Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Means to increase the therapeutic efficiency of magnetic heating of tumors

Abstract The treatment of tumors via hyperthermia has gained increased attention in the last years. Among the different modalities available so far, magnetic hyperthermia has the particular advantage of offering the possibility of depositing the heating source directly into the tumor. In this study, we summarized the present knowledge we gained on how to improve the therapeutic efficiency of magnetic hyperthermia using magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), with particular consideration of the intratumoral infiltration of the magnetic material. We found that (1) MNPs will be mainly immobilized at the tumor area and that this aspect has to be considered when estimating the heating potential of MNPs, (2) the intratumoral distribution patterns via slow infiltration might well be modulated by specific MNP coating and magnetic targeting, (3) imaging of the nanoparticle depositions within the tumor might allow to correct the distribution pattern via multiple applications, (4) multiple therapeutic sessions are feasible because MNPs are not delivered from the tumor site during the heating process, (5) the utilization of MNPs that internalize into cells will favor the production of intracellular heating spots rather than extracellular ones, (6) utilization of MNPs functionalized with chemotherapeutic agents will allow us to exploit the additive effects of both therapeutic modalities, and (7) distinct cytopathological and histopathological alterations in target tissues are induced as a result of magnetic hyperthermia. However, the accumulation at the tumor via intravenous application remains a matter of challenge.
‘Making the best of things’: relatives' experiences of decisions about care-home entry

Despite the growing awareness of the significance of helping a relative to relocate to a care home as a key phase in the care-giving career, relatively few British studies have explored this experience in depth. Informed by a constructivist perspective, this study sought a better understanding of nursing home placements from the viewpoint of relatives. Data were collected in 37 semi-structured interviews involving 48 people who had assisted a close relative to move into a nursing home. Analysis revealed three perceived phases to the transition: ‘making the best of it’, ‘making the move’ and ‘making it better’. The relatives' experiences through these phases had five perceived elements, all of which were continua, from absent to very strong, reflecting the extent to which they were felt. They were: operating ‘under pressure’ or not; ‘in the know’ or ‘working in the dark’; ‘working together’ or ‘working alone’; ‘in control of events’ or not, and ‘supported’ or ‘unsupported’ both practically and emotionally. This paper reports findings about the first phase of the transition, ‘making the best of it’, and documents the experiences of decision-making about nursing home placements. It is argued that health and social care practitioners have enormous potential to influence whether or not helping a relative to move into a nursing home is perceived as a positive choice.
Multiple Antenna Selection of multi -Relay System using GSC Scheme

Due to the emergence of very high-data-rate wireless communications, the adaptation of traditional diversity systems is required so that some performance is sacrificed for complexity reduction. With this goal in mind, we investigate the performance of muti-antenna multi-relay system when the generalized selection combining (GSC) is used to select and combine a number of diversity branches. The performance is measured in terms of bit error rate (BER) and is evaluated for both amplify and forward and decode and forward protocols. The considered channel is a slow flat fading channel. The performance is evaluated for known and estimated channel. The channel is estimated using least square algorithm. The performance of channel estimation algorithm is measured in terms of mean square error of estimation. The result shows that a reduction in complexity and power consumption is achieved for the multi-relay when GSC is used at the expense of some performance degradation.
Eurographics Symposium on Point-based Graphics (2006) Gpu-based Ray-casting of Quadratic Surfaces

Quadratic surfaces are frequently used primitives in geometric modeling and scientific visualization, such as rendering of tensor fields, particles, and molecular structures. While high visual quality can be achieved using sophisticated ray tracing techniques, interactive applications typically use either coarsely tessellated polygonal approximations or pre-rendered depth sprites, thereby trading off visual quality and perspective correctness for higher rendering performance. In contrast, we propose an efficient rendering technique for quadric primitives based on GPU-accelerated splatting. While providing similar performance as point-sprites, our methods provides perspective correctness and superior visual quality using per-pixel ray-casting.
Stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation: Past, present and future

Summary Concepts and our approaches to stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation (AF) have changed markedly over the last decade. There has been an evolution over the approach to stroke and bleeding risk assessment, as well as new treatment options. An increasing awareness of AF has led to calls to improve the detection of and population screening for AF. Stroke and bleeding risk assessment continues to evolve, and the ongoing debate on balance between simplicity and practicality, against precision medicine will continue. In this review article, we provide an overview of past, present and the (likely) future concepts and approaches to stroke prevention in AF. We propose three simple steps (the Birmingham ‘3-step’) that offers a practical management pathway to help streamline and simplify decision-making for stroke prevention in patients with AF. Note: The review process for this paper was fully handled by Christian Weber, Editor in Chief.
Periodontal Pathogens Produce Quorum Sensing Signal Molecules

