Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Accelerated Clinical Prompt Gamma simulations for Proton Therapy. (Simulations de Gamma Prompts Cliniques accélérés pour la Thérapie Proton)

Apres une introduction a l’hadrontherapie et a la detection gamma prompts, cette these de doctorat comprend deux contributions principales: le developpement d'une methode de simulation des gamma prompt (PG) et son application dans une etude de la detection des changements dans les traitements cliniques. La methode de reduction de variance (vpgTLE) est une methode d'estimation de longueur de piste en deux etapes developpee pour estimer le rendement en PG dans les volumes voxelises. Comme les particules primaires se propagent tout au long de la CT du patient, les rendements de PG sont calcules en fonction de l'energie actuelle du primaire, du materiau du voxel et de la longueur de l'etape. La deuxieme etape utilise cette image intermediaire comme source pour generer et propager le nombre de PG dans le reste de la geometrie de la scene, par exemple Dans un dispositif de detection. Pour un fantome heterogene et un plan de traitement CT complet par rapport a MC analogue, a un niveau de convergence de 2% d'incertitude relative sur le rendement de PG par voxel dans la region de rendement de 90%, un gain d'environ 10^3 A ete atteint. La methode s'accorde avec les simulations analogiques MC de reference a moins de 10^-4 par voxel, avec un biais negligeable. La deuxieme etude majeure menee dans portait sur l'estimation PG FOP dans les simulations cliniques. Le nombre de protons (poids spot) requis pour une estimation FOP constante a ete etudie pour la premiere fois pour deux cameras PG optimisees, une fente multi-parallele (MPS) et une conception de bordure de couteau (KES). Trois points ont ete choisis pour une etude approfondie et, au niveau des points prescrits, on a constate qu'ils produisaient des resultats insuffisants, ce qui rend improbable la production clinique utilisable sur le terrain. Lorsque le poids spot est artificiellement augmente a 10^9 primaires, la precision sur le FOP atteint une precision millimetrique. Sur le decalage FOP, la camera MPS fournit entre 0,71 - 1,02 mm (1sigma) de precision pour les trois points a 10 $ 9 $ de protons; Le KES entre 2.10 - 2.66 mm. Le regroupement de couches iso-energetiques a ete utilise dans la detection par PG de distribution passive pour l'un des prototypes d'appareils PG. Dans le groupement iso-depth, active par la livraison active, les taches avec des chutes de dose distales similaires sont regroupees de maniere a fournir des retombees bien definies comme tentative de melange de gamme de distance. Il est demontre que le regroupement de taches n'a pas necessairement une incidence negative sur la precision par rapport a la tache artificiellement accrue, ce qui signifie qu'une certaine forme de groupage de points peut permettre l'utilisation clinique de ces cameras PG. Avec tous les spots ou les groupes spot, le MPS a un meilleur signal par rapport au KES, grâce a une plus grande efficacite de detection et a un niveau de fond inferieur en raison de la selection du temps de vol.
Parisian Approach - Reducing Computational Effort to Improve SMT Performance by setting Resizable Caches

Evolutionay Algorithm are techniques widely used in the resolution of complex problems. On the other hand, Simultaneous Multithreading improves the throughput of the processor core taking advantage of Instruction Level Parallelism and Thread Level Parallelism. In this environment adaptation the cache configuration, at runtime according to workloads settings will be improved the processor performance. This improvement is achieved by using resizable caches. In a previous work, we proposed a Genetic Algorithm to find the better cache configurations according to the needs and characteristics of the workloads. However the computational cost needed for the evaluation process is very high. In this paper we propose the use of the Parisian Evolution Approach to improve dynamically reconfigurable cache designs, and reduce the computational cost associated. We study the behavior of a set of benchmarks, taking into account their needs over cache memory hierarchy in each phase of execution, in order to adapt the cache configuration and to increase the number of instructions per cycle. Experimental results show a large saving in computing time and some improvement on the instructions per cycle achieved in previous approaches.
Adverse Events Associated with Childhood Vaccines: Evidence Bearing on Causality

