Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Long-term follow-up of finger passive range of motion in Japanese systemic sclerosis patients treated with self-administered stretching

Abstract Objective: Severe skin sclerosis in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) can result in a loss of hand function. The aim of this study is to examine the long-term changes of finger passive range of motion (ROM) in Japanese SSc patients treated with self-administered stretching. Methods: This is a single-center, retrospective, observational cohort study. Forty-three Japanese patients with SSc were given instructions on self-administered stretching. ROM was assessed using a goniometer on their first visit and after 1 year, 3 years, 5 years and 9 years. Hand function was assessed by the Health Assessment Questionnaire disability index (HAQ-DI) at their first visit and after 9 years. Results: Total passive ROM significantly improved in each finger after 3 years of finger stretching. Most patients (37 of 43 patients, 86%) improved or maintained total passive ROM and hand function within 9 years after their first visit. However, significant improvement of total passive ROM was lost in 6 of 43 SSc patients (14%) 9 years after their first visit. The HAQ-DI also was increased in these six patients. Multivariable analyses revealed that re-elevation of modified Rodnan total skin thickness score during the clinical course (OR = 5.260e + 7, 95% CI 1.52e + 150–uncalculated p = .0096) was the independent factor associated with deterioration of total passive ROM at 9 years. Conclusion: Patients with progressive skin sclerosis during the clinical course need multimodality therapy to maintain finger joint motion, since the effect of self-administered stretching is limited in these patients.
Investigation of the role of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist VNTR variant on the Behçet's disease.

Objective Behçet's disease (BD), a chronic multisystem inflammatory disorder, is mainly characterized by relapsing periods of a wide range of clinical symptoms. Several cytokine genes may play important roles in the pathogenesis of BD. Therefore, interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) gene 86bp variable number tandem repeat (VNTR) variant was investigated in patients with BD in a Turkish population. Methods One hundred nine patients (60 females, 49 males; the mean age±standard deviation [SD] was 36.56±9.571 years) with BD and one hundred healthy individuals (54 females, 46 males; the mean age±SD was 36.64±2.294 years) were examined in the study. For genotyping, polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis was employed. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 22.0 (IBM Corp.; Armonk, NY, USA) (p<0.05). Results The genotype distribution and allele frequencies of the IL-1Ra VNTR variant did not differ significantly between the patients and the controls (p>0.05). The frequency of the a1/a1, a1/a2 genotypes and a1, a2 alleles were the most common both in patients and healthy controls (p=0.37, p=0.26, and p=0.53, respectively). Also, no statistically significant difference was found between the IL-1Ra VNTR variant genotypes and clinical characteristics (p>0.05). Conclusion The results of this study do not support an association between the IL-1Ra VNTR variant and the risk of BD in a Turkish population. However, further studies of this variant with larger sample sizes and different ethnicities are required for confirmation.
Neural Automated Essay Scoring and Coherence Modeling for Adversarially Crafted Input

We demonstrate that current state-of-the-art approaches to Automated Essay Scoring (AES) are not well-suited to capturing adversarially crafted input of grammatical but incoherent sequences of sentences. We develop a neural model of local coherence that can effectively learn connectedness features between sentences, and propose a framework for integrating and jointly training the local coherence model with a state-of-the-art AES model. We evaluate our approach against a number of baselines and experimentally demonstrate its effectiveness on both the AES task and the task of flagging adversarial input, further contributing to the development of an approach that strengthens the validity of neural essay scoring models.
Two distinct sites of client protein interaction with the chaperone cpSRP43

Integral membrane proteins are prone to aggregation and misfolding in aqueous environments and therefore require binding by molecular chaperones during their biogenesis. Chloroplast signal recognition particle 43 (cpSRP43) is an ATP-independent chaperone required for the biogenesis of the most abundant class of membrane proteins, the light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b-binding proteins (LHCPs). Previous work has shown that cpSRP43 specifically recognizes an L18 loop sequence conserved among LHCP paralogs. However, how cpSRP43 protects the transmembrane domains (TMDs) of LHCP from aggregation was unclear. In this work, alkylation-protection and site-specific cross-linking experiments found that cpSRP43 makes extensive contacts with all the TMDs in LHCP. Site-directed mutagenesis identified a class of cpSRP43 mutants that bind tightly to the L18 sequence but are defective in chaperoning full-length LHCP. These mutations mapped to hydrophobic surfaces on or near the bridging helix and the β-hairpins lining the ankyrin repeat motifs of cpSRP43, suggesting that these regions are potential sites for interaction with the client TMDs. Our results suggest a working model for client protein interactions in this membrane protein chaperone.
Machining and characterization of self-reinforced polymers

