Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
NT-proBNP predicts impaired myocardial function in newly diagnosed hypertensive patients with preserved ejection fraction

Abstract N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is an excellent biomarker to diagnose left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. LV myocardial performance index (MPI-Tei index) is commonly used as a measure of combined systolic and diastolic function. We aimed to investigate the relationship between NT-proBNP and tissue Doppler derived MPI in newly diagnosed hypertensive patients with preserved LV ejection fraction (LVEF). We studied 236 patients with newly diagnosed HT (mean age; 52.9 ± 5.2 years). Echocardiographic examination was performed in all patients. LV mass index (LVMI) was calculated. Conventional Doppler indices (E and A waves) were recorded. The MPI value was obtained from the tissue Doppler derived ejection time, isovolumic contraction and relaxation times. The patients were divided into two groups according to the median NT-proBNP value (NT-proBNPlow group <114 pg/ml and NT-proBNPhigh group ≥114 pg/ml). Patients with NT-proBNPhigh were older and had higher levels of glucose and creatinine, lower E/A ratio and higher LVMI and MPI values than patients with NT-proBNPlow. However, LVEF were similar among the groups. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that NT-proBNP was independently associated with age, LVMI, MPI and E/A ratio. Increased NT-proBNP level was independently associated with impaired myocardial performance index in newly diagnosed hypertensive patients with preserved LVEF.
Material Classification Using Frequency-and Depth-Dependent Time-of-Flight Distortion

This paper presents a material classification method using an off-the-shelf Time-of-Flight (ToF) camera. We use a key observation that the depth measurement by a ToF camera is distorted in objects with certain materials, especially with translucent materials. We show that this distortion is caused by the variations of time domain impulse responses across materials and also by the measurement mechanism of the existing ToF cameras. Specifically, we reveal that the amount of distortion varies according to the modulation frequency of the ToF camera, the material of the object, and the distance between the camera and object. Our method uses the depth distortion of ToF measurements as features and achieves material classification of a scene. Effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated by numerical evaluation and real-world experiments, showing its capability of even classifying visually similar objects.
An Interface Circuit for Low-Voltage Low-Current Energy Harvesting Systems

In this paper, we present an interface circuit designed to match low-power and low-voltage harvesters to generic electronic loads. The interface circuit consists of a power management unit, a supply regulation unit, and an energy storage module. The electric power delivered by the harvester is stored in a low leakage capacitor, converted to match the load electrical characteristics, and used cyclically to supply the load during fixed time-windows. The interface circuit is compatible with dc harvesters with a current of at least 2 μA at 0.5 V and exhibits an efficiency of 65% in the 1 μW-1 mW range. The supply regulation unit is a two-stage, self-starting boost circuit that steps-up the 0.5-V input voltage to 3 V. To test the interface circuit, an autonomous wireless sensor node has been realized; it exploits the little electric power delivered by a 385 μm × 245 μm photovoltaic harvester to sense and transmit information about the environment wirelessly. The harvester is implemented with a custom 0.35-μm BCD SOI chip. The system has been designed to be low cost, fully autonomous and smaller of 9 cm3.
Influence of Peer Pressure, Socio-Economic Status and Social Networking on Academic Performance of Students in Oyo State

The study investigated the influence of peer pressure, socioeconomic status and social networking on academic performance of students in Oyo State, Nigeria. Descriptive research design of ex-post-facto was used in the study. One hundred and eighty eighty-four respondents were selected from 5 public senior secondary schools in Oyo State, Nigeria. The respondents were measured with standardized scales and data obtained was analyzed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) and Multiple Regression Statistical analysis. Three research questions were raised and answered. The results showed that academic performance of secondary school students was significantly correlated with peer pressure (r = .583; p<.05), socio-economic status (r = .788; p<.05) and social networking (r = .841; p<.05), the independent variables when pulled together have significant effect on the students’ academic performance (R (adjusted) =. 714 & R (adjusted) =. 701) with independent accounted for 70.1% contributions and each of the independent variables made a significant contribution to the prediction of students’ academic performance. In view of these findings, the study advocated that the parents/guardians should be educated on the effect of uncultured use of social media and peer pressure amongst secondary school students. It also advocated and that the counselling psychologists should intensify their efforts to organize conferences on the implications of peer pressure, socio-economic status and social networking on students’ academic performance.
Safe Navigation in Unknown Dynamic Environments with Voronoi Based StRRT

