Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Electromagnetic Scattering for Time-Domain Maxwell's Equations in an Unbounded Structure

The goal of this work is to study the electromagnetic scattering problem of time-domain Maxwell's equations in an unbounded structure. An exact transparent boundary condition is developed to reformulate the scattering problem into an initial-boundary value problem in an infinite rectangular slab. The well-posedness and stability are established for the reduced problem. Our proof is based on the method of energy, the Lax--Milgram lemma, and the inversion theorem of the Laplace transform. Moreover, a priori estimates with explicit dependence on the time are achieved for the electric field by directly studying the time-domain Maxwell equations.
Effectiveness of extracorporeal shockwave therapy for chronic Achilles tendinopathy: A randomized clinical trial

Background: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of extracorporeal shockwave treatment (ESWT) on pain and ankle-hindfoot scale of the American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) score of patients with chronic Achilles tendinopathy (AT). Materials and Methods: In this double-blind clinical trial, 43 patients with chronic AT were selected and randomly allocated in two groups to receive a basic treatment with ESWT or sham SWT (radial and focused shock waves, four sessions once a week for 4 weeks). AOFAS and pain scores for each patient were recorded at baseline (before intervention), immediately after intervention, and 4 and 16 weeks after intervention using AOFAS and visual analog scale (VAS) scaling method. Results: A total of 43 patients (22 ESWT and 21 sham SWT) were participated in this study. Both groups improved during the treatment and follow-up period. The mean VAS score decreased from 7.55 to 3 in the intervention group and from 7.70 to 4.30 in the sham SWT group. Mean AOFAS and VAS scores were significantly different between ESWT and no ESWT groups at 16 weeks of follow-up (P = 0.013) (P = 0.47). There was no significant difference in terms of AOFAS and VAS scores between both the groups in the other follow-up times. Conclusion: Overall, ESWT causes decrease in VAS score and increase in AOFAS score. However, due to the small sample size, the results were not statistically significant. It is recommended to plan more interventional studies with larger sample size in the future.
Small-scale Sr isotope investigation of clinopyroxenes from peridotite xenoliths by laser ablation MC-ICP-MS — implications for mantle metasomatism

Although numerous studies have shown that mantle xenoliths are isotopically heterogeneous on a hand specimen scale, experimental data imply that isotopic equilibrium should be attained within single mineral grains in the upper mantle. Until recently, this prediction has not been verified because of the difficulty of analyzing individual grains. We report in situ Sr/Sr compositions of clinopyroxenes in garnet peridotite xenoliths from the Nikos kimberlite, Somerset Island (Arctic Canada) obtained by laser ablation MC-ICP-MS. Results for five different peridotites indicate the existence of large Sr isotope variations within individual xenolith samples, varying from 0.5xto as much as 1.1x(3 to 8 parts in 7000). This study is the first to document isotopic heterogeneity in peridotite xenoliths at the scale of individual grains. Multiple analyses of the same grain, however, indicate intra-grain Sr isotopic equilibrium. The Sr isotopic ratios for individual clinopyroxene grains correlate with major element abundances such as SiO2 and TiO2, and trend towards the composition of the host Nikos kimberlite. It thus appears likely that the Sr isotope heterogeneities recorded by the clinopyroxenes are the result of metasomatic interaction with the host kimberlite magma. The preservation of Sr isotopic variability in clinopyroxene separates from different peridotite samples and between clinopyroxene grains of individual xenoliths suggests that metasomatism occurred just prior to or during kimberlite transport. The Sr isotope heterogeneities documented here for a single peridotite phase suggest that isotopic compositions obtained on mineral separates from peridotite xenoliths likely represent weighted averages and could be less homogenous than previously assumed. D 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
A MAN-PORTABLE, IMU-FREE MOBILE MAPPING SYSTEM

