Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Large Nosocomial Outbreak of Hepatitis C Virus Infections at a Hemodialysis Center

Abstract Objective: To identify modes of HCV transmission during an outbreak of HCV infection in a hemodialysis unit. Design: An epidemiologic study, virologie analysis, assessment of infection control practices and procedures, and technical examination of products and dialysis machines. Setting: A private hemodialysis unit treating approximately 70 patients. Patients: Detection of HCV RNA by PCR was performed among patients receiving dialysis in 2001. Case-patients were patients who had a first positive result for HCV RNA between January 2001 and January 2002 and either acute hepatitis, a seroconversion for HCV antibodies, or a previous negative result. Three control-patients were randomly selected per case-patient. Results: Of the 61 patients treated in the unit in 2001 and not infected with HCV, 22 (36.1%) became case-patients with onset from May 2001 to January 2002 for an incidence density rate of 70 per 100 patient-years. Phylogenic analysis identified four distinct HCV groups and an index case-patient for each with a similar virus among patients already known to be infected. No multidose medication vials or material was shared between patients. Connection to a dialysis machine by a nurse who had connected an HCV-infected patient “just before” or “one patient before” increased the risk of HCV infection, whereas using the same dialysis machine after a patient infected with HCV did not. Understating, lack of training, and breaches in infection control were documented. Direct observation of practices revealed frequent flooding of blood into the double filter on the arterial pressure tubing set. Conclusions: During this outbreak, HCV transmission was mainly patient to patient via healthcare workers' hands. However, transmission via dialysis machines because of possible contamination of internal components could not be excluded.
Convergent approaches to electrophysiological and hemodynamic investigations of memory

The strengths and weaknesses of electrophysiological and hemodynamic methods for investigating neural activity associated with mnemonic processes are discussed, and an example is given of how the two classes of methods can be employed to provide complementary information about the neural basis of memory. The advantages of event‐related fMRI over conventional functional neuroimaging approaches are illustrated in the context of a study of recognition memory. Finally, some of the issues that must be confronted by efforts to integrate electrophysiological and hemodynamic data in a formal sense are outlined. Hum. Brain Mapping 6:394–398, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Real-Time Network Coding for Live Streaming in Hyper-Dense WiFi Spaces

Consumer demand for high-quality video over wireless networks is increasing at fast pace. The resulting technical challenges are particularly stringent in crowded spaces, where the density of users far exceeds the ability to deploy cellular base stations or WiFi infrastructure in a cost effective way. To address this problem, we present a reliable and scalable live streaming solution based on wireless multicast with real-time network coding. At the core of our approach is a timely delivery scheme that uses a minimum amount of feedback from the receivers to generate coded repair packets that are simultaneously useful to a large number of users. Our protocol, which we implemented and tested in a real-world wireless testbed, differs from traditional wireless unicast and multicast schemes in that (a) the feedback messages of the users are treated jointly and (b) the repair mechanism considers both the playout deadlines of individual packets and the list of packets already received by the clients. In comparison with a standard video approach that sends an MPEG-2 encoded stream over 802.11 unicast links, our solution offers real-time guarantees for all users commensurate with the link quality and an 11x improvement in terms of bandwidth usage. A commercial version of the proposed solution shows a strong increase in the number of clients that can access video streams simultaneously over a single WiFi hotspot.
Impact of culture on commitment, satisfaction, and extra-role behaviors among Canadian ER physicians.

