Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Software assessment model using metrics products for e-Government in the G2B model

e-Government can be divided into several models, such as, Government-to-Citizen or Government-to-Customer (G2C), Government-to-Business (G2B), Government-to-Government (G2G), or Government-to-employees (G2E). Based on previous study, research on G2B model was not as many as the research on the other areas such as on G2C [12]. G2B faces business organization with complex rules. Many software applications have been developed however their utilization is low because most the applications could not meet the needs and expectation of the users or stakeholders. Therefore, it is necessary to build a specific assessment model to further assess the suitability of software with the needs and expectations from users, so that the quality of the software applications can be guaranteed, and their utilization can be increased. Our study proposes a software assessment model using the development and improvement of metrics products from ISO/IEC 9126 for e-Government in the G2B model. The model includes the assessments on functionality, reliability, usability and efficiency. The model is expected to help a government to assess the quality of a software application for a G2B model. A case study in a local government office was performed to validate the model. Our model has been executed systematically, and the results has evaluated. The results demonstrate that our model can be used to assess a software application for G2B model. However more application of the model should be performed to give results for further analysis.
Foot Morphological Difference between Habitually Shod and Unshod Runners

Foot morphology and function has received increasing attention from both biomechanics researchers and footwear manufacturers. In this study, 168 habitually unshod runners (90 males whose age, weight & height were 23±2.4years, 66±7.1kg & 1.68±0.13m and 78 females whose age, weight & height were 22±1.8years, 55±4.7kg & 1.6±0.11m) (Indians) and 196 shod runners (130 males whose age, weight & height were 24±2.6years, 66±8.2kg & 1.72±0.18m and 66 females whose age, weight & height were 23±1.5years, 54±5.6kg & 1.62±0.15m)(Chinese) participated in a foot scanning test using the easy-foot-scan (a three-dimensional foot scanning system) to obtain 3D foot surface data and 2D footprint imaging. Foot length, foot width, hallux angle and minimal distance from hallux to second toe were calculated to analyze foot morphological differences. This study found that significant differences exist between groups (shod Chinese and unshod Indians) for foot length (female p = 0.001), width (female p = 0.001), hallux angle (male and female p = 0.001) and the minimal distance (male and female p = 0.001) from hallux to second toe. This study suggests that significant differences in morphology between different ethnicities could be considered for future investigation of locomotion biomechanics characteristics between ethnicities and inform last shape and design so as to reduce injury risks and poor performance from mal-fit shoes.
A Semi-Automated Technique Determining the Liver Standardized Uptake Value Reference for Tumor Delineation in FDG PET-CT

Background 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)-computed tomography (CT) has been an essential modality in oncology. We propose a semi-automated algorithm to objectively determine liver standardized uptake value (SUV), which is used as a threshold for tumor delineation. Methods A large spherical volume of interest (VOI) was placed manually to roughly enclose the right lobe (RL) of the liver. For each voxel in this VOI, a coefficient of variation of voxel values (CVv) was calculated for neighboring voxels within a radius of d/2. The voxel with the minimum CVv was then selected, where a 30-mm spherical VOI was placed at that voxel in accordance with PERCIST criteria. Two nuclear medicine physicians independently defined 30-mm VOIs manually on 124 studies in 62 patients to generate the standard values, against which the results from the new method were compared. Results The semi-automated method was successful in determining the liver SUV that was consistent between the two physicians in all the studies (d = 80 mm). The liver SUV threshold (mean +3 SD within 30-mm VOI) determined by the new semi-automated method (3.12±0.61) was not statistically different from those determined by the manual method (Physician-1: 3.14±0.58, Physician-2: 3.15±0.58). The semi-automated method produced tumor volumes that were not statistically different from those by experts' manual operation. Furthermore, the volume change in the two sequential studies had no statistical difference between semi-automated and manual methods. Conclusions Our semi-automated method could define the liver SUV robustly as the threshold value used for tumor volume measurements according to PERCIST. The method could avoid possible subjective bias of manual liver VOI placement and is thus expected to improve clinical performance of volume-based parameters for prediction of cancer treatment response.
The thermal dimension of psychophysiological and emotional responses revealed by thermal infrared imaging