Abstract. Mobile mapping systems are commonly mounted on cars, ships and robots. The data is directly geo-referenced using GPS data and expensive IMU (inertial measurement systems). Driven by the need for flexible, indoor mapping systems we present an inexpensive mobile mapping solution that can be mounted on a backpack. It combines a horizontally mounted 2D profiler with a constantly spinning 3D laser scanner. The initial system featuring a low-cost MEMS IMU was revealed and demonstrated at MoLaS: Technology Workshop Mobile Laser Scanning at Fraunhofer IPM in Freiburg in November 2014. In this paper, we present an IMU-free solution.
Exploring Health Information-Seeking Preferences of Older Adults With Hypertension: Quasi-Experimental Design

Background Patients’ engagement in health care decision making is constituted by at least two behaviors: health information seeking and active involvement in medical decisions. Previous research reported that older adults desire a lot of information, but want to participate in decision making to a lesser degree. However, there is only limited evidence on the effect of desire for health information on seniors’ perceived confidence in making an informed choice (ie, decision self-efficacy). Objective The goal of this study was to investigate the role desire for health information has for older patients. More specifically, it tested whether decision self-efficacy increases as a function of an assisted computer-based information search. Additionally, the study allowed insights into the sources seniors with hypertension prefer to consult. Methods A sample of 101 senior citizens (aged ≥60 years) with high blood pressure in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland answered a questionnaire before and after an informational intervention was applied. The intervention consisted of offering additional information on hypertension from five different sources and of providing the information the participant desired. Preference for receiving this information was the major independent variable. The main outcome measure was decision self-efficacy (assessed at baseline and posttest). Analyses of covariance were conducted to detect differences between and within who desired additional hypertension-related content (intervention group) and “information avoiders” (control group). Results Health care professionals firmly remain the preferred and most trusted source of health information for senior patients. The second most consulted source was the internet (intervention group only). However, among the total sample, the internet obtained the lowest credibility score. A significant increase in decision self-efficacy occurred in seniors consulting additional information compared to information avoiders (F1,93=28.25, P<.001). Conclusions Consulting health information on a computer screen, and assistance by a computer-savvy person, may be a helpful activity to increase perceived confidence in making treatment decisions in seniors with hypertension.
A Semantically Rich Knowledge Representation of PCI DSS for Cloud Services

Organizations often use Cloud based services to manage their financial transactions, like fees payment, invoice payment etc., with their end users. These services allow payment using credit cards and thus need to adhere to the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) standard. To effectively manage this policy, educational institutions dealing with card transaction currently monitor their payment gateway flow manually in order to be compliant. We propose a novel approach to automate this process using semantic web technology and natural language processing. In this paper we describe our technical approach and the ontology that we have developed to automatically extract key terms and rules from various compliance documents and represent them in a machine processable knowledge graph. We used Semantic Web’s Web Ontology Language (OWL) to create this knowledge graph which is machine processable and so can contribute significantly in automating the continuous monitoring of credit card PII data operation, transfer and sharing
Measurability in quantum theory, gravity and thermodynamics and general remarks to Hawking's problems

In thermodynamics the measurability notion, introduced previously in a quantum theory, is defined on the basis of a minimal inverse temperature. Based on this notion, some implications are obtained for thermodynamics of black holes at all the energy scales and for quantum corrections of the basic quantities in the general case. Then on the basis of these results the Hawking Problems for black holes are subjected to an initial analysis.
The Very Low Frequency of Epstein-Barr JC and BK Viruses DNA in Colorectal Cancer Tissues in Shiraz, Southwest Iran

Abstract Viruses including Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), JCV and BKV have been reported to be associated with some cancers. The association of these viruses with colorectal cancers remains controversial. Our objective was to investigate their infections association with adenocarcinoma and adenomatous polyps of the colon. Totally, 210 paraffin-embedded tissue specimens encompassing 70 colorectal adenocarcinoma, 70 colorectal adenomatous and 70 colorectal normal tissues were included. The total DNA was extracted, then qualified samples introduced to polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The EBV, JCV and BKV genome sequences were detected using specific primers by 3 different in-house PCR assays. Out of 210 subjects, 98 cases were female and the rest were male. The mean age of the participants was 52 ± 1.64 years. EBV and JCV DNA was detected just in one (1.42%) out of seventy adenocarcinoma colorectal tissues. All adenomatous polyp and normal colorectal tissues were negative for EBV and JCV DNA sequences. Moreover, all the patients and healthy subjects were negative for BKV DNA sequences. The results suggested that EBV and JCV genomes were not detectable in the colorectal tissue of patients with colorectal cancer in our population. Hence, BKV might not be necessitated for the development of colorectal cancer. The findings merit more investigations.
Small-Scale Spatial Patterns of Copernicia alba Morong near Bahia Negra, Paraguay

