Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Trend Analysis of Palliative Care Utilization in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease During Hospitalization from 2007 to 2018 in Taiwan

Purpose Palliative care utilization among hospitalized patients with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Taiwan remains low despite its costs making it eligible for reimbursement since 2009. Few studies have examined the trends of palliative care utilization. We analyzed the annual rate, associated factors, and timing of the inpatient palliative care utilization by hospitalized patients with COPD. Patients and Methods We conducted a cross-sectional observational study between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2018. Population-based claims data were extracted from Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database to identify patients aged ≧40 years with COPD five years before the first instance of inpatient palliative care utilization. Results There were 24,502 patients with COPD receiving inpatient palliative care. Our results indicated that older age, concomitant chronic conditions—especially cancer—and severity of comorbidities were associated with a higher rate of palliative care utilization by hospitalized patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In our study, the proportion of hospitalized patients with COPD receiving inpatient palliative care and having a Charlson comorbidity index score of 1–2 was lower than that of patients with cancer and a Charlson comorbidity index score ≧3 during the 12-year study-observation period. In addition, approximately 50% of hospitalized patients with COPD received palliative care within 18 months after their initial admission for COPD during the study period. However, individuals with a CCI score of 1–2 exhibited a slower entry into palliative care, with nearly 50% initiating it within the first two years. Conclusion Inpatient palliative care utilization by hospitalized patients with advanced COPD remains low due to various causes. Our findings highlight that palliative care may be considered by professional care providers as routine care and as a way to manage problematic symptoms during hospitalization.
Guía de técnicas, estrategias y herramientas en el diseño y desarrollo de generadores automáticos del lenguaje

Este capítulo aborda la descripción de diferentes técnicas, métodos y herramientas desarrolladas y aplicadas para el diseño de la cadena de generadores descrita en el capítulo 1 de este volumen. Tanto el método combinado, como los generadores y el conjunto de recursos que los soportan se asientan en principios de sostenibilidad, interoperabilidad y retroalimentación de datos.
Variant Histogram Equalization based Enhancement to Transfer Learning in Detection of COVID-19 Chest X-Ray Images

COVID-19 is a new pulmonary disease that has been straining the global healthcare system because of its high occurrence. It has been found that early-stage COVID-19 can be diagnosed using chest X-ay (CXR) images. Till now, most of the research has concentrated solely on the application of deep learning algorithms, which are valuable but lack proper pre-processing of CXR images. In this context, the purpose of this work is to study the cumulative effects of enhancement approaches on the performance of deep learning models. Within this research, four distinct iterations of histogram equalization image enhancement techniques were utilized on the chest X-ray (CXR) images. These encompass Median-Mean based Sub-Image Histogram Equalization (MMSICHE), Exposure based Sub-Image Histogram Equalization (ESIHE), Dominant Orientation based Texture Histogram Equalization (DOTHE), and Edge-based Texture Histogram Equalization (ETHE). The improved images are subsequently input into two pre-trained neural networks from the Visual Geometry Group (VGG) family, namely the VGG-16 and VGG-19 models, for the purposes of categorizing the CXR images into three categories: COVID-19, normal, and pneumonia. Ultimately, it was observed that the VGG-16 model employing the ESIHE image enhancement technique yielded the highest accuracy, reaching 92.17%.
Robust Estimation-Based Control for Generalized One-Sided Lipschitz Nonlinear Systems in the Presence of Output Delays

This study presents a robust estimation-based control approach for nonlinear systems with generalized one-sided Lipschitz (OSL) conditions projected for delay measurement. A control scheme was devised for this family of nonlinear systems by deploying the Lyapunov–Krasovskii (LK) method for the delayed system and by encompassing the generalized OSL inequality without using the quadratic inner boundedness (QIB) condition to overcome the conservatism introduced by the QIB condition. The stability of the resulting system is attained by employing a delay-range-dependent technique, while the derivative of the LK functional is scouted using Wirtinger’s inequality, which shrinks the conservativeness of typical Jensen’s inequality, resulting in stability in the form of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Moreover, a sufficient and necessary solution for the main results was achieved through a decoupling mechanism to acquire the controller and estimator gains simultaneously using iterative optimization tools. To attenuate the effects of external disturbances on the system, the L2 gain of the error with reference to the system was computed and incorporated into the dynamics. Furthermore, the LMI-based results are handled using the cone complementary linearization (CCL) method to authenticate the controller and observer gains via convex optimization. Finally, a numerical example demonstrates the success of the presented robust observer control formation for generalized OSL nonlinear systems in the presence of output delays.
Morphometric analysis of airways in pre-COPD and mild COPD lungs using continuous surface representations of the bronchial lumen

