Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Harnessing the internet cloud for managing drug interactions with chemotherapy regimens in patients with cancer suffering from depression

Abstract Concomitant use of anticancer drugs (ACDs) and antidepressants (ADs) in the treatment of depression in patients with cancer may result in potentially harmful drug-drug interactions (DDIs). It is crucial that clinicians make timely, accurate, safe and effective decisions regarding drug therapies in patients. The ubiquitous nature of the internet or “cloud” has enabled easy dissemination of DDI information, but there is currently no database dedicated to allow searching of ACD interactions by chemotherapy regimens. We describe the implementation of an AD interaction module to a previously published oncology-specific DDI database for clinicians which focuses on ACDs, single-agent and multiple-agent chemotherapy regimens. Methods. Drug- and DDI-related information were collated from drug information handbooks, databases, package inserts, and published literature from PubMed, Scopus and Science Direct. Web documents were constructed using Adobe software and programming scripts, and mounted on a domain served from the internet cloud. Results. OncoRx is an oncology-specific DDI database whose structure is designed around all the major classes of ACDs and their frequently prescribed chemotherapy regimens. There are 117 ACDs and 256 regimens in OncoRx, and it can detect over 1 500 interactions with 21 ADs. Clinicians are provided with the pharmacokinetic parameters of the drugs, information on the regimens and details of the detected DDIs during an interaction search. Conclusion. OncoRx is the first database of its kind which allows detection of ACD and chemotherapy regimen interactions with ADs. This tool will assist clinicians in improving clinical response and reducing adverse effects based on the therapeutic and toxicity profiles of the drugs.
Lifestyle and 15-year survival free of heart attack, stroke, and diabetes in middle-aged British men.

BACKGROUND To examine the relationship between modifiable lifestyle factors (smoking, physical activity, alcohol intake, and body mass index [BMI]) and the likelihood of 15-year survival free of major cardiovascular end points and diabetes in middle-aged men. METHODS A prospective study of 7142 men aged 40 to 59 years at screening with no history of coronary heart disease, diabetes, and stroke drawn from 1 general practice in each of 24 British towns and followed up for 15 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Death from any cause and a combined end point, including survival free of heart attacks or stroke or the development of diabetes over a follow-up of 15 years for each man. RESULTS During the 15-year follow-up, there were 1064 deaths from all causes, 770 major heart attacks (fatal and nonfatal), 247 stroke events (fatal and nonfatal), and 252 cases of diabetes among the 7142 men. After adjustment for age and each of the other modifiable lifestyle factors, the risk of the combined end point (death or having a heart attack, stroke, or diabetes) went up significantly with increasing smoking levels and from BMI levels of 26 kg/m2 or higher, and decreased significantly with increasing levels of physical activity up to levels of moderate activity with no further benefit thereafter (heavy smoking vs never: relative risk [RR] [odds], 2.50; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.12-2.94; BMI > or = 30 vs 20-21.9 kg/m2: RR, 2.11; 95% CI, 1.71-2.62; moderate vs inactive: RR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.50-0.72). Light drinking (vs occasional) showed a relatively small but significant reduction in risk (RR, 0.84; 95% CI, 0.74-0.96). Using Cox predictive survival models, the estimated probability of surviving 15 years free of cardiovascular events and diabetes in a man aged 50 years ranged from 89% in a moderately active man at BMI levels of 20 to 24.0 kg/m2 who had never smoked to 42% in an inactive smoker with BMI level of 30 kg/m2 or higher. CONCLUSIONS Modifiable lifestyles (smoking, physical activity, and BMI) in middle-aged men play an important role in long-term survival free of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. These findings should provide encouragement for public health promotion directed toward middle-aged men.
Diagnosing bipolar disorder and the effect of antidepressants: a naturalistic study.

