Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Medication reconciliation interventions in ambulatory care: A scoping review.

PURPOSE The published literature on medication reconciliation (MR) interventions, outcomes, and facilitators in ambulatory care settings is reviewed. METHODS A scoping review was conducted to characterize ambulatory care-based MR research in terms of study design, elements of interventions, and outcomes examined. English-language articles on comparative studies of MR programs targeting adults in ambulatory care settings were identified using data sources including MEDLINE, PreMEDLINE, EMBASE, and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts. For each study, steps undertaken in the MR process were extracted. The Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care (EPOC) taxonomy was used to classify types of interventions; taxonomies for reported outcomes and factors facilitating implementation of MR initiatives were developed by the authors. RESULTS From among 2062 publications screened, 15 were included in the review. In 13 studies, multiple data sources were used to compile a "best possible medication history" (BPMH); however, the BPMH was shared with external healthcare providers in only 4 studies and with patients in only 5 studies. Most reported MR interventions were classified into two EPOC domains: professional (predominantly educational outreach visits and patient reminders) and organizational (predominantly provider-oriented interventions). Process outcomes were reported in 12 studies, with correct performance of MR being the most commonly evaluated process outcome, and 9 studies identified factors that facilitated MR implementation. CONCLUSION Few studies have examined clinical outcomes of MR in ambulatory care settings, with the majority of pertinent reports focusing instead on process outcomes. Facilitators of successful MR interventions have been identified at the patient, staff, and clinic setting levels.
Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment of the Overtraining Syndrome: Joint Consensus Statement of the European College of Sport Science and the American College of Sports Medicine

Successful training not only must involve overload but also must avoid the combination of excessive overload plus inadequate recovery. Athletes can experience short-term performance decrement without severe psychological or lasting other negative symptoms. This functional overreaching will eventually lead to an improvement in performance after recovery. When athletes do not sufficiently respect the balance between training and recovery, nonfunctional overreaching (NFOR) can occur. The distinction between NFOR and overtraining syndrome (OTS) is very difficult and will depend on the clinical outcome and exclusion diagnosis. The athlete will often show the same clinical, hormonal, and other signs and symptoms. A keyword in the recognition of OTS might be ‘‘prolonged maladaptation’’ not only of the athlete but also of several biological, neurochemical, and hormonal regulation mechanisms. It is generally thought that symptoms of OTS, such as fatigue, performance decline, and mood disturbances, are more severe than those of NFOR. However, there is no scientific evidence to either confirm or refute this suggestion. One approach to understanding the etiology of OTS involves the exclusion of organic diseases or infections and factors such as dietary caloric restriction (negative energy balance) and insufficient carbohydrate and/or protein intake, iron deficiency, magnesium deficiency, allergies, and others together with identification of initiating events or triggers. In this article, we provide the recent status of possible markers for the detection of OTS. Currently, several markers (hormones, performance tests, psychological tests, and biochemical and immune markers) are used, but none of them meet all the criteria to make their use generally accepted.
Trust dynamics in global software engineering

Trust is one of the key factors that determines success or failure of any software project. However, achieving and maintaining trust in distributed software projects, when team members are geographically, temporally and culturally distant from each other, is a remarkable challenge. This paper explores the dynamics of trust and best practices performed in software organizations to address trust-related issues in global software engineering. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in six different distributed software development organizations and a resulting trust dynamics model is presented. Based on the findings, the paper also provides suggestions for the industry to achieve trust in distributed collaborations.
Mobile Robot Localization Using Fusion of Object Recognition and Range Information

Most present localization algorithms are either range or vision-based. In many environments, only one type of sensor cannot often ensure successful localization; furthermore, using low-priced range sensors instead of expensive, but accurate, laser scanners often lead to poor performance. This paper proposes an MCL-based localization method that robustly estimates the robot pose with fusion of the range information from a low-cost IR scanner and the SIFT based visual information gathered using a mono camera. With sensor fusion, the rough pose estimation from range-based sensors is compensated by the vision-based sensors and slow object recognition can be overcome by the frequent update of the range information. In order to synchronize the two sensors with different bandwidths, the encoder information gathered during object recognition is exploited. This paper also suggests a method for evaluating localization performance that is based on the normalized probability of a vision sensor model. Various experiments show that the proposed algorithm can estimate the robot pose reasonably well and can accurately evaluate the localization performance.
Evaluation of elastic properties of breast cancer stem-like/tumor initiating cells using Atomic Force Microscopy

