Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Simulation Studies for the Evaluation of Health Information Technologies: Experiences and Results

It is essential for new health information technologies (IT) to undergo rigorous evaluations to ensure they are effective and safe for use in real-world situations. However, evaluation of new health IT is challenging, as field studies are often not feasible when the technology being evaluated is not sufficiently mature. Laboratory-based evaluations have also been shown to have insufficient external validity. Simulation studies seem to be a way to bridge this gap. The aim of this study was to evaluate, using a simulation methodology, the impact of a new prototype of an electronic medication management system on the appropriateness of prescriptions and drug-related activities, including laboratory test ordering or medication changes. This article presents the results of a controlled simulation study with 50 simulation runs, including ten doctors and five simulation patients, and discusses experiences and lessons learnt while conducting the study. Although the new electronic medication management system showed tendencies to improve medication safety when compared with the standard system, this tendency was not significant. Altogether, five distinct situations were identified where the new medication management system did help to improve medication safety. This simulation study provided a good compromise between internal validity and external validity. However, several challenges need to be addressed when undertaking simulation evaluations including: preparation of adequate test cases; training of participants before using unfamiliar applications; consideration of time, effort and costs of conducting the simulation; technical maturity of the evaluated system; and allowing adequate preparation of simulation scenarios and simulation setting. Simulation studies are an interesting but time-consuming approach, which can be used to evaluate newly developed health IT systems, particularly those systems that are not yet sufficiently mature to undergo field evaluation studies.
Moisture Diffusivity of Unidirectional Composites

The moisture diffusion in unidirectional fiber-reinforced composite materials is formulated in terms of relative moisture concentration which cor responds to the temperature for the heat conduction problem. And the effec tive transverse moisture diffusivity of the composite materials with random array packing of fibers is predicted based on the properties of the constituent matrix and fibers by establishing a random array model. It is found that if the degree of randomness increases, the transverse diffusivity decreases remarkably. The theoretical prediction is in good agreement with the ex perimental data obtained by the authors and other researchers. And the analogy between the moisture diffusion and the thermal conduction or the longitudinal shear loading is discussed, pointing out some error in similarity used to predict the moisture diffusivity of composite materials in the literature.
Genome‐wide studies of von Willebrand factor propeptide identify loci contributing to variation in propeptide levels and von Willebrand factor clearance

Essentials Variants at ABO, von Willebrand Factor (VWF) and 2q12 contribute to the variation in plasma in VWF. We performed a genome‐wide association study of plasma VWF propeptide in 3,238 individuals. ABO, VWF and 2q12 loci had weak or no association or linkage with plasma VWFpp levels. VWF associated variants at ABO, VWF and 2q12 loci primarily affect VWF clearance rates.
Purification and Characterization of Adipose-Derived Stem Cells from Patients with Lipoaspirate Transplant

Techniques for medical tissue regeneration require an abundant source of human adult stem cells. There is increasing evidence that adipose stem cells contribute to restoration of tissue vascularization and organ function. The object of our study was to isolate and characterize adult adipose-derived stem cells from patients undergoing on lipoaspirate transplant with the aim to improve tissue regeneration. Adipose-derived stem cells were isolated and purified from the lipoaspirate of 15 patients and characterized for CD markers and the ability to differentiate toward the adipogenic lineage. We found that purified adipose stem cells express high level of CD49d, CD44, CD90, CD105, CD13, and CD71 and these markers of staminality were maintained at high level for at least 3 months and seven passages of in vitro culture. As expected, these cells resulted negative for the endothelial and hematopoietic-specific markers CD31, CD106, CD34, and CD45. Differentiation towards adipogenic lineage demonstrated that purified adipose-derived stem cells are still able to become adipocytes at least 3 months after in vitro culture. The analysis of Akt and MAPK phosphorylation confirmed a modulation of their activity during differentiation. Interestingly, we established for the first time that, among the p53 family members, a strong upregulation of p63 expression occurs in adipocytic differentiation, indicating a role for this transcription factor in adipocytic differentiation. Taken together, these data indicate that purified lipoaspirate-derived stem cells maintain their characteristic of staminality for a long period of in vitro culture, suggesting that they could be applied for cell-based therapy to improve autologous lipoaspirate transplant.
Femoral Neck Stress Injuries: Analysis of 156 Cases in a U.S. Military Population and Proposal of a New MRI Classification System.