OBJECTIVES To determine if bipolar disorder is accurately diagnosed in clinical practice and to assess the effects of antidepressants on the course of bipolar illness. METHOD Charts of outpatients with affective disorder diagnoses seen in an outpatient clinic during 1 year (N = 85 with bipolar or unipolar disorders) were reviewed. Past diagnostic and treatment information was obtained by patient report and systematic psychiatric history. Bipolar diagnosis was based on DSM-IV criteria using a SCID-based interview. RESULTS Bipolar disorder was found to be misdiagnosed as unipolar depression in 37% of patients who first see a mental health professional after their first manic/hypomanic episode. Antidepressants were used earlier and more frequently than mood stabilizers, and 23% of this unselected sample experienced a new or worsening rapid-cycling course attributable to antidepressant use. CONCLUSION These results suggest that bipolar disorder tends be misdiagnosed as unipolar major depressive disorder and that antidepressants seem to be associated with a worsened course of bipolar illness. However, this naturalistic trial was uncontrolled, and more controlled research is required to confirm or refute these findings.
Epileptic vertigo: Evidence for vestibular representation in human frontal cortex

Article abstract The authors report a 5-year-old boy with episodes of epileptic rotational clockwise vertigo without nystagmus. Video-EEG monitoring showed a left frontocentral onset of epileptic discharges accompanied by complaints of vertigo. MRI showed a small low-grade astrocytoma in the left frontal middle gyrus. After lesionectomy, vertiginous seizures ceased. The patient’s vertigo seems to be induced by epileptic discharges in a vestibular representation area within the frontal cortex.
Multiple-input multiple-output cloud transmission for high data rate local contents delivery

A novel cloud transmission (CTxn) technique is proposed on the basis of the multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technique, called MIMO CTxn. Applying a MIMO technique to conventional SISO CTxn provides a very efficient way to support high-date-rate service for delivering local content, even for a negative SINR. Simulation results show that the performance of MIMO CTxn is better than that of SISO CTxn while supporting high-order modulation and a high code rate.
Institutional Quality, Investment Efficiency and the Choice of Public-Private Partnerships

By using a sample of 625 Public-Private Partnership (PPP) private sector firms that covers the years from 1980 to 2015 and straddles nine countries at varying degrees of economic development and PPP markets, we find that the motivation of the firms that undertake PPP investments varies. While private sector firms in economies with low institutional quality opt for PPPs to alleviate capital constraints attributed to underinvestment, those in economies with high institutional quality opt for PPPs to solve the problem of overinvestment caused by abundant cash flow. In the long run, the benefits of lower capital constraints through PPP investments are more pronounced in the economies with high institutional quality. Hence, our paper contributes to the extant debate on the role of institutional quality by stating that the “law-finance-growth” hypothesis is more plausible than the “political tie” hypothesis for understanding why private sector firms undertake PPP investments.
Developing Teacher Capacity with Culturally Responsive Classroom Management Practices

As elementary classrooms are becoming more diverse, school staffs remain predominantly White, with a perspective of mainstream sociocultural norms. Additionally, research has shown a disproportionate number of minority students receiving behavioral referrals. The cultural mismatch between teachers and students combined with the disproportionality seen in discipline data indicate that change is needed. The purpose of this quantitative study is to investigate the development of educators’ capacity to foster their own identity development and use culturally responsive classroom management practices that meet the needs of diverse students through a series of professional learning experiences. Additionally, this study will examine the relationship between educator self-reported perceptions of their capacity to meet the needs of diverse students and the number of discipline referrals retrieved from School-Wide Information System (SWIS). The study included 35 certified staff members from a Pre-K through fifth grade elementary school in Oregon. Preand post-survey data were collected using the Teacher Multicultural Attitude Survey (TMAS) and the Survey of Behaviour Management Practices (SOBMP). A pairedsample t-test indicated a statistically significantly higher mean scores on the post TMAS (p = .036). A Pearson’s r indicated there was not a statistically significant relationship at the p < . 05 probability level between the number of disciplinary referrals and either survey. There were statistically significantly higher mean scores on
Rapid Automated Algorithm for Aligning and Reslicing PET Images

A computer algorithm for the three-dimensional (3D) alignment of PET images is described. To align two images, the algorithm calculates the ratio of one image to the other on a voxel-by-voxel basis and then iteratively moves the images relative to one another to minimize the variance of this ratio across voxels. Since the method relies on anatomic information in the images rather than on external fiducial markers, it can be applied retrospectively. Validation studies using a 3D brain phantom show that the algorithm aligns images acquired at a wide variety of positions with maximum positional errors that are usually less than the width of a voxel (1.745 mm). Simulated cortical activation sites do not interfere with alignment. Global errors in quantitation from realignment are <2%. Regional errors due to partial volume effects are largest when the gantry is rotated by large angles or when the bed is translated axially by one-half the interplane distance. To minimize such partial volume effects, the algorithm can be used prospectively, during acquisition, to reposition the scanner gantry and bed to match an earlier study. Computation requires 3–6 min on a Sun SPARCstation 2.
Alertness and memory after sleep deprivation and diazepam intake

