Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Exploring the effects of transfers and readmissions on trends in population counts of hospital admissions for coronary heart disease: a Western Australian data linkage study

Objectives To develop a method for categorising coronary heart disease (CHD) subtype in linked data accounting for different CHD diagnoses across records, and to compare hospital admission numbers and ratios of unlinked versus linked data for each CHD subtype over time, and across age groups and sex. Design Cohort study. Data source Person-linked hospital administrative data covering all admissions for CHD in Western Australia from 1988 to 2013. Main outcome Ratios of (1) unlinked admission counts to contiguous admission (CA) counts (accounting for transfers), and (2) 28-day episode counts (accounting for transfers and readmissions) to CA counts stratified by CHD subtype, sex and age group. Results In all CHD subtypes, the ratios changed in a linear or quadratic fashion over time and the coefficients of the trend term differed across CHD subtypes. Furthermore, for many CHD subtypes the ratios also differed by age group and sex. For example, in women aged 35–54 years, the ratio of unlinked to CA counts for non-ST elevation myocardial infarction admissions in 2000 was 1.10, and this increased in a linear fashion to 1.30 in 2013, representing an annual increase of 0.0148. Conclusion The use of unlinked counts in epidemiological estimates of CHD hospitalisations overestimates CHD counts. The CA and 28-day episode counts are more aligned with epidemiological studies of CHD. The degree of overestimation of counts using only unlinked counts varies in a complex manner with CHD subtype, time, sex and age group, and it is not possible to apply a simple correction factor to counts obtained from unlinked data.
Adubação nitrogenada para o milho cultivado em sistema plantio direto, no Estado de Alagoas

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of nitrogen doses upon production components of corn cultivated under a no-tillage system. Four nitrogen rates (0, 40, 80 and 120 kg ha-1) and five cultivars (AG-9010, TRACTOR, DOW-8550, DKB-395 and AL-34) were used. For all treatments, except for the control 20, 115, 60 and 4 kg ha-1 of N, P205, K2O and Zn were applied, respectively. The statistical design was the completely randomized block with four replications in a split plot scheme. The yield components studied were: plant population at harvest, ear length, number of grain rows per ear, ear number, and mass of 100 grains. The yield of the germoplasm varied from 1,900 kg ha-1 for the control to 5,662 kg ha-1 for the highest N dose (120 kg ha-1). For yield, it was observed that the hybrids DOW-8550 and AG-9010 were the most promising. It may be concluded that the economic return of the N fertilization can be reached with a 120 kg ha-1 dose. Both hybrids and cultivars used showed high efficiency in the use of the applied N, the hybrids being more responsive than the varieties.
Extracting Turkish tweet topics using LDA

Social media is a very popular medium of communication for sharing people's activities, opinions and feelings with others. Twitter has become one of the most popular of these social media services. Finding relevant information in the large space of Twitter is a challenge. Various algorithms have been developed to find related tweets. Extracting tweet topics is one of the techniques that can be used for this purpose. Recently, LDA (Latent Dirichlet Allocation) has been successfully used in analysis of tweet topics in English. However, LDA hasn't been tried on Turkish tweets. Turkish is an agglutinative language, which makes application of LDA a new challenge compared to LDA on English tweets. A series of preprocessing steps like stemming, stop word elimination, cleaning of punctuations and spelling errors etc. to make the tweet texts suitable for LDA analysis are used in our application. 6 6.000 tweets and 4.000 control tweets with Twitter4j library are crawled [2]. Zemberek library is used for stemming [3]. The language used in tweets - with its own rules, wide spread spelling errors or made-up words - make text analysis very difficult. Some of these problems are solved by adding new words into Zemberek library and some of the problematic words are completely removed. After preprocessing, LDA i s performed and 40 topics are extracted. The initial results look promising. Some significant topics such as football teams, celebrity names or hot news topics are detected. Using these results, automatic recommendation of relevant tweets will be performed.
Ankle Training With a Robotic Device Improves Hemiparetic Gait After a Stroke