281 Recommended for incoming undergraduate students, the book provides a quick understanding of the important terms and techniques for current DNA-related research. Its utility for medical students, however, is somewhat limited by its brevity and enormous scope. At almost $40 in hardcover, the book is far too expensive. At $16.95 in softcover, it remains somewhat less so, but may be worth the cost for a rapid introduction to genetic engineering. review of evidence from the scientific literature and from adverse event surveillance systems , concerning causal relationships, or lack thereof, between each adverse experience (AE) and the vaccine that preceded it. It supplements a companion volume (Adverse Effects of Pertussis and Rubella Vaccines) and addresses AE issues related to diphtheria and tetanus (T) toxoids (or DT for children and Td for adults if combined), measles, mumps, polio (OPV and IPV), hepatitis B and Hemophilus influenzae type b vaccines. Evidence on causality of AEs is categorized into five classes, including: no evidence, inadequate evidence, evidence favoring rejection, evidence favoring acceptance or evidence establishing a causal relationship with the given vaccine. Special analyses are included of the evidentiary basis for causality, of the varieties of neurologic and immuno-logic reactions and of post-vaccination death. The last chapter reviews areas most needing additional research and enhanced surveillance. Most of the serious AEs reviewed are rare, a fact that poses some difficulty in assessing causality, since rare serious AEs are typically far less often reported after vaccination compared to the population at large. Additional difficulty arises from the paucity of controlled trial data, a deficiency often impossible to remedy, given the huge populations needed to ensure detection of such rare events. The majority of the data, based on case reports and uncontrolled observational studies, is therefore appropriately graded as indeterminate by the committee. The rarity of the most serious AEs, especially compared to adverse outcomes caused by the respective diseases prevented by vaccination, points to the immense societal benefit in relation to the rare risk of serious harm associated with mass vaccination with these vaccines. Key findings include evidence favoring rejection of causal linkage between encephalopathy, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) or infantile spasms and DT or Td (or T separately) and between early onset H. influenzae b disease and related conjugate vaccines. Evidence was judged to favor acceptance of causality between DT, Td or T and brachial neuritis or Guillain-Barre syndrome, between measles vaccine …
Scheduling Data Placement Activities in Grid

Todays scientific applications have huge data requirements, and these requirements continue to increase drastically every year. Furthermore, these data are generally accessed by many users from all across the country, or even the globe. So, there tends to be a predominant necessity to move huge amounts of data around wide area networks to complete the computation cycle, which brings with it the problem of efficient and reliable data placement. Current approach to solve this problem of data placement is either doing it manually, or employing simple scripts which do not have any automation or fault tolerance capabilities. Our goal is to make data placement activities first class citizens in the Grid just like the computational jobs. They will be queued, scheduled, monitored and managed, and even check-pointed. More importantly, it will be made sure that they complete without any human interaction.
A Cross Sectional and Longitudinal Study of Pharmacy Student Perceptions of Readiness to Serve Diverse Populations

Objective. To examine students’ self-perceptions at different stages in a pharmacy curriculum of competence related to serving culturally diverse patients and to compare self-reported competence of a student cohort near the beginning and end of the degree program. Methods. Student perceptions across four pharmacy class years were measured in a cross-sectional survey, with a follow-up longitudinal survey of one cohort three years later. Results. Based on an 81.9% response rate (537/656), scores showed no attitude changes. Reported knowledge, skills, comfort in clinical encounters, and curricular preparedness increased across program years. Fourth-year (P4) pharmacy students reported the highest scores. Scores differed by gender, age, and race/ethnicity. Students in the fourth year scored lower on importance of diversity training. Conclusion. Improved perceptions of readiness (ie, knowledge and behavior) to serve diverse groups suggest the curriculum impacts these constructs, while the invariance of student attitudes and association of self-reports with programmatic outcomes warrant further investigation.
Méthodes et applications industrielles en optimisation multi-critère de paramètres de processus et de forme en emboutissage

