Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Use of a Probabilistic Neural Network to Estimate the Risk of Mortality after Cardiac Surgery

Objective. To develop a probabilistic neural network (PNN) to estimate mortality risk following cardiac surgery. Design and setting. The PNN model was created using an institutional database obtained as part of routine quality assurance activity. Patient records (from 1991 to 1993) were randomly divided into training (n = 732) and validation (n = 380) sets. The model uses seven variables, each obtainable during routine clinical patient care. After completion of the initial validation phase, newer data (1994) became available and were used as an independent source of validation (n = 365). Patients. 1,477 consecutive cardiac surgery patients operated on in a teaching hospital during a four-year period (1991-94). Results. The overall accuracy of the neural network was 91.5% in the training set; it was 92.3% in the validation set. The model was well calibrated (p = 0.21 for the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test) and discriminated well (areas under the ROC curves were 0.72 and 0.81 for the training and validation sets). The trained network also performed well on the 1994 data (ROC = 0.74, p = 0.19 for the Hosmer-Lemeshow test), albeit with a slight decrement in overall accuracy (88.2%). Conclusion. A neural network may be implemented to estimate mortality risk following cardiac surgery. Implementation is relatively rapid, and it is an alternative to standard statistical approaches. Key words: neural networks; cardiac surgery; predictive models. (Med Decis Making 1997;17:178-185)
The potential of mass spectrometry for the global profiling of parasite metabolomes

SUMMARY The strengths and limitations of existing mass spectrometry methods for metabolite detection and identification are discussed. A brief review is made of the methods available for quenching and extraction of cells or organisms prior to instrumental analysis. The techniques available for carrying out mass spectrometry-based profiling of metabolomes are discussed using the analysis of extracts from trypanosomes to illustrate various points regarding methods of separation and mass spectrometric analysis. The advantages of hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) for the analysis of polar metabolites are discussed. The challenges of data processing are outlined and illustrated using the example of ThermoFisher's Sieve software. The existing literature on applications of mass spectrometry to the profiling of parasite metabolomes is reviewed.
Encoding of global visual motion in the nidopallium caudolaterale of behaving crows

Songbirds possess acute vision. How higher brain centres represent basic and parameterised visual stimuli to process sensory signals according to their behavioural importance has not been studied in a systematic way. We therefore examined how carrion crows (Corvus corone) and their nidopallial visual neurons process global visual motion information in dynamic random‐dot displays during a delayed match‐to‐sample (DMS) task. The behavioural data show that moderately fast motion speeds (16° of visual angle/s) result in superior direction discrimination performance. To characterise how neurons encode and maintain task‐relevant visual motion information, we recorded the single‐unit activity in the telencephalic association area ‘nidopallium caudolaterale’ (NCL) of behaving crows. The NCL is considered to be the avian analogue of the mammalian prefrontal cortex. Almost a third (28%) of randomly selected NCL neurons responded selectively to the motion direction of the sample stimulus, mostly to downward motions. Only few NCL neurons (7.5%) responded consistently to specific motion directions during the delay period. In error trials, when the crows chose the wrong motion direction, the encoding of motion direction was significantly reduced. This indicates that sensory representations of NCL neurons are relevant to the birds’ behaviour. These data suggest that the corvid NCL, even though operating at the apex of the telencephalic processing hierarchy, constitutes a telencephalic site for global motion integration.
Disclosure of Traditional and Complementary Medicine Use and Its Associated Factors to Medical Doctor in Primary Care Clinics in Kuching Division, Sarawak, Malaysia