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study is to formulate a new MRI classification system for fatigue-type femoral neck stress injuries (FNSIs) that is based on patient management and return-to-duty (RTD) time. MATERIALS AND METHODS A retrospective review of 156 consecutive FNSIs in 127 U.S. Army soldiers over a 24-month period was performed. The width of marrow edema for low-grade FNSIs and the measurement of macroscopic fracture as a percentage of femoral neck width for high-grade FNSIs were recorded. RTD time was available for 90 soldiers. Nonparametric testing, univariate linear regression, and survival analysis on RTD time were used in conjunction with patient management criteria to develop a new FNSI MRI classification system. RESULTS The FNSI incidence was 0.09%, and all FNSIs were compressive-sided injuries. RTD time was significantly longer for high-grade FNSIs versus low-grade FNSIs (p < 0.001). Our FNSI MRI classification system showed a significant difference in RTD time between grades 1 and 2 (p = 0.001-0.029), 1 and 3 (p < 0.001), and 1 and 4 (p = 0.001-0.01). There was no significant RTD time difference between the remaining grades. The rates of completing basic training (BT) and requiring medical discharge were significantly associated with the FNSI MRI grades (p = 0.038 and p = 0.001, respectively). CONCLUSION The proposed FNSI MRI classification system provides a robust framework for patient management optimization by permitting differentiation between operative and nonoperative candidates, by allowing accurate prediction of RTD time, and by estimating the risk of not completing BT and requiring medical discharge from the military.
Sentiment Classification in Turn-Level Interactive Chinese Texts of E-learning Applications

To solve the problem of emotional illiteracy in current e-Learning environment, researches on sentiment analysis now get more attentions. This paper focuses on recognizing emotion from interactive Chinese texts (ICTs). Through observation, firstly, characteristics of ICTs are discussed. Then two kinds of feature sets, frequency based feature set and interaction related feature set, are presented. Finally, the corresponding feature extraction and selection for ICTs are presented. To validate the feature sets and choose the best method of sentiment analysis, we carry out a number of experiments. The experiments' results show that, combining with syntax based feature set, frequency based feature set and interaction related feature set can improve algorithm classification performance, and multi-class classifier and the tree based methods perform better than others.
A simple procedure for the preparation of laponite and thermoplastic starch nanocomposites: Structural, mechanical, and thermal characterizations

The aim of this article is to propose advances for the preparation of hybrid nanocomposites prepared by the combination of intercalation from solution and melt-processing methods. This research investigates the effect of the laponite RDS content on the thermal, structural, and mechanical properties of thermoplastic starch (TPS). X-ray diffraction was performed to investigate the dispersion of the laponite RDS layers into the TPS matrix. The results show good nanodispersion, intercalation, and exfoliation of the clay platelets, indicating that these composites are true nanocomposites. The presence of laponite RDS also improves the thermal stability and mechanical properties of the TPSmatrix due to its reinforcement effect which was optimized by the high degree of exfoliation of the clay. Thus, these results indicate that the exfoliated TPS–laponite nanocomposites have great potential for industrial applications and, more specifically, in the packaging field.
Female Age-Related Differences in Biomechanics and Muscle Activity During Descents on the Outstretched Arms.

The purposes of this study were to examine female age differences in: (1) upper extremity (UE) and trunk muscle activity, elbow joint moment, loading force, and UE energy absorption during a controlled forward body descent; and (2) UE muscle strength. Twenty young (mean 24.8 ± 3.4 years) and 20 older (68.4 ± 5.7 years) women were assessed via dynamometry for isometric, concentric, and eccentric UE strength and performed forward descents on force plates at three body lean angles (60°, 45°, and 30° from horizontal). Significant differences (p < .05) were found for muscle strength, biomechanics, and muscle activity. Concentric UE strength averaged 15% lower in older women. At 30° body lean, older women absorbed less energy. Older women had greater biceps brachii activation and less external oblique activation at all body lean angles. Age differences in muscle strength, activation, and energy absorption may contribute to fall-related injury risk.
CC-122 immunomodulatory effects in refractory patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

ABSTRACT In the three patients included in a phase I clinical trial (NCT01421524), we report the immunomodulatory effects and efficacy of CC-122, a novel pleiotropic pathway modifier compound originally developed for broad diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The chemical structure of CC-122 includes the glutarimide moiety that is known to modulate the immune response. The immunomodulatory agents including lenalidomide represent a promising therapeutic strategy targeting tumors in B-cell lymphoid malignancies. We observed that CC-122 might regulate the NK phenotype and its activity due to the reduced accumulation of myeloid-derived suppressor cell and eventually decrease the Tregs subsets. Finally, the activation of T cells through co-stimulatory molecule (CD28) was detected as a delayed CC-122 effect. In this context, CC-122 arises as an alternative option for DLBCL patients refractory to the traditional chemotherapeutic agents.
Mechanical properties of cellular materials. I. Linear analysis of hexagonal honeycombs