Benzodiazepines (BZDs) give rise to memory impairments. It has been questioned whether or not these impairments are related to the drug's sedative, alertness-reducing effects. Therefore, in this study, alertness was reduced in healthy subjects both pharmacologically (15 mg diazepam) and non-pharmacologically (24-h sleep deprivation, SD) in order to assess whether these manipulations both gave rise to memory impairments. Twelve subjects were tested using a repeated measures cross-over design. Drug administration was placebo- controlled and double-blind. A subjective alertness reduction was established after diazepam intake and even more after SD. Additionally, performance-disruptive effects were found on psychomotor tasks after both SD and diazepam intake. However, only diazepam, and not SD, impaired delayed recall of a word list and recall of paired associates. Thus a reduction in alertness, i.e. sedation, cannot fully account for BZD-induced memory impairments.
Biochemical Evidence for the Involvement of Tyrosine in Epoxide Activation during the Catalytic Cycle of Epoxide Hydrolase*

Epoxide hydrolases (EH) catalyze the hydrolysis of epoxides and arene oxides to their corresponding diols. The crystal structure of murine soluble EH suggests that Tyr465and Tyr381 act as acid catalysts, activating the epoxide ring and facilitating the formation of a covalent intermediate between the epoxide and the enzyme. To explore the role of these two residues, mutant enzymes were produced and the mechanism of action was analyzed. Enzyme assays on a series of substrates confirm that both Tyr465 and Tyr381 are required for full catalytic activity. The kinetics of chalcone oxide hydrolysis show that mutation of Tyr465 and Tyr381 decreases the rate of binding and the formation of an intermediate, suggesting that both tyrosines polarize the epoxide moiety to facilitate ring opening. These two tyrosines are, however, not implicated in the hydrolysis of the covalent intermediate. Sequence comparisons showed that Tyr465 is conserved in microsomal EHs. The substitution of analogous Tyr374 with phenylalanine in the human microsomal EH dramatically decreases the rate of hydrolysis ofcis-stilbene oxide. These results suggest that these tyrosines perform a significant mechanistic role in the substrate activation by EHs.
Power Device Packaging Technologies for Extreme Environments

Silicon carbide is a wide-bandgap semiconductor capable of operation at temperatures in excess of 300degC. However, high-temperature packaging to interface with the other elements of the electrical system is required. Die attach, wire bonding, and passivation materials and techniques have been demonstrated for use at 300degC. Transient liquid phase bonding has been developed with Au:Sn/Au, yielding high die shear strength after 2000 h at 400degC. Large diameter (250 mum) gold and platinum wire bonding was evaluated for top side electrical contact. Au wire was reliable after 2000 h at 300degC with Ti/Ti:W/Au pads over passivation on the SiC. However, Au wire on Ti/Pt/Au and Pt wire on both Ti/Tl:W/Au and Ti/Pt/Au exhibited passivation fracture with aging. Polyimide has been demonstrated for 2000 h at 300degC in air as a high-voltage passivation layer.
Image salient region detection based on histogram

Image salient region detection is useful for applications like image segmentation, image retrieval et al. According to the thought that the color of salient region is global scarcity and the spatial distribution is compact, a new image salient region detection method is proposed in this paper. The method estimates the salient map based on histogram by using the pixel color differences and the spatial distribution characteristics in both Lab and HSV color spaces separately. Then the final saliency map is built by normalizing and fusing the above saliency maps. The publicly ImgSal dataset is used for experiment evaluation, which has six different types of sub-datasets. Compared with seven other state-of-the-art methods, the proposed method produces superior performance. Experimental results show that the proposed method is effective.
A Fully Integrated and Battery-Free Interface for Low-Voltage Electromagnetic Energy Harvesters