For a robot to move autonomously in an unknown dynamic environment, a real-time motion generation is necessary. Especially, safety motion generations are important. There are a lot of methods for making safe motion. For example, it is popular to check only around the robot with additional sensors and avoid obstacles detected by the sensors, though, the coordination problem between global trajectory making and local obstacle avoidance should be accrued in this way. It is also popular to estimate the size of obstacles to be large, though adequate width of the dilatation is different by environment. Another approach would be to determine candidates of the safe trajectory from the layout of obstacles as a generalized Voronoi diagram and then randomly search for an appropriate trajectory. This approach can acutualize the global trajectory making and local obstacle avoidance at the same time. However, it may be sufficient if a local generalized Voronoi diagram is available for limiting the sampling area. Based on this idea, this paper explains Voronoi-based StRRT composed of an StRRT subjected to biasing extraction of sample points toward the border of a generalized Voronoi diagram and proposes the efficient method of applying StRRT to the omnidirectional mobile robots. Finally, it shows the possibilities of this method for practical situations.
Double Modulus Function Defined χ3-Sequence Spaces

The main object of this paper is to introduce and study some triple sequence spaces are defined by a non-negative six-dimensional matrix and a double modulus function (X, Y) = (xu,v,w,i,m,n, yu,v,w,i,m,n) in real numbers ℝ and complex numbers ℂ. In addition, it is also possible to obtain and prove some merging relations. And using those operations conducted in the research to find some important properties such as solidity, symmetry, etc. Some basic equations for convergence spaces can be used to find some differential and integral equations with which. And using those equations to find the transformation of one-dimensional matrices into six-dimensional matrices by using some special software to find solutions of some differential equations affiliated with the three-spaces defined by the multiplicative modulus function and using them in some mathematical fields, including real and complex ones.
Performance evaluation of MIMO-WCDMA networks employing Principal Component Analysis at the reception

The goal of the study presented in this paper is to investigate the performance of MIMO-WCDMA networks, where Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is employed at the reception. In this context, multipath propagation is exploited, as the individual received signals can be seen as different instances of the same physical phenomenon (i.e. transmission and reception of WCDMA sequences). As results indicate, the deployment of PCA technique in MIMO-WCDMA networks can significantly reduce the number of active channels that need to be fed back to the transmitter. In particular, for 10/20/30 active users and six multipath components, the mean number of estimated channels that are necessary for appropriate signal reception are 4.2/3.88/3.89 for a Signal to Noise Ratio equal to 6 dB.
Relationship, social support, and personality as psychosocial determinants of the risk for postpartum blues.

OBJECTIVES The purpose of the study was to identify factors increasing or decreasing the risk for postpartum blues. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 101 women in their first week postpartum were included in the study. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, questions concerning their medical and social status, and psychological tests (the Personality Inventory NEO-FFI, The Mieczysław Plopa and Jan Rostowski Marriage Questionnaire, and the Berlin Social Support Scales) were used. RESULTS The probability of postpartum blues was detected in 16.8% of the respondents. The risk decreased with higher satisfaction with intimacy (OR = 0.81), partner similarity (OR = 0.78), and the overall satisfaction with the relationship (OR = 0.94), while higher disappointment elevated that risk (OR = 1.12). As far as social support is concerned, further inde-pendent factors included perceived available social support (OR = 0.31), perceived instrumental social support (OR = 0.24), need for support (OR = 2.74), and protective buffering support (OR = 3.41). High level of neuroticism as well as fear of childbirth increased the risk for postpartum blues (OR = 2.17 and OR = 1.30, respectively). High level of extraversion and better quality of sleep constituted protective factors (OR = 0.74 and OR = 0.60, respectively). CONCLUSIONS Maternal disappointment with marriage/relationship, neuroticism and introversion, poor quality of sleep, fear of childbirth, and seeking social support are among the factors signaling the need for careful observation for signs of possible postpartum mood disorders both, during hospitalization and the follow-up visits.
Coping with defective software in medical devices

