Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Third Trimester Maternal Plasma Total Fibronectin Levels in Pregnancy-Induced Hypertension: Results of a Tertiary Center

The aim of this study was to evaluate maternal plasma total fibronectin values in pregnancy-associated hypertension in women in the third trimester of pregnancy. A total of 125 pregnant women at the 24th week of gestation participated in this study. Nonpregnant normotensive women were included as control group (n = 30). Plasma samples for fibronectin were obtained at the 24th, 28th, and 32nd weeks of gestation from all pregnant patients. From this cohort, 10 patients met the criteria for the diagnosis of gestational hypertension and 15 women met the stringent requirements of preeclampsia, whereas 100 patients were normotensive later in gestation. Plasma total fibronectin levels were determined by radial immunodiffusion technique. Data were analyzed using the SPSS program. The mean plasma fibronectin levels of the pregnant women in whom gestational hypertension and preeclampsia developed were significantly higher at the 24th, 28th, and 32nd weeks in comparison to normotensive pregnant women (p < 0.001). However, throughout the period from the 24th to 32nd weeks of pregnancy, plasma total fibronectin levels did not exhibit a significant change in normotensive pregnant patients or in patients with preeclampsia and gestational hypertension. There was also no correlation between plasma fibronectin levels and gestational age, mean arterial pressure, birth weight, and 5-minute Apgar scores in all groups (p < 0.05). The elevated maternal plasma fibronectin level over 40 mg/dL is capable of predicting preeclampsia with a sensitivity of 73% and a specificity of 92%. These results suggest that serial plasma fibronectin measurements before 24 weeks’ of gestation may be helpful in the early detection of preeclampsia in normotensive gravid women who are destined to become clinically preeclamptic.
Exploring Family-Oriented Markers of Adulthood

Previous studies have demonstrated a propensity for many emerging adults to minimize traditional indicators of adulthood, such as marriage and parenting. Beliefs about marriage and family are often ideological, especially within a contemporary, pluralistic society in which marriage and family have undergone significant transformations. The purpose of the current study was to investigate variation in how family-oriented roles and abilities were perceived as criteria for adulthood in a sample of emerging adult college students from several college campuses (N = 651). An emphasis of the investigation was on possible associations with political ideology and factors related to identity and day-to-day intentions. A cluster analysis approach was used to identify four groups of individuals based on the importance they assigned to the markers. Multivariate analysis of covariance results revealed multiple differences among the cluster groups as they related to other markers of adulthood, political tendencies, and variables related to day-to-day intentions and well-being.
Efficacy of the LouseBuster, a New Medical Device for Treating Head Lice (Anoplura: Pediculidae)

ABSTRACT Human head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis De Geer) occur worldwide and infest millions of children and adults every year. Head lice infestations, which are known as pediculosis capitis, are psychologically stressful, physically irritating, and are one of the leading causes of K-6 school absence. The prevalence of head lice in many countries is increasing rapidly because of resistance to chemicals used in many head lice treatments. We tested the efficacy of an alternative method for controlling head lice, the LouseBuster, a custom-built medical device designed to kill head lice and their eggs using controlled, heated air. A total of 56 infested subjects was treated with the LouseBuster, and the efficacy of the treatment was evaluated by comparing the viability of lice and eggs on randomly assigned pre- and posttreatment sides of each subject's scalp. We evaluate treatment efficacy in the hands of novice versus experienced operators. We also evaluate treatment efficacy on different hair types and at different ambient humidities. Overall mortality of lice and eggs was 94.8% after treatment by experienced operators. Novice operators also achieved good results after a short training session; their results did not differ significantly from those of experienced operators. No adverse events were associated with the LouseBuster treatment. The LouseBuster is efficacious for killing head lice and their eggs. The use of heated air is appealing because it is a fast, safe, nonchemical treatment. Head lice are also unlikely to evolve resistance to desiccation, which is the apparent mode of action.
Multi-axis force measurement based on vision-based fluid-type hemispherical tactile sensor

We propose a new method for the measurement of multi-axis contact force by using vision-based fluid-type tactile sensor. The proposed sensor can also estimate the multimodal tactile information such as the slippage, the shape, the contact region and the location of the contacted object. Multi-axis contact force is transformed from the elastic membrane tensional force on the touchpad surface, and the touchpad inner pressure measured by the pressure transducer. We obtain the tensional force by solving the equilibrium equations developed in each compartmentalized segment of the membrane, based on the shape information of the touchpad. The proposed method is general and can be applied to various touchpad contact situations. The usefulness of the proposed method is demonstrated through experimental results.
Murder & Medicine : The Lethality of Criminal Assault 1960-1999