Interpersonal communication and relationships rely on the continuous assessment of the psychophysiological state of the interlocutor. The thermal infrared imaging has been demonstrated to be a reliable tool for the non-invasive contactless evaluation of vital signs, psychophysiological responses and emotional states. The use of this technique is quickly spreading in many fields, from social and developmental psychology to the psychometrics; or from the continuous monitoring of vital signs and stress up to the human-machine interaction. The state of the art of thermal infrared imaging in psychophysiology and in the assessment of emotional states is discussed to provide insights about its potentialities and limits, with special emphasis to the still open issues for image processing and real-time data analysis.
Compact microstrip quad-band bandpass filter using stub-loaded SIRs

A new compact microstrip quad-band bandpass filter (BPF) using two sets of different stub-loaded stepped impedance resonators (SIRs) is presented. One of the stub-loaded SIRs, which can generate three passbands in the filter design, is formed by loading a short-circuited stub in the center of SIR and two symmetrical open-circuited stepped impedance stubs at two sides. While the other one consists of a simple symmetrical SIR loaded with a short-circuited stub, where a passband with controllable bandwidth can be obtained. The resonance properties of the proposed two stub-loaded SIRs can be both deduced by odd- and even-mode analysis method. For demonstration, a quad-band BPF centered at 2.0, 3.0, 3.9, and 7.2 GHz is designed, fabricated and tested, whose simulated and measured results are in good agreement.
Employing document dependency in blog search

The goal in blog search is to rank blogs according to their recurrent relevance to the topic of the query. State-of-the-art approaches view it as an expert search or resource selection problem. We investigate the effect of content-based similarity between posts on the performance of the retrieval system. We test two different approaches for smoothing (regularizing) relevance scores of posts based on their dependencies. In the first approach, we smooth term distributions describing posts by performing a random walk over a document-term graph in which similar posts are highly connected. In the second, we directly smooth scores for posts using a regularization framework that aims to minimize the discrepancy between scores for similar documents. We then extend these approaches to consider the time interval between the posts in smoothing the scores. The idea is that if two posts are temporally close, then they are good sources for smoothing each other's relevance scores. We compare these methods with the state-of-the-art approaches in blog search that employ Language Modeling-based resource selection algorithms and fusion-based methods for aggregating post relevance scores. We show performance gains over the baseline techniques which do not take advantage of the relation between posts for smoothing relevance estimates. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
An organizational-level occupational health intervention: Employee perceptions of exposure to changes, and psychosocial outcomes

This study aimed to investigate the association between employees' perceptions of their exposure to an organizational-level occupational health intervention and its psychosocial outcomes. Participants were employees of an insurance firm (N = 1084) in Quebec, Canada. The intervention was designed to reduce adverse psychosocial work factors (high psychological demands, low decision latitude, low social support and low rewards). Departmental managers were responsible for implementing changes to reduce exposure to these factors. Employees' perceptions of exposure to the intervention and its impact on their work were measured in 2007 through questionnaires. Psychological demands, decision latitude, social support and rewards measured in 2005 and 2007 were used to assess outcomes. Employees who perceived that they had been exposed to the intervention changes showed more improvement in outcomes than those who did not perceive changes. The greatest differences in outcomes were found in those participants who perceived that workplace changes had improved their work situation as compared to those who perceived the changes as neutral or negative. The results suggest that measurement of employee-perceived impact of each intervention change on their work situation may be even more important than actual exposure, and should be included in the measurement of exposure to organization-level interventions.
White Blood Cell Count Predicts Reduction in Coronary Heart Disease Mortality With Pravastatin

