Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Long-term prognostic effect of coronary atherosclerotic burden: validation of the computed tomography-Leaman score.

BACKGROUND Computed tomography-adapted Leaman score (CT-LeSc) was developed to quantify coronary CT angiography information about atherosclerotic burden (lesion localization, stenosis degree, and plaque composition). The objective of the study is to evaluate CT-LeSc long-term prognostic value in patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD). METHODS AND RESULTS Single-center prospective registry including 1304 consecutive patients undergoing coronary CT angiography for suspected CAD. High CT-LeSc was defined by upper tertile (score, >5) cutoff. Segment involvement score and segment stenosis score were also evaluated. Hard cardiac events (cardiac death and nonfatal acute coronary syndromes) were considered for analysis. Different Cox regression models were used to identify independent event predictors. Kaplan-Meier event-free survival was evaluated in 4 patient subgroups stratified by obstructive (≥50% stenosis) versus nonobstructive CAD and a high (>5) versus a low (≤5) CT-LeSc. Of 1196 patients included in the final analysis (mean follow-up of 52±22 months), 125 patients experienced 136 hard events (18 cardiac deaths and 118 nonfatal myocardial infarction). All atherosclerotic burden scores were independent predictors of cardiac events (hazard ratios of 3.09 for segment involvement score, 4.42 for segment stenosis score, and 5.39 for CT-LeSc). Cumulative event-free survival was 76.8% with a high CT-LeSc and 96.0% with a low CT-LeSc. Event-free survival in nonobstructive CAD with high CT-LeSc (78.6%) was similar to obstructive CAD with high CT-LeSc (76.5%) but lower than obstructive CAD with low CT-LeSc (80.7%). CONCLUSIONS CT-LeSc is an independent long-term predictor of hard cardiac events. Patients with nonobstructive CAD and high CT-LeSc had hard event-free survival similar to patients with obstructive CAD.
An enhanced method for detecting congestive heart failure - Automatic Classifier

A number of studies demonstrated the relationship of HRV (Heart Rate Variability) measures. Over the past years, automatic classifier, based on several clinical & instrumental parameters have been proposed to support CHF assessment. Considering only the low level features will not fulfill the classification needs. In order to avoid the gap between low level i.e general causes for CHF & high level features i.e attribute retrieved from long term HRV & make a decision correctly proposed a classifier to individuate severity of CHF. The proposed classifier separates lower risk patients from higher risk ones, using standard long-term heart rate variability (HRV) measures. The method we used to develop the Automatic Classifier is Bayesian belief network Classifier. The Bayesian Belief Network Classifier has been used in several applications especially for medical diagnosis. The Bayesian Belief Network algorithm iteratively splits the dataset, according to a criterion that maximizes the separation of the data which will produce a tree-like decision.
Improving Health and Reducing Comorbidity Associated with HIV: The Development of TAVIE en santé, a Web-Based Tailored Intervention to Support the Adoption of Health Promoting Behaviors among People Living with HIV

Background. In the domain of health behavior change, the deployment and utilization of information and communications technologies as a way to deliver interventions appear to be promising. This article describes the development of a web-based tailored intervention, TAVIE en santé, to support people living with HIV in the adoption of healthy behaviors. Methods. This intervention was developed through an Intervention Mapping (IM) framework and is based on the theory of planned behavior. Results. Crucial steps of IM are the selection of key determinants of behavior and the selection of useful theory-based intervention methods to change the targeted determinants (active ingredients). The content and the sequence of the intervention are then created based on these parameters. TAVIE en santé is composed of 7 interactive web sessions hosted by a virtual nurse. It aims to develop and strengthen skills required for behavior change. Based on an algorithm using individual cognitive data (attitude, perceived behavioral control, and intention), the number of sessions, theory-based intervention methods, and messages contents are tailored to each user. Conclusion. TAVIE en santé is currently being evaluated. The use of IM allows developing intervention with a systematic approach based on theory, empirical evidence, and clinical and experiential knowledge.
The Reappearance of the Transient Low-Mass X-Ray Binary X1658–298

