Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transdermal Drug Delivery

Transdermal medication conveyance has made a significant commitment to clinical practice, yet still can't seem to completely accomplish its potential as an option in contrast to oral conveyance and hypodermic infusions. First generation transdermal conveyance frameworks have proceeded with their consistent increment in clinical use for conveyance of little, lipophilic, low-portion drugs. Secondage conveyance frameworks utilizing synthetic enhancers, non-cavitation ultrasound and iontophoresis have likewise brought about clinical items; the capacity of iontophoresis to control conveyance rates progressively gives included usefulness. Third generation conveyance frameworks focus on their belongings to skin's hindrance layer of layer corneum utilizing microneedles, warm removal, microdermabrasion, electroporation and cavitational ultrasound. Micro needles and warm removal are at present advancing through clinical preliminaries for conveyance of macromolecules and antibodies, for example, insulin, parathyroid hormone and flu immunization. Utilizing these novel second-and thirdage improvement procedures, transdermal conveyance is ready to fundamentally build sway on medication.
FMESP: framework for the modeling and evaluation of software processes

Nowadays, organizations face with a very high competitiveness and for this reason they have to continuously improve their processes. Two key aspects to be considered in the software processes management in order to promote their improvement are their effective modeling and evaluation. The integrated management of these key aspects is not a trivial task: the huge number and diversity of elements to take into account makes it complex the management of software processes. To ease and effectively support this management, in this paper we propose FMESP: a framework for the integrated management of the modeling and measurement of software processes. FMESP incorporates the conceptual and technological elements necessary to ease the integrated management of the definition and evaluation of software processes. From the measurement perspective of the framework and in order to provide the support for the software process measurement at model level a set of representative metrics have been defined and validated.
Collaboration with patients and families

[Extract] Mental health policy, standards and vision documents in most Western countries aspire to collaborative working between users of mental health services, families and carers in the provision of mental health care and the development of services. In several Australian states 'Carers Recognition' legislation mandates that carers must be included in the assessment, planning, delivery and review of services that impact on them. There is consistent evidence that mutually respectful collaborative alliances between professionals and patients are of central importance in determining the outcome of any therapeutic strategy, regardless of specific treatment modality. Service users, however, report disappointing levels of involvement in their own personal care and treatment, as well as in the planning and development of services. Similarly, many families and carers of service continue to report feeling excluded from decision-making, care and treatment processes and feel blamed for the plight of their diagnosed relatives.
Effect of parenting, emotional intelligence, hostile attributional bias, and peer status on problem behavior

Early experiences tend to influence internalizing and externalizing behavior. Children experiencing harsh, noncontingent discipline often understand relationships as unpredictable and filled with conflict. They take this understanding into interactions with other children, behave aggressively, and are rejected by peers, reaffirming their hostile view and increasing the likelihood of aggression. Social rejection has also been found to be associated with internalizing behavior, with rejected boys being higher internalizers than rejected girls. Because boys' relationships are more of group form and girls more of dyadic form, whether reciprocated friendships moderate group rejection was examined. Aggressive and depressive children tend to attribute hostile intent in negative situations, with depressives feeling assertive behavior would result in negative outcomes, and aggressives feeling the opposite. Therefore, locus of control was examined. Because children with hostile attributional bias have emotional difficulty, emotional intelligence was also examined. Although harsh, noncontingent discipline has been associated with aggression, examined here was whether corporal punishment in the absence of more severe punishment increases aggression. Emotional intelligence of children experiencing harsh discipline was also examined, as was whether emotional intelligence mediates the effect of parenting on problem behavior. Sixth-grade students (N = 252) in New Hampshire were tested. Peer rejection, but not friendship, was associated with internalizing. Friended females scored lower in externalizing than nonfriended females and friended males. Children with internal locus of control were less aggressive and depressed. Emotional intelligence was negatively associated with hostile attributional bias, and uniquely predictived externalizing, but not internalizing scores. Parental warmth was not predictive of emotional intelligence over and above parental control. Although no difference in emotional intelligence was found between authoritative and authoritarian parenting, differences were found between both and neglectful parenting. Children experiencing less parental control had external locus of control and higher internalizing scores. External locus of control was associated with internalizing scores. Corporal punishment uniquely predicted externalizing scores but harsh discipline was not associated with emotional intelligence. Structural equation modeling indicated that emotional intelligence mediated the effect of parenting quality on problem behavior. Reciprocated friendships did not moderate the effect of peer rejection on problem behavior.
Weighted matrix factorization for spoken document retrieval

