Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
AIDS/HIV infection, comorbid psychiatric illness, and risk for subsequent suicide: a nationwide register linkage study.

OBJECTIVE To explore socioeconomic and psychiatric characteristics of persons with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and to assess the effect of AIDS/HIV infection on risk for subsequent suicide in the context of psychiatric comorbidity and socioeconomic status. METHOD In this study based on the entire population of Denmark, we interlinked 5 national registers to retrieve personal data on AIDS/HIV infection and covariates for 9,900 men who died of suicide during 1986-2006 and 189,037 controls matched for sex and date of birth. Suicide risk associated with AIDS/HIV infection was assessed using a conditional logistic regression model. RESULTS People with AIDS/HIV infection, especially those who died of suicide, mostly lived as single people, had low income, and were dwellers of the Capital area of Denmark (Copenhagen and Frederiksberg). While presence of other physical illness was common in these patients, 38.6% of suicide and 29.0% of control patients developed psychiatric illness after being diagnosed with AIDS or HIV infection. Meanwhile, AIDS/HIV infection constituted a significant risk factor for subsequent suicide (adjusted incidence rate ratio [IRR] = 3.84; 95% confidence interval, 2.53-5.81); the risk was substantially higher for persons who were diagnosed for the first time recently, were treated as inpatients, had a recent hospital contact, or had multiple hospital contacts because of the illness. The increased suicide risk associated with AIDS/HIV infection was slightly stronger before the introduction in 1997 of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) (adjusted IRR = 5.55; 95% CI, 3.07-10.06), but remained highly significant in the HAART era (adjusted IRR = 2.77; 95% CI, 1.55-4.94). Moreover, AIDS/HIV infection significantly interacted with psychiatric illness (P < .0001), and their comorbidity increased the risk of suicide substantially. CONCLUSIONS Suicide risk is increased in individuals with AIDS/HIV infection, particularly those with a recent diagnosis, more intensive and frequent hospital care, or comorbid psychiatric illness. The findings call for improvement of clinical capacities to address psychosocial and existential needs in the treatment of patients with AIDS/HIV infection.
Morphometry of the Adult Human Earlobe: A Study of 547 Subjects and Clinical Application

The purpose of this study was to define the factors that influence earlobe length and to establish a standard for adult earlobe length by sex and age. The study sample consisted of 547 adult subjects older than 20 years of age. A randomized, prospective design was used. Patients with malignancies, previous surgery or trauma to the earlobe, or congenital earlobe anomalies were excluded. The following variables were studied: sex; age; ethnic origin; skin complexion; height, weight, and body mass index; and piercing. Pearson’s correlation, analysis of variance, t test, and multiple regression analysis were used for the statistical analysis. There were 383 women (70 percent) and 164 men (30 percent) aged 20 to 80 years. The average length of the left earlobe was 1.97 cm (SD, 0.42 cm), and that of the right earlobe, 2.01 cm (SD, 0.42 cm) (p < 0.0001). A post hoc test revealed a statistically significant difference among the three age groups (20 to 40 years, 40 to 60 years, and >60 years) in both men and women. Pendulous earlobes were significantly longer and less symmetrical than nonpendulous ones by t test. In men, nonpierced left earlobes were longer than pierced lobes; in women, there was no significant difference between pierced and nonpierced ears. Pearson’s correlation tests for weight, height, and body mass index showed that only weight had a significant effect on earlobe length, and only in women. Analysis of variance for ethnic origin and skin color revealed a longer left earlobe in Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews compared with Ethiopian, Asian, and American Jews and Arabs and a short earlobe in blacks compared with dark and fair-skinned people. On multiple regression analysis, sex and age were the only factors that contributed to earlobe length. A table of average earlobe length by age was formulated on the basis of the authors’ findings. These data, together with the knowledge that earlobe length changes little in women over 40, that earlobes are not symmetrical, and that right and left nonpendulous earlobes are symmetrical in individual patients and shorter than pendulous earlobes, can assist the plastic surgeon in deciding on the proper time for loboplasty. The preferable technique is creating a nonpendulous earlobe to minimize the chances of further elongation with time.
Good Terms - Improving Commercial-Noncommercial Partnerships for Mass Digitization: A Report Prepared by Intelligent Television for RLG Programs, OCLC Programs and Research

