Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Estimated Placental Volume and Gestational Age

Abstract Objective The objective of this study was to validate estimated placental volume (EPV) across a range of gestational ages (GAs). Study Design Three hundred sixty-six patients from 2009 to 2011 received ultrasound scans between 11 + 0 and 38 + 6 weeks GA to assess EPV. An EPV versus GA best fit curve was generated and compared with published normative curves of EPV versus GA in a different population. A subanalysis was performed to explore the relationship between EPV and birth weight (BW). Results Analysis of EPV versus GA revealed a parabolic curve with the following best fit equation: EPV = (0.372 GA − 0.00364 GA2)3. EPV was weakly correlated with BW, and patients with an EPV in the bottom 50th percentile had 2.42 times the odds of having a newborn with a BW in the bottom 50th percentile (95% confidence interval: 1.27–4.68). Microscopic evaluation of two placentas corresponding to the smallest EPV outliers revealed significant placental pathology. Conclusion Placental volume increases throughout gestation and follows a predictable parabolic curve, in agreement with the existing literature. Further validation is required, but EPV may have the potential for clinical utility as a screening tool in a variety of settings.
Petri Net Based Process Monitoring A Workflow Management System for Process Modeling and Monitoring

Nowadays business process management is becoming a fundamental piece in many industrial processes. To manage the evolution and the interactions of the business actions it is important to accurately model the steps to follow and the resources needed by a process. Workflows provide a way of describing the order of execution and the dependencies between the constituting activities of business processes. Workflow monitoring can help to improve and to avoid delays on industrial environments where concurrent processes are carried out. In this article a new Petri net extension for modeling together workflow activities with their required resources is presented: resource-aware Petri nets. Moreover an intelligent workflow management system for process monitoring and delay prediction is introduced. Resource aware Petri nets include time and resources into the classical Petri net workflow representation, facilitating the task of modeling and monitoring workflows. The workflow management system monitors the execution of workflows and detects possible delays through resource-aware Petri nets. In order to test this new approach, different services from a medical maintenance environment have been modeled and simulated.
Body composition alterations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

UNLABELLED Metabolic disorders are involved in the pathogenesis of some comorbid conditions such as atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases, which frequently occur in COPD patient. These disorders may also associate alterations in body composition. AIM To determine the particularities of body composition, assessing its relationship with respiratory function and clinical status in COPD patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS A prospective case-control study including 31 patients with COPD admitted to the Clinic of Pulmonary Diseases lasi from April 2011 to September 2012, and 29 subjects without lung diseases which served as controls. Body composition (body fat, lean body mass, body water) and basal metabolic rate were measured using bioelectrical impedance analysis. Other assessments included anthropometric parameters, spirometry, 6-minute walk test. In COPD patients, dyspnea scale and health impairment assessment by St George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) were used. RESULTS In COPD group, 67% of the patients were normal weight, 10% underweight, 10% overweight and 13% obese. The results showed that lean body mass (p < 0.001), dry lean mass (p < 0.001), total body water (p < 0.001) and basal metabolic rate (p < 0.001) were lower in the COPD patients as compared to the controls. These findings significantly correlate with age, dyspnea, severity of airway obstruction and exercise capacity in patients with COPD. No significant differences between study groups were observed in body fat mass. CONCLUSIONS Lean body mass, dry lean mass, and total body water are altered in COPD patients and significantly correlate with age, clinical and functional severity of COPD.
The widening mortality gap between rheumatoid arthritis patients and the general population.