In April 1999 the transient low-mass X-ray binary X1658-298 resumed its strong and persistent X-ray emission after a 21 yr interval of quiescence. We present RXTE data obtained soon after the reappearance, including four eclipses with a mean duration of 901.9 ± 0.8 s and ingress/egress times of 6-13 s. Our updated ephemeris for the source indicates that the 7.1 hr orbital period of the system is decreasing with a timescale of 107 yr. Contemporaneous optical observations provide the first ever light curve of V2134 Oph, the optical counterpart of X1658-298. The optical modulation is highly variable from night to night and exhibits a distinct, narrow eclipse feature of about 0.2 mag superposed on a gradual brightness variation with ~0.7-0.8 mag amplitude. Our data indicate that there is no significant offset between the time of mideclipse in the X-ray and optical and that the narrow optical eclipse feature is of the same duration as the X-ray eclipse. This implies an accretion disk structure characterized by enhanced optical emission coincident with the central X-ray-emitting area.
Lane Detection with Moving Vehicles Using Color Information

— An increasing safety and reducing road accidents, thereby by saving lives are one of great interest in the context of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems. Apparently, among the complex and challenging tasks of future road vehicles is road lane detection or even road boundaries detection. We present a robust and real time approach to lane marker detection in urban streets. A lane-detection method aimed at handling moving vehicles in the traffic scenes is proposed in this brief. First, an adaptive region of interest ROI is set. The ROI is mainly in the bottom half of the image since the main lane information only appears in the bottom of the image. Then the lane marks are extracted based on color information. The extraction of lane-mark colors is designed in a way that is not affected by illumination changes and the proportion of space that vehicles on the road occupy.
Thermal and Magnetorotational Instability in the Interstellar Medium: Two-dimensional Numerical Simulations

The structure and dynamics of diffuse gas in the Milky Way and other disk galaxies may be strongly influenced by thermal and magnetorotational instabilities (TI and MRI, respectively) on scales ~1-100 pc. We initiate a study of these processes, using two-dimensional numerical hydrodynamic and magnetohydrodynamic simulations with conditions appropriate for the atomic interstellar medium (ISM). Our simulations incorporate thermal conduction and adopt local "shearing-periodic" equations of motion and boundary conditions to study dynamics of a (100 pc) 2 radial-vertical section of the disk. We demonstrate, consistent with previous work, that nonlinear development of "pure TI" produces a network of filaments that condense into cold clouds at their intersections, yielding a distinct two-phase warm/cold medium within ~20 Myr. TI-driven turbulent motions of the clouds and warm intercloud medium are present but saturate at quite subsonic amplitudes for uniform initial P/k = 2000 K cm -3. MRI has previously been studied in near-uniform media; our simulations include both TI+MRI models, which begin from uniform-density conditions, and cloud+MRI models, which begin with a two-phase cloudy medium. Both the TI+MRI and cloud+MRI models show that MRI develops within a few galactic orbital times, just as for a uniform medium. The mean separation between clouds can affect which MRI mode dominates the evolution. Provided intercloud separations do not exceed half the MRI wavelength, we find the MRI growth rates are similar to those for the corresponding uniform medium. This opens the possibility that if low cloud volume filling factors increase MRI dissipation times compared to those in a uniform medium, then MRI-driven motions in the ISM could reach amplitudes comparable to observed H I turbulent line widths.
Visualizing Personal Progress in Participatory Sports Cycling Events

This article explores the potential for creating personal visualization of participation in sports cycling as a design study. Examples show riders' personal narratives and performances relative to other participants in long-distance cycling events. Minimalist cartographic design is applied during the automatic generation of profile maps, which allows personal textual narratives to be attached to visualizations of 3D variations in terrain. Changes in relative position and time-in-hand data during mass participation events are shown as position charts, and animations of rider density over time are used to visualize the progress of larger groups of riders in an event. The designs focus on representing the aspects of participation that evoke an emotional response in an effort to engage users.
Six principles for redesigning executive information systems—findings of a survey and evaluation of a prototype

