Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Multiplex PCR for Typing and Subtyping Influenza and Respiratory Syncytial Viruses

ABSTRACT A multiplex reverse transcription (RT)-PCR method that has been developed is capable of detecting and subtyping influenza A (H1N1 and H3N2) and B viruses as well as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) types A and B in respiratory clinical samples taken as part of a national community-based surveillance program of influenza-like illness in England and Wales. The detection of each different pathogen depended on distinguishing five amplification products of different sizes on agarose gels following RT-PCR with multiple primer sets. The multiplex RT-PCR was tested with 65 nasopharyngeal apirates from which RSV had been isolated and 237 combined nose and throat swabs from which influenza A (H1N1 and H3N2) or B virus had been detected by virus isolation, as well as 40 respiratory samples from which other viruses including cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex virus, enteroviruses, and parainfluenza viruses had been grown. For the typing and subtyping of influenza A and B viruses and RSV types A and B, the multiplex RT-PCR gave an excellent (100%) correlation with the results of conventional typing and subtyping with specific antisera. Multiplex RT-PCR can also be used to accurately detect more than one viral template in the same reaction mixture, allowing viral coinfections to be identified with the same respiratory specimen.
Flanking Variation Influences Rates of Stutter in Simple Repeats

It has been posited that the longest uninterrupted stretch (LUS) of tandem repeats, as defined by the number of exactly matching repeating motif units, is a better predictor of rates of stutter than the parental allele length (PAL). While there are cases where this hypothesis is likely correct, such as the 9.3 allele in the TH01 locus, there can be situations where it may not apply as well. For example, the PAL may capture flanking indel variations while remaining insensitive to polymorphisms in the repeat, and these haplotypic changes may impact the stutter rate. To address this, rates of stutter were contrasted against the LUS as well as the PAL on different flanking haplotypic backgrounds. This study shows that rates of stutter can vary substantially depending on the flanking haplotype, and while there are cases where the LUS is a better predictor of stutter than the PAL, examples to the contrary are apparent in commonly assayed forensic markers. Further, flanking variation that is 7 bp from the repeat region can impact rates of stutter. These findings suggest that non-proximal effects, such as DNA secondary structure, may be impacting the rates of stutter in common forensic short tandem repeat markers.
Integration between the Tele-Cardiology Unit and the central laboratory: methodological and clinical evaluation of point-of-care testing cardiac marker in the ambulance

Abstract The aim of this study was to identify patients with myocardial necrosis in pre-hospital phase during transport by ambulance, without ST-segment elevation (NSTE) on the ambulance ECG. The analytical performance of the i-STAT® troponin I (cTnI) method was assessed. A total of 53 NSTE ambulance ECG patients admitted to hospital were followed. The ambulance had experimental software able to receive data from the i-STAT device and transmit it to a protected address and server. cTnI mean values from 2.0 to 34μg/L showed a total CV of 3.0–5.6%. The detection limit was 0. 016μg/L. A mean cTnI concentration of 0. 09μg/L was associated with a CV of 8.0% (decision limit). The i-STAT cTnI method was linear for concentrations from 0 to 35μg/L. There was no effect (p<0.05) of interfering substances. For point-of-care testing (POCT), cTnI was >0. 09μg/L in 20 AMI patients (91%). The median ambulance turnaround time (TAT) was 12min and median hospital TAT was 40min, a difference of 28min. The high sensitivity of the i-STAT cTnI method integrated with tele-medicine procedures could play an important role in the management of acute coronary syndrome patients related to the pre-hospital phase (early diagnosis and treatment in the ambulance). These approaches may allow improvements in patient outcomes and continuous monitoring of the POCT network in the central laboratory, thus meeting quality requirements.
Pulmonary function disparities exist and persist in Hispanic patients with cystic fibrosis: A longitudinal analysis

Hispanic patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) have decreased life expectancy compared to non‐Hispanic white patients. Pulmonary function is a main predictor of life expectancy in CF. Ethnic differences in pulmonary function in CF have been understudied. The objective was to compare longitudinal pulmonary function between Hispanic and non‐Hispanic white patients with CF.
Institute of Economics University of Copenhagen Bayesian Learnin Testing for Information Prec

An important claim of Bayesian learning and a standard assumption in price discovery models is that the strength of the price impact of unanticipated information depends on the precision of the news. In this paper, we test for this assumption by analyzing intra-day price responses of CBOT T-bond futures to U.S. employment announcements. By employing additional detail information besides the widely used headline figures, we extract release-specific precision measures which allow to test for the claim of Bayesian updating. We find that the price impact of more precise information is significantly stronger. The results remain stable even after controlling for an asymmetric price response to ’good’ and ’bad’ news.
Experimental Verification of the Effective Medium Properties of a Transmission-Line Metamaterial on a Skewed Lattice