OBJECTIVE Overall mortality rates in the general US population have declined substantially over the last 4-5 decades, but it is unclear whether patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have experienced the same improvements in survival. The purpose of this study was to determine the mortality trends among RA patients compared with those in the general population. METHODS A population-based incidence cohort of RA patients was assembled, comprising all residents of Rochester, Minnesota ages > or = 18 years in whom RA was first diagnosed (according to the American College of Rheumatology [formerly, the American Rheumatism Association] 1987 criteria) between 1955 and 1995 and all residents of Olmsted County, Minnesota in whom RA was first diagnosed between 1995 and 2000. The patients were followed up longitudinally through their complete (inpatient and outpatient) medical records until death or January 1, 2007. Expected mortality was estimated from the National Center for Health Statistics life tables on the white population in Minnesota, using person-year methods. Poisson regression was used to model the observed mortality rates, adjusting for age, sex, and disease duration. RESULTS A cohort of 822 RA patients (72% women, mean age at RA incidence 58 years) was followed up for a median of 11.7 years, during which 445 of the RA patients died. Between 1965 and 2005, the mortality rates across the calendar years for female and male RA patients were relatively constant at 2.4 and 2.5 per 100 person-years, respectively. In contrast, the expected mortality rate in the Minnesota white population decreased substantially over the same time period in both sexes. Mortality in the female general population declined from 1.0 per 100 person-years in 1965 to 0.2 per 100 person-years in 2000. Mortality in the male general population decreased from 1.2 per 100 person-years in 1965 to 0.3 per 100 person-years in 2000. Therefore, the difference between the observed and expected mortality rates increased in more recent years, resulting in a widening of the mortality gap. CONCLUSION Our findings show that RA patients have not experienced improvements in survival over the past 4 decades, despite dramatic improvements in the overall rates of mortality in the general US population. Further research into the causes of the widening gap in mortality between RA patients and the general population, and the influence of current therapeutic strategies on mortality, is needed in order to develop strategies to reduce the excess mortality observed in RA patients.
Corruption in Croatia: institutional settings and practical experiences

Although the Croatian government has expressed a determined obligation to undertake measures against corruption, still there are opinions that the fight against corruption is not given the political acceptance and respect that are their due. After the Introduction, in the second part is raised the issue of public administration, while in next part is analysed the situation in judiciary. One can estimate that in the Croatia there are different laws and institutions in charge of reducing the corruption, but serious problem is a low level of law enforcement discussed in the part four. Part five is dedicated to social and economic sources of corruption (like privatization, informal economy etc), while in part six is stressed that in Croatia the regulation of the funding of political parties is almost completely underdeveloped. The last chapter before conclusion remarks analyses the role of civil society and the media.
Improved lentiviral gene transfer into human embryonic stem cells grown in co-culture with murine feeder and stroma cells

Abstract Genetic modification of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) using biophysical DNA transfection methods are hampered by the very low single cell survival rate and cloning efficiency of hESCs. Lentiviral gene transfer strategies are widely used to genetically modify hESCs but limited transduction efficiencies in the presence of feeder or stroma cells present problems, particularly if vesicular stomatitis virus glycoprotein (VSV-G) pseudotyped viral particles are applied. Here, we investigated whether the recently described semen derived enhancer of virus infection (SEVI) and alternative viral envelope proteins derived from either Gibbon ape leukaemia virus (GALV) or feline leukaemia virus (RD114) are applicable for transducing hESCs during co-culture with feeder or stroma cells. Our first set of experiments demonstrates that SEVI has no toxic effect on murine or hESCs and that exposure to SEVI does not interfere with the pluripotency-associated phenotype. Focusing on hESCs, we were able to further demonstrate that SEVI increases the transduction efficiencies of GALV and RD114 pseudotyped lentiviral vectors. More importantly, aiming at targeted differentiation of hESCs into functional somatic cell types, GALV pseudotyped lentiviral particles could efficiently and exclusively transduce hESCs grown in co-culture with OP9-GFP stroma cells (which were often used to induce differentiation into haematopoietic derivatives).
Kecanduan Internet: Diagnosis, Asesmen, dan Intervensi

