Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Inappropriate use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and other drugs in chronic kidney disease patients without renal replacement therapy

Abstract Objective: The main goal of chronic kidney disease (CKD) treatment is the prevention of progression of the disease and complications. Inappropriate drug use in patients with CKD is an important issue, which may cause adverse effects on patients and progression of chronic renal failure. The aim of this study is to find the rate of inappropriate drug use among CKD patients. Methods: The subjects of this study were selected from the patients with a CKD history of minimum one year, who did not receive renal replacement therapy. Patients were asked to provide a digital record of the drugs they used over the last one year. Individually, for each patient, the drugs that may be contraindicative and that require dose adjustment were identified based on glomerular filtration rate (GFR). Results: This study includes a total of 185 participants – 97 female (52.4%) and 88 male (47.6%) patients. The average age of patients was 60.50 ± 14.56. It was shown that 149 patients (80.5%) were using inappropriate drugs. Seventy (47.0%) were using one, 79 (53.0%) two, 30 (20/1%) three, and 9 (6.4%) four inappropriate drugs. Of CKD patients, 44.3% were aged 65 or over; and in this age group, inappropriate drug use was more frequent compared to the population below 65 (86.6% vs. 75.7%). The drugs used inappropriately were, respectively, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (65.8%), quinolone antibiotics (39.0%), ACE inhibitors (26.9%). Discussion: Health professionals are required to consider renal functions of all patients, mainly those aged over 65, when administering a treatment.
Average modeling of diesel auxiliary power unit for series hybrid electric vehicle

A systematic physical model of diesel APU for vehicle applications is presented. The modeling approach uses the averaging techniques to account for the switching characteristics and nonlinear phenomena of three phase diode rectifiers, while preserves all the relevant dynamics of the diesel engine and synchronous generator. The subsystem models are interconnected in an elegant way and the over system model is obtained in the dq reference frame as an entirely physical one. Comparison with a detailed switching model validates the proposed average model.
Competitive image compression with linear PDEs

In recent years, image compression methods with partial differential equations (PDEs) have become a promising alternative to standard methods like JPEG or JPEG2000. They exploit the ability of PDEs to recover an image from only a small amount of stored pixels. To do so, this information is diffused into unknown image regions. Most successful codecs rely on a sophisticated nonlinear diffusion process. In this thesis, we investigate the potential of linear PDEs for image compression. This follows up recent promising compression results with the Laplace and biharmonic operator. As a central contribution, we thoroughly study the diffusion-based image reconstruction, and establish a connection to the concept of sparsity with the help of discrete Green's functions. Apart from gaining novel theoretical insights, this offers algorithmic benefits: We obtain a fast reconstruction procedure and improved data optimisation methods. The power of linear PDEs is demonstrated by proposing three different compression approaches. Besides a designated codec for depth maps we present an algorithm for general images. The third approach aims at a fast decoding. Experiments show that linear PDEs can compete with nonlinear PDEs in a compression context, and that codecs with linear PDEs are even able to outperform standard approaches in terms of both speed and quality. In den letzten Jahren sind Bildkompressionsmethoden basierend auf partiellen Differentialgleichungen (PDEs) eine vielversprechende Alternative zu Standardmethoden wie JPEG oder JPEG2000 geworden. Diese nutzen die Fahigkeit von PDEs aus, ein Bild von nur einer kleinen Menge an gespeicherten Pixeln ruckgewinnen zu konnen. Die meisten erfolgreichen Codecs verwenden einen aufwandigen nichtlinearen Diffusionsprozess. In dieser Arbeit werden wir das Potential von linearen PDEs zur Bildkompression untersuchen. Dies schliest an die kurzlichen vielversprechenden Kompressionsergebnisse mit dem Laplace und biharmonischen Operator an. Als zentralen Beitrag studieren wir die PDE-basierte Bildrekonstruktion und stellen mit Hilfe von diskreten Greenschen Funktionen eine Verbindung zum Sparsity-Konzept her. Dies bietet neben neuen theoretischen Erkenntnissen auch algorithmische Vorteile: Wir erhalten ein schnelles Rekonstruktionsverfahren und verbesserte Datenoptimierungsmethoden. Die Starke von linearen PDEs wird gezeigt, indem wir drei verschiedene Kompressionsmethoden vorschlagen. Neben eines designierten Codecs fur Tiefenkarten prasentieren wir einen Algorithmus fur allgemeine Bilder. Der dritte Ansatz zielt auf eine schnelle Dekodierung ab. Experimente zeigen, dass lineare PDEs mit nichtlinearen PDEs in einem Kompressionskontext konkurrieren konnen und dass Codecs mit linearen PDEs in Bezug auf Geschwindigkeit und Qualitat sogar Standardmethoden ubertreffen konnen.
Elements in rice from the Swedish market: 1. Cadmium, lead and arsenic (total and inorganic)

