Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Artificial Intelligence and the Public Sector—Applications and Challenges

ABSTRACT Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have attracted great attention from researchers and practitioners and have opened up a broad range of beneficial opportunities for AI usage in the public sector. Against this background, there is an emerging need for a holistic understanding of the range and impact of AI-based applications and associated challenges. However, previous research considers AI applications and challenges only in isolation and fragmentarily. Given the lack of a comprehensive overview of AI-based applications and challenges for the public sector, our conceptual approach analyzes and compiles relevant insights from scientific literature to provide an integrative overview of AI applications and related challenges. Our results suggest 10 AI application areas, describing their value creation and functioning as well as specific public use cases. In addition, we identify four major dimensions of AI challenges. We finally discuss our findings, deriving implications for theory and practice and providing suggestions for future research.
Distributing power? Community energy projects' experiences of planning, policy and incumbents in the devolved nations of Scotland and Wales

Community-owned energy projects are viewed as compelling contributors towards renewable energy targets. They contribute to curtailing the use of carbon intensive energy sources, consequently aiding mitigation of climate change, and can contribute towards a sustainable, localised economy. The success and expansion of the sector varies. However, there is a lack of knowledge regarding the development of the sector between sub-state nations. This qualitative, comparative study looks at the sector in the sub-state, devolved nations of Wales and Scotland within the UK. Through a series of in-depth interviews with community energy practitioners in four case study sites in Scotland and Wales, this study shows how policy and governance practices can influence the sector and those working at grassroots level. The study shows a disparity in confidence and outlook for the sector, based on the perceived (in)effective governance in each devolved nation.
Integrin Regulation during Leukocyte Recruitment

Integrins are recognized as vital players in leukocyte recruitment. Integrin malfunction causes severe disease patterns characterized by the inability to fight pathogens. Although inflammatory reactions are beneficial and necessary for host defense, these reactions have to be controlled to prevent tissue destruction and harmful sequelae. In this review, we discuss the different signaling pathways leading to the change of integrin adhesiveness in neutrophils, monocytes, and lymphocytes. We thereby focus on the importance of integrin activation for the different steps of the leukocyte recruitment cascade, including rolling, adhesion, postadhesion strengthening, intravascular crawling, and transmigration, as each step necessitates the proper functioning of a distinct set of integrin molecules that has to be activated specifically. Additionally, we discuss endogenous mechanisms that balance and counteract integrin activation and limit leukocyte recruitment at the site of inflammation. Further insight into these complex mechanisms may provide new approaches for developing new anti-inflammatory therapies.
Spin‐Lock Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Muscle in Patients With Autosomal Recessive Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy

Spin‐lock imaging is a new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique used to reflect the microstructural integrity of muscle. The purpose of this study was to characterize spin‐lock contrast (SLC) of calf muscles in limb girdle muscular dystrophy (LGMD). The calf muscles of 5 patients with LGMD and 10 healthy volunteers were imaged with an off‐resonance magnetic resonance (MR) spin‐lock suppression pulse. Spin‐lock suppression ratios were calculated for anterior tibialis, posterior tibialis, soleus, and gastrocnemius muscles. Clinical assessments of muscle strength were compared to the spin‐lock suppression ratios in the LGMD group. Strong SLC was observed in healthy muscles, with mean (±SD) suppression ratios ranging from 51.2% (±3.6%) to 56.3% (± 1.3%). In diseased muscle, spin‐lock signal suppression was reduced by 8%–70%, demonstrating an inverse correlation between symptom duration and suppression ratios. Spinlock contrast in the patients with LGMD, as a reflection of tissue integrity, was best preserved in posterior tibialis, anterior tibialis, soleus, and gastrocnemius muscles in descending order. Clinical assessments did a poorer job of differentiating than SLC did and were in poor agreement with spin‐lock suppression ratios. Spinlock MRI can quantify microstructural changes in LGMD and appears to provide information not obtainable from clinical evaluations. This suggests that this noninvasive technique may be useful in evaluating the extent, progression, and response to therapy of LGMD.
The research of performance of Lucene's Chinese tokenizer

