Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Retrospective Descriptive Analysis of Patient Adherence to Dabigatran at a Large Academic Medical Center

BACKGROUND: Clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of dabigatran followed a very strict protocol, which included close monitoring and follow-up. Patients followed in this controlled environment had an average medication possession ratio (MPR) greater than 0.95. However, very few studies have evaluated patient adherence to dabigatran in a real-world setting. Other studies of chronic medications indicate patients are not reliably adherent to twice daily regimens. Adherence to therapy is particularly important for direct thrombin inhibitors because there may be a risk of increased thromboembolic events associated with poor adherence to these agents. OBJECTIVES: To identify the MPR for patients prescribed dabigatran at a large academic medical center and affiliated clinics. METHODS: This retrospective descriptive study evaluated the MPR for patients prescribed dabigatran between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2012. Patients included in this study had to receive dabigatran for a minimum of 3 months, have a primary care physician or cardiologist at the medical center or affiliated clinics, and must not use a mail order pharmacy. Patient MPR was calculated based on prescriptions picked up from the patient. RESULTS: After screening 400 patients, 159 patients met eligibility criteria. The mean MPR for the patients in this study was 0.63. Overall, 43% of the patients had an MPR of less than 0.80, and the mean MPR for this subgroup was 0.39 ± 0.27; 57% of the study population had an MPR of 0.80 or higher, with a mean MPR of 0.94 ± 0.08. There was a significantly higher proportion of men (67.7%, P = 0.0112) and a larger number of “as needed medications” prescribed (1.73 vs. 0.86, P = 0.0039) in patients with an MPR less than 0.80. There were 5 patients hospitalized during the study period (3 for bleeding, 1 for confusion, and 1 death not related to dabigatran therapy). CONCLUSIONS: The relatively low mean MPR seen in this study may indicate that there is a need for improved anticoagulation services and follow-up for patients taking dabigatran.
A fast algorithm for optimal length-limited Huffman codes

An <italic>O</italic>(<italic>nL</italic>)-time algorithm is introduced for constructing an optimal Huffman code for a weighted alphabet of size <italic>n</italic>, where each code string must have length no greater than <italic>L</italic>. The algorithm uses <italic>O</italic>(<italic>n</italic>) space.
Personality affects defensive behaviour of Porcellio scaber (Isopoda, Oniscidea)

Abstract We evaluated individual behavioural patterns of isopods expressed as tonic immobility following some intrusive treatments. Common rough woodlice, Porcellio scaber, were kept individually in plastic boxes and tested for tonic immobility repeatedly. Reactivity, sensitivity (number of stimuli needed to respond), and endurance of tonic immobility (TI) according three types of treatments (touch, squeeze, drop) were evaluated. Touch was the weakest treatment and it was necessary to repeat it a number of times to obtain a response; while squeeze and drop induced TI more frequently. Nevertheless, duration of the response persisted for a longer time with the touch treatment. Within each set of the three treatment, the strongest response was the third one, regardless of treatment type. Duration of reaction was affected by the size of the woodlouse, the smallest individuals feigning death for the shortest time. Despite body size, we found a significant individual pattern of endurance of TI among tested woodlice, which was stable across treatments as well as across time (5 repetitions during a 3 week period). Porcellio scaber is one of the first species of terrestrial isopods with documented personality traits.
Distortion of Space and Time during Saccadic Eye Movements

The space-time distortion perceived subjectively during saccadic eye movements is an associative phenomenon of a transient shift of observer’s visual frame of reference from one position to another. Here we report that the lines of subjective simultaneity defined as two spatially separated flashes perceived during saccades were nearly uniformly tilted along the physical time-course. The causality of the resulting space-time compression may be explained by the Minkowski space-time diagram in physics.
Moderate deviations for joint source-channel coding of systems with Markovian memory

We study the (almost lossless) joint source-channel coding problem from the moderate deviations perspective where the bandwidth expansion ratio tends towards the ratio of the channel capacity and source entropy at a rate larger than n-1/2 (n being the channel blocklength) and the error probability decays subexponentially. We consider the stationary ergodic Markov (SEM) source as well as discrete memoryless and additive SEM channels. We also discuss the loss due to separation in the moderate deviations setting.
Potential Reparative Role of Resident Adult Renal Stem/Progenitor Cells in Acute Kidney Injury

