Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Value of Prothrombin Fragment 1.2 (F 1.2) in the Diagnosis of Stroke in Young Patients With Antiphospholipid Antibodies

The presence in the serum of antiphospholipid an tibodies (aPL) is associated with venous and arterial thrombo sis. This observation has led to the search for these antibodies in young patients with ischemic neurologic syndromes. How ever, 1% to 5% of healthy people may be found to have cir culating aPL without necessarily being at increased risk of thromboembolism. Thus, the finding of APLA in a patient with cerebral ischemia does not necessarily provide an explanation for the etiology of the clinical syndrome. The aim of this study was to determine whether the presence of aPL in young patients with stroke or transient ischemic attacks represents a possible cause of hypercoagulability as defined by ongoing thrombin formation with resultant elevation of prothrombin fragment 1.2 (F1.2) levels. This was a retrospective, case-control study involving 57 subjects. Twenty-seven patients had a recent cerebrovascular ischemic event—either TIA or a stroke. Fifteen were positive for aPL, and 12 were aPL-negative. Thirty subjects, matched for age and sex with no history of cerebrovascular disease, served as controls. Of this group, 20 were aPL-positive and 10 were aPL-negative. Causes of hy percoagulability other than aPL were excluded by laboratory testing. A positive test for aPL was repeated after a 6-week interval and two positive tests were required for a patient to be regarded as being aPL-positive. Levels of F1.2 were measured by an ELISA technique. There was a significant difference (p < 0.05) in the mean F1.2 levels between the aPL-positive group with a history of cerebrovascular disease (mean F1.2 = 2.3733) and each of the other study groups. There was no statistically significant dif ference between any of the other study groups. Our findings suggest that F1.2 levels are elevated in young patients with cerebrovascular syndromes who have aPL and in whom other causes of hypercoagulability and atherosclerotic vascular disease are absent. Elevated F1.2 in these patients may be a potential marker of the hypercoagulable state associated with aPL.
Graffiti zwischen Kunst und Ärgernis: empirische Studien zu einem städtischen Problem

Empfohlene Zitierung / Suggested Citation: Sackmann, R. (Hrsg.). (2006). Graffiti zwischen Kunst und Ärgernis: empirische Studien zu einem städtischen Problem (Der Hallesche Graureiher : Forschungsberichte des Instituts für Soziologie, 2006-1). Halle: Universität Halle-Wittenberg, Philosophische Fakultät I Sozialwissenschaften und historische Kulturwissenschaften, Institut für Soziologie. https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-113506
Moral Cognition, Emotions, and Neuroscience: An Integrative Developmental View.

Longstanding debates about whether morality is best defined in terms of emotions or judgments have been recently rekindled. In this essay, we review recent approaches from social psychology and moral neuroscience that have emphasized emotions and intuitions as central to morality. We assert that the results of developmental science research on judgments and reasoning informs these approaches and provides an integrative view, drawing on judgments and emotions to explain the acquisition of morality in ontogenesis. We discuss developmental research that supports a theory of morality in which judgments are central and children use emotions to interpret morally relevant situations. Drawing on extensive empirical findings, we conclude that defining morality as the principled treatment of others based on fairness, justice, and others’ welfare remains the fundamental basis of morality in humans.
A distributed randomized algorithm for relative localization in sensor networks

This paper regards the relative localization problem in sensor networks. We propose for its solution a distributed randomized algorithm, which is based on input-driven consensus dynamics and features pairwise “gossip” communications and updates. Due to the randomness of the updates, the state of this algorithm oscillates in time around a certain limit value. We show that the time-average of the state asymptotically converges, in the mean-square sense, to the least-squares solution of the localization problem. Furthermore, we describe an update scheme ensuring that the time-averaging process is accomplished in a fully distributed way.
ymphatic filariasis in western Ethiopia with special emphasis on revalence of Wuchereria bancrofti antigenaemia in and around nchocerciasis endemic areas