Almost all the websites and content management systems provided full-text search. The developer and customer always focus on the full-text search module during the process of develop and maintain the website and content management system. In order to meet the demands of customers for the full-text search capability, we must study the existing Chinese tokenizer. This article will examine four kinds of Chinese tokenizer and compare their performance.
Phase II study of thalidomide in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma

The hypervascular nature of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is well characterized. Recent data have suggested that thalidomide possesses antiangiogenic and immunomodulatory activity. Therefore, the authors initiated a study to assess the efficacy and toxicity of thalidomide in patients with advanced HCC as primary and secondary endpoints, respectively.
Clinical relevance of aspirin resistance in patients with stable coronary artery disease: a prospective follow-up study (PROSPECTAR)

Aspirin resistance may increase the risk of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) more than threefold in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD). This study aimed to determine the prevalence of aspirin resistance in patients with stable CAD, the role of aspirin resistance on outcome in the follow-up, and the effect of clopidogrel therapy in MACE prevention in aspirin-resistant individuals. We detected the prevalence of aspirin resistance in 234 patients with stable CAD. Platelet function was determined by PFA-100 with collagen and/or epinephrine and collagen and/or ADP cartridges. The mean follow-up time was 20.6 ± 6.9 months. The primary endpoints of the study were occurrence of myocardial infarction, unstable angina, stroke and cardiac death. Of patients, 22.2% (n = 52) were aspirin resistant by PFA-100. During follow-up, MACE occurred in eight patients (15.4%) with aspirin resistance and in 20 patients (11.0%) with aspirin-sensitive platelet aggregation (P = 0.269). MACE increased in aspirin-resistant patients after termination of clopidogrel therapy. Eleven patients experienced MACE after cessation of clopidogrel therapy (P < 0.001). The MACE risk in patients with stable CAD having detected aspirin resistance was similar compared with patients having aspirin-sensitive platelet aggregation by PFA-100. The MACE prevalence increased during follow-up, however, just after cessation of clopidogrel therapy.
Protein patterns of human nasal and bronchoalveolar lavage fluids analyzed with two‐dimensional gel electrophoresis

We have previously described the protein patterns of human nasal lavage fluid (NLF) and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) after two‐dimensional gel electrophoresis (2‐DE). We now report the identification of a number of additional proteins in these 2‐DE patterns. Several plasma proteins (α2‐macroglobulin, haptoglobin α1‐chain, IgA S chain, ceruloplasmin, α1‐microglobulin, amyloid P and apolipoprotein A‐1) could be included both in the BALF and NLF spot pattern data bases by matching with a master plasma 2‐DE pattern (SWISS‐2DPAGE). Furthermore, lysozyme, lactoferrin and the antiinflammatory proteins lipocortin‐1 and Clara cell protein 16 (CC‐16) were identified by matching with reference proteins and Western immunoblots. Significant differences in the levels of some of the identified proteins were found between NLF and BALF, and between BALF from smokers and nonsmokers. Transferrin, hemopexin and haptoglobin α1 were lower in NLF than BALF, while IgA, lysozyme and lactoferrin were higher in NLF than BALF. One form of α1‐microglobulin was more abundant in NLF than in BALF, while the opposite was found for a second form of the same protein. Moreover, the levels of IgA, ceruloplasmin and the pro‐form of apolipoprotein A‐1 in BALF were lower in smokers than in nonsmokers. The possibility to describe and analyze differences in NLF and BALF 2‐DE patterns at the protein spot level may have wide clinical applications.
Long-Term Outcome of Pneumatic Dilation in the Treatment of Achalasia