SYNOPSIS The purpose of this series of studies is to develop finite element computer models of the mechanical properties of cellular polymers, especially open cell foams. Using finite element methods, both the properties of the material making up the struts, as well as the geometrical structure of the cell, can be readily varied. The series of studies begins with two-dimensional hexagonal honeycombs because of their ease of analysis and comparison with previous works. Comparison of the present solutions and analytic ones have been conducted, and excellent agreement is obtained. The effects of cell dimensions, such as strut length, strut depth, and cell height, of irregular hexagons on the effective Young’s modulus of foams were studied in the low strain and elastic regime. Load direction and cell geometry anisotropy effects are also investigated. In addition, the effects of friction model and the specimen size on the effective Young’s modulus of the foam are studied. Nonuniform strut thickness was also a variable. The modulus effects of these variations in geometry ranged from minimal to highly significant and provide an understanding of geometry effects on foam performance. q 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Evaluation of the effects of cigarette smoking on testosterone levels in adult men.

INTRODUCTION Cigarette smoking is highly prevalent among men. Many studies have evaluated the effect of cigarette smoking on levels of male reproductive hormones; however, the findings still remain controversial. AIM To evaluate the influence of cigarette smoking on serum levels of total testosterone (TT), free testosterone (FT), bioavailable testosterone (BT), sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), luteinizing hormone (LH), and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). METHODS A total of 255 men (90 smokers and 165 nonsmokers), aged 30 to 70 years, were investigated. Weight and height were obtained and body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Also, waist circumference and hip circumference were measured and waist-to-hip ratio was obtained. Fasting blood samples were drawn for determination of plasmatic glucose levels and serum levels of total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), triglycerides, albumin, prolactin, TT, SHBG, LH, and FSH. The values of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) were determined by Friedwald equation and the values of FT and BT were calculated from TT, SHBG, and albumin. Statistical significance was set at P < or = 0.05. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The influence of smoking on levels of TT, FT, and BT. RESULTS No significant difference was observed in the mean values of TT (P = 0.580), FT (P = 0.869), BT (P = 0.933), SHBG (P = 0.279), LH (P = 0.573), and FSH (P = 0.693) in the different levels of pack-years when compared to nonsmokers. Moreover, after multivariate logistic regression, no association between increased pack-years of smoking and increased odds ratio for occurrence of low hormones and SHBG levels was observed. CONCLUSION In this study, smokers and nonsmokers had similar mean values of androgens, gonadotropins and SHBG. However, it is necessary to standardize pack-years of smoking in order to elucidate the influence of cigarette smoking on sex hormone levels, as well as to minimize differences among studies and to confirm our results.
Aesthetic outcome of immediately restored single implants placed in extraction sockets and healed sites of the anterior maxilla: a retrospective study on 103 patients with 3 years of follow‐up

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to compare the aesthetic outcome of single implants in extraction sockets and healed ridges of the anterior maxilla by means of the pink aesthetic score/white aesthetic score (PES/WES) index. MATERIALS AND METHODS This retrospective study was based on data from 103 patients (43 males, 60 females) aged 24-65 years (mean age 41.4 ± 13.8 years) who had been successfully treated with a single implant in the anterior maxilla, in four different clinical centres. Forty-two patients (mean age 46.5 ± 15.1 years) were treated with a single implant in a fresh post-extraction socket (immediate implant treatment, IIT), while 61 patients (mean age 38.0 ± 11.8 years) were treated with a single implant in a healed site (conventional implant treatment, CIT). Two independent calibrated examiners applied the PES/WES index to the 103 single-tooth restorations, respectively 3 months and 3 years after implant placement. RESULTS A few biological (4.8%) and prosthetic (8.7%) complications were reported. Both IIT and CIT yielded satisfactory aesthetic outcomes. At the delivery of the final restoration, a PES/WES score of 16.6 ± 2.6 and 15.7 ± 3.0 was reported for IIT and CIT, respectively: this difference was not statistically significant. A higher decrease in the PES/WES score was observed with CIT over time. At 3 years, a PES/WES score of 16.4 ± 2.8 and 15.2 ± 3.3 was reported for IIT and CIT, respectively: this difference was statistically significant. IIT seemed to yield better aesthetic outcomes in young patients (≤30 years), with implants placed in central incisor/cuspid areas, in the presence of bone contouring. CONCLUSIONS Both immediate and conventional single-implant treatment in the anterior maxilla can yield satisfactory aesthetic outcomes, when performed by experienced clinicians in well-selected cases. Further studies are needed to confirm these results.
Depressive Symptoms and Physical Frailty in Older Adults With Chronic Heart Failure