Lymphatic filariasis is known to be endemic in Gambella Region, western Ethiopia, but the full extent of its endemicity in other regions is unknown. A national mapping program for Ethiopia was initiated in 2008. This report summarizes initial data on the prevalence of Wuchereria bancrofti antigenaemia based on surveys carried out in a sampled population of 11 685 individuals living in 125 villages (112 districts) of western Ethiopia. The overall prevalence rate was 3.7%, but high geographical clustering and variation in prevalence (ranging from 0% to more than 50%) was found. The prevalence of hydrocele (in males) and lymphoedema of limbs was 0.8% and 3.6% respectively. Significantly higher ( 2 = 49.6; P < 0.01) prevalence of antigenaemia was noted in known onchocerciasis endemic districts (4.7%) compared to non-onchocerciasis endemic districts (2.3%). Thirty-four of the 112 districts, with a population of 1 547 685 in 2007, were found to be endemic. Of these, the numbers of districts with prevalence rates of >20%, 10–20% and 5–9% were nine, 14 and 20 respectively. Twenty-nine of these 34 endemic districts were found in three regions: Gambella Region (seven districts), Beneshangul-Gumuz Region (13 districts), and Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR) (nine districts). The other five were from Amhara (two districts) and Oromia (three districts) regions. A tentative distribution map has been drawn to facilitate the launching of the Ethiopia LF elimination program. © 2011 Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Phosphorylation of 25-kDa Synaptosome-associated Protein

Protein kinase C-mediated phosphorylation of a 25-kDa synaptosome-associated protein (SNAP-25) was examined in living PC12 cells. Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate treatment enhanced high potassium-induced [3H]-norepinephrine release, and a 28-kDa protein recognized by an anti-SNAP-25 antibody was phosphorylated on Ser residues. The molecular size of the phosphorylated band decreased slightly following treatment with Clostridium botulinum type A neurotoxin, whereas the band disappeared after treatment with botulinum type E neurotoxin, indicating that the 28-kDa protein was SNAP-25. A phosphorylation is likely to occur at Ser187, as this is the only Ser residue located between the cleavage sites of botulinum type A and E neurotoxins. SNAP-25 of PC12 cells was phosphorylated by purified protein kinase C in vitro, and the amount of syntaxin co-immunoprecipitated with SNAP-25 was decreased by phosphorylation. These results suggest that the phosphorylation of SNAP-25 may be involved in protein kinase C-mediated regulation of catecholamine release from PC12 cells.
Horses Experimentally Infected with Sarcocystis neurona Develop Altered Immune Responses In Vitro

Equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) due to Sarcocystis neurona infection is 1 of the most common neurologic diseases in horses in the United States. The mechanisms by which most horses resist disease, as well as the possible mechanisms by which the immune system may be suppressed in horses that develop EPM, are not known. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to determine whether horses experimentally infected with S. neurona developed suppressed immune responses. Thirteen horses that were negative for S. neurona antibodies in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were randomly assigned to control (n = 5) or infected (n = 8) treatment groups. Neurologic exams and cerebrospinal fluid analyses were performed prior to, and following, S. neurona infection. Prior to, and at multiple time points following infection, immune parameters were determined. All 8 S. neurona–infected horses developed clinical signs consistent with EPM, and had S. neurona antibodies in the serum and CSF. Both infected and control horses had increased percentages (P < 0.05) of B cells at 28 days postinfection. Infected horses had significantly decreased (P < 0.05) proliferation responses as measured by thymidine incorporation to nonspecific mitogens phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) and ionomycin (I) as soon as 2 days postinfection.
Optimized biasing condition for high efficiency power amplifier based on cascode cell

