Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Is the Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index Being Routinely Used in Clinical Practice?

Background. The Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index (PESI) score can risk-stratify patients with PE but its widespread use is uncertain. With the PESI, we compared length of hospital stay between low, moderate, and high risk PE patients and determined the number of low risk PE patients who were discharged early. Methods. PE patients admitted to St. Joseph Mercy Oakland Hospital from January 2005 to August 2010 were screened. PESI score stratified acute PE patients into low (<85), moderate (86–105), and high (>105) risk categories and their length of hospital stay was compared. Patients with low risk PE discharged early (≤3 days) were calculated. Results. Among 315 PE patients, 51.7% were at low risk. No significant difference in hospital stay between low (7.11 ± 3 d) and moderate (6.88 ± 2.9 d) risk, p > 0.05, as well as low and high risk (7.28 ± 3.0 d), p > 0.05, was found. 9% of low risk patients were discharged ≤ 3 days. Conclusions. There was no significant difference in length of hospital stay between low and high risk groups and only a small number of low risk patients were discharged from the hospital early suggesting that risk tools like PESI may not have a widespread use.
Coffee Intake and Cardiovascular Disease: Virtue Does Not Take Center Stage

Abstract Coffee is one of the most popular and heavily consumed beverages worldwide, despite the many different methods of preparation and presentation. The results of several epidemiological studies are suggestive for the existence of a U-shaped relationship between coffee consumption and both cardiovascular events and mortality, whereby a lower risk seems associated with low (i.e., less than one cup per day) or high (i.e., more than or equal to four cups per day) coffee intake, whereas a higher risk is reported for intermediate consumption (i.e., two to four cups per day). Most benefits are evident in individuals with a rapid caffeine metabolizer genotype and a low baseline cardiovascular risk. Benefits have also been differentially associated with consumption of decaffeinated coffee, filtered coffee, coffee consumption during lunchtime or dinner, and when coffee is produced in the Italian style (i.e., by espresso or moka). The leading favorable effects have been attributed to various compounds present in coffee. Thus, chlorogenic acids would be effective in decreasing blood pressure, systemic inflammation, risk of type 2 diabetes, and platelet aggregation, whereas caffeine intake has instead been associated with decreased body weight, as well as with increased flow-mediated dilatation and fibrinolysis.
Optimal usage of multiple network connections

In the future mobile networks, a mobile terminal is able to select the best suitable network for each data transmission. The selection of a network connection to be used has been under a lot of study. In this paper, we consider a more extensive case in which we do not select a network connection but use several network connections simultaneously to transfer data. When data is transferred using multiple network connections, a network connection has to be selected for each component of the data. We have modelled this problem as a multiobjective optimization problem and developed a heuristic to solve the problem fast in a static network environment. In this paper, we discuss solving the problem in a dynamic network environment in which the availability as well as the rate and prizing of connections vary. We introduce an improved version of the heuristic that reacts to changing network conditions and improves the solution when possible.
TREC 2016 Total Recall Track Overview

The primary purpose of the Total Recall Track is to evaluate, through controlled simulation, methods designed to achieve very high recall – as close as practicable to 100% – with a human assessor in the loop. Motivating applications include, among others, electronic discovery in legal proceedings [3], systematic review in evidencebased medicine [6], and the creation of fully labeled test collections for information retrieval (“IR”) evaluation [5]. A secondary, but no less important, purpose is to develop a sandboxed virtual test environment within which IR systems may be tested, while preventing the disclosure of sensitive test data to participants. At the same time, the test environment also operates as a “black box,” affording participants confidence that their proprietary systems cannot easily be reverse engineered. The task to be solved in the Total Recall Track is the following:
Global Sensitivity Analysis Applied to a Contamination Assessment Model of Listeria monocytogenes in Cold Smoked Salmon at Consumption