PURPOSE The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of hospital emergency department culture on the job satisfaction, patient commitment, and extra-role performance of Canadian emergency physicians. The conceptual model related four cultural archetypes from the competing valued model to the three outcome variables. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH In total, 428 Canadian emergency physicians responded to a national survey. The conceptual model was tested via structural equation modeling via LISREL 8. FINDINGS Culture had a relatively weak impact on the outcomes. Human resources culture related positively to job satisfaction while bureaucratic culture related positively to patient commitment. Patient commitment, but not job satisfaction strongly and positively related to extra-role behavior. A direct relationship between entrepreneurial culture and extra-role behavior emerged from an extended analysis. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS Organizational culture seems to have more distal relationships with outcome variables and its influence is likely to be mediated by more proximal workplace variables. ORIGINALITY/VALUE Of value by showing that a key modern leadership challenge is to create the kind of work culture that can become a source of competitive advantage through generating particular organizational outcomes valued by stakeholders.
On the performance of geo-acoustic estimation for a distributed sensor array

The vision underlying the Widely scalable Mobile Underwater Sonar Technology (WiMUST) project is that of developing advanced cooperative and networked control / navigation systems to enable a large number (tenths) of marine robots towing small acoustic arrays to act as a coordinated team for seismic sub-bottom imaging. The space-time coherent processing of bottom returns requires the ensemble of short acoustic arrays to be seen as a single spatially distributed sensor array. Since the vehicles are free to move along range, cross-range and depth the resulting distributed sensor array may take, at least conceptually, any spatial shape. With array shape freedom comes the question of which is the most suitable (or optimal) array geometry for sub-bottom imaging and inversion. The answer to this question hinges, among others, on the definition of performance of a seismic sub-bottom profiling system. Determining the optimal sensor array geometry is clearly a ill-posed problem, since the optimal geometry is itself bottom dependent, and there is no such environment as “one size fits all”. This work addresses several criteria for sub-bottom profiling system performance including gain, resolution and probability of detection. Two physical models will be tested: one based on acoustic wave reflection used in traditional seismic imaging, and another normally used in matched-field bottom properties estimation, that includes propagation and refraction. Simulations to support the theoretical developments and algorithms were obtained on a scenario inspired in a real environment off the coast of Peljesac (Croatia).
Sequence of a 7·8 kb segment on the left arm of yeast chromosome XI reveals four open reading frames, including the CAP1 gene, an intron‐containing gene and a gene encoding a homolog to the mammalian UOG‐1 gene

We report here the DNA sequence of a segment of chromosome XI of Saccharomyces cerevisiae extending over 7·8 kb. The segment contains four long open reading frames, YKL150, YKL153, YKL155 and YKL156, YKL155 corresponds to the CAP1 gene. YKL153 contains an intron and shows an extremely biased codon usage suggestive of a highly expressed protein. YKL156 is a homolog to UOG‐1, an open reading frame associated with the cDNA clone of the mammalian growth/differentiation factor 1. YKL150 reveals common motifs to both the RNA polymerase II elongation factor of Drosophila melanogaster and to the yeast PPR2 gene product.
Equity Premium Prediction: The Role of Economic and Statistical Constraints

In this paper, we show that the equity premium is predictable out-of-sample when we use a predictive regression that conditions on a large set of economic fundamentals, subject to: (1) economic constraints on the sign of coefficients and return forecasts, and (2) statistical constraints imposed by shrinkage estimation. Equity premium predictability delivers a certainty equivalent return of about 2.7% per year over the benchmark for a mean–variance investor. Our predictive framework outperforms a large group of competing models that also condition on economic fundamentals, as well as models that condition on technical indicators.
Variations in depression care and outcomes among high-risk mothers from different racial/ethnic groups.

