Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Surgical Treatments for Otitis Media With Effusion: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The near universality of otitis media with effusion (OME) in children makes a comparative review of treatment modalities important. This study's objective was to compare the effectiveness of surgical strategies currently used for managing OME. METHODS: We identified 3 recent systematic reviews and searched 4 major electronic databases. Eligible studies included randomized controlled trials, nonrandomized trials, and cohort studies that compared myringotomy, adenoidectomy, tympanostomy tubes (tubes), and watchful waiting. Using established criteria, pairs of reviewers independently selected, extracted data, rated risk of bias, and graded strength of evidence of relevant studies. We incorporated meta-analyses from the earlier reviews and synthesized additional evidence qualitatively. RESULTS: We identified 41 unique studies through the earlier reviews and our independent searches. In comparison with watchful waiting or myringotomy (or both), tubes decreased time with OME and improved hearing; no specific tube type was superior. Adenoidectomy alone, as an adjunct to myringotomy, or combined with tubes, reduced OME and improved hearing in comparison with either myringotomy or watchful waiting. Tubes and watchful waiting did not differ in language, cognitive, or academic outcomes. Otorrhea and tympanosclerosis were more common in ears with tubes. Adenoidectomy increased the risk of postsurgical hemorrhage. CONCLUSIONS: Tubes and adenoidectomy reduce time with OME and improve hearing in the short-term. Both treatments have associated harms. Large, well-controlled studies could help resolve the risk-benefit ratio by measuring acute otitis media recurrence, functional outcomes, quality of life, and long-term outcomes. Research is needed to support treatment decisions in subpopulations, particularly in patients with comorbidities.
Sparse Bayesian regularization using Bernoulli-Laplacian priors

Sparse regularization has been receiving an increasing interest in the literature. Two main difficulties are encountered when performing sparse regularization. The first one is how to fix the parameters involved in the regularization algorithm. The second one is to optimize the inherent cost function that is generally non differentiable, and may also be non-convex if one uses for instance an ℓ0 penalization. In this paper, we handle these two problems jointly and propose a novel algorithm for sparse Bayesian regularization. An interesting property of this algorithm is the possibility of estimating the regularization parameters from the data. Simulation performed with 1D and 2D restoration problems show the very promising potential of the proposed approach. An application to the reconstruction of electroencephalographic signals is finally investigated.
Recent advances in mitochondrial research.

Mitochondria are fundamental regulators of life and death. Not surprisingly, their role in the cardiovascular system is an intense area of research, with many important advances in the field published recently. Such articles have continued to enhance our appreciation of the importance of mitochondria in cardiovascular health and have further contributed to the idea that mitochondrial dysfunction is a sine qua non of cardiovascular disease (CVD). An old question addressed anew relates to mitochondrial form. How do the shapes of mitochondria regulate their function? Do conditions associated with CVD alter mitochondrial dynamics? And does mitochondrial structure impact CVD? If so, how? For the past 2 years, there has been remarkable progress addressing these questions. Essential regulators of mitochondrial fission and fusion such as mitofusins 1 and 2 (Mfn 1/2), dynamin-related protein 1, and optic atrophy 1 are proving to be important in cardiac development, vascular homeostasis, and CVD. In the heart, Mfns have been shown to regulate permeability transition, cell death,1,2 and autophagy,3 and Mfn2 was shown to be integral in the removal of damaged mitochondria.4 Interestingly, loss of either Mfn12 or Mfn21 leads to increased tolerance to stress, whereas loss of both is lethal after e9.5 of development.5 It has also been reported that conditional ablation of both Mfn1 and Mfn2 in adult hearts causes mitochondrial fragmentation, respiratory dysfunction, and lethal dilated cardiomyopathy.5 These effects of Mfn2 are likely related, in part, to its ability to tether mitochondria to sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum, allowing for propagation of sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum-mitochondrial Ca2+ signaling and regulation of bioenergetic responses to stress.6,7 Not unexpectedly, Mfn 1 and 2 are essential for postnatal metabolic remodeling in the heart8 and cardiomyocyte differentiation.9 Other regulators of mitochondrial fusion such as optic atrophy 1 …
International Cancer of the Pancreas Screening (CAPS) Consortium summit on the management of patients with increased risk for familial pancreatic cancer

