heartworm disease is caused by dirofilaria immitis in dogs and cats. dirofilariasis is clinically considered very important, because of its severe and life threatening disease in case of even light infection. cats are infected much less commonly, even in areas which present heavily infected dogs. after clinical examination blood samples were collected from 120 companion and stray adult cats in ...

Virtual companions that interact with users in a socially complex environment require a wide range of social skills. Displaying curiosity is simultaneously a factor to improve a companion’s believability and to unobtrusively affect the user’s activities over time. Curiosity represents a drive to know new things. It is a major driving force for engaging learners in active learning. Existing rese...

In order to expand a formal linearization method on designing an observer for nonlinear dynamic and measurement systems, we exploit the discrete Fourier expansion that can reduce computational complexity. A nonlinear multidimensional dynamic system is considered by a nonlinear ordinary differential equation, and a measurement equation is done by a nonlinear equation. Defining a linearization fu...

We propose a unifying framework for polyhedral approximation in convex optimization. It subsumes classical methods, such as cutting plane and simplicial decomposition, but also includes new methods and new versions/extensions of old methods, such as a simplicial decomposition method for nondifferentiable optimization and a new piecewise linear approximation method for convex single commodity ne...

Companion diagnostics are integral to the application and success of personalized medicine. In oncology, many companion diagnostics are molecular-based, including a number of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) based companion diagnostics. Here, we review the currently approved FISH based companion diagnostics and evaluate several new FISH assays as potential companion diagnostics.