OBJECTIVE:Achalasia is a well-defined esophageal motor disorder for which pneumatic dilation is an established therapeutic method. Even though it has been used for several years, there are limited data on the long-term outcomes of patients treated with this procedure. Hence, we aimed to evaluate the long-term efficacy of pneumatic dilation to control the symptoms of achalasia.METHODS:The medical records of all patients treated in our unit for achalasia with pneumatic dilation were reviewed. We identified the long-term result of the initial procedure, the date of the first dilation, and the time interval between dilation and retreatment.RESULTS:Of 260 patients who were treated with pneumatic dilation, 153 (67 men, 86 women) were followed up for more than 5 yr. The mean follow-up period was 11.09 ± 3.91 yr, and the success rate of the dilation was 75.8%. Among these patients, 35 (19 men, 16 women) had follow-up periods of more than 15 yr. The mean follow-up time of those patients was 16.56 ± 1.09 yr, and the success rate was 51.4%. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that, overall, 50% of patients develop recurring symptoms after 10.92 yr.CONCLUSIONS:Although 51.4% of patients continued to be in clinical remission more than 15 yr after the initial pneumatic dilation, the long-term success rate of pneumatic dilation seems to drop progressively with time.
Always Running: Candidate Emergence among Women of Color over Time

The number of women seeking congressional office in the United States has dramatically increased since 1980. Previous research on women candidates explores why women run, but new research on candidate emergence shows that women face different challenges and advantages based on their race and ethnicity. We investigate these differences by disaggregating data on women’s candidate emergence by race and ethnicity to examine how these theories work when explicitly considering race and ethnicity. We focus our examination on women running in House primaries between 1980 and 2012. We argue that theories of candidate emergence are conditional to the racial and/or ethnic identification of the candidate. We employ a cross-sectional time series analysis with the intuition that examining congressional elections over time will allow us to make general comments about the participation of women in congressional elections. We find that many of the conditions thought necessary for women’s emergence as candidates are contextual and temporally specific. Moreover, conditions that encourage women to run do not necessarily apply to women of color.
Disease-associated Mutations in the Prion Protein Impair Laminin-induced Process Outgrowth and Survival*

Background: In addition to the toxicity mediated by prion protein misfolding, mechanisms associated with its loss-of-function in genetic prion diseases are unknown. Results: Neural cells expressing PrPC mutants associated with prion diseases present impaired laminin-mediated process outgrowth and survival. Conclusion: PrPC mutants show loss-of-function in neural cells. Significance: The impairment of prion protein functions may contribute to the etiology of prion diseases. Prions, the agents of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, require the expression of prion protein (PrPC) to propagate disease. PrPC is converted into an abnormal insoluble form, PrPSc, that gains neurotoxic activity. Conversely, clinical manifestations of prion disease may occur either before or in the absence of PrPSc deposits, but the loss of normal PrPC function contribution for the etiology of these diseases is still debatable. Prion disease-associated mutations in PrPC represent one of the best models to understand the impact of PrPC loss-of-function. PrPC associates with various molecules and, in particular, the interaction of PrPC with laminin (Ln) modulates neuronal plasticity and memory formation. To assess the functional alterations associated with PrPC mutations, wild-type and mutated PrPC proteins were expressed in a neural cell line derived from a PrPC-null mouse. Treatment with the laminin γ1 chain peptide (Ln γ1), which mimics the Ln binding site for PrPC, increased intracellular calcium in cells expressing wild-type PrPC, whereas a significantly lower response was observed in cells expressing mutated PrPC molecules. The Ln γ1 did not promote process outgrowth or protect against staurosporine-induced cell death in cells expressing mutated PrPC molecules in contrast to cells expressing wild-type PrPC. The co-expression of wild-type PrPC with mutated PrPC molecules was able to rescue the Ln protective effects, indicating the lack of negative dominance of PrPC mutated molecules. These results indicate that PrPC mutations impair process outgrowth and survival mediated by Ln γ1 peptide in neural cells, which may contribute to the pathogenesis of genetic prion diseases.
Effect of zinc supplementation on respiratory tract infections in children with cystic fibrosis

