Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Case Fatality Risk of Influenza A (H1N1pdm09): A Systematic Review

Background: During the 2009 influenza pandemic, uncertainty surrounding the seriousness of human infections with the H1N1pdm09 virus hindered appropriate public health response. One measure of seriousness is the case fatality risk, defined as the probability of mortality among people classified as cases. Methods: We conducted a systematic review to summarize published estimates of the case fatality risk of the pandemic influenza H1N1pdm09 virus. Only studies that reported population-based estimates were included. Results: We included 77 estimates of the case fatality risk from 50 published studies, about one-third of which were published within the first 9 months of the pandemic. We identified very substantial heterogeneity in published estimates, ranging from less than 1 to more than 10,000 deaths per 100,000 cases or infections. The choice of case definition in the denominator accounted for substantial heterogeneity, with the higher estimates based on laboratory-confirmed cases (point estimates = 0–13,500 per 100,000 cases) compared with symptomatic cases (point estimates = 0–1,200 per 100,000 cases) or infections (point estimates = 1–10 per 100,000 infections). Risk based on symptomatic cases increased substantially with age. Conclusions: Our review highlights the difficulty in estimating the seriousness of infection with a novel influenza virus using the case fatality risk. In addition, substantial variability in age-specific estimates complicates the interpretation of the overall case fatality risk and comparisons among populations. A consensus is needed on how to define and measure the seriousness of infection before the next pandemic.
Breast feeding and obesity in childhood: cross sectional study

The evidence that breast feeding protects against obesity is inconclusive: some studies show a protective effect1 and others find no effect.2 3 Confounding factors may account for these inconsistencies. We used data from the offspring of the 1958 British birth cohort to assess whether breast feeding influences body mass index and obesity in childhood. We used data from a randomly selected sample (n = 2584) of the members of the 1958 British birth cohort who had children by 1991.4 Information was collected on their offspring. Of 3077 children aged 4-18 years, we included 2631 children (1293 girls and 1338 boys from 1768 families; average age 8 years) for whom data on duration of breast feeding, body mass index, and confounding factors were available. Body mass index (weight (kg)/(height (m)2)) was standardised relative to …
Selective operative cholangiography in the performance of laparoscopic cholecystectomy

The objective of this prospective study was to evaluate the role of intraoperative cholangiography (IOC) for patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) to determine whether it could be safely omitted for all patients who fit standard criteria, namely normal liver function tests, no history of gallstone pancreatitis, common bile duct (CBD) diameter less than 10 mm or previous history of jaundice. Data were collected prospectively from 194 consecutive patients who had LC for symptomatic gall bladder disease. IOC was not performed in any patient. The conversion rate was 6.1% and one CBD injury occurred. Our experience demonstrates that LC performed without routine IOC does not result in an increased incidence of retained stones in selected patients who have no history of pancreatitis, normal liver function tests and CBD less than 10 mm diameter.
Design and Comparison of a High Force Density Dual-Side Linear Switched Reluctance Motor for Long Rail Propulsion Application With Low Cost

Linear switched reluctance motors (LSRMs) have been an attractive solution for linear driving systems. This paper presents the design and performance comparison of dual side mover and segmental stator LSRM. A conventional teeth-type LSRM, which has identical dimensions, is designed and compared. A design process is developed based on the linear inductance model, and then a standard power equation of this kind of machine is derived, giving a guideline for the design process of the presented LSRM. Using the designed process obtained, a prototype machine is designed and manufactured. Finally, the experimental results from the prototype validate the design procedures and analysis.
Evaluating the Effect of Control Flow on the Unit Testing Effort of Classes: An Empirical Analysis