Despite the proliferation of increasingly dangerous weapons and the very large increase in rates of serious criminal assault, since 1960 the lethality of such assault in the United States has dropped dramatically. This paradox has barely been studied and needs to be examined using national time-series data. Starting from the basic view that homicides are aggravated assaults with the outcome of the victim’s death we assemble evidence from national data sources to show that the principal explanation of the downward trend in lethality involves parallel developments in medical technology and related medical support services that have suppressed the homicide rate compared to what it would be had such progress not been made. Against a baseline of 1960, we estimate that without this technology the U.S. would presently be experiencing 45,000 to 70,000 homicides a year instead of an actual 15,000 to 20,000. We estimate urban/rural-specific drops in lethality from 1964 to 1999 at between 54% to 76%, and annual weapon-specific drops in lethality at between 2.5% and 4.5%. We conclude with two county-level crosssectional analyses covering two time periods (1976 to 1989 and 1994 to 1997) that show a strong relationship between lethality and a set of medical variables, including presence of a hospital, presence of a trauma center, and countywide membership within a coordinated regional trauma system. We argue that research into the causes and deterrability of homicide would benefit from a “lethality perspective” that focuses on serious assaults, only a small proportion of which end in death
Projection and Aggregation in Maxplus

In maxplus algebra, linear projectors on an image of a morphism B parallel to the kernel of another morphism C can be built under transversality conditions of the two morphisms. The existence of a transverse to an image or a kernel of a morphism is obtained under some regularity conditions. We show that those regularity and transversality conditions can be expressed linearly as soon as the space to which im(B) and ker(C) belong is free and its order dual is free. The algebraic structure Rnmax has these two properties. Projectors are constructed following a previous work. Application to aggregation of linear dynamical systems is discussed.
Examining the Role of Price Fairness in Sport Consumer Ticket Purchase Decisions

Ticket pricing in professional sports is transitioning from a cost-based to demand-based approach. It has been argued that consumer perceptions of fairness regarding demand-based ticket pricing could influence purchase decisions. Perceptions of unfair pricing practices can lead to dissatisfaction and negatively affect purchase behavior. However, familiarity with demand-based pricing strategies could mitigate perceptions that real-time price fluctuations are unfair to the consumer. Guided by transaction utility theory, the current study examined the relationship between various ticket offers, consumer perceptions of fairness, familiarity, and intentions to purchase professional sports tickets. The findings support previous theory suggesting perceptions of fairness and purchase intentions differ based on specific transaction conditions. Source of the ticket, reference price, and familiarity played a role in these perceptions. This study extends the body of knowledge in sport consumer behavior by highlighting the value of fairness perceptions, familiarity, reference price, source of the ticket, and the use of price as a marketing tool.
Producing data through e-assessment: A trace ethnographic investigation into e-assessment events

In this paper, I examine the role of human and digital actants in various material and spatial configurations during the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) e-assessment events. It reports on an investigation into how data are produced and subsequently fed into statistical models that in turn produce analyses of skills in ‘centres of calculation’. These data are then used to produce reports, scientific papers, marketing documents and visualizations that profoundly affect how we understand concepts such as literacy or skill. Drawing upon the theoretical resources of Actor Network Theory, this investigation employs a new and innovative methodology, trace ethnography, to follow the distributed agency of hypermobile digital actants. I examine the detail of e-assessment events and interactions between coded technologies and people and how these are translated into statements about what it means to be literate. This, in turn, highlights the role of non-governmental organizations in influencing educational and economic policy-making through the intensification of data production.
Modeling and Controlling Parallel Tasks in Droplet-Based Microfluidic Systems

This paper presents general hardware-independent models and algorithms to automate the operation of droplet-based microfluidic systems. In these systems, discrete liquid volumes of typically less than 1$muhboxl$are transported across a planar array by dielectrophoretic or electrowetting effects for biochemical analysis. Unlike in systems based on continuous flow through channels, valves, and pumps, the droplet paths can be reconfigured on demand and even in real time. Algorithms that generate efficient sequences of control signals for moving one or many droplets from start to goal positions, subject to constraints such as specific features and obstacles on the array surface or limitations in the control circuitry, are developed. In addition, an approach toward automatic mapping of a biochemical analysis task onto a DMFS is investigated. Achieving optimality in these algorithms can be prohibitive for large-scale configurations because of the high asymptotic complexity of coordinating multiple moving droplets. Instead, these algorithms achieve a compromise between high runtime efficiency and a more limited nonglobal optimality in the generated control sequences.
Cervical cancer incidence in the United States in the US‐Mexico border region, 1998–2003

Cervical cancer mortality rates have declined in the United States, primarily because of Papanicolaou testing. However, limited information is available about the incidence of the disease in the US‐Mexico border region, where some of the poorest counties in the United States are located. This study was undertaken to help compare the patterns of cervical cancer incidence among women in the US‐Mexico border region and other parts of the United States.
Simulations of Indentation at Continuum and Atomic levels

