Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Development of a customized electronic reminder to facilitate powered seating function usage and compliance with clinical recommendations: Design process and clinical efficacy

Compliance with clinical guidance on powered seating function (PSF) usage is very low among individuals who use electric powered wheelchairs (EPWs), leading to high risks for secondary complications, with potentially devastating health consequences, and drastically reduced quality of life. The purposes of this research project were to 1) develop a pervasive and persuasive reminder system, Virtual Seating Coach (VSC), to facilitate appropriate use of PSFs for health management following clinical recommendations; and 2) evaluate the efficacy of VSC on facilitating PSF usage and improving compliance with clinical recommendations. Survey studies, in-lab tests, and a pilot test study were conducted to ensure that users' feedback was incorporated in the development of the VSC. The research team gradually improved and refined the VSC in the development process. A randomized group study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of the VSC. Participants used study EPWs equipped with the VSC for 8 weeks, including 2 weeks of baseline data collection and 6 weeks of intervention by receiving an educational program or the VSC in conjunction with the educational program. The educational program included providing educational materials in video, pamphlet, and flash cards formats, and recurrent meetings with a clinician once every two weeks to discuss PSF usage. Twenty six individuals participated in the study, and sixteen of them completed the study protocol. The study results showed that the intervention of the VSC in conjunction with the educational program increased the compliance rate around 40%, while the intervention of the educational program alone increased the compliance rate around 18% compared to the baseline period. Providing timely cues, accessible instructions and feedback were critical to facilitate a desired health behavior. Participants had large variability in the directions and strength of correlations between PSF usage and measures of quality of life (QoL). Gender, experience in EPW and PSF usage, and ambulatory ability may affect the relationships between PSF usage and QoL. More studies are needed to determine how to interpret the measures of QoL as outcome measurements for the effect of PSF usage.
The innovative didactic labs of the Iscol@ project

This paper offers an overview of Line B of the Tutti a Iscol@ project, a 3 year program financed by the Regional Sardinian Authority through European Social Fund (ESF): POR FSE 2014-2020 to fight student disengagement through extracurricular activities based on Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The project is based on constructivism and experiential learning. The age range of participating students is 8-20. Technologies were selected for their educational potential. The project involves three actors: the Institutions that produced the guidelines for the creation of extracurricular technological labs and financed the related call for proposals; the Economic Operators (EO) that submitted their original proposals for extracurricular lab activities and the School System as final recipient. We illustrate the key points of Line B, the methodology followed, and give some clues on the results obtained.
Dojrzewanie sera Gouda - monitoring z zastosowaniem metody odwolawczej i metod alternatywnych

Contrary to Dutch type cheeses, the proteolysis and peptidolysis in the Cheddar cheeses run much slower and evenly owing to a lower water activity and thanks to the constant chemical composition throughout the whole mass. This fact makes it possible to apply alternative methods to monitor the proteolysis process whilst the Cheddar cheese ripens.
AN EFFICIENT AGROBACTERIUM-MEDIATED GENETIC TRANSFORMATION SYSTEM IN LENTIL (Lens culinaris MEDIK) UN SISTEMA EFICIENTE DE TRANSFORMACIÓN GENÉTICA EN LENTEJA (Lens culinaris MEDIK) MEDIADO POR AGROBACTERIUM

Carolina Bermejo1,3*, Gustavo Rodríguez1,2, Ileana Gatti3, Enrique Cointry1,3 1Research Institute of Agricultural Sciences of Rosario, National Scientific and Technical Research Council (IICAR-CONICET), Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, National University of Rosario (UNR), CC 14, S2125ZAA, Zavalla, Argentina. 2Department of Genetics, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, UNR, CC 14, S2125ZAA, Zavalla, Santa Fe, Argentina. 3Department of Plant Breeding and Seed Production, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, UNR, CC 14, S2125ZAA, Zavalla, Santa Fe, Argentina. (bermejo@iicar-conicet.gob.ar).
Les déterminants d’adoption des innovations managériales en contrôle de gestion: Etude exploratoire en contexte marocain

Notre papier s’interesse aux innovations manageriales majeures en controle de gestion a savoir la methode ABC et le Balanced Scorecard. Nous avons essaye dans le cadre de cette contribution d’analyser les mecanismes de diffusion, d’adoption et de rejet de la methode ABC du Balanced Scorecard dans l’environnement marocain a travers une etude exploratoire menee aupres de 10 entreprises dans la ville de Tanger. Nous nous sommes basee sur les perspectives de recherche de Wolf (1994), les modeles de Rogers (1983) et d’Abrhamson (1991) et les travaux de recherche d’Alcouffe (2002, 2003, 2004 et 2015) pour expliquer les facteurs d’adoption de ces deux innovations manageriales aupres des entreprises etudiees
Automated Segmentation of Colorectal Tumor in 3D MRI Using 3D Multiscale Densely Connected Convolutional Neural Network

