Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multiplex PCR System for Rapid Detection of Pathogens in Patients with Presumed Sepsis – A Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background Blood culture is viewed as the golden standard for the diagnosis of sepsis but suffers from low sensitivity and long turnaround time. LightCycler SeptiFast (LC-SF) is a real-time multiplex polymerase chain reaction test able to detect 25 common pathogens responsible for bloodstream infections within hours. We aim to assess the accuracy of LC-SF by systematically reviewing the published studies. Method Related literature on Medline, Embase, and Cochrane databases was searched up to October 2012 for studies utilizing LC-SF to diagnose suspected sepsis and that provided sufficient data to construct two-by-two tables. Results A total of 34 studies enrolling 6012 patients of suspected sepsis were included. The overall sensitivity and specificity for LC-SF to detect bacteremia or fungemia was 0·75 (95% CI: 0·65–0·83) and 0·92 (95%CI:0·90–0·95), respectively. LC-SF had a high positive likelihood ratio (10·10) and a moderate negative likelihood ratio (0·27). Specifically, LC-SF had a sensitivity of 0·80 (95%CI: 0·70–0·88) and a specificity of 0·95(95%CI: 0·93–0·97) for the bacteremia outcome, and a sensitivity of 0·61 (95%CI: 0·48–0·72) and a specificity of 0·99 (95%CI: 0·99–0·99) for the fungemia outcome. High heterogeneity was found in the bacteremia outcome subgroup but not in the fungemia outcome subgroup. Conclusion LC-SF is of high rule-in value for early detection of septic patients. In a population with low pretest probability, LC-SF test can still provide valuable information for ruling out bacteremia or fungemia.
Location Strategies of Multinationals from Emerging Countries in the EU Regions

This paper contributes to the current debate in both Economic Geography and International Business on the nature and strategies of Multinational Enterprises MNEs from emerging countries EMNEs. The paper fills a very relevant gap in the existing literature by shedding new light on the location strategies of EMNEs at the national and regional level, looking at their investment drivers and systematically comparing them with those of multinationals from advanced countries AMNEs. The empirical analysis looks at the location choices of MNEs in the European Union EU-25 regions and unveils that EMNEs follow distinctive location strategies. Their attraction into large regional markets is similar to AMNEs as well as their irresponsiveness to efficiency seeking motives. Conversely, the most knowledge-intensive investments of EMNEs respond mainly to two attraction factors strategic assets in the form of local technological dynamism and the agglomeration of foreign investments in the same business functions. In addition, both the national and the regional levels are simultaneously relevant to EMNEs decisions.
Researching the possibilities of remote photoplethysmography application to analysis of time-frequency changes of human heart rate variability

In the paper, possibilities of using remote photoplethysmography (rPPG) to investigation time-frequency changes of heart rate variability are discussed. The blood volume pulse rate estimated from the rPPG rhythmogram and cardiac pulse rate estimated from the electrocardiogram are compared by means of the correlation analysis. The results showed that oscillations of the rPPG rhythmogram in the very low frequency band [0.04-0.003] Hz can be used to assess functional changes of a human. For the low frequency band [0.15-0.04] Hz, the results must be verified by additional parameters such as changes of facial expression. It was concluded that the rPPG may be applied to analysis of functional reserves and adaptation level of a human.
A multilevel coded modulation approach for hexagonal signal constellation

We propose a new coded modulation called hexagonal shell modulation (HSM). The HSM has a signal constellation composed of shell-like tiling of hexagons and thus has a lower peak-to-average power ratio (PAR) than a standard square quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) with comparable bandwidth efficiency and minimum Euclidean distance. The main challenge is that HSM has a non-power-of-two number of constellation points, and thus assignment of binary information to HSM is not straightforward. We resolve this by applying a multilevel coded modulation (MLC) scheme where a ternary set partitioning combined with binary-input ternary-output (BITO) turbo codes is employed to fully exploit the property of the nonpower- of-two constellation points. Throughout this letter, we focus on an 18-ary HSM with the information rate of 3 bit/symbol as a specific example. It is shown that this system outperforms the standard square 16-QAM with the same rate when PAR is constrained.
Man versus machine: evaluating IVR versus a live operator for phone surveys in India