Abstract Human kidney is particularly susceptible to ischemia and toxins with consequential tubular necrosis and activation of inflammatory processes. This process can lead to the acute renal injury, and even if the kidney has a great capacity for regeneration after tubular damage, in several circumstances, the normal renal repair program may not be sufficient to achieve a successful regeneration. Resident adult renal stem/progenitor cells could participate in this repair process and have the potentiality to enhance the renal regenerative mechanism. This could be achieved both directly, by means of their capacity to differentiate and integrate into the renal tissues, and by means of paracrine factors able to induce or improve the renal repair or regeneration. Recent genetic fate-tracing studies indicated that tubular damage is instead repaired by proliferative duplication of epithelial cells, acquiring a transient progenitor phenotype and by fate-restricted clonal cell progeny emerging from different nephron segments. In this review, we discuss about the properties and the reparative characteristics of high regenerative CD133+/CD24+ cells, with a view to a future application of these cells for the treatment of acute renal injury.
Stacking clusters in the ROSAT All-Sky Survey

Ongoing and planned wide-area surveys at optical and infrared wavelengths should detect a few times 10 5 galaxy clusters, roughly 10% of which are expected to be at redshifts &0:8. We investigate what can be learned about the X-ray emission of these clusters from the ROSAT All-Sky Survey. While individual clusters at redshifts &0:5 contribute at most a few photons to the survey, a significant measurement of the mean flux of cluster subsamples can be obtained by stacking cluster fields. We show that the mean X-ray luminosity of clusters with mass M & 2 10 14 h 1 M selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey should be measurable out to redshift unity with signal-to-noise &10, even if clusters are binned withz= 0: 1a nd ln M 0:3. For such bins, a suitably chosen hardness ratio allows the mean temperature of clusters to be determined out to z 0:7 with a relative accuracy ofT=T. 0:15 for M> 10 14 h 1 M.
Verification of cardiac tissue electrophysiology simulators using an N-version benchmark

Ongoing developments in cardiac modelling have resulted, in particular, in the development of advanced and increasingly complex computational frameworks for simulating cardiac tissue electrophysiology. The goal of these simulations is often to represent the detailed physiology and pathologies of the heart using codes that exploit the computational potential of high-performance computing architectures. These developments have rapidly progressed the simulation capacity of cardiac virtual physiological human style models; however, they have also made it increasingly challenging to verify that a given code provides a faithful representation of the purported governing equations and corresponding solution techniques. This study provides the first cardiac tissue electrophysiology simulation benchmark to allow these codes to be verified. The benchmark was successfully evaluated on 11 simulation platforms to generate a consensus gold-standard converged solution. The benchmark definition in combination with the gold-standard solution can now be used to verify new simulation codes and numerical methods in the future.
AI-based low computational power actuator/sensor fault detection applied on a MAGLEV suspension

A low computational power method is proposed for detecting actuators/sensors faults. Typical model-based fault detection units for multiple sensor faults, require a bank of observers (these can be either conventional observers of artificial intelligence based). The proposed control scheme uses an artificial intelligence approach for the development of the fault detection unit abbreviated as `iFD'. In contrast with the bank-of-estimators approach, the proposed iFD unit employs a single estimator for multiple sensor fault detection. The efficacy of the scheme is illustrated on an Electromagnetic Suspension system example with a number of sensor fault scenaria.
Robust stability of networked control systems with dynamic controllers in the feedback loop

The study of networked control systems (NCS) stability has experienced rapid development thanks to recent contributions. However, in most cases, results only concern a special type of feedback structure, namely static state feedback controllers. Such controllers constitute a particular case of dynamic controllers - a much broader class of feedback compensation - which are, in fact, the most widespread controllers found in industrial and practical applications. Thus, encompassing dynamic controllers is an important step to ensure NCS theory reaches real-world practice. This paper addresses the stability of NCSs with dynamic controllers where the system is subject to model uncertainties. The novel robust stability criterion presented outperforms previous results regarding dynamic controllers when particularized to the case without model uncertainty with substantially less computational effort, as the provided numerical examples illustrate.
On the role of distances in defining voting rules

A voting rule is an algorithm for determining the winner in an election, and there are several approaches that have been used to justify the proposed rules. One justification is to show that a rule satisfies a set of desirable axioms that uniquely identify it. Another is to show that the calculation that it performs is actually maximum likelihood estimation relative to a certain model of noise that affects voters (MLE approach). The third approach, which has been recently actively investigated, is the so-called distance rationalizability framework. In it, a voting rule is defined via a class of consensus elections (i.e., a class of elections that have a clear winner) and a distance function. A candidate c is a winner of an election E if c wins in one of the consensus elections that are closest to E relative to the given distance. In this paper, we show that essentially any voting rule is distance-rationalizable if we do not restrict the two ingredients of the rule: the consensus class and the distance. Thus distance rationalizability of a rule does not by itself guarantee that the voting rule has any desirable properties. However, we demonstrate that the distance used to rationalize a given rule may provide useful information about this rule's behavior. Specifically, we identify a large class of distances, which we call votewise distances, and show that if a rule is rationalized via a distance from this class, many important properties of this rule can be easily expressed in terms of the underlying distance. This enables us to provide a new characterization of scoring rules and to establish a connection with the MLE framework. We also give bounds on the complexity of the winner determination problem for distance-rationalizable rules.
3D left ventricular segmentation using double active contours and double active surfaces