A survey of the levels of cadmium, lead and arsenic in different types of rice available on the Swedish retail market was carried out in 2001–03. The types of rice included long and short grain, brown, white, and parboiled white rice. The mean levels found were as follows: total As: 0.20 mg kg−1, inorganic As: 0.11 mg kg−1; Cd: 0.024 mg kg−1; and Pb: 0.004 mg kg−1. ICP-MS was used for the determination of As (total and inorganic) after acid digestion. Lead and cadmium were determined using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) after dry ashing. In countries where rice is a staple food, it may represent a significant contribution in relation to the provisional tolerable weekly intake for Cd and inorganic As.
HES1 Cooperates With pRb to Activate RUNX2‐Dependent Transcription

The retinoblastoma protein, pRb, can activate the transcription factor RUNX2, an essential regulator of osteogenic differentiation, but the mechanism of this activation is unknown. Here we studied the interaction of pRb and RUNX2 with HES1, previously reported to augment RUNX2 activity. PRb can act to promote RUNX2/HES1 association with concomitant promoter occupancy and transcriptional activation in bone cells.
The Successful Treatment of Psychogenic Nonepileptic Seizure Using a Disorder-Specific Treatment Modality

Treatment for psychogenic nonepileptic seizure (NES) typically consists of psychopharmacological intervention and psychotherapy. Psychotherapy is believed to be effective in identifying the etiology of the disorder and treating disorder-related comorbidities. However, there is as of yet no clear consensus on the psychotherapeutic methodology most effective in treating NES. In the current case report, group psychotherapy utilizing psychoeducation was employed. Results show clear declines in symptoms of trauma and dissociation and improved coping strategies and quality of life. [Brief Treatment and Crisis Intervention 4:343–352 (2004)]
Antigenic activity of Diplectanum aequans (Monogenea) in sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L.) held under different oxygenation conditions

The influence of oxygenation on the immune response of sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) to the branchial parasite Diplectanum aequans was studied in the ‘Il Padule’ fish-farm in Castiglione della Pescaia (Grosseto, Italy). The protein fractions of the parasite responsible for the immune response in the fish host were detected, and the sea bass stalled in hyperoxygenation conditions demonstrated a greater antigenic activity and fewer parasites than those reared in normal aeration did.
Aβ induces astrocytic glutamate release, extrasynaptic NMDA receptor activation, and synaptic loss