Many organizations in the developing world need to conduct phone surveys to collect data from low-income respondents. Such organizations generally have two options: employ a live operator, or utilize interactive voice response (IVR). Despite the relevance of this question, we are unaware of any work that rigorously compares the accuracy, speed, and cost of an IVR survey relative to a live operator. In this paper, we address these questions by giving two identical interviews -- one using IVR, and one using a live operator -- to 31 low-income job seekers in India. The IVR interview included a brief introduction by a live operator, to provide context for the call. Out of the 20 people who completed both surveys, we found that IVR incurs a 4.0% error rate (95% C. I. 2.5% -- 6.1%) and requires 2.5 times longer for users. We summarize our experience as a set of recommendations for practitioners in this space.
Soy protein diet improves endothelial dysfunction in renal transplant patients.

BACKGROUND Since it has been demonstrated that soy diet can improve endothelial function, in the present study we evaluated the effect of dietary substitution of 25 g of animal proteins with soy proteins on endothelial dysfunction in renal transplant patients. METHODS In 20 renal transplant patients (55 +/- 11 years, serum creatinine 1.7 +/- 0.6 mg/dl), brachial artery flow mediated dilation (FMD) and endothelium-independent vasodilation (sublingual nitroglycerine, 25 microg) were measured at baseline, after 5 weeks of a soy diet and finally after 5 weeks of soy wash-out. Changes in plasma lipids, markers of oxidative stress (lipid peroxides, LOOH) and inflammation (C-reactive protein), isoflavones (genistein and daidzein), asymmetric dimethyl arginine (ADMA) and L-arginine were also evaluated. RESULTS At baseline, patients showed a significantly lower FMD as compared with age-matched healthy subjects (3.2 +/- 1.8 vs 6.3 +/- 1.9, respectively; P < 0.001), while response to nitroglycerine was similar. After soy diet, actual protein intake was not changed, cholesterol and lipid peroxides were significantly reduced, and isoflavones were detectable in plasma. Soy diet was associated with a significant improvement in FMD (4.4 +/- 2.0; P = 0.003 vs baseline), while response to nitroglycerine was unchanged. Improvement in FMD was related to L-arginine/ADMA ratio changes, but no significant relation was found to changes in cholesterol, lipid peroxides or genistein and daidzein plasma concentrations. After 5 weeks of soy diet discontinuation, FMD (3.3 +/- 1.7%) returned to baseline values and isoflavones were no longer detectable in plasma. CONCLUSIONS A soy protein diet for 5 weeks improves endothelial function in renal transplant patients. This effect seems to be strictly dependent on soy intake as it disappears after soy withdrawal and is mediated by an increase in the L-arginine/ADMA ratio, independently of change in lipid profile, oxidative stress or isoflavones.
IIA Ten-forms and the Gauge Algebras of Maximal Supergravity Theories

We show that IIA supergravity can be extended with two independent 10-form potentials. These give rise to a single BPS IIA 9-brane. We investigate the bosonic gauge algebra of both IIA and IIB supergravity in the presence of 10-form potentials and point out an intriguing relation with the symmetry algebra E11, which has been conjectured to be the underlying symmetry of string theory/M-theory.
Reverse Engineering an Expository Paragraph for Students with Mild to Moderate Disabilities and English Learners.

iii LIST OF TABLES . x LIST OF FIGURES . xi CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION . 1 Expectations for Writing in Academic Setting . 2 Importance of Writing to Postsecondary Outcomes . 3 Writing Skills Acquisition . 5 Graphic Organizers as Instructional Supports . 8 Working Memory. 11 Reverse Engineering . 13 Statement of the Problem . 15 Research Questions . 16 Significance of the Study . 17 Definitions. 18 Delimitations . 21 CHAPTER TWO REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE . 23 Effective Instruction for Students with Mild to Moderate Disabilities. 24 Instructional Methods for English Learners . 37 Writing Needs of Students with High-Incidence Disabilities . 42 Writing Supports for Students with Mild to Moderate Disabilities . 55 Summary . 67 CHAPTER THREE METHODS . 70 Research Questions . 72 Setting . 73 Participants . 74 Instruments . 79 Materials and Equipment . 82 Procedures . 85 Experimental Design . 92 Data Analyses . 93 Summary . 95 CHAPTER FOUR RESULTS . 96 Implementation Fidelity . 98 Baseline Equivalency . 99 Analysis of Writing Quality . 99 Analysis of English Learners . 103
Oligopeptides' frequencies in the classification of proteins' primary structures

