Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Validation of Pre-analytical Stability of Specimens Requested for Various Routine Coagulation Tests

Storage conditions, such as storage time and temperature, can affect the stability of coagulation factors and influence the results of coagulation assays. Therefore, a clinical laboratory should determine the allowable time interval between collection of the specimen and testing of the sample stored at a certain temperature. The Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines (H21-A5) recommend that whole blood samples or plasma samples stored at room temperature for routine hemostasis tests or determination of coagulation factors should be analyzed within 4 hr after sample collection, with the exception of prothrombin time testing with stability up to 24 hr. However, there have been some studies suggesting samples stored for prolonged time periods are acceptable for reliable testing. For example, there were no clinically relevant changes in prothrombin time (PT) test results with up to a 24–48 hr delay. These data are practically important, because if a longer storage time were acceptable, resampling for additional coagulation testing and rejection of specimens due to prolonged delivery could be reduced. However, there are some differences between studies according to the storage conditions, testing method, and criteria for acceptability. Most studies have dealt with unspun blood samples (focusing on time from sample collection to delivery to the laboratory) or separated plasma. Therefore, these study data are not applicable to additional tests of samples with prolonged storage, considering most clinical samples are stored in the primary collection tube after initial testing. Additionally, there are few studies that include testing for fibrinogen degradation product (FDP) and coagulation inhibitors. This study aimed to investigate the stability of coagulation tests after storage of centrifuged samples in the primary collection tube with plasma remaining on top of the cells at room temperature for different time periods and to evaluate whether a longer storage period is acceptable compared with current CLSI guidelines. In this study, along with routine coagulation tests such as activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT), prothrombin time (PT), fibrinogen, D-dimer, coagulation factors VIII (FVIII)/IX (FIX)/XI (FXI)/XII (FXII)/II (FII)/V (FV)/VII (FVII)/X (FX), and von Willebrand factor antigen (vWF antigen) and activity (vWF activity), tests such as antithrombin III (ATIII), FDP, dilute Russell’s viper venom time screening (dRVVT screen) and confirmation (confirm) were conducted.
Rethinking Margin of Stability: Incorporating Step-To-Step Regulation to Resolve the Paradox

Derived from inverted pendulum dynamics, mediolateral Margin of Stability (MoSML) is a mechanically-grounded measure of instantaneous stability. However, average MoSML measures yield paradoxical results. Gait pathologies or perturbations often induce larger (supposedly “more stable”) average MoSML, despite clearly destabilizing factors. However, people do not walk “on average” – they walk (and sometimes lose balance) one step at a time. We assert the paradox arises because averaging discards step-to-step dynamics. We present a framework unifying the inverted pendulum with Goal-Equivalent Manifold (GEM) analyses. We identify in the pendulum’s center-of-mass dynamics constant-MoSML manifolds, including one candidate “stability GEM” signifying the goal to maintain some constant . We used this framework to assess step-to-step MoSML dynamics of humans walking in destabilizing environments. While goal-relevant deviations were readily corrected, humans did not exploit equifinality by allowing deviations to persist along this GEM. Thus, maintaining a constant is inconsistent with observed step-to-step fluctuations in center-of-mass states. Conversely, the extent to which participants regulated fluctuations in foot placements strongly predicted regulation of center-of-mass fluctuations. Thus, center-of-mass dynamics may arise indirectly as a consequence of regulating mediolateral foot placements. To resolve the paradox caused by averaging MoSML, we present a new statistic, Probability of Instability (PoIL), to predict instability likelihood. Participants exhibited increased PoIL when destabilized (p = 9.45×10−34), despite exhibiting larger (“more stable”) average MoSML (p = 1.70×10−15). Thus, PoIL correctly captured people’s increased risk of losing lateral balance, whereas average MoSML did not. PoIL also explains why peoples’ average MoSML increased in destabilizing contexts.
The relationship of cultural values with clean and healthy life behaviour among Islamic boarding school students in Indonesia

