Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cost-effectiveness analysis of chlorhexidine gluconate compared with povidone-iodine solution for catheter-site care in Siriraj Hospital, Thailand.

BACKGROUND Catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSI) are an important cause of patient morbidity, mortality, and increased health care costs. Use of an antiseptic solution for skin disinfection at the catheter insertion site helps prevent catheter-related infections. In Thailand, povidone-iodine solution is the most commonly used agent for this purpose. However, the results of several studies including a meta-analysis indicated that the use of chlorhexidine gluconate is more effective than the use of povidone-iodine as an antiseptic for preventing CRBSI. This study evaluated the cost-effectiveness of chlorhexidine gluconate versus povidone-iodine for catheter-site care using the Siriraj Hospital perspective. MATERIAL AND METHOD We used a decision analytic modeling for estimating the cost-effectiveness of antiseptic solutions. The CRBSI rate was obtained from the Center for Nosocomial Infection Control at Siriraj Hospital, while the efficacy of cholorhexidine compared to povidone-idone was based on a meta-analysis. The cost of managing infections was derived from the Thai Drug Related Group (DRG). A series of sensitivity analyses were performed. Since the time horizon of the analysis was less than 1 year, there was no need for discounting. RESULTS We found that the use of chlorhexidine, rather than povidone iodine, for central catheter site care resulted in a 1.61% decrease in the incidence of CRBSI, a 0.32 % decrease in the incidence of death, and savings of 304 baht per catheter used. For peripheral catheter site care, the results were similar although the differences were smaller. CONCLUSION Use of chlorhexidine gluconate in place of the current standard solution for vascular catheter site care is a cost-effective method of improving patient safety in Siriraj Hospital.
Modelling contemporary evolution in stickleback

During the past decade, two lines of research have advanced our understanding of micro‐evolution. On the one hand, a number of studies have generated evidence for strong selection on phenotypes ( Kingsolver et al. 2001 ) and the contemporary (sometimes deemed ‘rapid’) evolution of phenotypic traits ( Hendry & Kinnison 1999 ). On the other hand, other studies have sought to identify the genes that underlie ecologically important traits ( Ungerer et al. 2008 ). Over the next decade, micro‐evolutionists might expect considerable progress from the study of contemporary evolution at both the phenotypic and genetic level simultaneously. In this issue of Molecular Ecology, Le Rouzic et al. (2011) present a teaser for this approach. They examined contemporary evolution of an adaptive trait with a well‐studied genetic basis, the number of lateral plates, in threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.). A time series of 20 years of change for this trait after introduction into a pond in Norway was compared with a similar time series of 12 years following the invasion of a lake in Alaska. Using a modelling approach, the authors then teased apart selection acting upon the phenotype and selection acting on a major effect gene. In both time series, selection was strong and consistent. The models suggested that selection could act directly on the phenotype, or through the gene’s pleiotropic effects.
Survey on Named Entity Recognition System over Twitter Data

— Twitter has allowed millions of users to share and spread most up-to-date information which results into large volume of data generated every day. Due to extremely useful business information obtained from these tweets, it is necessary to understand tweets language for downstream applications, such as Named Entity Recognition (NER). Real time applications like Traffic detection system, Early crisis detection and response with target twitter stream required good NER system, which automatically find emerging named entities that are potentially linked to the crisis and traffic, but tweets are infamous for their error-prone and short nature. This leads to failure of much conventional NER techniques, which heavily depend on local linguistic features, such as capitalization, POS tags of previous words etc. Recently segment-based tweet representation has showed effectiveness in NER.The goal of this survey is to provide a comprehensive review of NER system over twitter data and different NER approaches to improve their effectiveness in named entity recognition applications.
Current-mode capacitance multiplier with reduced parasitic elements

This paper presents a method of implementing a large virtual capacitor using an area-efficient capacitance multiplier circuit. The multiplier solves the major issue of large area consumption in integrated circuits needing high capacitance values. The proposed architecture improves other important parameters, such as the quality factor and the operating signal range. An analytical equivalent model is derived. The circuit is completely characterized in terms of model parameters and voltage and frequency operating ranges. Simulations are run to confirm feasibility and performance. An experimental version is implemented using discrete devices. A comparison between the theoretical, simulated, and experimental results is made.
Modelling Speech Quality for NB and WB SILK Codec for VoIP Applications