ABSTRACT Different species of bacteria important in the composition of dental plaque were tested for production of extracellular autoinducer-like activities that stimulate the expression of the luminescence genes in Vibrio harveyi. Several strains ofPrevotella intermedia, Fusobacterium nucleatum, andPorphyromonas gingivalis were found to produce such activities. Interestingly, these bacteria belong to the same phylogenetic group, and they are periodontal pathogens important in the development of periodontal disease. They specifically produce extracellular signaling molecule related autoinducer-2 from V. haveyi. Nevertheless, they seem to be unable to produce homologues of acyl-homoserine lactones. Furthermore, Escherichia coli DH5α can be complemented by the introduction of a P. gingivalis gene with high homology to the luxS gene, which has been called luxSP.g.
The Use of Bone-Anchored Implants for Absent Ear

The sample of patients analyzed has been selected from 66 cases treated for extraoral bone-anchored implantology at the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Department of the "Tor Vergata" University of Rome. Optimal results can be obtained in the ear district because of the low surgical risks and few postsurgical complications. Advantages offered by extraoral bone integrated implants are obvious when compared with more traditional techniques: it is possible to obtain a better cosmetic result only from 2 surgical sessions; and adhesive prosthesis may be better placed without the usual local irritation, achieving a correct positioning. The authors present their experiences in using extraoral implants for the reconstruction of the ear area malformation.
Oral Vaccination with Heat Inactivated Mycobacterium bovis Activates the Complement System to Protect against Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a pandemic affecting billions of people worldwide, thus stressing the need for new vaccines. Defining the correlates of vaccine protection is essential to achieve this goal. In this study, we used the wild boar model for mycobacterial infection and TB to characterize the protective mechanisms elicited by a new heat inactivated Mycobacterium bovis vaccine (IV). Oral vaccination with the IV resulted in significantly lower culture and lesion scores, particularly in the thorax, suggesting that the IV might provide a novel vaccine for TB control with special impact on the prevention of pulmonary disease, which is one of the limitations of current vaccines. Oral vaccination with the IV induced an adaptive antibody response and activation of the innate immune response including the complement component C3 and inflammasome. Mycobacterial DNA/RNA was not involved in inflammasome activation but increased C3 production by a still unknown mechanism. The results also suggested a protective mechanism mediated by the activation of IFN-γ producing CD8+ T cells by MHC I antigen presenting dendritic cells (DCs) in response to vaccination with the IV, without a clear role for Th1 CD4+ T cells. These results support a role for DCs in triggering the immune response to the IV through a mechanism similar to the phagocyte response to PAMPs with a central role for C3 in protection against mycobacterial infection. Higher C3 levels may allow increased opsonophagocytosis and effective bacterial clearance, while interfering with CR3-mediated opsonic and nonopsonic phagocytosis of mycobacteria, a process that could be enhanced by specific antibodies against mycobacterial proteins induced by vaccination with the IV. These results suggest that the IV acts through novel mechanisms to protect against TB in wild boar.
Semi-supervised support vector machines regression

Semi-supervised learning algorithms make use of labeled and unlabeled samples. A large number of experiments show that the use of unlabeled samples may improve approximation power. However, there is seldom quantitative analysis of approximation power when the number of samples increases. In this paper a semi-supervised learning algorithm is constructed based on diffusion matrices. We establish the approximation order. Our results also illustrate quantitatively that the use of unlabeled samples may reduce the approximation error.
Sofrimento social e a corporificação do mundo: contribuições a partir da Antropologia