Background. Task-oriented therapies such as treadmill exercise can improve gait velocity after stroke, but slow velocities and abnormal gait patterns often persist, suggesting a need for additional strategies to improve walking. Objectives. To determine the effects of a 6-week visually guided, impedance controlled, ankle robotics intervention on paretic ankle motor control and gait function in chronic stroke. Methods. This was a single-arm pilot study with a convenience sample of 8 stroke survivors with chronic hemiparetic gait, trained and tested in a laboratory. Subjects trained in dorsiflexion–plantarflexion by playing video games with the robot during three 1-hour training sessions weekly, totaling 560 repetitions per session. Assessments included paretic ankle ranges of motion, strength, motor control, and overground gait function. Results. Improved paretic ankle motor control was seen as increased target success, along with faster and smoother movements. Walking velocity also increased significantly, whereas durations of paretic single support increased and double support decreased. Conclusions. Robotic feedback training improved paretic ankle motor control with improvements in floor walking. Increased walking speeds were comparable with reports from other task-oriented, locomotor training approaches used in stroke, suggesting that a focus on ankle motor control may provide a valuable adjunct to locomotor therapies.
Diaquabis[4-(dimethylamino)benzoato-κO]bis(nicotinamide-κN 1)zinc(II) dihydrate

In the centrosymmetric title structure, [Zn(C9H10NO2)2(C6H6N2O)2(H2O)2]·2H2O, the ZnII cation, located on an inversion center, is coordinated by two 4-(methylamino)benzoate anions, two nicotinamide ligands and two water molecules in a slightly distorted octahedral geometry. The dihedral angle between the carboxylate group and the attached benzene ring is 3.09 (9)°, while the pyridine and benzene rings are oriented at a dihedral angle of 77.10 (4)°. The uncoordinated water molecule is linked to nicotinamide ligands by O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. In the crystal, intermolecular N—H⋯O, O—H⋯O and C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the molecules into a three-dimensional network. A weak N—H⋯π interaction also occurs.
The mechanisms controlling physiologically stimulated changes in rat brain glucose and lactate: a microdialysis study.

1. This study is concerned with the supply of metabolic substrates for neuronal metabolism. Experiments were carried out to investigate whether mechanisms demonstrated in cultured astrocytes also occurred in vivo; these were cAMP‐mediated breakdown of glycogen and glutamate uptake‐stimulated release of lactate. 2. In vivo microdialysis was used in freely moving rats. Lactate and glucose in the dialysate were assayed using enzyme‐based on‐line assays. Drugs were given locally through the dialysis probe. Regional cerebral blood flow was measured using the hydrogen clearance method. 3. There was an increase in dialysate glucose in response to the beta‐adrenoceptor agonist isoprenaline and to 8‐bromo‐cAMP, an analogue of cAMP, the second messenger of beta‐adrenoceptor stimulation. The effect of isoprenaline was blocked by the antagonist propranolol. Isoprenaline had no effect on dialysate lactate, which was increased by the glutamate uptake blocker beta‐D,L‐threohydroxyaspartate (THA). 4. Physiological stimulation of neuronal activity produced an increase in both lactate and glucose. The increase in lactate was depressed in the presence of THA but was unaffected by propranolol. The increase in glucose was blocked by propranolol. Regional cerebral blood flow was increased by physiological stimulation but was unaffected by propranolol. 5. These results demonstrate that physiologically stimulated increases in glucose and lactate in the brain are mediated by different mechanisms.
Estimating progression‐free survival in paediatric brain tumour patients when some progression statuses are unknown