Closed-form relationships for the optimum bias point of high efficiency and widband power amplifiers (PAs) based on cascode cel are presented in this contribution. Through a rigorous analysis, the optimum output load, supply voltages, expected output power and efficiency of a cascode PA are derived and compared with those of the standard common source PA. Benefits of the proposed solution with respect to the classical biasing approach of a cascode PA are shown as well. Based on the same active device, a common source PA and a cascode PA are designed, realized, characterized and compered to validate the performed analysis. The results demonstrate that the proposed solution allows to obtain a cascode PA with output power and efficiency levels similar to those of the common source PA and a frequency band three times wider.
Fish Consumption and Advisory Awareness in the Great Lakes Basin

More than 61 million adults live in the eight U.S. states bordering the Great Lakes. Between June 2001 and June 2002, a population-based, random-digit-dial telephone survey of adults residing in Great Lakes (GL) states was conducted to assess consumption of commercial and sport-caught fish and awareness of state-issued consumption advisories for GL fish. On the basis of the weighted survey data, approximately 84% of the adults living in these states included fish in their diets. Seven percent (an estimated 4.2 million adults) consumed fish caught from the Great Lakes. The percentage of residents who had consumed sport-caught fish (from any water source) varied regionally and was highest among those who lived in Minnesota (44%) and Wisconsin (39%). Consumption of GL sport fish was highest among residents of Michigan (16%) and Ohio (12%). Among residents who had eaten GL fish, awareness of consumption advisories varied by gender and race and was lowest among women (30%) and black residents (15%). However, 70% of those who consumed GL sport-caught fish twice a month or more (an estimated 509,000 adults across all eight states) were aware of the advisories. Findings from this survey indicate that exposure to persistent contaminants found in GL fish is likely limited to a relatively small subpopulation of avid sport-fish consumers. Results also underscore the public health importance of advisories for commercial fish because an estimated 2.9 million adults living in these states consume more than 104 fish meals per year and may be at risk of exceeding the reference doses for methylmercury, polychlorinated biphenyls, and other bioaccumulative contaminants.
Removing noise in a digital image using a new entropy method based on intuitionistic fuzzy sets

We propose a novel framework which is aimed to process gray images. By appropriately converting digital colors to intuitionistic fuzzy numbers in a generalized framework, the algorithm tends to remove noise impairments while processing the damaged images. A new entropy measure on intuitionistic fuzzy sets is introduced for determining the uncertainty of each pixel and consequently, to recognize the best processed image which has the least noise. We conclude by discussing two illustrative examples for verifying the developed approach.
Where could we go? Recommendations for groups in location-based social networks

Location-Based Social Networks (LBSNs) enable their users to share with their friends the places they go to and whom they go with. Additionally, they provide users with recommendations for Points of Interest (POI) they have not visited before. � is functionality is of great importance for users of LBSNs, as it allows them to discover interesting places in populous cities that are not easy to explore. For this reason, previous research has focused on providing recommendations to LBSN users. Nevertheless, while most existing work focuses on recommendations for individual users, techniques to provide recommendations to groups of users are scarce. In this paper, we consider the problem of recommending a list of POIs to a group of users in the areas that the group frequents. Our data consist of activity on Swarm, a social networking app by Foursquare, and our results demonstrate that our proposed Geo-Group-Recommender ( GGR ), a class of hybrid recommender systems that combine the group geographical preferences using Kernel Density Estimation, category and location features and group check-ins outperform a large number of other recommender systems. More-over, we � nd evidence that user preferences di � er both in venue category and in location between individual and group activities. We also show that combining individual recommendations using group aggregation strategies is not as good as building a pro � le for a group. Our experiments show that ( GGR ) outperforms the baselines in terms of precision and recall at di � erent cuto � s.
Practical Parallel External Memory Algorithms via Simulation of Parallel Algorithms

