Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Telehealth: Is Your Staff Ready To Implement? A Descriptive Exploratory Study of Readiness for this Technology in Home Health Care

Telehealth is defined in this study as remote telemonitoring in the patient’s home using a device to capture vital signs and related healthcare information, which is transmitted over the phone line. Telehealth, used to support home visits, is one solution to position home health agencies for success in the pay-for-performance model. Staff readiness to implement remote monitoring impacts device implementation and success of the telehealth program. The authors of this study evaluated nurse readiness for telehealth implementation within the home health agencies of one health system providing insight into the implementation plan.
Burned Area Mapping in the Brazilian Savanna Using a One-Class Support Vector Machine Trained by Active Fires

We used the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) active fire data (375 m spatial resolution) to automatically extract multispectral samples and train a One-Class Support Vector Machine for burned area mapping, and applied the resulting classification algorithm to 300-m spatial resolution imagery from the Project for On-Board Autonomy-Vegetation (PROBA-V). The active fire data were screened to prevent extraction of unrepresentative burned area samples and combined with surface reflectance bi-weekly composites to produce burned area maps. The procedure was applied over the Brazilian Cerrado savanna, validated with reference maps obtained from Landsat images and compared with the Collection 6 Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) Burned Area product (MCD64A1) Results show that the algorithm developed improved the detection of small-sized scars and displayed results more similar to the reference data than MCD64A1. Unlike active fire-based region growing algorithms, the proposed approach allows for the detection and mapping of burn scars without active fires, thus eliminating a potential source of omission error. The burned area mapping approach presented here should facilitate the development of operational-automated burned area algorithms, and is very straightforward for implementation with other sensors.
Endoscopic Excision of Branchial Cleft Cyst in the Neck Using Mammary Areolae and Axilla Approach: A Case Report

Branchial cleft cysts are prone to recurrence and secondary infections, and hence, surgical resection is necessary. These masses are traditionally removed through an overlying incision; however, the resulting scar can be considered aesthetically displeasing. We accomplished a case of endoscopic resection of branchial cleft cyst in the right side of the neck of an 18-year-old female patient. Incisions were made in the bilateral mammary areolae and right axilla of the patient. We completely resected the mass using an ultrasonic scalpel and electrocoagulation hook within 45 minutes. All of the procedures were finished on the deep face of platysma muscle, which was not severed. There was no significant bleeding during the operation and the postoperative recovery was smooth, without recurrence for 6 months. The endoscopic resection of the neck mass through bilateral areolae and axillary incisions is simple, safe, and feasible, because there were covert incisions and fewer complications.
Power Plexus: A network based analysis

Power generation and distribution remains an important topic of discussion since the industrial revolution. As the system continues to grow, it needs to evolve both in infrastructure, robustness and its resilience to deal with failures. One such potential failure that we target in this work is the cascading failure. This avalanche effect propagates through the network and we study this propagation by Percolation Theory and implement some solutions for mitigation. We have extended the percolation theory as given in Mark Newman. Networks: an introduction,for random nodes to targeted nodes having high load bearing which is eliminated from the network to study the cascade effect. We also implement mitigation strategy to improve the network performance.
Influence of Communication Models on the Scalability of Master-Slave Platforms Running Bag-of-Tasks Applications

Bag-of-Tasks applications are parallel applications composed of independent (i.e., embarrassingly parallel) tasks that do not communicate with each other, may depend upon one or more input files, and can be executed in any order. Each file may be input for more than one task. A common framework to execute BoT applications is the master-slave topology. In this paper we studied the scalability of BoT applications running on multi-node systems (e.g. clusters and grids) organized as master-slave platforms, considering two communications paradigms: multiplexed connections and efficient broadcast. We prove that the lower bound on the isoefficiency function for master-slave platforms is achievable by those platforms that have an efficient broadcast primitive available. Our study employs a set of simulation
In vitro anticancer activity of loquat tea by inducing apoptosis in human leukemia cells

