Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Does the Tonsillar Surface Flora Differ in Children with and without Tonsillar Disease?

Objective --To investigate whether the tonsillar flora differ in children with and without adenotonsillar disease. Material and Methods --Tonsil surface swabs were taken from 218 children indicated for adenotonsillectomy because of moderate symptoms of recurrent tonsillopharyngitis or adenotonsillar hypertrophy (T+Ads group). Control swabs were taken from 100 children without symptoms of adenotonsillar disease who visited the ophthalmology clinic. Potential respiratory pathogens were identified. Results --Potential respiratory pathogens were found in 54% of the T+Ads group, compared to 41% of the control group ( p =0.04). Haemophilus influenzae was the commonest pathogen in both groups, being found in 41% of the T+Ads group and 34% of the control group. Moraxella catarrhalis was found more often in the T+Ads group compared to the control group: 7% vs 0% ( p =0.004). H. influenzae was found in 32% of the children with recurrent tonsillitis, compared to 48% of the children with symptoms of tonsillar hypertrophy ( p =0.03). Conclusions --The prevalence of potential respiratory pathogens on the tonsillar surface of children with moderate symptoms of recurrent tonsillopharyngitis and/or tonsillar hypertrophy differs only slightly from that in children without symptoms of adenotonsillar disease. Variations in the microbial flora do not seem to play an essential role in the predisposition of these children to tonsillar disease.
Discovery of a Distinctive Spotted Color Pattern in the Cuskeel Neobythites unicolor (Teleostei, Ophidiidae) Based on Underwater-Vehicle Dives, with New Records from the Southern and Eastern Caribbean

In situ images and/or collection of seven specimens by underwater-vehicle dives at 269–609 m depth off Curaçao, Dominica, and Puerto Rico (S, E, and NE Caribbean) revealed new records and a previously unknown, distinctive color pattern for the cuskeel Neobythites unicolor (Ophidiidae). Species identification was based on detailed comparisons with earlier studied type and non-type material using morphometric, meristic, and otolith-form characters. A revised color description is provided based on images of live specimens in situ in their habitat, shortly after capture, and after preservation. Live and fresh specimens of Neobythites unicolor show a large number of distinctive, dark, rounded or irregularly shaped spots distributed dorsally on head, dorsal portion of body, and on the dorsal fin. This color pattern fades when fish are frozen, and it is completely lost during preservation over several years. The available images of fresh color patterns indicate an increase in spot size with fish size. In addition, some of the quantitatively examined morphometric and otolith characters of museum specimens show positive allometry. No geographic variation in color patterns could be detected. Although the Curaçao population is separated from all other known populations of N. unicolor by at least 650 km, the only population difference found was a slightly lower pectoral-fin ray count for the four specimens collected off Curaçao. An updated distribution map is provided correcting for an erroneous record in the inner Gulf of Mexico from which N. unicolor appears to be completely absent. While the spotted color pattern described here is unique among the 54 species of Neobythites, a similar pattern occurs in two other genera of the subfamily Neobythitinae, Sirembo and Spottobrotula. Further requirements to more fully understand the color diversity and related biology, ecology, and evolution in the species-rich genus Neobythites are emphasized.
Stem Cell Transplantation in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Patients: Methodological Approach, Safety, and Feasibility

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is characterized by the selective death of motor neurons. Stem cells have been proposed as a potential therapeutic strategy. The safety of stem cell transplantation into the frontal motor cortex to improve upper motor neuron function is described. Sixty-seven patients with definite amyotrophic lateral sclerosis were included. After giving their informed consent, the patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging, functional rating, pulmonary function test, and laboratory tests. Their bone marrow was stimulated with daily filgrastim (300 μg) given subcutaneously for 3 days. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were obtained by leukapheresis. Isolated CD133+ stem cells were suspended in 300 μl of the patient's cerebrospinal fluid and implanted into the motor cortex. Adverse events were recorded at each step of the procedure and were classified according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events v3.0. The survival at 1 year was 90% after transplantation. with a mean long-term survival rate of 40.17 months from diagnosis. The most common adverse events were in grades I–II and involved transient skin pain (19.5% of patients) attributed to the insertion of the Mahurkar catheter into the subclavian vein, minor scalp pain (15.9%), and headache (12.2%) from the surgical procedure. Several patients (1.5 – 4.5%) reported diverse grade I adverse events. There were two deaths, one considered to be associated with the procedure (1.5%) and the other associated with the disease. Autologous stem cell transplantation into the frontal motor cortex is safe and tolerated well by patients. Further controlled studies are required to define the efficacy of this procedure.
Understanding user acceptance of battery swapping service of sustainable transport: An empirical study of a battery swap station for electric scooters, Taiwan