UNLABELLED PURPOSE. To examine variations in depression care and outcomes among high-risk pregnant and parenting women from different racial/ethnic groups served in community health centres. METHODS As part of a collaborative care programme that provides depression treatment in primary care clinics for high-risk mothers, 661 women with probable depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 ≥ 10), who self-reported race/ethnicity as Latina (n = 393), White (n = 126), Black (n = 75) or Asian (n = 67), were included in the study. Primary outcomes include quality of depression care and improvement in depression. A Cox proportional hazard model adjusting for sociodemographic and clinical characteristics was used to examine time to treatment response. RESULTS We observed significant differences in both depression processes and outcomes across ethnic groups. After adjusting for other variables, Blacks were found to be significantly less likely to improve than Latinas [hazard ratio (HR): 0.53, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.44-0.65]. Other factors significantly associated with depression improvement were pregnancy (HR: 1.52, 95% CI: 1.27-1.82), number of clinic visits (HR: 1.26, 95% CI: 1.17-1.36) and phone contacts (HR: 1.45, 95% CI: 1.32-1.60) by the care manager in the first month of treatment. After controlling for depression severity, having suicidal thoughts at baseline was significantly associated with a decreased likelihood of depression improvement (HR: 0.75, 95% CI: 0.67-0.83). CONCLUSIONS In this racially and ethnically diverse sample of pregnant and parenting women treated for depression in primary care, the intensity of care management was positively associated with improved depression. There was also appreciable variation in depression outcomes between Latina and Black patients.
Modeling Volatility Using High Frequency Data

This dissertation explores the volatility of stock prices over the course of a trading day. I reformulate the Heston stochastic volatility model as a model of the high-frequency evolution of the scaled increments of quadratic variation. I use the generalized method of moments to estimate three of the parameters of the model: the speed of mean reversion, the asymptotic mean, and the volatility of volatility. This continuous-path model works very well most of the time, and most of the failures are localized to a few short intervals.
Pervasive Environmental Contamination with Human Feces Results in High Prevalence of Zoonotic Sarcocystis Infection in Pigs in the Punjab, India

Abstract Three species of Sarcocystis—S. miescheriana, S. suihominis, and S. porcifelis—have been recorded from pigs (Sus scrofa). Among these 3 species, the zoonotic species S. suihominis is of paramount importance and an important food safety issue. Previous studies indicate prevalence of porcine Sarcocystis species in India, but molecular evidence, among other evidence, is required for proper species differentiation. Myocardium from 250 stray and farm pigs destined for slaughter for human consumption were collected from slaughter shops located in urban slums in Punjab, northern India. Tissues were examined for Sarcocystis by using an intact cyst isolation method, pepsin acid digestion, Sarcocystis 18S ribosomal RNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and real-time quantitative PCR with melting curve analysis (qPCR-MCA). The combination of primers was used for 18S rRNA PCR amplification followed by sequencing. Ten representative samples were sequenced in both the directions from which 7 readable sequences were obtained for phylogenetic analysis. Sarcocystis cysts/zoites were recorded in 146 (58.4%), 169 (67.6%), 182 (72.8%), and 191 (76.4%) of samples by using intact cyst isolation, pepsin HCl digestion, conventional PCR, and qPCR-MCA, respectively. Molecularly, 1 S. miescheriana isolate and 6 isolates of the zoonotic species S. suihominis were recorded. This is the first study providing molecular identification for the presence of zoonotic species S. suihomonis in India. The prevalence of zoonotic S. suihominis in pork in India is worrisome and warrants intervention policies to stop the practice of rearing pigs under unhygienic conditions.
The relation of clinical catastrophes, endogenous oxalate production, and urolithiasis.

A dose-related toxicity syndrome of renal, cerebral, and liver dysfunction; metabolic acidosis; and deposition of calcium oxalate crystals in tissues is reported in association with various apparently unrelated treatments for a wide range of diseases. The parenteral nutrient xylitol, the hyperosmolar agent glycerol, the polysorbate emulsifiers (e.g., in vitamin E preparations), the anesthetic methoxyflurane, and possibly the experimental hypoglycemic agent dichloroacetate all produce a toxicity syndrome very similar to that of ethylene glycol poisoning. In long-term, high-dose oral toxicity studies with rodents, these or similar agents also produce calcium oxalate bladder stones and bladder tumors. Studies with both unlabeled and labeled agents in humans and animals and in vitro experiments with purified enzymes, tissue homogenates, and isolated hepatocytes have provided both strong circumstantial and direct evidence for the existence of minor pathways of carbohydrate metabolism and of oxidative dealkylation and dehalogenation reactions in drug biotransformations that link these agents to endogenous oxalate production. Because urinary oxalate is now considered to be a critical factor in stone formation and because it is increasingly accepted that 80-90% of urinary oxalate is produced endogenously, it is now possible to formulate pathways that link oxalate production with dietary macronutrients. Therapeutic modifications of diet, in vivo hormonal milieu, and intracellular metabolic controls in relation to endogenous oxalate production may provide new forms of treatment for urolithiasis.
Mitigating anti-forensics in the Cloud via resource-based privacy preserving activity attribution