In 2007, OCLC Programs and Research engaged Intelligent Television to study the partnership agreements between cultural institutions and for-profit companies for the mass digitization of books and other media. This report presents the findings of that study. Libraries have been digitizing portions of their collections for more than twenty years, but recent opportunities to work with private partners, such as Google, Microsoft, and others, on mass digitization has opened up possibilities that were unimaginable just a few years ago. Private funding, commercially developed technology, and market-oriented sensibilities together may generate larger aggregations of digitized books far sooner than the library community had dreamed possible. There are many efforts underway to assess various aspects of these partnerships; this paper focuses on the terms in mass digitization agreements that affect research-community-centered outcomes.
Modelling the Effects of Market Orientation Enablers on Business Performance among SMEs in a Developing Country

Whilst studies have contributed to the notion that market orientation and its elements drive business performance, very few research efforts has specifically focussed on the relationship between the enablers of market orientation and business performance. The current study provides a succinct relationship between the enablers of market orientation and the relationship with business performance in small and medium enterprises within a South African context. The study was approached from a quantitative paradigm through a structured questionnaire to examine the relationships. Through confirmatory factor analysis and structural equations path modelling, the results established that enablers of market orientation (market-based rewards, interdepartmental cohesion, owners/managers influence and management risk exposure) influence the business performance of SMEs in the region. A significant positive relationship was noted between market orientation enablers and business performance. These variables need to be further unpacked in order to provide synergy and strength for SMEs to survive in competitive environments DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014. v5n16p33
Impact of Self-Phase Modulation on In-Band Crosstalk Penalties

We investigate the performance of a signal impaired by in-band crosstalk, when the shape of the crosstalk signal is distorted. The optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) penalty increases up to 0.5 dB comparing cases with and without distortion due to self-phase modulation in the crosstalk signal. Furthermore, the OSNR penalty significantly depends on the accumulated dispersion of the considered dispersion map of the crosstalk signal. If optimum accumulated dispersion is considered for the crosstalk signal, the crosstalk-induced penalties are higher than expected.
1,1′-Dimethyl-4,4′-(propane-1,3-diyl)dipyridinium tetrabromidocadmate(II)

In the cation of the title compound, (C15H20N2)[CdBr4], the dihedral angle between the two pyridine rings is 70.85 (5)°. An intermolecular π–π interaction between the pyridine rings [centroid–centroid distance = 3.900 (4) Å] is observed. The CdII atom has a distorted tetrahedral coordination.
Persistence of hexaconazole, a triazole fungicide in soils

Abstract Persistence of hexaconazole (2‐(2,4‐dichlorophenyl)‐l‐(lH‐l,2,5‐triazol‐l‐yl) hexan‐2‐ol) was studied in alluvial, red and black soils under flooded and nonflooded conditions. This fungicide was more persistent in all soils under flooded conditions than under nonflooded conditions and at 27°C than at 35°C. Degradation of hexaconazole in sterilized and nonsterilized soils proceeded at identical rates indicating a minor role of micro‐organisms in its degradation. The soil persistence of hexaconazole was not affected by the addition of wheat straw both under flooded and nonflooded conditions.
Testing for independence in J×K contingency tables with complex sample survey data