Background Screening individuals at increased risk for pancreatic cancer (PC) detects early, potentially curable, pancreatic neoplasia. Objective To develop consortium statements on screening, surveillance and management of high-risk individuals with an inherited predisposition to PC. Methods A 49-expert multidisciplinary international consortium met to discuss pancreatic screening and vote on statements. Consensus was considered reached if ≥75% agreed or disagreed. Results There was excellent agreement that, to be successful, a screening programme should detect and treat T1N0M0 margin-negative PC and high-grade dysplastic precursor lesions (pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia and intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm). It was agreed that the following were candidates for screening: first-degree relatives (FDRs) of patients with PC from a familial PC kindred with at least two affected FDRs; patients with Peutz–Jeghers syndrome; and p16, BRCA2 and hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) mutation carriers with ≥1 affected FDR. Consensus was not reached for the age to initiate screening or stop surveillance. It was agreed that initial screening should include endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) and/or MRI/magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography not CT or endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. There was no consensus on the need for EUS fine-needle aspiration to evaluate cysts. There was disagreement on optimal screening modalities and intervals for follow-up imaging. When surgery is recommended it should be performed at a high-volume centre. There was great disagreement as to which screening abnormalities were of sufficient concern to for surgery to be recommended. Conclusions Screening is recommended for high-risk individuals, but more evidence is needed, particularly for how to manage patients with detected lesions. Screening and subsequent management should take place at high-volume centres with multidisciplinary teams, preferably within research protocols.
Rhinovirus 3C Protease Can Localize in the Nucleus and Alter Active and Passive Nucleocytoplasmic Transport

ABSTRACT The degradation of nuclear pore components and disruption of nucleocytoplasmic trafficking during rhinovirus infection have been attributed to viral 2A protease. Here we show for the first time that rhinovirus 3C protease may also have a role. Specifically, we show that 3C and its precursor, 3CD, can target green fluorescent protein to the nucleus of living cells, leading to degradation of nuclear pore components, and that incubation with recombinant 3C disrupts active and passive nucleocytoplasmic transport in a semi-intact cell nuclear transport system dependent on 3C protease activity. 3C may thus contribute to host cell shutoff in infected cells by localizing in the nucleus and facilitating nuclear pore breakdown.
UWB ring-shaped metamaterial antenna with modified phi-shaped SRR

In this paper, an ultra-wideband ring-shaped metamaterial antenna with modified phi-shaped split ring resonator has been proposed. The proposed antenna has a size of 35 mm × 37 mm × 1.6 mm and shows dual-band characteristics. The proposed metamaterial antenna has an impedance bandwidth of 14% (centered at 2.65 GHz) and 114.5% (centered at 7.25 GHz) for the first and second band respectively. Modified split ring resonator exhibits several higher order modes which is responsible for ultra-wideband behavior. The proposed antenna has an average gain of 1.6 dB with an average radiation efficiency of 98.8% for first band and an average gain of 2.65 dB with an average radiation efficiency of 81.5% for second band.
High throughput RST metrology to optimize 3D integration

Through Silicon Via (TSV) processing is crucial for the later performance and reliability of a device. Therefore, an accurate and efficient metrology loop to control and inspect underlying production steps is essential. Specifically, the TSV depth is of importance and must be constantly monitored to guarantee high yield of the final product. This joint work presents a fast and reliable study to control the TSV processing before reveal by measuring the Remaining Silicon Thickness (RST) after the TSVs are filled with copper. Spectral Coherence Interferometry (SCI) technology is used in combination with a so-called statistical approach to realize measurements on a rotational stage with an acquisition rate up to 4 kHz. The directly measured RSTs are compared to the calculated ones (Silicon Thickness-TSV depth) in order demonstrate the reliability of this approach.
Human Empathy Through the Lens of Social Neuroscience

Empathy is the ability to experience and understand what others feel without confusion between oneself and others. Knowing what someone else is feeling plays a fundamental role in interpersonal interactions. In this paper, we articulate evidence from social psychology and cognitive neuroscience, and argue that empathy involves both emotion sharing (bottom-up information processing) and executive control to regulate and modulate this experience (top-down information processing), underpinned by specific and interacting neural systems. Furthermore, awareness of a distinction between the experiences of the self and others constitutes a crucial aspect of empathy. We discuss data from recent behavioral and functional neuroimaging studies with an emphasis on the perception of pain in others, and highlight the role of different neural mechanisms that underpin the experience of empathy, including emotion sharing, perspective taking, and emotion regulation.
Comparison of PCA and 2D-PCA on Indian Faces

Face recognition is an extensively researched topic by researchers from diverse disciplines. Several unsupervised statistical feature extraction methods have been used in face recognition, out of these in this paper a comparison of the PCA(eigenfaces) and 2D-PCA approaches on Indian Faces has been presented. To test and compare their performances a series of experiments were performed on ORL database, Yale face database and then on an in-house dataset which has been collected over a span of 6 months. The performance parameters compared here are recognition rate and speed with varying number of training images. The application of various preprocessing techniques which can be used to improve their performance has also been studied.
Extrapolation and related techniques for solving elliptic equations