The main goal of this work is to automatically segment colorectal tumors in 3D T2-weighted (T2w) MRI with reasonable accuracy. For such a purpose, a novel deep learning-based algorithm suited for volumetric colorectal tumor segmentation is proposed. The proposed CNN architecture, based on densely connected neural network, contains multiscale dense interconnectivity between layers of fine and coarse scales, thus leveraging multiscale contextual information in the network to get better flow of information throughout the network. Additionally, the 3D level-set algorithm was incorporated as a postprocessing task to refine contours of the network predicted segmentation. The method was assessed on T2-weighted 3D MRI of 43 patients diagnosed with locally advanced colorectal tumor (cT3/T4). Cross validation was performed in 100 rounds by partitioning the dataset into 30 volumes for training and 13 for testing. Three performance metrics were computed to assess the similarity between predicted segmentation and the ground truth (i.e., manual segmentation by an expert radiologist/oncologist), including Dice similarity coefficient (DSC), recall rate (RR), and average surface distance (ASD). The above performance metrics were computed in terms of mean and standard deviation (mean ± standard deviation). The DSC, RR, and ASD were 0.8406 ± 0.0191, 0.8513 ± 0.0201, and 2.6407 ± 2.7975 before postprocessing, and these performance metrics became 0.8585 ± 0.0184, 0.8719 ± 0.0195, and 2.5401 ± 2.402 after postprocessing, respectively. We compared our proposed method to other existing volumetric medical image segmentation baseline methods (particularly 3D U-net and DenseVoxNet) in our segmentation tasks. The experimental results reveal that the proposed method has achieved better performance in colorectal tumor segmentation in volumetric MRI than the other baseline techniques.
Effect of intercropping on leaf senescence related to physiological metabolism in proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.)

The field experiments were conducted to explore the changes in metabolism related to leaf senescence in proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) under proso millet/mung bean intercropping system. Results showed that intercropping increased leaf photosynthesis, as measured by the increased net photosynthetic rate and chlorophyll content, maximum photochemical efficiency of PSII, and decreased nonphotochemical quenching coefficient. These responses resulted in the increased leaf number and area and reduced yellowing leaf rate; leaf photosynthetic capacity was maintained for longer periods. Such improvements occurred due to enhanced activities of protective enzymes (superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidase) and lowered malondialdehyde and superoxide radical contents. This conclusion was supported by the increased N metabolism in leaves. The grain yield was stimulated by 6.8-37.3% compared to the sole system. Intercropping patterns would delay proso millet leaf senescence and increase grain yield in this region.
HIV-infected childbearing women in Europe: health, treatment and care

This thesis aims to investigate the health of HIV-infected childbearing women living in resource-rich and resource-constrained settings in Europe, and to examine their treatment and care in the context of contemporary policies. HIV prevalence is increasing among childbearing women in Europe and particularly in the Eastern region. Highly effective interventions for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) have resulted in very low transmission rates in Western Europe, but are less available in Ukraine. This thesis uses data from the European Collaborative Study, an on-going prospective cohort study of HIV-infected pregnant women and their infants (9500 mother-child pairs in Western Europe in 1986-2012, and 9600 in Ukraine in 2000-2012), to examine missed opportunities for PMTCT. Results highlight a decline in mother-to-child transmission rates in Ukraine to 4.1% (95% CI 3.4-4.9) in 2008-2010 (vs. 1.7% (95% CI 1.1-2.5) in the Western Europe sites in 2000-2009), and the importance of maternal marginalisation to continued transmissions in both settings. In Western Europe, a substantial proportion of HIV-positive pregnant women are now conceiving on antiretroviral therapy (ART); factors associated with treatment failure during pregnancy among this group are explored. Prevalence of HIV co-infections is high in Ukraine, and this thesis uses data from a nested postnatal cohort (n=2066) to explore testing coverage and factors associated with hepatitis C virus and chlamydia co-infections. Detection and prevalence of cervical abnormalities (an important potential cause of morbidity in HIV-infected women) are also explored. An additional survey in Ukraine provides data on ART adherence during pregnancy and postnatally (n=418) and highlights gaps in information provision and support. Against a backdrop of overall improvements in HIV care, this thesis identifies groups at heightened risk of mother-to-child transmission and/or poor maternal outcomes, and informs policy for their treatment and care.
Fra begrensninger til mulighet. : Kan systemrevisjon som tilsynsmetode stimulere til systematisk forbedringsarbeid i kommunehelsetjenesten?