Information Systems (IS) meant to help senior managers are known as Executive Information Systems (EIS). Despite a five-decade tradition of such IS, many executives still complain that they bear little relevance to managing a company and, even more, fail to accommodate their working style. The increasing acceptance of IS among today's executives and technological advances of the Internet era make the present moment favorable for redesigning EIS. Following the design science paradigm in IS research, this article provides six principles for such a redesign. To do so, we survey executives regarding their requirements and the IS they currently use. We then derive principles for a redesign to fill the gaps. They address diverse areas: a comprehensive information model, functions to better analyze and process information, easy-to-use IS handling, a more flexible IS architecture and data model, a proper information management, and fast prototype implementation. Finally a field test demonstrates and evaluates the utility of our proposal by means of a prototype.
Trusted Virtual Machine Management for Virtualization in Critical Environments

Service providers use virtualization technology to better serve their remote customers and to efficiently use their resources. In particular when virtualization is used within critical infrastructures such as industrial control systems security of the virtual machines is crucial. Creating fully secure systems based on a verified small trusted computing base (TCB) is desirable to minimize the attack surface of the host system. However, attacks can still occur, and sometimes it is not practically possible to provide a small TCB or to completely replace a running system to enforce security. Thus, remote monitoring of the integrity of VMs is desired to confirm their trusted state. In general, it is a complex task to incorporate on-demand system integrity verification into the existing host system to measure a hosted virtual machine (VM) at runtime and to switch back at runtime to the trusted state whenever a change or a manipulation is detected. Also it is necessary to provide the host machine's integrity information along with the VM to remote customers when such status are seeked. In this paper, we address the problem of securing an existing or new host machine with on-demand integrity measurement solution to offer a fresh and trusted VM whenever some illegitimate changes are detected in the current VM. The solution is targeted at smaller devices with a limited number of VMs and customers per device. It also assumes VMs to be rather stable and does not use virtual TPMs. Thus, it focuses on secure virtualization in critical environments, automation, or industry control systems.
Translational Control by the DEAD Box RNA Helicase belle Regulates Ecdysone-Triggered Transcriptional Cascades

Steroid hormones act, through their respective nuclear receptors, to regulate target gene expression. Despite their critical role in development, physiology, and disease, however, it is still unclear how these systemic cues are refined into tissue-specific responses. We identified a mutation in the evolutionarily conserved DEAD box RNA helicase belle/DDX3 that disrupts a subset of responses to the steroid hormone ecdysone during Drosophila melanogaster metamorphosis. We demonstrate that belle directly regulates translation of E74A, an ets transcription factor and critical component of the ecdysone-induced transcriptional cascade. Although E74A mRNA accumulates to abnormally high levels in belle mutant tissues, no E74A protein is detectable, resulting in misregulation of E74A-dependent ecdysone response genes. The accumulation of E74A mRNA in belle mutant salivary glands is a result of auto-regulation, fulfilling a prediction made by Ashburner nearly 40 years ago. In this model, Ashburner postulates that, in addition to regulating secondary response genes, protein products of primary response genes like E74A also inhibit their own ecdysone-induced transcription. Moreover, although ecdysone-triggered transcription of E74A appears to be ubiquitous during metamorphosis, belle-dependent translation of E74A mRNA is spatially restricted. These results demonstrate that translational control plays a critical, and previously unknown, role in refining transcriptional responses to the steroid hormone ecdysone.
Genetic Influence on Resilience to Potentially Traumatic Events