Background Poor clean and healthy life behaviours (CHLB) are often found in students (santri) in Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) in Indonesia. Pesantren is a subculture that has derived different cultural values from society, while santri have a habit of borrowing and lending clothes and see scabies as a blessing. This study aimed to identify and describe the correlation between cultural values and CHLB practices among santri. Design and methods It used descriptive analytics with a cross-sectional approach. The participants were 100 santri who lived in pesantren and were selected by using stratified random sampling. The cultural values and CHLB practices were assessed using the instruments developed by the writers in the previous study. The statistical analysis using the Spearman correlation test was applied to evaluate the association between cultural values and CHLB practices. Results The result shows a significant correlation between cultural values and CHLB practices among santri (p=0.004; r=0.284). Most of the santri had positive cultural values (52%) and poor CHLB practices (54%). Conclusions The findings of this study showed that most of the santri adhered to positive cultural values, and most of them had poor CHLB practices. These findings also showed significant correlation between cultural values and CHLB practices among santri. This study is expected to be the basis for school nurses to provide nursing care with a cultural approach to improve CHLB practices among santri.
Neuroprotective Properties of Quinone Reductase 2 Inhibitor M-11, a 2-Mercaptobenzimidazole Derivative

The ability of NQO2 to increase the production of free radicals under enhanced generation of quinone derivatives of catecholamines is considered to be a component of neurodegenerative disease pathogenesis. The present study aimed to investigate the neuroprotective mechanisms of original NQO2 inhibitor M-11 (2-[2-(3-oxomorpholin-4-il)-ethylthio]-5-ethoxybenzimidazole hydrochloride) in a cellular damage model using NQO2 endogenous substrate adrenochrome (125 µM) and co-substrate BNAH (100 µM). The effects of M-11 (10–100 µM) on the reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, apoptosis and lesion of nuclear DNA were evaluated using flow cytometry and single-cell gel electrophoresis assay (comet assay). Results were compared with S29434, the reference inhibitor of NQO2. It was found that treatment of HT-22 cells with M-11 results in a decline of ROS production triggered by incubation of cells with NQO2 substrate and co-substrate. Pre-incubation of HT-22 cells with compounds M-11 or S29434 results in a decrease of DNA damage and late apoptotic cell percentage reduction. The obtained results provide a rationale for further development of the M-11 compound as a potential neuroprotective agent.
Optimal quantization for soft-decision turbo decoder

We present an optimization of the quantization of the channel input to turbo decoders by maximizing the cutoff rate. Three types of quantizers are analyzed: uniform, non-uniform, and logarithmic quantizers. We propose a logarithmic quantizer because it is not very sensitive to a quantizer mismatch relative to the input level and keeps the BER constant over a broad range of input variances. In addition, we quantify the quantization effect of the extrinsic information via simulation. We show that 6-bit channel input and 8-bit extrinsic information quantization incur little degradation of the decoding error rate performance with proper choice of the clipping level.
A reinforcement learning based adaptive ROI generation for video object segmentation

Video object segmentation’s primary goal is to automatically extract the principal object(s) in the foreground from the background in videos. The primary focus of the current deep learning-based models is to learn the discriminative representations in the foreground over motion and appearance in small-term temporal segments. In the video segmentation process, it is difficult to handle various challenges such as deformation, scale variation, motion blur, and occlusion. Furthermore, relocating the segmentation target in the next frame is difficult if it is lost in the current frame during the segmentation process. This work aims at solving the zero-shot video object segmentation issue in a holistic fashion. We take advantage of the inherent correlations between the video frames by incorporating a global co-attention mechanism to overcome the limitations. We propose a novel reinforcement learning framework that provides competent and fast stages for gathering scene context and global correlations. The agent concurrently calculates and adds the responses of co-attention in the joint feature space. To capture the different aspects of the common feature space, the agent can generate multiple co-attention versions. Our framework is trained using pairs (or groups) of video frames, which adds to the training content, thus increasing the learning capacity. Our approach encodes the important information during the segmentation phase by a simultaneous process of various reference frames that are subsequently utilized to predict the persistent and conspicuous objects in the foreground. The proposed method has been validated using four commonly used video entity segmentation datasets: SegTrack V2, DAVIS 2016, CdNet 2014, and the Youtube-Object dataset. On the DAVIS 2016, the results reveal that the proposed results boost the state-of-the-art techniques on the F1 Measure by 4%, SegTrack V2 by a Jaccard Index of 12.03%, and Youtube Object by a Jaccard Index of 13.11%. Meanwhile, our algorithm improves the accuracy by 8%, F1 Measure by 12.25 %, and precision by 14% on the CdNet 2014, thus ranking higher than the current state-of-the-art methods.
A 6-Bit CMOS Phase Shifter for $S$ -Band