Background—Elevated serum inflammatory marker levels are associated with a greater long-term risk of cardiovascular events. Because 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme-A reductase inhibitors (statins) may have an antiinflammatory action, it has been suggested that patients with elevated inflammatory marker levels may have a greater reduction in cardiovascular risk with statin treatment. Methods and Results—We evaluated the association between the white blood cell count (WBC) and coronary heart disease mortality during a mean follow-up of 6.0 years in the Long-Term Intervention With Pravastatin in Ischemic Disease (LIPID) Study, a clinical trial comparing pravastatin (40 mg/d) with a placebo in 9014 stable patients with previous myocardial infarction or unstable angina. An increase in baseline WBC was associated with greater coronary heart disease mortality in patients randomized to placebo (hazard ratio for 1×109/L increase in WBC, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.12 to 1.25; P<0.001) but not pravastatin (hazard ratio, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.96 to 1.09; P=0.56; P for interaction=0.004). The numbers of coronary heart disease deaths prevented per 1000 patients treated with pravastatin were 0, 9, 30, and 38 for baseline WBC quartiles of <5.9, 6.0 to 6.9, 7.0 to 8.1, and >8.2×109/L, respectively. WBC was a stronger predictor of this treatment benefit than the ratio of total to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and a global measure of cardiac risk. There was also a greater reduction (P=0.052) in the combined incidence of cardiovascular mortality, nonfatal myocardial infarction, and stroke with pravastatin as baseline WBC increased (by quartile: 3, 41, 61, and 60 events prevented per 1000 patients treated, respectively). Conclusions—These data support the hypothesis that individuals with evidence of inflammation may obtain a greater benefit from statin therapy.
Metabolic syndrome and chronic kidney disease

Metabolic syndrome and chronic kidney disease (CKD) have become global public health problems due to their increasing prevalence and their close associations with cardiovascular events. First recognised by Reaven [1] in 1988, metabolic syndrome (previously known as syndrome X) is a complex pathophysiological issue and essentially considered as an assembly of cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors, which include abdominal obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension and insulin resistance/ hyperglycemia components. Over the years, there have been several definitions of metabolic syndrome. In most of the epidemiological studies NCEP-ATP (National Cholesterol Education Program-Adult Treatment Panel III) criteria were used [2]. Lastly, Harmonized (Consensus) Definition incorporating IDF (International Diabetes Federation) and AHA/NHLB (American Heart Association/ National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute) definitions were released requiring any three of the following criteria:
ii Scalable Data Correlation

The fast capacity growth of cheap storage presents an ever-escalating problem for forensic investigations as currently employed forensic technologies are not designed to scale to the degree necessary to meet the challenge. In this work, we present an approach which seeks to scale up the process of finding related digital artifacts across large data sets by employing an advanced version of our similarity digest tool sdhash. Specifically, we demonstrate that the digest generation process can be performed at rates exceeding those of crypto hashes on commodity multi-core systems. Digest comparison rates allow us to query the digest of a 1TB target for the (trace) presence of a small file in less than one second with very high precision and recall rates.
Functional Analysis of the SIN3-Histone Deacetylase RPD3-RbAp48-Histone H4 Connection in the XenopusOocyte

ABSTRACT We investigated the protein associations and enzymatic requirements for the Xenopus histone deacetylase catalytic subunit RPD3 to direct transcriptional repression in Xenopus oocytes. Endogenous Xenopus RPD3 is present in nuclear and cytoplasmic pools, whereas RbAp48 and SIN3 are predominantly nuclear. We cloned Xenopus RbAp48 and SIN3 and show that expression of RPD3, but not RbAp48 or SIN3, leads to an increase in nuclear and cytoplasmic histone deacetylase activity and transcriptional repression of the TRβA promoter. This repression requires deacetylase activity and nuclear import of RPD3 mediated by a carboxy-terminal nuclear localization signal. Exogenous RPD3 is not incorporated into previously described oocyte deacetylase and ATPase complexes but cofractionates with a component of the endogenous RbAp48 in the oocyte nucleus. We show that RPD3 associates with RbAp48 through N- and C-terminal contacts and that RbAp48 also interacts with SIN3. XenopusRbAp48 selectively binds to the segment of the N-terminal tail immediately proximal to the histone fold domain of histone H4 in vivo. Exogenous RPD3 may be targeted to histones through interaction with endogenous RbAp48 to direct transcriptional repression of theXenopus TRβA promoter in the oocyte nucleus. However, the exogenous RPD3 deacetylase functions to repress transcription in the absence of a requirement for association with SIN3 or other targeted corepressors.
Reducing stigma toward the transgender community: An evaluation of a humanizing and perspective-taking intervention.