This paper reports about an approach to the classification of proteins' primary structures taking advantage of the Self Organizing Maps algorithm and of a numerical coding of the aminoacids based upon their physico-chemical properties. Hydrophobicity, volume, surface area, hydrophilicity, bulkiness, refractivity and polarity were subjected to a Principal Component Analysis and the first two principal components, explaining 84.8 % of the total observed variability, were used to cluster the aminoacids into 4 or 5 classes through a k-means algorithm. This leads to an economical representation of the primary structures which, in the construction of the input vectors for the Self Organizing Maps algorithm, allows the consideration of up to tri- and tetrapeptides' frequency matrices with minimal computational overload. In comparison with previously explored conditions, namely symbolic coding of aminoacids and dipeptides frequencies, no significant improvement was observed in the classification of 69 cytochromes of the c type, characterized by a high degree of structural and functional similarity, while a substantial improvement occurred in the case of a data set including quite heterogeneous primary structures.
A West Nile virus DNA vaccine utilizing a modified promoter induces neutralizing antibody in younger and older healthy adults in a phase I clinical trial.

BACKGROUND West Nile virus (WNV) is a flavivirus that causes meningitis and encephalitis. There are no licensed vaccines to prevent WNV in humans. The safety and immunogenicity of a first-generation WNV DNA vaccine was demonstrated in a clinical trial and a similar DNA vaccine has been licensed for use in horses. METHODS A DNA vaccine encoding the protein premembrane and the E glycoproteins of the NY99 strain of WNV under the transcriptional control of the CMV/R promoter was evaluated in an open-label study in 30 healthy adults. Half of the subjects were age 18-50 years and half were age 51-65 years. Immune responses were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, neutralization assays, intracellular cytokine staining, and ELISpot. RESULTS The 3-dose vaccine regimen was safe and well tolerated. Vaccine-induced T cell and neutralizing antibody responses were detected in the majority of subjects. The antibody responses seen in the older age group were of similar frequency, magnitude, and duration as those seen in the younger cohort. CONCLUSIONS Neutralizing antibody responses to WNV were elicited by DNA vaccination in humans, including in older individuals, where responses to traditional vaccine approaches are often diminished. This DNA vaccine elicited T cell responses of greater magnitude when compared with an earlier-generation construct utilizing a CMV promoter. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION NCT00300417.
Frame rate up conversion via Bayesian motion estimation

In this paper, a novel block-based motion compensated frame interpolation (MCI) algorithm is proposed to enhance the temporal resolution of video sequences. We formulated motion estimation into MAP framework, and solved it via Bayesian belief propagation. By effectively incorporating a priori knowledge of the motion field and optimizing the whole motion field synchronously, it could derive more accurate motion vectors than traditional methods. Finally, adaptive overlapped block motion compensation (OBMC) is used to reduce blocking artifacts. Experimental results show that the proposed method outperforms other methods in both objective and subjective quality.
One night of sleep is insufficient to achieve sleep-to-forget emotional decontextualisation processes

Neutral memories unbind from their emotional acquisition context when sleep is allowed the night after learning and testing takes place after two additional nights of sleep. However, mood-dependent memory (MDM) effects are not abolished after a restricted sleep episode mostly featuring non rapid-eye-movement (NREM) or rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep. Here, we tested whether (1) one night of sleep featuring several NREM-REM sleep cycles is sufficient to suppress MDM effects and (2) a neutral mood is a sufficiently contrasting state to induce MDM effects, i.e. interfere with the recall of information learned in happy or sad states. Results disclosed MDM effects both in the post-learning sleep and wake conditions, with better recall in congruent than incongruent emotional contexts. Our findings suggest that the emotional unbinding needs several consecutive nights of sleep to be complete, and that even subtle mood changes are sufficient to produce MDM effects.
Understanding Irish house price movements - a user cost of capital approach