We propose a 3D left ventricular segmentation method for cardiac MR images. There are two steps in our method. In the first step, we improve our double active contours for segmenting the endocardial and the epicardial boundaries simultaneously without requiring any training sets. In the second step, we designed a double active surface method to segment the volume within the endocardium and the thickness of the myocardium simultaneously from a set of 2D contours generated from the first step. Our results show successful simultaneous segmentation of the 3D left ventricular model of the heart.
Cost of epilepsy care in a Nigerian tertiary hospital.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The economic impact of epilepsy is enormous in terms of use of health care resources and loss of productivity. There is presently scanty data on economic impact of epilepsy in Nigeria,which necessitated this study. SUBJECTS AND METHODS This cross-sectional study is on epilepsy patients age e"16 years who attended Neurology clinic at UITH Ilorin. Data collected included clinical characteristics, utilisation of resources and cost of care. Direct medical costs included recurring costs like consultation, hospitalisation, medication and investigation fees. Indirect costs were number of days lost due to seizure attack and travelling to clinic by patients and relatives. RESULTS Sixty-five patients (32 males, 33 females) participated in the study with age range of 16 to 74 years and mean (SD) of 35 ± 17 years. Total clinic attendance was 314 days and 53 days were spent on admission. Close to 25 % of patients resided outside Ilorin metropolis and distance traveled to attend clinic varied from 4 to 200 km (mean=47 ± 30.6 km). The total annual cost per patient was 41, 878 ($279.2 USD). It consisted of direct cost [DC] of 33,616 (80%) and indirect cost [IC] of 8262 (20%). The three leading consumptive items in DC were: antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) - 24,138, investigations - 5373 and transportation - 2387. Majority (76.9%) of the patients were on carbamazepine. Self-estimated monthly family income varies from 3000 to 200,000 (median of 25,000). Only 23 patients (35.4%) bore the cost of care themselves. Of the IC, lost earnings due to absenteeism from work amounted to 6177. Equivalent of 1 USD was 150 at time of study. CONCLUSION. AEDs accounted for a significant proportion of TC. Increase in availability of generic drugs could help bring down the cost of care within affordable reach of indigent patients.
Does context or color improve object recognition in patients with low vision?

Abstract Most studies on people with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) have been focused on investigations of low-level processes with simple stimuli like gratings, letters, and in perception of isolated faces or objects. We investigated the ability of people with low vision to analyze more complex stimuli like photographs of natural scenes. Fifteen participants with AMD and low vision (acuity on the better eye <20/200) and 11 normally sighted age-matched controls took part in the study. They were presented with photographs of either colored or achromatic gray level scenes in one condition and with photographs of natural scenes versus isolated objects extracted from these scenes in another condition. The photographs were centrally displayed for 300 ms. In both conditions, observers were instructed to press a key when they saw a predefined target (a face or an animal). The target was present in half of the trials. Color facilitated performance in people with low vision, while equivalent performance was found for colored and achromatic pictures in normally sighted participants. Isolated objects were categorized more accurately than objects in scenes in people with low vision. No difference was found for normally sighted observers. The results suggest that spatial properties that facilitate image segmentation (e.g., color and reduced crowding) help object perception in people with low vision.
Architecture reviews: practice and experience

Architecture reviews have evolved over the past decade to become a critical part of our continuing efforts to improve the state of affairs. We use them to identify project problems before they become costly to fix and to provide timely information to upper management so that they can make better-informed decisions. It provides the foundation for reuse, using commercially available software, and getting to the marketplace fast. The reviews also help identify best practices to projects and socialize such practices across the organization, thereby improving the organization's quality and operations.
The efficiency of humoral immune transfer depends on both the graft and the immunosuppressive treatment

