Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Designing interactive health care systems: Bridging the gap between patients and health care professionals

As patients become more proactive about their health and turn to technologies such as the Internet to acquire knowledge, the patient-health care professional relationship has been changing. Traditionally, information has flowed from health care professional to patient, but change to a two-way dialogue is taking place. In this study, we examine a high level design of a perceived medical system and determine the implications of adding patients as active contributors. The main challenge of modifying existing systems to incorporate patient interaction is preserving system integrity. We propose a systematic approach to support scaling health care systems while preserving system integrity. Distributed systems such as personal health records and eHealth systems provide two ways in which patients can become more involved with their own health care with or without the involvement of health care professionals. It is important that modifications to such systems do not compromise patient record integrity regardless of whether the patient is working alone or with their health care professional. The lack of central control in distributed systems added to the complexity of health systems poses challenges for design and modification. Of particular interest is the identification of emergent behavior (behavior not explicitly specified in the specifications) in distributed systems not explicitly defined in the requirements of its individual components. Use of the new emergent behavior detection (EBD) tool offers potentially considerable cost savings by proactively identifying such behaviors during the design rather than the deployment phase of a project. Based on high level message sequence charts, the EBD tool highlighted a data synchronization issue between the main database and the patient's interface to the system. This provides valuable feedback of the early health system design which benefits future design development.
The Verlinde algebra and the cohomology of the Grassmannian

Thearticleisdevoted toaquantumeld theoryexplanation oftherelationship between theVerlindealgebra ofthegroup U(k)atlevel N k and the\quantum " cohom ology oftheGrassm annian ofcom plex k planesin N space.In x2,Iexplain therelation between theVerlindealgebra and thegauged W ZW m odelof G=G;in x3,Idescribe the quantum cohom ology and itsorigin in a quantumeld theory; and in x4,Ipresenta path integralargum entform apping between them .
Cooperation vs. hierarchy: an information-theoretic comparison

The performance of source-cooperation in a multi-access network is compared to that of using a wireless relay. The former network is modeled as a multi-access channel with generalized feedback and the latter as a multi-access relay channel. Using power as the cost metric, achievable rates and outage probabilities for the two networks are compared under a total transmit power constraint and a specified geometry. The use of a relay is shown to be advantageous for a variety of wireless fading channels
Determinantes sociais e pedagógicos das notas do IDEB

Este estudo buscou verificar se os municipios brasileiros, caracterizados pelo IDEB, podem ser diferenciados por aspectos sociais, economico-financeiros, de controle social, e aspectos pedagogicos e estruturais. Por meio tecnica estatistica de Regressao Logistica Multinomial, analisou-se 5319 municipios no periodo de 2009 a 2013. Os resultados revelam que aspectos sociais e pedagogicos sao determinantes para a probabilidade de obtencao de notas regulares ou boas no IDEB 2013. Os resultados demonstraram que municipios pertencentes a Estados com maior concentracao de riqueza, com menor acesso ao conhecimento e baixa expectativa de vida tem um incremento relevante na probabilidade de obtencao de notas ruins no IDEB. A pesquisa contribui com evidencias de que fatores contextuais, contingenciais e locais, inclusive aqueles relacionados as condicoes familiares e habitacionais, exercem maior impacto sobre o desempenho escolar do que fatores relacionados a gastos publicos com educacao basica.
Combined Effect of Antiretroviral Therapy and Blockade of IDO in SIV-Infected Rhesus Macaques1