A 6-bit passive phase shifter for 2.5- to 3.2-GHz frequency band has been designed and implemented in a standard 0.18- μm CMOS technology. A new switched-network topology has been proposed for implementing the 5.625 ° phase shift step. The insertion loss of the circuit is compensated with an on-chip bidirectional amplifier. The measured return losses of the circuit are better than 8 dB with output 1-dB compression point of +9.5 dBm in the transmit mode and noise figure of 7.1 dB in the receive mode. The fabricated phase shifter demonstrates an average RMS phase error of less than 2° over the entire operation bandwidth, which makes it suitable for high-precision applications.
Prevalence of Contact Allergy to Nickel: A Retrospective Chart Review

Supplemental digital content is available in the text. Background No recent studies reporting nickel sensitivity prevalence in Canadians exist. Objectives The aim of this study was to quantify nickel sensitivity prevalence in patients at a patch test clinic in Vancouver. Methods Retrospective chart review of 3263 patients patch tested for nickel sensitivity at our clinic in Vancouver between 2008 and 2020. Results In total, 24.3% (n = 792 of 3263) of patients were sensitive to nickel. Nickel sensitivity significantly increased over time from 24.3% to 27.9% from 2008 to 2020. Nickel-sensitive patients were significantly more likely to be women (P < 0.001), between the ages of 19 and 64 years (P = 0.010), and have dermatitis affecting the face (P = 0.001) and hands (P = 0.001). Nickel-sensitive patients were significantly less likely to be 65 years or older (P = 0.001) and have dermatitis affecting the legs (P = 0.002). Approximately half of nickel-sensitive reactions were new positive reactions at the second reading. Conclusions Nickel sensitivity occurred in approximately one quarter of patients and significantly increased over time. Nickel-sensitive patients were more likely to be women, aged 19 to 64 years, and have dermatitis affecting the face and hands; and less likely to be 65 years or older and have dermatitis affecting the legs.
AKT1 Is Required for a Complete Palbociclib-Induced Senescence Phenotype in BRAF-V600E-Driven Human Melanoma

Cellular senescence is a carefully regulated process of proliferative arrest accompanied by numerous functional and morphologic changes. Senescence allows damaged cells to avoid neoplastic proliferation, however induction of the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) can promote tumor growth. The complexity of the senescence response may limit the efficacy of anti-neoplastic agents, such as CDK4/6 inhibitors (Cdk4/6i), that induce a senescence-like, non-proliferative state in tumor cells. The AKT kinase family plays an important role in cellular growth and division, and is commonly hyperactive in many cancers including melanoma. AKT activity has also been implicated in regulation of senescence. The three AKT isoforms play both redundant and unique roles in tumorigenesis and cancer progression. To interrogate the role of AKT isoforms in the induction of cellular senescence by Cdk4/6i, we generated isoform specific AKT knockout human BRAF-V600E mutated melanoma cell lines. We found that the CDK4/6i Palbociclib induced a form of senescence in these cells that was dependent on AKT1. As a potential mechanism, we evaluated the activity of the cGAS-STING pathway, recently implicated in cellular senescence. While we showed cGAS-STING function to be dependent on AKT1, pharmacologic inhibition of either cGAS or STING had little effect on senescence. However, we found SASP factors to require NF-kB function, in part dependent on a stimulatory phosphorylation of IKKα by AKT1 previously reported in other models. In summary, we provide the first evidence of a novel, isoform specific role for AKT1 in therapy-induced senescence in human melanoma cells acting through NF-kB but independent of cGAS-STING.
Elastodynamic and finite element vibration analysis of a drillstring with a downhole vibration generator tool and a shock sub