Face aux exigences concurrentielles et economiques actuelles dans le secteur automobile, l'emboutissage a l'avantage, comme etant un procede de mise en forme par grande deformation, de produire, en grandes cadences, des pieces de meilleure qualite geometrique par rapport aux autres procedes de fabrication mecanique. Cependant, il presente des difficultes de mise en œuvre, cette derniere s'effectue generalement dans les entreprises par la methode classique d'essai-erreur, une methode longue et tres couteuse. Dans la recherche, le recours a la simulation du procede par la methode des elements finis est une alternative. Elle est actuellement une des innovations technologiques qui cherche a reduire le cout de production et de realisation des outillages et facilite l'analyse et la resolution des problemes lies au procede. Dans le cadre de cette these, l'objectif est de predire et de prevenir, particulierement, le retour elastique et la rupture. Ces deux problemes sont les plus repandus en emboutissage et presentent une difficulte en optimisation puisqu'ils sont antagonistes. Une piece mise en forme par emboutissage a l'aide d'un poincon sous forme de croix a fait l'objet de l'etude. Nous avons envisage, d'abord, d'analyser la sensibilite des deux phenomenes concernes par rapport a deux parametres caracteristiques du procede d'emboutissage (l'epaisseur du flan initial et de la vitesse du poincon), puis par rapport a quatre (l'epaisseur du flan initial, de la vitesse du poincon, l'effort du serre flan et le coefficient du frottement) et finalement par rapport a la forme du contour du flan. Le recours a des meta-modeles pour optimiser les deux criteres etait necessaire.
INFLUENCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCANNING ON PERFORMANCE OF MATATU SAVINGS AND CREDIT COOPERATIVES IN KENYA

Purpose: This study aimed at determining the influence of environmental scanning on performance of Matatu Savings and Credit Cooperatives in Kenya. Materials and methods: This study adopted cross-sectional survey research design. The target population for this study was all Matatu Saccos in Kenya. The questionnaire was pilot tested to determine its validity and reliability. The study used primary data gathered from Matatu savings and credit co-operatives from the Ministry of Industrialization and Enterprise Development. Primary data was obtained through use of structured and semi structured questionnaire. A total of 635 Matatu Saccos was selected. Sample size of 245 Matatu Saccos was selected for the study. Quantitative data was analyzed by multiple regressions, Factor analysis, Chi-square and Anova. Qualitative data was analyzed through content analysis to generate thematic topic for discussion in line with research objective Results: The results of the analysis indicated that environmental scanning has a positive relationship with performance of Matatu Saccos. The extent of environmental scanning was found to have a 0.113 influence on performance of Matatu Saccos which was relatively low but significant. Recommendations: The government should ensure that Matatu Saccos conduct SWOTanalysis to evaluate internal and external environment which affect performance. In addition Saccos should do strategic plan in line with vision and mission.
Lessons for Asia from Mexico: understanding costumer satisfaction with fixed internet services by applying a factor analysis using polychoric correlations

The aim of this research consists on determine the factors that explain costumer satisfaction in the Mexican household fixed Internet service industry. The impossibility to measure directly our variable of interest entails the use of a factor analysis methodology which examines latent variables indirectly by employing measurable variables that are believed to be indicators of customer satisfaction. Data gathering is based on an anonymous questionnaire survey of 1481 adults interviewed by telephone conducted by a private consultant by request of the Mexican Federal Institute of Telecommunications on February 2016. The survey includes eight questions that gauge respondent's perceptions about the quality of services offered by his internet service provider. Subsequently, those opinions are coded on Likert scale of scores 1-5. These ordered-category data require the use of Polychoric correlation in order to find patterns between the indicators that allows us to infer their relationship to our unknown latent costumer satisfaction variable. Futher, the data gathered includes demographic characteristics of individuals and detailed information of internet service providers' characteristics, such as internet connection speed. The factor analysis was conducted with varimax rotation to obtain variable loads onto one factor as high as possible. The findings suggest the prevalence of two main factors: the first one related with technical features of the internet service and the second one with the service features provided by the internet service company.
Astrocyte Responses in Human Optic Nerve Head With Primary Open‐Angle Glaucoma