This paper employs the user cost of capital to examine Irish house price movements. The bundle of services afforded by a dwelling can be accessed either by renting the dwelling or by outright purchase. Between 2002 and 2007, a combination of factors including rapid house price appreciation and the prevailing fiscal and monetary environment created a strong bias towards homeownership. This was reflected in a negative user cost of housing as capital gains exceeded funding costs (both direct mortgage cost and the opportunity cost) thereby incentivising home ownership and fuelling further increases in prices. We find that the collapse in house prices since 2007 has contributed to a reversal of this process. From mid-2007 onwards, the user cost has soared as capital losses have greatly exceeded the funding costs (albeit falling) causing house prices to fall further. Both fiscal and financial policy measures which could enable a more efficient functioning of the housing market are discussed.
Investigating a collaborative approach to peer feedback

This paper reports on the first phase of our research into the potential merits of a collaborative writing/feedback/revision activity. The study compared the quantity and quality of the feedback provided, collaboratively and individually, by adult EFL learners in Saudi Arabia. Our analysis showed that learners provided more feedback, including more constructive comments, in the collaborative format. Most of the students also felt that providing feedback in pairs alleviated some of their concerns about providing feedback individually on their peers’ writing. We suggest that the combination of collaborative writing and feedback may improve peer feedback and provide learners with enhanced language learning opportunities.
The Utility of Maturity Models – The ECM Maturity Model within a South African context

Maturity models have existed as a concept for almost two decades. While they were initially made prominent through computer software engineering, they have since spread to several disciplines including: business analytics, e-government, energy management, financial management, human resources management, the health sector, information technology management, and project management. Within the records and information profession, several models have been developed that follow the principles of maturity models. These include the Information Management Capacity Check (IMCC), the Records Management Capacity Assessment System (RMCAS) and Generally Accepted Recordkeeping Principles (GARP). A more recent development is the Enterprise Content Management Maturity Model (ECM3) that was developed as an open source framework. This paper looks at the development of ECM3 within the context of the implementation of Enterprise Content Management (ECM) applications and provides an example of the model’s utility for organizations in South Africa. At the time of publication, this author is not aware of any other study that has examined the utility of ECM3.
Towards a Cooperative Defense Model Against Network Security Attacks

It is widely acknowledged that internet security issues can be handled better through cooperation rather than competition. We introduce a game theoretic cooperative model against network security attacks, where users form coalitions and invest in joint protection. We analyze coalition formation in three canonical security games described in a previous work by Grossklags et al. Our findings reveal that the success of cooperative security efforts depends on the nature of the attack and the attitude of the defenders.
Properties of the molecular gas in a starbursting QSO at z = 1.83 in the COSMOS field

Using the IRAM 30 m telescope, we have detected the 12CO J = 2−1, 4−3, 5−4, and 6−5 emission lines in the millimeter-bright, blank-field selected AGN COSMOS J100038+020822 at redshift z = 1.8275. The sub-local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) excitation of the J = 4 level implies that the gas is less excited than that in typical nearby starburst galaxies such as NGC 253, and in the high-redshift quasars studied to date, such as J1148+5251 or BR1202-0725. Large velocity gradient (LVG) modeling of the CO line spectral energy distribution (CO SED; flux density vs. rotational quantum number) yields H2 densities in the range 10^3.5−10^4.0 cm^−3, and kinetic temperatures between 50 K and 200 K. The H2 mass of (3.6−5.4) × 10^10 M☉ implied by the line intensities compares well with our estimate of the dynamical mass within the inner 1.5 kpc of the object. Fitting a two-component gray body spectrum, we find a dust mass of 1.2× 10^9 M☉, and cold and hot dust temperatures of 42±5 K and 160± 25 K, respectively. The broad MgII line allows us to estimate the mass of the central black hole as 1.7 × 10^9 M☉. Although the optical spectrum and multi-wavelength SED matches those of an average QSO, the molecular gas content and dust properties resemble those of known submillimeter galaxies (SMGs). The optical morphology of this source shows tidal tails that suggest a recent interaction or merger. Since it shares properties of both starburst and AGN, this object appears to be in a transition from a strongly starforming submillimeter galaxy to a QSO.
Strong SOCP Relaxations for the Optimal Power Flow Problem