The aim of this paper is to evaluate empirically the relationship between a new metric (Quality Assurance Indicator--Qi) and testability of classes in object-oriented systems. The Qi metric captures the distribution of the control flow in a system. We addressed testability from the perspective of unit testing effort. We collected data from five open source Java software systems for which JUnit test cases exist. To capture the testing effort of classes, we used different metrics to quantify the corresponding JUnit test cases. Classes were classified, according to the required testing effort, in two categories: high and low. In order to evaluate the capability of the Qi metric to predict testability of classes, we used the univariate logistic regression method. The performance of the predicted model was evaluated using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis. The results indicate that the univariate model based on the Qi metric is able to accurately predict the unit testing effort of classes.
Measurements of conductivity of thin gold films at microwave frequencies employing resonant techniques

Quasi TE011 mode cavity and split post dielectric resonator have been used to measure resistivity of very thin gold films deposited on single crystal quartz substrates. It has been found that a sharp transition of electrical properties takes place for films of thickness between from 4.5 nm and 8 nm. For the films thicker than 8 nm the resistivity was comparable to that of bulk materials, and its dependence on film thickness could be described by known theoretical models, while for films thinner than 4.5 nm the resistivity was few orders of magnitude larger. Presented techniques allow measurements of resistivity of thin films in the eight decades range.
Inhibition of relaxations to nitrergic stimulation of the mouse anococcygeus by duroquinone

1 The role of copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn SOD) in protection of nitrergic neurotransmission in the mouse anococcygeus was investigated by use of duroquinone (DQ), which generates superoxide anions within tissues via reduction by flavoprotein enzymes. 2 In control anococcygeus muscles, DQ (10–100 μm) produced concentration‐related inhibition (‐log IC40=4.41) of relaxations to exogenous nitric oxide (NO; 15 μm). Nitrergic relaxations induced by field stimulation (10 Hz; 10 s train) were much less affected, 100 μm DQ reducing nitrergic relaxations by only 14 ± 6%. 3 Following incubation with the Cu/Zn SOD inhibitor, diethyldithiocarbamate (DETCA; 3 mM; 45 min incubation; 10 min washout), the inhibitory effects of DQ on relaxations to NO were potentiated (‐log IC40 = 5.22), and clear, concentration‐related inhibitions of nitrergic relaxations were now observed (‐log IC40 = 4.54). In both cases, these inhibitions were partially reversed by Cu/Zn SOD (250 u ml−1). In DETCA‐treated tissues, DQ (100 μm) also reduced relaxations to sodium nitroprusside (1 μm) and S‐nitroso‐glutathione (30 μm), but potentiated those to 8‐Br‐cyclic GMP (100 μm). 4 Neither hydroquinone (HQ; 100 μm) nor 1,4‐benzoquinone (BQ; 100 μm), both of which reduced responses to exogenous NO, inhibited relaxations induced by field stimulation in DETCA‐treated tissues. Indeed, when added during DQ‐induced inhibition of nitrergic relaxations, both HQ and BQ produced partial reversal of the block. 5 DQ had no effect on the detection of superoxide anions estimated via the xanthine: xanthine oxidase chemiluminescence assay, or of authentic NO as measured by a chemical microsensor. However, the detection of both superoxide anions and NO in these assays was inhibited by inclusion of either HQ or BQ. 6 The results support the proposal that nitrergic transmission in the peripheral nervous system is protected by Cu/Zn SOD activity in the region of the neuroeffector junction, and this may explain the lack of effect of superoxide anion generating drugs such as DQ. Such an explanation does not hold for either HQ or BQ, which appear to be acting directly as free radical scavengers in these experiments.
Supergravity microstates for BPS black holes and black rings

We demonstrate a solution generating technique, modulo some constraints, for a large class of smooth supergravity solutions with the same asymptotic charges as a five dimensional 3-charge BPS black hole or black ring, dual to a D1/D5/P system. These solutions are characterized by a harmonic function with both positive and negative poles, which induces a geometric transition whereby singular sources have disappeared and all of the net charge at infinity is sourced by fluxes through two-cycles joining the poles of the harmonic function.
Predictors of quality of life in acute coronary syndrome