Fresh loquat leaves have been used as folk health herb in Asian countries for long time, although the evidence supporting their functions is still minimal. This study aimed to clarify the chemopreventive effect of loquat tea extract (LTE) by investigating the inhibition on proliferation, and underlying mechanisms in human promyelocytic leukemia cells (HL-60). LTE inhibited proliferation of HL-60 in a dose-dependent manner. Molecular data showed that the isolated fraction of LTE induced apoptosis of HL-60 as characterized by DNA fragmentation; activation of caspase-3, -8, and -9; and inactivation of poly(ADP)ribose polymerase. Moreover, LTE fraction increased the ratio of pro-apoptotic Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax)/anti-apoptotic myeloid cell leukemia 1 (Mcl-1) that caused mitochondrial membrane potential loss and cytochrome c released to cytosol. Thus, our data indicate that LTE might induce apoptosis in HL-60 cells through a mitochondrial dysfunction pathway. These findings enhance our understanding for chemopreventive function of loquat tea. Graphical Abstract Schematic molecular mechanism of loquat tea-induced apoptosis in HL-60 cells which involves a mitochondrial dysfunction pathway
Cooperative effort based wireless sensor network clustering algorithm for smart home application

Present research work propose the design of a low energy and high throughput, hierarchical clustering based routing protocol for smart home sensor network application. Proposed protocol perform dynamic cluster head selection based on multiple node characteristics like node residual energy, node distance from sink and node average distance from neighbour nodes. Cluster head distribution is even and results in enhanced network lifetime. Sensor nodes process the sense data using local on-board processors and omit the redundant data from transmission. In this manner, cooperative effort by sensor nodes save significant amount of node transmission energy. Elongated lifetime and reduced data traffic in network reduce data loss rates during transmission and result in high throughput. Wireless channel model and path loss model for indoor residential environment are used for protocol simulation. Simulation is carried using MATLAB tool and results are obtained in terms of network lifetime, stability period, throughput etc. Results, as compared with existing protocols, proves the efficiency of proposed protocol.
The radiotherapy reference panel – experiences and results of the German Hodgkin Study Group (GHSG)

Abstract: Objective: The German Hodgkin Study Group (GHSG) including more than 500 participating centers established a central radiotherapy (RT) reference center to improve quality of treatment. The purpose of the present article is to summarize the experiences and results of the performed and ongoing quality assurance programs (QAP) of RT.
Identification of Sit-to-Stand and Stand-to-Sit Transitions Using a Single Inertial Sensor

In order to enhance the quality of life of people with mobility problems like Parkinson's disease or stroke patients, it is crucial to monitor and assess their daily life activities by characterizing basic movements like postural transitions, which is the main goal of this work. This paper presents a novel postural transition detection algorithm which is able to detect and identify Sit to Stand and Stand to Sit transitions with a Sensitivity of 88.2% and specificity of 98.6% by using a single sensor located at the user's waist. The algorithm has been tested with 31 healthy volunteers and an overall amount of 545 transitions. The proposed algorithm can be easily implemented in real-time system for on-line monitoring applications.
Increased serum levels of interleukin-8 in patients with tension-type headache

Background and objectives The pathophysiology of tension-type headache is not well understood. Increased peripheral levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines may act as mediators of several chronic pain disorders. The aim of the present study was to investigate the peripheral levels of chemokines in patients with tension-type headache. Methods This was a cross sectional study evaluating serum levels of chemokines in age and sex-matched tension-type headache patients, ictally and interictally, and control participants. Beck Depression and Anxiety Inventories were recorded. Serum levels of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, macrophage inflammatory protein 1α, regulated on activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted, eotaxin, eotaxin-2, interleukin-8, interferon gamma induced protein-10 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results A total of 96 participants (48 tension-type headache, 48 controls) were included. Interleukin-8 levels were significantly increased in patients with tension-type headache when compared to controls (413.8 (123.4–1756.3) and 329 (107.8–955.6), respectively, P = 0.025). Anxiety and depression scores were higher in patients with tension-type headache but interleukin-8 increase in tension-type headache patients persisted after controlling for anxiety and depression symptoms. Patients with headache at the time of assessment had increased monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 levels when compared with patients without headache (2809.3 (1101–6122.2) and 1630.2 (669.3–31056.8), respectively P = 0.026). Patients with episodic and chronic tension-type headache had no significant differences in serum chemokines levels. Conclusion Interleukin-8 was increased in tension-type headache and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 was higher in tension-type headache patients with headache, suggesting that pro-inflammatory mechanisms may participate in tension-type headache pathophysiology.
Increased resting energy expenditure and insulin resistance in male patients with moderate-to severe obstructive sleep apnoea.