This Paper focuses on obtaining the mechanical properties and the effect of the different machining techniques on self-reinforced composites sample and to derive the best machining method with remarkable properties. Each sample was tested by the Tensile and Flexural tests, fabricated using hot compaction test and those loads were calculated. These composites are machined using conventional methods because of lack of advanced machinery in most of the industries. The advanced non-conventional methods like Abrasive water jet machining were used. These machining techniques are used to get the better output for the composite materials with good mechanical properties compared to conventional methods. But the use of non-conventional methods causes the changes in the work piece, tool properties and more economical compared to the conventional methods. Finding out the best method ideal for the designing of these Self Reinforced Composites with and without defects and the use of Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) analysis for the comparing the microstructure of the PP and PE samples concludes our process.
Acupuncture for anxiety

Background: Acupuncture has been widely, used in Asian countries since the Yuan Dynasty in China. Moreover, acupuncture has been reported to exhibit anti-allergy effects in many clinical trials. This systematic review will assess the effectiveness, and safety of acupuncture for anxiety treatment. Methods: Eleven databases, including Asian databases, will be searched for studies conducted through December in the year 2017. We will include randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing acupuncture for anxiety. The risk of bias will be evaluated using the Cochrane risk of bias assessment tool, and confidence in the cumulative evidence will be evaluated using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) instrument. Ethics and dissemination: This systematic review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. It will also be disseminated electronically, and in print. The review will be updated to inform, and guide healthcare practices. Registration number: PROSPERO 2018 under number CRD42018080034.
A fast rank mutual information based decision tree and its implementation via Map‐Reduce

To address the time‐consuming problem for the confirmation of splitting attributes and splitting points in classic rank mutual information based decision trees, this paper establishes a fast rank mutual information based decision tree (FRMIDT) for classification problems. First, the proposed FRMIDT algorithm improves the velocity by a max‐relevance and min‐redundancy criterion to remove the redundant attributes in each tree node building. Then, the fuzzy c‐means algorithm is employed to confirm the splitting points for further acceleration. Meanwhile, a parallel implementation is developed in the framework of Map‐Reduce (MR‐FRMIDT) for medium or large‐scale data classification. Several comparative studies are conducted on UCI benchmark data sets. In contrast to the classic rank mutual information based decision tree on 12 data sets, the proposed FRMIDT model effectively reduces the computational time on the premise of keeping testing accuracy. Furthermore, the proposed FRMIDT algorithm is comparable through comparing FRMIDT with other traditional decision tree classifiers including BFT, C4.5, LAD, NBT, and SC. Meanwhile, the comparison with 7 different popular splitting measures based monotonic decision trees on several data sets illustrates the effectiveness of FRMIDT in monotonic classification. At last, the experimental analysis on other 6 data sets shows that the proposed MR‐FRMIDT is feasible and has a good parallel performance on reducing execution time and avoiding memory restrictions.
Creating and evaluating an opportunity for medication reconciliation in the adult population of South Africa to improve patient care

ABSTRACT Objective: Adverse drug events (ADEs) are a major cause of morbidity and mortality, with more than 50% of ADEs being preventable. Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) are typically the result of an incomplete medication history, prescribing or dispensing error, as well as over- or under-use of prescribed pharmacotherapy. Medication reconciliation is the process of creating the most accurate list of medications a patient is taking and subsequently comparing the list against the different transitions of care. It is used to reduce medication discrepancies, and thereby ultimately decreasing ADEs. However, little is known about medicine reconciliation activities among public hospitals in South Africa. Methods: Prospective quantitative, descriptive design among Internal and Surgical wards in a leading public hospital in South Africa. Results: 145 study participants were enrolled. Over 1300 (1329) medicines were reviewed of which there was a significant difference (p = 0.006) when comparing the medications that the patient was taking before or during hospitalisation. A total of 552 (41.53%) interventions were undertaken and the majority of patients had at least 3.96 medication discrepancies. The most common intervention upon admission was transcribing the home medication onto the hospital prescription (65.2%) followed by medication duplication (13.44%). During patient’s hospital stay, interventions included patient counselling (32.5%) and stopping the previous treatment (37.5%). Conclusion: To ensure continuity of patient care, medication reconciliation should be implemented throughout patients’ hospital stay. This involves all key professionals in hospitals.
Welcome to zombieland: practical and energy-efficient memory disaggregation in a datacenter

In this paper, we propose an effortless way for disaggregating the CPU-memory couple, two of the most important resources in cloud computing. Instead of redesigning each resource board, the disaggregation is done at the power supply domain level. In other words, CPU and memory still share the same board, but their power supply domains are separated. Besides this disaggregation, we make the two following contributions: (1) the prototyping of a new ACPI sleep state (called zombie and noted Sz) which allows to suspend a server (thus save energy) while making its memory remotely accessible; and (2) the prototyping of a rack-level system software which allows the transparent utilization of the entire rack resources (avoiding resource waste). We experimentally evaluate the effectiveness of our solution and show that it can improve the energy efficiency of state-of-the-art consolidation techniques by up to 86%, with minimal additional complexity.
LINEAR MULTILAYER ICA ALGORITHM INTEGRATING SMALL LOCAL MODULES