I read the report on predictors of quality of life in acute coronary syndrome by Ma and colleagues with a great interest. The authors concluded that component summary score and systolic blood pressure on admission were significant independent predictive factors, and that patients with acute myocardial infarction, diabetes, or a low baseline quality of life need more care and effective intervention to improve their quality of life. Some data are concordant with the previous similar report based on a Western population, while the others are not. I have some concerns about this work. Since this study was a scale-based assessment, the application of the scale to the Chinese population, which might not be familiar with a foreign language, should be considered. The validity and reliability of the scale in Chinese has to be clarified.
An early and late peak in microglial activation in Alzheimer’s disease trajectory

Amyloid-β deposition, neuroinflammation and tau tangle formation all play a significant role in Alzheimer's disease. We hypothesized that there is microglial activation early on in Alzheimer's disease trajectory, where in the initial phase, microglia may be trying to repair the damage, while later on in the disease these microglia could be ineffective and produce proinflammatory cytokines leading to progressive neuronal damage. In this longitudinal study, we have evaluated the temporal profile of microglial activation and its relationship between fibrillar amyloid load at baseline and follow-up in subjects with mild cognitive impairment, and this was compared with subjects with Alzheimer's disease. Thirty subjects (eight mild cognitive impairment, eight Alzheimer's disease and 14 controls) aged between 54 and 77 years underwent 11C-(R)PK11195, 11C-PIB positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging scans. Patients were followed-up after 14 ± 4 months. Region of interest and Statistical Parametric Mapping analysis were used to determine longitudinal alterations. Single subject analysis was performed to evaluate the individualized pathological changes over time. Correlations between levels of microglial activation and amyloid deposition at a voxel level were assessed using Biological Parametric Mapping. We demonstrated that both baseline and follow-up microglial activation in the mild cognitive impairment cohort compared to controls were increased by 41% and 21%, respectively. There was a longitudinal reduction of 18% in microglial activation in mild cognitive impairment cohort over 14 months, which was associated with a mild elevation in fibrillar amyloid load. Cortical clusters of microglial activation and amyloid deposition spatially overlapped in the subjects with mild cognitive impairment. Baseline microglial activation was increased by 36% in Alzheimer's disease subjects compared with controls. Longitudinally, Alzheimer's disease subjects showed an increase in microglial activation. In conclusion, this is one of the first longitudinal positron emission tomography studies evaluating longitudinal changes in microglial activation in mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease subjects. We found there is an initial longitudinal reduction in microglial activation in subjects with mild cognitive impairment, while subjects with Alzheimer's disease showed an increase in microglial activation. This could reflect that activated microglia in mild cognitive impairment initially may adopt a protective activation phenotype, which later change to a cidal pro-inflammatory phenotype as disease progresses and amyloid clearance fails. Thus, we speculate that there might be two peaks of microglial activation in the Alzheimer's disease trajectory; an early protective peak and a later pro-inflammatory peak. If so, anti-microglial agents targeting the pro-inflammatory phenotype would be most beneficial in the later stages of the disease.
Influence of body mass index and self-administration of hCG on the outcome of IVF cycles: A prospective cohort study