Introduction: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a prevalent respiratory disease that presents a high rate of underdiagnosis during onset and early stages. Studies have shown that in mild COPD patients, remodeling of the small airways occurs concurrently with morphological changes in the proximal airways. Despite this evidence, the geometrical study of the airway tree from computed tomography (CT) lung images remains underexplored due to poor representations and limited tools to characterize the airway structure. Methods: We perform a comprehensive morphometric study of the proximal airways based on geometrical measures associated with the different airway generations. To this end, we leverage the geometric flexibility of the Snakes IsoGeometric Analysis method to accurately represent and characterize the airway luminal surface and volume informed by CT images of the respiratory tree. Based on this framework, we study the airway geometry of smoking pre-COPD and mild COPD individuals. Results: Our results show a significant difference between groups in airway volume, length, luminal eccentricity, minimum radius, and surface-area-to-volume ratio in the most distal airways. Discussion: Our findings suggest a higher degree of airway narrowing and collapse in COPD patients when compared to pre-COPD patients. We envision that our work has the potential to deliver a comprehensive tool for assessing morphological changes in airway geometry that take place in the early stages of COPD.
Signaling Storm in O-RAN: Challenges and Research Opportunities

—O-RAN enables agile network architecture through programmable disaggregated units. However, the complexity and disaggregation of O-RAN may increase the risk of security incidents. Signaling storm is one of such incidents that disrupts network services through excessive control signals, and is yet unexplored in the context of O-RAN. In this article, we provide a holistic picture of open challenges and opportunities to address signaling storms in O-RAN. Speciﬁcally, we discuss different threat models for signaling storm, and explore their applicability to O-RAN. We also survey and categorize existing detection and mitigation solutions. Finally, we provide insights on leveraging key beneﬁts of O-RAN to address signaling storms, and conclude by outlining future directions in this area.
The mobile phone - A medium in itself

This dissertation examines the integration of the mobile phone into every day life as a communication device and as media. It focuses on the uses of the mobile phone as a pervasive multimedia tool and its relationship to other media in the changing media landscape. The main argument of the dissertation is that the mobile phone is a medium in itself and it should also be regarded as a medium among others. In media studies the mobile phone has often been perceived as a sub-media to traditional media. As a medium it has its own specific characteristics and social functions, allthough its uses may vary in different contexts and cultures. However, this argument does not mean that the mobile phone is a medium without user involvements. The role of user innovations has been important in constructing the mobile phone’s role in the media field: for instance, text messaging has brought a new kind of social interaction and media form with it. Indeed, the mobile phone has influenced the ways in which we can interact with other media. The mobile phone is located between personal, social and mass media, and can serve personal, peer-to-peer and mass communication purposes in different communications situations. The mobile phone, along with the popularity of personal computers, has contributed to the increased consciousness and idea of personal media, and the emergence of new kinds of media behaviour. The mobile phone is not only a developing tool for citizenship journalism and participatory media making, but also a channel between traditional and new media, as it, in some cases enables the interactivity of television. Text messaging has been incorporated into television and, in some cases, also into newspapers. It seems that the mobile phone as a personal and ubiquitous technology may lower the threshold for participating in media making. The role of the mobile phone as a tool in digital storytelling has become more important as the number of reader’s own photographs as news material in newspapers has increased. The newspaper offices and other media have to find a solution for how to act with the increasing content produced by their audience; for instance, how to find the important news
Study of Customer Satisfaction in Service Offices on the Example of Selected Business Lines of One of the Polish Energy Conglomerates

Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie wskaźników pomiaru satysfakcji klienta stosowanych przez jeden z polskich koncernów energetycznych w dwóch liniach biznesowych. Porównane zostały obszary, które zostały poddane badaniom satysfakcji przez poszczególne linie biznesowe jednego z polskich koncernów energetycznych.Badania satysfakcji dzięki stałej metodologii pomiaru umożliwiają porównywalność wyników uzyskiwanych w kolejnych latach. Daje to możliwość uzyskania informacji o poziomie satysfakcji dzięki czemu firma może usprawniać obsługę klienta, lepiej zorganizować poszczególne procesy i umożliwić efektywniejszy przepływ informacji. Jednocześnie badania pozwalają na porównanie się z konkurencją. Pozwala to na szybką reakcję w obszarach, w których firma przegrywa z konkurencją. Badania satysfakcji przez spółkę obrotową można uznać za dość rozbudowane i dopasowane do specyfiki jej działalności. Pozwalają one kontrolować i dostosowywać działania by móc świadczyć swoje usługi na jak najwyższym poziomie. W innej sytuacji jest spółka dystrybucyjna, która funkcjonuje jako monopolista naturalny. Obszary objęte pomiarem satysfakcji wynikają ze specyfiki działalności. W porównaniu do spółki obrotu wiele obszarów w spółce dystrybucyjnej nie zostało objętych badaniami satysfakcji.
Exercise Pose Recognition and Counting System using Robust Topological Landmarks