This thesis introduces PEMS2, an improvement to PEMS (Parallel External Memory System). PEMS executes Bulk-Synchronous Parallel (BSP) algorithms in an External Memory (EM) context, enabling computation with very large data sets which exceed the size of main memory. Many parallel algorithms have been designed and implemented for Bulk-Synchronous Parallel models of computation. Such algorithms generally assume that the entire data set is stored in main memory at once. PEMS overcomes this limitation without requiring any modification to the algorithm by using disk space as memory for additional "virtual processors". Previous work has shown this to be a promising approach which scales well as computational resources (i.e. processors and disks) are added. However, the technique incurs significant overhead when compared with purpose-built EM algorithms. PEMS2 introduces refinements to the simulation process intended to reduce this overhead as well as the amount of disk space required to run the simulation. New functionality is also introduced, including asynchronous I/O and support for multi-core processors. Experimental results show that these changes significantly improve the runtime of the simulation. PEMS2 narrows the performance gap between simulated BSP algorithms and their hand-crafted EM counterparts, providing a practical system for using BSP algorithms with data sets which exceed the size of RAM.
Harnessing People's Creativity: Ideation and Expression through Visual Communication

The people who buy and use the products we create are not typically invited to play in the fuzzy front-end of the development process because it is commonly believed that they are not creative. But participation early in the front-end is needed to drive truly humancentered product development. We have learned how to harness the creativity of potential end-users very early in the development process. The research methods in this chapter explore not only what people say and do, but also what people make. The say methods are rooted in verbal communication and are used in situations such as traditional focus groups. Methods such as applied ethnography focus on what people do through direct or indirect observation. The make methods are unique in their ability to elicit creative expression from everyday people. This chapter describes and shows examples of “make” toolkits we use to elicit creative thinking from people who will buy and use future products and services. It also outlines how all the methods (say and do and make) are used together in order to fully understand people’s past, present as well as anticipated experiences with products and services.
Impact of allocation concealment on conclusions drawn from meta-analyses of randomized trials.

BACKGROUND Randomized trials without reported adequate allocation concealment have been shown to overestimate the benefit of experimental interventions. We investigated the robustness of conclusions drawn from meta-analyses to exclusion of such trials. MATERIAL Random sample of 38 reviews from The Cochrane Library 2003, issue 2 and 32 other reviews from PubMed accessed in 2002. Eligible reviews presented a binary effect estimate from a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials as the first statistically significant result that supported a conclusion in favour of one of the interventions. METHODS We assessed the methods sections of the trials in each included meta-analysis for adequacy of allocation concealment. We replicated each meta-analysis using the authors' methods but included only trials that had adequate allocation concealment. Conclusions were defined as not supported if our result was not statistically significant. RESULTS Thirty-four of the 70 meta-analyses contained a mixture of trials with unclear or inadequate concealment as well as trials with adequate allocation concealment. Four meta-analyses only contained trials with adequate concealment, and 32, only trials with unclear or inadequate concealment. When only trials with adequate concealment were included, 48 of 70 conclusions (69%; 95% confidence interval: 56-79%) lost support. The loss of support mainly reflected loss of power (the total number of patients was reduced by 49%) but also a shift in the point estimate towards a less beneficial effect. CONCLUSION Two-thirds of conclusions in favour of one of the interventions were no longer supported if only trials with adequate allocation concealment were included.
Personnalisation automatique des parcours d’apprentissage dans les Systèmes Tuteurs Intelligents

La recherche d’efficacite des systemes tutoriels intelligents (STI) est un enjeu majeur. Nous presentons ici une methode d’optimisation des parcours d’apprentissage pour chaque apprenant. Nous cherchons a proposer a chaque instant a l’apprenant l’activite qui lui fait faire le plus de progres dans son apprentissage. Nous introduisons deux algorithmes : RiARiT, qui necessite des informations prealables sur les activites, et ZPDES, qui n’en a pas besoin.
Contact-reactive grasping of objects with partial shape information

Robotic grasping in unstructured environments requires the ability to select grasps for unknown objects and execute them while dealing with uncertainty due to sensor noise or calibration errors. In this work, we propose a simple but robust approach to grasp selection for unknown objects, and a reactive adjustment approach to deal with uncertainty in object location and shape. The grasp selection method uses 3D sensor data directly to determine a ranked set of grasps for objects in a scene, using heuristics based on both the overall shape of the object and its local features. The reactive grasping approach uses tactile feedback from fingertip sensors to execute a compliant robust grasp. We present experimental results to validate our approach by grasping a wide range of unknown objects. Our results show that reactive grasping can correct for a fair amount of uncertainty in the measured position or shape of the objects, and that our grasp selection approach is successful in grasping objects with a variety of shapes.
Relationship between physical activity and inflammation among apparently healthy middle-aged and older US adults.