Suffering, a complex and multifaceted process that has been debated across different areas of knowledge, is an experience that has accompanied man since his earliest existence. This article aims to introduce the contribution of anthropology to this debate, focusing on the social dimension of the affliction, which has been called, more specifically, social suffering. Starting with an exposition of concepts relating to health problems, it is suggested here that suffering is social, not just because it is caused by or occurs in specific social conditions, but because, as a whole, it is an embodied social process in historical subjects. The paper is based on an ethnographic case of the indigenous people of Rio Grande do Sul, in southern Brazil, and discusses three aspects of social suffering: (1) the authorized or contested appropriations of collective suffering, (2) the medicalization of life and (3) suffering in relation to public policies. Finally, the difference between the recognition of a health problem and a process of social suffering is highlighted, the latter being characterized by the inseparability of physical, psychological, moral and social dimensions of discomfort. It should be emphasized that the contributions of anthropology include the provision of theoretical and methodological tools that allow us to ask, by engaging with the subjects and considering their history and social situation, how suffering is produced and recognized and the political and ethical implications of these different types of recognition.
Keeping the secret: how HIV-positive children in Iringa, Tanzania, respond to the perceived need for silence and secrecy

Children who live with HIV may experience two aspects of disclosure: receiving disclosure and disclosing their status to others. The objective of this paper is to explore how HIV-positive children respond to: (1) the disclosure process; and (2) the perceived need for secrecy and silence concerning living with HIV. Thirteen HIV-positive children between the ages of 10 and 15 years were recruited through a HIV treatment centre in Iringa, Tanzania. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with the children and staff members. The children received disclosure about their status from healthcare workers rather than caregivers. Several children were asked by their caregivers to keep their status secret, some chose to do so themselves, largely to avoid experienced or perceived stigma from the community. Secrecy had an impact on potentially supportive relationships. Children tend to mimic adult responses, including partial disclosure and lying to others.
Interactive Design and Visualization of Branched Covering Spaces

Branched covering spaces are a mathematical concept which originates from complex analysis and topology and has applications in tensor field topology and geometry remeshing. Given a manifold surface and an <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$N$</tex-math><alternatives><inline-graphic xlink:href="24tvcg01-zhang-2744038-ieq-1-source.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>-way rotational symmetry field, a branched covering space is a manifold surface that has an <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$N$</tex-math><alternatives><inline-graphic xlink:href="24tvcg01-zhang-2744038-ieq-2-source.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>-to-1 map to the original surface except at the <italic>ramification points</italic>, which correspond to the singularities in the rotational symmetry field. Understanding the notion and mathematical properties of branched covering spaces is important to researchers in tensor field visualization and geometry processing, and their application areas. In this paper, we provide a framework to interactively design and visualize the branched covering space (BCS) of an input mesh surface and a rotational symmetry field defined on it. In our framework, the user can visualize not only the BCSs but also their construction process. In addition, our system allows the user to design the geometric realization of the BCS using mesh deformation techniques as well as connecting tubes. This enables the user to verify important facts about BCSs such as that they are manifold surfaces around singularities, as well as the <italic>Riemann-Hurwitz formula</italic> which relates the Euler characteristic of the BCS to that of the original mesh. Our system is evaluated by student researchers in scientific visualization and geometry processing as well as faculty members in mathematics at our university who teach topology. We include their evaluations and feedback in the paper.
“This Is Spiderman's Mask.” “No, It's Green Goblin's”: Shared Meanings During Boys' Pretend Play With Superhero and Generic Toys

Preschool boys' pretense and coconstruction of shared meanings during two play sessions (superhero and generic toys) were investigated with 58 middle-class boys (M age = 54.95 mos.). The frequency of dyadic pretense and the coconstruction of shared meanings in the play were coded. The frequency of pretense did not vary across the two play sessions. There were significantly more prosocial behaviors, clarifications, and explanations during the superhero session, whereas there were more disruptive behaviors in the generic toy session. Thus, both types of play materials required boys to coconstruct shared meanings, and neither detracted from the ability to generate pretense narratives. The patterns of associations across and within the two play sessions demonstrated a high degree of consistency, as well as some interesting patterns unique to the two sessions. Findings are discussed in light of recent literature.
A Weighted K-hyperline Clustering Algorithm for Mixing Matrix Estimation on Bernoulli-Gaussian Sources

In this paper, we presents an augmented K-means clustering-weighted hyper line clustering(K-WHLC) approach to solve the problem of mixing matrix estimation for Bernoulli-Gaussian sources. This algorithm employs the K-means clustering method as the stage of initialization and then uses a recursive weighted approach to robustly localize the direction of hyper lines with the PCA technology. Furthermore, a valid probabilistic criteria is proposed to detect true vectors of basis matrix from the hyper lines set. The advantage of weighting strategy lies in that it can suppress the effect of outliers and strengthen the precision of algorithm. A series of numerical simulations demonstrate its high performance on the task of mixing matrix estimation under the medium and large-scale cases.
Views of Disabled People Regarding Legalized Assisted Suicide Before and After a Balanced Informational Presentation