In this study, a variance‐based global sensitivity analysis method was first applied to a contamination assessment model of Listeria monocytogenes in cold smoked vacuum packed salmon at consumption. The impact of the choice of the modeling approach (populational or cellular) of the primary and secondary models as well as the effect of their associated input factors on the final contamination level was investigated. Results provided a subset of important factors, including the food water activity, its storage temperature, and duration in the domestic refrigerator. A refined sensitivity analysis was then performed to rank the important factors, tested over narrower ranges of variation corresponding to their current distributions, using three techniques: ANOVA, Spearman correlation coefficient, and partial least squares regression. Finally, the refined sensitivity analysis was used to rank the important factors.
Epidermolysis Bullosa, Dental and Anesthetic Management: A Case Report

Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is a group of rare inherited skin and mucous membrane disorders in which blister formation may arise spontaneously or following a minor friction. Various patterns of inheritance are explicated for the disease. The disease has a profound effect on oral mucosa and may result in high prevalence of dental caries. General anesthesia is sometimes the only choice for dental treatments in patients with EB. The following case report describes the dental and anesthetic management of an 12.5 -year-old girl with dystrophic type of EB. The patient was followed up every 6 months. New carious lesions were detected one year after the treatment, on the last visit. Presenting a perfect dental care to children with this disorder can be challenging for the in charge specialist, both pediatric dentist and anesthesiologist.
Security Optimization of Dynamic Networks with Probabilistic Graph Modeling and Linear Programming

Securing the networks of large organizations is technically challenging due to the complex configurations and constraints. Managing these networks requires rigorous and comprehensive analysis tools. A network administrator needs to identify vulnerable configurations, as well as tools for hardening the networks. Such networks usually have dynamic and fluidic structures, thus one may have incomplete information about the connectivity and availability of hosts. In this paper, we address the problem of statically performing a rigorous assessment of a set of network security defense strategies with the goal of reducing the probability of a successful large-scale attack in a dynamically changing and complex network architecture. We describe a probabilistic graph model and algorithms for analyzing the security of complex networks with the ultimate goal of reducing the probability of successful attacks. Our model naturally utilizes a scalable state-of-the-art optimization technique called sequential linear programming that is extensively applied and studied in various engineering problems. In comparison to related solutions on attack graphs, our probabilistic model provides mechanisms for expressing uncertainties in network configurations, which is not reported elsewhere. We have performed comprehensive experimental validation with real-world network configuration data of a sizable organization.
Interferons in the central nervous system: A few instruments play many tunes

Interferons (IFNs) are implicated as an important component of the innate immune system influencing viral infections, inflammation, and immune surveillance. We review here the complex biological activity of IFNs in the central nervous system (CNS) and associated glial–immune interactions, with focus specifically on the Type I IFNs in physiological and pathological conditions. IFN‐α and IFN‐β are the predominant Type I IFNs in the CNS. They are produced in the CNS by glial cells, mostly microglia and astrocytes, as well as by neurons. A variety of mechanisms stimulate IFN production in glial cells, including innate stimuli from Toll‐like and other receptors, which can recognize endogenous entities, as well as pathogens. We will review evidence that differential signaling by IFN‐α versus IFN‐β through the common heterodimeric receptor IFNAR is the basis for CNS‐selective Type I IFN response, and the capacity of CNS glial cells to produce and respond to Type I IFN. Differential signaling outcomes of IFN‐α and IFN‐β, which have been ascribed to differential affinity for IFNAR1 and IFNAR2, determine whether Type I IFN exert pathogenic or protective roles in the CNS. These points will be discussed with reference to selected neurological diseases, and effects of Type I IFN on the integrity of the blood–brain barrier. GLIA 2014;62:339–355
Efficacy of midodrine vs placebo in neurogenic orthostatic hypotension. A randomized, double-blind multicenter study. Midodrine Study Group.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy of a 10-mg dose of midodrine 3 times per day in improving blood pressure (BP) and ameliorating symptoms of orthostatic hypotension in patients with neurogenic orthostatic hypotension. Midodrine hydrochloride, an alpha-agonist, could improve orthostatic BP by increasing vasomotor and venomotor tone. DESIGN/METHODS A total of 171 patients with orthostatic hypotension participated in a multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled study. They were randomized to a 10-mg dose of midodrine or placebo 3 times per day in a 6-week study, comprising single-blind run-in (at week 1) and washout at weeks 5 and 6, with an intervening double-blind period (weeks 2 to 4). SETTING Twenty-five centers, with most patients evaluated in referral centers. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The primary end points were improvement in standing systolic BP, symptoms of lightheadedness, and a global symptom relief score (by the investigator and patient separately). RESULTS Nine patients were not evaluable because of noncompliance or taking concomitant vasoactive medications (3 in the midodrine group, 6 in the placebo group). In the evaluable patients, midodrine resulted in improvements in standing systolic BP at all time points (P<.001 at visits 2, 3, 4, and 5), in reported symptoms by the end of the second week of treatment (P=.001), and in the global symptom relief score rated by both the patient (P=.03) and the investigator (P<.001). There was no effect by center, severity of orthostatic hypotension, use of fludrocortisone or compression garments, or diagnosis. The main adverse effects were those of pilomotor reactions, urinary retention, and supine hypertension. CONCLUSIONS Midodrine is efficacious and safe in the treatment of neurogenic orthostatic hypotension.
Multinomial Regression Analysis of Unplanned Pregnancies in Ahafo Ano South District , Ghana