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) has been associated with disturbances in energy metabolism and insulin resistance, nevertheless, the links between OSA severity, resting energy expenditure (REE) and insulin resistance (homeostasis model assessment, HOMA-IR) remained unexplored. Therefore, we investigated the effects of OSA severity on REE, and relationships between REE and HOMA-IR in patients with OSA. Forty men [mean (SD) age 49.4 (11.4) years] underwent overnight polysomnography; REE was assessed using indirect calorimetry. REE adjusted for fat-free mass (FFM) was higher in patients with moderate-to severe OSA [n=24; body mass index (BMI) 31.1 (2.7) kg.m(-2); apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI)>/=15 episodes.h(-1)] compared to participants with no clinically significant OSA (n=16; BMI 30.3 (2.2) kg.m(-2); AHI<15 episodes.h(-1)) [median (interquartile range) 30.4 (26.1-31.3) versus 25.8 (24.6-27.3) kcal.kg(-1). 24 h(-1), p=0.005)]. AHI and oxygen desaturation index (ODI) were directly related to REE/FFM (p=0.001; p<0.001, respectively) and to HOMA-IR (p<0.001 for both). In stepwise multiple linear models, REE/FFM was independently predicted by ODI (p<0.001) and age (p=0.028) (R(2)=0.346); HOMA-IR was independently predicted by ODI only (p<0.001, R(2)=0.457). In conclusion, male patients with moderate-to severe OSA have increased REE paralleled by impaired insulin sensitivity. Severity of nocturnal intermittent hypoxia reflected by ODI is an independent predictor of REE/FFM and HOMA-IR.
A Gene Expression Signature That Correlates with CD8+ T Cell Expansion in Acute EBV Infection

Virus-specific CD8+ T cells expand dramatically during acute EBV infection, and their persistence is important for lifelong control of EBV-related disease. To better define the generation and maintenance of these effective CD8+ T cell responses, we used microarrays to characterize gene expression in total and EBV-specific CD8+ T cells isolated from the peripheral blood of 10 individuals followed from acute infectious mononucleosis (AIM) into convalescence (CONV). In total CD8+ T cells, differential expression of genes in AIM and CONV was most pronounced among those encoding proteins important in T cell activation/differentiation, cell division/metabolism, chemokines/cytokines and receptors, signaling and transcription factors (TF), immune effector functions, and negative regulators. Within these categories, we identified 28 genes that correlated with CD8+ T cell expansion in response to an acute EBV infection. In EBV-specific CD8+ T cells, we identified 33 genes that were differentially expressed in AIM and CONV. Two important TF, T-bet and eomesodermin, were upregulated and maintained at similar levels in both AIM and CONV; in contrast, protein expression declined from AIM to CONV. Expression of these TF varied among cells with different epitope specificities. Collectively, gene and protein expression patterns suggest that a large proportion, if not a majority of CD8+ T cells in AIM are virus specific, activated, dividing, and primed to exert effector activities. High expression of T-bet and eomesodermin may help to maintain effector mechanisms in activated cells and to enable proliferation and transition to earlier differentiation states in CONV.
Analysis of the Contribution of Salmonella Pathogenicity Islands 1 and 2 to Enteric Disease Progression Using a Novel Bovine Ileal Loop Model and a Murine Model of Infectious Enterocolitis