Embedding defective software in medical devices increases safety risks. Given that all software is inherently defective, how can medical device manufacturers identify and manage risk? An effective, tailored risk management process can make the task less daunting. Developing complex, software-based medical devices is a challenging business. Device manufacturers must understand the inherent differences between hardware and software components and establish robust software development processes that are based on recognized engineering principles appropriate for safety-critical systems. At the heart of such processes, they must incorporate risk management - from early development through product retirement. Manufacturers have a responsibility to train development and risk management teams in the use of recognized software engineering practice that promote software safety. Only then can they minimize the risk of including inherently defective software in their products.
Fast, global, and entrepreneurial: supply chain management, Hong Kong style. An interview with Victor Fung. Interview by Joan Magretta.

Li & Fung, Hong Kong's largest export trading company, has been an innovator in supply chain management--a topic of increasing importance to many senior executives. In this interview, chairman Victor Fung explains both the philosophy behind supply chain management and the specific practices that Li & Fung has developed to reduce costs and lead times, allowing its customers to buy "closer to the market. " Li & Fung has been a pioneer in "dispersed manufacturing. " It performs the higher-value-added tasks such as design and quality control in Hong Kong, and outsources the lower-value-added tasks to the best possible locations around the world. The result is something new: a truly global product. To produce a garment, for example, the company might purchase yarn from Korea that will be woven and dyed in Taiwan, then shipped to Thailand for final assembly, where it will be matched with zippers from a Japanese company. For every order, the goal is to customize the value chain to meet the customer's specific needs. To be run effectively, Victor Fung maintains, trading companies have to be small and entrepreneurial. He describes the organizational approaches that keep the company that way despite its growing size and geographic scope: its organization around small, customer-focused units; its incentives and compensation structure; and its use of venture capital as a vehicle for business development. As Asia's economic crisis continues, chairman Fung sees a new model of companies emerging--companies that are, like Li & Fung, narrowly focused and professionally managed.
Prevalence of workplace smoking bans in Victoria

Abstract: Restrictions on smoking in the Victorian workplace have been measured since 1988. This paper investigates whether the trend of increasing prevalence of total bans found between 1988 and 1992 has continued. Estimates are based on workers' reports of the restrictions on smoking that apply at their workplaces. For indoor workers a total ban on smoking restrictions in the workplace has increased from 58% in 1992 to 66% in 1995. White collar workers continue to enjoy a higher rate of protection than blue collar workers. Factories, warehouses, hotels and restaurants are the worksites least likely to have restrictions. Bans result in considerable exiled smoking: half the smokers reported going out to smoke during working hours on their last work day. (Aust N Z J Public Health 1997; 21: 694–8)
Comparison of dual‐photon absorptiometry systems for total‐body bone and soft tissue measurements: Dual‐energy X‐rays versus gadolinium 153

A total of 81 subjects (41 males and 40 females) were scanned by dual‐photon absorptiometry by 153Gd source (DPA; Lunar DP4) and by dual‐energy x‐ray absorptiometry (DEXA; Lunar‐DPX) within a 24 h period. Total‐body bone mineral density (TBMD), calcium content (Ca), and soft tissue mass (ST) were determined with a precision of about 1–1.5% using DPA and 0.5–1.0% using DEXA. Measurements of TBMD, Ca, ST, bone area (area), percentage fat, and regional bone mineral densities (BMD) were compared. Paired t‐tests showed small but significant differences between all measurements. Correlations (r) for TBMD, Ca, area, ST, percentage fat, arm BMD, leg BMD, and trunk BMD were 0.99, 0.99, 0.97, 0.99, 0.97, 0.99, 0.99, and 0.98. There were small systematic differences for TBMD (<1%), calcium (3%), bone area (3%), soft tissue mass (7%), and percentage fat (9%) between the two approaches. Regression equations are given relating these measurements.
Engaging with Identity Politics in Canadian Political Science