Since more and more multimedia data associated with spoken documents have been made available to the public, spoken document retrieval (SDR) has become an important research subject in the past two decades. Recently, topic models have been successfully used in SDR as well as general information retrieval (IR). These models fall into two categories: probabilistic topic models (PTM) and non-probabilistic topic models (NPTM). One major difference between PTM and NPTM is that the former only takes the words occurring in a document into account, whereas the latter, such as latent semantic analysis (LSA), explicitly models all the words in the vocabulary (including both occurring and non-occurring words). We believe that the non-occurring words can provide additional information that is also useful for SDR. However, to our best knowledge, there is a dearth of work investigating the effectiveness of the non-occurring words for SDR and IR. In order to make effective use of those non-occurring words of documents for semantic analysis, we propose a weighted matrix factorization (WMF) framework, in which the impact of the non-occurring words on the semantic analysis can be modulated properly. The results of SDR experiments conducted on the TDT-2 (Topic Detection and Tracking) collection highlight the performance merits of our proposed framework when compared to several existing topic models.
Multichannel ECG Data Compression Based on Multiscale Principal Component Analysis

In this paper, multiscale principal component analysis (MSPCA) is proposed for multichannel electrocardiogram (MECG) data compression. In wavelet domain, principal components analysis (PCA) of multiscale multivariate matrices of multichannel signals helps reduce dimension and remove redundant information present in signals. The selection of principal components (PCs) is based on average fractional energy contribution of eigenvalue in a data matrix. Multichannel compression is implemented using uniform quantizer and entropy coding of PCA coefficients. The compressed signal quality is evaluated quantitatively using percentage root mean square difference (PRD), and wavelet energy-based diagnostic distortion (WEDD) measures. Using dataset from CSE multilead measurement library, multichannel compression ratio of 5.98:1 is found with PRD value 2.09% and the lowest WEDD value of 4.19%. Based on, gold standard subjective quality measure, the lowest mean opinion score error value of 5.56% is found.
Multiple Access in Connectionless Networks Using Cooperative Transmission ∗

The paper calculates the throughput of Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA) assuming that the set of propagation delays among the nodes (the so called “vulnerable times”) are very different and shows that considering the worst case propagation time can be largely pessimistic in assessing the performance of these networks. The application of our analysis is a large ad-hoc wireless network of locally interconnected nodes where, to transmit a packet, each node floods the entire network to avoid routing. Assuming that the nodes access the channel using CSMA, collisions occur if the network starts to be flooded by multiple sources which, due to the various delays (“vulnerable time”) necessary for the first signal to reach them, can fail to sense that the channel is already in use and that the network is being flooded by other nodes. The paper considers, as flooding strategy, a scheme where the packets are broadcasted using multiple levels of relays at the physical layer, where the nodes progressively echo, on a symbol by symbol basis, what they receive from the near neighbors. In this scheme, called Opportunistic Large Array (OLA), the intermediate nodes that act as relays cannot collide unless they carry information from different sources. OLA also achieves a cooperative wireless advantage compared to other broadcasting techniques that comes from the fact that multi-user interference in OLA is equivalent to active multi-path propagation and thus is a benign source of diversity and signal enhancement.
Prevalence of delayed gastric emptying in diabetic patients and relationship to dyspeptic symptoms: a prospective study in unselected diabetic patients.

OBJECTIVE Data on the prevalence of abnormal gastric emptying in diabetic patients are still lacking. The relation between gastric emptying and dyspeptic symptoms assessed during gastric emptying measurement has not yet been investigated. The aim was to investigate the prevalence of delayed gastric emptying in a large cohort of unselected diabetic patients and to investigate the relation between gastric emptying and gastrointestinal sensations experienced in the 2 weeks before and during the test meal, prospectively. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Gastric emptying was evaluated in 186 patients (106 with type 1 diabetes, mean duration of diabetes 11.6 +/- 11.3 years) using 100 mg (13)C-enriched octanoic acid added to a solid meal. RESULTS Gastric emptying was significantly slower in the diabetic subjects than in the healthy volunteers (T(50): 99.5 +/- 35.4 vs. 76.8 +/- 21.4 min, P < 0.003; Ret(120 min): 30.6 +/- 17.2 vs. 20.4 +/- 9.7%, P < 0.006). Delayed gastric emptying was observed in 51 (28%) diabetic subjects. The sensations experienced in the 2 weeks before the test were weakly correlated with the sensation scored during the gastric emptying test. Sensations assessed during the gastric emptying test did predict gastric emptying to some extent (r = 0.46, P < 0.0001), whereas sensations experienced in the previous 2 weeks did not. CONCLUSIONS This prospective study shows that delayed gastric emptying can be observed in 28% of unselected patients with diabetes. Upper gastrointestinal sensations scored during the gastric emptying tests do predict the rate of gastric emptying to some extent and sensation experienced during daily life does not.
On-line policy optimisation of spoken dialogue systems via live interaction with human subjects

Statistical dialogue models have required a large number of dialogues to optimise the dialogue policy, relying on the use of a simulated user. This results in a mismatch between training and live conditions, and significant development costs for the simulator thereby mitigating many of the claimed benefits of such models. Recent work on Gaussian process reinforcement learning, has shown that learning can be substantially accelerated. This paper reports on an experiment to learn a policy for a real-world task directly from human interaction using rewards provided by users. It shows that a usable policy can be learnt in just a few hundred dialogues without needing a user simulator and, using a learning strategy that reduces the risk of taking bad actions. The paper also investigates adaptation behaviour when the system continues learning for several thousand dialogues and highlights the need for robustness to noisy rewards.
Allele frequencies and the r2 measure of linkage disequilibrium: impact on design and interpretation of association studies.

