multi-centre, retrospective, observational study in Spain comparing patterns of use of daily G-CSF and pegfilgrastim, and CIN-related outcomes in adults with non-myeloid malignancies receiving myelosuppressive chemotherapy. Outcome measures were the percentage of patients receiving G-CSF for primary prophylaxis versus secondary prophylaxis/treatment, duration of treatment with G-CSF and incidence of CIN-related complications. Medical records from consecutive patients with documented pegfilgrastim (n = 75) or daily G-CSF (n = 111) use during 2003 were included. The proportion of patients receiving primary or secondary prophylaxis was comparable between the pegfilgrastim (39 and 48% respectively) and daily G-CSF (40 and 48% respectively) groups. However, there was a trend towards less frequent use to treat a neutropenic event such as FN or neutropenia in the pegfilgrastim group (17 versus 30% with daily G-CSF). Chemotherapy-induced neutropenia-related complications were less frequent in patients receiving pegfilgrastim (e.g. FN 11 versus 24% with daily G-CSF). This is the first study to show the potential benefits of pegfilgrastim over daily G-CSF in Spanish clinical practice.
Schwann Cell Dedifferentiation Is Independent of Mitogenic Signaling and Uncoupled to Proliferation

Myelinating Schwann cells (SCs) are highly plastic cells that are able to dedifferentiate and re-enter the cell cycle. However, the molecular signals controlling dedifferentiation are not completely understood. Because a connection between mitogenic signaling and myelin loss has been suggested, we investigated the role of cAMP, a strong inducer of the myelinating phenotype, and mitogenic factors activating receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) on SC dedifferentiation. We herein provide evidence indicating that cAMP was required to not only initiate but also maintain a state of differentiation because SCs rapidly dedifferentiated and became competent to resume proliferation upon the removal of cAMP stimulation. Surprisingly, isolated SCs could undergo multiple cycles of differentiation and dedifferentiation upon cAMP addition and removal, respectively, in the absence of mitogenic factors and without entering the cell cycle. Conversely, the activation of RTKs and the ERK cascade by a variety of growth factors, including neuregulin, was not sufficient to initiate dedifferentiation in the presence of cAMP. Importantly, a reduction of cAMP triggered dedifferentiation through a mechanism that required JNK, rather than ERK, activity and an induction of the expression of c-Jun, a transcriptional inhibitor of myelination. In summary, the reversible transition from an undifferentiated to a myelinating state was dependent on cAMP but independent of RTK signaling and cell cycle progression, further indicating that dedifferentiation and proliferation are uncoupled and differentially regulated events in SCs.
Turkish — English cross language information retrieval using LSI

This paper describes a study of Turkish-English cross language information retrieval (CLIR) system. One of the biggest issues with CLIR studies is to access to bi-lingual parallel corpus. So, the first step of this study was to construct a parallel Turkish-English corpus. We have constructed a corpus that has 1801 parallel documents. The corpus has been divided in to two parts, first one for training the system and second one for testing the system. Latent semantic indexing (LSI) techniques applied to the training set to obtain the language relations. After the training, we have performed set of tests (queries) to measure the effectiveness of LSI based retrieval on Turkish-English parallel corpus. Our experimental results show that, LSI based CLIR outperforms the non-LSI based retrieval where their retrieval successes are %69 and %26 respectively.
Vee@Cloud: The virtual test lab on the cloud

Large-scale system testing is challenging. It usually requires large number of test cases, substantial resources, and geographical distributed usage scenarios. It is expensive to build the test environment and to achieve certain level of test confidence. To address the challenges, test systems need to be scalable in a cost-effective manner. TaaS (Testing-as-a-Service) promotes a Cloud-based testing architecture to provide online testing services following a pay-per-use business model. The paper introduces the research and implementation of a TaaS system called Vee@Cloud. It serves as a scalable virtual test lab built upon Cloud infrastructure services. The resource manager allocates Virtual Machine instances and deploy test tasks, from a pool of available resources across different Clouds. The workload generator simulates various workload patterns, especially for system with new architecture styles like Web 2.0 and big data processing. Vee@Cloud promotes continuous monitoring and evaluating of online services. The monitor collects real-time performance data and analyzes the data against SLA (Service Level Agreement). A proof-of-concept prototype system is built and some early experiments are exercised using public Cloud services.
Fast Maximum Likelihood Scale Parameter Estimation From Histogram Measurements

In this letter, we address the problem of estimating a parameter acting as a scale factor on the observations probability density function (pdf), i.e. a scale parameter. Histogram based Maximum Likelihood (ML) estimation of a scale parameter requires the evaluation of a discrete scale correlation. We show how ML estimation can be implemented by means of a computationally efficient Discrete Fourier Transform based procedure, when geometric histogram sampling is adopted. As a case study, we analyze a gain estimator for general QAM constellations. Simulation results and theoretical performance analysis show that the presented ML estimator outperforms selected state of the art estimators, approaching the Cramér-Rao Lower Bound (CRLB) for a wide range of SNR.
Lower bounding models for wireless networks

Motivated by the framework of network equivalence theory [1], [2], we present capacity lower bounding models for wireless networks by construction of noiseless networks which can be used to calculate an inner bound for the corresponding wireless network. We first extend the “one-shot” lower bounding model [6] to many-user scenarios, and then propose a two-step update of the one-shot models to incorporate the broadcast nature of wireless transmission. The main advantage of the proposed lower bounding method is its simplicity and the fact that it can be easily extended to larger networks. We demonstrate by examples that the resulting lower bounds can even approach the capacity in some setups.
Systemic Signature of the Lung Response to Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infection

Respiratory Syncytial Virus is a frequent cause of severe bronchiolitis in children. To improve our understanding of systemic host responses to RSV, we compared BALB/c mouse gene expression responses at day 1, 2, and 5 during primary RSV infection in lung, bronchial lymph nodes, and blood. We identified a set of 53 interferon-associated and innate immunity genes that give correlated responses in all three murine tissues. Additionally, we identified blood gene signatures that are indicative of acute infection, secondary immune response, and vaccine-enhanced disease, respectively. Eosinophil-associated ribonucleases were characteristic for the vaccine-enhanced disease blood signature. These results indicate that it may be possible to distinguish protective and unfavorable patient lung responses via blood diagnostics.