Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Digital patient assistants: privacy vs cost in compulsory health insurance

Many countries have a compulsory health insurance system. Compulsory health insurers charge income-related fees as opposed to private health insurers who charge risk-related fees. Compulsory health insurance is based on solidarity among policy holders and can give them more privacy than any private health insurer can. As an example, the present paper considers the German health insurance system, and discusses how the charging and clearing of medical services can be implemented so as to support both the legitimate privacy interests of patients and physicians and the health insurer’s interest to control the overall cost. A cryptographic solution is presented that is based on digital patient assistants, that is, personal palmtop computers, organizers or personal digital assistants (PDAs). Patients are, therefore, able to manage their own health insurance certificates, referrals and prescriptions. Although still too expensive for large-scale introduction, digital patient assistants have a number of significant advantages over any chip-card or paper-based system: (1) significantly more efficient and reliable data communication between the various health-care providers involved in treatment; (2) real patient privacy through direct and off-line communication between digital patient assistants and physicians’ practices; and (3) a huge potential to develop telemedicine in a privacy oriented way. Finally, one possible implementation is presented in more detail. The paper also shows how compulsory health insurers can use this solution to control their overall costs.
Detection of TV commercials

This paper presents a system that labels TV shots either as commercial or program shots. The system uses two observations: logo presence and shot duration. These observations are modeled using HMMs, and a Viterbi decoder is finally used for shot labeling. The system has been tested on several hours of real video, achieving more than 99% correct labeling.
Activation of Group II Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors Inhibits Synaptic Excitation of the Substantia Nigra Pars Reticulata

Loss of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons in Parkinson's disease (PD) leads to increased activity of glutamatergic neurons in the subthalamic nucleus (STN). Recent studies reveal that the resultant increase in STN-induced excitation of basal ganglia output nuclei is responsible for the disabling motor impairment characteristic of PD. On the basis of this, it is possible that any manipulation that reduces activity at excitatory STN synapses onto basal ganglia output nuclei could be useful in the treatment of PD. We now report that group II metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) are presynaptically localized on STN terminals and that activation of these receptors inhibits excitatory transmission at STN synapses. In agreement with the hypothesis that this could provide a therapeutic benefit in PD, a selective agonist of group II mGluRs induces a dramatic reversal of catalepsy in a rat model of PD. These results raise the exciting possibility that selective agonists of group II mGluRs could provide an entirely new approach to the treatment of PD. These novel therapeutic agents would provide a noninvasive pharmacological treatment that does not involve the manipulation of dopaminergic systems, thus avoiding the problems associated with current therapies.
Trypsin-based laboratory methods and carboxypeptidase activation peptide in acute pancreatitis.

Acute pancreatitis is a common disease varying widely in severity. At present, there is no "gold standard" for the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis. Currently, the diagnosis of acute pancreatitis is based on measurements of serum amylase and/or lipase activity, which are considered unsatisfactory due to their low level of accuracy. Early identification of acute pancreatitis and especially detection of patients with a severe form of the disease is of utmost importance. Premature intrapancreatic activation of trypsinogen is a crucial early event in the pathophysiology of acute pancreatitis. The conversion of trypsinogen to active trypsin is mediated by the release of its activation peptide (TAP). The active trypsin is then able to activate other pancreatic zymogens (i.e. procarboxypeptidase) leading to tissue damage and eventually to autodigestion of the pancreas. To improve the laboratory diagnostics of AP, new methods have been developed to measure this primary pancreatic proteolytic insult. Here we review the current knowledge and clinical implications of trypsin based laboratory methods and carboxypeptidase activation peptide (CAPAP) in the diagnosis and severity assessment of acute pancreatitis.
Modeling the Histidine-Phenylalanine Interaction: The NH···π Hydrogen Bond of Imidazole·Benzene.

