Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Definir la bioethique: retour aux sources

Lorsque l’on parcourt les usages et les definitions du mot «bioethique», il faut bien reconnaitre que l’on se trouve confronte a une sorte de «famille» au sens de Wittgenstein. Potter est proche de l´ideologie moderne; il s’inquiete des problemes de sante humaine compte tenu des environnements sociaux, culturels et naturels –ecosystemiques– globaux, et dans cette perspective, les problemes de survie de l’espece et de ressources naturelles ainsi que le sens d´une justice globale sont essentiels. Par contre, la bioethique engelhardtienne focalisee sur les questions medicales entre des personnes individuelles ne se preoccupe pas de ces questions ; ses positions epistemologiques et ethiques sont de tendance postmoderne. Entre la conception de la bioethique de Potter et la mienne il y a de nombreuses similitudes mais aussi des differences profondes. Je suis plus ouvert a ce que l’on appelle la postmodernite, tout en en percevant les exces et les derives. Je suis sans doute plus proche d’Engelhardt, meme si je ne suis pas d’accord avec tous ses choix communautariens, neo–liberaux voire libertariens. Ainsi, en bioethique s’expriment et interagissent toutes les complexites de notre epoque a la fois moderne, postmoderne et premoderne.
Epidemiology of Japanese encephalitis in inner Mongolia, 1950-2007.

Objective To understand the epidemiological characteristics of Japanese encephalitis(JE) in Inner Mongolia and provide scientific evidence for the effective control and prevention of JE.Methods Descriptive epidemiological analysis was conducted on reported JE cases in Inner Mongolia from 1950 to 2007.Results During 1950-2007,a total of 4850 cases of JE were reported to occur in Inner Mongolia with the average annual incidence rate of 0.49/lakh.Most cases(4297 cases) were reported during 1969-1984,and the average annual incidence rate was 1.55/lakh.However the average annual incidence rate from 1985 to 2007 was 0.08/lakh(412 cases),which was lower than national level.Only 26 cases had been reported since 2000 with the average annual incidence rate of 0.01/lakh.The JE cases occurred in Chifeng and Tongliao(4117 cases) accounted for 84.89% of the total cases.Conclusion The JE incidence declined in Inner Mongolia in recent 20 years.Chifeng and Tongliao were the areas with high incidence of JE.
Struttura di mercato e tecnologia: un’analisi empiricadel Servizio sanitario nazionale italiano

L’accelerazione dello sviluppo tecnologico e la tendenza verso il decentramento dell’intervento pubblico, caratteristiche dei mercati sanitari negli ultimi decenni, hanno contribuito ad accrescere l’autonomia decisionale dei soggetti che operano in questi mercati, rendendone il funzionamento simile a quello dei settori industriali tradizionali. Un riferimento standard dell’economia industriale sulla relazione tra la tecnologia e la struttura di mercato e offerto dal contributo di Sutton (1991, 1998), secondo il quale i settori industriali assumono configurazioni differenti in termini di concentrazione di mercato a seconda della diversa incidenza delle spese di R&S e di pubblicita e dell’omogeneita dei prodotti in essi offerti. L’obiettivo di questo lavoro e testare empiricamente alcune delle relazioni evidenziate da Sutton nell’ambito di uno specifico contesto economico, quello delle prestazioni sanitarie offerte dal Servizio sanitario nazionale italiano. L’analisi si basa su un data-set, fornito dal Ministero della salute, che raccoglie informazioni sulle prestazioni sanitarie (sia in regime di ricovero ordinario che di day-hospital) offerte nel 2001 da tutte le strutture ospedaliere operanti nell’ambito del Servizio sanitario nazionale. I risultati sono in linea con le predizioni empiriche della teoria di Sutton, secondo le quali nei mercati a bassa intensita di R&S esiste un lower bound per la concentrazione d’equilibrio, e tale lower bound converge monotonicamente a zero all’aumentare della dimensione del mercato (rapportata ai costi di set-up), indipendentemente dal livello di omogeneita del prodotto. Nei mercati ad alta intensita di R&S, invece, il lower bound alla concentrazione converge a un valore positivo diverso da zero all’aumentare della dimensione di mercato, mentre cresce a partire da zero all’aumentare del livello di omogeneita del prodotto.
Dose–response effects of graded therapeutic exercises in patients with long-standing subacromial pain

