Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A new approach in the diagnosis of upper airway resistance syndrome (UARS): PAP method.

INTRODUCTION Upper airway resistance syndrome (UARS) is characterized by repeated number of arousals at night, and excessive daytime sleepiness or somnolence (EDS). It is often missed in classical polysomnographic diagnostic approaches and misdiagnosed as simple snoring or idiopathic hypersomnia, thereby is often left untreated. We propose that positive airway pressure (PAP), which has shown to be effective against UARS, can be used as a diagnostic tool as well. The study designed to test whether patients with high titration pressures can be diagnosed for UARS, and whether this pressure can be used as the treatment pressure in UARS. MATERIALS AND METHODS This study is a retrospective cohort study. The patients with the following selection criteria: apnea hypopnea index (AHI) < 5, respiratory effort related arousal (RERA) index > 20, excessive daytime sleepiness or somnolence (EDS) without nocturnal oxygen desaturation levels were included to the study. After diagnostic polysomnography (PSG), PAP titrarion was applied to diagnose and treatment. RESULTS Fourteen (%46.7) of the patients were male, 16 (%53.3) were female, with a mean age of 46.4 ± 9.9 and mean body mass index (BMI) of 26 ± 3.3. The patiens had a mean Epworth sleepiness scale 15.3 ± 3.9, mean AHI: 2.3 ± 1.4 and average RERA: 26.1 ± 4.9. The mean CPAP titration pressure was 7.1 ± 1.1 cmH2O. CONCLUSION In the light of current findings, during PAP titration patients required high pressures is the evidence of increased upper airway resistance in UARS. Using the from therapy to diagnosis protocol, the PAP protocol determines the individual therapeutic pressures needed by patients. Following up the clinical outcomes of these patients under the PAP treatment, and including a larger cohort will contribute greatly to treating this syndrome, defined as one of the "unresolved problems in years".
Efficient Systolic Implementation of DFT Using a Low-Complexity Convolution-Like Formulation

A reduced-complexity algorithm is presented for computation of the discrete Fourier transform, where N-point transform is computed from eight number of nearly (N/8)-point circular-convolution-like operations. A systolic architecture is also derived for very large-scale integration circuit implementation of the proposed algorithm. The proposed architecture is fully pipelined and contains regular and simple locally connected processing elements. It is devoid of complex control structure and is scalable for higher transform lengths. It is observed that the proposed systolic structure involves either less or nearly the same hardware-complexity compared with the corresponding existing systolic structures. In addition, it offers eight times more throughput and significantly low latency compared with the others
Gene Expression Analysis of the Pleiotropic Effects of TGF-β1 in an In Vitro Model of Flexor Tendon Healing

Flexor tendon injuries are among the most challenging problems for hand surgeons and tissue engineers alike. Not only do flexor tendon injuries heal with poor mechanical strength, they can also form debilitating adhesions that may permanently impair hand function. While TGF-β1 is a necessary factor for regaining tendon strength, it is associated with scar and adhesion formation in the flexor tendons and other tissues as well as fibrotic diseases. The pleiotropic effects of TGF-β1 on tendon cells and tissue have not been characterized in detail. The goal of the present study was to identify the targets through which the effects of TGF-β1 on tendon healing could be altered. To accomplish this, we treated flexor tendon tenocytes cultured in pinned collagen gels with 1, 10 or 100 ng/mL of TGF-β1 and measured gel contraction and gene expression using RT-PCR up to 48 hours after treatment. Specifically, we studied the effects of TGF-β1 on the expression of collagens, fibronectin, proteoglycans, MMPs, MMP inhibitors, and the neotendon transcription factors, Scleraxis and Mohawk. Area contraction of the gels was not dose-dependent with the TGF-β1 concentrations tested. We observed dose-dependent downregulation of MMP-16 (MT3-MMP) and decorin, and upregulation of biglycan, collagen V, collagen XII, PAI-1, Scleraxis, and Mohawk by TGF-β1. Inter-gene analyses were also performed to further characterize the expression of ECM and MMP genes in the tenocyte-seeded collagen gels. These analyses illustrate that TGF-β1 tilts the balance of gene expression in favor of ECM synthesis rather than the matrix-remodeling MMPs, a possible means by which TGF-β1 promotes adhesion formation.
EMG-force estimation for multiple fingers