The test of independence of row and column variables in a (J×K) contingency table is a widely used statistical test in many areas of application. For complex survey samples, use of the standard Pearson chi‐squared test is inappropriate due to correlation among units within the same cluster. Rao and Scott (1981, Journal of the American Statistical Association 76, 221–230) proposed an approach in which the standard Pearson chi‐squared statistic is multiplied by a design effect to adjust for the complex survey design. Unfortunately, this test fails to exist when one of the observed cell counts equals zero. Even with the large samples typical of many complex surveys, zero cell counts can occur for rare events, small domains, or contingency tables with a large number of cells. Here, we propose Wald and score test statistics for independence based on weighted least squares estimating equations. In contrast to the Rao–Scott test statistic, the proposed Wald and score test statistics always exist. In simulations, the score test is found to perform best with respect to type I error. The proposed method is motivated by, and applied to, post surgical complications data from the United States’ Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) complex survey of hospitals in 2008.
Multicenter Study of Environmental Contamination with Antineoplastic Drugs in 36 Canadian Hospitals: A 2013 Follow-up Study

No occupational exposure limit exists for antineoplastic drugs. The main objective of this study was to describe environmental contamination with cyclophosphamide, ifosfamide, and methotrexate in pharmacy and patient care areas of Canadian hospitals in 2013. The secondary objective was to compare the 2013 environmental monitoring results with previous studies. Six standardized sites in the pharmacy and six sites on patient care areas were sampled in each participating center. Samples were analyzed for the presence of cyclophosphamide, ifosfamide, and methotrexate by UPLC-MSMS. The limit of detection (LOD) in pg/cm2 was 1.8 for cyclophosphamide, 2.2 for ifosfamide, and 7.5 for methotrexate. The 75th percentile of cyclophosphamide concentration was compared between the 2013, 2008–2010, and 2012 studies. Thirty-six hospitals participated in the study and 422 samples were collected. Overall, 47% (198/422) of the samples were positive for cyclophosphamide, 18% (75/422) were positive for ifosfamide, and 3% (11/422) were positive for methotrexate. In 2013, the 75th percentile value of cyclophosphamide surface concentration was reduced to 8.4pg/cm2 (n = 36), compared with 9.4pg/cm2 in 2012 (n = 33) and 40pg/cm2 (n = 25) in 2008–2010. The 75th percentile for ifosfamide and methotrexate concentration remained lower than the LOD. The 2013 study shows an improvement in the surface contamination level, and a plateau effect in the proportion of positive samples.
Measurement of direction-of-arrival of coherent signals using five-port reflectometers and quasi-Yagi antennas

The measurement results of detection-of-arrival (DoA) of coherent signals using five-port reflectometers and quasi Yagi antennas are presented. The receiver operating at 2.4GHz consists of eight five-port reflectometers and a uniform linear array (ULA) of eight 2.4GHz quasi-Yagi antennas. The DoA is estimated by measuring the phase difference of signals pitched by the antenna array and by using the MUSIC algorithm associated with Spatial Smoothing Pre-processing (SSP). The phase difference is determined using the five-port technique. The measurement results show that the DoA of coherent signals are well estimated with a maximum error of 2/spl deg/. In addition, we also show that it is capable of estimating the time delay and direction of arrival simultaneously using the five-port technique.
A Circular Patch Fed by a Switch Line Balun With Printed L-Probes for Broadband CP Performance

A broadband circularly polarized (CP) patch antenna fed by a planar balun with a pair of printed probes is presented in this letter. Using switch line structure to design the balun, combined with two printed L-probes to supply dual feed with 90deg phase difference to the circular patch, the antenna achieves good performance in terms of large impedance and axial ratio (AR) band-widths. The measured results agree well with the simulations, indicating that the antenna possesses an impedance (S11 < -10 dB) bandwidth of 45%, and axial ratio (AR < 3 dB) bandwidth of 41%. In addition, the 3-dB gain bandwidth and the peak gain are 44%, and 6 dBi, respectively.
The Detection of Psychiatric Cases By Greek Physicians: Report On a Study Carried Out in a Greek Primary Care Setting