Fig. 2. Change in genderism and transphobia over time by condition. aSignificant increase in GTS scores from baseline to post-test, t(22) = -2.61, p < . 05, with higher scores reflecting less genderist and transphobic attitudes. bNo significant change in GTS-GT scores from baseline to post-test, t(20) = 1.79, p = . 09. Fig. 3. Change in desired social contact over time by religiosity. aNo significant increase in desired social distance from baseline to post-test, t(14) = -2.08, p < . 06 bSignificant increase in desired social distance from baseline to posttest, t(7) = -3.65. , p < . 01. 5.13 5.30a
Sol–gel synthesis and in vitro bioactivity of copper and zinc-doped silicate bioactive glasses and glass-ceramics

Metal doping of bioactive glasses based on ternary 60SiO2–36CaO–4P2O5 (58S) and quaternary 60SiO2–25CaO–11Na2O–4P2O5 (NaBG) mol% compositions synthesized using a sol–gel process was analyzed. In particular, the effect of incorporating 1, 5 and 10 mol% of CuO and ZnO (replacing equivalent quantities of CaO) on the texture, in vitro bioactivity, and cytocompatibility of these materials was evaluated. Our results showed that the addition of metal ions can modulate the textural property of the matrix and its crystal structure. Regarding the bioactivity, after soaking in simulated body fluid (SBF) undoped 58S and NaBG glasses developed an apatite surface layer that was reduced in the doped glasses depending on the type of metal and its concentration with Zn displaying the largest inhibitions. Both the ion release from samples and the ion adsorption from the medium depended on the type of matrix with 58S glasses showing the highest values. Pure NaBG glass was more cytocompatible to osteoblast-like cells (SaOS-2) than pure 58S glass as tested by 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The incorporation of metal ions decreased the cytocompatibility of the glasses depending on their concentration and on the glass matrix doped. Our results show that by changing the glass composition and by adding Cu or Zn, bioactive materials with different textures, bioactivity and cytocompatibility can be synthesized.
pHo, pHi, and PCO 2 in Stimulation of IP3 and [Ca2+]c in Piglet Cerebrovascular Smooth Muscle

Abstract Hypocapnia produces cerebral vasoconstriction. The mechanisms involved in hypocapnia-induced elevation of vascular smooth muscle tone remain unclear. We addressed the hypothesis that, in cerebrovascular smooth muscle, increases in extracellular pH (pHo) cause increases in Ins(1,4,5)P3 and cytosolic calcium ([Ca2+]c). Superfused primary cultures of piglet cerebral microvascular smooth muscle cells were exposed to artificial CSF (aCSF) of control (pHo 7.4, PCO2 36 mm Hg), metabolic alkalosis (pHo 7.7, PCO2 36 mm Hg), or respiratory alkalosis (pHo 7.7, PCO2 19 mm Hg). Intracellular pH (pHi) and [Ca2+]c were measured, using BCECF and fura-2, respectively, with dual wavelength spectroscopy. Ins(1,4,5)P3 was determined by a protein binding assay. Both metabolic and respiratory acidosis treatments increased pH, from the control value of about 7.2 to 7.35. Metabolic and respiratory alkalosis increased Ins(1,4,5)P3, as we showed previously. Metabolic and respiratory alkalosis increased [Ca2+]c about 80% and 110%, respectively. Neither Ins(1,4,5)P3 nor [Ca2+]c increased in cells treated with aCSF that produced control pHo with increased pHi (7.3). In contrast, when pHo increased (7.7), but pHi was maintained at control (7.2), Ins(1,4,5)P3 increased from 123 pmol/well to 307 pmol/well and [Ca2+]c increased 46%. However, the increase of [Ca2+]c was less than with either respiratory or metabolic alkalosis. Thus, hypocapnia-induced cerebral vasoconstriction could involve production of Ins(1,4,5)P3 with resultant elevation in [Ca2+]c. While the Ins(1,4,5)P3 signal appears to be dependent on an increase in extracellular pH, a role for intracellular pH cannot be completely excluded.
Translational Evaluation of JNJ-18038683, a 5-Hydroxytryptamine Type 7 Receptor Antagonist, on Rapid Eye Movement Sleep and in Major Depressive Disorder