The decision by the patients to disclose traditional and complementary medicine (TCM) use to their doctor is an important area to be explored. This study aimed to determine the disclosure of TCM use and its associated factors to medical doctor among primary care clinic attendees in Kuching Division, Sarawak. It was a cross-sectional study using questionnaire, interviewer administered questionnaire. A total of 1130 patients were screened with 80.2% reporting using TCM. Logistic regression analysis revealed that being female (AOR = 3.219, 95% CI: 1.385, 7.481), perceived benefits that TCM can prevent complication of illness (AOR = 3.999, 95% CI: 1.850, 8.644) and that TCM is more gentle and safer (AOR = 4.537, 95% CI: 2.332, 8.828), perceived barriers of not having enough knowledge about TCM (AOR = 0.530, 95% CI: 0.309, 0.910), patient dissatisfaction towards healthcare providers being too business-like and impersonal (AOR = 0.365, 95% CI: 0.199, 0.669) and paying more for healthcare than one can afford (AOR = 0.413, 95% CI: 0.250, 0.680), and accessibility of doctors (AOR = 3.971, 95% CI: 2.245, 7.023) are the predictors of disclosure of TCM use. An open communication between patients and doctor is important to ensure safe implementation and integration of both TCM and medical treatment.
Neuropathological Findings in Intractable Epilepsy: 435 Chinese Cases

The number of patients with intractable epilepsy undergoing surgical management in China is increasing rapidly. We retrospectively reviewed 435 consecutive cases of intractable epilepsy receiving surgical resection from 2005 to 2008 in our hospital, looking specifically at the neuropathological findings. The three most common causes of intractable epilepsy were focal cortical dysplasia (FCD; 52.9%), scar lesions (22.8%) and brain tumors (11.7%). Hippocampal sclerosis was identified in 74 cases (17.0%), although most of these were accompanied by dual pathology with FCD (especially Palmini type IB), scar lesions or tumors. Among FCD cases, Palmini type I lesions are the most frequently observed abnormality, with a preferred location in the temporal lobe (60.1%) and often accompanied by dual pathology. In contrast, Palmini type II FCD lesions occurred predominantly in the frontal regions and with a lower age of onset. Most tumors were mixed neuronal–glial tumors, mainly ganglioglioma (19 cases) and dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumor (10 cases), with a trend toward a temporal location and usually accompanied by cortical dysplasia in the peritumor area. Our data on the neuropathology of intractable epilepsy in China show that glioneuronal lesions are the most prominent cause of intractable epilepsy, and this is consistent with reports from other countries.
A Minimal Set of RNA Polymerase II Transcription Protein Interactions*

All pairwise interactions of RNA polymerase II and general transcription factors (TF) IIB, E, F, and H have been quantitated by surface plasmon resonance with the use of a Ni2+ chelate on the sensor surface where necessary to attain higher sensitivity. Only 4 of 10 possible interactions were found above the detection limit: TFIIB, -E, and -F binding to RNA polymerase II and TFIIE binding to TFIIH. These four interactions constitute a minimal set for the formation of a transcription initiation complex and may represent the primary interactions involved in assembly of the complex. Point mutations in TFIIB that alter the location of transcription start sites in vivo markedly diminished the affinity of TFIIB binding to RNA polymerase II. Protein blotting revealed an interaction between the largest subunit of TFIIE and third largest subunit of TFIIH, which may be responsible for TFIIE binding to TFIIH.
Topic Discovery Algorithm Based on Mutual Information and Label Clustering under Dynamic Social Networks

In recent years, topic detection has become a hot research point of the social network, which can be very good to find the key factors from the massive information and thus discover the topics. The traditional label propagation-based topic discovery algorithm (LPA) is widely concerned because of its approximate linear time complexity and there is no need to define the target function. However, LPA algorithm has the uncertainty and the randomness, which affects the accuracy and the stability of the topic discovery. In this paper, a method for clustering label words based on mutual information analysis is presented to find the current topic. Firstly, through filtering the stop words and extracting
Integrating HCI concerns into a UML based software engineering course

Software Engineering (SE) and HCI (Human Computer Interaction) are not the same age, do not have the same history, background or foundations, and did never share design principles and design models. The separation principle, by encouraging separate concerns and techniques to design the interactive and the computational layers of a software system despite being absolutely correct from several SE crucial design principles, like modularity, separation of concerns, encapsulation, context independence and so on -, has sometimes been misjudged and mistakenly used. Therefore, instead of bridging the gap between the two separate designs, it helped widening that gap. However, the principle does not mention and does not impose any restrictions on how the integration should be done. In the context of a software engineering course the authors have been involved with for some years, the need has arisen to provide students with HCI skills. Several attempts at integrating HCI into software engineering can be found in the literature. However, none seemed amenable to application in the context of the course, basically because none of them could be taught and learnt in such a way (methodology) that could easily be blent into the software engineering design process. We present a methodological process that we have been teaching that aims at shortening the gap that software engineering students face when trying to adapt SE techniques to the interactive layer.
Comparison of frontal and rear-end impacts for car occupants with whiplash-associated disorders: symptoms and clinical findings