In this paper, the linear (feed-forward) multilayer ICA algorithm is proposed for the blind separation of high-dimensional mixed signals. There are two main phases in each layer. One is the local ICA phase, where the mixed signals are divided into small local modules and a simple ICA is applied to each module. Another is the mapping phase, where the locally-separated signals are arranged as a line so that the higher correlated signals are nearer. By repetition of these two phase, this multilayer ICA algorithm can find all the (global) independent components through only the ICA processing on local modules. Some numerical experiments on artificial data and natural scenes show the validity of this algorithm, and verify that it is more efficient than the standard fast ICA algorithm for “locally-biased” and highdimensional observed signals such as natural scenes.
Low-Dose Unenhanced Computed Tomography with Iterative Reconstruction for Diagnosis of Ureter Stones

Purpose To study the clinical application of low-dose unenhanced computed tomography with iterative reconstruction technique (LDCT-IR) on renal colic in the emergency department. Materials and Methods We conducted a prospective, single-blinded, randomized, and non-inferiority study. From March 2014 to August 2015, 112 patients with renal colic were included, and were randomized to either LDCT-IR (n=46) or standard-dose unenhanced CT (SDCT) (n=66) groups. The accuracy of urolithiasis diagnosis was the primary endpoint of this study. Radiation dose, size and location of the stone, hydronephrosis, other diseases except urolithiasis, and results of treatment were analyzed between the two groups. Results The average effective dose radiation of SDCT was approximately four times higher than that of LDCT-IR (6.52 mSv vs. 1.63 mSv, p<0.001). There was no significant difference in the accuracy of ureteral stone diagnosis between the two groups (LDCT-IR group: 96.97% vs. SDCT group: 98.96%, p=0.392). No significant difference was observed regarding the size and location of a stone, hydronephrosis, and diagnosis of other diseases, except urolithiasis. False negative results were found in two LDCT-IR patients and in one SDCT patient. In these patients, stones were misread as vascular calcification, and were difficult to diagnose because evidence of hydronephrosis and ureteral dilatation was not found. Conclusion LDCT-IR, as a first-line imaging test, was non-inferior to SDCT with respect to diagnosis of ureter stones, and was clinically available for the evaluation of renal colic.
On the Navigability of Social Tagging Systems

It is a widely held belief among designers of social tagging systems that tag clouds represent a useful tool for navigation. This is evident in, for example, the increasing number of tagging systems offering tag clouds for navigational purposes, which hints towards an implicit assumption that tag clouds support efficient navigation. In this paper, we examine and test this assumption from a network-theoretic perspective, and show that in many cases it does not hold. We first model navigation in tagging systems as a bipartite graph of tags and resources and then simulate the navigation process in such a graph. We use network-theoretic properties to analyse the navigability of three tagging datasets with regard to different user interface restrictions imposed by tag clouds. Our results confirm that tag resource networks have efficient navigation properties in theory, but they also show that popular user interface decisions (such as “pagination” combined with reverse-chronological listing of resources) significantly impair the potential of tag clouds as a useful tool for navigation. Based on our findings, we identify a number of avenues for further research and the design of novel tag cloud construction algorithms. Our work is relevant for researchers interested in navigability of emergent hypertext structures, and for engineers seeking to improve the navigability of social tagging systems.
Music therapy for patients receiving spine surgery.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of music therapy on anxiety, postoperative pain and physiological reactions to emotional and physical distress in patients undergoing spinal surgery. BACKGROUND Surgery-related anxiety and pain are the greatest concern of surgical patients, especially for those undergoing major procedures. DESIGN A quasi-experimental study design was conducted in a medical centre in Taiwan from April-July 2006. METHODS Sixty patients were recruited. The study group listened to selected music from the evening before surgery to the second day after surgery. The control group did not listen to music. Patients' levels of anxiety and pain were measured with visual analogue scales (VAS). Physiological measures, including heart rate, blood pressure and 24-hour urinalysis, were performed. RESULTS The average age of the 60 patients was 62·18 (SD 18·76) years. The mean VAS score for degree of anxiety in the study group was 0·8-2·0, compared with 2·1-5·1 in the control group. The mean VAS score for degree of pain in the study group was 1·7-3·0, compared with 4·4-6·0 in the control group. The differences between the two groups in VAS scores for both anxiety (p = 0·018-0·001) and pain (p = 0·001) were statistically significant. One hour after surgery, the mean blood pressure was significantly lower in the study group than in the control group (p = 0·014), but no significant differences were found between the two groups in urine cortisol (p = 0·145-0·495), norepinephrine (p = 0·228-0·626) or epinephrine values (p = 0·074-0·619). CONCLUSIONS Music therapy has some positive effects on levels of anxiety and pain in patients undergoing spinal surgery. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE Complementary music therapy can alleviate pain and anxiety in patients before and after spinal surgery.
Delamination resistance of through thickness reinforced composites