A questionnaire on views regarding legalized assisted suicide was administered to 29 individuals with disabilities (12 participants with various disabilities; 17 participants with multiple sclerosis) before and after their exposure to a “pro” versus “con” informational presentation focusing on disability and assisted suicide. Results indicated that participants who expressed neutrality before the presentation were more likely than participants who had a predetermined position (either opposing or supporting legalization) to change their responses from pretest to posttest. Changes in views, when they occurred, tended toward opposition to legalized assisted suicide. Following the presentations, participants were fairly evenly divided in their endorsement versus opposition to legalized assisted suicide for terminally ill people. Most were opposed, however, to the legalization of assisted suicide for persons with incurable disabilities. Race/ethnicity and gender of participant were important factors, in that women, African Americans, and Latinos were least likely to support assisted suicide. The majority of participants indicated that legalized assisted suicide could lead to involuntary deaths and that safeguards would not prevent abuse. It was concluded that balanced disability-relevant information had a mild effect on attitudes in this study, and that differing levels of knowledge may account for some of the differences in views held by disabled people regarding legalized assisted suicide.
Chandra observation of the fast X-ray transient IGR J17544-2619: evidence for a neutron star?

IGR J17544-2619 belongs to a distinct group of at least seven fast X-ray transients that cannot readily be associated with nearby flare stars or pre-main sequence stars and most probably are X-ray binaries with wind accretion. Sofar, the nature of the accretor has been determined in only one case (SAX J1819.3-2525/V4641 Sgr). We carried out a 20 ks Chandra ACIS-S observation of IGR J17544-2619 which shows the source in quiescence going into outburst. The Chandra position confirms the previous tentative identification of the optical counterpart, a blue O9Ib supergiant at 3 to 4 kpc (Pellizza, Chaty & Negueruela, in prep.). This is the first detection of a fast X-ray transient in quiescence. The quiescent spectrum is very soft. The photon index of $5.9\pm1.2$ (90% confidence error margin) is much softer than 6 quiescent black hole candidates that were observed with Chandra ACIS-S (Kong et al. 2002, ApJ, 570, 277; Tomsick et al. 2003, ApJ, 599, L133). Assuming that a significant fraction of the quiescent photons comes from the accretor and not the donor star, we infer that the accretor probably is a neutron star. A fit to the quiescent spectrum of the neutron star atmosphere model developed by Pavlov et al. (1994, A&A, 289, 837) and Zavlin et al. (1996, A&A, 315, 141) implies an unabsorbed quiescent 0.5–10 keV luminosity of $(5.2\pm1.3)\times10^{32}$ erg s -1 . We speculate on the nature of the brief outbursts.
About new - biological inspired - pattern analysis methods for the pattern recognition in radargrams

Even so ground penetrating radar techniques are well established since many years, the signal analysis of the radar waves lacks still today especially when small ground structures, small objects but also more global soil structures should be detected or interpreted. In this paper we introduce new methods around these weak points. Basic idea of these methods is to use biological based methods for the signal interpretation such as lateral inhibition like in visual cortex, complex neuronal pattern recognition structures and more or less non numerical methods to enlarge the S/N ratio.
Constrained Linear Quadratic Regulation Pierre

This paper is a contribution to the theory of the infinitehorizon linear quadratic regulator (LQR) problem subject to inequality constraints on the inputs and states, extending an approach first proposed by Sznaier and Damborg [16]. A solution algorithm is presented, which requires solving a finite number of finite-dimensional positive definite quadratic programs. The constrained LQR outlined does not feature the undesirable mismatch between open-loop and closed-loop nominal system trajectories, which is present in the other popular forms of model predictive control (MPC) that can be implemented with a finite quadratic programming algorithm. The constrained LQR is shown to be both optimal and stabilizing. The solution algorithm is guaranteed to terminate in finite time with a computational cost that has a reasonable upper bound compared to the minimal cost for computing the optimal solution. Inherent to the approach is the removal of a tuning parameter, the control horizon, which is present in other MPC approaches and for which no reliable tuning guidelines are available. Two examples are presented that compare constrained LQR and two other popular forms of MPC. The examples demonstrate that constrained LQR achieves significantly better performance than the other forms of MPC on some plants, and the computational cost is not prohibitive for online implementation.