In this paper, we explore the incidence of unplanned pregnancies; contraceptive usage; and contributing factors associated with unplanned pregnancies in the Ahafo Ano South District, Ghana. Using a well-structured questionnaire, random sample of 472 expectant mothers who accessed maternity service at healthcare points in the district were interviewed. The data obtained was analyzed using descriptive statistics and multinomial regression. Results indicate that, every 28 out of 59 pregnancies in the district were somehow unplanned; 71.2% of expectant mothers were not using contraceptives, whereas 21.4% and 7.4% uses modern and traditional contraceptives respectively. Age, marital status, abode, educational status, profession, gravity and parity were significant predictive factors of unplanned pregnancy in the district. Again, the study recorded high incidence of teenage pregnancies. In pursuance to these, we recommend the Reproductive and Child Health Unit to intensify education on effective use of modern contraceptives in preventing unplanned pregnancies and its associated risks.
Clinical decision-making process for early nonspecific signs of infection in institutionalised elderly persons: experience of nursing assistants.

AIM To illuminate nursing assistant's experiences of the clinical decision-making process when they suspect that a resident has an infection and how their process relates to other professions. BACKGROUND The assessment of possible infection in elderly individuals is difficult and contributes to a delayed diagnosis and treatment, worsening the goal of good care. Recently we explored that nursing assistants have a keen observational ability to detect early signs and symptoms that might help to confirm suspected infections early on. To our knowledge there are no published papers exploring how nursing assistants take part in the clinical decision-making process. DESIGN Explorative, qualitative study. SETTING Community care for elderly people. PARTICIPANTS Twenty-one nursing assistants, 22-61 years. METHODS Focus groups with verbatim transcription. The interviews were subjected to qualitative content analysis for manifest and latent content with no preconceived categories. FINDINGS The findings are described as a decision-making model consisting of assessing why a resident feels unwell, divided into recognition and formulation and strategies for gathering and evaluating information, influenced by personal experiences and preconceptions and external support system and, secondly, as taking action, consisting of reason for choice of action and action, influenced by feedback from the nurse and physician. CONCLUSION Nursing assistant's assessment is based on knowing the resident, personal experiences and ideas about ageing. Nurses and physician's response to the nursing assistant's observations had a great impact on the latter's further action. A true inter-professional partnership in the clinical decision-making process would enhance the possibility to detect suspected infection early on, and thereby minimize the risk of delayed diagnosis and treatment and hence unnecessary suffering for the individual. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE In order to improve the clinical evaluation of the individual, and thereby optimise patient safety, it is important to involve nursing assistants in the decision-making process.
Using SKOS vocabularies for improving web search