Abstract A battery swapping service is used to address the challenges associated with replacing scooters with electric two wheelers (E2Ws) in the Taiwanese two-wheeler market. In this study, two experiments were conducted to compare two different battery swap stations (BSSs) and to further explore usability, user experiences (UXs), and motivation in order to determine how the service affects the quality evaluation made by the users on the basis of their interactions. The experiments were administered to 140 participants of experiencing BSS services located in the city of New Taipei. The results verified that both BSS can help users to successfully accomplish their goal of swapping batteries. Furthermore, the design and usage of the G-BSS makes a positive impression on users and yields an acceptance rate that exceeds 80% and stimulates ∼32.9% of potential users to accommodate E2Ws. This study concluded that good esthetic quality should include design beauty and the design that could create a good UX for the users. Aesthetic quality and hedonic quality were positively correlated with intrinsic motivation and user satisfaction. These may further influence user’s continuance usage intention. Furthermore, an important factor that influences pragmatic quality is whether the user’s perception of the product is established during the course of using the product. Based on these results, a number of modifications to BSS are suggested for improving UXs in the context of battery swapping system. It is recommended that designers and developers should consider the above issues when implementing newly versions of battery swapping services.
First-year students’ perceptions of team-based learning in a new medical genetics course

ABSTRACT Background Medical education has evolved considerably over the last few years, especially through adoption of new technologies and active methodologies. These methodologies aim to improve learning and engage students deeply in the process. TBL is a methodology widely used in health schools, including Medical Schools. We can use it to work with large groups, divided into small teams. The students first work individually, then within teams, and finally the groups cooperate to solve applied problems. Objectives To describe students’ perceptions and satisfaction about a Medical Genetics course organized into blocks of subject in which we used TBL sessions with first-year medical students. Methods A Medical Genetics course were organized into subject blocks in which a TBL session was conducted in each of these blocks to improve the learning process. At the end of the course, the students answered a questionnaire on satisfaction and perceptions. Results By the first time we described a Medical Genetics course organized into 5 blocks of subject matter on a total of 25 genetic diseases in which a TBL session was conducted in each of these blocks. We enrolled a total of 290 participants and 96% of the students were satisfied with TBL. Furthermore, 97% of students believe that TBL helped them to learn, and 87% approved of use of TBL in the future at other stages of their medical course. Conclusion Application of the TBL method during a medical genetics course was well-received by students and proved an important tool in the structures of curricula for medical education at this university.
Three-Phase Unidirectional Rectifiers With Open-End Source and Cascaded Floating Capacitor H-Bridges

This paper presents two topologies of three-phase semicontrolled rectifiers suitable for open-end ac power sources. The rectifiers are composed of a combination of two-level three-phase bridges (controlled, semicontrolled, or uncontrolled) and three single-phase floating capacitor h-bridges (controlled). These topologies generate two powered dc-links, each one belonging to a three-phase bridge. They present a reduced number of controlled power switches if compared with other open-end configurations of similar complexity found in the literature. It is also proposed a space-vector pulse-width modulation (SV-PWM) approach and a method of floating capacitor voltage control dedicated to the topologies with an equivalent approach based on the level-shifted PWM (LS-PWM). The proposed SV-PWM solving method is based on a redundant state selection (RSS) technique, which allows the floating capacitors voltage regulation. On the other hand, the LS-PWM solving method is based on the neutral voltage selection, which is shown to be equivalent to the SV-PWM RSS technique seen from the control system. Simulation results are shown to validate proposed topologies, as well as the SV-PWM and LS-PWM techniques, and the control strategy. Experimental results are shown to demonstrate proposed configurations feasibility.
Characteristics of electrohydrodynamic pump of the dissociation type: Low- and high-voltage ranges