Increased activity of IDO, which catalyzes the degradation of Trp into kynurenine (Kyn), is observed during HIV/SIV infection, and it may contribute to the persistence of HIV/SIV by suppressing antiviral T cell responses. We administered the IDO inhibitor 1-methyl-d-tryptophan (d-1mT) for 13 days to SIV-infected rhesus macaques receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART). d-1mT treatment increased the plasma levels of Trp, without reducing the levels of Kyn, suggesting only a partial effect on IDO enzymatic activity. Surprisingly, d-1mT significantly reduced the virus levels in plasma and lymph nodes of ART-treated animals with incomplete responsiveness to ART. In SIV-infected animals that were not receiving ART, d-1mT was ineffective in reducing the plasma viral load and had only a marginal effect on the plasma Kyn/Trp ratio. Increased IDO and TGF-β mRNA expression in lymph nodes of ART-treated macaques after d-1mT treatment suggested that compensatory counterregulatory mechanisms were activated by d-1mT, which may account for the lack of effect on plasma Kyn. Finally, d-1mT did not interfere with the ART-induced T cell dynamics in lymph nodes (increased frequency of total CD4 T cells, increase of CD8 T cells expressing the antiapoptotic molecule Bcl2, and reduction of regulatory T cells). Thus, d-1mT appeared to synergize with ART in inhibiting viral replication and did not interfere with the beneficial immunologic effects of ART. Further studies are required to elucidate the immunologic or virologic mechanism by which d-1mT inhibited SIV replication in vivo.
Ciliary Beating Recovery in Deficient Human Airway Epithelial Cells after Lentivirus Ex Vivo Gene Therapy

Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia is a heterogeneous genetic disease that is characterized by cilia dysfunction of the epithelial cells lining the respiratory tracts, resulting in recurrent respiratory tract infections. Despite lifelong physiological therapy and antibiotics, the lungs of affected patients are progressively destroyed, leading to respiratory insufficiency. Recessive mutations in Dynein Axonemal Intermediate chain type 1 (DNAI1) gene have been described in 10% of cases of Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia. Our goal was to restore normal ciliary beating in DNAI1–deficient human airway epithelial cells. A lentiviral vector based on Simian Immunodeficiency Virus pseudotyped with Vesicular Stomatitis Virus Glycoprotein was used to transduce cultured human airway epithelial cells with a cDNA of DNAI1 driven by the Elongation Factor 1 promoter. Transcription and translation of the transduced gene were tested by RT–PCR and western blot, respectively. Human airway epithelial cells that were DNAI1–deficient due to compound heterozygous mutations, and consequently had immotile cilia and no outer dynein arm, were transduced by the lentivirus. Cilia beating was recorded and electron microscopy of the cilia was performed. Transcription and translation of the transduced DNAI1 gene were detected in human cells treated with the lentivirus. In addition, immotile cilia recovered a normal beat and outer dynein arms reappeared. We demonstrated that it is possible to obtain a normalization of ciliary beat frequency of deficient human airway epithelial cells by using a lentivirus to transduce cells with the therapeutic gene. This preliminary step constitutes a conceptual proof that is indispensable in the perspective of Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia's in vivo gene therapy. This is the first time that recovery of cilia beating is demonstrated in this disease.
Ideología y voto en el nuevo sistema de partidos español. Análisis de cuestiones ideológicas concernientes a los cuatro principales partidos políticos españoles tras las elecciones generales de 2015

Las elecciones a Cortes Generales del 20 de diciembre de 2015 han puesto de manifiesto el nacimiento de un nuevo sistema de partidos en Espana que deja atras del tan denostado bipartidismo, el cual se habia visto mermado desde las ultimas elecciones europeas y autonomicas. Esta investigacion pretende dar respuestas a las percepciones ideologicas que conciernen tanto a las dos nuevas fuerzas politicas emergidas a nivel estatal (Podemos y Ciudadanos), como a las dos ya consolidadas (PP y PSOE), delimitando asi las nuevas competiciones ideologicas emanadas en torno a los ejes izquierda y derecha, sin descuidar el centro. El objetivo del trabajo, por tanto, es comprobar si los “nuevos” partidos han logrado encajar en la dualidad izquierda-derecha del electorado, lugar donde ya se encuentran los “viejos” partidos. Analizamos, para tal fin, el nuevo sistema de partidos espanol bajo el prisma del modelo ideologico del voto caracteristico en nuestro comportamiento electoral. Para ello empleamos una lectura en profundidad de los datos que aporta el Centro de Investigaciones Sociologicas (CIS), en lo concerniente a simpatia, voto, etiqueta, y ubicacion ideologica, cuyos resultados nos desvelan la todavia persistencia del modelo ideologico del voto en Espana como variable explicativa de nuestro comportamiento electoral. Igualmente el trabajo constata que la llegada de nuevas formaciones politicas ha introducido nuevas rupturas mas alla de la ideologica, que explican parte de nuestro voto pero que, sin embargo, no han logrado reemplazar a la ideologica.
The need for music information retrieval with user-centered and multimodal strategies