Heart failure (HF) is the leading cause of multimorbidity, mortality, and health care costs worldwide (Go et al., 2013). HF is expected to become more prevalent as the population ages and advanced therapies increase survival rates. Importantly, approximately 80% of patients with HF are older than 65 (Go et al., 2013), and the incidence of HF doubles in each decade of life and eventually rises to 20% in patients older than 80 (Bui, Horwich, & Fonarow, 2011). Despite advances in diagnosis and management of HF, the HF prevalence in South Korea is estimated to double, increasing from 1.6% in 2015 to 3.35% in 2040 (Lee, Lim, Cho, & Park, 2016). Th erefore, the aging HF population needs more attention with respect to management of prognosis and outcomes.
Moral judgement by the disconnected left and right cerebral hemispheres: a split-brain investigation

Owing to the hemispheric isolation resulting from a severed corpus callosum, research on split-brain patients can help elucidate the brain regions necessary and sufficient for moral judgement. Notably, typically developing adults heavily weight the intentions underlying others' moral actions, placing greater importance on valenced intentions versus outcomes when assigning praise and blame. Prioritization of intent in moral judgements may depend on neural activity in the right hemisphere's temporoparietal junction, an area implicated in reasoning about mental states. To date, split-brain research has found that the right hemisphere is necessary for intent-based moral judgement. When testing the left hemisphere using linguistically based moral vignettes, split-brain patients evaluate actions based on outcomes, not intentions. Because the right hemisphere has limited language ability relative to the left, and morality paradigms to date have involved significant linguistic demands, it is currently unknown whether the right hemisphere alone generates intent-based judgements. Here we use nonlinguistic morality plays with split-brain patient J.W. to examine the moral judgements of the disconnected right hemisphere, demonstrating a clear focus on intent. This finding indicates that the right hemisphere is not only necessary but also sufficient for intent-based moral judgement, advancing research into the neural systems supporting the moral sense.
Learning physics-based motion style with nonlinear inverse optimization

This paper presents a novel physics-based representation of realistic character motion. The dynamical model incorporates several factors of locomotion derived from the biomechanical literature, including relative preferences for using some muscles more than others. elastic mechanisms at joints due to the mechanical properties of tendons, ligaments, and muscles, and variable stiffness at joints depending on the task. When used in a spacetime optimization framework, the parameters of this model define a wide range of styles of natural human movement.Due to the complexity of biological motion, these style parameters are too difficult to design by hand. To address this, we introduce Nonlinear Inverse Optimization, a novel algorithm for estimating optimization parameters from motion capture data. Our method can extract the physical parameters from a single short motion sequence. Once captured, this representation of style is extremely flexible: motions can be generated in the same style but performing different tasks, and styles may be edited to change the physical properties of the body.
Computer-assisted assessment of cognitive functioning in the elderly through the systemic Lisbon battery

The elderly population is growing fast mainly in the industrialized countries. Ageing is associated with different morbidities including cognitive impairments that limit the ability of these individuals to carry out their daily life activities. This study reports on the development of a computer-assisted approach for cognitive assessment in the elderly. The sample comprised old aged persons from a day care center that completed cognitive exercises in a non-immersive virtual reality system. The results showed correlations between the outcomes of these exercises and traditional neuropsychological tests, suggesting that performance in computer-assisted cognitive tasks replicates that of traditional neurocognitive tests, although further studies are needed to better understand the cognitive functions that underlying these cognitive exercises.
Assessing full immunisation coverage using lot quality assurance sampling in urban and rural districts of southwest Nigeria.

BACKGROUND This study was conducted to identify administrative wards (lots) with unacceptable levels of full child immunisation coverage, and to identify factors associated with achievement of a complete child immunisation schedule in Ibadan North East (IBNE) and Ido local government areas (LGAs) of Oyo State, Nigeria. METHODS A cross-sectional survey involving 1178 mothers, 588 from IBNE LGAs and 590 from Ido LGAs, with children 12-23 months of age was conducted. Children were considered 'fully-immunised' if they received all the vaccines included in the immunisation schedule. Lot quality assurance sampling was used to determine lots with acceptable and non-acceptable coverage. Samples were weighted based on the population by lot to estimate overall coverage in the two LGAs and a logistic regression model was used to identify factors associated with the fully immunised child. RESULTS Mean age of the mothers was 28.5 ± 5.6 and 28.1± 6.0 years in IBNE and Ido LGAs, respectively. Eleven of 12 wards in IBNE and all the wards in Ido had unacceptable coverage. The proportion of fully immunised children was 40.2% in IBNE and 41.3% in Ido. Maternal age ≥30 years, retention of an immunisation card, completion of tertiary education, or secondary education, hospital birth and first-order birth were significant predictors of complete childhood immunisation. CONCLUSION The level of full immunisation coverage was unacceptable in almost all the wards. Educational intervention on the importance of completion of immunisation schedule should target young, uneducated mothers, mothers who delivered their babies at home and those with a high birth order.