In the last decade, VoIP telephony has gained a tremendous popularity. Skype is one of the most successful and popular VoIP services which has inspired a new generation of VoIP and multimedia users. SILK speech codec is the latest development by Skype and has been integrated into the current version of Skype and is expected to be incorporated into new and emerging mobile devices such as iphone and soft phones. One of the major challenges in every VoIP service is to find an easily accessible objective quality model to predict/measure the perceived speech quality or the degree of user satisfaction. In this paper, we present a regression-based model to quantify the speech quality of the wideband (WB) and narrowband (NB) SILK codec for VoIP applications. The developed model uses the network level parameter (i.e., packet loss) and the application level parameter (i.e., send bit rate) to predict the perceived voice quality in terms of the Mean Opinion Score (MOS). Subjective tests were also carried out to validate the model and good accuracy was achieved (97% for wideband and 91% for narrowband). The developed model can be easily implemented in soft phones or mobile devices to predict voice quality for SILK codec in VoIP applications and can also be used for real-time adaptation and control of VoIP applications to further explore the adaptive feature of the SILK codec in future mobile devices or softphones.
Rapid evolution of phenology during range expansion with recent climate change

Although climate warming is expected to make habitat beyond species’ current cold range edge suitable for future colonization, this new habitat may present an array of biotic or abiotic conditions not experienced within the current range. Species’ ability to shift their range with climate change may therefore depend on how populations evolve in response to such novel environmental conditions. However, due to the recent nature of thus far observed range expansions, the role of rapid adaptation during climate change migration is only beginning to be understood. Here, we evaluated evolution during the recent native range expansion of the annual plant Dittrichia graveolens, which is spreading northward in Europe from the Mediterranean region. We examined genetically based differentiation between core and edge populations in their phenology, a trait that is likely under selection with shorter growing seasons and greater seasonality at northern latitudes. In parallel common garden experiments at range edges in Switzerland and the Netherlands, we grew plants from Dutch, Swiss, and central and southern French populations. Population genetic analysis following RAD‐sequencing of these populations supported the hypothesized central France origins of the Swiss and Dutch range edge populations. We found that in both common gardens, northern plants flowered up to 4 weeks earlier than southern plants. This differentiation in phenology extended from the core of the range to the Netherlands, a region only reached from central France over approximately the last 50 years. Fitness decreased as plants flowered later, supporting the hypothesized benefits of earlier flowering at the range edge. Our results suggest that native range expanding populations can rapidly adapt to novel environmental conditions in the expanded range, potentially promoting their ability to spread.
Adapting Partitioned Continuous Query Processing in Distributed Systems

Partitioned query processing is an effective method to process continuous queries with large stateful operators in a distributed systems. This method typically partitions input data into non-overlapping portions, with each query plan instance installed on a separate machine processing only one portion of the data. Dynamic redistribution of load among machines is then employed to handle fluctuating stream characteristics. However, existing load redistribution solutions have made the implicit assumption that no local query optimization is conducted at runtime on any of the participating machines, i.e., all local query plan instances are static and thus remain identical. This is restrictive for dynamic stream systems, where data partitions may experience significant fluctuations in selectivities or arrival rates over time - thus warranting local plan reoptimization. This raises the new problem that the heterogeneity of plan shapes among different machines must be tackled when doing load redistribution. To address this, we propose two new load balancing strategies along with corresponding protocols, that can balance the workload across a set of machines while seamlessly handling the complexity caused by local plan changes. The PTLB strategy is plan-agnostic, requiring no detailed knowledge of the underlying query plan. The MSLB strategy is plan-aware, that is. it rebalances the load by comparing the plan shape differences on the participating machines. All proposed techniques have been implemented in the DCAPE continuous query system. Our experiments demonstrate that the application of both query optimization and load balancing results in superior performance compared to applying either of the adaptation techniques alone - as has been the state-of-the-art in the current literature. Our evaluation compares the relative applicability and efficiency of the two proposed techniques PTLB and MSLB.
An investigation into the effects of temporal resolution on hepatic dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI in volunteers and in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

This study investigated the effect of temporal resolution on the dual-input pharmacokinetic (PK) modelling of dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) data from normal volunteer livers and from patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. Eleven volunteers and five patients were examined at 3 T. Two sections, one optimized for the vascular input functions (VIF) and one for the tissue, were imaged within a single heart-beat (HB) using a saturation-recovery fast gradient echo sequence. The data was analysed using a dual-input single-compartment PK model. The VIFs and/or uptake curves were then temporally sub-sampled (at interval ▵t = [2–20] s) before being subject to the same PK analysis. Statistical comparisons of tumour and normal tissue PK parameter values using a 5% significance level gave rise to the same study results when temporally sub-sampling the VIFs to HB < ▵t <4 s. However, sub-sampling to ▵t > 4 s did adversely affect the statistical comparisons. Temporal sub-sampling of just the liver/tumour tissue uptake curves at ▵t ≤ 20 s, whilst using high temporal resolution VIFs, did not substantially affect PK parameter statistical comparisons. In conclusion, there is no practical advantage to be gained from acquiring very high temporal resolution hepatic DCE-MRI data. Instead the high temporal resolution could be usefully traded for increased spatial resolution or SNR.
Panorama da Pesquisa Acadêmica Brasileira em Nanocompósitos Polímero/Argila e Tendências para o Futuro