This paper presents a fully integrated and battery-free 90 nm interface circuit for ac/dc conversion and step up of low-voltage ac signals generated by electromagnetic (EM) energy harvesters. The circuit is composed of two stages: The rectifier in the first stage utilizes an improved ac/dc doubler structure with active diodes internally powered by a passive ac/dc doubler and custom-designed comparators to minimize the voltage drops. With this, the efficiency is enhanced to 67% while providing 0.61 V to 40 μA load. The second stage is a dc/dc converter utilizing a low-voltage charge pump with an on-chip ring oscillator for further voltage step up. The rectifier stage is functional down to 125 mV input peak voltage, and the full interface circuit can maintain more than 1 V dc at 1 MΩ load for input peak voltages higher than 0.4 V. The circuit delivers 2.48 V to a 4.4 MΩ load, when interfaced to an in-house EM harvester, operating under 10 Hz, 0.5 g vibration.
Wall following and obstacle avoidance results from a multi-DSP sonar ring on a mobile robot

Sensing capabilities of a multi-DSP sonar ring are demonstrated with wall following and obstacle avoidance behaviour. The autonomous mobile robot called "Sombrero" moves perpendicular to the nearest object on the left while controlling the distance to that object and generates high quality sonar maps. The wall following and obstacle avoidance behaviour is very simple due to the accurate and timely range and bearing (incidence angle) information provided by the advanced sonar ring. The advanced sonar ring consists of 48 ultrasonic transducers, 24 acting as transceivers and 24 acting as receivers, seven custom designed DSP echo processor boards and six analogue boards. The sonar ring is able to cover 360 degrees around robot with simultaneously firing of all 24 transmitters. Transmission and echo analysis are performed at repetition rates of about 10 Hz, for ranges up to six metres. Accurate distance and bearing measurements of objects are performed by the DSP system using matched filtering techniques. The robot is able to follow walls of various shapes such as a square, circle, concave corner and convex corner. Sombrero controls its motion based on the range and bearing data captured from the advanced sonar ring every 100 msec while moving with a constant speed. Experimental results illustrate the effectiveness of the sonar ring and the quality of the generated local maps.
Calorigenic effect of diiodothyronines in the rat.

1. In hypothyroid rats, we determined the effects of administration of different doses of 3,3',5‐triiodo‐L‐thyronine (T3), 3,3'‐diiodo‐L‐thyronine (3,3'‐T2) and 3,5‐diiodo‐L‐thyronine (3,5‐T2) (‘T2 isomers’ refers specifically to these latter two isomers throughout this paper) on resting metabolism (RM) and on the oxidative capacity (measured as cytochrome oxidase activity) of tissues that are metabolically very active. 2. The T2 isomers induced a dose‐dependent calorigenic effect when injected I.P. into hypothyroid rats. The increase in RM was already evident at a dose of 2.5 micrograms (100 g body wt)(‐1), and the greatest effect was observed at the highest dose, 10 micrograms (100 g body wt)(‐1), when RM reached a value not significantly different from that of the euthyroid controls (1.92 +/‐ 0.08 and 1.93 +/‐ 0.13 (1 O2) kg(‐1) h(‐1) for 3,5'‐T2, respectively, vs. 2.1 +/‐ 0.12 (1 O2) kg(‐1) h(‐1) for euthyroid controls). T3 administration restored RM to normal euthyroid values, even at a dose of 2.5 micrograms (100 g body wt)(‐1). 3. The effect of T2 isomers on RM was paralleled by an increase in the oxidative capacity of tissues that are metabolically very active (liver, skeletal muscle, brown adipose tissue (BAT) and heart). The increases were between 33% (liver + 3,3'‐T2) and 63% (muscle + 3,3'‐T2). By contrast, T3 induced its greatest effect on the liver, with a smaller effect on skeletal muscle, but no significant stimulation in heart and BAT, whatever the dose. 4. These results suggest that T8 isomers might be mediators of the direct thyroid hormone regulation of energy metabolism.
Molecular Characterization of Cycloinulooligosaccharide Fructanotransferase from Bacillus macerans