The paper presents the results of the computer simulation of a single section of electrohydrodynamic (EHD) conduction pump with and without taking into account the enhancement of the dissociation rate under the effect of the strong electric field (the Wien effect). The numerical computations were carried out on the basis of the complete set of EHD equations using commercial software package COMSOL Multiphysics. The behavior of EHD flow inside the pump was investigated for different ratios between positive and negative ion mobilities and the effect of the latter on the pumping efficiency was estimated. The features of the pump operation in the case of the Wien effect occurrence were investigated. It was shown that the enhancement of the dissociation rate can lead to the reversion of EHD flow direction with increasing voltage. Besides, the results obtained in the presented computer model was compared to those obtained in the simplified one (based on the hydrostatic approach) and considerable discrepancy between the calculated pressure drops was revealed.
Transmission system parameters optimization-sensitivity analysis of secondary arc current and recovery voltage

This paper shows the importance of optimizing the transmission system parameters from its conception, considering the relevant options and possibilities, in order to have a better cost-performance result. The presented results were obtained in the study of a real transmission system expansion, based on a 865-km long line. The single-phase auto-reclosing (SPAR) procedure was one of the aspects carefully studied, in order to assure adequate transmission reliability. The secondary arc current was mitigated through the traditional solution of using the neutral reactor on the existing shunt reactor banks, which permitted the reduction of the secondary arc current to acceptable values, assuring natural arc extinction and successful SPAR. The method of obtaining the optimized value for the neutral reactor and its implications on the system performance are important aspects, and are discussed in this paper.
A NEW DIATOM TERATOLOGY DRIVEN BY METAL POLLUTION IN A TEMPERATE RIVER (ROȘIA MONTANǍ, ROMANIA)

The present study refers to the effect of metal pollution on diatoms by describing a new form of teratology. The samples were collected in the Abrud River, located in a mining area from Romania, where an unreported type of deformity is observed in the diatoms Achnanthidium sp. pl. This kind of teratology has been found in the 20.5% of individuals of the population and affects the cingulum, in particular to the valvocopula, by becoming markedly undulate.
Application of energy-based power system features for dynamic security assessment

Summary from only given. This paper presents a novel approach to enable frequent computational cycles in online dynamic security assessment by using the terms of the transient energy function (TEF) as input features to a machine learning algorithm. The aim is to train a single classifier that is capable of classifying stable and unstable operating points independent of the contingency. The network is trained based on the current system topology and the loading conditions. The potential of the proposed approach is demonstrated with the New England 39-bus test power system model using the support vector machine as the machine learning technique. It is shown that the classifier can be trained using a small set of data when the terms of the TEF are used as input features. The prediction accuracy of the proposed scheme was tested under the balanced and unbalanced faults with the presence of voltage sensitive and dynamic loads for different operating points.
Total serum DNA and DNA integrity: diagnostic value in patients with hepatitis B virus-related hepatocellular carcinoma

Aims: This study aimed to test the diagnostic utility of the total serum cell-free DNA (cfDNA) and DNA integrity index for detection of hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: We initially evaluated the sodium iodide (NaI) method, Triton/Heat/Phenol (THP) protocol and QIAamp Kit for cfDNA extraction. Then cfDNA was isolated from the sera of 80 patients with HBV-related HCC, 80 patients with chronic HBV infection and 50 healthy subjects, and quantified by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) amplification of beta-actin genomic DNA fragments using two sets of primers of 100 and 400 bp. DNA integrity was calculated as the ratio of 400 bp to 100 bp &bgr;-actin fragments. Results: The THP approach was not only superior to the other two methods in terms of DNA quantity, but also was simpler, more rapid, and less costly. Serum DNA integrity in HCC patients was significantly higher than that in HBV patients or healthy controls. As for total cfDNA levels, although a significant difference was found between HCC patients and healthy individuals, no significant difference was found between HBV patients with and without HCC. DNA integrity was associated with tumour size, TNM stage, lymph node and distant metastasis. DNA integrity had a higher sensitivity and specificity in discriminating HCC from HBV patients than total DNA. Conclusions: The THP method is preferred for extraction of cfDNA. DNA integrity is a promising molecular biomarker for detecting HCC in patients with chronic HBV infection; it reflects the progression and metastatic potential of the tumour.
Growth rate effects in soft CoFe films

