Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Non-psychotropic medication and risk of suicide or attempted suicide: a systematic review

Objectives To establish which non-psychotropic medications have been assessed in relation to risk of suicide or attempted suicide in observational studies, document reported associations and consider study strengths and limitations. Design Systematic review. Methods Four databases (Embase, Medline, PsycINFO and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts) were searched from 1990 to June 2014, and reference lists of included articles were hand-searched. Case–control, cohort and case only studies which reported suicide or attempted suicide in association with any non-psychotropic medication were included. Outcome measures The outcomes eligible for inclusion were suicide and attempted suicide, as defined by the authors of the included study. Results Of 11 792 retrieved articles, 19 were eligible for inclusion. Five studies considered cardiovascular medication and antiepileptics; two considered leukotriene receptor antagonists, isotretinoin and corticosteroids; one assessed antibiotics and another assessed varenicline. An additional study compared multiple medications prescribed to suicide cases versus controls. There was marked heterogeneity in study design, outcome and exposure classification, and control for confounding factors; particularly comorbid mental and physical illness. No increased risk was associated with cardiovascular medications, but associations with other medications remained inconclusive and meta-analysis was inappropriate due to study heterogeneity. Conclusions Whether non-psychotropic medications are associated with increased risk of suicide or attempted suicide remains largely unknown. Robust identification of suicide outcomes and control of comorbidities could improve quantification of risk associated with non-psychotropic medication, beyond that conferred by underlying physical and mental illnesses.
Non-monotonic piezoresistive behaviour of graphene nanoplatelet (GNP)-polymer composite flexible films prepared by solvent casting

Graphene-polymer nanocomposite films show good piezoresistive behaviour and it is reported that the sensitivity increases either with the increased sheet resistance or decreased number density of the graphene fillers. A little is known about this behaviour near the percolation region. In this study, graphene nanoplatelet (GNP)/poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) flexible films are fabricated via solution casting process at varying weight percent of GNP. Electrical and piezoresistive behaviour of these films is studied as a function of GNP concentration. Piezoresistive strain sensitivity of the films is measured by affixing the film to an aluminium specimen which is subjected to monotonic uniaxial tensile load. The change in resistance of the film with strain is monitored using a four probe. An electrical percolation threshold at 3 weight percent of GNP is observed. We report non-monotonic piezoresistive behaviour of these films as a function GNP concentration. We observe an increase in gauge factor (GF) with unstrained resistance of the films up to a critical resistance corresponding to percolation threshold. Beyond this limit the GF decreases with unstrained resistance.
Effect of Collateral Blood Flow and Cerebral Vasomotor Reactivity on the Outcome of Carotid Artery Occlusion

Background and Purpose— Evidence suggests that an alteration in cerebral hemodynamics plays a relevant role in the occurrence of stroke in patients with carotid occlusion. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the relationships among baseline characteristics, type and number of collateral pathways, cerebral vasomotor reactivity (VMR), and outcome of patients with carotid occlusion. Methods— One hundred four patients with symptomatic or asymptomatic internal carotid artery occlusion were followed up prospectively for a median period of 24 months. Cerebral VMR to apnea was calculated with transcranial Doppler ultrasonography by means of the breath-holding index (BHI) in the middle cerebral arteries. The patency of the 3 major intracranial collateral vessels was also evaluated. Results— During the follow-up period, 18 patients experienced an ischemic stroke ipsilateral to internal carotid artery occlusion. Among factors considered, only older age, number of collateral pathways, and BHI values in the middle cerebral artery ipsilateral to the occluded side were significantly associated with the risk of ipsilateral stroke (P <0.001, P =0.008, and P <0.001, respectively; multiple Cox regression analysis). A normal VMR and favorable prognosis characterized patients with full collateral development; in this group, no patient experienced an ischemic event. On the other hand, an impaired VMR and increased probability of experiencing a stroke were found in patients without collateral pathways; the annual risk of ipsilateral stroke in this group was 32.7%. Patients with 1 or 2 collateral pathways showed a different VMR ranging from normal to strongly reduced BHI values. The ipsilateral stroke event risk was 17.5% in patients with 1 collateral vessel and 2.7% in patients with 2 collateral pathways. In this case, the risk of cerebrovascular events occurring during the follow-up period was significantly related to VMR. Conclusions— These data suggest that cerebral hemodynamic status in patients with carotid occlusive disease is influenced by both individual anatomic and functional characteristics. The planning of strategies to define the risk profile and any attempt to influence patients’ outcome should be based on the evaluation of the intracranial hemodynamic adaptive status, with particular attention to the number of collateral vessels and the related VMR.
COMPREHENSIVE VISCOELASTO-PLASTIC CHARACTERIZATION OF SAND-ASPHALT COMPRESSIVE AND TENSILE CYCLIC LOADING