Electromyogram (EMG) activity from the extensor and flexor muscles of the forearm was sensed with high-density surface electrode arrays and related to the force produced at the four fingertips during constant-posture, slowly force-varying contractions from three healthy subjects. Various electrode montages (spatial filters) and number of electrodes used in the system identification were studied. Average errors were small, ranging from 4.21 to 8.10 %MVCF (flexion maximum voluntary contraction), with errors trending lower when more EMG channels were used and when a monopolar electrode montage was selected. Results are supportive that multiple degrees of freedom of proportional control information are available from the surface EMG of the forearm, at least in intact subjects. Applications for future study include the control of prosthetic upper limb devices in amputees.
A COMPARATIVE STUDY INTO THE COPING STRATEGIES EMPLOYED BY UNDERGRADUATE PSYCHOLOGY AND NON-PSYCHOLOGY STUDENTS

This study investigated differences in coping strategies between psychology students and non-psychology students. The researchers hypothesized that psychology students would utilize more adaptive coping skills than non-psychology students, based on their exposure to psychological theory. The Brief COPE survey was administered to 43 psychology students and 47 non-psychology students. Analyses by means of T-tests were conducted to determine statistically significant differences in coping strategies between the two groups. The results indicated that there were no significant differences between the coping styles of psychology students and non-psychology students in 13 of the 14 subscales of the Brief COPE. However, a significant difference was found in one subscale, namely emotional support, with psychology students demonstrating significantly higher mean scores on the scale than non-psychology students (p < 0.01). Psychology students in the sample utilized the coping strategy of seeking emotional support significantly more than the non-psychology students in the sample. These results indicate that knowledge regarding coping does not necessarily translate into implementation of adaptive coping strategies. However, the results of this study indicates that psychology students sought more emotional support than non-psychology students and may therefore indicate that they are more willing to seek assistance in order to cope than non-psychology students.
Shaping technology across social worlds: groupware adoption in a distributed organization

In this paper, we draw on theory about social worlds to analyze how different organizational contexts affect groupware adoption. We report on a study of the adoption of data conferencing in a large distributed organization. Our data show that the diffusion process, which was driven by the users, was a result of communication and transformation of the technology across different social worlds. We also discovered that membership in multiple social worlds in an organization creates a tension for the potential adopter who is in a distributed team. To function effectively, team members must uniformly adopt the technology, yet some may face resistance at their organizational homes. Our case study showed that adoption was affected by organizational sites having conflicting views of the value of collaboration, different amounts and needs for resources, and different acceptance of technology standards. Potential technology adopters on distributed teams are faced with conflicting loyalties, constraints, and requirements between their distributed collaborations and organizational homes.
Automatic Landing System Using Adaptive Resource Allocating Network

This paper presents an adaptive resource allocating network (ARAN) deign to improve the performance of conventional automatic landing system (ALS) and guide the aircraft to a safe landing. Real-time learning is applied to train the ARAN that uses gradient-descent of the error function with respect to the weights to perform the weights updates. Adaptive learning rates are obtained through the Lyapunov stability analysis. Convergence of learning is guaranteed. Simulations show that the proposed scheme has better performance than the conventional ALS.
The degree of branching of the glycans of alpha(1)-acid glycoprotein in asthma. A correlation with lung function and inflammatory parameters.