Internet, telah menjadi suatu kebutuhan bagi gaya hidup masyarakat dewasa ini. Kemudahan akses dan ketersediaan internet memberikan peluang bagi berkembangnya kecanduan internet, khususnya pada remaja. Kecanduan internet ini berkaitan dengan kurangnya keterampilan sosial, kurangnya kontrol diri, dan gangguan-gangguan psikologis seperti: insomnia, depresi, obsesifkompulsif, dan lain sebagainya. Artikel ini bertujuan untuk memberikan wawasan tentang diagnosis, asesmen, dan intervensi pada kecanduan internet. Pengenalan terhadap ciri-ciri kecanduan internet dapat menjadi pedoman bagi orangtua dan guru untuk mengenali adanya gangguan dini
Optimal Reinsurance Retentions under Ruin-Related Optimization Criteria

Quota-share and stop-loss/excess-of-loss reinsurances are two important reinsurance strategies. An important question, both in theory and in application, is to determine optimal retentions for these reinsurances. In this thesis, we study the optimal retentions of quota-share and stop-loss/excess-of-loss reinsurances under ruin-related optimization criteria. We attempt to balance the interest for a ceding company and a reinsurance company and employ an optimization criterion that considers the interests of both a cedent and a reinsurer. We also examine the influence of interest, dividend, commission, expense, and diffusion on reinsurance retentions.
Negative-pressure wound therapy and the emerging role of incisional negative pressure wound therapy as prophylaxis against surgical site infections

The goal of this chapter is to review the present understanding of negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) and current literature reporting the novel application of incisional negative pressure wound therapy (INPWT) for prevention of surgical site infection (SSI). A review of NPWT plus a comprehensive review of the literature regarding the prophylactic use of INPWT and its applications was conducted along with a discussion of future areas of research. Increasing antimicrobial resistance among surgical patients and the economic implications of INPWT are also explored. Animal models, anecdotal reports, pilot studies, case series, and more recently, prospective randomized controlled trials, suggest INPWT will play an increasing role in the prevention of SSI among diverse surgical disciplines. Emerging data supports INPWT as a prophylactic strategy against the development of SSI. INPWT does not rely on the added use of antibiotics, but rather, favorably augments the patient’s own immune function and healing ability at the surgical site. Patients with the greatest risk for SSI-related morbidity and mortality may benefit significantly from this therapy.
Morphology and projection pattern of medial and dorsal pallial neurons in the frog Discoglossus pictus and the salamander Plethodon jordani

In the frog Discoglossus pictus and the salamander Plethodon jordani, the morphology and axonal projection pattern of neurons in the medial and dorsal pallium were determined by intracellular biocytin labeling. A total of 77 pallial neurons were labeled in the frog and 58 pallial neurons in the salamander. Within the medial pallium (MP) of the frog, four types of neurons were identified on the basis of differences in their axonal projection pattern. Type I neurons have bilateral projections into telencephalic and diencephalic areas; type II neurons have bilateral projections to telencephalic areas and ipsilaterally descending projections to diencephalic regions; type III neurons have only intratelencephalic connections, and a single type IV neuron has ipsilaterally descending projections. The somata of the four types occupy four nonoverlapping zones. Neurons of the dorsal pallium (DP) project exclusively to the ipsilateral MP and to the dorsal edge of the lateral pallium. In the ventral MP of the salamander, neurons have mostly intratelencephalic projections. Neurons in the dorsal MP project bilaterally to diencephalic and telencephalic regions. Neurons in the medial DP project ipsilaterally to the MP, lateral septum, nucleus accumbens, medial amygdala, and the internal granule layer of the olfactory bulb. In five cases, fibers were found in the commissura hippocampi, but in only two cases could these fibers be followed toward the contralateral MP and septum. Neurons in the lateral DP had no contralateral projections; they projected to the ipsilateral MP and in eight cases to the ipsilateral septum as well. Based on similarities of cytoarchitecture and projection pattern in neurons of the MP and DP, it is proposed that both frogs and salamanders have an MP subdivided into a ventral and dorsal portion, and a DP subdivided into a medial and a lateral portion. J. Comp. Neurol. 445:97–121, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Design and Implementation of a Tool to Test Service Level Agreements