Rear-end impacts caused worse initial symptoms and specific clinical findings, not clearly distinguished from those occurring after frontal impacts. WAD III injuries, retro-orbital pain, and isolated contra-directional pro-retraction pain occurred more frequently after rear-end impacts, indicating the importance of shear loads and craniocervical junction vulnerability. Head inward rotation during rear-end impacts caused a more restricted mobility in the same direction at the primary examination than did outward rotation, indicating a possible influence from the shoulder part of the seat belt. The one-year outcome was mainly influenced by individual factors and less by the impact characteristics. For the covering abstract see ITRD E141807.
Randomized Controlled Trial Endocanalicular , High-Pressure Balloon Catheter , Endoscopic Dacryocystorhinostomy : A

Objectives. To conduct a prospective randomized controlled study to investigate the safety and efficacy of endocanalicular, high-pressure, 5-mm balloon catheter, endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR) in adult patients with acquired complete nasolacrimal obstruction. Study Design. Prospective randomized controlled study. Setting. General hospital. Subjects and Methods. Sixty-six adult patients with a total of 70 procedures were recruited to undergo endoscopic DCR. They were prospectively, equally randomized into 2 groups: endocanalicular, high-pressure, 5-mm balloon catheter, endoscopic DCR (group I) and conventional endoscopic DCR (group II). Regular follow-up sessions were conducted to document the patient’s subjective improvement, judge ostium patency on irrigation, and record any complications. Results. Both groups demonstrated a success rate of 91.4%. There was a shorter mean operative time (25.7 minutes) in group I (P < .001). The number of adverse events was significantly higher in group II (P < .05). Group I showed statistically significantly more comfort during surgery under local anesthesia with minimal sedation (P < .05). Conclusion. Endocanalicular balloon catheter endoscopic DCR shares the advantages and success rate of conventional endoscopic DCR. In addition, the former is simpler, requires less manipulation, consumes a shorter operative time, has a better safety profile, and can be conducted under local anesthesia with minimal sedation.
Effectiveness of an educational trial to encourage sufficient calcium intake in women college students.

An educational trial to encourage sufficient calcium (Ca) intake was conducted on women college students who entered the college for dietitian either in 1993 or in 1994. The trial's effectiveness was assessed by a prospective cohort study. Two hundred and fifteen 18- or 19-year-old students were assigned into two cohorts, i.e., a control cohort (CC) and an educated cohort (EC). Both groups received 3 surveys, i.e., at baseline, 1 week after, and 1 year after the Ca education, which was given only to the EC at baseline to encourage sufficient Ca intake. The amount of Ca taken by the CC did not significantly change in the 3 surveys. The EC took a significantly larger amount of Ca 1 week after and maintained relatively larger amount of Ca 1 year after the Ca education. These results suggest some effectiveness of Ca education on the women college students.
The Role of SHIP in the Development and Activation of Mouse Mucosal and Connective Tissue Mast Cells