Alpha(1)-acid glycoprotein (AGP) is a plasma protein belonging to the group of acute-phase proteins. It contains five N-linked glycans which, depending on pathophysiologic state, differ in their degree of branching (i.e., in the relative proportions of di-, tri-, and tetraantennary glycans). Changes in the degree of branching of these glycans have been shown to affect various immunomodulatory properties of AGP. We wanted to investigate whether changes occur in the branching of AGP glycans in plasma and in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) in asthma. For this purpose, we selected three groups of patients for study: patients with atopic asthma (AA), atopic nonasthmatic patients, and a group of patients with various interstitial lung diseases (ILDs). The plasma AGP concentration was normal in both atopic study groups, but was increased in ILD patients. In contrast, the branching of glycans of AGP was altered in subjects with AA, whereas it was normal in the other study groups. The presence of asthma symptoms correlated with the increased glycan branching of AGP in both plasma and BALF. Additionally, the degree of branching of AGP in BALF was related to FEV(1), to the provocative dose of histamine causing a 20% decrease in FEV (PD(20)), and to the number of eosinophils. In conclusion, asthma is accompanied by changes in the branching of AGP glycans that indicate an inflammatory reaction that differs markedly from a normal acute-phase response, in which decreased branching of AGP occurs.
Bitter Gentian Teas: Nutritional and Phytochemical Profiles, Polysaccharide Characterisation and Bioactivity

As a result of the wide distribution of herbal teas the data on nutritional characterisation, chemical profile and biological activity of these products are required. The decoctions of Gentiana algida, G. decumbens, G. macrophylla and G. triflora herb teas were nutritionally characterized with respect to their macronutrients, demonstrating the predominance of polysaccharides and low lipid content. Gentian decoctions were also submitted to a microcolumn RP-HPLC-UV analysis of phytochemicals demonstrating a high content of iridoids (177.18–641.04 μg/mL) and flavonoids (89.15–405.71 μg/mL). Additionally, mangiferin was detected in samples of G. triflora tea (19.89 μg/mL). Five free sugars (fructose, glucose, sucrose, gentiobiose, gentianose) were identified in all gentian teas studied, as well as six organic acids (malic, citric, tartaric, oxalic, succinic, quinic). Pectic polysaccharides with a high content of rhamnogalacturonans and arabinogalactans were also identified and characterized in gentian decoctions for the first time. Gentian tea decoctions and their specific compounds (gentiopicroside, loganic acid-6′-O-β-d-glucoside, isoorientin, isoorientin-4′-O-β-d-glucoside, mangiferin, water-soluble polysaccharides) showed a promising antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant potentials. Evidences obtained indicate the prospective use of gentian herb teas as food products and medicines.
I Can't Think With All This Noise: Inferring Strategies Using Symbolic Regression

We use symbolic regression (implemented by a genetic program) to analyze the role of agent expectation formation in games. In the model, agents attempt to infer the strategies of opponents through regression and then best respond using this information. Though agents use deterministic strategies, behavior that resembles a mixed strategy emerges. When one agent uses more complicated strategy primitives (building blocks) significant performance advantages are realized. However, even small amounts of noise in the system can eliminate this advantage. By changing the design of the game we show that it is crucial to accurately infer past actions in order to realize performance advantages from complexity.
Artificial Kerr-type medium using microwave metamaterials for phase modulator

Metamaterials have received extensive attention in recent years due to their exotic electromagnetic properties. Here, we investigate an artificial Kerr-medium based on microwave metamaterial for phase modulator application, which can offer a strong engineered anisotropic response. Moreover, the artificial Kerr-medium can be tuned by changing the capacitance loaded at the split gap of metamaterial unit cell, instead of directly applying E-field inside the medium. The unit cell of metamaterial is similar to Kerr cell. The proposed structure doesn't require high driving voltage and easily realizes Kerr effect, comparing to the natural Kerr crystals. Therefore, our structure fabricates and tests simply due to working at GHz frequency.
Expression of Base Excision DNA Repair Genes Is a Sensitive Biomarker for in Vivo Detection of Chemical-induced Chronic Oxidative Stress