Significance Communication between nerve cells occurs at specialized cellular structures known as synapses. Loss of synaptic function is associated with cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, the mechanism of synaptic damage remains incompletely understood. Here we describe a pathway for synaptic damage whereby amyloid-β1–42 peptide (Aβ1–42) releases, via stimulation of α7 nicotinic receptors, excessive amounts of glutamate from astrocytes, in turn activating extrasynaptic NMDA-type glutamate receptors (eNMDARs) to mediate synaptic damage. The Food and Drug Administration-approved drug memantine offers some beneficial effect, but the improved eNMDAR antagonist NitroMemantine completely ameliorates Aβ-induced synaptic loss, providing hope for disease-modifying intervention in AD. Synaptic loss is the cardinal feature linking neuropathology to cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, the mechanism of synaptic damage remains incompletely understood. Here, using FRET-based glutamate sensor imaging, we show that amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) engages α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors to induce release of astrocytic glutamate, which in turn activates extrasynaptic NMDA receptors (eNMDARs) on neurons. In hippocampal autapses, this eNMDAR activity is followed by reduction in evoked and miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs). Decreased mEPSC frequency may reflect early synaptic injury because of concurrent eNMDAR-mediated NO production, tau phosphorylation, and caspase-3 activation, each of which is implicated in spine loss. In hippocampal slices, oligomeric Aβ induces eNMDAR-mediated synaptic depression. In AD-transgenic mice compared with wild type, whole-cell recordings revealed excessive tonic eNMDAR activity accompanied by eNMDAR-sensitive loss of mEPSCs. Importantly, the improved NMDAR antagonist NitroMemantine, which selectively inhibits extrasynaptic over physiological synaptic NMDAR activity, protects synapses from Aβ-induced damage both in vitro and in vivo.
Statistical analysis of six STR loci located in MHC region in Iranian population for preimplantation genetic diagnosis

We studied allele frequency and other statistical parameters of six short‐tandem repeat (STR) loci: D6S265, D6S439, D6S105, D6S82‐1, MICA, and MOGd, which are located in major histocompatibility complex (MHC) region (6p21.3) in 101 Iranian individuals. STR polymorphisms were analysed by PCR and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and subsequent comparison with standard (allelic) ladders. Exact tests of Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium were performed for the six loci. All loci, except the MOGd (P = 0.4291), were in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. These data may be useful in PGD‐HLA matching and forensic science.
Persona: A High-Performance Bioinformatics Framework

Next-generation genome sequencing technology has reached a point at which it is becoming cost-effective to sequence all patients. Biobanks and researchers are faced with an oncoming deluge of genomic data, whose processing requires new and scalable bioinformatics architectures and systems. Processing raw genetic sequence data is computationally expensive and datasets are large. Current software systems can require many hours to process a single genome and generally run only on a single computer. Common file formats are monolithic and row-oriented, a barrier to distributed computation. To address these challenges, we built Persona, a cluster-scale, high-throughput bioinformatics framework. Persona currently supports paired-read alignment, sorting, and duplicate marking using well-known algorithms and techniques. Persona can significantly reduce end-to-end processing times for bioinformatics computations. A new Aggregate Genomic Data (AGD) format unifies sample data and analysis results, while enabling efficient distributed computation and I/O. In a case study on sequence alignment, Persona sustains 1.353 gigabases aligned per second with 101 base pair reads on a 32-node cluster and can align a full genome in ∼16.7 seconds using the SNAP algorithm. Our results demonstrate that: (1) alignment computation with Persona scales linearly across servers with no measurable completion-time imbalance and negligible framework overheads; (2) on a single server, sorting with Persona and AGD is up to 2.3× faster than commonly used tools, while duplicate marking is 3× faster; (3) with AGD, a 7 node COTS network storage system can service up to 60 alignment compute nodes; (4) server cost dominates for a balanced system running Persona, while long-term data storage dwarfs the cost of computation.
An autonomic ENUM implementation in network simulator-2

This paper presents the implementation of an autonomic ENUM simulation model which is validated with real measurements. It explains the approach used to build the model and integrate with NS-2. The main objective for this work is to use this simulation model to use different configurations or algorithms in ENUM system and come up with a promising solution to reduce the global response time for an ENUM query. For ENUM to be used for VoIP solutions, their response time should be as compared to the real time telecommunication systems; otherwise it is not going to be successful. We are convinced that this model could also be used to study different implementation models for a particular ENUM scenario and identify an optimized implementation.
Influence of supplemental diets on Apis mellifera L. colonies for honey production.