The present study was designed to compare the efficiency of adoptive transfer of humoral immunity after liver, kidney, and heart transplantation in relation to the number of passenger lymphocytes, and to estimate the risk of a detrimental effect and the chance of a beneficial effect. Hepatitis B virus surface-antigen-vaccinated brown Norway rats (BNs) and AxC 9935 Irish (ACI rats) served as donors, and naïve Lewis (LEW) rats as recipients. The liver grafts contained 100 times more passenger lymphocytes than heart grafts, and the kidney grafts approximately ten times more, indicated by monoclonal CD45 antibody staining. Transient anti-HBs immunity did occur after transplantation of all three organ grafts. In all rejecting groups, the serum recipient-to-donor anti-HBs titer ratio (R/D ratio) was below 0.10%, with heart recipients showing half the level (0.05%) of liver recipients (0.09%). Under immunosuppression, R/D ratio doubled in liver or kidney recipients, but remained unaffected in heart recipients. Immune transfer was most efficient in immune-suppressed liver recipients in the spontaneously tolerant strain combination as indicated by a significantly higher R/D ratio (0.32%) and a longer titer persistence (up to 9 weeks) than in all other groups. Therefore, mainly liver and kidney graft recipients carry a risk, but also a chance of benefiting from the transfer of donor-derived immunity.
Water Entry of A Wedge Into Waves in Three Degrees Offreedom

Abstract The hydrodynamic problem of a two-dimensional wedge entering into a nonlinear wave in three degrees of freedom is investigated based on the incompressible velocity potential theory. The problem is solved through the boundary element method in the time domain. To avoid numerical difficulties due to an extremely small contact area at the initial stage, a stretched coordinate system is used based on the ratio of the Cartesian system in the physical space to the distance travelled by the wedge in the vertical direction. The mutual dependence of body motion and wave loading is decoupled by using the auxiliary function method. Detailed results about body accelerations, velocities and displacements at different Froude numbers or different waves are provided, and the mutual effect between body motion and wave loading is analysed in depth.
A meta-analysis of critical success factors affecting mobile learning

Considering the popularity and ubiquitous nature of mobile phones, the acceptance of m-Learning in educational institutions is limited. While several studies have reviewed m-Learning platforms, different settings and contexts make it difficult to collate these studies and discover the key factors for the successful adoption of m-Learning platform. This study uses meta-analysis technique to compare results from multiple studies assessing the critical m-Learning success factors. We find that learners perceive collaboration opportunities and anytime-anywhere learning possibility as the key benefits of m-Learning. Further, good content presented in a user friendly way is a primary expectation from an m-Learning application.
Overexpression of Sphingosine-1-Phosphate Lyase or Inhibition of Sphingosine Kinase in Dictyostelium discoideum Results in a Selective Increase in Sensitivity to Platinum-Based Chemotherapy Drugs

ABSTRACT The efficacy of the chemotherapy drug cisplatin is often limited due to resistance of the tumors to the drug, and increasing the potency of cisplatin without increasing its concentration could prove beneficial. A previously characterized Dictyostelium discoideum mutant with increased resistance to cisplatin was defective in the gene encoding sphingosine-1-phosphate (S-1-P) lyase, which catalyzes the breakdown of S-1-P, an important regulatory molecule in cell function and development and in the regulation of cell fate. We hypothesized that the increased resistance to cisplatin was due to an elevation of S-1-P and predicted that lowering levels of S-1-P should increase sensitivity to the drug. We generated three strains that stably overexpress different levels of the S-1-P lyase. The overexpressor strains have reduced growth rate and, confirming the hypothesis, showed an expression-dependent increase in sensitivity to cisplatin. Consistently, treating the cells with d-erythro-N,N,-dimethylsphingosine, a known inhibitor of sphingosine kinase, increased the sensitivity of mutant and parent cells to cisplatin, while addition of exogenous S-1-P or 8-Br-cyclic AMP made the cells more resistant to cisplatin. The increased sensitivity of the overexpressors to cisplatin was also observed with the cisplatin analog carboplatin. In contrast, the response to doxorubicin, 5-flurouracil, or etoposide was unaffected, indicating that the involvement of the sphingolipid metabolic pathway in modulating the response to cisplatin is not part of a global genotoxic stress response. The augmented sensitivity to cisplatin appears to be the result of an intracellular signaling function of S-1-P, because D. discoideum does not appear to have endothelial differentiation growth (EDG/S1P) receptors. Overall, the results show that modulation of the sphingolipid pathway at multiple points can result in increased sensitivity to cisplatin and has the potential for increasing the clinical usefulness of this important drug.
On the structure of the signal subspace in a correlated signal environment

This correspondence considers the problem of signal enumeration and direction finding with a uniform linear array in the presence of correlated wavefronts. The principal contribution is to present the relationships between the physical model (the array steering vectors), the computational model (the signal eigenvectors), and the processed data (the covariance matrices) in a common mathematical framework.