Extrapolation is a well-known numerical technique for raising the approximation order. Several variants of extrapolation can be used for elliptic partial diierential equations. The basic algorithmic variants are Richardson extrapolation, truncation error extrapolation and extrapolation of the functional. In multi-dimensional problems the error can be expanded into multivariate polynomials with respect to mesh parameters for the diierent coordinate directions. This can be exploited by multivariate extrapolation and the combination and sparse grid techniques. In this paper these methods are introduced and discussed in detail. The features and eeectiveness are illustrated in numerical experiments for model problems.
Data Partitioning on Multicore and Multi-GPU Platforms Using Functional Performance Models

Heterogeneous multiprocessor systems, which are composed of a mix of processing elements, such as commodity multicore processors, graphics processing units (GPUs), and others, have been widely used in scientific computing community. Software applications incorporate the code designed and optimized for different types of processing elements in order to exploit the computing power of such heterogeneous computing systems. In this paper, we consider the problem of optimal distribution of the workload of data-parallel scientific applications between processing elements of such heterogeneous computing systems. We present a solution that uses functional performance models (FPMs) of processing elements and FPM-based data partitioning algorithms. Efficiency of this approach is demonstrated by experiments with parallel matrix multiplication and numerical simulation of lid-driven cavity flow on hybrid servers and clusters.
Epstein–Barr virus‐associated Hodgkin's lymphoma

Survivors of Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) frequently have many years to experience the long‐term toxicities of combined modality therapies. Also, a significant proportion of HL patients will relapse or have refractory disease, and less than half of these patients will respond to current salvage strategies. 30–50% of HL cases are Epstein–Barr virus associated (EBV‐positive HL). The virus is localized to the malignant cells and is clonal. EBV‐positive HL is more frequent in childhood, in older adults (>45 years) and in mixed cellularity cases. The survival of EBV‐positive HL in the elderly and the immunosuppressed is particularly poor. Despite improvements in our understanding of EBV‐positive HL, the true contribution of EBV to the pathogenesis of HL remains unknown. Increased knowledge of the virus’ role in the basic biology of HL may generate novel therapeutic strategies for EBV‐positive HL and the presence of EBV‐latent antigens in the malignant HL cells may represent a target for cellular immunotherapy.
Materials and Mechanics for Stretchable Electronics

Recent advances in mechanics and materials provide routes to integrated circuits that can offer the electrical properties of conventional, rigid wafer-based technologies but with the ability to be stretched, compressed, twisted, bent, and deformed into arbitrary shapes. Inorganic and organic electronic materials in microstructured and nanostructured forms, intimately integrated with elastomeric substrates, offer particularly attractive characteristics, with realistic pathways to sophisticated embodiments. Here, we review these strategies and describe applications of them in systems ranging from electronic eyeball cameras to deformable light-emitting displays. We conclude with some perspectives on routes to commercialization, new device opportunities, and remaining challenges for research.
Self-Organizing Dynamics of Lexical Access in Normals and Aphasics

The goal of this article is to illustrate the application of self-organizing dynamics in the design of a model of lexical access. We focus particularly on the mapping of sound structure on to the lexicon and the influence of that structure on lexical access. The approach is tested in a series of two sets of simulations that explicate how lexical access might occur in normal subjects and aphasic patients. Both sets of simulations address the behavioral effects of both phonological and phonetic variability of prime stimuli on the magnitude of semantic priming. Results show that the model can successfully account for the behavioral effects associated with several kinds of acoustic manipulation, competitor presence, and the unfolding of those effects over timeprimarily because it balances three important control parameters: resting lexical activation, positive feedback, and negative feedback. These simulations are offered as support (in the form of an existence proof) that deficits in the degree of lexical activation can account for the lexical processing impairments shown by Broca's aphasics who have reduced lexical activation, and Wernicke's aphasics who have increased lexical activation. Overall, results suggest that the present approach promises to offer a coherent theoretical framework within which to link empirical evidence in language processing and cognitive neuroscience in terms of possible underlying mechanisms.
A Novel 40-kDa Protein Containing Six Repeats of an Epidermal Growth Factor-Like Domain Functions as a Pattern Recognition Protein for Lipopolysaccharide1

Determination of structures and functions of pattern recognition proteins are important for understanding pathogen recognition mechanisms in host defense and for elucidating the activation mechanism of innate immune reactions. In this study, a novel 40-kDa protein, named LPS recognition protein (LRP), was purified to homogeneity from the cell-free plasma of larvae of the large beetle, Holotrichia diomphalia. LRP exhibited agglutinating activities on Escherichia coli, but not on Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans. This E. coli-agglutinating activity was preferentially inhibited by the rough-type LPS with a complete core oligosaccharide. LRP consists of 317 aa residues and six repeats of an epidermal growth factor-like domain. Recombinant LRP expressed in a baculovirus system also showed E. coli agglutination activity in vitro and was able to neutralize LPS by inhibition of LPS-induced IL-6 production in mouse bone marrow mast cells. Furthermore, E. coli coated with the purified LRP were more rapidly cleared in the Holotrichia larvae than only E. coli, indicating that this protein participates in the clearance of E. coli in vivo. The three amino-terminal epidermal growth factor-like domains of LRP, but not the three carboxyl epidermal growth factor-like domains, are involved in the LPS-binding activity. Taken together, this LRP functions as a pattern recognition protein for LPS and plays a role as an innate immune protein.
The Revised Health Hardiness Inventory (RRHI-24): psychometric properties and relationship with self-reported health and health behavior in two Dutch samples.