Music is a widely enjoyed content type, existing in many multifaceted representations. With the digital information age, a lot of digitized music information has theoretically become available at the user's fingertips. However, the abundance of information is too large-scaled and too diverse to annotate, oversee and present in a consistent and human manner, motivating the development of automated Music Information Retrieval (Music-IR) techniques. In this paper, we encourage to consider music content beyond a monomodal audio signal and argue that Music-IR approaches with multimodal and user-centered strategies are necessary to serve real-life usage patterns and maintain and improve accessibility of digital music data. After discussing relevant existing work in these directions, we show that the field of Music-IR faces similar challenges as neighboring fields, and thus suggest opportunities for joint collaboration and mutual inspiration.
Pathological complete response as a surrogate for relapse-free survival in patients with triple negative breast cancer after neoadjuvant chemotherapy

We retrospective analyzed triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients who received either taxane-based or anthracycline-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy, evaluated whether pathological complete response (pCR) is a surrogate endpoint for relapse free survival (RFS) in TNBC and explored which subgroup of patients benefits more from superior treatment regimen. 186 patients received taxane-based (Group A) or anthracycline-based (Group B) neoadjuvant chemotherapy, median follow-up was 48.1 months. 42 patients received total pCR (ypT0/is ypN0), 34 in Group A and 8 in Group B, p < 0.001. Patients who achieved pCR had an increased RFS when compared with non-pCR patients, p = 0.043. Patients in Group A had a better RFS, p = 0.025, after adjusting for tumor size and clinical lymph node status before neoadjuvant therapy. Only patients sensitive to neoadjuvant chemotherapy exhibited RFS benefit from taxane-based treatment, and those who were treatment insensitive had similar RFS between both groups. Our analysis showed Taxane-based regimen had higher pCR rate and could predict improved RFS in TNBC, and the prognostic value was greater in treatment sensitive patients. This retrospective analysis supports the use of pCR as a surrogate endpoint for RFS in TNBC.
Specification and maintenance of oligodendrocyte precursor cells from neural progenitor cells: involvement of microRNA-7a

A gain-of-function study showed that miR-7a promoted the generation of oligodendrocytes (OL) and retained the cells in their precursor stage. Inhibiting miR-7a reduced oligodendrogenesis but expanded neuronal population. miR-7a might exert these effects by repressing the expression of proneural genes and regulators for OL differentiation.
Coplanar Shadowgrams for Acquiring Visual Hulls of Intricate Objects

Acquiring 3D models of intricate objects (like tree branches, bicycles and insects) is a hard problem due to severe self-occlusions, repeated thin structures and surface discontinuities. In theory, a shape-from-silhouettes (SFS) approach can overcome these difficulties and use many views to reconstruct visual hulls that are close to the actual shapes. In practice, however, SFS is highly sensitive to errors in silhouette contours and the calibration of the imaging system, and therefore not suitable for obtaining reliable shapes with a large number of views. We present a practical approach to SFS using a novel technique called coplanar shadowgram imaging, that allows us to use dozens to even hundreds of views for visual hull reconstruction. Here, a point light source is moved around an object and the shadows (silhouettes) cast onto a single background plane are observed. We characterize this imaging system in terms of image projection, reconstruction ambiguity, epipolar geometry, and shape and source recovery. The coplanarity of the shadowgrams yields novel geometric properties that are not possible in traditional multi-view camera- based imaging systems. These properties allow us to derive a robust and automatic algorithm to recover the visual hull of an object and the 3D positions of light source simultaneously, regardless of the complexity of the object. We demonstrate the acquisition of several intricate shapes with severe occlusions and thin structures, using 50 to 120 views.
Public awareness level of oral cancer in a group of dental patients.