The design and interpretation of genetic association studies depends on the relationship between the genotyped variants and the underlying functional variant, often parameterized as the squared correlation or r(2) measure of linkage disequilibrium between two loci. While it has long been recognized that placing a constraint on ther(2) between two loci also places a constraint on the difference in frequencies between the coupled alleles, this constraint has not been quantified. Here, quantification of this severe constraint is presented. For example, for r(2) >/= . 8, the maximum difference in allele frequency is +/- . 06 which occurs when one locus has allele frequency . 5. For r(2) >/= . 8 and allele frequency at one locus of . 1, the maximum difference in allele frequency at the second locus is only +/- . 02. The impact on the design and interpretation of association studies is discussed.
Imaging of Myocardial Fibrosis in Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease: Current Limitations and Future Possibilities

Cardiovascular disease in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is driven by a different set of processes than in the general population. These processes lead to pathological changes in cardiac structure and function that include the development of left ventricular hypertrophy and left ventricular dilatation and the development of myocardial fibrosis. Reduction in left ventricular hypertrophy has been the established goal of many interventional trials in patients with chronic kidney disease, but a recent systematic review has questioned whether reduction of left ventricular hypertrophy improves cardiovascular mortality as previously thought. The development of novel imaging biomarkers that link to cardiovascular outcomes and that are specific to the disease processes in ESRD is therefore required. Postmortem studies of patients with ESRD on hemodialysis have shown that the extent of myocardial fibrosis is strongly linked to cardiovascular death and accurate imaging of myocardial fibrosis would be an attractive target as an imaging biomarker. In this article we will discuss the current imaging methods available to measure myocardial fibrosis in patients with ESRD, the reliability of the techniques, specific challenges and important limitations in patients with ESRD, and how to further develop the techniques we have so they are sufficiently robust for use in future clinical trials.
Regional brain metabolic response to lorazepam in subjects at risk for alcoholism.

The mechanisms underlying the blunted response to alcohol administration observed in subjects at risk for alcoholism are poorly understood and may involve GABA-benzodiazepine receptors. The purpose of this study was to investigate if subjects at risk for alcoholism had abnormalities in brain GABA-benzodiazepine receptor function. This study measured the effects of 30 micrograms/kg (i.v.) of lorazepam, on regional brain glucose metabolism using positron emission tomography and 2-deoxy-2[18F]fluoro-D-glucose in subjects with a positive family history for alcoholism (FP) (n = 12) and compared their response with that of subjects with a negative family history for alcoholism (FN) (n = 21). At baseline, FP subjects showed lower cerebellar metabolism than FN. Lorazepam decreased whole-brain glucose metabolism, and FP subjects showed a similar response to FN in cortical and subcortical regions, but FP showed a blunted response in cerebellum. Lorazepam-induced changes in cerebellar metabolism correlated with its motor effects. The decreased cerebellar baseline metabolism in FP as well as the blunted cerebellar response to lorazepam challenge may reflect disrupted activity of benzodiazepine-GABA receptors in cerebellum. These changes could account for the decreased sensitivity to the motor effects of alcohol and benzodiazepines in FP subjects.
Higher expression of somatic repair genes in long-lived ant queens than workers

Understanding why organisms senesce is a fundamental question in biology. One common explanation is that senescence results from an increase in macromolecular damage with age. The tremendous variation in lifespan between genetically identical queen and worker ants, ranging over an order of magnitude, provides a unique system to study how investment into processes of somatic maintenance and macromolecular repair influence lifespan. Here we use RNAseq to compare patterns of expression of genes involved in DNA and protein repair of age-matched queens and workers. There was no difference between queens and workers in 1-day-old individuals, but the level of expression of these genes increased with age and this up-regulation was greater in queens than in workers, resulting in significantly queen-biased expression in 2-month-old individuals in both legs and brains. Overall, these differences are consistent with the hypothesis that higher longevity is associated with increased investment into somatic repair.
Skin Protection Behaviors among Young Male Latino Day Laborers: An Exploratory Study Using a Social Cognitive Approach