ABSTRACT Cycloinulooligosaccharide fructanotransferase (CFTase) converts inulin into cyclooligosaccharides of β-(2→1)-linkedd-fructofuranose by catalyzing an intramolecular transfructosylation reaction. The CFTase gene was cloned and characterized from Bacillus macerans CFC1. The CFTase gene encoded a polypeptide of 1,333 amino acids with a calculatedMr of 149,563. Western blot and zymography analyses revealed that the CFTase with a molecular mass of 150 kDa (CFT150) was processed (between Ser389 and Phe390 residue) to form a 107-kDa protein (CFT107) in the B. macerans CFC1 cells. The processed CFT107 was similar in its mass to the previously purified CFTase from B. macerans CFC1. The CFT107 enzyme was produced by B. macerans CFC1 but was not detected from the recombinant Escherichia coli cells, indicating that the processing event occurred in a host-specific manner. The two CFTases (CFT150 and CFT107) exhibited the same enzymatic properties, such as influences of pH and temperature on the enzyme activity, the intermolecular transfructosylation ability, and the ability of hydrolysis of cycloinulooligosaccharides produced by the cyclization reaction. However, the thermal stability of CFT107 was slightly higher than that of CFT150. The most striking difference between the two enzymes was observed in their Km values; the value for CFT150 (1.56 mM) was threefold lower than that for CFT107 (4.76 mM). Thus, the specificity constant (kcat/Km) of CFT150 was about fourfold higher than that of CFT107. These results indicated that the N-terminal 358-residue region of CFT150 played a role in increasing the enzyme's binding affinity to the inulin substrate.
Perceived Sources and Coping Mechanisms of Stress among Undergraduate Dental Students in Aden University

In Aden, there is no study focused on stressors among dental students. This study was conducted aiming to determine the perceived sources of stress, and reporting the coping mechanisms used by undergraduate dental student in Aden University. The cross-sectional design was carried out during fall 2014 academic semester, using a self administered questionnaire among second to fifth year bachelor students of dental faculty (Aden – Yemen). It showed a response rate of 78.16%. Stressors related to "faculty relations" topped the other stress areas, with overall mean percentage of (68.1%) for moderate or severe stress. Followed by clinical factors stressors (66.0%) and academic performance stressors (62.6%). The first ranked stressors were difficulties to get suitable patient (95.6%), inadequate resources available in the clinic (87.8%) and your expectation of dental college are not very much like what you imagined them to be (85.7%). The leading stress reduction technique among the studied students was praying or spiritual activity. This study concluded that dental students in Aden University are in need for support and guidance and there is a need to shift towards a more student-centered curriculum.
Improved cookstoves in Africa: Explaining adoption patterns

ABSTRACT This article uses the case of 18 projects in 14 African countries to explore the adoption patterns of improved cookstoves and the factors that influence these patterns. Our results show that there is variation in the rate of adoption between countries and amongst rural and urban households. The combined effect of moderately good gross domestic product per capita, history of improved cookstove project implementation and adequate institutional support suggests that consumers in South Africa, Senegal and Lesotho tend to be more aware of the benefits of improved cookstoves and better able to afford them than consumers in countries such as Mali, Malawi and Mozambique. Within the countries, rural households seem to be less aware and capable of affording the stoves compared to urban consumers. These differences are a result of varying levels of income and literacy. The low literacy levels mean rural and mostly elderly individuals are less knowledgeable and appreciative of the benefits offered by improved cookstoves.
WTO: Toward the Hong Kong, China Ministerial and Beyond

A successful Doha Development Round has the potential to raise standards of living worldwide, alleviate grinding global poverty, remove inequities in the trading system, and enhance international stability. With it, the well-being of Asia, which is home to most of the world’s poor, would be substantially enhanced. Yet there are huge risks that the prospective benefits will not be achieved. Over the past 4 years governments from 148 nations have been negotiating whether and how to open markets for agricultural products, industrial goods, and services. On 8 July 2005 in addressing the heads of country delegations Director General Supachai Panitchpakdi declared, “these negotiations are in trouble”, primarily for lack of political support. That suggests that people worldwide are unaware of the tremendous gains that would be captured from successfully concluding the Doha negotiations and the worrisome implications if they fail. Governments need to get the message out regarding why the Doha Development Round is absolutely vital to our future economic growth and political stability.