In rodents 5-hydroxytryptamine type 7 (5-HT7) receptor blockade has been shown to be effective in models of depression and to increase the latency to rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and decrease REM duration. In the clinic, the REM sleep reduction observed with many antidepressants may serve as a biomarker. We report here the preclinical and clinical evaluation of a 5-HT7 receptor antagonist, (3-(4-chlorophenyl)-1,4,5,6,7,8-hexahydro-1-(phenylmethyl)pyrazolo[3,4-d]azepine 2-hydroxy-1,2,3-propanetricarboxylate) (JNJ-18038683). In rodents, JNJ-18038683 increased the latency to REM sleep and decreased REM duration, and this effect was maintained after repeated administration for 7 days. The compound was effective in the mouse tail suspension test. JNJ-18038683 enhanced serotonin transmission, antidepressant-like behavior, and REM sleep suppression induced by citalopram in rodents. In healthy human volunteers JNJ-18038683 prolonged REM latency and reduced REM sleep duration, demonstrating that the effect of 5-HT7 blockade on REM sleep translated from rodents to humans. Like in rats, JNJ-18038683 enhanced REM sleep suppression induced by citalopram in humans, although a drug-drug interaction could not be ruled out. In a double-blind, active, and placebo-controlled clinical trial in 225 patients suffering from major depressive disorder, neither treatment with pharmacologically active doses of JNJ-18038683 or escitalopram separated from placebo, indicating a failed study lacking assay sensitivity. Post hoc analyses using an enrichment window strategy, where all the efficacy data from sites with an implausible high placebo response [placebo group Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) < = 12] and from sites with no placebo response (MADRS > = 28) are removed, there was a clinically meaningful difference between JNJ-18038683 and placebo. Further clinical studies are required to characterize the potential antidepressant efficacy of JNJ-18038683.
Use of Finite Difference Time Domain Simulations and Debye Theory for Modelling the Terahertz Reflection Response of Normal and Tumour Breast Tissue

The aim of this work was to evaluate the capabilities of Debye theory combined with Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) methods to simulate the terahertz (THz) response of breast tissues. Being able to accurately model breast tissues in the THz regime would facilitate the understanding of image contrast parameters used in THz imaging of breast cancer. As a test case, the model was first validated using liquid water and simulated reflection pulses were compared to experimental measured pulses with very good agreement (p = 1.00). The responses of normal and cancerous breast tissues were simulated with Debye properties and the correlation with measured data was still high for tumour (p = 0.98) and less so for normal breast (p = 0.82). Sections of the time domain pulses showed clear differences that were also evident in the comparison of pulse parameter values. These deviations may arise from the presence of adipose and other inhomogeneities in the breast tissue that are not accounted for when using the Debye model. In conclusion, the study demonstrates the power of the model for simulating THz reflection imaging; however, for biological tissues extra Debye terms or a more detailed theory may be required to link THz image contrast to physiological composition and structural changes of breast tissue associated with differences between normal and tumour tissues.
Maximum Energy Routing Protocol Based on Strong Head in Wireless Sensor Networks

Sensor node has a limited amount of battery in sensor network. So, it is very important to have the maximum lifetime of network through energy effective routing. To continue maximum lifetime between sensor nodes, it is necessary to utilize efficient clustering algorithm. LEACH is a well known routing protocol based on cluster, but it has several problems about short network lifetime because of the inefficient energy consumption. In this paper, we propose a routing protocol called Maximum Energy routing protocol based on Strong Head (MESH) in order to solve the problems of LEACH. The key idea of our protocol is that the collected data from cluster head is transmitted to SINK by node defined as a "Strong Head'. We evaluate the performance of our protocol through simulations. Simulation results show that our protocol outperforms the LEACH in terms of the energy consumption and lifetime of the network.