The paper introduces the exercise recognition and counting system based on vision systems. The current detectable exercises include barbell curls, push-ups, and lateral raises from the “Workout/Exercise Images” dataset, an open-source dataset from Kaggle. The system can predict and count live streams in real-time using a mobile phone or laptop camera. We improve the robustness of the system by using centering and scaling. Furthermore, this research reduces the complexity of the trained data by half without losing the accuracy of the machine learning model by implementing Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The implications of this research extend beyond the realm of fitness tracking, with potential applications for inhome exercise, sports analysis, physical therapy, and interactive fitness technologies.
Effects of Potentially Inappropriate Medications in Older Patients with Gastrointestinal System Cancer

Objective: Potentially inappropriate medications (PIM) is a crucial problem in the geriatric population. The amount of prescription and unadherence increase because of the different problems encountered in cancer patients. Our aim was to evaluate the effects of PIM in patients with gastrointestinal system cancer and to investigate its relationship with chemotherapy side effects, mortality, and progression. Methods: This retrospective cohort study assessed 154 patients with gastrointestinal system cancer. Demographics and disease features, the presence of PIM according to the “TIME-to-STOP” criteria and baseline laboratory parameters were recorded. The effects of PIM on survival and adverse treatment events were evaluated. Results: 66.9% of the cases were male and 33.1% were female. The mean age was 71.9±6.4 years. The most common side effects of chemotherapy are nausea, vomiting, kidney injury, and pain. The most frequently used prescriptions among the 98 PIMs were gliclazide, hyoscine N-butylbromide, simethicone, diphenoxylate atropine, and thiocolchicoside. PIM was detected in 68.1% of the participants. Chemotherapy side effects were more common in PIM group (p<0.001, odds ratio =5.6). PIM had no effect on mortality. Factors associated with mortality were age, stage, albumin, creatinine, operation history, and progression. A significant relationship was found between age, cancer stage, albumin, creatinine, operation history, and PIM in the regression model. There was no relationship between PIM and progression-free survival. Conclusion: Chemotherapy toxicity may increase with PIM detected on diagnosis. We suggest that PIM is an important factor in predicting the side effects of chemotherapy and minimizing the adverse effects.
Boosting Patch Correctness Checking via Combining Code-Edit Embeddings as Additional What-to-Change Information

Patch Correctness Checking is the task of detecting automated-program-repair-generated patches that can pass the test suite but are still buggy. In this study, we investigated a new feature to improve the classification performance for automated patch correctness checking. Our approach involved leveraging code-change information at a finer granular level by embedding the code edits and combining them with existing code-change vectors. Through extensive experiments, the results revealed gains up to 3.4% and 3.2% on the Fl-score and AUC.
mmCMD: Continuous Motion Detection From Visualized Radar Micro-Doppler Signatures Using Visual Object Detection Techniques

This article presents a novel millimeter-wave (mm-wave) radar-based continuous motion detection approach called mmCMD for the long-term care of the elderly. The proposed mmCMD visualizes the micro-Doppler signatures of continuous motions generated from millimeter radar as images, which are then analyzed by an object detection network for continuous motion detection. To improve the imaging quality of micro-Doppler signatures, a dynamic feature visualization (DFV) method is proposed by selectively mapping the micro-Doppler matrix (MDM) elements with significant values, highlighting human motion to enhance subsequent detection network’s accuracy in capturing the details of the motion. Furthermore, a novel detection network is designed for the visualized micro-Doppler images by combining the specially designed fusion squeeze-and-excitation (FSE) module with the coordinate attention (CA) into the YOLOv5 architecture, which is distinct from prior works that overlook global contextual information. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed mmCMD achieves a mean average precision (mAP) of 93% at the intersection over union (IoU) thresholds from 0.5 to 0.95 and an F1 score of 99% for 12 actions, which makes it a promising solution for remotely monitoring and detecting elderly individuals’ activities to enhance safety and risk prevention capabilities.
Fat Accumulation and Elevated Free Fatty Acid Are Associated With Age-Related Glucose Intolerance: Bunkyo Health Study