ABSTRACT We have developed a novel ileal loop model for use in calves to analyze the contribution of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium type III secretion systems to disease processes in vivo. Our model involves constructing ileal loops with end-to-end anastamoses to restore the patency of the small intestine, thereby allowing experimental animals to convalesce following surgery for the desired number of days. This model overcomes the time constraint imposed by ligated ileal loop models that have precluded investigation of Salmonella virulence factors during later stages of the infection process. Here, we have used this model to examine the enteric disease process at 24 h and 5 days following infection with wild-type Salmonella and mutants lacking the virulence-associated Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 (SPI-1) or SPI-2 type III secretion systems. We show that SPI-2 mutants are dramatically attenuated at 5 days following infection and report a new phenotype for SPI-1 mutants, which induce intestinal pathology in calves similar to wild-type Salmonella in the 5-day ileal loop model. Both of these temporal phenotypes for SPI-1 and SPI-2 mutants were corroborated in a second animal model of enteric disease using streptomycin-pretreated mice. These data delineate novel phenotypes for SPI-1 and SPI-2 mutants in the intestinal phase of bovine and murine salmonellosis and provide working models to further investigate the effector contribution to these pathologies.
Title : Role of Cytochrome P 450 Metabolites in the Regulation of Renal Function and Blood Pressure in 2-Kidney 1-Clip Hypertensive Rats

Alterations in renal function contribute to Goldblatt 2-kidney 1-clip (2K1C) hypertension. A previous study indicated that bioavailability of cytochrome P450 metabolites epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) is decreased while 20hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acids (20-HETE) is increased in this model. We utilized the inhibitor of soluble epoxide hydrolase cis-4-[4-(3-Adamantan-1-yl-ureido)-cyclohexyloxy]benzoic acid (c-AUCB) and HET0016, the inhibitor of 20-HETE production, to study the role of EETs and 20-HETE in the regulation of renal function. Chronic c-AUCB treatment significantly decreased systolic blood pressure (SBP) (133 ± 1 vs. 163 ± 3 mmHg) and increased sodium excretion (1.23 ± 0.10 vs. 0.59 ± 0.03 mmol/day) in 2K1C rats. HET0016 did not affect SBP and sodium excretion. In acute experiments, renal blood flow (RBF) was decreased in 2K1C rats (5.0 ± 0.2 vs. 6.9 ± 0.2 ml.min.g). c-AUCB normalized RBF in 2K1C rats (6.5 ± 0.6 ml.min.g). HET0016 also increased RBF in 2K1C rats (5.8 ± 0.2 ml.min.g). Although RBF and GFR remained stable in normotensive rats during renal arterial pressure (RAP) reductions, both were significantly reduced at RAP 100 mmHg in 2K1C rats. c-AUCB did not improve autoregulation but increased RBF at all RAPs and shifted the pressurenatriuresis curve to the left. HET0016 treated 2K1C rats exhibited impaired autoregulation of RBF and GFR. Our data indicate that c-AUCB displays antihypertensive properties in 2K1C hypertension that are mediated by an improvement of RBF and pressure natriuresis. While HET0016 enhanced RBF, its anti-natriuretic effect likely prevented it from producing a BP-lowering effect in 2K1C model. 3
p+ Emitters on n-Type c-Si dry-etched with nitrogen trifluoride and passivated with ALD aluminum oxide