In this letter, we demonstrate, for the first time, an experimental verification of the effective medium properties of a transmission-line metamaterial on a skewed lattice first introduced in our other work (IEEE Trans. Microw. Theory Tech., vol. 59, no. 12, pp. 3272-3282, Dec. 2011). The experimental verification is based on observing refraction of a point source in an isotropic transmission-line metamaterial into an anisotropic transmission-line metamaterial. The anisotropic metamaterial is implemented with a skewed transmission-line lattice to achieve a full material tensor. The effective medium properties of the skewed transmission-line metamaterial are confirmed by comparing the corresponding measured fields to those simulated in an ideal full-tensor anisotropic medium. This letter briefly reviews the theory behind a transmission-line metamaterial on a skewed lattice and presents the design, simulation, and measurement of anisotropic refraction in such a metamaterial.
Sketches of a Dynamic Central Place Theory

The purpose of this short paper is to indicate a way of reconceptualizing central place theory in dynamic terms. In the present case the approach taken is essentially a conservative one in that it is largely determined by two general criteria: that the resulting theory be usable, and that it be as closely analogous as possible to existing theory. The first criterion rules out any approach based on such traditional assumptions as uniform population distribution, distance minimization by consumers, or the existence of a hierarchy of centers. Such postulates, in the context of central place theory, beg the question, and what is more beg it with an incorrect answer. On the other hand, while many of the particular postulates of the traditional theory are rejected, under the second criterion the more general assumptions as to the nature of the problem are retained, i.e., assumptions which those postulates exemplify. Thus the dynamic formulation outlined in the present paper, like most other approaches in central place theory, adheres to the position that the central place problem is essentially one of examining the implications arising from the union of the microeconomic theory of the firm with the theory of consumer spatial interaction. Nevertheless, while the approach is largely a conservative one, it does in certain respects require a new perspective on the nature of the central place problem. Thus, it is necessary to reject the assumption growing out of the traditional models of Losch and Christaller
Printed quasi-self-complementary antenna for UWB applications

A quasi-self-complementary antenna (QSCA) for band-notched ultra-wideband (UWB) application free from interference with existing wireless local area network (WLAN) systems is proposed. The designed band-notched UWB operation can be obtained by choosing the size of the parasitic arc-shaped strip opposite to the quarter-circular patch. The proposed antenna has advantages of low cost, easy design and compact in size. Details of the proposed design and experimental results of the constructed antennas are presented.
European Welfare Futures

European Welfare Futures presents a clear and up-to-date analysis of developments in social policy in the main EU member states. It provides a systematic account of welfare retrenchment and assesses the competing explanations of this process. The authors provide convincing evidence for the view that an 'ever closer union' in social policy will require a much more difficult process than that which led to monetary union.The book makes a major contribution to understanding how welfare policy in Europe will develop over the next few years. It offers an original and wide-ranging account of the forces affecting the direction of policy, and stresses the role of social and political institutions in explaining why countries differ.European Welfare Futures will be essential reading for undergraduates, graduate students and scholars in social policy, sociology, political science, area studies and international relations courses. It will also be of great interest to policy-makers in the EU, especially in the areas of pensions, health, social care and unemployment.
A 3D Modeling Method of Indoor Objects Using Kinect Sensor

Indoor 3D object modeling is often used for object recognition, location and other robot manipulating task. In this paper, we put forward a common method to build 3D model of household object for robotic grasping. The point clouds including object from different viewpoints are captured from the Microsoft's Kinect v2 sensor. A pixel filtering approach is used to process depth image and morphology algorithm is implemented to filter noise points in the point clouds of object. FPFH descriptor is extracted from each point. Sample Consensus Initial Alignment and ICP algorithm is used to register two adjacent point cloud accurately. Based on a closed-loop optimization method, the cumulative error from continuous registration is reduced. We build some 3D models of indoor objects through the proposed approach. The experiment results shows that the method is convenient and can meet the accuracy requirements.
Derivation of stochastic partial differential equations for size- and age-structured populations

Stochastic partial differential equations (SPDEs) for size-structured and age- and size-structured populations are derived from basic principles, i.e. from the changes that occur in a small time interval. Discrete stochastic models of size-structured and age-structured populations are constructed, carefully taking into account the inherent randomness in births, deaths, and size changes. As the time interval decreases, the discrete stochastic models lead to systems of Itô stochastic differential equations. As the size and age intervals decrease, SPDEs are derived for size-structured and age- and size-structured populations. Comparisons between numerical solutions of the SPDEs and independently formulated Monte Carlo calculations support the accuracy of the derivations.
Prediction of proprotein convertase cleavage sites.