Although clinicians and researchers are interested in the phenomenon of resilience, there is no agreed-upon definition of resilience. Scientific evidence suggests that resilience is influenced by intrapersonal (e.g. personality traits) and environmental (e.g. social support) variables. A concept analysis was conducted to better understand the meaning of resilience. In this analysis, the antecedent of resilience was a potentially traumatic event; the defining attributes were ego-resiliency, emotion regulation, social support, and heredity; and the consequences were none to mild psychopathological symptoms and positive adaptation. This analysis can help us better understand resilience and its relationships to both intrapersonal and environmental variables.
Context-based natural image parsing: A critical survey

Image parsing is an essential part of a large number of image understanding systems. It encompasses techniques for segmenting images into meaningful objects and labeling them with semantic classes. Both sub-problems of segmentation and classification are impossible to deal with in most natural domains without implicit or explicit consideration of context provided by other sources (i.e. sensors or a domain knowledge) or emerging from the image itself (neighborhood or global image features). In this paper we will discuss different approaches that exploit the image context in order to achieve reliable parsing of natural scenes.
A G ] 1 0 Fe b 20 03 On Hypersurface Quotient Singularity of Dimension 4

We consider geometrical problems on Gorenstein hypersurface orbifolds of dimension n ≥ 4 through the theory of Hilbert scheme of group orbits. For a linear special group G acting on C, we study the G-Hilbert scheme, Hilb(C), and crepant resolutions of C/G for G=the A-type abelian group Ar(n). For n = 4, we obtain the explicit structure of Hilb r(C4). The crepant resolutions of C/Ar(4) are constructed through their relation with Hilb r(C4), and the connections between these crepant resolutions are found by the “flop” procedure of 4-folds. We also make some primitive discussion on Hilb(C) for the G= alternating group An+1 of degree n + 1 with the standard representation on C; the detailed structure of Hilb4(C3) is explicitly constructed. 1991 MSC: 14J, 14M, 20C.
An Equilibrium Point based Model Unifying Movement Control in Humanoids

Despite all the dynamics methods effectively used in robotics control, few tackle the intricacies of the human musculoskeletal system itself. During movements, a huge amount of energy can be stored passively in the biomechanics of the muscle system. Controlling such a system in a way that takes advantage of the stored energy has lead to the Equilibrium-point hypothesis (EPH). In this paper, we propose a two-phase model based on the EPH. Our model is simple and general enough to be extended to various motions over all body parts. In the first phase, gradient descent is used to obtain one kinematics endpoint in joint space, given a task in Cartesian space. In the second phase where the movements are actually executed, we use damped springs to simulate muscles to drive the limb joints. The model is demonstrated by a humanoid doing walking, reaching, and grasping.
Using Discourse Predictions for Ambiguity Resolution

In this paper we discuss how we apply discourse predictions along with non context-based predictions to the problem of parse disambiguation in Enthusiast, a Spanish-to-English translation system (Woszcyna et al., 1993; Suhm et al., 1994; Levin et al., 1995). We discuss extensions to our plan-based discourse processor in order to make this possible. We evaluate those extensions and demonstrate the advantage of exploiting context-based predictions over a purely non context-based approach.
Teacher Turnover: Does it Matter for Pupil Achievement?

Recent research has established that teachers matter for student achievements, albeit because of dimensions of ‘teacher quality’ that are largely unexplained. A less closely investigated issue is whether teacher turnover directly harms student academic achievement. In this paper, we examine whether teacher turnover affects academic achievement of 16 year old state secondary school students using a unique data set of linked students and teachers in England. Identification comes from either: a school fixed effects design which exploits year-on-year variation in turnover in different subject groups, within schools; or student fixed effect design that where the variation comes from the cross sectional variation in turnover in different subjects, in the same school, experienced by a student. Both methods give similar results, suggesting that a higher teacher entry rate reduces students’ test scores, albeit by small amounts.
Effect of midgut proteolytic activity on susceptibility of lepidopteran larvae to Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. Kurstaki