NH···π hydrogen bonds occur frequently between the amino acid side groups in proteins and peptides. Data-mining studies of protein crystals find that ∼80% of the T-shaped histidine···aromatic contacts are CH···π, and only ∼20% are NH···π interactions. We investigated the infrared (IR) and ultraviolet (UV) spectra of the supersonic-jet-cooled imidazole·benzene (Im·Bz) complex as a model for the NH···π interaction between histidine and phenylalanine. Ground- and excited-state dispersion-corrected density functional calculations and correlated methods (SCS-MP2 and SCS-CC2) predict that Im·Bz has a Cs-symmetric T-shaped minimum-energy structure with an NH···π hydrogen bond to the Bz ring; the NH bond is tilted 12° away from the Bz C6 axis. IR depletion spectra support the T-shaped geometry: The NH stretch vibrational fundamental is red shifted by -73 cm(-1) relative to that of bare imidazole at 3518 cm(-1), indicating a moderately strong NH···π interaction. While the S0(A1g) → S1(B2u) origin of benzene at 38 086 cm(–1) is forbidden in the gas phase, Im·Bz exhibits a moderately intense S0 → S1 origin, which appears via the D(6h) → Cs symmetry lowering of Bz by its interaction with imidazole. The NH···π ground-state hydrogen bond is strong, De=22.7 kJ/mol (1899 cm–1). The combination of gas-phase UV and IR spectra confirms the theoretical predictions that the optimum Im·Bz geometry is T shaped and NH···π hydrogen bonded. We find no experimental evidence for a CH···π hydrogen-bonded ground-state isomer of Im·Bz. The optimum NH···π geometry of the Im·Bz complex is very different from the majority of the histidine·aromatic contact geometries found in protein database analyses, implying that the CH···π contacts observed in these searches do not arise from favorable binding interactions but merely from protein side-chain folding and crystal-packing constraints. The UV and IR spectra of the imidazole·(benzene)2 cluster are observed via fragmentation into the Im·Bz+ mass channel. The spectra of Im·Bz and Im·Bz2 are cleanly separable by IR hole burning. The UV spectrum of Im·Bz2 exhibits two 000 bands corresponding to the S0 → S1 excitations of the two inequivalent benzenes, which are symmetrically shifted by -86/+88 cm(-1) relative to the 000 band of benzene
Peroral Ciprofloxacin Therapy Impairs the Generation of a Protective Immune Response in a Mouse Model for Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium Diarrhea, while Parenteral Ceftriaxone Therapy Does Not

ABSTRACT Nontyphoidal Salmonella (NTS) species cause self-limiting diarrhea and sometimes severe disease. Antibiotic treatment is considered only in severe cases and immune-compromised patients. The beneficial effects of antibiotic therapy and the consequences for adaptive immune responses are not well understood. We used a mouse model for Salmonella diarrhea to assess the effects of per os treatment with ciprofloxacin (15 mg/kg of body weight intragastrically 2 times/day, 5 days) or parenteral ceftriaxone (50 mg/kg intraperitoneally, 5 days), two common drugs used in human patients. The therapeutic and adverse effects were assessed with respect to generation of a protective adaptive immune response, fecal pathogen excretion, and the emergence of nonsymptomatic excreters. In the mouse model, both therapies reduced disease severity and reduced the level of fecal shedding. In line with clinical data, in most animals, a rebound of pathogen gut colonization/fecal shedding was observed 2 to 12 days after the end of the treatment. Yet, levels of pathogen shedding and frequency of appearance of nonsymptomatic excreters did not differ from those for untreated controls. Moreover, mice treated intraperitoneally with ceftriaxone developed an adaptive immunity protecting the mice from enteropathy in wild-type Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium challenge infections. In contrast, the mice treated intragastrically with ciprofloxacin were not protected. Thus, antibiotic treatment regimens can disrupt the adaptive immune response, but treatment regimens may be optimized in order to preserve the generation of protective immunity. It might be of interest to determine whether this also pertains to human patients. In this case, the mouse model might be a tool for further mechanistic studies.
A survey of recruitment and selection practices in Egypt