In this study, we evaluated mechanical properties of breast cancer stem-like/tumor-initiating cells (CSC/TICs) from MCF7 cell line. By use of local measurement techniques, such as atomic force microscopy, magnetic or optical tweezers, determination of mechanical properties of an individual living cell in liquid conditions, similar to natural environment has become possible. In this study Young's modulus of individual cancer stem cells were measured as an indicator of cell elasticity using atomic force microscopy (AFM) compared to that of cancer cells. Results indicated that the enriched CSC/TICs population (0.357±0.092kPa) were softer than their cancer cells (MCF7 cell line) (1.04±0.27 kPa). Based on the significant difference between mechanical properties of CSC and cancer cells, the progression of cancer cells from cancer stem cells may be characterized.
Standard method to evaluate the performance of solid liquid separator for swine liquid manure

In eastern Canada, the swine production is very important, causing swine manure management to be difficult in some regions. The land’s saturation in phosphorus in some regions and the new regulations in progress will modify the traditional manure management. To use advantageously the ammonium in the liquid manure, the phosphorus has to be extracted. It is advantageous to extract the solid part of the manure, since the phosphorus is part of the solid. In this way, the producer can fertilized the crop adequately with the liquid part. Many technologies exist to extract the solid part of the manure. The manufacturers generally present the performance of these technologies. The results obtained from the manufacturers are difficult to compare from each other due to the disparities in the studies and relations used to calculate the extraction efficiency. The main objective of the project was to develop a standard method to evaluate the performance of mechanical separators. This method includes a table to help considering the sampling precision and the equations used to evaluate the separation efficiency for different elements such as dry matter, phosphorus, heavy metal, etc. To validate this method, three different separation technologies were tested with different swine manure composition.
A MURINE VIRUS (JHM) CAUSING DISSEMINATED ENCEPHALOMYELITIS WITH EXTENSIVE DESTRUCTION OF MYELIN

The isolation of a murine virus causing disseminated encephalomyelitis accompanied by extensive destruction of myelin in the central nervous system, and focal necrosis of the liver has been described. Young mice can be infected by a number of parenteral routes. Both encephalitic and paralytic signs can be observed. After intracerebral inoculation the virus has been isolated from brain, spinal cord, liver, lung, spleen, and kidney, but not from blood or from intestinal walls and contents. Hamsters, cotton rats, and Hisaw rats can be infected by the intracerebral route. Guinea pigs and rabbits appear to be insusceptible. Attempts to infect chick embryos have so far met with failure. Under proper conditions the agent can pass through the usual bacterial filters. No inclusion bodies have been seen. No serological relationship to other neurotropic viruses has been demonstrated as yet.
A Framework for Regularization via Operator Approximation

Regularization approaches based on spectral filtering can be highly effective in solving ill-posed inverse problems. These methods, however, require computing the singular value decomposition (SVD) and choosing appropriate regularization parameters. These tasks can be prohibitively expensive for large-scale problems. In this paper, we present a framework that uses operator approximations to efficiently obtain good regularization parameters without an SVD of the original operator. Instead, we approximate the original operator with a nearby structured or separable one whose SVD is easily computable. Highly effective methods can then be used to efficiently compute good regularization parameters for the nearby problem. Then, we solve the original problem iteratively using the regularization determined for the approximate problem. A variety of regularization approaches can be incorporated into this framework, but we focus here on the recently developed windowed regularization, a generalization of Tikhonov regu.
Mucosal Delivery of Murine Interleukin-2 (IL-2) and IL-6 by Recombinant Strains of Lactococcus lactis Coexpressing Antigen and Cytokine

