Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ribavirin monotherapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C: a retrospective study of 95 patients

Ribavirin is a purine nucleoside that inhibits the replication of a variety of RNA viruses and was shown to have a transient efficacy in chronic hepatitis C during short‐term therapy. We have analysed retrospectively its efficacy in 95 patients with liver biopsy‐proven chronic hepatitis C. Patients received oral ribavirin (600–1200mg daily) for a mean duration of 11 months. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels returned to normal values in 38 patients (40%) and decreased by more than 50% in 20 other patients (21%). HCV RNA clearance from serum was observed in seven patients (8%). The biochemical response rate was higher in patients with chronic hepatitis (54%) than in those with cirrhosis (24%) (P=0.003). Clearance of HCV RNA was observed in 10% of the patients with chronic hepatitis vs 4% of the patients with cirrhosis. In non‐responders to interferon (IFN) therapy, ALT levels returned to normal values in 11 (26%) and HCV RNA became negative in one (2%), as compared to 48% and 3%, respectively, in those contraindicated for IFN. In 17 patients in whom paired liver biopsy specimens were available, the histology activity index (HAI) improved in 12. Therapy was generally well tolerated although 11 patients had to stop therapy because of side‐effects, which were more common in cirrhotic patients. In conclusion, our results suggest that long‐term administration of ribavirin is well tolerated and may be beneficial in controlling the progression of chronic hepatitis C. This may represent an alternative therapy in patients who have contraindications for interferon therapy or as a palliative approach in non‐responders to IFN.
Fracture of Dental Materials

Finding a material capable of fulfilling all the requirements needed for replacing lost tooth structure is a true challenge for man. Many such restorative materials have been explored through the years, but the ideal substitute has not yet been identified. What we use today for different restorations are different metals, polymers and ceramics as well as combinations of these materials. Many of these materials work well even though they are not perfect. For example, by coating and glazing a metal crown shell with a ceramic, it is possible to make a strong and aesthetic appealing crown restoration. This type of crown restoration is called a porcelain-fused-to-metal restoration, and if such crowns are properly designed, they can also be soldered together into so called dental bridges. The potential problem with these crowns is that the ceramic coating may chip with time, which could require a complete remake of the entire restoration. Another popular restorative material consists of a mixture of ceramic particles and curable monomers forming a so called dental composite resin. These composites resins can be bonded to cavity walls and produce aesthetic appealing restorations. A potential problem with these restorations is that they shrink during curing and sometimes debond and fracture. In addition to porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns and composites, allceramic and metallic restorations as well as polymer based dentures are also commonly used. These constructions have their inherent limitations too.
Management of Ocular Toxoplasmosis

Ocular toxoplasmosis has been established as the most common identifiable cause of posterior uveitis in many parts of the world. Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite estimated to infect 13% to 50% of the world’s population. The third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found a seroprevalence of Toxoplasma in the United States of 23% in 17,658 persons. The prevalence of ocular toxoplasmosis is not well established. The estimated incidence of acute symptomatic toxoplasmic chorioretinitis for all people born in the United Kingdom was 0.4 cases/100,000 population/year, and for people born in West Africa was 57 cases/100,000 population/year. On the basis of the respondents of the 2001 American Academy of Opthalmology/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey of ophthalmologists, it was estimated that there have been over 30,000 visits of patient to ophthalmologists for active ocular toxoplasmosis and there may be 1.26 million individuals with ocular toxoplasmosis in the United States.
GLASSY STATICS AND DYNAMICS IN THE CHEMICALLY ORDERED PYROCHLORE ANTIFERROMAGNET Y2MO2O7

Static and dynamic magnetic correlations in the geometrically frustrated pyrochlore antiferromagnet Y 2Mo2O7 have been studied using neutron scattering. The material is chemically ordered but displays a spin-freezing transition at Tg 22.5 K. We show that dynamic short range order develops below room temperature. Upon cooling the two-spin correlation length never exceeds 5 Å, yet the spin fluctuation rate vanishes in proportion to T 2 Tg. For T , Tg low energy spin fluctuations are replaced by static antiferromagnetic short range order with a frozen staggered magnetization j S j S 0.67 2 . Locally the frozen spin structure corresponds to four sublattice ordering with zero magnetization.
An evaluation of neurophysiological criteria used in the diagnosis of motor neuron disease