Many secretory proteins and peptides are synthesized as inactive precursors that in addition to signal peptide cleavage undergo post-translational processing to become biologically active polypeptides. Precursors are usually cleaved at sites composed of single or paired basic amino acid residues by members of the subtilisin/kexin-like proprotein convertase (PC) family. In mammals, seven members have been identified, with furin being the one first discovered and best characterized. Recently, the involvement of furin in diseases ranging from Alzheimer's disease and cancer to anthrax and Ebola fever has created additional focus on proprotein processing. We have developed a method for prediction of cleavage sites for PCs based on artificial neural networks. Two different types of neural networks have been constructed: a furin-specific network based on experimental results derived from the literature, and a general PC-specific network trained on data from the Swiss-Prot protein database. The method predicts cleavage sites in independent sequences with a sensitivity of 95% for the furin neural network and 62% for the general PC network. The ProP method is made publicly available at http://www.cbs. dtu.dk/services/ProP.
Recent advances in the utility and use of the General Practice Research Database as an example of a UK Primary Care Data resource

Since its inception in the mid-1980s, the General Practice Research Database (GPRD) has undergone many changes but remains the largest validated and most utilised primary care database in the UK. Its use in pharmacoepidemiology stretches back many years with now over 800 original research papers. Administered by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency since 2001, the last 5 years have seen a rebuild of the database processing system enhancing access to the data, and a concomitant push towards broadening the applications of the database. New methodologies including real-world harm–benefit assessment, pharmacogenetic studies and pragmatic randomised controlled trials within the database are being implemented. A substantive and unique linkage program (using a trusted third party) has enabled access to secondary care data and disease-specific registry data as well as socio-economic data and death registration data. The utility of anonymised free text accessed in a safe and appropriate manner is being explored using simple and more complex techniques such as natural language processing.
Capital Account Liberalisation in India: Implications for Economic Growth

We construct a time varying financial openness index by estimating a small open economy model of interest rate determination and examine the implications of evolution of capital account liberalisation on economic performance over the period April 1993 - March 2004. The behaviour of openness index seems to closely reflect the financial liberalisation policies followed. The empirical evidence from cointegration test indicates that financial openness has significant positive impact on output while the impulse response coefficients confirm that such impact is persistent. The results from Granger causality and forecast error variance reveal that the process of financial openness emerged as an exogenous sequence. The overall evidence is in favour of the cautious and gradual approach followed in matters relating to financial liberalisation in so far as their implication on output is concerned.
Modulation of nitric oxide affects myocardial perfusion–contraction matching in anaesthetized dogs with recurrent no‐flow ischaemia

Myocardial perfusion and contraction are closely coupled; however, the effect of recurrent no‐flow ischaemia on perfusion–contraction matching remains to be established. In the present studies, we examined the influence of modulating nitric oxide availability on perfusion–contraction matching after recurrent no‐flow ischaemia in acute open‐chest, anaesthetized dogs. The following three groups were studied: (1) saline; (2) l‐NAME (10 mg kg−1i.v.); and (3) enalaprilat (1.5 mg kg−1i.v.). Regional myocardial blood flow was measured with microspheres and contractile function with piezoelectric crystals to determine systolic wall thickening. Dogs underwent four cycles of 5 min acute ischaemia and 5 min coronary reperfusion; area at risk was similar for all groups. In all dogs, ischaemic zone contractile function was depressed after recurrent no‐flow ischaemia despite increased myocardial blood flow during reperfusion; contractile function was further depressed during l‐NAME and was partly restored with enalaprilat. Within the ischaemic region, blood flow in subendocardial and subepicardial layers increased significantly compared with baseline during each reperfusion period independently of treatment. Our findings suggest that reduced NO availability can significantly impair myocardial perfusion–contraction matching, which is partly restored by administration of an NO donor.
What Happens When Manufacturers Perform The Retailing Functions?

This study examines the effects of a relatively new channel structure on prices and sales in a large department store, which in recent years has switched the management of many of its product categories from a traditional retailer‐managed system to a manufacturer‐managed system. We find that the change caused overall retail prices to decrease. However, there was significant heterogeneity in the response across brands. In the cell phone category, brands with high market shares and inelastic demand did not change prices. In the watch category, the retail prices of relatively low‐end brands decreased while the prices of premium brands increased substantially after the switch. In addition to sales increases due to lower prices, we find that the channel structure change further caused sales to increase by 9–10% in the cell phone category and by 11–17% in the watch category. These results are consistent with previous theoretical predictions. We believe that our results provide important academic and managerial implications due to the increasing prevalence of manufacturer‐managed systems in the retail industry.
Wearable System for Monitoring of Oxygen Concentration in Breath Based on Optical Sensor