Exercise therapy is widely used in the conservative treatment of long-standing subacromial pain, but there is still no consensus on recommending any specific treatment schedules. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of a high-dose versus a low-dose of the same repetitive exercise program in patients with long-standing subacromial pain/impingement. Sixty-one patients were randomly assigned either to a high-dose medical exercise therapy group (HD) (n=31) or to the low-dose exercise therapy group (LD) (n=30). The study was a randomized controlled trial. Both groups received three treatments a week over a 3-month period. The differences between the groups were: number of repetitions, number of sets and time spent on performing global aerobic exercises. Patients in both the LD group and HD group experienced improvements in functional ability, and the HD group had significant better results compared with the LD group with respect to pain, function, range of motion and isometric strength. However, both groups increased functional ability from pretest to post-test. There is a dose–response effect when using active graded exercises to treat patients with long-standing subacromial pain.
Reconstruction of Normal Speech from Chinese Whispers

Reconstruction of normal speech from Chinese whispers can be applied in several fields, such as the private speech communication in public, reconstruction of normal speech for the aphonic individuals, the special need for the forensic work and etc. However, because of the differences between normal and whispered speech in source and vocal tract transfer function, it is difficult to reconstruct whispers to normal speech with the ordinary synthesis method. In this paper, a reconstruction system based on the homomorphic signal processing and the symmetric relative entropy to detect the initial and unit has been founded. The Chinese whispers can be successfully transformed into normal speech using this method, and the reconstructed speech can be distinguished by human ear exactly.
Data-driven approach to health care : applications using claims data

Large population health insurance claims databases together with operations research and data mining methods have the potential of significantly impacting health care management. In this thesis we research how claims data can be utilized in three important areas of health care and medicine and apply our methods to a real claims database containing information of over twi million health plan members. First, we develop forecasting models for health care costs that outperform previous results. Secondly, through examples we demonstrate how large-scale databases and advanced clustering algorithms can lead to discovery of medical knowledge. Lastly, we build a mathematical framework for a real-time drug surveillance system, and demonstrate with real data that side effects can be discovered faster than with the current postmarketing surveillance system. Thesis Supervisor: Dimitris J. Bertsimas Title: Boeing Professor of Operations Research
The Effect of Citrus Limon and Whitening Toothpaste to Teeth Color Changes ( Study on the Right Maxillary Central Incisor of 18 Year Old Female)

The acids of Citrus limon is believed to be able to brighten teeth, meanwhile whitening toothpaste is able to remove stain of the teeth. The purpose of this study was to observe the effect of Citrus limon water and whitening toothpaste to teeth color changes. Fifteen female students of Dentistry Faculty of Trisakti University, participated in this study (ethical clearance). The color of right maxillary central incisor of those participant was measured by spectrophotometer (VITA Easyshade V, USA) for 3 weeks respectively. The color measurement was divided into 4 treatments: before treatment; brushed with whitening toothpaste for 28 minutes + 42 drops of Citrus limon; brushed with whitening toothpaste for 56 minutes + 84 drops of Citrus limon; brushed with whitening toothpaste for 84 minutes + 126 drops of Citrus limon. The results of color change are: ΔE1 (+1.4 ± 1.3), ΔE2 (+1.2 ± 1.3), ΔE3 (+1.6 ± 1.5). Results of lightness are ΔL1 (+1.2 ± 1.8), ΔL2 (+0.580 ± 2.1), ΔL3 (+0.7 ± 2.0). Results of chroma are ΔC1 (+1.0 ± 1.3), ΔC2 (+0.7 ± 1.2), ΔC3 (+1.1 ± 1.8). Results of hue are ΔH1 (-0.7 ± 0.9), ΔH2 (-0.4 ± 1.7), ΔH3 (0.2 ± 1.9). The data were analyzed with repeated anova. In this study, the total measurement of color change was showed by decreasing value of ΔE. The color of their teeth get brighter during the 3 weeks application. Statistical tests show significant differences of ΔE (p<0.05). The malic acid in Citrus limon and abrasive ingredients in whitening toothpaste are able to brighten the color of their teeth. Keywords–Citrus limon, whitening toothpaste, color
Bruxismo na infância: um sinal de alerta para odontopediatras e pediatras