The detection of psychiatric disorder by primary care physicians in Greece was investigated using four non-psychiatric physicians. The General Health Question naire indicated a high probable prevalence of psychiatric disorder (77.8%), but the physicians rated only 9.3% of the sample as cases. Eighty eight per cent of the probable cases were undetected by the doctors. The doctors' reporting of cases was not affected by the demographic characteristics of the sample and only weakly affected by the patients' total GHQ score. The high probable prevalence and low detection rate is a cause for concern and requires further investigation.
Torque Overlay Based Robust Steering Wheel Angle Control for Lateral Control Using Backstepping Design

Abstract We propose a torque overlay based robust steering wheel angle control of electric power steering (EPS) for lateral control using backstepping design. The main contribution of this paper is that the proposed method is designed based on torque overlay and that the global uniform ultimate boundedness of the steering wheel angle tracking error is guaranteed using only steering wheel angle feedback with external disturbances. The key idea is to make the EPS dynamics be simplified. Then, the external disturbances, system function, and input gain uncertainty are regarded as a disturbance. An augmented observer is designed to estimate the full state and the disturbance. A nonlinear damping controller is developed via backstepping to suppress a position tracking error using input-to-state stability property. The proposed method uses only steering wheel angle feedback and nominal value of the input gain. The proposed method is simple to implement in real-time control and robust to the parameter uncertainties and the external disturbances. Since the proposed method is designed based on torque overlay as add-on type, it can be integrated with the conventional EPS system facilitating driver's intervention.
Tracking by Detection of 3D Human Shapes in Multi-camera Environments

Understanding human movements is an active topic in computer vision field with many applications. This thesis addresses the problem of 3D human shape tracking and contributes to the standard ICP paradigm. We first advocate discriminative associations to alleviate the problem of error accumulations and in turn gain robustness in long-term tracking. Secondly, we consider a more informative motion parameter space that handles non-rigid deformations and yet provide human anatomical meanings.
Quantification of the effects of astrocytes on oligodendroglial morphology

Oligodendrocytes in neonatal rat forebrain cultures grow either in isolation of other cells or upon astrocytes. Populations of both types of oligodendrocytes were used to quantify the effects of astrocytes on oligodendroglial morphology. Changes in oligodendroglial size and shape were determined by measurement of total process length, cell area, growth area, and fractal dimension. The directionality of process growth, quantified by measurement of the axes of growth, was also compared. Isolated oligodendrocytes exhibited greater total process length, greater cellular area, larger growth area, and a more complex boundary than oligodendrocytes growing upon astrocytes. Analysis of the axes of cellular growth revealed that the processes of isolated oligodendrocytes exhibited radial symmetry, whereas the processes of oligodendrocytes growing upon astrocytes were limited to an area demarcated by the astrocytic processes. These data suggest that, in neuron‐free culture, the growth of oligodendroglial processes is modified by underlying astrocytic processes. J. Neurosci. Res. 49:219–228, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Development of mouse embryos in hanging drop culture

Mouse blastocysts were cultured in hanging drops for up to 6 days in order to study development under conditions that avoid the distortion of embryos typically seen when they are allowed to attach to a glass or plastic surface. The survival rate of embryos in hanging drops was equal to that of embryos attached to culture dishes and superior to that of embryos suspended in gyrating flasks. Development of the embryonic portion was similar to that in vivo and on culture dishes but slower than in vivo; the egg cylinder stage was reached after 8–10 equivalent gestation days (4 to 6 days in culture), while that stage is reached at 5.5 to 6 days in vivo. The trophectoderm, however, developed in a unique manner. The cells migrated away from the inner cell mass (ICM), similar to embryos on a culture dish, but without a surface on which to spread they clustered distal to the ICM. In vivo, trophectoderm remained covering the ICM. By 5 days in hanging drop culture the embryos had developed a segmented appearance with trophoblast giant cells at the abembryonic pole, extraembryonic cells not covered by vacuolated endoderm in the central region, and embryonic endoderm surrounding a developing proamniotic cavity in embryonic ectoderm at the embryonic pole. These observations suggest that the trophectoderm is able to follow a developmental program independent of that in the embryonic portion and that its behavior is dominated by the different adhesive properties of the trophoblastic and embryonic cells.
Comparison of Coding of Heart Failure and Comorbidities in Administrative and Clinical Data for Use in Outcomes Research