BACKGROUND Physical activity has been associated with a reduced risk of coronary heart disease, but the mechanism underlying this association is unclear. Because coronary heart disease is increasingly seen as an inflammatory process, it might be reasonable to hypothesize that physical activity reduces risk of coronary heart disease by reducing or preventing inflammation. METHODS The study examined the relationship between physical activity and elevated inflammation as indicated by a high C-reactive protein level, white blood cell count, or fibrinogen level. Study subjects were 3638 apparently healthy US men and women 40 years and older who participated in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. RESULTS More frequent physical activity was independently associated with a lower odds of having an elevated C-reactive protein level. Compared with those engaging in physical activity 0 to 3 times per month, the odds of having an elevated C-reactive protein level was reduced among those engaging in physical activity 4 to 21 times per month (odds ratio, 0.77; 95% confidence interval, 0.58-1.02) and 22 or more times per month (odds ratio, 0.63; 95% confidence interval, 0.43-0.93) (P for trend,.02). Similar associations were seen for white blood cell count and fibrinogen levels. CONCLUSIONS More frequent physical activity is independently associated with a lower odds of having elevated inflammation levels among apparently healthy US adults 40 years and older, independent of several confounding factors. The results suggest that the association between physical activity and reduced coronary heart disease risk may be mediated by anti-inflammatory effects of regular physical activity.
Efficacy of cumulative high-frequency rTMS on freezing of gait in Parkinson’s disease

Abstract Purpose: Freezing of gait (FOG) affects mobility and balance seriously. Few reports have investigated the effects of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on FOG in Parkinson’s disease (PD). We investigated the efficacy of high-frequency rTMS for the treatment of FOG in PD. Methods: Seventeen patients diagnosed with PD were recruited in a randomized, double-blinded, cross-over study. We applied high frequency rTMS (90% of resting motor threshold, 10 Hz, 1,000 pulses) over the lower leg primary motor cortex of the dominant hemisphere (M1-LL) for five sessions in a week. We also administered alternative sham stimulation with a two-week wash out period. The primary outcomes were measured before, immediately after, and one week after the intervention using the Standing Start 180° Turn Test (SS-180) with video analysis and the Freezing of Gait Questionnaire (FOG-Q). The secondary outcome measurements consisted of Timed Up and Go (TUG) tasks and the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale part III (UPDRS-III). Motor cortical excitability was also evaluated. Results: There were significant improvements in the step required to complete the SS-180 and FOG-Q in the rTMS condition compared to the sham condition, and the effects continued for a week. The TUG and UPDRS-III also showed significant ameliorations over time in the rTMS condition. The MEP amplitude at 120% resting motor threshold and intracortical facilitation also increased after real rTMS condition. Conclusions: High frequency rTMS over the M1-LL may serve as an add-on therapy for improving FOG in PD.
Single-Loop Approach to 2-D Wavelet Lifting with JPEG 2000 Compatibility

A novel approach to 2-D single-loop wavelet lifting with compatibility to JPEG 2000 is presented in this paper. A newly developed 2-D core of CDF 5/3 wavelet filter is presented that, using a new sequence of operations, simplify the design. Moreover, the proposed approach, that uses one pass for 2-D transform, directly produces final output and reduces significantly the need for storing intermediate results into memory. All the proposed structures can be efficiently pipelined in hardware. This paper describes the proposed approach, its implementation in FPGA, cost of such implementation, and brings an experimental evaluation as well as discussion of the features of the approach.