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is the most effective microbial control agent for controlling numerous species from different insect orders. All subspecies and strains of B. thuringiensis can produce a spore and a crystalline parasporal body. This crystal which contains proteinaceous protoxins is dissolved in the alkaline midgut, the resulting molecule is then cleaved and activated by proteolytic enzymes and acts as a toxin. An interesting aspect of this activation process is that variations in midgut pH and protease activity have been shown to account for the spectrum of some Bt proteins activity. Thus, an important factor that could be a determinant of toxin activity is the presence of proteases in the midgut microenvironment of susceptible insects. Reciprocally, any alteration in the midgut protease composition of the host can result in resistance to Bt. Here in this paper, we reviewed this processes in general and presented our assays to reveal whether resistance mechanism to Bt in Diamondback Moth (DbM) larvae could be due to the function of the midgut proteases? We estimated LC50 for both probable susceptible and resistant populations in laboratory and greenhouse tests. Then, the midgut protease activities of the B. thuringiensis induced-resistant and susceptible populations of the DbM were assayed on Hemoglubin and on N-alpha-benzoyl-DL-arginine-p-nitroanilide (BapNA) for total and tryptic activities, respectively. Six hours after feeding on Bt treated and untreated canola leaves, the midguts of instar larvae of both populations were isolated. Following related protocols, peptides released through the activity of proteinases on Hemoglubin and BApNA were recorded using microplate reader. Control (Blank) was also considered with adding TCA to reaction mix before adding enzymatic extract. Data analysis indicated that there are significant differences for tryptic activity on BApNA and also for total proteolytic activity on Hemoglubin between susceptible and resistant populations fed on Bt treated leaves. But these differences were not significant for larvae fed on healthy canola leaves between these two populations. These results which supported the role of DbM's proteolytic system in development of resistance to Bt, will be discussed in details.
MicroRNAs in HIV-1 infection: an integration of viral and cellular interaction at the genomic level

The microRNA pathways govern complex interactions of the host and virus at the transcripts level that regulate cellular responses, viral replication and viral pathogenesis. As a group of single-stranded short non-coding ribonucleotides (ncRNAs), the microRNAs complement their messenger RNA (mRNA) targets to effect post-transcriptional or translational gene silencing. Previous studies showed the ability of human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) to encode microRNAs which modify cellular defence mechanisms thus creating an environment favorable for viral invasion and replication. In corollary, cellular microRNAs were linked to the alteration of HIV-1 infection at different stages of replication and latency. As evidences further establish the regulatory involvement of both cellular and viral microRNA in HIV-1-host interactions, there is a necessity to organize this information. This paper would present current and emerging knowledge on these multi-dimensional interactions that may facilitate the design of microRNAs as effective antiretroviral reagents.
Survival related to plasma C-reactive-protein in nonagenarians is modified by apolipoprotein E genotype.

In the present study, we combined 2 thoroughly studied markers of inflammation and lipid metabolism—sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and apolipoprotein E genotype (apoE)—to predict mortality in the elderly (1)(2). Plasma hsCRP concentration (1) and apoE genotype(2) are both important predictors of coronary artery disease (CAD) and stroke (1)(2). The risk of myocardial infarction in people with hsCRP concentrations in the highest third of the population range is twice that of those with hsCRP in the lowest third (1). ApoE genotype is a key regulator of lipoprotein metabolisms (2)(3), and the e4-allele has been associated with increased plasma LDL cholesterol concentration and CAD (2)(3). These 2 factors are biologically linked; low hsCRP concentrations have been measured in apoE e4-allele carriers, indicating that variation in plasma hsCRP concentration is partially determined by the common apoE (e2, e3 and e4) gene polymorphism (3)(4). ApoE e4 allele …
Externalism, Epistemic Artefacts and The Extended Mind

In original contributions, internationally leading authors address themselves to one of the most important questions of contemporary theoretical philosophy. The debate between internalism and externalism has become a focal point of attention both in epistemology and in the philosophy of mind and language. Externalism challenges basic traditional internalist conceptions of the nature of knowledge, justification, thought and language.