Background:Despite the potential usefulness of administrative databases for evaluating outcomes, coding of heart failure and associated comorbidities have not been definitively compared with clinical data. Objective:To compare the predictive value of heart failure diagnoses and secondary conditions identified in a large administrative database with chart-based records. Methods:The authors studied 1808 patient records sampled from 14 acute care hospitals and compared clinically recorded data with administrative records from the Canadian Institute for Health Information. The impact of comorbidity coding in the administrative data set according to the Charlson classification was examined in models of 30-day mortality. Results:The positive predictive value (PPV) of a primary diagnosis ICD-9 428 was 94.3% using the Framingham criteria and 88.6% using criteria previously validated with pulmonary capillary wedge pressure. There was reduced prevalence of secondary comorbid conditions in administrative data in comparison with clinical chart data. The specificities and PPV/negative predictive values of administratively identified index comorbidities were high. The sensitivities of index comorbidities were low, but were enhanced by examination of hospitalizations within 1 year prior to the index heart failure admission. Using information from prior hospitalizations modestly enhanced 30-day mortality model performance; however, the odds ratio point estimates of the index and enhanced administrative data sets were consistent with the clinical model. Conclusion:The ICD-9 428 primary diagnosis is highly predictive of heart failure using clinical criteria. Examination of hospitalization data up to 1 year prior to the index admission improves comorbidity detection and may provide enhancements to future studies of heart failure mortality.
Neuropsychological functioning following craniopharyngioma removal

The neuropsychological functioning of patients who had undergone surgical removal of craniopharyngiomas was compared to that of an endocrine control group composed of patients with nontumor hypopituitarism, an obese control group, and a normal control group. Neuropsychological assessments consisting of measures of intelligence, memory, attention, and executive functioning were carried out. The craniopharyngioma group had lower Performance IQ than did the normal control group, but their Performance IQ was comparable to that of the hypopituitarism and obese control groups. The craniopharyngioma patients did not differ in Verbal or Full Scale IQs from the remaining groups. There were no group differences on measures of verbal or nonverbal memory, ability to sustain attention, or executive functioning including measures of verbal or figural fluency, nonverbal problem solving, ability to copy a complex geometric figure, and visual motor and visual sequencing skills. The group mean scores on the measures of intelligence and neuropsychological abilities for the craniopharyngioma patients were in the low-average to average range. While craniopharyngioma patients can have significant morbidity including endocrine and visual deficits as well as obesity resulting from hyperphagia, neuropsychological deficits are not always present. Their neuropsychological outcome is more benign than some previous studies have suggested.
Ectopic Expression of the Murine Chemokines CCL21a and CCL21b Induces the Formation of Lymph Node-Like Structures in Pancreas, But Not Skin, of Transgenic Mice

The CC chemokine CCL21 is a potent chemoattractant for lymphocytes and dendritic cells in vitro. In the murine genome there are multiple copies of CCL21 encoding two CCL21 proteins that differ from each other by one amino acid at position 65 (either a serine or leucine residue). In this report, we examine the expression pattern and biological activities of both forms of CCL21. We found that although both serine and leucine forms are expressed in most tissues examined, the former was the predominant form in lymphoid organs while the latter was predominantly expressed in nonlymphoid organs. When expressed in transgenic pancreas, both forms of CCL21 were capable of inducing the formation of lymph node-like structures composed primarily of T and B cells and a few dendritic cells. Induction of lymph node-like structures by these CCL21 proteins, however, could not be reproduced in every tissue. For instance, no lymphocyte recruitment or accumulation was observed when CCL21 was overexpressed in the skin. We conclude that both forms of CCL21 protein are biologically equivalent in promoting lymphocyte recruitment to the pancreas, and that their ability to induce the formation of lymph node-like structures is dependent on the tissues in which they are expressed.