Background New criteria for the neurophysiological diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/motor neuron disease (ALS/MND) were recently proposed at an international symposium in Awaji-shima, Japan. They differ from the accepted revised El-Escorial criteria by considering fasciculation potentials to be evidence of acute denervation. In addition, when assessing diagnostic certainty, the Awaji-shima criteria equate electrodiagnostic evidence of lower motor neuron dysfunction with clinical examination findings. Methods A retrospective review of 205 consecutive sets of notes was performed, from patients who underwent neurophysiological assessment for suspected MND. The clinical signs and neurophysiological findings were combined according to the two sets of criteria (revised El-Escorial and Awaji-shima), and the diagnoses reached were compared with the interval diagnosis, to establish the sensitivities and specificities of each protocol. Results An interval diagnosis of MND was recorded in 107 patients. The sensitivity of the Awaji-shima criteria in reaching a diagnosis of MND was 60.7% and the revised El-Escorial 28%, with a specificity of 95.9% for both criteria. The Awaji-shima criteria increased the sensitivity of diagnosis without affecting the specificity. Conclusion Accepting EMG evidence of fasciculations as evidence of acute denervation increases the diagnostic certainty of MND, and the new criteria allow earlier diagnosis of MND without increasing the false-positive rate.
Probabilistic Querying over uncertain Data Streams

Inherent imprecision of data in many applications motivates us to support uncertainty as a first-class concept. Data stream and probabilistic data have been recently considered noticeably in isolation. However, there are many applications including sensor data management systems and object monitoring systems which need both issues in tandem. Our main contribution is designing a probabilistic data stream management system, called Sarcheshmeh, for continuous querying over probabilistic data streams. Sarcheshmeh supports uncertainty from input data to final query results. In this paper, after reviewing requirements and applications of probabilistic data streams, we present our new data model for probabilistic data streams and define our main logical operators formally. Then, we present query language and physical operators. In addition, we introduce the architecture of Sarcheshmeh and also describe some major challenges like memory management and our floating precision mechanism toward designing a more robust system. Finally, we report evaluation of our system and the effect of floating precision on the tradeoff between accuracy and efficiency.
Solution properties of chitin in alkali.

The solution properties of alpha-chitin dissolved in 2.77 M NaOH are discussed. Chitin samples in the weight-average molecular weight range 0.1 x 10(6) g/mol to 1.2 x 10(6) g/mol were prepared by heterogeneous acid hydrolysis of chitin. Dilute solution properties were measured by viscometry and light scattering. From dynamic light scattering data, relative similar size distributions of the chitin samples were obtained, except for the most degraded sample, which contained aggregates. Second virial coefficients in the range 1 to 2 x 10(-3) mL.mol. g(-2) indicated that 2.77 M NaOH is a good solvent to chitin. The Mark-Houwink-Sakurada equation and the relationship between the z-average radius of gyration (Rg) and the weight-average molecular weight (Mw) were determined to be [eta] = 0.10Mw0. 68 (mL.g(-1)) and Rg = 0.17Mw0. 46 (nm), respectively, suggesting a random-coil structure for the chitin molecules in alkali conditions. These random-coil structures have Kuhn lengths in the range 23-26 nm.
A Comparison of the Effects of Errorful and Errorless Teaching Methods on the Acquisition, Generalization, and Retention of Letter Sound Discriminations in Young Children.

The present study compared the effects of an errorless stimulus shaping procedure to an errorful fluency based procedure for teaching difficult letter sound discriminations using a counterbalanced multielement experimental design. For 2 participants, letters fsteai were taught using the errorless procedure and letters bpdvou were taught using the errorful procedure. For the other 2 participants the conditions were reversed. All participants had considerably fewer errors and fewer trials to criterion with the errorless than with the errorful procedure. Tests of retention and generalization indicate that the errorful procedure generalized and was retained at a higher frequency than the errorless procedure. For 3 participants preference for the errorless procedure over the errorful procedure was demonstrated; whereas, the fourth participant demonstrated preference for the errorful procedure.
[Demographic aspects of population aging in the Czech Republic].

The author analyzes various demographic aspects of population aging in the Czech Republic in the period 1950-1985. The impact of fertility decline, mortality, and migration is considered. Changes in the size of the aged population and in the sex ratio are discussed. Future changes in the age structure are projected. (SUMMARY IN ENG AND RUS)
Information sharing in secure systems

The author attempts to establish a theoretical foundation for secure information sharing. He proposes a secure system structuring construct, called a secure object manager, as an example of a one-way information sharing mechanism. Secrecy, integrity, and availability requirements for the secure object manager are defined. A formal system model, including a careful treatment of communication via bounded buffers, is developed. Then he formally defines secrecy in terms of the model. This definition of secrecy precludes all covert channels, including storage, probabilistic, and timing channels. An implementation of the secure object manager that satisfies all the requirements considered is presented. <<ETX>>
A Forced Desynchrony Study of Circadian Pacemaker Characteristics in Seasonal Affective Disorder