We assessed the spatial distribution of Copernicia alba Morong. In the study area, a lowland palm savanna floodplain, C. alba is the only overstory species. We hypothesized C. alba would be randomly distributed within natural stands. Palms were tallied in six randomly located 0.25 haplots and analyzed using a first-order, Ripley’s K function to assess the distribution of juvenile, adult, and total palm populations. While the total population had either aggregated or random distributions, when analyzing juvenile and adult population separately, we found juveniles were consistently more aggregated than the adults.
Supplementary materials : Post Selection Inference with Kernels

where h(z1, z2, z3, z4) is the U -statistic kernel corresponding to HSIC (see [1]), Sn,k is the set of all k-tuples (in this case k = 4) of {1, . , n}, and ZS is an abbreviation of (Zi1 , . . . , Zik) for S = (i1, . . . , ik). Consider the block HSIC with block size B. For simplicity, let M := n/B denote the number of blocks for a single block HSIC estimator, and assume that n is taken so that M in an integer. The block HSIC is then defined by
Mucosal Immunity in the Female Murine Mammary Gland

The mammary gland is not classically considered a mucosal organ, although it exhibits some features common to mucosal tissues. Notably, the mammary epithelium is contiguous with the external environment, is exposed to bacteria during lactation, and displays antimicrobial features. Nonetheless, immunological hallmarks predictive of mucosal function have not been demonstrated in the mammary gland, including immune tolerance to foreign Ags under homeostasis. This inquiry is important, as mucosal immunity in the mammary gland may assure infant and women’s health during lactation. Further, such mucosal immune programs may protect mammary function at the expense of breast cancer promotion via decreased immune surveillance. In this study, using murine models, we evaluated mammary specific mucosal attributes focusing on two reproductive states at increased risk for foreign and self-antigen exposure: lactation and weaning-induced involution. We find a baseline mucosal program of RORγT+ CD4+ T cells that is elevated within lactating and involuting mammary glands and is extended during involution to include tolerogenic dendritic cell phenotypes, barrier-supportive antimicrobials, and immunosuppressive Foxp3+ CD4+ T cells. Further, we demonstrate suppression of Ag-dependent CD4+ T cell activation, data consistent with immune tolerance. We also find Ag-independent accumulation of memory RORγT+ Foxp3+ CD4+ T cells specifically within the involution mammary gland consistent with an active immune process. Overall, these data elucidate strong mucosal immune programs within lactating and involuting mammary glands. Our findings support the classification of the mammary gland as a temporal mucosal organ and open new avenues for exploration into breast pathologic conditions, including compromised lactation and breast cancer.
Second trimester maternal serum–amniotic fluid nitric oxide and vascular endothelial growth factor levels in relation to uterine artery Doppler indices in pregnancies with normal outcome