ABSTRACT Lactococcus lactis is a nonpathogenic and noncolonizing bacterium which is being developed as a vaccine delivery vehicle for immunization by mucosal routes. To determine whether lactococci can also deliver cytokines to the immune system, we have constructed novel constitutive expression strains of L. lactis which accumulate a test antigen, tetanus toxin fragment C (TTFC), within the cytoplasmic compartment and also secrete either murine interleukin-2 (IL-2) or IL-6. When mice were immunized intranasally with various different expression strains of L. lactis, the anti-TTFC antibody titers increased more rapidly and were substantially higher in mice immunized with the bacterial strains which secreted IL-2 or IL-6 in addition to their production of TTFC. This adjuvant effect was lost when the recombinant strains of L. lactis were killed by pretreatment with mitomycin C and could therefore be attributed to the secretion of IL-2 or IL-6 by the recombinant lactococci. These results provide the first example of the use of a cytokine-secreting, noninvasive experimental bacterial vaccine vector to enhance immune responses to a coexpressed heterologous antigen and point the way to experiments which will test the possible therapeutic efficacy of this mode of cytokine delivery.
Recrystallization kinetics of nanostructured copper processed by dynamic plastic deformation

The recrystallization kinetics of nanostructured copper samples processed by dynamic plastic deformation was investigated by electron backscatter diffraction. It was found that the evolution of the recrystallized volume fraction as a function of annealing time has a very low slope (n=0.37) when plotted as an Avrami plot. Various reasons for such a low slope are discussed, including possible recrystallization during storage of samples, and the heterogeneous recrystallization kinetics. The effects of heterogeneous recrystallization kinetics are illustrated by a simplified model with a fast and a slowly recrystallizing region.
Regulator of G-Protein Signaling 5 Controls Blood Pressure Homeostasis and Vessel Wall Remodeling

Rationale: Regulator of G-protein signaling 5 (RGS5) modulates G-protein-coupled receptor signaling and is prominently expressed in arterial smooth muscle cells. Our group first reported that RGS5 is important in vascular remodeling during tumor angiogenesis. We hypothesized that RGS5 may play an important role in vessel wall remodeling and blood pressure regulation. Objective: To demonstrate that RGS5 has a unique and nonredundant role in the pathogenesis of hypertension and to identify crucial RGS5-regulated signaling pathways. Methods and Results: We observed that arterial RGS5 expression is downregulated with chronically elevated blood pressure after angiotensin II infusion. Using a knockout mouse model, radiotelemetry, and pharmacological inhibition, we subsequently showed that loss of RGS5 results in profound hypertension. RGS5 signaling is linked to the renin–angiotensin system and directly controls vascular resistance, vessel contractility, and remodeling. RGS5 deficiency aggravates pathophysiological features of hypertension, such as medial hypertrophy and fibrosis. Moreover, we demonstrate that protein kinase C, mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal–regulated kinase, and Rho kinase signaling pathways are major effectors of RGS5-mediated hypertension. Conclusions: Loss of RGS5 results in hypertension. Loss of RGS5 signaling also correlates with hyper-responsiveness to vasoconstrictors and vascular stiffening. This establishes a significant, distinct, and causal role of RGS5 in vascular homeostasis. RGS5 modulates signaling through the angiotensin II receptor 1 and major G&agr;q-coupled downstream pathways, including Rho kinase. So far, activation of RhoA/Rho kinase has not been associated with RGS molecules. Thus, RGS5 is a crucial regulator of blood pressure homeostasis with significant clinical implications for vascular pathologies, such as hypertension.
Seasonal population dynamics of chewing lice (Phthiraptera: Amblycera and Ischnocera) infesting three species of woodpeckers (Aves: Piciformes: Picidae) in Manitoba, Canada