Abstract Context Older adults have a high prevalence of new-onset diabetes, often attributed to age-related decreases in insulin sensitivity and secretion. It remains unclear whether both insulin sensitivity and secretion continue to deteriorate after age 65. Objective To investigate the effects of aging on glucose metabolism after age 65 and to identify its determinants. Methods This cross-sectional study involved 1438 Japanese older adults without diabetes. All participants underwent a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Body composition and fat distribution were measured with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and magnetic resonance imaging. Participants were divided into 4 groups by age (65-69, 70-74, 75-79, and 80-84 years) to compare differences in metabolic parameters. Results Mean age and body mass index were 73.0 ± 5.4 years and 22.7 ± 3.0 kg/m2. The prevalence of newly diagnosed diabetes increased with age. Fasting glucose, fasting insulin, the area under the curve (AUC)-insulin/AUC-glucose and insulinogenic index were comparable between groups. AUC-glucose and AUC-insulin during OGTT were significantly higher and Matsuda index and disposition index (Matsuda index · AUC-insulin/AUC-glucose) were significantly lower in the age 80-84 group than in the age 65-69 group. Age-related fat accumulation, particularly increased visceral fat area (VFA), and elevated free fatty acid (FFA) levels were observed. Multiple regression revealed strong correlations of both Matsuda index and disposition index with VFA and FFA. Conclusion Glucose tolerance declined with age in Japanese older adults, possibly due to age-related insulin resistance and β-cell deterioration associated with fat accumulation and elevated FFA levels.
Pre-Clinical Evaluation of the Antiviral Activity of Epigalocatechin-3-Gallate, a Component of Green Tea, against Influenza A(H1N1)pdm Viruses

Influenza antiviral drugs are important tools in our fight against both annual influenza epidemics and pandemics. Polyphenols are a group of compounds found in plants, some of which have demonstrated promising antiviral activity. Previous in vitro and mouse studies have outlined the anti-influenza virus effectiveness of the polyphenol epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG); however, no study has utilised the ferret model, which is considered the gold-standard for influenza antiviral studies. This study aimed to explore the antiviral efficacy of EGCG in vitro and in ferrets. We first performed studies in Madin-Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) and human lung carcinoma (Calu-3) cells, which demonstrated antiviral activity. In MDCK cells, we observed a selective index (SI, CC50/IC50) of 77 (290 µM/3.8 µM) and 96 (290 µM/3.0 µM) against A/California/07/2009 and A/Victoria/2570/2019 (H1N1)pdm09 influenza virus, respectively. Calu-3 cells demonstrated a SI of 16 (420 µM/26 µM) and 18 (420 µM/24 µM). Ferrets infected with A/California/07/2009 influenza virus and treated with EGCG (500 mg/kg/day for 4 days) had no change in respiratory tissue viral titres, in contrast to oseltamivir treatment, which significantly reduced viral load in the lungs of treated animals. Therefore, we demonstrated that although EGCG showed antiviral activity in vitro against influenza viruses, the drug failed to impair viral replication in the respiratory tract of ferrets.
Diverse Machine Learning Models for Speech Emotion Recognition

This work gives a thorough investigation into voice emotion recognition, with a focus on the comparison of machine learning models for this task. It explores the classification of speech data into various emotions, regardless of semantic content, including emotions like happiness, sadness, anger, and neutrality. The primary objective of SER systems is to efficiently detect emotions and incorporate human elements, such as emotional response, into machines. The study investigates and compares several popular machine learning algorithms, including support vector machines (SVM), Classification And Regression Tree (CARTS), Long short-term memory (LSTM). By enabling machines or robots to recognize and respond to emotions, SER systems reduce human time and effort while creating a more empathetic and natural interaction. Overall, this research contributes to the advancement of speech emotion recognition techniques and provides a comparative analysis of machine learning models, enabling researchers and practitioners to make informed decisions when designing and implementing emotion-aware systems.
The Metropolis research. Experimental models and decision-making processes for the adaptive environmental design in climate change

The state of knowledge on climate change adaptation at the international level shows several experiences both in the field of research and urban politics that aim at defining methods and procedures, adaptation plans and guidelines for action. However, the specificity of the issues at the local scale requires further experimentations to implement suitable actions based on downscaling processes. Within the Metropolis project, the research group of the Department of Architecture at the Federico II University of Naples has carried out research work aimed at assessing the capacity of the urban system to adapt to the effects of climate change. The research work resulted in the development of a model of knowledge on the vulnerability to heat waves and pluvial flooding based on the study of the information about the features of the social and physical system. By developing downscaling experimental models, hazard scenarios have been built at the local scale based on the IPCC scenarios on CO 2 emissions - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Finally, a decision-making process has been developed to assess the adaptive capacity of the urban system It allows the making of a long term adaptive design oriented towards processes of urban rehabilitation that are resilient to climate change. The adaptation solutions have been selected grading by their compatibility with the specific context and evaluated for the correspondence to the technological and environmental requirements, to the socio-economic conditions and the effects on the ecosystem.