Final maturation of the oocyte in in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles is achieved through the administration of a timed injection of human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG). The success of mature oocyte retrieval is dependent on serum concentrations of the hormone reaching values capable of initiating meiosis and triggering the release of the cumulus-oocyte complex into the follicular fluid. The objective of this prospective cohort study was to examine the effect of adiposity, as measured by body mass index (BMI), on serum concentrations of hCG and gonadotrophins and to relate this to IVF outcome. A comparison was also made between professionally and non-professionally administered hCG to assess any possible effect on cycle parameters. A total of 50 patients with a high BMI (≥ 26 kg m-2) who underwent IVF treatment at the Assisted Conception Unit, St James's University Hospital, Leeds, was recruited prospectively into the study. They were matched with 50 patients with a normal BMI (18–25 kg m-2) who acted as a control group. The two groups were matched for age (mean of 32 years and range of 22–42 years) and cause of infertility. Serum gonadotrophins, oestradiol and hCG concentrations, measured at the time of oocyte retrieval, and the clinical outcome of the two groups were compared. Patients with a high BMI had a significantly lower mean serum hCG concentration compared with controls (63.9 versus 99.6 iu l-1, P < 0.0003). They also required a higher dosage of gonadotrophin (3660 versus 3007 iu) to achieve follicular maturation than the controls. Similarly, the high BMI group of patients had higher serum concentrations of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) (12.3 versus 11.2 iu l-1) and lower oestradiol (3499 versus 3506 pmol l-1) compared with controls. Patients with a high BMI had significantly fewer oocytes aspirated, resulting in a significant decrease in the oocyte:follicle ratio compared with controls (33.9 versus 41.7, P < 0.05). The fertilization rate (46.2 versus 61.3%, P < 0.05) and clinical pregnancy rate per cycle (26.6 versus 37.1%, P < 0.05) were also lower in the patients with high BMI compared with those with normal BMI. The administration of hCG by the patient or her partner did not have a significant effect on clinical outcome. The mean serum hCG at the time of oocyte recovery was equivalent in both groups (87.1 versus 89.7 iu l-1). Furthermore, the oocyte:follicle ratio (0.73 versus 0.72), fertilization rate (46.2 versus 54.2%) and clinical pregnancy rate (38.9 versus 36.5%) were similar. These findings indicate that high BMI is detrimental to the success of IVF treatment and has an important influence on the distribution and metabolism of hCG. The results also indicate that non-professional administration of hCG does not compromise cycle outcome.
Determinants of delayed diagnosis of HIV infection in France, 1993–1995

Objective:To describe the circumstances of the first HIV-positive test and to study the determinants of a delayed diagnosis of HIV infection. Methods:In a retrospective study among adult AIDS patients diagnosed between July 1993 and May 1995 in two French districts, data on socioeconomic characteristics, circumstances of first HIV-positive test and attitudes and behaviours regarding medical care were collected in a confidential interview and analysed for potential association with a late test, defined as a first HIV-positive test within 6 months of AIDS diagnosis. Results:Of the 359 AIDS patients studied, 69 (19.2%) had a late test. Late testers were more likely than other patients to have had an HIV-positive test because of clinical symptoms (89.7 versus 38.9%, P < 0.001) and not to perceive themselves as being at risk of infection with HIV (53.6 versus 39.3%, P < 0.05). The proportion of late testers was 34.6% among heterosexually infected patients, 12.7% among homo-/ bisexual men and 9.6% among injecting drug users. Factors independently associated with a late test were male gender [adjusted odds ratio (aOR), 5.6; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.7–18.9] and absence of earned income (aOR, 5.2; 95% CI, 1.4–19) among heterosexually infected patients; high education (aOR, 3.1; 95% CI, 1.0–9.6) and having consulted a person practising alternative medicine (aOR, 3.4; 95% CI, 1.2–10) in homo-/bisexual men. Conclusions:Despite incentives to be tested for HIV, many individuals in France are still tested too late, even if they are in known high-risk groups. Efforts to test HIV-infected people as early as possible should be made by increasing the perception of HIV risk and decreasing the level of missed opportunities for testing. Current case management approaches make this recommendation critically important from both public health and an individual perspective.
The impact of pharmacy mediated conversion from intravenous to oral corticosteroids in patients with an exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate a pharmacist initiated conversion program from intravenous (IV) to oral corticosteroids in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations. Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study of patients who were admitted with a diagnosis of COPD exacerbation. The historical control group, included patients admitted between October 1 and December 31, 2013, did not have any intervention from pharmacists regarding conversion. The post intervention group, included patients admitted between October 1 and December 31, 2014, exposed to the new conversion program. Electronic medical records were reviewed for: time needed for conversion, hospital length of stay, and readmission rate for both groups. Results: There were a total of 122 patients in the study. A low number of patients in the post intervention group (n = 11, 22%) received pharmacist intervention. No significant difference was observed in hospital length of stay, time to conversion, or 30-day readmission rates. More patients in the intervention group received methylprednisolone as initial IV therapy (P = 0.002). Conclusions: Among patients with COPD exacerbations, the automatic pharmacist medicated conversion program did not affect time to conversion, hospital length of stay, or readmission rates.
Exergames : Part 2 Program Profile Building a Better Mousetrap ( Exergame ) to Increase Youth Physical Activity