Knowledge organization systems such as thesauri or taxonomies are increasingly being expressed using the Simple Knowledge Organization System (SKOS) and published as structured data on the Web. Search engines can exploit these vocabularies and improve search by expanding terms at query or document indexing time. We propose a SKOS-based term expansion and scoring technique that leverages labels and semantic relationships of SKOS concept definitions. We also implemented this technique for Apache Lucene and Solr. Experiments with the Medical Subject Headings vocabulary and an early evaluation with Library of Congress Subject Headings indicated gains in precision when using SKOS-based expansion compared to pseudo relevance feedback and no expansion. Our findings are important for publishers and consumer of Web vocabularies who want to use them for improving search over Web documents.
Empirical Study of Helical Bend Loss in Optical Fibers

We propose a method to estimate helical bend loss in optical fibers and extend the method to predict the loss in a different fiber. In our approach, we consider the in-plane bend loss as the reference and approximate the loss curve as an exponential function decaying with bend diameter. For in-plane bends, we compute loss over the bend diameter range of 9.5−19.5 mm at 1550 nm wavelength. For helical bends, we perform experiments for the same range of bend diameters and pitch values of 2,4,5,7 and 10 mm. We extend the exponential function approximation to the experimental measurements of helically wound fibers and obtain an empirical formula to estimate the helical bend loss. We find that for a given bend diameter, the bend loss increases initially with the pitch, attains a maximum value and then decreases below the corresponding in-plane bend loss. We extend the empirical formula developed for a single fiber with a specific refractive index to evaluate the helical bend loss in another fiber. We conduct the in-plane bend loss experiments for the new fiber and repeat the exponential fit and obtain fit coefficients. We calculate the fit coefficients for different pitch values using empirical formula and predict the helical bend loss. We compare the predicted loss with corresponding experimental measurements, which are in good agreement.
Enabling quaternion derivatives: the generalized HR calculus

Quaternion derivatives exist only for a very restricted class of analytic (regular) functions; however, in many applications, functions of interest are real-valued and hence not analytic, a typical case being the standard real mean square error objective function. The recent HR calculus is a step forward and provides a way to calculate derivatives and gradients of both analytic and non-analytic functions of quaternion variables; however, the HR calculus can become cumbersome in complex optimization problems due to the lack of rigorous product and chain rules, a consequence of the non-commutativity of quaternion algebra. To address this issue, we introduce the generalized HR (GHR) derivatives which employ quaternion rotations in a general orthogonal system and provide the left- and right-hand versions of the quaternion derivative of general functions. The GHR calculus also solves the long-standing problems of product and chain rules, mean-value theorem and Taylor's theorem in the quaternion field. At the core of the proposed GHR calculus is quaternion rotation, which makes it possible to extend the principle to other functional calculi in non-commutative settings. Examples in statistical learning theory and adaptive signal processing support the analysis.
Vocal tract length invariant features for automatic speech recognition

The effects of vocal tract length (VTL) variation are often approximated by linear frequency warping of short-time spectra. Based on this relationship, we present a method for generating vocal tract length invariant features. These new features are computed as translation invariant, correlation-type features in a log-frequency domain. In phoneme classification experiments, their discrimination capabilities turned out to be considerably better than for Mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCCs). The best results are obtained when VTL-invariant (VTLI) features and MFCCs are combined. The superiority of the combined feature set and its resilience to VTL variations is also shown for word recognition, using the TIDIGITS corpus and the HTK recognizer
Incidence of Endocrine Disorders in Indian Adult Male Population