Summary. In oncology, progression‐free survival time, which is defined as the minimum of the times to disease progression or death, often is used to characterize treatment and covariate effects. We are motivated by the desire to estimate the progression time distribution on the basis of data from 780 paediatric patients with choroid plexus tumours, which are a rare brain cancer where disease progression always precedes death. In retrospective data on 674 patients, the times to death or censoring were recorded but progression times were missing. In a prospective study of 106 patients, both times were recorded but there were only 20 non‐censored progression times and 10 non‐censored survival times. Consequently, estimating the progression time distribution is complicated by the problems that, for most of the patients, either the survival time is known but the progression time is not known, or the survival time is right censored and it is not known whether the patient's disease progressed before censoring. For data with these missingness structures, we formulate a family of Bayesian parametric likelihoods and present methods for estimating the progression time distribution. The underlying idea is that estimating the association between the time to progression and subsequent survival time from patients having complete data provides a basis for utilizing covariates and partial event time data of other patients to infer their missing progression times. We illustrate the methodology by analysing the brain tumour data, and we also present a simulation study.
Accumulation of the F plasmid TraJ protein in cpx mutants of Escherichia coli

We report here studies of the cellular control of F plasmid TraJ protein levels, focusing on the effects of chromosomal cpx mutations. The principal conclusion from our results is that the cpx mutations impair accumulation of the TraJ protein, thereby reducing tra gene expression. We measured TraJ activity in vivo by expression of a traY'-'lacZ fusion gene and TraJ protein by immuno-overlay blot. In strains with normal TraJ levels, traY expression and donor-related functions were reduced in cells carrying any of four cpxA mutations. In the strain background used to isolate cpx mutants, these reductions were especially evident in cells grown to high density, when traY expression and donor activity both increased in cpx+ cells. In each of the four cpxA mutants tested, TraJ levels were lower than in the otherwise isogenic cpxA+ strain. In cells grown to high density, the differences ranged from 4-fold in the cpxA6 strain to > 10-fold in the cpxA2, cpxA5, and cpxA9 strains. The cpxA2 mutation had little or no effect on traY expression or on donor-related functions when TraJ was present in excess of its limiting level in F' or Hfr cells or on a mutant traY promoter whose expression in vivo was independent of TraJ.
FPGA real-time implementation of a vector control scheme for a PMSM used to propel an electric scooter

This paper reports on the Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) real-time implementation of a vector control scheme, by means of hardware-in-the-loop simulation. This approach will be applied for a PMSM used to propel an electric scooter, preceding its integration in a more complex experimental setup. The emerging need for powerful, flexible system-on-a-chip (SoC) platforms for developing complex drive systems have brought to attention FPGAs. These units offer high performance, rapid prototyping and parallel computation capability for the envisaged control algorithms. The Xilinx System Generator (XSG) tool allows the design of the proposed vector control system, under Simulink environment. It uses specialized blocks in order to facilitate the real-time behavior validation. The controllers required for this control strategy are modelled and implemented by means of XSG tools on a Digilent Anvyl Spartan-6 FPGA, inserted in the complete Simulink control structure. Subsequently, hardware co-simulation is performed, in order to test the performances of the system at real-time stimuli.
The accuracy of self monitoring blood glucose meter systems in Kampala Uganda.

BACKGROUND Many blood glucose self monitoring systems are privately and publicly used by people in Uganda and technical and human errors may occur during their operation. Many patients were referred to Kololo polyclinic laboratory to have their blood glucose checked because the values obtained on the patients' glucose meter systems did not tally with familiar clinical signs and symptoms. This prompted an experimental set up to check glucose meter systems using a larger number of patients. OBJECTIVE The objective was to collate the technical conditions and standing operational procedures of four common glucose meter systems; observe the time, ambient temperature and humidity at which the meter systems operate locally; and compare the performance of three meter systems A, B, and C with the Sensorex glucose meter system on a number of capillary blood samples. SETTING Kololo polyclinic laboratory--a privately run facility in Kampala, Uganda. DESIGN An experimental set up to compare four glucose meter systems. METHODS Instruction manuals of the four glucose monitoring systems were studied and used to familiarize with the meter operations. One hundred and fourteen capillary blood specimens were assayed for blood glucose. Blood glucose values were instantly read off the four randomly set meter systems A, B, C, and Sensorex, noting the time, ambient temperature and humidity. Results from meter systems A, B, and C were regressed against those of Sensorex using Epi-Info computer program. RESULTS Blood glucose concentration levels on meter system A tallied with those on Sensorex meter system. However, those on meter system B and C were significantly lower and different. Temperature and humidity adversely affected the analytical performance of meter systems B and C in the Kampala environ. CONCLUSION Some of the blood glucose monitoring systems in Kampala, Uganda are poor performers and may lead to the mismanagement of patients. There is need for a system to ensure national quality control of blood glucose monitoring systems.
Labour Mobility of Migrants and Natives in the European Union: An Empirical Test of the 'Greasing of the Wheels’ Effect of Migrants