A pesquisa em nanocompositos polimero/argila foi iniciada pela Toyota no final dos anos 80. A partir deste marco, a comunidade cientifica mundial voltou sua atencao para este tipo de material gracas as propriedades mecânicas, quimicas e termicas avancadas em comparacao com os compositos tradicionais. Nao foi diferente no Brasil, tal atencao pode ser comprovada pelos inumeros trabalhos cientificos sobre nanocompositos que comecaram a despontar no inicio do seculo XXI. Assim, o presente artigo objetiva, apos discorrer sobre as definicoes que concernem nanocompositos polimero/argila, apresentar as pesquisas cientificas brasileiras em nanocompositos de polimeros de uso geral, de polimeros de engenharia e de outros tipos de polimeros, relacionando-os com o metodo de producao empregado, morfologia final e propriedades decorrentes da formacao de nanocompositos. Por fim, o mapa da pesquisa brasileira em nanocompositos polimero/argila e sua perspectiva para o futuro sao apresentados.
Two-dimensional Co-Seismic Surface Displacements Field of the Chi-Chi Earthquake Inferred from SAR Image Matching

The Mw=7.6 Chi-Chi earthquake in Taiwan occurred in 1999 over the Chelungpu fault and caused a great surface rupture and severe damage. Differential Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (DInSAR) has been applied previously to study the co-seismic ground displacements. There have however been significant limitations in the studies. First, only one-dimensional displacements along the Line-of-Sight (LOS) direction have been measured. The large horizontal displacements along the Chelungpu fault are largely missing from the measurements as the fault is nearly perpendicular to the LOS direction. Second, due to severe signal decorrelation on the hangling wall of the fault, the displacements in that area are un-measurable by differential InSAR method. We estimate the co-seismic displacements in both the azimuth and range directions with the method of SAR amplitude image matching. GPS observations at the 10 GPS stations are used to correct for the orbital ramp in the amplitude matching and to create the two-dimensional (2D) co-seismic surface displacements field using the descending ERS-2 SAR image pair. The results show that the co-seismic displacements range from about -2.0 m to 0.7 m in the azimuth direction (with the positive direction pointing to the flight direction), with the footwall side of the fault moving mainly southwards and the hanging wall side northwards. The displacements in the LOS direction range from about -0.5 m to 1.0 m, with the largest displacement occuring in the northeastern part of the hanging wall (the positive direction points to the satellite from ground). Comparing the results from amplitude matching with those from DInSAR, we can see that while only a very small fraction of the LOS displacement has been recovered by the DInSAR mehtod, the azimuth displacements cannot be well detected with the DInSAR measurements as they are almost perpendicular to the LOS. Therefore, the amplitude matching method is obviously more advantageous than the DInSAR in studying the Chi-Chi earthquake. Another advantage of the method is that the displacement in the hanging wall of the fault that is un-measurable with DInSAR due to severe signal decorrelation can almost completely retrieved in this research. This makes the whole co-seismic displacements field clearly visible and the location of the rupture identifiable. Using displacements measured at 15 independent GPS stations for validation, we found that the RMS values of the differences between the two types of results were 6.9 cm and 5.7 cm respectively in the azimuth and the range directions.
Sequential measurements of the tibial plateau angle in large-breed, growing dogs.

OBJECTIVES To determine the earliest age that canine tibial plateau angles (TPAs) can be reliably measured and determine whether TPAs change during long bone growth. ANIMALS 10 Labrador Retrievers and 20 Labrador Retriever-hound crossbreeds. PROCEDURE Stifle joints were radiographed every 2 months from 8 weeks of age to radiographic closure of the tibial physes. Four examiners radiographically evaluated TPA, physeal closure status (ie, complete or incomplete) of the proximal and distal tibial physis, and whether anatomic TPA measurement landmarks were sufficiently visible (LSV) or insufficiently visible (LIV) for accurate measuring. Linear regression analysis was performed to detect change in TPAs over time. Mean ages with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were determined for dogs with radiographs classified as LIV and LSV. RESULTS TPAs did not change from 90 days of age to physeal closure. Mean age for dogs with radiographs classified as LIV was 70.2 days (95% CI, 68.12 to 72.28 days), with no dog with LIV radiographs over 81 days of age. Mean age for dogs with radiographs classified as LSV was 85.5 days (CI, 76.73 to 94.27 days). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE TPAs in Labrador Retrievers and Labrador Retriever-hound crossbreeds can be measured accurately after 90 days of age, and earlier attempts to measure result in falsely low TPA measurements. Measuring TPAs in growing dogs may allow earlier detection of premature physeal closures. As more is learned about the role of theTPA in cranial cruciate ligament injury, early treatment may be possible for growing dogs with cruciate ligament injuries and excessive tibial slope.
Happened Before is the Wrong Model for Potential Causality