Background: The comprehensive epidemiology of endocrine disorders is lacking from our country. Most of the available data pertain to the prevalence of diabetes and thyroid disorders only. We studied the incidence of endocrine disorders in a cohort of service personnel followed for a long duration. Materials and Methods: The data for this descriptive epidemiologic study were derived from the electronic medical records of the male service personnel enrolled between 1990 and 2015. They were recruited between the ages of 17 and 20 years in good health, and their morbidity data were derived from the medical records. We calculated the incidence rates as per person-years (py) using appropriate statistical methods. Results: Our analysis includes 51,217 participants (median: age 33 years, range: 17–54) with a mean follow-up of 12.5 years. Yearly evaluation of the data gave a cumulative follow-up duration of 613,925 py. The incidence of diabetes, obesity, and dyslipidemia was 0.41, 0.23, and 0.12 per 1000 py, respectively. The incidence of thyroid, parathyroid, pituitary, adrenal, and metabolic bone disorders was 3.9, 8.6, 1.6, 0.81, and 0.97 per 100,000 py, respectively. Conclusion: Our cohort had lower incidence rates of endocrine disorders when compared with the Western population. Long-term epidemiological studies are essential to identify the demographic trends of the endocrine disorders in India.
Monitoring leaf area index at watershed level through NDVI from Landsat-7/ETM+ data

Leaf area index (LAI) is an important parameter of the vegetation canopy, and is used, for instance, to estimate evapotranspiration, an important component of the hydrological cycle. This work analyzed the relationship between LAI, measured in field, and NDVI from four dates (derived from Landsat-7/ETM+ data), and with such vegetation index, to generate and analyze LAI maps of the study area for the diverse dates. LAI data were collected monthly in the field with LAI-2000 equipment in stands of sugar cane, pasture, corn, eucalypt, and riparian forest. The relationships between LAI and NDVI were adjusted by a potential model; 57% to 72% of the NDVI variance were explained by the LAI. LAI maps generated by empirical relationships between LAI and NDVI showed reasonable precision (standard error of LAI estimate ranged from 0.42 to 0.87 m² m-2). The mean LAI value of each monthly LAI map was shown to be related to the total precipitation in the three previous months.
Patient profile and periprocedural outcomes of bioresorbable vascular scaffold implantation in comparison with drug-eluting and bare-metal stent implantation. Experience from ORPKI Polish National Registry 2014–2015

Introduction There are limited data on the comparison of bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS) and drug-eluting stent (DES)/bare-metal stent (BMS) implantation in an unselected population of patients with coronary artery disease. Aim To compare the periprocedural outcomes and patient profile of BVS and DES/BMS implantation in an all-comer population from the ORPKI Polish National Registry. Material and methods A total of 141,324 consecutive patients from 151 invasive cardiology centers in Poland were included in this prospective registry between January 2014 and June 2015. Periprocedural data on patients with at least one BVS (Absorb, Abbott Vascular, Santa Clara, CA, USA), DES or BMS (all available types) implantation in de novo lesions during index percutaneous coronary intervention for stable angina (SA) or acute coronary syndrome were collected. Results Bioresorbable vascular scaffold was the most often used in patients with SA, in single-vessel disease and in younger male patients. Bioresorbable vascular scaffold implantation was significantly more often associated with periprocedural administration of ticagrelor/prasugrel (6.8% vs. 3.6%; p = 0.001) and use of intravascular ultrasound and optical coherence tomography in comparison with the DES/BMS group (2.8% vs. 0.6% and 1.8% vs. 0.1%, respectively; p = 0.001 for both). The incidence of periprocedural death was significantly lower in the BVS group than the DES/BMS group (0.04% vs. 0.32%; p = 0.02), but this difference was no longer significant after adjustment for covariates. On the other hand, coronary artery perforation occurred significantly more often during BVS delivery (0.31% vs. 0.12%; p = 0.01), and BVS implantation was identified as an independent predictor of coronary artery perforation in multivariate logistic regression analysis (OR = 6.728, 95% CI: 2.394–18.906; p = 0.001). Conclusions Patients treated with BVS implantation presented an acceptable safety and efficacy profile in comparison with the DES/BMS group. However, lower risk patients were the most frequent candidates for BVS implantation.