Abstract Three species of woodpeckers (Piciformes: Picidae) in Manitoba, Canada, were examined for chewing lice (Phthiraptera): the resident downy woodpecker (Picoides pubescens (Linnaeus), n=55), and two migrants, yellow-bellied sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius (Linnaeus), n=316) and northern flicker (Colaptes auratus (Linnaeus), n=225). Six species were collected: Menacanthus pici (Denny) (Amblycera: Menoponidae) from all hosts, and five species of Ischnocera (Philopteridae): Penenirmus auritus (Scopoli) from downy woodpeckers and sapsuckers, Picicola snodgrassi (Kellogg) and Brueelia straminea (Denny) from downy woodpeckers, and Penenirmus jungens (Kellogg) and Picicola porisma Dalgleish from flickers. Adults and nymphs were present on downy woodpeckers all year, and on migrant sapsuckers and flickers from when they arrived until they left, suggesting lice reproduce continuously on their hosts. Prevalence and mean intensities of louse infestations generally decreased from their respective springtime levels to their lowest values during or at the end of the breeding season of their hosts, and then increased in various degrees during the fall. No seasonal pattern in louse sex ratios was observed except on northern flickers, where male to female ratios for two of three species were lowest during the breeding season. Resident and migrant hosts had similar seasonal patterns of infestation by lice.
Multi-facet approach to reduce energy consumption in clouds and grids: the GREEN-NET framework

This paper presents an integrated framework for energy savings in large scale distributed systems such as grids and clouds. The framework comprises tools and mechanisms: to measure and log data about the energy consumed by resources; to present this information to users; to involve the users in decisions to reduce the energy consumed by their applications; and to enforce energy reduction decisions automatically while respecting the users' requirements and achieving the resource availability demanded by current services. Experiments demonstrate the energy savings achieved by the proposed mechanisms and explore trade-offs between energy efficiency and performance degradation.
Genetic and environmental influences on Anxious/Depression during childhood: a study from the Netherlands Twin Register

For a large sample of twin pairs from the Netherlands Twins Register who were recruited at birth and followed through childhood, we obtained parental ratings of Anxious/Depression (A/D). Maternal ratings were obtained at ages 3 years (for 9025 twin pairs), 5 years (9222 pairs), 7 years (7331 pairs), 10 years (4430 pairs) and 12 years (2363 pairs). For 60–90% of the pairs, father ratings were also available. Multivariate genetic models were used to test for rater‐independent and rater‐specific assessments of A/D and to determine the genetic and environmental influences on individual differences in A/D at different ages. At all ages, monozygotic twins resembled each other more closely for A/D than dizygotic twins, implying genetic influences on variation in A/D. Opposite sex twin pairs resembled each other to same extent as same‐sex dizygotic twins, suggesting that the same genes are expressed in boys and girls. Heritability estimates for rater‐independent A/D were high in 3‐year olds (76%) and decreased in size as children grew up [60% at age 5, 67% at age 7, 53% at age 10 (60% in boys) and 48% at age 12 years]. The decrease in genetic influences was accompanied by an increase in the influence of the shared family environment [absent at ages 3 and 7, 16% at age 5, 20% at age 10 (5% in boys) and 18% at age 12 years]. The agreement between parental A/D ratings was between 0.5 and 0.7, with somewhat higher correlations for the youngest group. Disagreement in ratings between the parents was not merely the result of unreliability or rater bias. Both the parents provided unique information from their own perspective on the behavior of their children. Significant influences of genetic and shared environmental factors were found for the unique parental views. At all ages, the contribution of shared environmental factors to variation in rater‐specific views was higher for father ratings. Also, at all ages except age 12, the heritability estimates for the rater‐specific phenotype were higher for mother ratings (59% at age 3 and decreasing to 27% at age 12 years) than for father ratings (between 14 and 29%). Differences between children, even as young as 3 years, in A/D are to a large extent due to genetic differences. As children grow up, the variation in A/D is due in equal parts to genetic and environmental influences. Anxious/Depression, unlike many other common childhood psychopathologies, is influenced by the shared family environment. These findings may provide support for why certain family therapeutic approaches are effective in the A/D spectrum of illnesses.
Acamprosate in Korean alcohol-dependent patients: a multi-centre, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