AIM The aim of this study was to evaluate levels of public awareness and knowledge about early signs and risk factors of oral cancer among a group of dental patients in Turkey. METHODS AND MATERIALS This study included 1022 participants. Sociodemographic information of patients was obtained. A questionnaire about awareness and knowledge of oral cancer and early signs and risk factors related to the disease was completed by two examiners. Data were statistically analyzed with descriptive analyses, crosstabs and chi-square tests. RESULTS In total 60.7% of participants had never heard of oral cancer. While 79.2% of the participants were unaware of the early signs related to oral cancer, 29.9% of them were unaware of risk factors of the disease. There were no statistically significant differences between age, gender, and education levels for awareness of risk factors. Statistically significant differences were found between age and gender and no statistically significant difference was found between education levels for awareness of early signs. CONCLUSION This study showed that public awareness and knowledge about oral cancer were insufficient in Turkey. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE There is an important need to inform the public about oral cancer, its risk factors, and early signs of the disease. Media campaigns can be useful to raise oral cancer awareness.
Indication for cataract surgery. Do we have evidence of who will benefit from surgery? A systematic review and meta‐analysis

The need for cataract surgery is expected to rise dramatically in the future due to the increasing proportion of elderly citizens and increasing demands for optimum visual function. The aim of this study was to provide an evidence‐based recommendation for the indication of cataract surgery based on which group of patients are most likely to benefit from surgery. A systematic literature search was performed in the MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE and COCHRANE LIBRARY databases. Studies evaluating the outcome after cataract surgery according to preoperative visual acuity and visual complaints were included in a meta‐analysis. We identified eight observational studies comparing outcome after cataract surgery in patients with poor (<20/40) and fair (>20/40) preoperative visual acuity. We could not find any studies that compared outcome after cataract surgery in patients with few or many preoperative visual complaints. A meta‐analysis showed that the outcome of cataract surgery, evaluated as objective and subjective visual improvement, was independent on preoperative visual acuity. There is a lack of scientific evidence to guide the clinician in deciding which patients are most likely to benefit from surgery. To overcome this shortage of evidence, many systems have been developed internationally to prioritize patients on waiting lists for cataract surgery, but the Swedish NIKE (Nationell Indikationsmodell för Katarakt Ekstraktion) is the only system where an association to the preoperative scoring of a patient has been related to outcome of cataract surgery. We advise that clinicians are inspired by the NIKE system when they decide which patients to operate to ensure that surgery is only offered to patients who are expected to benefit from cataract surgery.
Modelling Sparse Dynamical Systems with Compressed Predictive State Representations

Efficiently learning accurate models of dynamical systems is of central importance for developing rational agents that can succeed in a wide range of challenging domains. The difficulty of this learning problem is particularly acute in settings with large observation spaces and partial observability. We present a new algorithm, called Compressed Predictive State Representation (CPSR), for learning models of high-dimensional partially observable uncontrolled dynamical systems from small sample sets. The algorithm exploits a particular sparse structure present in many domains. This sparse structure is used to compress information during learning, allowing for an increase in both the efficiency and predictive power. The compression technique also relieves the burden of domain specific feature selection. We present empirical results showing that the algorithm is able to build accurate models more efficiently than its uncompressed counterparts, and we provide theoretical results on the accuracy of the learned compressed model.
GAS6 Receptor Status Is Associated with Dormancy and Bone Metastatic Tumor Formation

Disseminated tumor cells (DTCs) are believed to lie dormant in the marrow before they can be activated to form metastases. How DTCs become dormant in the marrow and how dormant DTCs escape dormancy remains unclear. Recent work has shown that prostate cancer (PCa) cell lines express the growth-arrest specific 6 (GAS6) receptors Axl, Tyro3, and Mer, and become growth arrested in response to GAS6. We therefore hypothesized that GAS6 signaling regulates the proliferative activity of DTCs in the marrow. To explore this possibility, in vivo studies were performed where it was observed that when Tyro3 expression levels exceed Axl expression, the PCa cells exhibit rapid growth. When when Axl levels predominate, PCa cells remain largely quiescent. These findings suggest that a balance between the expression of Axl and Tyro3 is associated with a molecular switch between a dormant and a proliferative phenotype in PCa metastases.
59-dBOmega 68-GHz Variable Gain-Bandwidth Differential Linear TIA in 0.7-&#181;m InP DHBT for 400-Gb/s Optical Communication Systems

We report a variable-gain and variable-bandwidth differential linear transimpedance amplifier (TIA-VGA) realised in a 0.7-μm indium phosphide (InP) double heterojunction bipolar transistor (DHBT) technology. The circuits yields 59-dBΩ / 900-Ω differential transimpedance gain with 20-dB control and 68-GHz -3-dB bandwidth with 30-GHz control. Output-referred 1-dB-compression single-ended amplitude is larger than -4-dBm (400mVpp) up to 60GHz. High quality On-Off-Keying (OOK) eye diagrams are measured at 64 GBd. Consuming less than 475 mW, this circuit exhibits the largest bandwidth for a linear TIA-VGA, to our knowledge, along with wide-range gain and bandwidth controls. This makes it a particularly suitable and flexible candidate for high-symbol-rate photoreceivers dedicated to next generation 400-Gb/s and 1-Tb/s optical communication systems.
Locking policies for multiprocessor ada

Lock-based resource sharing protocols for single processor systems are well understood and supported in programming languages such as Ada. In contrast, multiprocessor resource sharing protocols are less well developed with no agreed best practice. In this paper we consider what the next version of Ada should support. Two proposals are considered, one requiring a minor change to the current language, another requiring a more substantial change.
Nervousness or fearfulness and social behaviour in male mule ducks : a update review

Due to the expression of abnormal behaviors, referred as nervousness, increasing rearing difficulties of mule ducks are presently reported. Therefore, several experiments have been realized to characterize different behavioral and physiological responses of ducks of various species (Muscovy and Pekin ducks), hybrids (mule and hinny ducks) or genotypes and/or phenotypes (color patterns) and submitted to different rearing conditions (with or without familiarization to human). The results obtained suggest that there is no major link of causality between the "white plumage" phenotype and nervousness. On the other hand, the current genotypes of mule duck are very fearful and social; two traits that can be the causes of the increasing rearing difficulties encountered. Familiarization to human had positive effects, but the variability between subsequent trials did not permit to propose practical solution. Genetic variability has been observed and a dominant effect of Pekin duck suggested. Heritability of different traits was estimated and some are sufficient to allow selection. As a follow up, a multidisciplinary research program "CaNervosisme" has been launched in 2006.
Preoperative CT versus diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging of the liver in patients with rectal cancer; a prospective randomized trial

Introduction. Colorectal cancer is one of the most frequent cancers in the world and liver metastases are seen in up to 19% of patients with colorectal cancers. Detection of liver metastases is not only vital for sufficient treatment and survival, but also for a better estimation of prognosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of diffusion weighted MRI of the liver as part of a combined MR evaluation of patients with rectal cancers and compare it with the standard preoperative evaluation of the liver with CT. Methods. Consecutive patients diagnosed with rectal cancers were asked to participate in the study. Preoperative CT and diffusion weighted MR (DWMR) were compared to contrast enhanced laparoscopic ultrasound (CELUS). Results. A total of 35 patients were included, 15 patients in Group-1 having the standard CT evaluation of the liver and 20 patients in Group-2 having the standard CT evaluation of the liver and DWMR of the liver. Compared with CELUS, the per-patient sensitivity/specificity was 50/100% for CT, and for DWMR: 100/94% and 100/100% for Reader 1 and 2, respectively. The per-lesion sensitivity of CT and DWMR were 17% and 89%, respectively compared with CELUS. Furthermore, one patient had non-resectable metastases after DWMR despite being diagnosed with resectable metastases after CT. Another patient was diagnosed with multiple liver metastases during CELUS, despite a negative CT-scan. Discussion. DWMR is feasible for preoperative evaluation of liver metastases. The current standard preoperative evaluation with CT-scan results in disadvantages like missed metastases and futile operations. We recommend that patients with rectal cancer, who are scheduled for MR of the rectum, should have a DWMR of the liver performed at the same time.