The multi-tenant Cloud environment creates a plethora of both technical and legal difficulties for digital forensics. Digital forensics typically relies on the analysis of evidence images or residual data. Due to the distributed nature of cloud environments can cause the required dataset to scale rapidly. When coupled with diversely heterogeneous environments, the widespread uptake of anti-forensic data and encryption, privacy requirements and a non-standardised architecture across Cloud Service Providers (CSPs), attribution of any activity for a forensic investigation becomes a tedious task. This paper presents an architecture agnostic, privacy-preserving solution to reducing the digital forensics target search space of a investigation within cloud and edge computing environments which will leverage standard metering and network logs for efficient activity attribution.
Usefulness Of Quantitative Assessment of Junb Gene Expression as a Marker for Monitoring Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Patients Undergoing Imatinib Therapy

JunB is a component of the activator protein 1 transcription factors and has been identified to be important in hematopoiesis. Transgenic mice lacking JunB expression develop myeloproliferative disease resembling human chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). JunB expression was significantly decreased in CML patients. We used real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis to monitor both JunB and BCR-ABL expression during imatinib therapy. Nineteen patients were evaluated every 2 to 4 weeks, and their levels of JunB expression before therapy were significantly decreased compared with those of healthy individuals. After imatinib therapy, an increase in JunB expression was found in 5 patients, all of whom achieved a complete cytogenetic response (CCR) and molecular response (MR), with a decrease in BCR-ABL expression. JunB expression decreased to a very low level in 2 patients, both of whom showed progression to blast crisis. Variable JunB expression was found in the other 12 patients, and their outcomes were mostly driven by BCR-ABL levels. The patients with an increase in JunB expression were statistically more likely to achieve a major cytogenetic response (P = .045), CCR (P = .033), and MR (P = .033) than the group with no increase in JunB expression, and a durable response was observed. This study revealed that an increase in JunB expression is a good prognostic marker for predicting clinical response in CML patients treated with imatinib when such data are combined with an evaluation of BCR-ABL expression.
Hybrid history-based test overlapping to reduce test application time

In spite of significant efforts in circuit testing, sequential circuit testing has remained a challenging problem. Existing test solutions like scan methods are proposed to facilitate Automatic Test Pattern Generation (ATPG), however, these methods suffer from large area and delay overhead. In this paper, a new hybrid history-based test overlapping method is presented to reduce test time in scan-based sequential circuits while almost no extra hardware overhead is imposed to the circuit. Experimental results show 30% reduction on average test time in comparison with existing works.
Some roots of preference: Roles, activities and familial values

This paper examines some of the connecting links between modernization in a developing society, particularly urbanization and increased education for women, and preferences for number of children. Using 1973 Taiwan data, preferences for smaller families are found to be consistently related to modern attitudes and behavior in the three domains examined: intrafamilial husband-wife role relationships, extrafamilial activities of the wife, and familial and religious values relating the family to the larger institutional setting. Modernization of these attitudes, behaviors, and values has an impact on reproductive goals independent of their association with structural variables. The wife’s outside activities and exposure to modern influences through the mass media are especially important linkages, having a particularly strong mediating effect in the education effect on preferences. Intrafamilial relations appear to be of less importance. Modernization of familial and religious values mediates between urbanization and family size preferences. The measure of preference used is a scale value which has been found in other research to be more predictive of reproductive behavior than the conventional single-valued statement of number of children wanted. As the level of contraceptive use rises in developing societies, family size preferences increasingly become a factor in birth rates, and understanding the sources of change in these preferences takes on added importance. The policy implications of these findings are discussed.
Cardioprotection of bradykinin at reperfusion involves transactivation of the epidermal growth factor receptor via matrix metalloproteinase‐8

