Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Febrile Neutropenia in Patients Receiving Chemotherapy; an observational study highlighting its association with haematological parameters on gender basis

Objective: This study was aimed to evaluate the frequency of febrile neutropenia between genders and find out its association with haematological parameters. Methodology: This was an observational study conducted in the Oncology Department of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Karachi Pakistan for 1 year. Data was collected using non-probability convenient sampling technique after taking informed consent from 316 patients diagnosed as having cancer on histopathology, undergoing treatment with chemotherapeutic agent and having neutropenia along with fever as a single oral temperature of >38.3 oC. Patients who had co-morbid conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, or psychiatric illness were excluded from this study. The variables recorded were age, gender, chemotherapy protocol, number of days of chemotherapy, haemoglobin, total leukocyte count, neutrophils, monocytes, platelets and creatinine. Patients were divided into 2 groups based on gender receiving the chemotherapeutic regimen, Group 1 consisted of male and Group 2 consisted of female patients. SPSS version 20.0 was used for data analysis. Chi-square test and t-test was used to assess the association. P-value was calculated to find association. Results: The mean age of Group 1 patients was 41.90±14.90 years while that of group 2 was 42.35±13.17years. In our study, males had total leukocyte count 2076.30±1207.72 cells/cum, neutrophil count 29.91±20.68/mm3 and females had total leukocyte count 2862.36±1970.80 cells/ cum, neutrophil count 38.56±21.87/mm3 which is significantly different among two groups (p-value<0.05). Febrile neutropenia was found to be present in 96(57.1%) of males and 70(47.3%) of female patients in our study which was not statistically significant(p-value=0.080). Conclusion: Our study showed that among male and female cancer patients on chemotherapy, more than half of males were found to have febrile neutropenia, while fewer females had febrile neutropenia. There was no significant difference in occurrence of febrile neutropenia between two genders.
Pseudotime Ordering of Single Human β-Cells Reveals States of Insulin Production and Unfolded Protein Response

Proinsulin is a misfolding-prone protein, making its biosynthesis in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) a stressful event. Pancreatic β-cells overcome ER stress by activating the unfolded protein response (UPR) and reducing insulin production. This suggests that β-cells transition between periods of high insulin biosynthesis and UPR-mediated recovery from cellular stress. We now report the pseudotime ordering of single β-cells from humans without diabetes detected by large-scale RNA sequencing. We identified major states with 1) low UPR and low insulin gene expression, 2) low UPR and high insulin gene expression, or 3) high UPR and low insulin gene expression. The latter state was enriched for proliferating cells. Stressed human β-cells do not dedifferentiate and show little propensity for apoptosis. These data suggest that human β-cells transition between states with high rates of biosynthesis to fulfill the body’s insulin requirements to maintain normal blood glucose levels and UPR-mediated recovery from ER stress due to high insulin production.
Do People Avoid Morally Relevant Information? Evidence from the Refugee Crisis

Abstract Combining click data from a Swedish newspaper and administrative data on asylum seekers in Sweden, I examine whether a larger presence of refugees in a municipality induces people to avoid news that may encourage welcoming the newcomers. Exploiting the unexpected inflow of refugees to Sweden during 2015 and their exogenous allocation across Swedish municipalities, I find that people living in municipalities where the relative number of refugees is larger read fewer articles about asylum seekers. The decrease in clicks is 36% larger for more empathic articles and is correlated with less engagement in activities aimed at welcoming refugees.
Consumer-based brand equity and brand performance

The relation between consumer-based brand equity and brand performance was investigated across 15 product categories in Brazil and the UK. Brand equity was conceptualized as related to the level of social benefit offered by each brand and was measured with a simple questionnaire that asked consumers to rate brands with respect to their familiarity and quality levels. These measures were then related to brand market share and revenue. Results showed that the relation between consumer-based brand equity and brand performance varies across product categories, indicating that products differ with respect to their level of brandability and suggesting ways to measure it.
author-version of: In-vitro metabolomics to evaluate toxicity of particulate matter under environmentally realistic conditions

17 In this pilot study three fractions of particulate matter (PM 0.25 , PM 2.5-0.25 , and PM 10-2.5 ) were 18 collected in three environments (classroom, home, and outdoors) in a village located nearby an 19 industrial complex. Time-activity pattern of 20 students attending the classroom was obtained, and 20 the dose of particles reaching the children’s lungs under actual environmental conditions (i.e. real 21 dose) was calculated via dosimetry model. The highest PM concentrations were reached in the 22 classroom. Simulations showed that heavy intensity outdoor activities played a major role in PM 23 deposition, especially in the upper part of the respiratory tract. The mass of PM 10-2.5 reaching the 24 alveoli was minor , while PM 2.5-0.25 and PM 0.25 apportion for most of the PM mass retained in the 25 lungs. Consequently, PM 2.5-0.25 and PM 0.25 were the only fractions used in two subsequent toxicity 26 assays onto alveolar cells (A549). First, a cytotoxicity dose-response assay was performed, and 27 doses corresponding to 5% mortality (LC 5 ) were estimated. Afterwards, two LC-MS metabolomic 28 assays were conducted: one applying LC 5 , and another applying real dose. A lower estimated LC 5 29 value was obtained for PM 0.25 than PM 2.5-0.25 (8.08 and 73.7 ng/mL respectively). The number of 30 altered features after LC 5 exposure was similar for both fractions (39 and 38 for PM 0.25 and PM 2.5-31 0.25 respectively), while after real dose exposure these numbers differed (10 and 5 for PM 0.25 and 32 PM 2.5-0.25 respectively). The most metabolic changes were related to membrane and lung surfactant 33 lipids. This study highlights the capacity of PM to alter metabolic profile of lung cells
DECOR + HOP : A Scalable Blockchain Protocol