In the scope of Services Science, Management and Engineering (SSME), Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are technical documents that contain the conditions that must be fulfilled during the provision and consumption of services. Typically, the violation of the terms specified in the SLA leads to consequences for the stakeholders involved in the agreement. It is therefore important to assure that the Service Based Application (SBA) behaves as expected in order to avoid such consequences. In this context, the testing of SLAs is a challenging and promising area but requires a high cost in terms of effort to design the tests. Hence, it is convenient to automate as much as possible the tasks involved in the generation of the tests. To address this issue, we have designed and implemented SLACT (SLA Combinatorial Testing) tool, which takes the specification of a SLA as the test basis. SLACT automates the generation of tests by means of applying different combinatorial testing techniques. Furthermore, SLACT is able to automatically identify a set of constraints that avoid the obtaining of non-feasible tests by analyzing the information contained in the SLA guarantee terms. We have used SLACT to obtain the tests for a critical eHealth scenario, proposed in the context of a FP7 European Project.
Transducer excitation with switched-mode encoded signals for harmonic and amplitude control verified using the Leach model

An excitation method to reduce harmonic content in the third harmonic was verified utilizing SPICE modeling. The SPICE model incorporated a MOSFET model and the Leach model to form a multi-level switch-mode pulser circuit. The pulser circuit was driven with a Harmonic Reduction PWM excitation sequence and a stepped excitation sequence with a fundamental frequency of 2 Mhz. An FFT of the excitation sequences was compared to verify the performance of the MOSFETs with the excitation sequences. It was found that at the third harmonic, the harmonic content was reduced by 22.2 dB.
Combined Effects of Long-Term Sitting and Whole-Body Vibration on Discomfort Onset for Vehicle Occupants

Occupants of automobiles experience discomfort after long drives, irrespective of how well designed a seat might be. Previous studies of discomfort during driving have focused either on the seat shape and materials (“static” properties), long-term discomfort (“fatigue” properties), or dynamics (“vibration” properties). These factors have previously not been considered together. This paper reports three studies with objectives to define and test a model for describing long-term discomfort from vibration. Study 1 was an independent measures laboratory trial using an automobile seat, which lasted 80 minutes; Study 2 was a repeated measures laboratory trial using a rail passenger seat, which lasted 60 minutes; Study 3 was a repeated measures field trial in a people carrier automobile, which involved 70 minutes of travelling. The findings showed that discomfort accrues with time but that more discomfort is experienced when subjects are also exposed to whole-body vibration. Exposure to whole-body vibration accelerates development of discomfort. The relationship between the reported discomfort, the vibration magnitude, and the exposure time can be described using a multifactorial linear model. It is concluded that ignoring parts of the multi-factorial model (i.e., static, dynamic, or temporal factors) will compromise understanding of discomfort in context.
Symptom cluster and severity among women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy in Saudi Arabia

The aim of this descriptive cross-sectional longitudinal study was to identify symptom clusters present in women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy treatment in Saudi Arabia using different symptom dimensions (i.e., frequency, severity, distress). A sample of 100 women with breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy was conducted. Symptoms were assessed using the symptom experience scale. Two symptom clusters were identified and stayed approximately constant across different symptom dimensions. The first cluster consisted of nausea, loss of appetite, and sleep disturbance. The second cluster consisted of pain, fatigue, bowel pattern, concentration, appearance, and sleep disturbance. However, the symptom clusters seemed to be dynamic over time. Future research should further investigate symptom clusters trajectories over time.
The Role of Microfinance on Women’s Economic Empowerment in Southwest Ethiopia: In the Case of Four Woredas around Gilgel-Gibe Hydroelectric Power Dam