Zinc (Zn) has significant anti‐oxidant and anti‐inflammatory activity. Zn deficiency can occur in subsets of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) especially those with malabsorption and impaired growth. Although supplemental Zn has significantly reduced infections in various disorders, its efficacy has not been thoroughly investigated in CF. We performed a double blind placebo controlled pilot study to investigate the effect of daily 30 mg elemental Zn for 1 year on the rate of respiratory tract infections (RTIs), use of antibiotics and plasma cytokines in 26 children with CF (ages 7–18 years). Plasma Zn, Cu, inflammatory cytokines and ex vivo generation of IL‐2 were measured at baseline and at the end of the study. The number of days of oral antibiotics was lower in Zn treated patients compared to placebo (P = 0.05). However, compared to placebo, the effect of Zn was greater in patients who exhibited low plasma Zn at baseline (P = 0.02) than those who had plasma Zn levels identical to normal subjects (P = 0.55). Zn supplementation was marginally effective in reducing percentage increase in plasma IL‐6 and IL‐8 while increasing the percentage change in ex vivo generation of IL‐2 in isolated mononuclear cell. In conclusion, oral intake of 30 mg/day of Zn reduced the number of days of oral antibiotics used to treat RTIs in children with CF. A higher daily Zn dose may be needed to decrease RTIs and modify immune responses. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2008; 43:281–287. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
IEIIS Meeting minireview: Bordetella evolution: lipid A and Toll-like receptor 4

The evolution of Bordetella pertussis and Bordetella parapertussis from Bordetella bronchiseptica involved changes in host range and pathogenicity. Recent data suggest that the human-adapted Bordetella modified their interaction with host immune systems to effect these changes and that decreased stimulation of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) by lipid A is central to this. We discuss Bordetella lipid A structure and genetics within the context of evolution and host immunity.
Healthcare Utilization in Women After Abdominal Surgery for Ovarian Cancer

Background:Women undergoing surgery for ovarian cancer are severely ill and are high users of health services. Contributing to these increased utilization rates are the multiple modalities used to treat ovarian cancer and the complications and side effects from those treatments. Objective:The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention provided by advanced practice nurses and a psychiatric consultation-liaison nurse on patients' self-report of healthcare utilization compared with an attention control intervention in women undergoing surgery for a suspected diagnosis of ovarian cancer. Methods:A two-group, experimental, longitudinal design was used to compare women who were assigned randomly to the intervention group or to an attention control group at baseline within 48 hours after surgery and 1, 3, and 6 months after surgery. Healthcare utilization was measured as the number of self-reported inpatient admissions and outpatient visits, including emergency room visits, oncology outpatient visits, and primary care visits. Nurse interventions consisted of 16 contacts: symptom management, counseling, education, direct nursing care, coordination of resources, and referrals. The attention control interventions consisted of nine contacts that included instructions on use of a symptom management toolkit and strategies on how to manage symptoms. Results:There were no differences in hospitalizations and oncology outpatient visits between the two groups. The main finding of this study was a significant difference in the number of primary care visits between the two groups. Women in the attention control group went to their primary care providers more often than the intervention group. The women who reported more visits also reported more depressive symptoms. In addition, a trend was found in the number of emergency room visits between the two groups. The intervention group visited the emergency room more often because the nurse instructed patients to go when they recognized symptoms that needed urgent care after hours. Discussion:Women in the intervention group appropriately used the emergency room to manage their problems after hours, whereas more women in the attention control group reported significantly more primary care visits. These findings highlight the need for healthcare providers representing various disciplines to coordinate services across specialties, especially for women who have depressive symptoms.
Investigation of Dispersion and Nonlinear Effects in Silicon Nanocrystal Slot Waveguides for Surface Optical Sensing