Latino Day Laborers (LDLs) are employed in occupations where multiple work hazards exist. One such hazard is the overexposure to solar ultraviolet radiation for continuous periods of time. Regular sun exposure can put individuals at increased risk of developing skin cancers, especially without adequate protection. The purpose of this cross-sectional exploratory study was to use a social cognitive framework to assess skin protective behaviors among LDLs. A community-based nonrandom and purposive sample of LDLs was recruited in two states: Mississippi and Illinois. The study sample consisted of 137 male participants, of which the majority were of Mexican ancestry (72%). The average age was 35.40 (SD = 9.89) years. Results demonstrated that a substantial number of LDLs do not adequately practice sun protection behaviors on a regular basis. The skin cancer knowledge scores were very modest. The most frequently indicated barriers towards sun protection were “inconvenient,” “forget to use,” and “not being able to reapply sunscreen. ” Overall, LDLs had moderate confidence in their abilities to adopt successful sun protection strategies. This study underscores the need for intervention programs aimed at LDLs to reduce extended time in the sun and increase use of sun protective measures when working outdoors.
Dynamic fitness inheritance proportion for multi-objective particle swarm optimization

In this paper, we propose a dynamic mechanism to vary the probability by which fitness inheritance is applied throughout the run of a multi-objective particle swarm optimizer, in order to obtain a greater reduction in computational cost (than the obtained with a fixed probability), without dramatically affecting the quality of the results. The results obtained show that it is possible to reduce the computational cost by 32% without affecting the quality of the obtained Pareto front.
Ensemble Data Assimilation with the NCEP Global Forecast System

Real-data experiments with an ensemble data assimilation system using the NCEP Global Forecast System model were performed and compared with the NCEP Global Data Assimilation System (GDAS). All observations in the operational data stream were assimilated for the period 1 January–10 February 2004, except satellite radiances. Because of computational resource limitations, the comparison was done at lower resolution (triangular truncation at wavenumber 62 with 28 levels) than the GDAS real-time NCEP operational runs (triangular truncation at wavenumber 254 with 64 levels). The ensemble data assimilation system outperformed the reduced-resolution version of the NCEP three-dimensional variational data assimilation system (3DVAR), with the biggest improvement in data-sparse regions. Ensemble data assimilation analyses yielded a 24-h improvement in forecast skill in the Southern Hemisphere extratropics relative to the NCEP 3DVAR system (the 48-h forecast from the ensemble data assimilation system was as accurate as the 24-h forecast from the 3DVAR system). Improvements in the data-rich Northern Hemisphere, while still statistically significant, were more modest. It remains to be seen whether the improvements seen in the Southern Hemisphere will be retained when satellite radiances are assimilated. Three different parameterizations of background errors unaccounted for in the data assimilation system (including model error) were tested. Adding scaled random differences between adjacent 6-hourly analyses from the NCEP–NCAR reanalysis to each ensemble member (additive inflation) performed slightly better than the other two methods (multiplicative inflation and relaxation-to-prior).
An adaptive analog noise-predictive decision-feedback equalizer

This paper describes an adaptive analog noise-predictive decision-feedback equalizer (NPDFE). It consists of an analog finite-impulse response (FIR) forward equalizer (FE), a recursive analog equalizer for noise prediction, and a decision-feedback equalizer (DFE) that uses erasure. All three analog equalizers are adaptive. Area and power are saved by using analog rather than digital equalizers because a highspeed ADC is not required and the analog equalizers used in this prototype are smaller than their digital counterparts. To demonstrate the feasibility of our proposed NPDFE, the prototype was designed for use in a disk-drive read channel.
Transfer of Maternal Antimicrobial Immunity to HIV-Exposed Uninfected Newborns

The transfer of maternal immune factors to the newborn is critical for protection from infectious disease in early life. Maternally acquired passive immunity provides protection until the infant is beyond early life’s increased susceptibility to severe infections or until active immunity is achieved following infant’s primary immunization. However, as reviewed here, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection alters the transfer of immune factors from HIV-infected mothers to the HIV-exposed newborns and young infants. This may relate to the immune activation in HIV-infected pregnant women, associated with the production of inflammatory cytokines at the maternofetal interface associated with inflammatory responses in the newborn. We also summarize mother-targeting interventions to improve the health of infants born to HIV-infected women, such as immunization during pregnancy and reduction of maternal inflammation. Maternal immunization offers the potential to compensate for the decreased transplacentally transferred maternal antibodies observed in HIV-exposed infants. Current data suggest reduced immunogenicity of vaccines in HIV-infected pregnant women, possibly reducing the protective impact of maternal immunization for HIV-exposed infants. Fortunately, levels of antibodies appear preserved in the breast milk of HIV-infected women, which supports the recommendation to breast-feed during antiretroviral treatment to protect HIV-exposed infants.