Abstract The aim of the present study was to explore the possible relations of maternal serum and amniotic fluid nitric oxide (NO) and of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) concentrations with uterine artery Doppler indices (UtADs) in a healthy second trimester obstetric population. In this regard, the levels of NO and VEGF-A were measured in maternal sera and the amniotic fluid samples were in 36 subjects who were in their early second trimester of pregnancy. The mean levels for VEGF-A were 110.3 ± 31.5 pg/ml in maternal serum and 149.6 ± 31.3 pg/ml in amniotic fluid. Mean levels for NO were 5.7 ± 4.7 µmol in maternal serum and 12.9 ± 3.4 µmol in amniotic fluid. UtADs were measured concurrently with the sample collections. The mean value for uterine artery pulsatility index (PI) was 1.3 ± 0.4. The measurements were then analysed for possible correlations, whereby no correlation was found between UtAD and maternal serum levels of either molecule (p = .828 and p = .662 for VEGF-A and NO, respectively). However, a positive correlation was found between the NO levels in the amniotic fluid compartment and UtAD (r = 0.432, p = .009 for PI). Therefore, a correlation of UtAD with amniotic fluid NO can be expected in pregnancies with a normal outcome. Impact Statement What is already known on this subject? Nitric oxide (NO) and vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) are important vasoactive molecules that play significant roles in early angiogenesis and placentation. What the results of this study add? There is a positive correlation between the amniotic fluid NO levels and the uterine artery Doppler indices (UtADs) in the second trimester of pregnancies with normal outcomes. What the implications are of these findings for clinical practice and/or future research? A correlation between amniotic fluid NO levels and UtAD may indicate a normal trophoblastic invasion. Disturbance of this balance may be expected in certain adverse pregnancy outcomes. Additional studies are needed to further explore the molecular signs of early abnormal placentation and their clinical reflection.
Hialuronian jako czynnik regulujący proces zapalenia * Hyaluronan-mediated regulation of infl ammation

Hialuronian jest biopolimerem o dużej masie cząsteczkowej, którego liniowa struktura jest utworzona przez powtarzające się podjednostki dwucukrowe. W skład pojedynczej podjednostki wchodzą: N-acetylo-D-glukozamina i kwas D-glukuronowy. Glikozamikan ten jest głównym składnikiem macierzy zewnątrzkomórkowej. Hialuronian poza rolą strukturalną może wpływać na proliferację, różnicowanie i migrację komórek, angiogenezę oraz reakcje zapalne i czynność komórek odpornościowych. W przebiegu zapalenia następuje nasilenie dynamiki przemian hialuronianu. Pod wpływem enzymów i wolnych rodników tlenowych obecnych w ognisku zapalnym postać wielkocząsteczkowa jest degradowana do fragmentów o mniejszej masie cząsteczkowej, wykazujących wiele odmiennych w stosunku do cząstki natywnej funkcji. Liczne dane literaturowe wskazują, że działanie hialuronianu na komórki odpornościowe jest ściśle zależne od jego masy cząsteczkowej. Postać wielkocząsteczkowa może uczestniczyć w wygaszaniu reakcji zapalnych, zaś fragmenty o małej masie cząsteczkowej działają prozapalnie i aktywująco na komórki układu immunologicznego. Takie fragmenty, poprzez oddziaływanie z receptorami powierzchniowymi (np. CD44, RHAMM, TLR4), aktywują komórki odpornościowe, wpływają na wytwarzanie cytokin, chemokin, reaktywnych form tlenu i innych czynników zaangażowanych w proces zapalenia. Hialuronian może się więc okazać istotnym czynnikiem regulującym zapalenie. Fragmenty o małej masie cząsteczkowej generowane już we wczesnej fazie procesu zapalnego dostarczają sygnału o uszkodzeniu tkanki i mobilizują komórki immunokompetentne, a postać wielkocząsteczkowa poprzez hamowanie czynności komórek odpornościowych zapobiega nadmiernemu nasileniu reakcji zapalnych.
Healthcare Insurance Fraud Detection Leveraging Big Data Analytics