The main goal of this work is to determine values of elastic constants of orthotropic, transversely isotropic and cubic materials through indentation tests on thin layers bonded to rigid substrates. Accordingly, we first use the Stroh formalism to provide an analytical solution for generalized plane strain deformations of a linear elastic anisotropic layer bonded to a rigid substrate, and indented by a rigid cylindrical indenter. The mixed boundary-value problem is challenging since the deformed indented surface of the layer contacting the rigid cylinder is unknown a priori, and is to be determined as a part of the solution of the problem. For a rigid parabolic prismatic indenter contacting either an isotropic layer or an orthotropic layer, the computed solution is found to compare well with solutions available in the literature. Parametric studies have been conducted to delimit the length and the thickness of the layer for which the derived relation between the axial load and the indentation depth is valid. We then derive an expression relating the axial load, the indentation depth, and the elastic constants of an orthotropic material. This relation is specialized to a cubic material (e.g., an FCC single crystal). By using results of three virtual (i.e., numerical) indentation tests on the same specimen oriented differently, we compute values of the elastic moduli, and show that they agree well with their expected values. The technique can be extended to other anisotropic materials. We review the literature on relations between deformations at the atomic level and stresses and strains defined at the continuum level. These are then used to compare stress and strain distributions in mechanical tests performed on atomic systems and their equivalent continuum structures. Whereas averaged stresses and strains defined in terms of the overall deformations of the atomic system match well with those derived from the continuum description of the body, their local spatial distributions differ.
Hypobilirubinemia Might be a Possible Risk Factor of End-Stage Kidney Disease Independently of Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate

Background/Aims: The relationship between serum total bilirubin (TB) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) is controversial and there is no report on the association between TB and end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). Methods: We examined the cross-sectional association between TB and eGFR and investigated whether TB can predict ESKD with multivariable logistic regression adjusted for age, sex, and baseline eGFR using hospital-based data. Results: The geometric mean TB of patients with eGFR ≥ 90 mL/min/1.73 m2 (S1), 8960 mL/min/1.73 m2 (S2), 59-30 mL/min/1.73 m2 (S3), 29-15 mL/min/1.73 m2 (S4), and < 15 mL/min/1.73 m2 (S5 = ESKD) was 0.55 mg/dL, 0.59 mg/dL, 0.56 mg/dL, 0.47 mg/dL, and 0.36 mg/dL (all p<0.0001 except for S1 vs. S3 where p=0.3726), respectively excluding patients with hyperbilirubinemia (TB > 1.24 mg/dL). The odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of incident ESKD for each 0.1 mg/dL increase in TB and hypobilirubinemia defined as TB ≤ 0.34 mg/dL were 0.92 (0.80-1.07) (p=0.2804) and 3.51 (1.56-7.88) (p=0.0023), respectively in patients with baseline eGFR ≥ 15 mL/min/1.73m2 and 0.59 (0.37-0.95) (p=0.0283) and 6.03 (1.63-22.30) (p=0.0071), respectively in patients with baseline eGFR 29-15 mL/min/1.73m2. Conclusions: Hypobilirubinemia might be a possible risk factor of ESKD.
A Self-Resonant Two-Coil Wireless Power Transfer System Using Open Bifilar Coils

Usually, self-resonant coils are restricted to use on the intermediary circuits of multiple-coil wireless power transfer (WPT) systems. This is because a source sees a parallel resonance when connected to a typical coil at self-resonance, and parallel associations in the primary and secondary sides of a two-coil system are not as practical as the respective series associations. However, many applications require two-coil systems due to their reduced size and simplicity. In this work, a self-resonant two-coil WPT system is proposed. The presented system uses open bifilar coils that lead to a series resonance at the resonant frequency. In this way, no capacitor is used in the whole system and it behaves as a series association of coil self-capacitance and inductance at the resonant frequency. Thus, the proposed system has a reduced size and also avoids capacitor damage due to high individual voltages caused by resonance effects. Practical measurements and theoretical results of the system efficiency and relative power transfer show good agreement and validate the proposed scheme as a promising solution for a two-coil self-resonant WPT system.
Factors Affecting Staphylococcus aureus Colonization of the Nasopharynx in the First 6 Months of Life