PurposeTo identify and characterize astrocyte responses and reactivation in human optic nerve heads from patients with primary open-angle glaucoma. MethodsFifteen optic nerve heads with primary open-angle glaucoma and 13 normal controls were fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde, paraffin embedded, and stained for immunofluorescence and immunoperoxidase. The antibodies used were against glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and against neural cell adhesion molecule (N-CAM). ResultsTwo subpopulations of type 1 astrocytes exist in the normal optic nerve. Type IA astrocytes express only glial fibrillary acidic protein and type IB express both glial fibrillary acidic protein and neural cell adhesion molecule. These are the major cell subpopulations in the lamina cribrosa and prelaminar regions. In primary open angle glaucoma, type IB astrocytes in the prelaminar region showed increased immunoreactivity for glial fibrillary acidic protein and neural cell adhesion molecule, and cytoplasmic enlargement with thicker and longer cytoplasmic processes. At the level of the lamina cribrosa, type IB astrocytes appeared round and the cell bodies were no longer in the cribriform plates but located in the nerve bundles. Type IA astrocytes were not observed in the glaucomatous optic nerve head. ConclusionsAstrocyte responses in primary open angle glaucoma may underlie cellular changes that lead to axonal damage and optic nerve head remodeling. These responses may have pathogenic significance for glaucomatous optic neuropathy.
Spinal and Peripheral &mgr; Opioids and the Development of Secondary Tactile Allodynia After Thermal Injury

Local thermal injury to the paw leads to an increased sensitivity to a noxious stimulus applied to the site (primary thermal hyperalgesia) and an increased sensitivity to tactile stimuli in skin sites adjacent to the primary injury (secondary tactile allodynia; 2°TA). We sought to define the peripheral and spinal actions of &mgr; opioids in regulating 2°TA. First, a mild thermal injury was induced on one heel, producing 2°TA. This 2°TA was blocked by pretreatment, but not posttreatment, with a topical &mgr;-opioid agonist, loperamide (1.7%–5%). Second, 2°TA was blocked by intrathecal morphine (0.1–10 &mgr;g) pre- and postinjury. 2°TA reappeared when systemic naloxone was given before, but not after, injury in intrathecal morphine-pretreated rats. Intrathecal remifentanil, a short-lasting &mgr;-opioid agonist, infused periinjury (3 &mgr;g/min), did not block subsequent primary thermal hyperalgesia, but it produced a dose-dependent (0.3–3 &mgr;g/min) abolition of 2°TA. Local tissue injury leads to 2°TA by the activation of opiate-sensitive afferents and the initiation of a cascade that persists in the absence of that initiating injury-induced stimulus.
Theoretical study of a channel-doped separate gate Si MOSFET (SG-MOSFET) by two-dimensional computer simulation

A new device structure is proposed for Si MOSFET, featuring an insulated gate structure, channel doping, and finite spacing between gate and source and between gate and drain. Two-dimensional numerical analysis shows that punchthrough is suppressed and that minimum gate length, limited bypunchthrough or VTshift, is extended into the submicrometer range.
Factors affecting the determination of threshold doses for allergenic foods: how much is too much?

BACKGROUND Ingestion of small amounts of an offending food can elicit adverse reactions in individuals with IgE-mediated food allergies. The threshold dose for provocation of such reactions is often considered to be zero. However, because of various practical limitations in food production and processing, foods may occasionally contain trace residues of the offending food. Are these very low, residual quantities hazardous to allergic consumers? How much of the offending food is too much? Very little quantitative information exists to allow any risk assessments to be conducted by the food industry. OBJECTIVE We sought to determine whether the quality and quantity of existing clinical data on threshold doses for commonly allergenic foods were sufficient to allow consensus to be reached on establishment of threshold doses for specific foods. METHODS In September 1999, 12 clinical allergists and other interested parties were invited to participate in a roundtable conference to share existing data on threshold doses and to discuss clinical approaches that would allow the acquisition of that information. RESULTS Considerable data were identified in clinical files relating to the threshold doses for peanut, cows' milk, and egg; limited data were available for other foods, such as fish and mustard. CONCLUSIONS Because these data were often obtained by means of different protocols, the estimation of a threshold dose was very difficult. Development of a standardized protocol for clinical experiments to allow determination of the threshold dose is needed.
Title Predatory capacity of a shorefly , Ochthera chalybescens , on malaria vectors Author ( s )