Oxidative stress to DNA is recognized as one of the mechanisms for the carcinogenic effects of some environmental agents. Numerous studies have been conducted in an attempt to document the fact that chemical carcinogens that are thought to induce production of oxidants also cause the formation of oxidative DNA lesions. Although many DNA adducts continue to be useful biomarkers of dose/effect, changes in gene expression have been proposed to be a practical novel tool for studying the role of chemically induced oxidative DNA damage. Here, we hypothesized that expression of base excision DNA repair genes is a sensitive biomarker for in vivo detection of chemically induced chronic oxidative stress. To test this hypothesis, mice were treated with a known rodent carcinogen and peroxisome proliferator, WY-14,643 (500 ppm, 1 month). A number of end points that are commonly used to assess oxidative DNA damage were considered. Our data demonstrate that no difference in 8-oxoguanine, the number of abasic sites, or single strand breaks can be detected in genomic DNA from livers of control or WY-treated animals. However, a concordant marked induction of genes specific for the long-patch base excision DNA repair, a predominant pathway that removes oxidized DNA lesions in vivo, was observed in livers of WY-treated mice. Kupffer cell NADPH oxidase, and peroxisomes in parenchymal cells have been proposed as the potential sources of peroxisome proliferator-induced oxidants. The analysis of expression of base excision DNA repair genes was used to assess whether this biomarker of oxidative stress can be used to determine the source of oxidants. The data suggest that DNA-damaging oxidants are generated by enzymes that are induced after activation of peroxisome proliferator activator receptor α, such as those involved in lipid metabolism in peroxisomes, and are not the result of activation of NADPH oxidase in Kupffer cells. We conclude that expression of base excision DNA repair genes is a sensitive in vivo biomarker for chemically induced oxidative stress to DNA that can be successfully used for the identification of the molecular source of radicals responsible for DNA damage in vivo.
Health o f the Implicit Association Test a t Age 3

Since its first publication in 1998, the Implicit Association Test (IAT) has been used repeatedly to measure implicit attitudes and other automatic associations. Although there have also been a few studies critical of the IAT, there now exists substantial evidence for the IAT's convergent and discriminant validity, including new evidence reported in several of the articles in this special issue. IAT attitude measures have often correlated only weakly with explicit (selfreport) measures of the same associations. It therefore seems appropriate to conclude that the IAT assesses constructs that are often (but not always) distinct from the corresponding constructs measured by self-report.
Describing convex semialgebraic sets by linear matrix inequalities

A semialgebraic set is a set described by a boolean combination of real polynomial inequalities in several variables. A linear matrix inequality (LMI) is a condition expressing that a symmetric matrix whose entries are affine-linear combinations of variables is positive semidefinite. We call solution sets of LMIs spectrahedra and their linear images semidefinite representable. Every spectrahedron satisfies a condition called rigid convexity, and every semidefinite representable set is convex and semialgebraic. Helton, Vinnikov, and Nie recently showed in several seminal papers [21, 4, 3, 2] that the converse statements are true in surprisingly many cases and conjectured that they remain true in general. This shows the need for symbolic algorithms to compute LMI descriptions of convex semialgebraic sets. Once such a description is computed, it makes the corresponding semialgebraic set amenable to efficient numerical computation. Indeed, spectrahedra are the feasible sets in semidefinite programming (SDP), just in the same way as (convex closed) polyhedra are the feasible sets in linear programming (LP). The aim of this tutorial talk is to convince the audience that a symbolic interface between semialgebraic geometry and SDP has to be developed, and to initiate in the basic theory of LMI representations known so far. This theory is based to a large extent on determinantal representations of polynomials and on positivity certificates involving sums of squares.
An evaluation of IPv6 multicast router in JGN IPv6 networks