This paper proposes three strong second order cone programming (SOCP) relaxations for the AC optimal power flow (OPF) problem. These three relaxations are incomparable to each other and two of them are incomparable to the standard SDP relaxation of OPF. Extensive computational experiments show that these relaxations have numerous advantages over existing convex relaxations in the literature: (i) their solution quality is extremely close to that of the standard SDP relaxation (the best one is within 99.96% of the SDP relaxation on average for all the IEEE test cases) and consistently outperforms previously proposed convex quadratic relaxations of the OPF problem, (ii) the solutions from the strong SOCP relaxations can be directly used as a warm start in a local solver such as IPOPT to obtain a high quality feasible OPF solution, and (iii) in terms of computation times, the strong SOCP relaxations can be solved an order of magnitude faster than the standard SDP relaxation. For example, one of the proposed S.
Pregnancy in CKD: whom should we follow and why?

BACKGROUND Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has a high prevalence in pregnancy. In a period of cost constraints, there is the need for identification of the risk pattern and for follow-up. METHODS Patients were staged according to K-DOQI guidelines. The analysis was prospective, January 2000-June 2011. Two hundred and forty-nine pregnancies were observed in 225 CKD patients; 176 singleton deliveries were recorded. The largest group encompasses stage 1 CKD patients, with normal renal function, in which 127 singleton deliveries were recorded. No hard outcomes occurred (death; dialysis); therefore, surrogate outcomes were analysed [caesarean section, prematurity, need for neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)]. Stage 1 patients were compared with normal controls (267 low-risk pregnancies followed in the same setting) and with patients with CKD stages 2-4 (49 singleton deliveries); two referral patterns were also analysed (known diagnoses; new diagnoses). RESULTS The risk for adverse pregnancy rises significantly in stage 1 CKD, when compared with controls: odds ratios were caesarean section 2.73 (1.72-4.33); preterm delivery 8.50 (4.11-17.57); NICU 16.10 (4.42-58.66). The risks rise in later stages. There is a high prevalence of new CKD diagnosis (overall: 38.6%; stage 1: 43.3%); no significant outcome difference was found across the referral patterns. Hypertension and proteinuria are confirmed as independent risk factors. CONCLUSIONS CKD is a risk factor in pregnancy; all patients should be followed within dedicated programmes from stage 1. There is need for dedicated interventions and educational programmes for maximizing the diagnostic and therapeutic potentials in early CKD stages.
Space-Time Diffeomorphisms in Noncommutative Gauge Theories ?

In previous work (Rosenbaum M. et al., J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 40 (2007), 10367-10382) we have shown how for canonical parametrized field theories, where space- time is placed on the same footing as the other fields in the theory, the representation of space-time diffeomorphisms provides a very convenient scheme for analyzing the induced twisted deformation of these diffeomorphisms, as a result of the space-time noncommutati- vity. However, for gauge field theories (and of course also for canonical geometrodynamics) where the Poisson brackets of the constraints explicitely depend on the embedding variables, this Poisson algebra cannot be connected directly with a representation of the complete Lie algebra of space-time diffeomorphisms, because not all the field variables turn out to have a dynamical character (Isham C.J., Kuchar K.V., Ann. Physics 164 (1985), 288-315, 316- 333). Nonetheless, such an homomorphic mapping can be recuperated by first modifying the original action and then adding additional constraints in the formalism in order to retrieve the original theory, as shown by Kuchar and Stone for the case of the parametrized Maxwell field in (Kuchar K.V., Stone S.L., Classical Quantum Gravity 4 (1987), 319-328). Making use of a combination of all of these ideas, we are therefore able to apply our canonical reparametrization approach in order to derive the deformed Lie algebra of the noncommu- tative space-time diffeomorphisms as well as to consider how gauge transformations act on the twisted algebras of gauge and particle fields. Thus, hopefully, adding clarification on some outstanding issues in the literature concerning the symmetries for gauge theories in noncommutative space-times.