Although exergames have been demonstrated to induce moderate levels of physical activity (PA) if played as designed, there is conflicting evidence on use of exergaming leading to increased habitual PA. Exergames have increased PA in some home and school studies, but not others. Exergames have been used in community centers to good effect, but this has not generally been validated with research. PA from exergames may be enhanced by innovative use of sensors, ‘‘fun’’-enhancing procedures, tailored messaging, message framing, story or narrative, goal setting, feedback, and values-based messaging. Research is needed on PA-enhancing procedures used within exergames for youth to provide a firmer foundation for the design and use of exergames in the future.
Integrating memory context into personal information re-finding

Personal information archives are emerging as a new challenge for information retrieval (IR) techniques. The user's memory plays a greater role in retrieval from person archives than from other more traditional types of information collection (e.g. the Web), due to the large overlap of its content and individual human memory of the captured material. This paper presents a new analysis on IR of personal archives from a cognitive perspective. Some existing work on personal information management (PIM) has begun to employ human memory features into their IR systems. In our work we seek to go further, we assume that for IR in PIM system terms can be weighted not only by traditional IR methods, but also taking the user's recall reliability into account. We aim to develop algorithms that combine factors from both the system side and the user side to achieve more effective searching. In this paper, we discuss possible applications of human memory theories for this algorithm, and present results from a pilot study and a proposed model of data structure for the HDMs achieves.
Rectal temperature, distal sweat rate, and forearm blood flow following mild exercise at two phases of the circadian cycle

Changes in rectal temperature during mild exercise in the middle of the rising (11:00 h) and falling (23:00 h) phases of the circadian rhythm of resting core temperature have been compared. Seven healthy males were studied at rest, while exercising on a cycle ergometer (60 min at 80 W), and during the first 30 min of recovery. Rectal temperature, forearm blood flow, and forearm sweat rate were measured at 1 min intervals throughout. During exercise, there were significant time‐of‐day differences in the profiles of all three variables, and in the thresholds for increases in forearm blood flow and sweating. Forearm blood flow and sweat rate were recruited more rapidly and to a greater extent with evening exercise, and rectal temperature rose less. Analysis of covariance, with rectal temperature as the covariate, indicated the associations between it and forearm blood flow or sweating were significantly different (p<0.05) between the two times of day. There were also significant (p<0.05) time‐of‐day effects for forearm blood flow and sweating that were independent of rectal temperature. During recovery, rectal temperature fell more quickly in the late evening than late morning. Forearm blood flow and sweating also showed time‐of‐day differences, but these did not co‐vary with rectal temperature. Control of rectal temperature during exercise and recovery appears to be more effective in the late evening than late morning, and differences in forearm blood flow and sweating, as well as factors independent of these two variables, contribute to this difference. The results support our “heat‐gain/heat‐loss modes” hypothesis.
Applications of Additive Semivarying Coefficient Models: Monthly Suicide Data from Hong Kong

Summary A semivarying coefficient model for the monthly numbers of suicides in Hong Kong is developed and a new estimation procedure for estimating the parametric component is proposed. The estimators are examined in a small simulation study and fitted to monthly suicide data to estimate a nonparametric long‐term trend and parametric seasonal and socioeconomic effects. Fitting the model detected interpretable structure in the data that is consistent with that driving public health policy. While exploratory, the analysis motivates the collection of more detailed data and the development of more sophisticated models to help determine target groups and strategies to reduce the suicide rate in Hong Kong.