A comprehensive constitutive law for a sand-asphalt mixture subjected to either compressive or tensile cyclic loading is developed. The elastic, plastic, viscoelastic, and viscoplastic strain components are incorporated into the model as they are found to be simultaneously present during the loading process. The various parameters of the model are extracted from a series of repeated uniaxial creep and creep-recovery experiments performed under either compressive or tensile constant stress. The experiments are conducted at constant temperature and at various stress levels, time periods, and number of cycles. The material law presentation is followed by a parametric study that is intended to illustrate the relative quantitative influence of various parameters on the resilient and residual strain components.
Effect of texturizing agents on quality of Moo yor in a model system.

Hydrocolloids are texturizing agents which are used in food industry. They are widely utilized due to their excellent physical functional properties, such as thickening, gelling and stabilizing abilities. Hydrocolloids with their unique characteristics are of great interest for processed meat due to their ability to bind water and form gel. In this study, quality characteristics of Moo yor with different texturizing agents were examined. Texturizing agents such as tapioca starch (TPS), modified starch (MTS), -carrageenan (KCG), -carrageenan (ICG), sodium alginate (ALG) and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) at 1% level were added. ALG favorably affected rheological properties of Moo yor batter. It also decreased cooking loss and expressible moisture content. ICG and ALG can improve product texture. They increased hardness, chewiness, springiness, gumminess and cohesiveness. Scanning electron microscopic study indicated that Moo yor with ALG had a lot of filamentous deposition and the cavities were smaller. Moreover, Moo yor with ICG showed small strands of hydrocolloid gel outer protein gel matrix. ICG and ALG should be suitable texturizing agents for improving Moo yor texture.
Quantum descriptors for biological macromolecules from linear‐scaling electronic structure methods

The characterization of electrostatic and chemical properties at the surface of biological macromolecules is of interest in elucidating the fundamental biological structure‐function relationships as well as in problems of rational drug design. This paper presents a set of macromolecular quantum descriptors for the characterization of biological macromolecules in solution that can be obtained with modest computational cost from linear‐scaling semi‐empirical quantum/solvation methods. The descriptors discussed include: solvent‐polarized electrostatic surface potential maps, equilibrated atomic charges, Fukui reactivity indices, approximate local hardness maps, and relative proton potentials. These properties are applied to study the conformational dependence of the electrostatic surface potential of the solvated phosphate‐binding protein mutant (T141D), the regioselectivity of the zinc finger domains of HIV‐1 nucleocapsid (NC) protein, and the order of pKa values of acidic residues in turkey ovomucoid third domain (OMTKY3) and of the zinc‐binding residues in the carboxyl terminal zinc finger of NC. In all cases, insight beyond that obtainable from purely classical models is gained and can be used to rationalize the experimental observations. The macromolecular quantum descriptors presented here greatly extend the arsenal of tools for macromolecular characterization and offer promise in applications to modern structure‐based drug design. Proteins 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Boundedness and Global Stability of a Nonlinear Congestion Control With Delays

This note concerns the global dynamics of a "dual" nonlinear congestion control with time-delays. It has been shown that such control laws are able to maintain local dynamic stability around their unique equilibrium point for networks of arbitrary delay, capacity and topology. We focus here on the case of a single bottleneck network, shared by traffic sources with heterogeneous delays. We first prove that, for any parameter values, an a priori bound can be given on the system state after a certain amount of time. Next, we prove global exponential stability of the delay-differential equations under constraints on its gain parameter and the delays; these are more restrictive than conditions for linear stability, but only mildly so in the homogeneous delay case. The proof is based on a detailed investigation and bounding of the system trajectories
Mechanism of cyclophosphamide transport by L5178Y lymphoblasts in vitro.