Applying high-frequency axial oscillation into an oilwell drillstring in the “bottom-hole assembly” (BHA) has the potential to enhance drilling efficiency in extended reach wells. Downhole vibration generator tools such as agitators reduce the drillstring–wellbore friction and enhance the rate of penetration. However, introducing controlled vibrations into the drillstring can result in undesired vibration waves propagating along the drillstring, leading to inefficient drilling and catastrophic fatigue failure of the BHA components, “measurement-while-drilling” tools, and mud motors. A dynamic model of the entire drillstring, including vibration generators and shock subs, is required to study the effect of vibration generators on the complex nonlinear coupled axial-lateral dynamics of a drillstring inside a wellbore, to study the effect of vibration tools on the developed cutting force at the bit, and to facilitate simulation-based design of shock subs. A dynamic finite element model (FEM) and an analytical elastodynamic model, both including the vibration generator tool and a shock sub, have been developed. The “Bypassing PDEs” method was implemented on the Lagrangian of the system to develop the analytical equations. A multi-mode expanded Galerkin’s approximation, in conjunction with a multi-span BHA and Hertzian contact assumption, allowed analysis of multiple BHA contact points and, thus, more realistic estimates of drilling rotary speeds that can cause excessive vibration. The models also include torque, mud damping, spatially varying axial force, geometric nonlinearity, and axial stiffening. While the analytical model has fast running time and symbolic solution, the FEM model enables easy reconfiguration and future extensions of model geometry, interactions, and modified BHA configurations. There is agreement between the analytical and FEM simulation results for the vibration suppression ability of the shock sub, dynamic amplification of the vibrating tool force, critical rotary speeds, axial force along the drillstring, axial and lateral displacements, and the contact locations and severity.
Modeling and testing of immunity of computerized equipment to fast electrical transients

One of the major problems associated with testing computerized equipment for immunity stems from the fact that their susceptibility to electrical transients is time-variant. This paper develops an improved statistical model for the susceptibility of computerized equipment to electrical transients and illustrates a few affordable methods for estimating the mean and maximum malfunction probability in an operational cycle. Reinforcement learning algorithms are used to estimate the maximum susceptibility efficiently. These algorithms automatically restrict testing to the most susceptible time windows. This allows affordable testing for safety-related equipment and also supports effective redesign.
A review of practical experience throughout Europe on deterioration in fully-flexible and semi-rigid long-life pavements

This article looks at some of the observations that have been made in a number of European countries on the behaviour of fully-flexible and semi-rigid pavements. Evidence for the existence of long-life pavements has been collected from expert opinion on deterioration as well as practical measurements from pavements on national networks. Observations on rutting, cracking, deflections and overall performance are presented from the UK, The Netherlands and Hungary. These observations confirm that certain pavements do not deteriorate structurally and hence can have unexpectedly long-lives, i.e. they can be classified as ‘long-life pavements’, thus providing the highway authorities with many potential economic benefits. The European Long-Life Pavements Group (ELLPAG) is seeking to further promote these benefits through the more widespread use of these pavements in Europe and is aiming to develop coordinated research to achieve this; a short description of ELLPAG is provided.
Variance of collapse capacity of SDOF systems under earthquake excitations

The variance of collapse capacity is an important constituent of probabilistic methodologies used to evaluate the probability of collapse of structures subjected to earthquake ground motions. This study evaluates the effect of ground motion randomness (i.e. record‐to‐record (RTR) variability) and uncertainty in the deterioration parameters of single‐degree‐of‐freedom (SDOF) systems on the variance of collapse capacity.
Radio Sensing Using 5G Signals: Concepts, State of the Art, and Challenges