Aim: The endogenous autacoid bradykinin (BK) reportedly reduces myocardial infarct size when given exogenously at reperfusion. Muscarinic and opioid G‐protein‐coupled receptors are equally protective and have been shown to couple through a matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)‐dependent transactivation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Here we test whether BK protects the rat heart through the EGFR by an MMP‐dependent pathway.
On the Stability of the Excess Sensitivity of Aggregate Consumption Growth in the USA

This paper investigates the degree of time variation in the excess sensitivity of aggregate con- sumption growth to anticipated aggregate disposable income growth using quarterly US data over the period 1953-2014. Our empirical framework contains the possibility of stickiness in aggregate consumption growth and takes into account measurement error and time aggregation. Our empirical specification is cast into a Bayesian state space model and estimated using Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods. We use a Bayesian model selection approach to deal with the non-regular test for the null hypothesis of no time variation in the excess sensitivity parameter. Anticipated disposable income growth is calculated by incorporating an instrumental variables estimation approach into our MCMC algorithm. Our results suggest that the excess sensitivity parameter in the US is stable at around 0.24 over the entire sample period.
Development of Embryonic and Larval Cells Containing Serotonin, Catecholamines, and FMRFamide-Related Peptides in the Gastropod Mollusc Phestilla sibogae

The present immunocytochemical study provides one of the first detailed descriptions of the development of cells containing a variety of neurotransmitters during much of the larval life of a nudibranch gastropod. Throughout much of early development, serotonergic cells were located only in the apical organ; as larvae approached metamorphosis, serotonergic cells were also detected in the cerebropleural and pedal ganglia. Cells exhibiting tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity (indicative of catecholamine synthesis) were first located near the mouth but by late embryonic stages were also located in the apical organ and near the velum and eyes. By late larval stages, numerous catecholaminergic cells were found in the foot, with concentrations in the propodium. Finally, the first cells exhibiting FMRFamide immunoreactivity were detected posterior to the neuropil of the cerebropleural ganglia in the early embryo. Fibers that presumably originated from these cells subsequently invaded the cerebral and pedal ganglia and the apical organ. By early larval stages, a second pair of peptidergic neurons was located near the first pair, and additional peptidergic neurons were located in the apical organ and peripheral positions in the foot and medial and dorsal to the eyes. In addition to providing a unique phyletic perspective to our understanding of gastropod neural development, the present study also sets the stage for future studies into changes in the nervous system as this gastropod undergoes metamorphosis.
State of charge estimation for liquid metal battery using Kalman filter

This paper proposed an effective battery model together with a state of charge(SOC) estimation model designed specifically for Liquid Metal Battery (LMB). LMB is a potential energy storage battery very suitable for power grid, with long life-span, large charge current and high energy density. The parameters of this LMB model was determined based on the second order Thevenin circuit. The value of these parameters was calculated according to the experimental data and global optimization algorithm. Data comparison between the battery terminal voltage obtained from the experiment and calculated by model is made to prove the accuracy of the LMB model. The SOC estimation model was built using Kalman Filter algorithm and the LMB model established in this paper. The SOC estimation model performed an accurate performance without the necessity of an initial value under different dynamic conditions or static condition. Data comparison between the SOC obtained from the experiment and calculated by model is made to prove the accuracy of the SOC estimation model. The root-mean-square error of these two sets of data is 0.0171.