We report on growth rate effects in sputter-deposited CoFe films prepared using high target utilization sputtering technology (HiTUS). We find that the grain structure of these polycrystalline films is closely related to the growth rate. By changing the growth rate, samples were prepared with different grain structure, which in turn had the effect of changing the magnetic properties of the films. We demonstrate control of the coercivity, which varied by a factor of more than ten. This was achieved via grain size control in CoFe films of thickness 20 nm. Furthermore, by employing a two-step sputtering process, in which two extreme growth rates are used sequentially, we were able to tune the saturation magnetization.
Gate bias dependence of single event charge collection in AlSb/InAs HEMTs

Single event charge collection in AlSb/InAs HEMTs is shown to depend on the gate bias. Spatial correlation between excess channel carriers and the horizontal field is shown to be the key factor. Hole accumulation in the AlSb buffer layer increases the electron concentration in the two-dimensional electron gas, increasing the collected charge.
Ordering of Rods near Surfaces: Concentration Effects

We study the orientation of rods in the neighborhood of a surface. A semi-infinite region in two different situations is considered: (i) the rods are located close to a flat wall and (ii) the rods occupy the space that surrounds a sphere. In a recent paper we investigated a similar problem: the interior of a sphere, with a fixed concentration of rods. Here, we allow for varying concentration, the rods are driven from a reservoir to the neighborhood of the surface by means of a tunable chemical potential. In the planar case, the particle dimensions are irrelevant. In the curved case, we consider cylinders with dimensions comparable to the radius of curvature of the sphere; as they come close to the surface, they have to accommodate to fill the available space, leading to a rich orientational profile. These systems are studied by a mapping onto a three-state Potts model with annealed disorder on a semi-infinite lattice; two order parameters describe the system: the occupancy and the orientation. The Hamiltonian is solved using a mean-field approach producing recurrence relations that are iterated numerically and we obtain various interesting results: the system undergoes a first order transition just as in the bulk case; the profiles do not have a smooth decay but may present a step and we search for the factors that determine their shape. The prediction of such steps may be relevant in the field of self-assembly of colloids and nanotechnology.
New Steps in EML Research in Russia

The overview summarizes the main electromagnetic activities in Russia since the 13th Electromagnetic Launch Technology Symposium in 2006. This research has been focused on the development and improvement of electric-discharge launchers, railguns, and electrothermal-chemical launchers. Research efforts have been directed toward studying the physical phenomena and processes limiting the attainment of high velocities and life time of launchers. Considerable attention has been paid to solving problems related to material erosion, the manufacture of new materials and their testing in high-current arc discharges and the search for new applications of launchers in science and engineering.
The Technology Fallacy: How People Are the Real Key to Digital Transformation

Why an organization's response to digital disruption should focus on people and processes and not necessarily on technology.Digital technologies are disrupting organizations of every size and shape, leaving managers scrambling to find a technology fix that will help their organizations compete. This book offers managers and business leaders a guide for surviving digital disruptions? but it is not a book about technology. It is about the organizational changes required to harness the power of technology. The authors argue that digital disruption is primarily about people and that effective digital transformation involves changes to organizational dynamics and how work gets done. A focus only on selecting and implementing the right digital technologies is not likely to lead to success. The best way to respond to digital disruption is by changing the company culture to be more agile, risk tolerant, and experimental.The authors draw on four years of research, conducted in partnership with MIT Sloan Management Review and Deloitte, surveying more than 16,000 people and conducting interviews with managers at such companies as Walmart, Google, and Salesforce. They introduce the concept of digital maturity? the ability to take advantage of opportunities offered by the new technology? and address the specifics of digital transformation, including cultivating a digital environment, enabling intentional collaboration, and fostering an experimental mindset. Every organization needs to understand its ? digital DNA? in order to stop ? doing digital? and start ? being digital. Digital disruption won't end anytime soon; the average worker will probably experience numerous waves of disruption during the course of a career. The insights offered by The Technology Fallacy will hold true through them all.A book in the Management on the Cutting Edge series, published in cooperation with MIT Sloan Management Review.