Staten forer tilsyn med at kommunene i Norge oppfyller lovkrav som gjelder for kommunehelsetjenesten. Siden 1995 har tilsynsmetodikken i hovedsak vaert systemrevisjon. I tillegg til at Fylkeslegen/H .
High-Resolution Magnetic Resonance Imaging Using Compressed Sensing for Intracranial and Extracranial Arteries: Comparison with Conventional Parallel Imaging

Objective To compare conventional sensitivity encoding (SENSE) to compressed sensing plus SENSE (CS) for high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (HR-MRI) of intracranial and extracranial arteries. Materials and Methods HR-MRI was performed in 14 healthy volunteers. Three-dimensional T1-weighted imaging (T1WI) and proton density-weighted imaging (PD) were acquired using CS or SENSE under the same total acceleration factors (AFt)-5.5, 6.8, and 9.7 for T1WI and 3.2, 4.0, and 5.8 for PD-to achieve reduced scanning times in comparison with the original imaging sequence (SENSE T1WI, AFt 3.5; SENSE PD, AFt 2.0) using the 3-tesla system. Two neuroradiologists measured signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), and used visual scoring systems to assess image quality. Acceptable imaging was defined as a visual score ≥ 2. Repeated measures analysis of variance and Cochran's Q test were performed. Results CS yielded better image quality and vessel delineation than SENSE in T1WI with AFt of 5.5, 6.8, and 9.7, and in PD with AFt of 5.8 (p < 0.05). CS T1WI with AFt of 5.5 and CS PD with AFt of 3.2 and 4.0 did not differ significantly from original imaging (p > 0.05). SNR and CNR in CS were higher than they were in SENSE, but lower than they were in the original images (p < 0.05). CS yielded higher proportions of acceptable imaging than SENSE (CS T1WI with AFt of 6.8 and PD with AFt of 5.8; p < 0.0167). Conclusion CS is superior to SENSE, and may be a reliable acceleration method for vessel HR-MRI using AFt of 5.5 for T1WI, and 3.2 and 4.0 for PD.
Effect of intravitreal Bevacizumab on macular edema secondary to retinal vascular occlusion

Objective: To find out the effect of intravitreal injection of Bevacizumab on central macular thickness (CMT) and best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) in cases of retinal vascular occlusion (RVO). Material and method: All the patients of RVO treated at our institute over a period of 1 year, with a central macular thickness of more than 250µ were included in the study. Intravitreal injection of Bevacizumab was given and the CMT and BCVA were measured after a control period of 1 month. The injection was repeated at intervals of 1.5 months if decrease in CMT was less than 30%. Result: Out of the total 78 patients there was a significant improvement in BCVAin 58 patients. There was a significant decrease in central macular thickness in all of them. Conclusion: Anti-VEGF agent Bevacizumab causes significant reduction in central macular thickness and improves BCVA in cases of macular edema secondary to retinal vascular occlusion.
Route leakage detection algorithm based on new feature discovery

So far, machine learning has been used for BGP anomaly detection. However, the anomaly detection algorithms based on machine learning rarely detect which kind of BGP anomaly. In this paper, we consider the routing leakage, as a popular one of BGP anomalies, and we propose a detection algorithm of routing leakage based on investigating new feature. Concretely, firstly, we give a new feature about routing leakage. Then, we propose the routing leakage algorithm according to decision tree models and Adaboost algorithm. Compared with the existing algorithm, the accuracy of our algorithm with new feature increases from 82% to 91%.
Optimal High-Throughput Screening: Optimal High-Throughput Screening

This concise, self-contained, and cohesive book focuses on commonly used and recently developed methods for designing and analyzing high-throughput screening (HTS) experiments from a statistically sound basis. Combining ideas from biology, computing, and statistics, the author explains experimental designs and analytic methods that are amenable to rigorous analysis and interpretation of RNAi HTS experiments. The opening chapters are carefully presented to be accessible both to biologists with training only in basic statistics and to computational scientists and statisticians with basic biological knowledge. Biologists will see how new experimental designs and rudimentary data-handling strategies for RNAi HTS experiments can improve their results, whereas analysts will learn how to apply recently developed statistical methods to interpret HTS experiments.
Investigation of the hepatoprotective properties of “Phytovenol” capsules on the model of medicamentous hepatitis in rats

Abstract This scientific paper is an investigation of the pharmacological activity of the new medical preparation “Phytovenol” (capsules in the dose of 150 mg/kg) on the pattern of hepatitis in rats induced by paracetamol administration. The authors of the article, for the first time under experimental conditions, detected a hepatoprotective effect that was brought about by “Phytovenol” capsule administration. This is realized due to the antioxidant, antitoxic and anticytolytic activity of the examined medicine. The study found that its efficacy is not lower than the classical hepatoprotector - “Silibor” tablets. The results obtained suggest that it is possible to extend the range of available hepatoprotectors and improve the quality of treatment for liver diseases, by introducing “Phytovenol” capsules into medical practice.
Efficient Image-based Augmentations