Four pollen supplemental diets were tested for their performance in supporting the bee colonies of Apis mellifera during August, 2011 and January, 2012 in the premises of Honey bee Research Institute, National Agricultural Research Centre, Islamabad, Pakistan, to investigate alternative nutrients to pollen grain. Sixteen A. mellifera bee hives were selected alike with respect to number of frames and bees present in them. Honey bee colonies were divided into four groups of four colonies each. The honey extracted from the T (soybean diet), T (gram 1 2 diet), T (maize diet) and T (sugar only) was 21.3 kg ± 0.22, 24.4 kg ± 0.29, 3 4 19.3 kg ± 0.11 and 16 kg ± 0.11 respectively. The honey produced after the treatment of pollen with gram (T ) was significantly better than that 2 produced by the bees fed on other pollen supplemental diets. There was no significant difference for royal jelly production.
The Predictive Value of the Syntax Score in Patients With Chronic Coronary Artery Disease Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention or Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting: A Pilot Study

Objectives: To evaluate the usefulness of the SYNTAX score (SS) in predicting 1-year clinical outcomes in a population of patients with chronic coronary artery disease (CAD) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Background: Despite the proven prognostic value of the SS in patients with multivessel and/or left main (LM) CAD, its usefulness in other patient subsets remains uncertain. Methods: This was a prospective single centre cohort study conducted from September 2012 to November 2014 at the Nicosia General Hospital, Cyprus. Patients (n=140; 94% men and 6% women) with chronic CAD undergoing revascularization with either PCI or CABG were evaluated. Results: At 1-year, angina occurred in 20 patients (14.3%), myocardial infarction (MI) in 3 patients (2.1%), repeat revascularization procedures in 9 patients (6.4%) and death in 12 patients (8.6%). The SS independently predicted angina (p=0.024) but was not predictive of MI (p=0.964), death (p=0.292) or repeat revascularization (p=0.069). Conclusion: In this patient population, the SS predicted angina in the year following revascularization but was not predictive of MI, death or repeat revascularization.
High-order commutator-free Magnus integrators and related methods for non-autonomous linear evolution equations

The class of commutator-free Magnus integrators is known to provide a favourable alternative to standard Magnus integrators, in particular for large-scale applications arising in the time integration of non-autonomous linear evolution equations. A high-order commutator-free Magnus integrator is given by a composition of several exponentials that comprise certain linear combinations of the values of the defining operator at specified nodes. Due to the fact that previously proposed commutatorfree Magnus integrators of order five or higher involve negative coefficients in the linear combinations, severe instabilities are observed for spatially semi-discretised partial differential equations of parabolic type or for master equations describing dissipative quantum systems, respectively. In order to remedy this issue, two different approaches for the design of efficient time integrators of orders four, five, and six are pursued: (i) the study of commutator-free Magnus integrators involving complex coefficients that satisfy a positivity condition, and (ii) the study of unconventional methods in the sense that an additional exponential involving a commutator of higher order with respect to the time stepsize occurs. Numerical experiments for a test equation of parabolic type and a (dissipative) Rosen–Zener model confirm that the identified novel time integrators are superior to commutator-free Magnus integrators previously proposed in the literature.
Explaining Support Vector Machines: A Color Based Nomogram

Problem setting Support vector machines (SVMs) are very popular tools for classification, regression and other problems. Due to the large choice of kernels they can be applied with, a large variety of data can be analysed using these tools. Machine learning thanks its popularity to the good performance of the resulting models. However, interpreting the models is far from obvious, especially when non-linear kernels are used. Hence, the methods are used as black boxes. As a consequence, the use of SVMs is less supported in areas where interpretability is important and where people are held responsible for the decisions made by models. Objective In this work, we investigate whether SVMs using linear, polynomial and RBF kernels can be explained such that interpretations for model-based decisions can be provided. We further indicate when SVMs can be explained and in which situations interpretation of SVMs is (hitherto) not possible. Here, explainability is defined as the ability to produce the final decision based on a sum of contributions which depend on one single or at most two input variables. Results Our experiments on simulated and real-life data show that explainability of an SVM depends on the chosen parameter values (degree of polynomial kernel, width of RBF kernel and regularization constant). When several combinations of parameter values yield the same cross-validation performance, combinations with a lower polynomial degree or a larger kernel width have a higher chance of being explainable. Conclusions This work summarizes SVM classifiers obtained with linear, polynomial and RBF kernels in a single plot. Linear and polynomial kernels up to the second degree are represented exactly. For other kernels an indication of the reliability of the approximation is presented. The complete methodology is available as an R package and two apps and a movie are provided to illustrate the possibilities offered by the method.
Direct instantaneous torque and force control: A novel control approach for switched reluctance machines