This paper reports the development of a compact, portable prototype for the determination of gaseous oxygen in breath. This system is fully wearable, it can be worn by the user as an armband where the electronics are placed, i.e., connected to a mouthpiece where the breath is sensed. The prototype is based on an optical luminescent sensor consisting of a stabilized porphyrin dye directly deposited onto a color detector. The sensor response, when it is optically excited, is quenched by the surrounding oxygen. The intensity of the generated luminescence is registered by means of a digital color detector whose output data correspond to the coordinates of the RGB color space. For this particular optical sensor, the red coordinate is directly related to the concentration of O2, and it is sent to a remote device such as a smartphone or tablet by a Bluetooth link. An application for Android operative system has also been developed for data visualization and analysis. Employing this novel system, a high resolution in the range of few parts per billion in the determination of oxygen can be achieved.
Imaging tumor angiogenesis: the road to clinical utility.

OBJECTIVE Tumor growth and progression require the formation of new blood vessels from preexisting vasculature, a process called angiogenesis. The ability to noninvasively visualize angiogenesis may provide new opportunities to more appropriately select patients for antiangiogenesis treatment and to monitor treatment efficacy. CONCLUSION The superior molecular sensitivity of PET and the lack of radiation from MRI and contrast-enhanced ultrasound put these techniques at the forefront of clinical translation.
Use of Mobile Phone Text Message Reminders in Health Care Services: A Narrative Literature Review

Background Mobile text messages are a widely recognized communication method in societies, as the global penetration of the technology approaches 100% worldwide. Systematic knowledge is still lacking on how the mobile telephone text messaging (short message service, SMS) has been used in health care services. Objective This study aims to review the literature on the use of mobile phone text message reminders in health care. Methods We conducted a systematic literature review of studies on mobile telephone text message reminders. The data sources used were PubMed (MEDLINE), CINAHL, Proquest Databases/ PsycINFO, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and hand searching since 2003. Studies reporting the use of SMS intended to remind patients in health services were included. Given the heterogeneity in the studies, descriptive characteristics, purpose of the study, response rates, description of the intervention, dose and timing, instruments, outcome measures, and outcome data from the studies were synthesized using a narrative approach. Results From 911 initial citations, 60 studies were included in the review. The studies reported a variety of use for SMS. Mobile telephone text message reminders were used as the only intervention in 73% (44/60) of the studies, and in 27% (16/60) of the remaining studies, SMS was connected to another comprehensive health intervention system. SMS reminders were sent to different patient groups: patients with HIV/AIDS (15%, 9/60) and diabetes (13%, 8/60) being the most common groups. The response rates of the studies varied from 22-100%. Typically, the text message reminders were sent daily. The time before the specific intervention to be rendered varied from 10 minutes (eg, medication taken) to 2 weeks (eg, scheduled appointment). A wide range of different evaluation methods and outcomes were used to assess the impact of SMS varying from existing databases (eg, attendance rate based on medical records), questionnaires, and physiological measures. About three quarters of the studies (77%, 46/60) reported improved outcomes: adherence to medication or to treatment reportedly improved in 40% (24/60) of the studies, appointment attendance in 18% (11/60) of the studies, and non-attendance rates decreased in 18% (11/60) of the studies. Other positive impacts were decreased amount of missed medication doses, more positive attitudes towards medication, and reductions in treatment interruptions. Conclusions We can conclude that although SMS reminders are used with different patient groups in health care, SMS is less systematically studied with randomized controlled trial study design. Although the amount of evidence for SMS application recommendations is still limited, having 77% (46/60) of the studies showing improved outcomes may indicate its use in health care settings. However, more well-conducted SMS studies are still needed.
Sundown Syndrome in Institutionalized Elderly

To describe sundown syndrome and determine factors related to its occurrence, 59 demented and 30 nondemented nursing home residents aged 60 years and above were observed in the morning and the evening over two consecutive days using a Confusion Inventory. Physiologic, psychosocial, and environmental data were also recorded. In addition, Pfeiffer's Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire, the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale, Face‐Hand Test, and sensory screening were completed. Among the 89 subjects, 11 were found to be sundowners, a prevalence rate of one in eight in the facility. No clear pattern of behaviors evolved but sundowners were found to increase restless and verbal behavior as evening approached. Sundowners were more likely to be demented, with greater mental impairment and organic involvement than nonsundowners. Among physiologic factors, odor of urine, being awakened frequently on the evening shift, and fewer medical diagnoses were significantly associated with sundowning. Significant psychosocial factors were current room residence of less than one month, more recent admission to the facility, and higher evening levels of confusion. No environmental factors were related.