OBJECTIVE: To present a review of literature on childhood bruxism, including etiological factors, clinical characteristics, signs and symptoms, the importance of the diagnosis by pediatric dentists and pediatricians and the multidisciplinary management of this parafunctional condition. DATA SOURCE: The most relevant articles published on the subject from 1907 to 2007 were selected, from Medline and Brazilian Bibliography on Odontology databases as well as dentistry books. DATA SYNTHESIS: Bruxism is defined as a non-functional habit of the stomatognatic system, characterized by the act of grinding or squeezing the teeth, with occurrences during the day or sleep. The etiology is multifactorial with contribution of several factors (dental, physiological, psychological and neurological variables). The forces produced by bruxism can harm the teeth, their supporting tissues, muscles and temporomandibular articulation. Common clinical signs are: attrition on the incisal faces of the anterior teeth and occlusal faces in the posterior teeth, as well as dental hypermobility and hypersensibility, cusp and restoration fracture and muscle hypertonicity. CONCLUSIONS: The knowledge on the etiological factors and the clinical characteristics of childhood bruxism is important to establish early diagnosis and treatment, with a multidisciplinary approach that should include pediatricians, pediatric dentists and psychologists in order to provide adequate infant development focused on health promotion and individual well-being.
Security considerations in m-learning: threats and countermeasures

Security in e-learning is becoming increasingly important as large universities use e-learning in their day-to-day business processes. However, mobile devices are used by many students without regard for related security issues. Mobile devices introduce new threats to an e-learning environment. By systematically analyzing the weaknesses inherent to mobile devices, ways of addressing risks specific to mobile e-learning are derived.
Development and characterisation of nanocarriers system of hydrophobic drugs for pulmonary delivery

Background: The bioavailability of BCS class II drugs used in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treatment is limited by low water solubility. Also, current therapies for NSCLC cause systemic side effects and sub-therapeutic levels of drugs at the target sites. Colloidal systems administered by the pulmonary route may overcome these problems. Method: A genistein-mPEG conjugate was synthesised and characterised for delivering erlotinib or curcumin in micelles. Liposomes co-loaded with genistein and erlotinib were developed as an alternative formulation approach and studies using DSC and HPLC analysis. The aerosol properties of micelles and liposomes were measured using the Next Generation Impactor (NGI). The Fast Screening Impactor (FSI) was investigated as an alternative to the NGI for aerosol characterisation of nebulised liposomes. Three parameters (nebuliser types, impactor operating conditions and liposome size reduction methods) were studied using the FSI. Results: Successful conjugation was confirmed by FT-IR, NMR and MS. Curcumin loading into conjugate micelles had mean size < 200nm, with ≈ 50% encapsulation efficiency (EE). However, the genistein conjugate was not appropriate for erlotinib delivery, having low EE (<3%). For liposomes, the mean size was ≈130 nm, with 10% EE (erlotinib) and 100% EE (genistein). DSC results showed incorporation of both drugs into the bilayer, giving a broadening of the main phase transition of DPPC with a decreased main phase temperature. The air-jet nebuliser was superior to the vibrating-mesh device in terms of significantly higher fine particle dose (FPD) and fine particle fraction (FPF). The FSI (5± 3 oC), with modification operated at 15 L/min, was found to be simple to use and labour-saving for simple aerosol characterisation, giving comparable results to the NGI for FPD and FPF. Extruded liposomes showed greater size stability than sonicated vesicles during preparation and nebulisation. Conclusions: Optimised micelles and liposomes with desired mean size and drug entrapments have the potential for nebuliser delivery of genistein, erlotinib and curcumin, and may be suitable for delivering other hydrophobic drugs.
Waypoint-Based generalized ZEM/ZEV feedback guidance for planetary landing via a reinforcement learning approach