Abstract This paper critiques the deployment of the term “identity politics” in Canadian political science. Through a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of research articles in leading English language academic journals in the Canadian social sciences, we examine whose politics are labelled identity politics and what intellectual work transpires through this label. Identity politics tends to be applied to scholarship that foregrounds analyses of ethnicity, race and gender, but with a lack of analytical rigour, indicating a degree of conceptual looseness. Moreover, the designation identity politics is not neutral; it is often mobilized as a rhetorical device to distance authors from scholarship that foregrounds analyses of ethnicity, race and gender, and to inscribe a materialist/culturalist divide in claims-making. We argue that the effect of this demarcation of identity from politics is to control the boundaries of political discourse, limiting who and what gains entry into the political. This serves to reassert an exclusionary conception of Canadian identity. Résumé Le présent article critique le déploiement du terme « politique identitaire » en science politique canadienne. Au moyen d'une analyse critique du discours (ACD) d'articles de recherche publiés dans les principales revues universitaires de langue anglaise en sciences sociales canadiennes, nous examinons quelles politiques sont ainsi étiquetées et le travail intellectuel que cette étiquette laisse entrevoir. Une « politique identitaire » tend à s'appliquer à la littérature qui met en avant les analyses de l'ethnicité, de la race et des sexospécificités, mais avec un manque de rigueur analytique indiquant un degré de laxisme conceptuel. De plus, la désignation « politique identitaire » n'est pas neutre : elle est souvent mobilisée comme un dispositif rhétorique pour éloigner les auteurs qui analysent l'ethnicité, la race et la sexospécifité, et pour inscrire un clivage matérialiste/culturaliste dans les revendications formulées. Nous soutenons que cette démarcation entre l'identité, d'une part, et les politiques, de l'autre, a pour effet de baliser les frontières du discours politique en limitant les acteurs et les facteurs admis dans la sphère politique. Cela sert à réaffirmer une conception exclusionnaire de l'identité canadienne.
Rebuilding Consensus on Valid Criteria for Disordered Grief

Overview In 2009, following the completion of a National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Mental Health– funded investigation of consensus criteria for disordered grief, we published validated criteria for a new diagnostic entity, prolonged grief disorder (PGD). 1 Based on the results of this field trial, the Yale Bereavement Study (YBS), we proposed PGD’s inclusion in the DSM-5 and the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Eleventh Revision (ICD-11). The strength of the evidence in support of PGD from the YBS, supplemented by confirmatory findings from multiple international studies, compelled both the DSM and ICD to include a new grief disorder. The formulations of the DSM and the ICD of diagnostic criteria for a grief disorder agree with PGD criteria.2 They also share the psychometric properties of PGD. By contrast, complicated grief (CG) criteria3 do not agree with DSM and ICD criteria, use abstruse syntax, produce more false-positive than true-positive diagnoses, and lack predictive validity.2 Evidence supports the validity of PGD1 and its DSM and ICD derivatives2 but weighs against the validity of CG.2 Prolonged grief disorder meets established criteria for a mental disorder,4 but CG does not. Based on existing evidence, PGD criteria should be the standard for diagnosing disordered grief.
The adhesion molecule on glia (AMOG/beta 2) and alpha 1 subunits assemble to functional sodium pumps in Xenopus oocytes.