Real-time 3D reconstruction and rendering of humans captured by a set of cameras is important in a number of applications, such as virtual try-on and interactive mixed reality systems. These applications create a virtual mirror by displaying a live representation of the user embedded in an artificial environment. Image-based methods are frequently used to perform reconstruction and rendering but suffer from poor performance at higher resolutions. However, the performance of these methods is particularly important because users perceive the latency between their own movements and the rendered images as disturbing. Previous implementations computed every output image from scratch and therefore did not reach their highest potential efficiency. This thesis introduces novel methods to reuse information from previous images to improve the performance of image-based rendering. The image-based visual hull algorithm is a rendering method based on shape-from-silhouette reconstruction. This algorithm performs reconstruction and rendering simultaneously, which is more efficient than executing both steps separately. Combined with texturing, it generates novel viewpoints of the captured scene from arbitrary viewing angles. To improve the performance of the algorithm, we exploit our knowledge of the input data. When users move in a virtual mirror scenario, their motions are typically smooth and slow compared to the camera frame rate. Consecutive frames of such a video stream offer a certain amount of temporal coherence. To exploit the coherence during image-based rendering, we introduce methods to detect information in the video streams that remains valid over time. By reusing this information, the amount of required computations can be reduced considerably. With the suggested efficient image-based rendering algorithms, various new applications become feasible, such as high fidelity telepresence systems or virtual mirrors. For advanced applications, like virtual try-on systems and mixed reality augmentations, the rendered image of a user must be augmented with virtual garments and accessories. This thesis introduces the image-based augmentation process to augment users with previously recorded image sequences. A major advantage of using recorded garment sequences over manually modeled meshes is the short content creation time, which is on the order of minutes. In combination with image-based rendering and image processing, we achieve realistic augmentations that blend seamlessly with images of the user.
Controlling diet experience of diabetic patients in Bukittinggi, Indonesia

Background: In 2015, the International Diabetes Federation reported that there were 415 million adultsaged 20 to 79 with diabetes. Indonesia is among the 10 countries with the high number of diabetic patientsand is ranked 7th in the world with the number of patients reaching 10.2 million. Diabetes management canbe done through controlling blood sugar through 4 pillars, namely education, diet, exercise, andmedication. However, the current phenomena show that many diabetics have poor dietary control so theyfail maintain their blood sugar within its normal limits and are at greater risk for diabetes complications.However, we can still find diabetic patients who are able to improve their diet and control their blood sugar.Therefore, getting information from them, especially related to their experience in controlling their diet, isexpected to provide hope and motivation for others. Hence, this study aims to find out and expolore theexperience of diabetics with controlled blood sugar and dietMethods: This study uses a qualitative research method with a descriptive phenomenology approach. Theselection of participants was carried out by using a purposive sampling technique. The number ofparticipants in this study were 5 and data were processed through Colaizzi method.Result:. There are four themes obtained in this study namely: Self-commitment to discipline and dietarycompliance, Fruit as an alternative appetite suppresant, Controlling hunger as a habit, and Channellinghunger to activities. Controlling diet for participants has been succesfully done by created a new habitthrough controlling their hunger, so that they could keep their commitment dan disclipline for dietarycompliance, choosing fruits as alternative suppresant and doing activity for channeling the hunger.Therefore it is important for the nurses to educate the diabetic patients about how to deal with diet issuesthrough controlling a hunger as a habit
Deep-sequencing study of HCV G4a resistance-associated substitutions in Egyptian patients failing DAA treatment

Purpose To study resistance-associated substitutions using next-generation sequencing in Egyptian hepatitis C virus-infected patients failing direct-acting antiviral treatment. Methods The current study describes three cases of treatment failure in patients referred to Zagazig Viral Hepatitis Treatment Center (ZVHTC), Sharkia Governorate, Egypt. RAS were identified and characterized using deep sequencing. The first patient had breakthrough while receiving a daclatasvir (DCV)+sofosbuvir (SOF) regimen, patient 2 relapsed after treatment with DCV+SOF+ribavirin (RBV), and patient 3 relapsed after DCV+SOF therapy. A serum sample was collected from each patient at failure and sent to Vall d’Hebron Research Institute at Hospital Universitari Vall d’Hebron in Barcelona (Spain) for deep-sequencing study to identify and characterize the RAS present in the samples. Results The following were identified: L28M, L30S and L28M+L30S in patient 1, L30R in patient 2, and R155C, D168E, L28M, L30H, L30S, L28M+L30H, and L28M+L30S in patient 3. Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report from Egypt of patients failing DAA-based therapy, describing the associated RAS. This information will be of help to understand the natural history of HCV in Egyptian patients and guide the proper choice of retreatment protocols.