The circadian pacemaker is an endogenous clock that regulates oscillations in most physiological and psychological processes with a near 24-h period. In many species, this pacemaker triggers seasonal changes in behavior. The seasonality of symptoms and the efficacy of light therapy suggest involvement of the circadian pacemaker in seasonal affective disorder (SAD), winter type. In this study, circadian pacemaker characteristics of SAD patients were compared with those of controls. Seven SAD patients and matched controls were subjected to a 120-h forced desynchrony protocol, in which core body temperature and melatonin secretion profiles were measured for the characterization of circadian pacemaker parameters. During this protocol, which enables the study of unmasked circadian pacemaker characteristics, subjects were exposed to six 20-h days in time isolation. Patients participated twice in winter (while depressed and while remitted after light therapy) and once in summer. Controls participated once in winter and once in summer. Between the SAD patients and controls, no significant differences were observed in the melatonin-derived period or in the phase of the endogenous circadian temperature rhythm. The amplitude of this rhythm was significantly smaller in depressed and remitted SAD patients than in controls. No abnormalities of the circadian pacemaker were observed in SAD patients. Adisturbance in thermoregulatory processes might explain the smaller circadian temperature amplitude in SAD patients during winter.
Spectral Detection of Micro-Metastases and Individual Metastatic Cells in Lymph Node Histology

The detection of micro-metastases and individual metastatic cells in lymph node tissue by spectral methods is summarized. These methods are based on instrument-based acquisition of thousands of infrared spectra of individual tissue pixels from the tissue section, and analysis of the resulting spectral hypercube by multivariate algorithms. The method of infrared image acquisition, followed by multivariate analysis, is henceforth referred to as Spectral Histopathology (SHP). SHP produces pseudo-color images of tissue sections which reveal details that compare very favorably with images collected from hematoxylin/eosin (H & E) stained tissues in that the same tissue structures are detected. However, the infrared results are based on objective and reproducible measurements and do not depend on subjective interpretation. One of the major topics of this paper is the comparison of spectral patterns observed for the same cancer type from different patients. While this is easy in some tissue types, we found it to be difficult in tissues of very different cellularity, or tissue sections that exhibit high levels of inflammatory response. In both cases, spectral quality will be compromised due to confounding effects resulting from scattering effects. The correction of these effects now permits the direct comparison of different patient samples, and paves the way for diagnostic algorithms for cancer detection to be developed.
Vagal regulation and children's social competence

"Research on the relation between children's physiological capacity to modulate arousal and social competence has been limited and has focused primarily on brain electrical activity or the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Only recently have researchers begun to study the crucial role of the parasympathetic branch of the ANS in modulating metabolic output to foster engagement and disengagement strategies that are considered important for social development. This study examined the relation between vagal regulation, an index of the parasympathetic influence on the heart, and children's social competence and behavior problems in school. In this study, 335 kindergarteners participated in a laboratory assessment designed to examine physiological regulation and a sociometric assessment designed to examine peer status. In addition, teacher and parent reports of behavioral and social functioning were collected. Results indicated that girls with higher levels of vagal regulation had better peer status and better social skills, including greater ability to deal with problem situations with peers (as reported by teachers) than girls with lower levels of vagal regulation. No significant associations emerged for boys. "--Abstract from author supplied metadata.
Un Verbenet du français

VerbNet est une ressource lexicale pour les verbes anglais qui est largement utilisee en TAL du fait de sa bonne couverture lexicale et syntaxique et de son encodage systematique des roles thematiques. Aucune ressource equivalente n'existe pour le francais, ce qui nous a motives pour developper un Verb@net du francais. Nous presentons comment nous avons developpe Verb@net a partir de VerbNet tout en utilisant au maximum les ressources lexicales existantes du francais, et comment sont encodees les differentes alternances du francais en mettant l'accent sur les differences avec l'anglais (l'existence de formes pronominales, par exemple). Cet article devrait permettre a un chercheur en TAL une utilisation simple et efficace de Verb@net pour une tâche comme l'annotation en roles semantiques. ABSTRACT. VerbNet is a lexical resource for English verbs that has proven useful for NLP thanks to its high lexical and syntactic coverage and its systematic coding of thematic roles. Such a resource doesn't exist for French. This has motivated us to develop a Verb@net for French. We present how we have developed Verb@net from VerbNet while using as far as possible the available lexical resources for French, and how the various French alternations are coded, focusing on differences with English (existence of pronominal forms, for example). This paper should allow an NLP researcher to use Verb@net in a simple and efficient way for a task such as semantic role labeling. MOTS-CLES : VerbNet, role thematique, cadre de sous-categorisation, alternance syntaxique.
Privacy Leakage in Mobile Sensing: Your Unlock Passwords Can Be Leaked through Wireless Hotspot Functionality