This paper describes an evaluation of IPv6 multicast routers. The JGN IPv6 project has performed various evaluations and verifications of IPv6 routers. Seven (7) types of routers from six vendors were tested, for which PIM-SM was employed as an IPv6 multicast protocol for the evaluation. The evaluated items include PIM-SM interoperability, as well as detour, RP and BSR behavior. Several tests were performed on ATM and Ethernet connections. Detailed results of these verifications are shown in this report. No fatal problem was found and only a few minor issues occurred while conducting these evaluations.
Inverse modelling in estimating soil hydraulic functions: a Genetic Algorithm approach

Abstract. The practical application of simulation models in the field is sometimes hindered by the difficulty of deriving the soil hydraulic properties of the study area. The procedure so-called inverse modelling has been investigated in many studies to address the problem where most of the studies were limited to hypothetical soil profile and soil core samples in the laboratory. Often, the numerical approach called forward-backward simulation is employed to generate synthetic data then added with random errors to mimic the real-world condition. Inverse modelling is used to backtrack the expected values of the parameters. This study explored the potential of a Genetic Algorithm (GA) to estimate inversely the soil hydraulic functions in the unsaturated zone. Lysimeter data from a wheat experiment in India were used in the analysis. Two cases were considered: (1) a numerical case where the forward-backward approach was employed and (2) the experimental case where the real data from the lysimeter experiment were used. Concurrently, the use of soil water, evapotranspiration (ET) and the combination of both were investigated as criteria in the inverse modelling. Results showed that using soil water as a criterion provides more accurate parameter estimates than using ET. However, from a practical point of view, ET is more attractive as it can be obtained with reasonable accuracy on a regional scale from remote sensing observations. The experimental study proved that the forward-backward approach does not take into account the effects of model errors. The formulation of the problem is found to be critical for a successful parameter estimation. The sensitivity of parameters to the objective function and their zone of influence in the soil column are major determinants in the solution. Generally, their effects sometimes lead to non-uniqueness in the solution but to some extent are partly handled by GA. Overall, it was concluded that the GA approach is promising to the inverse problem in the unsaturated zone. Keywords. Genetic Algorithm, inverse modelling, Mualem-Van Genuchten parameters, unsaturated zone, evapotranspiration, soil water
Association of inpatient hospital experience with patient safety indicators: a cross-sectional, Canadian study

Objectives There remains concern regarding the use of survey data to assess aspects of healthcare quality. The relationship between patient experience and adverse events as documented by patient safety indicators (PSIs) is a timely research topic. The objectives were to document the association of PSIs and patient experience scores, and to determine risk-adjusted odds of high experience scores versus PSI presence. Setting and participants From April 2011 to March 2014, 25 098 patients completed a telephone survey following discharge from 93 inpatient hospitals in Alberta, Canada. Research design A modified version of the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) instrument was used. Surveys were linked to inpatient records and PSI presence was documented using a validated algorithm. Measures Three questions about overall hospital, physician and nurse ratings were scored on an 11-point Likert scale from 0 (worst) to 10 (best). Experience was classified as high (9 or 10) versus low (0–8). Demographic/clinical differences between respondents with/without a PSI were assessed. Logistic regression examined the relationship between factors including PSI and experience ratings. Results Overall, physician and nurse care was rated high by 61.9%, 73.7% and 66.2% of respondents. 1085 patients (4.3%) had a documented PSI. Most frequent PSIs were haemorrhagic events (n=502; 2.0% of sample), events relating to obstetrics (n=373; 1.5%) and surgical-related events (n=248; 1.0%). Risk-adjusted models showed patients with PSIs had decreased odds of having high overall (OR=0.86; 95% CI 0.75 to 0.97), physician (OR=0.76; 95% CI 0.66 to 0.87) and nurse (OR=0.83; 95% CI 0.73 to 0.94) ratings. Conclusions There is clear evidence that inpatient experience ratings are associated with PSIs, one element of quality of care. Future research, examining individual PSIs and patient experience questions, is warranted, as this may inform targeted quality improvement initiatives.