Precision landing on large planetary bodies is a critical technology for future human and robotic exploration of the solar system. Indeed, over the past decade, landing systems for robotic Mars missions have been developed with the specific goal of deploying robotic agents (e.g. rovers, landers) on the Martian surface. In this paper, we proposed a novel algorithm that can generate powered, closedloop trajectories to enforce flight constraints (e.g. no crashing on slope surfaces) while ensuring precision landing. More specifically, we propose a waypointbased ZEM/ZEV algorithm that employs a dynamic programming approach via Value Iteration to determine the best location of the waypoints for a set of constrained landing over large planetary bodies (e.g. Moon and Mars). Here, the Reinforcement Learning (RL) framework is employed to integrate ZEM/ZEV with a waypoint selection policy as function of the current state of the spacecraft during the powered descent phase (i.e. position and velocity). Here, a set of openloop, constrained, fuel-efficient trajectories are numerically computed using pseudo-spectral methods. A set of states from the open-loop optimal trajectories are stored as candidate waypoints. The latter are employed by the ZEM/ZEV algorithm as intermediate targets to steer the spacecraft toward the final target point on the planetary surface. The problem is cast as a Markov Decision Process (MDP) and the resulting dynamics programming problem is solved via generalized policy evaluation to select the next best intermediate target point as function of the previous one. The behavior of the integrated guidance algorithm is evaluated in Mars powered landing scenarios that involve demanding requirements both in landing location and flight path. Both constraints satisfaction and fuel efficiency are analyzed to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Ethnobotanical uses and bioactivity studies of Scoparia dulcis Linn

Scoparia dulcis Linn (F. Scrophulariaceae) is a common weed which is widely distributed in many tropical countries. It is claimed to possess many therapeutic potentials according to traditional and folkloric medicine some of which are experimentally proven. This article describes its ethnobotanical claims and published bioactivities therapy.
Ein automatisches Verfahren zur Erzeugung von lauffähigen TOSCA Service-Templates, basierend auf DevOps-Artefakten

In letzter Zeit wurden eine Reihe von Ansatzen, Werkzeugen und Communities entwickelt, um das aktuell viel diskutierte DevOps-Paradigma realisierbar zu machen. Prominente Beispiele dafur sind Chef, Puppet oder Juju. All diese Ansatze verfolgen das Ziel, wiederverwendbare Artefakte (Skripte und Konfigurationsdefinitionen) zu erstellen, zu veroffentlichen und miteinander zu kombinieren (Orchestrierung), um damit durch einen hohen Grad an Automatisierung ein effizientes Deployment und Management von Services oder Applikationen in einer Cloud-Umgebung zu ermoglichen. Daher werden diese Werkzeuge haufig auch mit den Begriffen "Configuration Management Tooling" (Chef, Puppet, etc.) oder "Service Orchestration Tooling" (Juju, etc.) bezeichnet. Das Hauptproblem ist hierbei, dass die von den DevOps-Communities erstellten und veroffentlichten Artefakte nicht portabel sind, weil sie durch proprietare Ansatze implementiert werden und damit von einer ebenfalls proprietaren Laufzeitumgebung abhangig sind. Das heist, dass diese Artefakte sich nur mit den Werkzeugen verarbeiten lassen, mit denen sie erstellt wurden. Dadurch weisen diese Artefakte einen sehr geringen Grad an Portabilitat auf. Um das oben genannte Problem zu vermeiden, sind Standardisierungsbemuhungen im Bereich des Cloud Computing von wichtiger Bedeutung. Die "Topology and Orchestration Specification for Cloud Applications" (TOSCA) stellt einen Standardisierungsansatz dar, um solche Artefakte auf eine portable Art und Weise zu erstellen, sodass durch deren Orchestrierung portable Service-Templates entstehen konnen. Ziel dieser Diplomarbeit ist die Entwicklung eines automatischen Verfahrens, um einsetzbare TOSCA Service-Templates zu erzeugen, basierend auf existierenden von den hinter Juju und Chef stehenden DevOps-Communities veroffentlichten Artefakten. Damit konnen diese Artefakte und die TOSCA Service-Templates, die diese Artefakte verwenden, von jeder TOSCA-konformen Laufzeitumgebung [65] verarbeitet werden.
Azathioprine Toxicity in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Background/aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) treated with azathioprine (AZA) and followed-up in our clinic to adverse effects. Materials and methods: We analyzed patients with IBD who were treated with AZA between April 1998 and April 2008 for adverse events. Results: Four hundred and seventeen patients that included 211 (50.6%) females (age, 38.63 ± 13.32 years) were evaluated. Two hundred and forty-two patients (58%) had ulcerative colitis, 159 (38.1%) patients had Crohn’s disease and 16 (3.8%) patients had undetermined colitis. Mean follow-up period was 42.5 ± 46 months (range, 6-288 months). One hundred and eighty-nine (45.3%) patients used AZA (66% in Crohn’s disease group, 32% in ulcerative colitis group). Mean AZA treatment period was 33.8 ± 32 months (range, 6-160 months). Discontinuing rate was 19.6% (37 cases). Causes of discontinuing AZA were as follows: Adverse events in 15 patients (bone marrow suppression in three, pancreatitis in two, hepatotoxicity in two, related malignancy in three and other events in five patients), inefficacy in 12 patients, postoperation in five patients and other causes in five patients. Major toxicity was seen in seven of 189 patients (3.7%). Conclusion: Half of IBD patients were using AZA and major toxicity and malignancy development rates during AZA treatment were low. AZA is a safe immunosuppressive agent in IBD patients. Abbreviations: AZA: Azathioprine; MP: 6-Mercaptopurine; IBD: Inflammatory bowel disease; UC: Ulcerative colitis; CD: Crohn’s disease; ID: Indetermine colitis; NHL: Non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Comparison of Four Commercial ELISA Kits and In-House Immunoblotting for Diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori Infection