In Ethiopia, microfinance programs are currently being promoted by the government as well as nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) as a solution strategy for simultaneously addressing both poverty alleviation and women's empowerment. However, only a limited number of researches attempted to explore the relationship between women's participation in microcredit programs and their empowerment by using empirical data. To fill this gap, we conduct a cross-sectional study with overall aim of assessing the role of Micro finance institutions (MFI’s) on women’s empowerment. We employed a multi-stage sampling approach and a total of 374 women’s, 182 (Micro finance institution) MFI clients and 192 non-clients were included in to study. Using a structured questionnaire adopted from the 2011 Ethiopian demographic health survey, we collected data on background characteristics of women’s and their household and characteristics specific to women’s empowerment.
Research on market power and market structure: A direct measure of market power of internet platform enterprises

Purpose This paper aims to clear whether the monopoly structure of the internet industry has produced market power and discussed the welfare change of the internet industry monopoly. Design/methodology/approach By using new empirical industrial organization methods and taking the e-commerce market as an example, the authors measured market power and economies of scale of the internet platform companies. Findings Internet platform enterprises have formed scale economy, but it has not had market power, and the industry still maintains high levels of competition; also, the emergence of large enterprises may increase the welfare of consumers. Originality/value The conclusion of this paper clarified actual competition status of internet industry and provided a new foothold for regulation and ideas for the traditional industry to crack the Marshall Conflict.
Molecular characterisation of key components of the mucosal immune system in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L) and transcriptome analysis of responses against the salmon louse (Lepeophtheirus salmonis)

Mucosal immunity in mammals is mediated mainly by secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA), which is produced by IgA plasma cells commonly located in the lamina propria, and a transport system involving the polymeric Ig receptor (pIgR). In teleost fish, IgM plays some roles associated with mucosal defence. Very recent findings indicate that IgT, an antibody exclusive to teleosts, might have a special role in mucosal immune responses, and a possible pIgR counterpart has been identified. The salmon louse (Lepeophtheirus salmonis Kroyer), an ectoparasitic copepod targeting the skin (and the gill to a lesser extent), has been a major challenge to the aquaculture industry. While the first line of defence against this parasite is crucial, equally important, in the context of vaccine development is the generation of information on the adaptive immune system. Based on this line of reasoning, Atlantic salmon IgT and pIgR were selected as targets for further characterization in the present study. Three distinct IgT heavy chain ( ) sub-variants, with an identity index of 76-80%, were described. The identity index between 1 and 1 (the first constant domains of the IgT and IgM heavy chains, respectively) in Atlantic salmon is 52%. It is plausible to assume that this relatively high similarity is a result of interactions with common light chains. The relative abundance of and transcripts in a series of tissues revealed an overall expression pattern of IgM >> IgT > IgD. Interestingly, challenge experiments with salmon louse showed 10 fold increase of IgM and IgT mRNA in skin samples, supporting the assumption that these antibodies are involved in mucosal immune responses. The search for pIgR homologues in Atlantic salmon resulted in two pIgR-like candidates: Salsal pIgR and Salsal pIgRL. Meanwhile, a comparative evaluation was made to a series of CD300-like molecules (CMRF-35 like molecules, CLM) reported to the databanks. Salsal pIgR and Salsal pIgRL were identified on the basis of similarity to homologous genes, and like the counterparts in other teleosts they are composed of two Ig superfamily (IgSF) V-like domains, a transmembrane region, a connecting peptide, and a cytoplasmic tail. Two CD300-like molecules in salmon (CLM1 and CLM7) also have the same domain structure, but their cytoplasmic region is predicted to contain putative immunoreceptor tyrosine based inhibition motifs (ITIM), which is a typical feature of CD300A and CD300F in humans. While Salsal pIgR and Salsal pIgRL were expressed in tissues of skin and gill respectively, their expression pattern is not restricted to mucosal tissues, but notably, their expression increased during infection with salmon louse. Further studies are needed to elucidate the transport mechanisms of mucosal antibodies in