Mobile sensing has become a new style of applications and most of the smart devices are equipped with varieties of sensors or functionalities to enhance sensing capabilities. Current sensing systems concentrate on how to enhance sensing capabilities; however, the sensors or functionalities may lead to the leakage of users’ privacy. In this paper, we present WiPass, a way to leverage the wireless hotspot functionality on the smart devices to snoop the unlock passwords/patterns without the support of additional hardware. The attacker can “see” your unlock passwords/patterns even one meter away. WiPass leverages the impacts of finger motions on the wireless signals during the unlocking period to analyze the passwords/patterns. To practically implement WiPass, we are facing the difficult feature extraction and complex unlock passwords matching, making the analysis of the finger motions challenging. To conquer the challenges, we use DCASW to extract feature and hierarchical DTW to do unlock passwords matching. Besides, the combination of amplitude and phase information is used to accurately recognize the passwords/patterns. We implement a prototype of WiPass and evaluate its performance under various environments. The experimental results show that WiPass achieves the detection accuracy of 85.6% and 74.7% for passwords/patterns detection in LOS and in NLOS scenarios, respectively.
Text messaging to promote health.

Douglas and Free’s qualitative study1 alongside a randomised controlled trial2 show that text messaging offers a valuable way of supporting people trying to give up smoking. Text messages may also have wider potential in health promotion, including within sexual health. In September 2013 we carried out a patient and public involvement user group to investigate what female genitourinary medicine clinic attendees thought about texts encouraging regular STI checks, use of long …
Local dynamic stability of the trunk segments and lower extremity joints during backward walking

Backward walking has become a popular training method in physical exercise and clinical rehabilitation. For the sake of safety, it is important to keep a stable gait during backward walking. However, the gait stability during backward walking was rarely studied. This study investigated the effects of walking direction on local dynamic stability of the trunk segments (neck, torso and pelvis) and lower extremity joints (hip, knee and ankle joint). The maximum Lyapunov exponents (λs ) of 17 young healthy male adults were calculated while they were walking under three conditions: backward walking with preferred walking speed (BW), forward walking (FW) with the same speed determined by BW, and forward walking with normal speed (FWN). We found that compared with FW, BW showed significant higher values of in the trunk segments in vertical (VT) direction (ρ<;0.05). The torso segment also displayed a higher value of in anterior-posterior (AP) direction (ρ<;0.01); Higher values of during BW were found in the rotation (RT) motion of hip and knee joint (ρ=0.036, and ρ=0.009, respectively), and in the abduction/adduction (AB/AD) motion of knee and ankle joint (ρ=0.013, and ρ=0.021, respectively). The significant effect of walking speed was found between FW and FWN condition in VT direction (ρ<;0.01). These findings indicate that backward walking did impair the local dynamic stability in trunk segments and lower extremity joints. Especially, the negative effect of BW on the poor gait stability in the AP direction of torso segment, and AB/AD and RT motion of knee joint should not be neglected.
Effects of intermittent fasting on body composition and clinical health markers in humans.

Intermittent fasting is a broad term that encompasses a variety of programs that manipulate the timing of eating occasions by utilizing short-term fasts in order to improve body composition and overall health. This review examines studies conducted on intermittent fasting programs to determine if they are effective at improving body composition and clinical health markers associated with disease. Intermittent fasting protocols can be grouped into alternate-day fasting, whole-day fasting, and time-restricted feeding. Alternate-day fasting trials of 3 to 12 weeks in duration appear to be effective at reducing body weight (≈3%-7%), body fat (≈3-5.5 kg), total cholesterol (≈10%-21%), and triglycerides (≈14%-42%) in normal-weight, overweight, and obese humans. Whole-day fasting trials lasting 12 to 24 weeks also reduce body weight (≈3%-9%) and body fat, and favorably improve blood lipids (≈5%-20% reduction in total cholesterol and ≈17%-50% reduction in triglycerides). Research on time-restricted feeding is limited, and clear conclusions cannot be made at present. Future studies should examine long-term effects of intermittent fasting and the potential synergistic effects of combining intermittent fasting with exercise.
[Grape seed proanthocyanidin extracts inhibit lipopolysaccharide of Porphyromonas gingivalis].

PURPOSE To study the inhibitory effect of grape seed proanthocyanidin extracts on 1ipopolysacharides of Porphyromonas gingivalis. METHODS Grape seed proanthocyanidin extracts were double-diluted to different concentrations by two-fold dilution. The effect on Porphyromonas gingivalis was measured by minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC). The inhibition effect of grape seed proanthocyanidin extracts on lipopolysaccharide was measured by limulus assay with 6 concentrations below the minimal inhibitory concentration. SPSS 17.0 software package was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS The value of MIC of grape seed proanthocyanidin extracts was 0.8 mg/mL to the strains of the experimental bacteria. The inhibitory effect on lipopolysaccharide enhanced with the increasing of the concentration of grape seed proanthocyanidin extracts within the scope of 0.05 to 0.4 mg/mL (P<0.05,0.01). CONCLUSIONS Grape seed proanthocyanidin extracts have inhibitory effect on lipopolysaccharide of Porphyromonas gingivalis.