Mechanism of transport of the alkylating agent cyclophos phamide-' 4C was investigated in L5 178Y lymphoblasts in vitro. A time course of cyclophosphamide uptake showed a rapid, initial phase, probably due to binding of drug to the cell surface. Subsequent uptake into the cells was carrier mediated and consisted of two components. Analysis of cyclophos phamide uptake over a 40-fold range of drug concentration showed biphasic kinetics with evidence of saturation only at low drug concentrations whereas, at high drug levels, uptake occurred by a second transport system that was technically nonsaturable. After correction for binding and the interaction of two-component transport, kinetic parameters for low-dose transport consisted of a Michaelis constant Km (mean Â±S.E.) of 0.39 Â±0.03 mM and a transport capacity Vmax of 0.49 Â± 0.07 X l0' @ moles/mm/cell. At high-dose cyclophosphamide transport, the apparent K@ was 75 Â±29 mM , and the Vmax was 49 Â±14 X l0' @ moles/mm/cell. Both lowand high-dose cyclophosphamide transport were temperature sensitive and partially dependent on sodium. In addition, low-dose transport was inhibited by oligomycin and cyanide. Other alkylating agents and several naturally occurring substrates did not inhibit cyclophosphamide transport ; thus, a native substrate was not identified for the cyclophosphamide carrier, and transport was by a mechanism separate from that of other alkylating agents. Evidence that low-dose cyclophosphamide transport was mediated by a facilitated diffusion process was that uptake obeyed saturation kinetics, was temperature and sodium dependent, was partially dependent on metabolic energy, and cell/medium concentration gradients did not exceed unity. Although high-dose drug uptake failed to show saturation kinetics, the demonstration of temperature and sodium dependence also suggested that high-dose uptake may be carrier mediated. Cyclophosphamide uptake by chick embryo liver cells was examined also ; uptake was temperature sensitive and exhibited biphasic kinetics similar to that observed in L5 178Y cells, suggesting a similar mechanism of drug transport in normal liver and leukemic cells.
Self esteem and health

Autonomy, self esteem, and health are linked together The starting point for Richard Sennett's recent book, Respect in a World of Inequality , is that society is riddled with inequality: of natural endowment and talent, of opportunities and life chances, and of achievement.1 We respect achievement. Hence these inequalities will be accompanied by inequality of respect. This, in turn, will be accompanied by inequalities in self esteem. Do such inequalities in self esteem matter? And if they do, is there anything to be done given that there will always be individual differences in earned respect? The answer to both questions is probably yes—they do matter, and something can be done. There is a view that human needs form a hierarchy: keeping life and limb together takes precedence over such concerns as self esteem and respect. Doyal and Gough criticise this concept of hierarchy of needs and replace it with the idea that there are two basic human needs—health and autonomy.2 Autonomy is closely linked with self esteem and the earning of respect.1 Individuals do not worry about the means of achieving good health and only then concern themselves with autonomy. Both are basic and, I …
Radius exponent in elastic and rigid arterial models optimized by the least energy principle