PEDIATRIC GASTROENTEROLOGY, HEPATOLOGY & NUTRITION Received:February 17, 2012, Rivised:March 20, 2012, Accepted:June 13, 2012 Corresponding author: Hee‐Shang Youn, M.D., Department of Pediatrics, Gyeongsang National University School of Medicine, 90, Chilam‐dong, Jinju 660‐702, Korea. Tel: +82-55‐7508158, Fax: +82-55‐7529339, E-mail: hsyoun@gnu.ac. kr Copyright c 2012 by The Korean Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition This is an open­access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non­Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non­commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Comparison of Four Commercial ELISA Kits and In-House Immunoblotting for Diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori Infection
Restoration of degraded images using genetic programming

In image restoration problems it is commonly assumed that image degradations are linear. In real-life this assumption is not always satisfied causing linear restoration methods fail. In this work, we present the design of an image restoration filtering based on genetic programming. The proposed filtering is given by a secuence of basic mathematical operators that allows to retrieve an undegraded image from an image degraded with noise. Computer simulations results obtained with the proposed algorithm in terms of objective metrics are analyzed and discussed by processing images degraded with noise. The obtained results are compared with those obtained with existing linear filters.
Blueberry Jam: correlation of rheological parameters and water activity with sensorial attributes

The present research studied gelling agent and fruit variety effects on the correlation between the rheological properties and water activity with sensorial parameters of blueberry jam. Sensorial tests were performed and sensorial attributes evaluated were flavor, color, texture and appearance. Rheological parameters were evaluated using texturometer (Texture Analyser, TA- TX2) with 1.0 cm 2 probe, and water activity using water activity meter equipment (Texto 65-PC). Regarding to sensory analysis, the results showed that there was greater preference in conventional jam with “Climax” fruit variety, for all attributes. The Pearson correlation values showed that water activity had positive correlation with color, except for “light” product elaborated with “Climax” variety; texture, flavor and appearance had negative correlation with water activity for “light” samples. About the correlation between the sensory attributes and rheological parameters, the negative value of the Pearson correlation indicate that the texture measures were not correlated with texture sensory attribute, for all samples.