Abstract In the context of current developments of large refugee movements across Europe, it is important to study the impact of migration flows in the European economy. One aspect of this is the impact on mobility patterns (i.e. in and out of jobs, across sectors, across regions and across types of jobs). This paper presents a comprehensive account of key determinants of labour mobility of both migrant and native workers across the EU economies between 2000 and 2011. The main indicators examined are the gross employment reallocation and net employment creation rates (GERR and NECR, respectively) taken over from Davis and Haltiwanger (1992, 1999). We analyse differences in mobility patterns in the EU‑15 and the NMS as regards age groups, skill groups, gender, length of job tenure, and the impact of labour market institutions. A particular focus of the study is the potential of migrants to ‘grease the wheels’ (Borjas, 2001) of labour markets by either themselves showing higher mobility rates or impacting on the mobility patterns of natives or existing migrants. This impact is analysed in great detail with respect to the differentiated impact of migrants of different skill groups or from different countries of origin on patterns of labour market mobility. Furthermore, apart from overall labour market mobility, we also examine inter-regional and inter-sectoral mobility.
Discrete-to-continuum models for biomedical applications of RNA nanotubes

RNA macromolecular structures are very important in the currently boosting field of bionanotechnology, including a range of biomedical applications. In order to expand the applications of these RNA nanoclusters obtained from the self assembly of the ribonucleic acid (RNA) building blocks, it is critical to be able to better understand and predict their properties. Therefore, we model the RNA nanotubes of different sizes using molecular dynamics simulations and then study the mechanical properties of such nanotubes with continuum models implemented with the finite element methodology. We present details of our novel discrete-to-continuum models, and explain how the atomistic models in this field can be used to develop the continuum macroscopic models which would allow to calculate elastic properties of RNA nanotubes using the finite element method. By using the elastic constants available for nucleic acids, we demonstrate how to obtain the distribution of the displacement field due to stress along different directions of the RNA nanotube. These new results pave the road to our better understanding of RNA nanotube stability in biomedical applications.
ANALYSIS OF TRADE STRUCTURE AND PATTERN OF WOOL AND MOHAIR EXPORT OF LESOTHO

Lesotho has been a Southern African Custom Union (SACU) member from the inception of SACU, and most of its trade policies have been shaped at the SACU level. Lesotho’s trade related policies are mainly the responsibility of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Cooperatives and Marketing. Lesotho is a founding member of the World Trade Organization (WTO); as such it took commitments on trade at the multi-lateral level for the first time during the Uruguay Round. Lesotho agreed to undertake very extensive commitments for the trade liberalization. The main objective of this study is to analyze trade structure and pattern of wool and mohair export commodities of Lesotho. The study set out to determine whether the trade policies has more protection on the agricultural products than needed and whether the policy provides more
Agile decision support system for the management of tensions in emergency services using AIS techniques