The photovoltaics industry is expected to slowly transition from p-type mono-Si cells to n-type mono-Si over the next several years. Diffusion of boron into silicon to fabricate a p+ emitter can result in an efficiency-reducing boron rich layer (BRL) which can be removed reliably with an NF<sub>3</sub> dry-etch process. The emitter should be passivated with a film that does not result in minority carriers being attracted to its surface. Boron was diffused from a-Si films deposited by PECVD on both sides of n-type Si substrates of 3.3 ohm-cm. The emitters were dry etched with nitrogen trifluoride (NF<sub>3</sub>). Best results for effective lifetime (198 μs) and emitter saturation current (31.6 fA/cm<sup>2</sup>) were realized on a sample etched to 89 Ω/□ from 71 Ω/□, then passivated with 10 nm of Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> and 70 nm of SiN<sub>X</sub> and subsequently annealed in N<sub>2</sub>/H<sub>2</sub> @ 450°C for 60 minutes.
Full-Score-Lite. From video analysis and transcribed interactions to snapshot strips and chor(e)ographies of communication

In this position paper for the MUM 2003 workshop in Norrkoping, December 10th 2003, Designing for ubicomp in the wild: Methods for exploring the design of mobile and ubiquitous service, a brief description is given of methods used in connection with a series of ‘quick and dirty’ ethnographic studies of mobile ICT users. These studies were carried out as commissioned research during 2000. Because of predetermined constraints on the studies and resulting reports, alternative ways of describing and annotating interactions on the move were devised and tested. As a result, the initial single time line approach was abandoned and a number of messier, multi-branched chor(e)ographies of communication were developed. These were finally discarded at the time as failures. However, in connection with becoming more of a mobile ICT user myself, the issue of the social and situated construction of time, and the need for supporting several themes in parallel, along different time lines, has surfaced again, and now seems more relevant than ever.
Income, cumulative risk, and longitudinal profiles of hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis activity in preschool-age children

Abstract Environmental risk predicts disrupted basal cortisol levels in preschool children. However, little is known about the stability or variability of diurnal cortisol morning levels or slope patterns over time in young children. This study used latent profile analysis to identify patterns of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis activity during the preschool period. Using a community sample (N = 306), this study measured income, cumulative risk, and children's diurnal cortisol (morning level and slope) four times across 2.5 years, starting when children were 36 months old. Latent profile analysis profiles indicated that there were predominantly stable patterns of diurnal cortisol level and slope over time and that these patterns were predicted by income and cumulative risk. In addition, there were curvilinear relations of income and cumulative risk to profiles of low morning cortisol level and flattened diurnal slope across time, suggesting that both lower and higher levels of income and cumulative risk were associated with a stress-sensitive physiological system. Overall, this study provides initial evidence for the role of environmental risk in predicting lower, flattened basal cortisol patterns that remain stable over time.
A layout approach to monolithic microwave IC

A layout approach is attempted dedicatedly for MMICs (monolithic microwave integrated circuits), on which predominant layout elements are transistors, resistors, capacitors, inductors, coplanar waveguides, T junctions, etc., formed by the GaAs fabrication process. The layout issue typical of such MMICs consists essentially in how to realize a single layer placement of different shapes of layout elements under a variety of spacing, orientating, and shaping constraints. Each layout element is modeled to simplify placement tasks subject to different placement constraints, and then a set of the interconnection requirements among elements is represented by a graph, to which a planarization algorithm is effectively applied. As a result of this planarization, a placement procedure is constructed mainly by repeated application of a merging scheme. A number of experimental results are also shown to demonstrate the practicability of the described layout approach.
Data Augmentation of Spectral Data for Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) Based Deep Chemometrics

Deep learning methods are used on spectroscopic data to predict drug content in tablets from near infrared (NIR) spectra. Using convolutional neural networks (CNNs), features are ex- tracted from the spectroscopic data. Extended multiplicative scatter correction (EMSC) and a novel spectral data augmentation method are benchmarked as preprocessing steps. The learned models perform better or on par with hypothetical optimal partial least squares (PLS) models for all combinations of preprocessing. Data augmentation with subsequent EMSC in combination gave the best results. The deep learning model CNNs also outperform the PLS models in an extrapolation chal- lenge created using data from a second instrument and from an analyte concentration not covered by the training data. Qualitative investigations of the CNNs kernel activations show their resemblance to wellknown data processing methods such as smoothing, slope/derivative, thresholds and spectral region selection.