Switched-reluctance technology is appealing to the automotive industry due to its cost efficiency. Conventional research focuses on the two main issues torque ripple and acoustic noise. However, control schemes usually only address one of these two issues at a time. This paper unifies the approaches of direct instantaneous torque control and direct instantaneous force control to simultaneously tackle the two central drawbacks of the switched reluctance machine. A searching algorithm was used to determine appropriate reference values for each phase to keep torque and overall radial force smooth at any time. Simulation and measurement results confirmed that the control objectives were met so that the torque ripple was reduced and the acoustic behavior of the investigated automotive traction drive was improved. The new control approach thus provides future engineers with a powerful tool for adapting the switched reluctance machine to the requirements of the automotive sector.
Application of Social Network Analysis in the Estimation of Bank Financial Strength During the Financial Crisis

The Financial Crisis of 2007-2008 was a very complex and impactful global event. The goal of this research is to explore the possibility of using a bank’s social relations to estimate a bank’s financial strength. We apply Natural Language Processing techniques to a corpus of financial data released by the NLP Unshared Task in PoliInformatics in 2014 in order to explore and better understand this possibility. Our work begins with the extraction of named entities from the corpus to establish names of people involved in the crisis. We then aggregate the social histories of these individuals from an online collaborative knowledge base: Freebase. Accordingly, we use the social histories of entities to establish social connections between them. We end with a visualization of the connections we found: a presentation of a social financial crisis network.
Immediate angioplasty compared with the administration of a thrombolytic agent followed by conservative treatment for myocardial infarction. The Mayo Coronary Care Unit and Catheterization Laboratory Groups.

BACKGROUND Immediate angioplasty and the administration of a thrombolytic agent followed by conservative treatment are two approaches to the management of acute myocardial infarction, but these methods have not been compared prospectively. METHODS We enrolled 108 patients with acute myocardial infarction in a randomized trial designed to test the hypothesis that immediate angioplasty (without previous thrombolytic therapy) may result in greater myocardial salvage than the administration of a thrombolytic agent followed by conservative treatment. The primary end point was the change in the size of the perfusion defect as assessed at admission and discharge by tomographic imaging with technetium-99m sestamibi, a myocardial perfusion agent that can measure myocardium at risk and final infarct size. RESULTS End-point data were available for 56 patients randomly assigned to receive tissue plasminogen activator (mean [+/- SD] time to start of infusion, 232 +/- 174 minutes after the onset of chest pain) and 47 patients randomly assigned to receive angioplasty (first balloon inflation at 277 +/- 144 minutes). In the case of anterior infarction, myocardial salvage as assessed by imaging with technetium-99m sestamibi was 27 +/- 21 percent of the left ventricle for 22 patients in the thrombolysis group, as compared with 31 +/- 21 percent for 15 patients in the angioplasty group. For infarcts in all other locations, myocardial salvage was 7 +/- 13 percent for 34 patients in the thrombolysis group and 5 +/- 10 percent for 32 patients in the angioplasty group. After adjustment for infarct location, the difference in mean salvage between groups was 0 (P = 0.98), with a 95 percent confidence interval of +/- 6 percent of the left ventricle. CONCLUSIONS In patients with acute myocardial infarction, immediate angioplasty does not appear to result in greater myocardial salvage than the administration of a thrombolytic agent followed by conservative treatment, although a small difference between these two therapeutic approaches cannot be excluded.