Although SHIP is a well-established suppressor of IgE plus Ag-induced degranulation and cytokine production in bone marrow-derived mast cells (BMMCs), little is known about its role in connective tissue (CTMCs) or mucosal (MMCs) mast cells. In this study, we compared SHIP’s role in the development as well as the IgE plus Ag and TLR-induced activation of CTMCs, MMCs, and BMMCs and found that SHIP delays the maturation of all three mast cell subsets and, surprisingly, that it is a positive regulator of IgE-induced BMMC survival. We also found that SHIP represses IgE plus Ag-induced degranulation of all three mast cell subsets and that TLR agonists do not trigger their degranulation, whether SHIP is present or not, nor do they enhance IgE plus Ag-induced degranulation. In terms of cytokine production, we found that in MMCs and BMMCs, which are poor producers of TLR-induced cytokines, SHIP is a potent negative regulator of IgE plus Ag-induced IL-6 and TNF-α production. Surprisingly, however, in splenic or peritoneal derived CTMCs, which are poor producers of IgE plus Ag-induced cytokines, SHIP is a potent positive regulator of TLR-induced cytokine production. Lastly, cell signaling and cytokine production studies with and without LY294002, wortmannin, and PI3Kα inhibitor-2, as well as with PI3K p85α−/− BMMCs and CTMCs, are consistent with SHIP positively regulating TLR-induced cytokine production via an adaptor-mediated pathway while negatively regulating IgE plus Ag-induced cytokine production by repressing the PI3K pathway.
TOXICITY AND BIOCHEMICAL EFFECTS OF NEEM AZAL T/S, WILLOW (SALIX AEGYPTIACA L.) AND CHASTEBERRY (VITEX AGNUS-CASTUS L.) ON HOUSE FLY, MUSCA DOMESTICA L. (DIPTRA : MUSCIDAE)

The house fly, Musca domestica, is a very significant pest due to transmitting of various human and animal pathogenic diseases. In a response to environmental threats of chemical insecticides, toxic and biochemical effects of a relatively new plant extracts of willow (Salix aegyptiaca L.) and chasteberry (Vitex agnus-castus L.) comparing with NeemAzal T/S were studied on 3rd larval instar of M. domestica. Results showed that NeemAzal T/S is highly toxic to 3rd larval instar with LC50 and LC90 of 0.009 and 0.098 µg mL-1, respectively. Whereas, willow and chasteberry showed low toxic effects comparing with NeemAzal T/S with LC90 of 70.048 and 66.698 µg mL-1, respectively. Concentrations of total protein markedly decreased in 3rd larval instar after 24 hours exposure to NeemAzal T/S, willow and chasteberry with no significant effects on total lipids compared with control. NeemAzal T/S, willow and chasteberry significantly decreased ALT activity, but NeemAzal T/S only markedly decreased AST activity. On the other hand, amylase (EC3.2.1.1) significantlyincreased due to exposure to all tested substances with only significant increase in invertase (EC 3.2.1.26) activity due to exposure to chasteberry. Larval exposure to NeemAzal T/S, willow or chasteberry showed normal trehalase (EC 3.2.1.28) activity as control. These findings show that willow and chasteberry can cause marked toxic effects on larvae of M. domestica as well as NeemAzal T/S, which suggesting that more studies on insect development using these plant extracts could be useful
Detection of human papillomavirus type 67 from bowenoid papulosis.

Auteur(s) : Gen Nakanishi1, Osamu Yamasaki2, Yoh Nagao3, Toshihiro Tanaka1 1Dept of Dermatology, Shiga University of Medical Science, Tsukinowa-cho, Seta, 520-2192 Otsu, Japan 2Dept of Dermatology, Okayama Graduate School of Medicine, Okayama, Japan 3Dept of Dermatology, Japanese Red Cross Okayama Hospital, Okayama, Japan Human papillomavirus (HPV) is an important etiological agent in cervical carcinoma and in different kinds of malignant and benign skin tumors, including [. ]
Improving the Prediction of Medication Compliance: The Example of Bisphosphonates for Osteoporosis

Introduction:Administrative claims data have a limited ability to identify persons with high compliance to oral bisphosphonates. We tested whether adding information on compliance with other drugs used to treat chronic, asymptomatic conditions would improve the predictive ability of administrative data to identify adherent individuals. Methods:Using data from a large, US healthcare organization, we identified new bisphosphonate users and their 1-year compliance to oral bisphosphonates, quantified by the Medication Possession Ratio (MPR). Multivariable logistic regression models evaluated the relationship between high bisphosphonate compliance (MPR ≥80%) and patient demographics, comorbidities, and health services utilization. To these logistic regression models, we evaluated the incremental change in the area under the receiver operator curve (AUC) after adding information regarding compliance with other drug classes. These included antihyperlipidemics (statins), antihypertensives, antidepressants, oral diabetes agents, and glaucoma medications. Results from the logistic regression models were evaluated in parallel using recursive partitioning trees with 10-fold cross-validation. Results:Among 101,038 new bisphosphonate users, administrative data identified numerous nonmedication factors (eg, age, gender, use of preventive services) significantly associated with high bisphosphonate compliance at 1 year. However, all these factors in aggregate had low discriminant ability to identify persons highly adherent with bisphosphonates (AUC = 0.62). For persons who were new users of ≥1 of the other asymptomatic condition drugs, MPR data on the other drugs substantially improved the prediction of high bisphosphonate compliance. The impact on prediction was largest for concomitant statin users (AUC = 0.70). Conclusions:Information on compliance with drugs used to treat chronic asymptomatic conditions improves the prediction of compliance with oral bisphosphonates. This information may help identify persons who should receive targeted interventions to promote compliance to osteoporosis medications.
Examining Technology Resistance : A Cognitive Load Perspective Emergent Research Forum Paper