It was analyzed in normal physiological arteries whether the least energy principle would suffice to account for the radius exponent x. The mammalian arterial system was modeled as two types, the elastic or the rigid, to which Bernoulli's and Hagen‐Poiseuille's equations were applied, respectively. We minimized the total energy function E, which was defined as the sum of kinetic, pressure, metabolic and thermal energies, and loss of each per unit time in a single artery transporting viscous incompressible blood. Assuming a scaling exponent α between the vessel radius (r) and length (l) to be 1.0, x resulted in 2.33 in the elastic model. The rigid model provided a continuously changing x from 2.33 to 3.0, which corresponded to Uylings’ and Murray's theories, respectively, through a function combining Reynolds number with a proportional coefficient of the l − r relationship. These results were expanded to an asymmetric arterial fractal tree with the blood flow preservation rule. While x in the optimal elastic model accounted for around 2.3 in proximal systemic (r > 1 mm) and whole pulmonary arteries (r ≥ 0.004 mm), optimal x in the rigid model explained 2.7 in elastic‐muscular (0.1 < r ≤ 1 mm) and 3.0 in peripheral resistive systemic arteries (0.004 ≤ r ≤ 0.1 mm), in agreement with data obtained from angiographic, cast‐morphometric, and in vivo experimental studies in the literature. The least energy principle on the total energy basis provides an alternate concept of optimality relating to mammalian arterial fractal dimensions under α = 1.0.
A tutorial on visual servo control

This article provides a tutorial introduction to visual servo control of robotic manipulators. Since the topic spans many disciplines our goal is limited to providing a basic conceptual framework. We begin by reviewing the prerequisite topics from robotics and computer vision, including a brief review of coordinate transformations, velocity representation, and a description of the geometric aspects of the image formation process. We then present a taxonomy of visual servo control systems. The two major classes of systems, position-based and image-based systems, are then discussed in detail. Since any visual servo system must be capable of tracking image features in a sequence of images, we also include an overview of feature-based and correlation-based methods for tracking. We conclude the tutorial with a number of observations on the current directions of the research field of visual servo control.
ASSESSING BIOMASS AND FOREST AREA CLASSIFICATIONS FROM MODIS SATELLITE DATA WHILE INCREMENTING THE NUMBER OF FIA DATA PANELS

Our objective was to determine at what level biomass and forest area obtained from 2, 3, 4, or 5 panels of forest inventory data compares well with forested area and biomass estimates from the national inventory data. A subset of 2605 inventory plots (100% forested, 100% non-forested) was used to classify the land cover and model the biomass in South Carolina. Mixed plots containing both forest and non-forest conditions have been excluded. Forest inventory data have been further subdivided into four datasets containing the most recent 5, 4, 3, and 2 panels of data. Separately, each of these four datasets was used in a decision tree classification process applied to MODIS satellite data (250-meter resolution) and ancillary data to classify the land cover and model the forest biomass. The satellite, ancillary, and plot data have been subdivided into three mapping zones 54, 58, and 59 for processing in See5 and Cubist software. Classification results for trials with 2, 3, 4, and the entire cycle of 5 panels show that overall classification accuracy for the percent of pixels correctly classified (%PCC) increased from 72.3% to 79.2%. Comparison between classified forest area with 4 and 5 panels and the inventory forest area shows less than 2% difference. The forest/non-forest single layer classification from each trial was used to mask out non-forested areas for the forest biomass classification. Accuracy of modeled forest biomass was compared with plot data estimates of forest biomass. Biomass obtained from Cubist models with 3, 4, and 5 inventory panels when compared to the biomass from the published plot data estimates show a difference of 29.2%, 11.0% and respectively 1.6%.
Gestural design tools: Prototypes, experiments and scenarios

Any use or application of data, methods and/or results occuring in this book will be at the user's own risk. Gestural d design t tools: prototypes! e experiments a and s scenarios Proefschrift ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Technische Universiteit Delft, op gezag van de Rector Magnificus prof. Dit proefschrift is goedgekeurd door de promotor: In memory of Ben Hummels, who taught me the principles of respect, engagement and humanism.
Influence of carrier-specific, thymus-derived cells on the immunologlobulin M antibody response to staphylococcal lipoteichoic acid