Purpose – The paper's aims are to ascertain whether there is evidence of Egyptian organisations using recruitment and selection practices which are context specific and whether different practices are used for different job types; whether responsibility for recruitment and selection is shared between HRM specialists and line management; and whether there is evidence of increasing devolution of this responsibility to line managers.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected between May and July 2007 and produced 108 usable questionnaires. The questionnaire was adapted from the Price Waterhouse Cranfield project on HRM in Europe.Findings – There is some evidential support for the influence of the Egyptian national context upon the practices used, with different practices, including the number of techniques being used for the recruitment and selection of different job types. There is evidence of substantial sharing of this responsibility with line management through consultation and of an increased dev.
Grammatically conditioned allomorphy, paradigmatic structure, and the Ancestry Constraint

When inflectional allomorphy is grammatically conditioned, are there any constraints on the direction of conditioning (inward or outward)? Claims made by Bobaljik (2000) and Carstairs (1987) are compared with respect to data from Hungarian, Itelmen and Latin. An answer is suggested that exploits the notion of direct ancestry (relationships between (grand)mothers and (grand-)daughters) in word-structure trees, and the notion of blur avoidance in paradigmatic structure (Carstairs-McCarthy 1994). Implications for Stump's (2001) theory of paradigm structure are briefly discussed.
The Impact of Parental Wealth on Early Living Standards in Israel1

This article examines the role of parental wealth as a determinant of the living standards of young adults in Israel. Living standards were examined in terms of four measures: home ownership, car ownership, schooling after marriage, and a subjective evaluation by the respondent. Israel is a strategic site for examining the interplay between parental wealth and living standards because of the particular organization of its housing market. The study focuses on the role of parental wealth in the early years of marriage because young couples in Israel have great financial need at that time but are liquidity constrained. The main finding is that, net of indicators of parental SES and a couple's own income, parental wealth plays a substantial role in the living standards of young adults.
Introduction to special issue on sport and alcohol: On the contemporary agenda of research on alcohol within the sociology of sport

This introductory essay by Special Issue Editor, Catherine Palmer, introduces a double issue of the International Review for the Sociology of Sport focused on the contemporary agenda of research on alcohol within the field of sociology of sport. In introducing the articles in the special issue, Palmer considers the diverse intersectional concerns relevant to understanding sport and alcohol in a larger socio-cultural dynamic. Noted are the needs to move beyond assumptions of hegemonic masculinity and ‘problems-focused approaches’ to more nuanced understandings of place and consequence about the roles of alcohol in sporting subcultures.
Exploratory Gradient Boosting for Reinforcement Learning in Complex Domains

High-dimensional observations and complex real-world dynamics present major challenges in reinforcement learning for both function approximation and exploration. We address both of these challenges with two complementary techniques: First, we develop a gradient-boosting style, non-parametric function approximator for learning on $Q$-function residuals. And second, we propose an exploration strategy inspired by the principles of state abstraction and information acquisition under uncertainty. We demonstrate the empirical effectiveness of these techniques, first, as a preliminary check, on two standard tasks (Blackjack and $n$-Chain), and then on two much larger and more realistic tasks with high-dimensional observation spaces. Specifically, we introduce two benchmarks built within the game Minecraft where the observations are pixel arrays of the agent's visual field. A combination of our two algorithmic techniques performs competitively on the standard reinforcement-learning tasks while consistently and substantially outperforming baselines on the two tasks with high-dimensional observation spaces. The new function approximator, exploration strategy, and evaluation benchmarks are each of independent interest in the pursuit of reinforcement-learning methods that scale to real-world domains.
Preventing complications in heparin-induced thrombocytopenia

PREVIEW Delays in treatment of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT), the most common serious drug reaction in hospitals, contribute to poor patient outcomes. Fortunately, therapeutic strategies have been refined, and new and effective therapeutic agents are available. In this article, Drs Rice, Nguyen, and Vann briefly review the epidemiologic, clinical, pathophysiologic, and diagnostic features of HIT and focus on current treatment approaches.
Multilevel Approaches and the Firm‐Agglomeration Ambiguity in Economic Growth Studies