In this study the delamination resistance of arrays of Z-pins are measured in Mode I, Mode II and mixed Mode I/II loading scenarios, using standard fracture toughness test methodologies. Through experimental observations and measured results it is shown that the bridging behaviours predicted in previous single pin tests are analogous to the arrays of pins inside fracture toughness coupons. Although it is not feasible to measure the steady state delamination propagation in a through-thickness reinforced (TTR) region in all Mode mixities, a method is proposed to measure the apparent toughness of these TTR pins at predetermined delamination lengths. This method provides useful, conservative results that could improve the design of composite components which contain TTR elements.
Efficacy and safety of biosimilar insulins compared to their reference products: A systematic review

Importance For nearly a century, no generic form of insulin has been available in the United States. However, the first biosimilar insulin, Basaglar, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2015, and subsequently Admelog and Lusduna in 2017. Objective To summarize the scientific evidence comparing the safety, efficacy, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of biosimilar and reference insulin products. Data sources We conducted a systematic review using PubMed, Cochrane, Embase, Latin America and Caribbean Health Sciences, South Asian Database of Controlled Clinical Trials, and IndiaMED from their inception through January 14, 2018. Study selection We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing safety, clinical efficacy, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of any biosimilar insulin with a reference product in adults regardless of sample size and location. Data extraction and synthesis Two researchers independently reviewed all titles, abstracts and text; extracted data; and performed quality assessments. Main outcomes and measures Efficacy, safety, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of biosimilar and reference insulin products Results Of 6945 articles screened, 11 studies were included in the data synthesis. LY2963016, Basalog, Basalin, and MK-1293 were compared to Lantus while SAR342434 was compared to Humalog. Three trials enrolled healthy volunteers, five enrolled type 1 diabetics, and two enrolled type 2 diabetics. One study enrolled both healthy and type 1 diabetics. Of the eleven studies, six examined pharmacokinetic and/or pharmacodynamic parameters and five examined clinical efficacy and immunogenicity. All studies included adverse events. All PK and/or PD studies showed that comparable parameters of biosimilar and reference products were within the pre-specified equivalence margins. Clinical studies suggested similar clinical efficacy and immunogenicity. Adverse events were similar between the groups across all studies. Conclusions and relevance Few published studies have compared biosimilar and reference insulins, though those that did suggest that the biosimilars have comparable safety and clinical efficacy as its reference product.
Measurement of the Electrically Evoked Stapedial Reflex Response with Wideband Acoustic Reflectance Measurement

Abstract Background: The electrically evoked stapedial reflex threshold (ESRT) has been shown to be a good predictor of upper stimulation level for cochlear implant recipients. Previous research has shown that the ESRT may be recorded at lower stimulation levels and with a higher incidence of success with the use of higher frequency probe tones (e.g., 678 and 1000 Hz) relative to the use of the conventional 226-Hz probe tone. Research has also shown that the acoustic reflex may be recorded at lower stimulus levels with the use of wideband reflectance when compared to the acoustic reflex threshold recorded with a conventional acoustic immittance measurement. Purpose: The objective of this study was to compare the ESRT recorded with acoustic immittance and wideband reflectance measurements. Research Design: A repeated measures design was used to evaluate potential differences in ESRTs with stimulation at an apical, middle, and basal electrode contact with the use of two different techniques, acoustic immittance measurement and wideband reflectance. Study Sample: Twelve users of Cochlear Nucleus cochlear implants were included in the study. Data Collection and Analysis: Participants’ ESRTs were evaluated in response to simulation at three different electrode contact sites (i.e., an apical, middle, and basal electrode contact) with the use of two different middle ear measurement techniques, acoustic immittance with the use of a 226-Hz probe tone and wideband reflectance with the use of a chirp stimulus. Results: The mean ESRT recorded with wideband reflectance measurement was significantly lower when compared to the ESRT recorded with acoustic immittance. For one participant, the ESRT was not recorded with acoustic immittance before reaching the participant’s loudness discomfort threshold, but it was successfully recorded with the use of wideband reflectance Conclusions: The ESRT may potentially be recorded at lower presentation levels with the use of wideband reflectance measures relative to the use of acoustic immittance with a 226-Hz probe tone. This may allow for the ESRT to be obtained at levels that are more comfortable for the cochlear implant recipient, which may also allow for a higher incidence in the successful recording of the ESRT.