The immunoglobulin M antibody response to the lipoteichoic acid (LTA) of Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538P was examined by a procedure in which erythrocytes sensitized with periodate-activated LTA were used for the detection of immunoglobulin M-producing plaque-forming cells LTA-specific plaque-forming cells were first detected 2 days after immunization with heat-killed bacterial cells, and maximal numbers of plaque-forming cells, mostly of the immunoglobulin M class rather than the immunoblogulin G or immunoglobulin A class, were attained by day 4; specificity for LTA was affirmed by plaque inhibition tests. No plaque-forming cells were found in mice given isolated LTA over a 10,000-fold range of immunizing doses. Mice pretreated with a carrier known to activate thymus-derived helper lymphocytes produced a plaque-forming cell response to LTA only when immunized with LTA bound to the same carrier. This suggests that carrier-specific thymus-derived cells are needed to initiate an antibody response to poorly immunogenic LTA. Since an antibody response can be elicited in mice given heat-killed cells, other cell wall and/or cell membrane constituents may play an important role as immunologically active carriers for this antigen.
A review of chronic pain impact on patients, their social environment and the health care system

Chronic pain (CP) seriously affects the patient’s daily activities and quality of life, but few studies on CP have considered its effects on the patient’s social and family environment. In this work, through a review of the literature, we assessed several aspects of how CP influences the patient’s daily activities and quality of life, as well as its repercussions in the workplace, and on the family and social environment. Finally, the consequences of pain on the health care system are discussed. On the basis of the results, we concluded that in addition to the serious consequences on the patient’s life, CP has a severe detrimental effect on their social and family environment, as well as on health care services. Thus, we want to emphasize on the need to adopt a multidisciplinary approach to treatment so as to obtain more comprehensive improvements for patients in familial and social contexts. Accordingly, it would be beneficial to promote more social- and family-oriented research initiatives.
Fast Plurality Consensus in Regular Expanders

Pull voting is a classic method to reach consensus among $n$ vertices with differing opinions in a distributed network: each vertex at each step takes on the opinion of a random neighbour. This method, however, suffers from two drawbacks. Even if there are only two opposing opinions, the time taken for a single opinion to emerge can be slow and the final opinion is not necessarily the initially held majority. We refer to a protocol where 2 neighbours are contacted at each step as a 2-sample voting protocol. In the two-sample protocol a vertex updates its opinion only if both sampled opinions are the same. Not much was known about the performance of two-sample voting on general expanders in the case of three or more opinions. In this paper we show that the following performance can be achieved on a $d$-regular expander using two-sample voting. We suppose there are $k \ge 3$ opinions, and that the initial size of the largest and second largest opinions is $A_1, A_2$ respectively. We prove that, if $A_1 - A_2 \ge C n \max\{\sqrt{(\log n)/A_1}, \lambda\}$, where $\lambda$ is the absolute second eigenvalue of matrix $P=Adj(G)/d$ and $C$ is a suitable constant, then the largest opinion wins in $O((n \log n)/A_1)$ steps with high probability. For almost all $d$-regular graphs, we have $\lambda=c/\sqrt{d}$ for some constant $c>0$. This means that as $d$ increases we can separate an opinion whose majority is $o(n)$, whereas $\Theta(n)$ majority is required for $d$ constant. This work generalizes the results of Becchetti et. al (SPAA 2014) for the complete graph $K_n$.
Decentralized packet clustering in router-based networks

Different types of decentralized clustering problems have been studied so far for networks and multi-agent systems. In this paper we introduce a new type of a decentralized clustering problem for networks. The so called Decentralized Packet Clustering (DPC) problem is to find for packets that are sent around in a network a clustering. This clustering has to be done by the routers using only few computational power and only a small amount of memory. No direct information transfer between the routers is allowed. We investigate the behavior of new a type of decentralized k-means algorithm — called DPClust — for solving the DPC problem. DPClust has some similarities with ant based clustering algorithms. We investigate the behavior of DPClust for different clustering problems and for networks that consist of several subnetworks. The amount of packet exchange between these subnetworks is limited. Networks with different connection topologies for the subnetworks are considered. A dynamic situation where the packet exchange rates between the subnetworks varies over time is also investigated. The proposed DPC problem leads to interesting research problems for network clustering.