See also the publication in 'Journal of Economic Surveys' , 26(3), 468-91. Empirical studies in spatial economics have shown that agglomeration economies may be a source of the uneven distribution of economic activities and economic growth across cities and regions. Both localization and urbanization economies are hypothesized to foster agglomeration and growth, but recent meta-analyses of this burgeoning body of empirical research show that the results are ambiguous. Recent overviews show that this ambiguity is fuelled by measurement issues and heterogeneity in terms of scale of time and space, aggregation, growth definitions, and the functional form of the models applied. Alternatively, in this paper, we argue that ambiguity may be due to a lack of research on firm-level performance in agglomerations. This research is necessary because the theories that underlie agglomeration economies are microeconomic in nature. Hierarchical or multilevel modeling, which allows micro levels and macro levels to be modeled simultaneously, is becoming an increasingly common practice in the social sciences. As illustrated by detailed Dutch data on firm-level productivity, employment growth and firm survival, we argue that these approaches are also suitable for reducing the ambiguity surrounding the agglomeration-firm performance relationship and for addressing spatial, sectoral and cross-level heterogeneity.
T-bet is rapidly induced by interferon-γ in lymphoid and myeloid cells

Differentiation of naive CD4+ T cells into IFN-γ-producing T helper 1 (TH1) cells is pivotal for protective immune responses against intracellular pathogens. T-bet, a recently discovered member of the T-box transcription factor family, has been reported to play a critical role in this process, promoting IFN-γ production. Although terminal TH1 differentiation occurs over days, we now show that challenge of mice with a prototypical TH1-inducing stimulus, Toxoplasma gondii soluble extract, rapidly induced IFN-γ and T-bet; T-bet induction was substantially lower in IFN-γ-deficient mice. Naive T cells expressed little T-bet, but this transcription factor was induced markedly by the combination of IFN-γ and cognate antigen. Human myeloid antigen-presenting cells showed T-bet induction after IFN-γ stimulation alone, and this induction was antagonized by IL-4 and granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor. Although T-bet was induced rapidly and directly by IFN-γ, it was not induced by IFN-α, lipopolysaccharide, or IL-1, indicating that this action of IFN-γ was specific. Moreover, T-bet induction was dependent on Stat1 but not Stat4. These data argue for a model in which IFN-γ gene regulation involves an autocrine loop, whereby the cytokine regulates a transcription factor that promotes its own production. These findings substantially alter the current view of T-bet in IFN-γ regulation and promotion of cell-mediated immune responses.
Using Statistics to Determine Causal Relationships

Does a decision to smoke cigarettes increase the likelihood of a person getting lung cancer? Does changing teachers’ expectations of a student’s performance affect the academic development of that student? Increasingly, such causal questions are being answered with statistics. For both scientists and consumers, it has become important to understand how valid causal studies can be designed and how suspicious studies can be identified. This paper aims to further these understandings by explaining the statistical principles and techniques that underlie valid studies of causal relationships. The objective of many causal studies–and the objective addressed in this paper–is to measure the effect of some variable on taking one action relative to the effect of taking a different action. For example, how will my headache feel if I take aspirin versus if I do not take aspirin? This differs from the objective of identifying the cause of an event (e.g., it was my neighbor’s incessantly barking dog that caused my headache). Realistically identifying the cause of an event is generally an unattainable goal because of the many variables that affect an outcome: my headache was affected by pressures at work, by the quality of last night’s sleep, etc. However, as we shall see, relative causal effects are amenable to statistical analyses (Rubin, 1990).
The Timing of Parental Income and Child Outcomes: The Role of Permanent and Transitory Shocks