: Health Insurance fraud is a major crime that imposes significant financial and personal costs on individuals, businesses, government and society as a whole. So there is a growing concern among the insurance industry about the increasing incidence of abuse and fraud in health insurance. Health Insurance frauds are driving up the overall costs of insurers, premiums for policyholders, providers and then intern countries finance system. It encompasses a wide range of illicit practices and illegal acts. This paper provides an approach to detect and predict potential frauds by applying big data, hadoop environment and analytic methods which can lead to rapid detection of claim anomalies. The solution is based on a high volume of historical data from various insurance company data and hospital data of a specific geographical area. Such sources are typically voluminous, diverse, and vary significantly over the time. Therefore, distributed and parallel computing tools collectively termed big data have to be developed. Paper demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the open-source predictive modeling framework we used, describe the results from various predictive modeling techniques . The platform is able to detect erroneous or suspicious records in submitted health care data sets and gives an approach of how the hospital and other health care data is helpful for the detecting health care insurance fraud by implementing various data analytic module such as decision tree, clustering and naive Bayesian classification. Aim is to build a model that can identify the claim is a fraudulent or not by relating data from hospitals and insurance company to make health insurance more efficient and to ensure that the money is spent on legitimate causes. Critical objectives included the development of a fraud detection engine with an aim to help those in the health insurance business and minimize the loss of funds to fraud.
Human Papillomavirus and Oropharyngeal Cancer Among Indigenous Australians: Protocol for a Prevalence Study of Oral-Related Human Papillomavirus and Cost-Effectiveness of Prevention

Background Oropharyngeal cancer is an important, understudied cancer affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. The human papillomavirus (HPV) is a significant risk factor for oropharyngeal cancer. Current generation HPV vaccines are effective against the 2 most common types of high-risk HPVs in cancer (hrHPVs 16/18). Objectives This study aims (1) to yield population estimates of oncogenic genotypes of HPV in the mouth and oropharynx of defined Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations; (2) to estimate the proportion of oropharyngeal cancer attributable to HPV among these Australian citizens; (3) to estimate the impact of HPV vaccination as currently implemented on rates of oropharyngeal cancer among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians; and (4) taking into account impact on oropharyngeal as well as cervical cancer, to evaluate efficacy and cost-effectiveness of targeted extended HPV vaccination to older ages, among our study population. Methods Our study design and operation is straightforward, with minimal impost on participants. It involves testing for carriage of hrHPV in the mouth and oropharynx among 1000 Aboriginal South Australians by simple saliva collection and with follow-up at 12 and 24 months, collection of sexual history at baseline, collection of information for estimating health state (quality-of-life) utilities at baseline, genotyping of viruses, predictive outcome and cost-effectiveness modeling, data interpretation and development of vaccination, and follow-up management strategies driven by the Aboriginal community. Results Participant recruitment for this study commenced in February 2018 and enrollment is ongoing. The first results are expected to be submitted for publication in 2019. Conclusions The project will have a number of important outcomes. Synthesis of evidence will enable generation of estimates of the burden of oropharyngeal cancer among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians and indicate the likely effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of prevention. This will be important for health services planning, and for Aboriginal health worker and patient education. The results will also point to important areas where research efforts should be focused to improve outcomes in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians with oropharyngeal cancer. There will be a strong focus on community engagement and accounting for the preferences of individuals and the community in control of HPV-related cancers. The project has international relevance in that it will be the first to systematically evaluate prevention of both cervical and oropharyngeal cancer in a high-risk Indigenous population taking into account all population, testing, and surveillance options. Registered Report Identifier RR1-10.2196/10503
Shape representation by zippables

Fabrication from developable parts is the basis for arts such as papercraft and needlework, as well as modern architecture and CAD in general, and it has inspired much research. We observe that the assembly of complex 3D shapes created by existing methods often requires first fabricating many small parts and then carefully following instructions to assemble them together. Despite its significance, this error prone and tedious process is generally neglected in the discussion. We present the concept of zippables - single, two dimensional, branching, ribbon-like pieces of fabric that can be quickly zipped up without any instructions to form 3D objects. Our inspiration comes from the so-called zipit bags [zipit 2017], which are made of a single, long ribbon with a zipper around its boundary. In order to "assemble" the bag, one simply needs to zip up the ribbon. Our method operates in the same fashion, but it can be used to approximate a wide variety of shapes. Given a 3D model, our algorithm produces plans for a single 2D shape that can be laser cut in few parts from fabric or paper. A zipper can then be attached along the boundary by sewing, or by gluing using a custom-built fastening rig. We show physical and virtual results that demonstrate the capabilities of our method and the ease with which shapes can be assembled.