Technology adoption has been studied through two perspectives – of acceptance and of resistance. While acceptance has been sufficiently researched, resistance is understudied resulting in a less comprehensive understanding of technology adoption. This study examines technology resistance within the framework of task-technology interaction. Task-technology interaction has been defined based on the level of tasktechnology integration which has led to the identification of two types of interaction: intrinsic and extrinsic tasks to the technology. Within this framework, the study adopts cognitive load perspective to argue that introduction of a technology generates cognitive load by challenging the status quo of required working memory to perform the task which results in the technology resistance. The study further argues that level and influence of cognitive load on resistance are higher in extrinsic tasks compared to intrinsic tasks to the technology.
A Continuously Tunable Microwave Fractional Hilbert Transformer Based on a Nonuniformly Spaced Photonic Microwave Delay-Line Filter

A continuously tunable microwave fractional Hilbert transformer (FHT) implemented based on a nonuniformly spaced photonic microwave delay-line filter is proposed and demonstrated. An FHT has a frequency response with a unity magnitude response and a phase response having a phase shift between 0 and π at the center frequency. A seven-tap photonic microwave delay-line filter with nonuniformly spaced taps is designed to provide such a frequency response. The advantage of using nonuniform spacing is that an equivalent negative coefficient can be achieved by introducing an additional time delay leading to a π phase shift, corresponding to a negative coefficient. An FHT operating at a center frequency around 8.165 GHz with a tunable order between 0.24 and 1 is implemented. A classical HT operating at a center frequency of 7.573 GHz with a bandwidth greater than 4.5 GHz is also implemented. The use of the classical HT to perform temporal Hilbert transform of a Gaussian-like electrical pulse is demonstrated.
Construction of Trust Based Dynamic Access Control Model in P 2 P Network Environment

With the development of society and technology, sharing of resources has become an indispensable component in our life. With its congenital features of high speed, rich resources, strong fault-tolerance and low cost, peer-to-peer (P2P) network occupies an important status in network resources sharing. However, this technology has serious problems in network security, especially in trust management and access control. Therefore, based on the advantage of trust management and Role based access control (RBAC), this study proposed a trust based dynamic access control model in P2P network environment, which allocates general roles by automated trust negotiation, to build dynamic trust relation among strange entities, then the internet calculates users’ trust in real time. General role whose trust is over threshold derives a series of temporary roles with privilege limit set which can access network resources and thus realize the dynamic authorization policy for small control granularity. Subject Categories and Descriptors I.6. 4 [Model Validation and Analysis]: RBAC Model; G.2 [Discrete Mathematics] General Terms: Peer-to-Peer, RBAC Mode
Produtividade no Brasil : desempenho e determinantes

Os estudos que analisam a evolucao dos indicadores de produtividade no pais podem ser segmentados em dois grupos principais. No primeiro deles, os autores calculam a Produtividade Total dos Fatores (PTF) e decompoem as taxas de crescimento do produto nas taxas de crescimento do capital, do trabalho e da propria PTF para interpretar os movimentos observados na economia brasileira. Em virtude de um conjunto de dificuldades metodologicas – como a ausencia de series consolidadas para o estoque setorial de capital –, essas analises em geral tem um carater mais agregado. O segundo grupo e formado pelos estudos em que se usam indicadores de produtividade parciais e, em particular, a produtividade do trabalho, que Fernanda De Negri Luiz Ricardo Cavalcante