Radio sensing has become increasingly important, as the demand for “smartness” is drastically increasing. Unlike conventional sensing, radio sensing uses existing radio signals or devices to passively sense the ambient environment for low cost and wide deployment. In this article, a comprehensive overview of radio sensing using the recent fifth-generation (5G) signals is provided. 5G systems have many merits, such as high frequency, large bandwidth, massive antenna array, and dense network, making them ideal for radio sensing. In the overview, basic theories and concepts of 5G radio sensing are first introduced. Then, different state-of-the-art 5G sensing works are discussed based on their applications. These applications show that 5G radio sensing represents a step change in radio sensing. After that, several open challenges in 5G radio sensing are illustrated with relevant insights. These insights manifest that 5G radio sensing has great potentials to explore.
A New Modified Fixed-Point Iteration Process

In this paper, we present a new modified iteration process in the setting of uniformly convex Banach space. The newly obtained iteration process can be used to approximate a common fixed point of three nonexpansive mappings. We have obtained strong and weak convergence results for three nonexpansive mappings. Additionally, we have provided an example to support the theoretical proof. In the process, several relevant results are improved and generalized.
Content replication in mobile wireless networks

The growth of mobile devices and network-based services nowadays has raised a timely question on how to efficiently distribute the data items to mobile users. Network applications need data as an input to process and provide information to users. Consequently, data traffic exerted by mobile devices fetching content is a drainage of mobile operators' network resources. Similar to the wired Internet, mobile users are now coping with the congestion at network gateways and due to the unpredictability of human mobility, mobile service providers cannot sufficiently provision infrastructures for their customers. Content replication in this context has been proved as a good solution to enhance network performance and scalability. In this thesis, we tackle the issues of content replication in heterogeneous mobile networks. Such scheme requires us to solve two basic questions: where and how many replicas should be placed in the system. We study the solution through the lenses of facility location theory and design a distributed mechanism that reduces content access latency and avoids congestion at mobile gateways. Additionally, we consider the resource constraints of mobile devices and introduce a P2P cache-and-forward mechanism for load balancing purpose. We evaluate our mechanisms against realistic human mobility models. Finally, to address rational users who may behave selfishly in replicating content, we derive a cost model and study content replication scheme using tools akin to game theory. We focus on the replication factor under a flash-crowd scenario with different wireless bit rates. Based on the theoretical findings, our future work is to develop the strategies to be implemented in a practical network setting.
Changes in the Lifestyle in Spanish University Population during the Confinement for COVID-19

(1) Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of the lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic, eating and physical activity behaviours, in a University population. A healthy diet such as the Mediterranean Diet (MD) pattern, rich in fruit and vegetables can prevent degenerative diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, etc. (2) Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study, data were collected by an anonymous online questionnaire. Participants completed a survey consisting of 3 sections: sociodemographic data; dietary and physical activity behaviour; questionnaire of the Mediterranean Diet (MEDAS-14) and the emotional eater questionnaire Garaulet (EEQ). (3) Results: A total of 168 participants completed the questionnaire 66.7% women, from Spain 79.2%, 76.8% students, living in family home 76.2% and in normal weight 66.1% . Our population did the grocery 1 or less per week (76.8%); decreased or stay the same the consumption of fruits (57.1%), vegetables (58.9%), dairy products (74.4%), pulses (73.2%), fish/seafood (76.8%), white meat (83.3%), red and processed meat (91.1%), snacks (78.6%), rice/pasta/potatoes (78.6%), nuts (83.9%), low alcohol drinks (89.3%), spirits (98.8%) and sugary drinks (91.7%) . Increased cooking time (73.2%) and decreased or stay the same their physical activity (63.7%). University Employees increased more weight (1.01±0.02) than students (0.99±0.03) (p<0.05). 79.8% of the participant obtained a Medium/High Adherence to the MD. Emotional and very emotional eaters were higher in women group (p<0.01). (4) Conclusions: In the event of further confinement, strategies should be implemented to promote a balanced and healthy diet together with the practice of physical activity, taking special care of the group of women and University Employees.