The happened before model has been widely used to model distributed computations In particular it has been used to model the logical time and the potential causality aspects of a distributed computation Though it is a good model for logical time we argue that it is not a good model for potential causality We introduce a better model for potential causality that extends happened before to allow independent local events to be partially ordered This potential causality model has marked advantages over the happened before model in applications areas such as debugging and recovery
Multi-finger gestural interaction with 3D volumetric displays

Volumetric displays provide interesting opportunities and challenges for 3D interaction and visualization, particularly when used in a highly interactive manner. We explore this area through the design and implementation of techniques for interactive direct manipulation of objects with a 3D volumetric display. Motion tracking of the user's fingers provides for direct gestural interaction with the virtual objects, through manipulations on and around the display's hemispheric enclosure. Our techniques leverage the unique features of volumetric displays, including a 360° viewing volume that enables manipulation from any viewpoint around the display, as well as natural and accurate perception of true depth information in the displayed 3D scene. We demonstrate our techniques within a prototype 3D geometric model building application.
Effect of Mutual Bonding of Textile Layers on Thermal Insulation and Thermal Contact Properties of Fabric Assemblies

This paper deals with thermal insulation and thermal contact properties of woven fabric assemblies used to produce men's jackets. An important part of the paper is the description of the new computer-controlled instrument, the Alambeta, to measure insulation and thermal contact properties of fabrics. The heat flow passing between the textile sample and measuring head during thermal contact is measured directly by a special thin sensor, whose thermal inertia is similar to that of human skin. Thus, the instrument's warm-cool feeling sensitivity aproximates human skin. Spotbonding the outer fabric interlining and lining together reduces the total thermal resistance of the assembly and simultaneously increases (makes cooler) thermal absorptivity, a new parameter used to describe the warm-cool feeling of fabric. The meaning of this pa rameter, which mainly reflects the surface properties of the fabrics and whose level does not depend on experimental conditions, is explained in detail. The effect of temperature drop on the thermal properties of the fabric assemblies is also investigated. The increased resulting thermal conductivity with the average temperature of the assembly is a consequence of the increased portion of the heat transferred through the system by radiation.
Temporal Regulation of Ig Gene Diversification Revealed by Single-Cell Imaging1

Rearranged Ig V regions undergo activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID)-initiated diversification in sequence to produce either nontemplated or templated mutations, in the related pathways of somatic hypermutation and gene conversion. In chicken DT40 B cells, gene conversion normally predominates, producing mutations templated by adjacent pseudo-V regions, but impairment of gene conversion switches mutagenesis to a nontemplated pathway. We recently showed that the activator, E2A, functions in cis to promote diversification, and that G1 phase of cell cycle is the critical window for E2A action. By single-cell imaging of stable AID-yellow fluorescent protein transfectants, we now demonstrate that AID-yellow fluorescent protein can stably localize to the nucleus in G1 phase, but undergoes ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis later in cell cycle. By imaging of DT40 polymerized lactose operator-λR cells, in which polymerized lactose operator tags the rearranged λR gene, we show that both the repair polymerase Polη and the multifunctional factor MRE11/RAD50/NBS1 localize to λR, and that λR/Polη colocalizations occur predominately in G1 phase, when they reflect repair of AID-initiated damage. We find no evidence of induction of γ-H2AX, the phosphorylated variant histone that is a marker of double-strand breaks, and Ig gene conversion may therefore proceed by a pathway involving templated repair at DNA nicks rather than double-strand breaks. These results lead to a model in which Ig gene conversion initiates and is completed or nearly completed in G1 phase. AID deaminates ssDNA, and restriction of mutagenesis to G1 phase would contribute to protecting the genome from off-target attack by AID when DNA replication occurs in S phase.
Entangled Stakeholder Roles and Perceptions in Health Information Systems: A Longitudinal Study of the U.K. NHS N3 Network

The combination of pervasive and complex technology and an increasingly challenging healthcare environment is the setting for this research study. As a longitudinal case study, the research tracked the development and implementation of a large private information systems network in the U.K. National Health Service (NHS). Using stakeholder theory, we unpacked the story of a complex network of stakeholder roles and perceptions and how they changed over time. Our findings suggest that favorable and unfavorable positions held by multiple stakeholder groups become entangled and that even the same focal group may adopt competing positions that undermine the adoption of the health network. As this situation develops, the policy and implementation of the broader health IT program becomes confused and destabilized. This study makes three contributions. First, it expands the literature on stakeholder theory in the IS domain. Second, it extends the managerial focus of stakeholder approaches to include policymaking in the diverse multi-stakeholder setting of healthcare. Third, it demonstrates how IS research can employ stakeholder analysis by adopting a broader, dynamic approach to identify different stakeholder groups and by focusing on their varied roles and views during the course of a large-scale health IT program.