In this paper, an investigation of silicon nanocrystals-based sandwiched slot waveguides which are dispersion engineered for exciting optical solitons inside very short structures (only 3 mm long) is proposed. The possibility of using these structures for efficient surface sensing devices has been explored for the first time in cases of either air or water solution cover.
Beyond the numbers: using rights-based perspectives to enhance antiretroviral treatment scale-up

Human rights analyses, concepts, and in particular rhetoric have played a consistent role in the global response to HIV for over two decades. Despite the longstanding recognition of human rights as essential to an effective response, recent global guidance, particularly with respect to the implementation of antiretroviral treatment (ART) scale-up efforts, falls short of meaningfully incorporating human rights norms and concepts. Applying human rights to ART scale-up draws attention to who is gaining access to ART, how they are gaining access, and over what period of time, not just how many people gain access. Deliberate consideration of the human rights principles of the interdependence of rights (including attention to the legal and policy environment), participation, non-discrimination, accountability, and key aspects of the right to health can help to identify and overcome some of the challenges to increasing and sustaining access to treatment and needed services, as well as to promote accountability and transparency for what is done and how it is done. Whereas a need remains to document evidence of the ways in which a lack of attention to human rights negatively influences the long-term outcomes of scale-up programmes, this paper focuses on the positive role human rights can play in ART scale-up efforts, and offers suggestions for research and action moving forward.
Predictive value of IL-18 and SC5b-9 for neurocognitive dysfunction after cardiopulmonary bypass.

BACKGROUND Neurological injury after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) continues to be a major problem after cardiac surgery. The aim of this study was to investigate the predictive value of Interleukin-18 (IL-18) and SC5b-9 as biochemical markers of neurocognitive dysfunction after cardiac surgery. METHODS A total of 30 patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery using CPB were recruited. Blood samples were obtained for IL-18 and SC5b-9 concentrations before induction, 24, 48, 72, 96 and 120 h post-CPB and 6 weeks after operation. In addition, patients underwent a standard battery of neuropsychometric tests before operation and at day 5 and 6 weeks after operation. RESULTS Serum concentration of IL-18, but not SC5b-9, was significantly different between patients with and without neurocognitive dysfunction; serum IL-18 concentration significantly increased in patients with neurocognitive dysfunction (P = 0.018). Neurological outcome was significantly dependent on peak difference in IL-18 concentration at day 5 (P = 0.033), but not on peak difference in SC5b-9 concentration (P = 0.16). Eight patients had neurocognitive dysfunction at day 5 and three had neurocognitive dysfunction at 6 weeks. In a very small number of patients, no significant association was demonstrated between IL-18 or SC5b-9 concentrations and neurocognitive dysfunction at 6 weeks. CONCLUSIONS IL-18 has the potential as a useful marker of neurological dysfunction, requiring further investigation.
Sports participation increased in Spain: a population-based time trend study of 21 381 adults in the years 2000, 2005 and 2010

Objective To assess the trend in prevalence of Spanish adults who engaged in sports activities from 2000 to 2010. Design Retrospective analysis of three population-based cross-sectional surveys conducted on a representative sample of Spanish adults: 2000 (N=5160), 2005 (N=8170) and 2010 (N=8925). Results The overall prevalence of sport-active men increased from 45.8% to 52.12% between 2000 and 2010. Among women the prevalence also increased from 27.26% to 33.27% (adjusted OR 1.03 95% CI 1.02 to 1.04). A significant decrease in the prevalence of sport-active subjects was found as the age increases. Adjusted time trends analysis showed that the prevalence of sport-active women and men increased over time in all age groups, with exception of women aged 15–25 years (adjusted OR 0.99, 0.97 to 1.01). Higher educational level was associated with more sport activity. The first reason for not practising sport was ‘I have no time due to working or studying’. Less than 10% of women and men reported health problems as the reason for not practising any sport. Conclusions Sports participation in Spain has increased between 2000 and 2010 among young-aged and middle-aged adults and decreased among older people. Women showed lower prevalence of sport activity as compared to men.