Background: Staphylococcal aureus (SA) colonization in early infancy is common, but the pattern and factors affecting its acquisition and persistence in the first few months of life are not well studied. The aim is to study the rate of SA nasopharyngeal (NP) colonization at monthly intervals in the first 6 months of life and its association with environmental and host factors and other pathogenic NP bacteria. Methods: Data from a prospective study were analyzed on bacterial cultures of 1765 NP swabs from 367 infants who were followed from birth to 6 months of age. Demographic, breastfeeding, cigarette smoke exposure and day care attendance data were collected at each monthly visit. Results: The rate of infants colonized with SA was highest at age 1 month (25%) and declined to lowest rate by age 6 months (12%). The proportion of SA strains that was methicillin-resistant SA was also highest at age 1 month and declined rapidly by age 4 months (18% vs. 6%, P = 0.05). Colonization with Streptococcus pneumoniae (SP), nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHI) and Moraxella catarrhalis (MC) increased at different rates up to age 6 months. Univariate analysis showed that SA colonization rate was significantly lower with increasing age, black race, day care attendance, and colonization with NTHI, MC and SP (P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that this effect was independently associated only with increasing age and MC colonization (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the time to first acquisition of SA from one month of age onwards was significantly associated with day care attendance, and NTHI and MC colonization. None of the infants colonized with SA developed SA infections through age 6 months. Conclusions: SA colonization of NP begins very early in life and declines quickly. Methicillin-resistant SA has lower ability to maintain prolonged colonization status than methicillin-susceptible strains in the first 6 months of life. As the NP is colonized with other respiratory bacterial pathogens, the colonization with SA declines; however, this effect is stronger with Gram-negative bacteria, such as NTHI and MC.
Privacy and spatial pattern preservation in masked GPS trajectory data

ABSTRACT Personal trajectory data are increasingly collected for a variety of academic and recreational pursuits. As access to location data widens and locations are linked to other information repositories, individuals become increasingly vulnerable to identification. The quality and precision of spatially linked attributes are essential to accurate analysis; yet, there is a trade-off between privacy and geographic data resolution. Obfuscation of point data, or masking, is a solution that aims to protect privacy and maximize preservation of spatial pattern. Trajectory data, with multiple locations recorded for an entity over time, is a strong personal identifier. This study explores the balance between privacy and spatial pattern resulting from two methods of obfuscation for personal GPS data: grid masking and random perturbation. These methods are applied to travel survey GPS data in the greater metropolitan regions of Chicago and Atlanta. The rate of pattern correlation between the original and masked data sets declines as the distance thresholds for masking increase. Grid masking at the 250-m threshold preserves route anonymity better than other methods and distance thresholds tested, but preserves spatial pattern least. This study also finds via linear regression that median trip speed and road density are significant predictors of trip anonymity.
Further Explorations of the “White Space” Bias in Users’ Anticipation of Task Workload

As more designers allow users to customize the look and feel of interfaces, users will be required to recognize the implications of their choices on their future performance, comfort, and enjoyment. Understanding the limits of people’s predictive capabilities may be an important component in identifying why people choose one product over another based on ease of use or why people have difficulties identifying tasks that can be performed together. The purpose of this study is to further explore users’ biases for utilizing the amount of white space in the stimulus as a predictor of task difficulty, to validate discrepancies between predicted task difficulty and performance outcomes found in previous research and the human factors literature, and to identify task-specific strategies that are used to anticipate task difficulty. The study uses the NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) in prospective difficulty judgments for these three types of tasks: 1) a stimulus-response compatibility task, 2) a target acquisition task and 3) a perceptual search task. In general, participants predicted lower task demand for designs with more intervening white space. For the visual search task, these estimates of demand were consistent with participants’ actual performance reaction times. However, for the stove design and Fitts’ tasks participants rated tasks that were likely to result in more errors as less challenging suggesting that the type of task is an important factor in participants’ abilities to predict relative task difficulty.
The Bone Marrow-Mediated Protection of Myeloproliferative Neoplastic Cells to Vorinostat and Ruxolitinib Relies on the Activation of JNK and PI3K Signalling Pathways

The classical BCR-ABL-negative Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (MPN) are a group of heterogeneous haematological diseases characterized by constitutive JAK-STAT pathway activation. Targeted therapy with Ruxolitinib, a JAK1/2-specific inhibitor, achieves symptomatic improvement but does not eliminate the neoplastic clone. Similar effects are seen with histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi), albeit with poorer tolerance. Here, we show that bone marrow (BM) stromal cells (HS-5) protected MPN-derived cell lines (SET-2; HEL and UKE-1) and MPN patient-derived BM cells from the cytotoxic effects of Ruxolitinib and the HDACi Vorinostat. This protective effect was mediated, at least in part, by the secretion of soluble factors from the BM stroma. In addition, it correlated with the activation of signalling pathways important for cellular homeostasis, such as JAK-STAT, PI3K, JNK, MEK-ERK and NF-κB. Importantly, the pharmacological inhibition of JNK and PI3K pathways completely abrogated the BM protective effect on MPN cell lines and MPN patient samples. Our findings shed light on mechanisms of tumour survival and may indicate novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment of MPN.