Background: Since Ochthera chalybescens had been reported to prey on African malaria vectors, the predatory capacity of adults of this species on Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto was explored. Method: Predatory capacity of this fly on A. gambiae s.s. was tested at all developmental stages, including the adult stage in the laboratory setting. Effects of water depth on its predatory capacity were also examined. Results: This study revealed that O. chalybescens preyed on mosquitoes at all life stages except eggs. It was able to prey on an average of 9.8 to 18.8 mosquito larvae in 24 hrs. Mosquito larva size and water depth did not affect predatory capacity. However, the predacious fly preyed on significantly more 2nd-instar larvae than on pupae when larvae and pupae were both available. Conclusion: Ochthera chalybescens is, by all indications, an important predator of African malaria vectors. Background Despite the long history of malaria control efforts, malaria remains a major threat to human health. Since malaria vaccine development is slow, and parasite resistance to anti-malarial drugs is developing rapidly, vector control is considered the most practical method for reducing malaria transmission in developing countries [1-3]. Bed nets and indoor residual spray using DDT or pyrethroids have been common measures for malaria vector control [4,5]. However, there is a strong concern about toxicity against other organisms [6] and vector resistance to chemical insecticides [7-10]. Chemical insecticides also kill predators of mosquitoes [11], and the resulting reduction of predators may increase vectors. Predators usually have longer life cycles than their prey [11]. Vector mosquitoes can thus reestablish their population faster after the application of insecticides than their enemies can, and their numbers may become greater than before [12]. Therefore, the use of chemical insecticides requires caution. Service [11,13] used a serological method to detect predators of Anopheles gambiae sensu lato (s.l.) and found that a predacious fly, Ochthera chalybescens, is an important predator. Approximately 25% tested positive. Adults of Ochthera prey on aquatic invertebrates at the edges of water bodies by using their sickle-shaped front legs [14]. Published: 6 August 2007 Malaria Journal 2007, 6:104 doi:10.1186/1475-2875-6-104 Received: 10 January 2007 Accepted: 6 August 2007 This article is available from: http://www.malariajournal. com/content/6/1/104 © 2007 Minakawa et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Malaria Journal 2007, 6:104 http://www.malariajournal. com/content/6/1/104
Defauts topologiques et conditions aux limites en cosmologie primordiale

Cette these est consacree a l'etude de la signature des defauts topologiques sur le fond diffus cosmologiques et a l'influence de la topologie de l'univers. Dans la premiere partie, j'expose, apres une introduction au modele standard de la cosmologie, la theorie des perturbations cosmologiques lineaires en relativite generale, la description de fluides relativistes en interaction puis l'utilisation des lois de conservation en cosmologie. Apres avoir decrit comment relier les fluctuations de temperature du fond diffus cosmologique aux perturbations de la matiere et de la geometrie, j'etudie tout d'abord les conditions initiales a imposer a ces perturbations apres une transition de phase dans l'univers primordial conduisant a la formation de defauts topologiques puis la signature de ces defauts topologiques sur le fond diffus cosmologiques. Dans la seconde partie, j'etudie l'influence de la topologie de l'univers sur un reseau de defauts topologiques. Apres une description des proprietes topologiques des varietes riemaniennes tridimensionnelles et de la physique dans les espaces multi-connexes, je montre qu'une topologie non triviale des sections spatiales de l'univers induit une contrainte sur le reseau de defauts puis j'en etudie les consequences cosmologiques.