How do shocks to parental income drive adolescent human capital, including years of schooling, high school dropout, university attendance, IQ and health? A structural model decomposes household shocks into permanent and transitory components, then the effect of shocks at age 1-16 is estimated for 600,000 Norwegian children. The effect of permanent shocks declines - and of transitory shocks is small and constant across child age, suggesting parents optimise similarly to consumption. However there is a lower effect of transitory shocks for liquidity constrained parents. An interpretation is that these parents use income shocks for essential consumption rather than investment.
Effects of Microfinance Lending on Business Performance: A Survey of Micro and Small Enterprises in Kitale Municipality, Kenya

The provision of financial services, especially credit and saving facilities plays an important role in the development of the economy. Despite the efforts of microfinance institutions to take microfinance services within the reach of poor people and MSEs that have not benefited from the conventional formal financial system, growth and expansion of MSEs sector had not shown any sign of growth and expansion. The main objective of this study was to investigate the effects of microfinance institutions lending on micro and small enterprises performance within Kitale Municipality. This study adopted a descriptive survey research design and the target population was 1,200 MSEs which were registered within Kitale Municipality and had operated for at least three years. The target population was stratified into homogeneous categories as wholesalers, retailers, restaurants and service delivery. A sample of 120 MSEs was drawn proportionately and randomly from the strata. A semi- structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Completed questionnaires were verified and coded by the researcher in a computerized package then analyzed and summarized in frequency tables, pie charts and figures. The association between microfinance lending and MSE performance variables was established through Chi square and correlation tests at 95% significance level. A multivariate logistic regression was used for significant bivariate variables at 95% significance level. The amount of loans is significantly and positively related with performance of MSEs in Kitale Municipality. Microfinance institutions should reduce the period required for MSEs to participate in training and group formation to facilitate speedy access to MFI loans. The amount of loan given by MFIs to MSEs should be increased to enable the MSEs grow to medium scale enterprises.
A Machine Learning Technique for Hardness Estimation of QFBV SMT Problems

In this paper, we present a new approach for measuring the expected runtimes (hardness) of SMT problems. The required features, the statistical hardness model used and the machine learning technique which we used are presented. The method is applied to estimate the hardness of problems in the Quantifier Free Bit Vector (QFBV) theory and we used four of the contesting solvers in SMTCOMP2011 to demonstrate the technique. We have qualitatively expanded some propositional SAT features existing in the literature to directly work on general SMT problem instances without preprocessing. Experimental results with the standard set of benchmarks are promising and our implementation proves the concept.
Arylamine N‐acetyltransferase 1 expression in breast cancer cell lines: A potential marker in estrogen receptor‐positive tumors

The prognosis for patients with estrogen receptor (ER)‐positive breast cancer has improved significantly with the prescription of selective ER modulators (SERMs) for ER‐positive breast cancer treatment. However, only a proportion of ER‐positive tumors respond to SERMs, and resistance to hormonal therapies is still a major problem. Detailed analysis of published microarray studies revealed a positive correlation between overexpression of the drug metabolizing enzyme arylamine N‐acetyltransferase type 1 (NAT1) and ER positivity, and increasing evidence supports a biological role for NAT1 in breast cancer progression. We have tested a range of ER‐positive and ER‐negative breast cancer cell lines for NAT1 enzyme activity, and monitored promoter and polyadenylation site usage. Amongst ER‐positive lines, NAT1 activities ranged from 202 ± 28 nmol/min/mg cellular protein (ZR‐75‐1) to 1.8 ± 0.4 nmol/min/mg cellular protein (MCF‐7). The highest levels of NAT1 activity could not be attributed to increased NAT1 gene copy number; however, we did detect differences in NAT1 promoter and polyadenylation site usage amongst the breast tumor‐derived lines. Thus, whilst all cell lines tested accumulated transcripts derived from the proximal promoter, the line expressing NAT1 most highly additionally initiated transcripts initiating at a more distal, “tissue”‐specific promoter. These data pave the way for investigating NAT1 transcripts as candidate prognostic markers in ER‐positive breast cancer. This article contains Supplementary Material available at http://www.interscience. wiley.com/jpages/1045‐2257/suppmat. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.