AIMS A multi-centre, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and the safety of acamprosate over 8 weeks in Korean alcohol-dependent patients. METHODS One hundred and forty-two alcohol-dependent patients in 12 centres were randomized to 8 weeks treatment with either acamprosate (n = 72) or a placebo (n = 70) in combination with out-patient psychosocial intervention. They were predominantly male (95.8%), with a mean age of 44.3 +/- 8.3 years; 76.1% were married; 59.9% were employed; 58.5% had received previous alcoholism treatment (previous mean number of admissions in alcoholism in-patient programmes 4.6 +/- 6.9). At visits to the clinic (weekly for 4 weeks, then biweekly for 4 weeks), a record was made of alcohol use (Time-Line Follow-Back), alcohol craving using a Korean version of the Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale and a visual analogue scale, and adverse events. Serum aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT), blood urea nitrogen and creatinine levels were measured on weeks 0, 2, 4 and 8. RESULTS In the acamprosate group (A), 71.4% had had alcohol within the 2 days prior to starting medication, against 65.2% of patients in the placebo group (P); (P > 0.05). One hundred and one subjects (71.1%) completed 8-weeks of treatment (A, 73.6%; P, 68.6%; P > 0.05). During the 8-week treatment period, 37, (A) (n = 72) and 32% (P) (n = 70) achieved continuous abstinence (P > 0.05), and 40, (A) and 39% (P) remained without relapse (P > 0.05) (defined as a day when a man consumed five or more drinks or a woman four or more drinks). The percentage of days abstinent during the 8-week treatment period was 81.2, (A) and 78.5% (P) (P > 0.05), and the percentage of days without heavy drinking 86.1 (A) and 84.9% (P) (P > 0.05). The mean amount drunk per drinking occasion was 7.2, (A) and 8.6 standard drinks (P) (P > 0.05). No statistically significant differences in changes in the serum GGT level or craving scores from baseline to the end-point of treatment were found between the two groups. Recency of drinking prior to commencing study drug predicted percentage of days abstinent in the first 2 weeks on treatment; however, when ANOVAs were conducted using treatment outcomes as a dependent variable, medication condition as an independent variable and the period of abstinence prior to treatment as a covariate, a significant effect of medication condition was still not seen. CONCLUSIONS Acamprosate was ineffective in reducing drinking in this Korean sample. The result differs from that of most European acamprosate trials. This might be explained by our sample's relatively severe alcohol dependence, and low social support, or the fact that many patients were still drinking near to their first medication. The variability of the psychosocial support, ethnicity (which might also affect acamprosate pharmacokinetics) and the Korean drinking style, which differs from that of Europeans, might have contributed to our negative result.
Sparse + Low Rank Decomposition of Annihilating Filter-based Hankel Matrix for Impulse Noise Removal

Recently, so called annihilating filer-based low rank Hankel matrix (ALOHA) approach was proposed as a powerful image inpainting method. Based on the observation that smoothness or textures within an image patch corresponds to sparse spectral components in the frequency domain, ALOHA exploits the existence of annihilating filters and the associated rank-deficient Hankel matrices in the image domain to estimate the missing pixels. By extending this idea, here we propose a novel impulse noise removal algorithm using sparse + low rank decomposition of an annihilating filter-based Hankel matrix. The new approach, what we call the robust ALOHA, is motivated by the observation that an image corrupted with impulse noises has intact pixels; so the impulse noises can be modeled as sparse components, whereas the underlying image can be still modeled using a low-rank Hankel structured matrix. To solve the sparse + low rank decomposition problem, we propose an alternating direction method of multiplier (ADMM) method with initial factorized matrices coming from low rank matrix fitting (LMaFit) algorithm. To adapt the local image statistics that have distinct spectral distributions, the robust ALOHA is applied patch by patch. Experimental results from two types of impulse noises - random valued impulse noises and salt/pepper noises - for both single channel and multi-channel color images demonstrate that the robust ALOHA outperforms the existing algorithms up to 8dB in terms of the peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR).