Multiple Resolution Nonparametric Classifiers

Bayesian discriminant functions provide optimal classification decision boundaries in the sense of minimizing the average error rate. An operational assumption is that the probability density functions for the individual classes are either known a priori or can be estimated from the data through the use of estimating techniques. The use of Parzen- windows is a popular and theoretically sound choice for such estimation. However, while the minimal average error rate can be achieved when combining Bayes Rule with Parzen-window density estimation, the latter is computationally costly to the point where it may lead to unacceptable run-time performance. We present the Multiple Resolution Nonparametric (MRN) classifier as a new approach for significantly reducing the computational cost of using Parzen-window density estimates without sacrificing the virtues of Bayesian discriminant functions. Performance is evaluated against a standard Parzen-window classifier on several common datasets

Quality of Life of Infants with Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders: A Large Prospective Observational Study

Background: Functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGID) are very common during infancy, leading to frequent medical consultations. The aim of this large, prospective study was to assess the quality of life (QoL) and clinical management of infants with FGID.Methods: Completely or partially bottle-fed infants under 5 months old, presenting one or more FGID (regurgitation, constipation, diarrhea, crying/fussing), were enrolled during initial consultation by 111 pediatricians in private practice throughout France and reassessed at one month. Parents were asked to complete the QUALIN QoL questionnaire at inclusion and at Day 15.Results: A total of 815 infants (mean age 2.1±1.2 months) were evaluable. Mean QoL score improved from +27.2±15.1 at inclusion to +38.0±12.9 at day 15 (p<0.0001) irrespective of FGID symptoms. Multivariate analysis indicated that younger age, dietary advice, and partial breastfeeding were associated with better QoL outcome. Gastrointestinal symptoms showed significant regression at Day 30. The number of bottle feeds followed by external reflux episodes decreased from 80.0±27.4% to 36.1±31.4% at Day 30 (p<0.0001), the weekly number of stools increasing from 3.9±4.0 to 8.0±3.7 (p<0.0001).Conclusion: Medical management based on information, reassurance, lifestyle advice and dietary intervention improved QoL in infants with FGID and led to a reduction in FGID symptoms

Nicole Boireau, Jean-Frédéric Chevalier, Pierre Degott, éds, Réécriture des sources biographiques et construction du personnage de théâtre

Les 16 textes réunis par Nicole Boireau, Jean-Frédéric Chevalier et Pierre Degott révèlent la très grande richesse d’un domaine dramatique trop rapidement jugé réducteur ou restrictif, le théâtre biographique. La problématique retenue, le traitement de la source biographique et son rapport à la construction du personnage sont explorés à partir d’un corpus d’œuvres contemporaines des XXe et du XXIe siècles, auxquelles s’ajoutent quelques pièces du XIXe siècle. Majoritairement européennes et am..

IgG4-Related Disease Is Not Associated with Antibody to the Phospholipase A2 Receptor

Patients with IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) share histopathological characteristics that are similar across affected organs. The finding of infiltration with IgG4+ plasma cells in the proper clinical and histopathological contexts connects a large number of clinical entities that were viewed previously as separate conditions. The renal involvement in IgG4-RD is usually characterized by tubulointerstitial nephritis, but membranous nephropathy has also been reported to be one of the renal complications of IgG4-RD. The recent discovery that a high proportion of patients with idiopathic membranous nephropathy (IMN) have IgG4 autoantibodies to the M-type phospholipase A2 receptor (PLA2R) in the circulation and glomerular immune deposits, together with the profound IgG4 hypergammaglobulinemia and occasional reports of membranous nephropathy in IgG4-RD, raised the question of a common antigen. To assess the presence of anti-PLA2R antibody in patients with IgG4-RD, we screened sera from 28 IgG4-RD patients by immunoblot. None of the patients in this cohort had detectable circulating anti-PLA2R antibodies. This study suggests that despite some clinical and serological overlaps between IgG4-RD and IMN,anti-PLA2R antibodies do not play a role in the pathogenesis of IgG4-RD. Additional studies of IgG4-RD with evidence of membranous nephropathy are important to exclude any definite relationship

Harnessing Liposome Interactions With the Immune System for the Next Breakthrough in Cancer Drug Delivery

Liposomal nanoparticles are a heterogeneous group of engineered drug carriers that have tremendous therapeutic potential in the treatment of cancer. They increase tumor drug delivery, significantly attenuate drug toxicity, and protect the drug from degradation. However, two decades after approval of the first nanoparticle-mediated anticancer drug, pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (Doxil), there has yet to be a major shift in cancer treatment paradigms. Only two anticancer nanoparticles are used in the first-line treatment of cancer patients, with all others relegated to the refractory or salvage setting. Herein, we discuss new insights into the mechanisms underlying in vivo interactions between liposomes and the tumor immunologic milieu, and the knowledge gaps that need to be addressed in order to realize the full clinical potential of cancer nanomedicines. We also discuss immunopharmacology insights from a parallel field, Cancer Immunotherapy, which have the potential to generate breakthroughs in Cancer Nanomedicine

Quand le malin fait de l'esprit : le rire au Moyen Age vu depuis l'hagiographie

Medieval Europe ; 12th century ; laughter ; monastic rule ; monastic life ; hagiography; holiness ; Hildegard of Bingen ; Bernard of Clairvaux ; devil ; possession ; canonization ; joke ; wit ; mockeryAs a passion of th soul expression itself loudly through the body, laughter was generally held in great suspicion by the medieval Church, especially in monastic life, where it was considered as the enemy of silence and seriousness. Comical elements in edifying texts, telling pf the life of an abbot and an abbess in the perspective of their canonizations, are all the more surprising. This study intends to analyze the function of such episods in hagiographic narrative (on the basis of to twelfht-century Vitae, on Bernard of Clairvaux and Hildegard of Bingen) and the mechanism and scope of a certain type of laughter in the Middle Ages.En tant que passion de l'âme s'exprimant bruyamment à travers le corps, le rire était généralement tenu en grande suspicion par l'Eglise médiévale, en particulier dans les milieux monastiques qui y voyaient l'ennemi du silence et de la gravité. La présence d'éléments comiques dans des textes édifiants racontant l'un la vie d'un abbé, l'autre, celle d'une abbesse dans l'espoir de les voir canonisés, surprend donc d'autant plus : à partir de deux Vitae du XIIe siècle, celle de Bernard de Clairvaux et celle de Hildegarde de Bingen, on s'interroge ici sur la fonction de tels épisodes dans des récits hagiographiques, et, plus largement, sur les mécanismes et la portée d'un certain rire au Moyen Age

Designing an information system for updating land records in Bangladesh: action design ethnographic research (ADER)

Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits any use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and the source are credited.This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.Information Systems (IS) has developed through adapting, generating and applying diverse methodologies, methods, and techniques from reference disciplines. Further, Action Design Research (ADR) has recently developed as a broad research method that focuses on designing and redesigning IT and IS in organizational contexts. This paper reflects on applying ADR in a complex organizational context in a developing country. It shows that ADR requires additional lens for designing IS in such a complex organizational context. Through conducting ADR, it is seen that an ethnographic framework has potential complementarities for understanding complex contexts thereby enhancing the ADR processes. This paper argues that conducting ADR with an ethnographic approach enhances design of IS and organizational contexts. Finally, this paper aims presents a broader methodological framework, Action Design Ethnographic Research (ADER), for designing artefacts as well as IS. This is illustrated through the case of a land records updating service in Bangladesh

Non-suicidal self-injury in adolescence: a longitudinal study of the relationship between NSSI, psychological distress and perceived parenting

Objective: The present study investigates whether either adolescents' psychological distress and/or perceived parenting predicted the occurrence of NSSI. Furthermore, the consequences of NSSI are examined in a three-wave longitudinal study. Design: The sample at time 1 (age 12) consisted of 1396 adolescent reports and 1438 parent reports. At time 2 (age 13), 827 adolescent reports and 936 parent reports were obtained. Time 3 (age 14) included 754 adolescent reports and 790 parent reports. Psychological distress of adolescents was measured using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Perceived parenting behaviors were examined by the Parental Behavior Scale and the Psychological Control Scale. Results: A total of 10% of the adolescents engaged in NSSI at least once before age 15. Higher psychological distress of adolescents at time 1 was associated with the presence of NSSI at time 2 or 3. The association between psychological distress at time 1 and perception of decreased parental rule setting at time 3 was mediated by the presence of NSSI at time 2. Conclusions: The present study showed that psychological distress at age 12 predicts NSSI over time and that parental awareness of NSSI changes the perception of parenting behaviors. (C) 2014 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Monitoring Cerebral and Renal Oxygenation Status during Neonatal Digestive Surgeries Using Near Infrared Spectroscopy

BackgroundDepending on the initial pathology, hypovolemia, intra-abdominal hypertension, and sepsis are often encountered in neonatal digestive surgery. Accurate newborn monitoring during and after surgery is essential to adapt resuscitation protocols. Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is non-invasive and can detect hypoperfusion which indicates a low circulatory blood flow, regardless of the cause.ObjectiveEvaluating changes in cerebral and renal regional oxygen saturation during neonatal digestive surgeries, conducted according to normal practices, with commonly used monitoring parameters. Analyzing retrospectively the inter-relationships between NIRS values and mean arterial pressure (MAP) values as well as pre-ductal SpO2.MethodsProspective, descriptive, monocentric study. All neonates referred for surgery were included. NIRS allows the measurement of cerebral and renal oxygenation fluctuations, as well as calculating difference in intraoperative and postoperative values.ResultsNineteen patients were included. Cerebral regional oxygen saturation (C rSO2) values were stable while renal regional oxygen saturation (R rSO2) values tended to decrease with time during surgery. Indeed, 72% of rSO2 decline episodes occurred after the first 30 min of surgery, without any significant statistical differences for the next 90 min of surgery. After surgery, the lowest average C and R rSO2 values were evidenced during the first 6 h, with 60% of C rSO2 and R rSO2 anomalies occurring in that time frame. There was no significant statistical difference observed in the following 18 h. There was a significant correlation between R rSO2 and SpO2 values (p < 0.01), but not with C rSO2 values. There was no correlation with the MAP either for the C rSO2 values or R rSO2 ones.ConclusionNIRS is a promising non-invasive bedside tool to monitor cerebral and tissue perfusion, analyzing tissue microcirculation. NIRS has its interest to guide neonatal digestive surgeries (bowel manipulation, viscera reduction) and may represent an early warning for identifying patients requiring resuscitation during or after these surgeries

Pacifism in Fin-de-Siècle Austria: The Politics and Limits of Peace Activism

The late Habsburg Monarchy produced two of the most renowned peace activists of their day: Bertha von Suttner and Alfred Fried. In comparison to these two Nobel Peace laureates, the main association of Austro-pacifism – the Österreichische Friedensgesellschaft (ÖFG) – is less well known. The article concentrates on this organization, which had been founded in 1891, and it draws attention to the political and intellectual environment in which it operated. The ÖFG originated in the milieu of Austro-German liberalism, but had an ambivalent rapport with liberal politics. The Austro-pacifists' focus on supranational principles and dynastic loyalty sat uneasily with the national dimensions of Cisleithanian politics. The obstacles encountered by the ÖFG illustrate wider aspects of the political culture of fin-de-siècle Austria, ranging from the question of militarism in Austrian society to the challenges created by socialist and nationalist movements. As a whole, the article highlights the inherent limitations of Austro-pacifism, as reflected in its quest for respectability and its acceptance of the social and political order