Our objective was to examine the psychometric properties of a Dutch translation of the Health Hardiness Inventory (HHI), and to determine relationships between health hardiness scales and self-reported health and preventive health behavior. Data from a cross-sectional study with two samples [a general population sample (n = 205) and a student sample (n = 286)] were analyzed. The Revised Health Hardiness Inventory (RHHI-24) was found to consist of four stable and reliable scales: (1) Health Value, (2) Internal Health Locus of Control, (3) External Health Locus of Control and (4) Perceived Health Competence. Women valued their health more than men, older individuals (> 45 years) valued their health more than younger individuals (< or = 45 years) and elderly people (> 65 years) were more externally orientated with respect to health locus of control. Preventive health behavior was related to a higher value placed on health, a lower external health locus of control and a higher perceived health competence. Better self-reported health was related to a higher perceived health competence and a more internally orientated health locus of control. We conclude that the RHHI-24 is a theoretically sound instrument for the measurement of health cognitions.
A Mobile Agent Approach for Ubiquitous and Personalized eHealth Information Systems

The past years have witnessed a heavy investment and research in the eHealth sector. The work of medical practitioners at all levels is becoming more information intensive as sophisticated medical equipment and computer applications are more widely used. At the same time, the demands of the patients / citizens are increasing due to the innovative medical and scientific advances. Digital technologies are becoming more important in health management aiming to reduce the cost and to deliver health care services at a distance. In addition, the Internet is increasingly used by citizens to obtain medical information, therefore it is critical that the Web-based eHealth content and services are developed efficiently, complying with the established quality criteria and being available for all in an adaptive and personalized manner delivered by multiple and ubiquitous delivery channels. In this context, the aim of this paper is to argue that in the face of the existing systems and platforms diversity and information sparsity, mobile agent technologies can provide the base for ubiquitous, transparent, secure, interoperable, and integrated eHealth information systems for the provision of adapted and personalized sustainable services to the citizens.
Adaptive Web Services Composition for Multi-user

In a composite service for multiple users, network position of multiple users are different, leading to users perceptions to one service are different. In addition, network parameter values, which vary due to many reasons (such as network congestions), influence QoS of Web services. We propose a reliable service composition method which uses multiple candidate services to process service requests for a variety of users. Initially, multiple service execution paths for each kind of user requests are calculated. In runtime, the optimal services are chosen according to the current network state. We present an application scenarios for the method.
Simulation of acoustic resonance generated by flow around a long rectangular plate placed in a duct

This paper describes a numerical investigation of acoustic resonance occurring at specific flow speeds when a long rectangular plate is placed in a duct. To do this, the flow and acoustic problems are decoupled. This allows the range of flow speeds, or the associated Strouhal number (Stc), where resonance is possible to be predicted. It is shown that the Strouhal number displays a stepping behaviour as the plate length is increased. The main source or sink region where energy to transferred between the acoustic and flow fields is shown to be just downstream of the trailing edge of the plate. Visualizations show that the timing when the vortices enter this region relative to the phase of the acoustic cycle is crucial in determining if resonance can occur and is the cause of the observed stepwise increase.
Service Provisioning in Content-Centric Networking: Challenges, Opportunities, and Promising Directions

Contemporary IP-based Internet architecture increasingly is unable to meet the demands of current network usage patterns. Content-centric networking (CCN), as a clean-slate future network architecture, is different from existing IP networks and has some salient features, such as in-network caching, name-based routing, friendly mobility, and built-in security. This architecture has a profound impact on how Internet applications are provisioned. Here, from the perspective of upper-layer applications, the authors discuss challenges and opportunities regarding service provisioning in CCN. They also describe the Service Innovation Environment for Future Internet, their approach that addresses challenges while exploiting opportunities for the future of CCN.
Design of ECC Controller and its Validation Based on FPGA

ECC is an advanced technology for memory error detection and correction, which is used to support high reliability of computers. It is widely used in sever memory while it can detect 2-bit error and correct 1-bit error. This paper introduces the ECC algorithm, then discusses the more general correction coding mathematics, realizing it by programming with VHDL. After finishing these parts, a debug experiment is executed on the Altera Stratix IV family FPGA. Finally, the paper analyzes the simulation results and gives some suggestions for improving the performance of ECC controllers.