The aim of this article is to propose an agile approach of decision support in order to manipulate and capitalize the knowledge. we present one of the bio-inspired computer techniques to provide decision-making assistance to hospital decision makers facing of massive patient flows. In fact, the Artificial Immune System (AIS) is a technique that has been adapted for the design of a hospital piloting assistance system. This assistance system helps hospital decision makers in their activities. The main objective is to present the basic concepts of a new approach that aims to provide hospital decision-makers with relevant traces to assist them in their decision-making in the difficult situations that put them under stress. In order to design the system, we relied on two mechanisms of AIS techniques (negative and clonal selection). The agility aspect of the system was assured by adopting the component approach. The results of the proposed approach have been good and effective because they improve the knowledge base developed by learning and offer a good decision-making help under tension.
Low-resolution face recognition using unimodal data fusion

The objective of low-resolution face recognition is to identify faces in an uncontrolled situations like from small size or poor quality images with varying pose, illumination, expression, etc. Most existing approaches use features of just one type. In this work, we propose a robust low face recognition technique based on unimodal features fusion, which is more discriminative than using only one feature modality. Features of each facial image are extracted using three steps: i) both Gabor filters and Histogram of Oriented Gradients (HOG) descriptor are calculated. ii) the size of these features is reduced using the Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) method in order to remove redundant information. iii) the reduced features are combined using Discriminant Correlation Analysis (DCA) method. To achieve the recognition task, a Support Vectors Machine Classifier, is used. Performance of the proposed method will be measured using the AR database.
Vibrio cholerae Strains Possess Multiple Strategies for Abiotic and Biotic Surface Colonization

ABSTRACT Despite its notoriety as a human pathogen, Vibrio cholerae is an aquatic microbe suited to live in freshwater, estuarine, and marine environments where biofilm formation may provide a selective advantage. Here we report characterization of biofilms formed on abiotic and biotic surfaces by two non-O1/O139 V. cholerae strains, TP and SIO, and by the O1 V. cholerae strain N16961 in addition to the isolation of 44 transposon mutants of SIO and TP impaired in biofilm formation. During the course of characterizing the mutants, 30 loci which have not previously been associated with V. cholerae biofilms were identified. These loci code for proteins which perform a wide variety of functions, including amino acid metabolism, ion transport, and gene regulation. Also, when the plankton colonization abilities of strains N16961, SIO, and TP were examined, each strain showed increased colonization of dead plankton compared with colonization of live plankton (the dinoflagellate Lingulodinium polyedrum and the copepod Tigriopus californicus). Surprisingly, most of the biofilm mutants were not impaired in plankton colonization. Only mutants impaired in motility or chemotaxis showed reduced colonization. These results indicate the presence of both conserved and variable genes which influence the surface colonization properties of different V. cholerae subspecies.
Describing mate preference functions and other function‐valued traits

Mate preferences are important causes of sexual selection. They shape the evolution of sexual ornaments and displays, sometimes maintaining genetic diversity and sometimes promoting speciation. Mate preferences can be challenging to study because they are expressed in animal brains and because they are a function of the features of potential mates that are encountered. Describing them requires taking this into account. We present a method for describing and analysing mate preference functions, and introduce a freely available computer program that implements the method. We give an overview of how the program works, and we discuss how it can be used to visualize and quantitatively analyse preference functions. In addition, we provide an informal review of different methods of testing mate preferences, with recommendations for how best to set up experiments on mate preferences. Although the program was written with mate preferences in mind, it can be used to study any function‐valued trait, and we hope researchers will take advantage of it across a broad range of traits.
Fatigue load modeling and control for wind turbines based on hysteresis operators

The focus of this work is on fatigue load modeling and controller design for the wind turbine level. The main purpose is to include a model of the damage effects caused by the fatigue of the wind turbine components in the controller design process. This paper addresses an online fatigue estimation method based on hysteresis operators, which can be used in control loops. Furthermore, we propose a model predictive control (MPC) strategy that incorporates the online fatigue estimation through the objective function, where the ultimate goal in mind is to reduce the fatigue load of the wind turbine, while tracking a desired power reference. The outcome is an adaptive or self-tuning MPC scheme for wind turbine fatigue load reduction. The results of the proposed strategy are then compared against a baseline MPC.