The adhesion molecule on glia, AMOG, an integral cell surface glycoprotein highly expressed by cerebellar astrocytes and involved in neuron to astrocyte adhesion and granule neuron migration (Antonicek, H., Persohn, E., and Schachner, M. (1987) J. Cell Biol. 104, 1587-1595) has been identified as a beta 2 subunit isoform of the mouse sodium pump (Gloor, S., Antonicek, H., Sweadner, K.J., Pagliusi, S., Frank, R., Moos, M., and Schachner, M. (1990) J. Cell Biol. 110, 165-174). Here we demonstrate that AMOG/beta 2 expressed by cRNA injection in Xenopus oocytes is capable of combining with endogenous Xenopus alpha 1 subunits or coexpressed Torpedo alpha 1 subunits to yield a functional alpha 1/AMOG sodium pump isozyme. Determinations of the number of ouabain binding sites and ouabain-sensitive 86Rb+ uptake suggest that the alpha 1/AMOG isozyme has slightly lower maximum transport rate and apparent affinity for external K+ than the alpha 1/beta 1 isozyme. Immunoprecipitation of alpha 1/AMOG complexes from digitonin extracts of [35S]methionine-labeled oocytes with a monoclonal anti-AMOG antibody provides direct evidence for a stable association between AMOG and the alpha 1 subunits of Xenopus and Torpedo.
Treatment impact on estimated medical expenditure and job loss likelihood in rheumatoid arthritis: re-examining quality of life outcomes from a randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial with abatacept.

OBJECTIVES Quality of life (QoL) improvement is important to demonstrate in RA clinical trials, but can be abstract. More meaningful measures of QoL include medical expenditure and job loss, aspects that have marked importance for RA patients, physicians and society. We re-examined previous positive QoL findings for abatacept over placebo by converting existing QoL measures into estimated medical expenditure and estimated likelihood of job loss. METHODS Two double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre randomized clinical trials were undertaken: one for MTX failure (n = 652) and one for more severe anti-TNF failure patients (n = 391). Based on derived scores using previously published formulae, measures of monthly medical expenditure, current inability to work and job loss at 6 months, 1 yr and 2 yrs were analysed. RESULTS Abatacept led to greater reduction in medical expenditure over time in MTX failure ($152 lower) and anti-TNF failure patients ($122 lower) compared with placebo at end-point. Likewise, significantly more reduction in likelihood for current and future job loss was achieved with abatacept compared with placebo, which has 25-64% greater likelihood. CONCLUSIONS QoL changes provided greater reduction in medical expenditure and likelihood of an inability to work. The strong effect sizes obtained for all significant analyses suggest that the results are clinically meaningful. Moreover, given the nature of the variables, results should also be meaningful for patients, physicians, employers and health care insurance entities. Limitations are discussed regarding using estimated outcomes rather than analysis of actual outcomes.
Analysis of exosome release and its prognostic value in human colorectal cancer

A significant proportion of extracellular nucleic acids in plasma circulate highly protected in tumor‐specific exosomes, but it is unclear how the release of exosomes is modulated in carcinogenesis. We quantified by cytometry exosomes in plasma of 91 colorectal cancer patients to evaluate their potential as a tumor indicator and their repercussions on diagnosis and prognosis. We examined the involvement of TSAP6, a TP53‐regulated gene involved in the regulation of vesicular secretion, in levels of circulating exosomes in plasma of colorectal patients and in HCT116 TP53‐(wild‐type and null) human colorectal cancer cell lines. The fraction of exosomes in cancer patients was statistically higher than in healthy controls (mean rank = 53.93 vs. 24.35). High levels of exosomes in plasma of patients correlated with high levels of carcino‐embryonic antigen (P = 0.029) and with poorly differentiated tumors (P = 0.039) and tended to have shorter overall survival than patients with low levels (P = 0.056). Release of exosomes did not correlate with TSAP6 expression; and regulation of TSAP6 by TP53 was not shown either in tumor samples or in HCT116 cell lines. Although it was not suggested that the TP53/TSAP6 pathway regulates the release of exosomes into the plasma of colorectal cancer patients, the level of circulating exosomes may be used as a tumor indicator, because it correlates with poor prognosis parameters and shorter survival. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.