1 Cryptocurrencies, based on and led by Bitcoin, have shown promise as infrastructure for pseudonymous online payments, cheap remittance, trustless digital asset exchange, and smart contracts. However, Bitcoin-derived blockchain protocols have inherent scalability limits that trade-off between throughput and latency and withhold the realization of this potential. This paper presents DECOR+HOP , a new blockchain protocol designed to scale. Based on Bitcoin’s blockchain protocol, DECOR+HOP is Byzantine fault tolerant, is robust to extreme churn, and shares the same trust model obviating qualitative changes to the ecosystem. In addition to DECOR+HOP , we introduce several novel metrics of interest in quantifying the security and efficiency of Bitcoin-like blockchain protocols. We implement DECOR+HOP and perform large-scale simulation at 15% the size of the operational Bitcoin system, using emulated clients of both protocols. These experiments demonstrate that DECOR+ scales near optimally, with bandwidth limited only by the capacity of the individual nodes and latency limited only by the propagation time of the network.
Generative timbre spaces: regularizing variational auto-encoders with perceptual metrics

Timbre spaces have been used in music perception to study the perceptual relationships between instruments based on dissimilarity ratings. However, these spaces do not generalize to novel examples and do not provide an invertible mapping, preventing audio synthesis. In parallel, generative models have aimed to provide methods for synthesizing novel timbres. However, these systems do not provide an understanding of their inner workings and are usually not related to any perceptually relevant information. Here, we show that Variational Auto-Encoders (VAE) can alleviate all of these limitations by constructing generative timbre spaces. To do so, we adapt VAEs to learn an audio latent space, while using perceptual ratings from timbre studies to regularize the organization of this space. The resulting space allows us to analyze novel instruments, while being able to synthesize audio from any point of this space. We introduce a specific regularization allowing to enforce any given similarity distances onto these spaces. We show that the resulting space provide almost similar distance relationships as timbre spaces. We evaluate several spectral transforms and show that the Non-Stationary Gabor Transform (NSGT) provides the highest correlation to timbre spaces and the best quality of synthesis. Furthermore, we show that these spaces can generalize to novel instruments and can generate any path between instruments to understand their timbre relationships. As these spaces are continuous, we study how audio descriptors behave along the latent dimensions. We show that even though descriptors have an overall non-linear topology, they follow a locally smooth evolution. Based on this, we introduce a method for descriptor-based synthesis and show that we can control the descriptors of an instrument while keeping its timbre structure.
Clinical study of stand-alone transthoracic echocardiography-guided percutaneous occlusion of patent ductus arteriosus

Objective: We aimed to investigate the feasibility and safety of stand-alone transthoracic echocardiography-guided percutaneous occlusion of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) without the use of X-ray equipment. Methods: From January to December 2015, we performed stand-alone transthoracic echocardiography-guided percutaneous PDA occlusion using an occluder delivered via a delivery sheath introduced via femoral vein access without the use of X-ray equipment in 12 PDA patients. Results: PDA occlusion was successfully performed in all 12 patients. The procedure duration ranged from 30 to 110 min (50.4±22.8 min), and the size of the implanted occluder ranged from 12 to 20 mm (15.2±2.8 mm). No occluder migration, residual shunt, or thrombotic complications were observed in the perioperative period. There was no clinical death, hemolysis, infection, or embolism during patients’ hospitalization and the follow-up period. Conclusion: Stand-alone transthoracic echocardiography-guided percutaneous PDA occlusion without the use of X-ray equipment is a safe and effective procedure.
Atypical antipsychotics: A review on the prevalence, monitoring, and management of their metabolic and cardiovascular side effects

Introduction: Excessive weight gain, glucose intolerance, and dyslipidemia are well-known physical side effects of the metabolic syndrome commonly associated with atypical antipsychotic (AAP) treatment. We review these side effects of AAPs and their monitoring and management strategies. Methods: A literature search was conducted to identify articles published on the prevalence, monitoring, and management of cardiometabolic side effects of AAPs. Results: Comparative risk of AAPs on weight gain, hyperlipidemia, glucose intolerance, and QT interval corrected for heart rate prolongation varies across the AAPs currently available. Likewise, pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic options investigated for management of these side effects, and monitoring those at appropriate intervals, differ based on the clinical condition and risk factors identified. Discussion: Atypical antipsychotics in general have little difference among them in short-term efficacy; however, the prevalence of their physical side effects substantially distinguishes them. It is of importance that clinicians carefully select AAPs bearing in mind the presence of risk factors, initiating patients directly on AAPs with a low risk of cardiometabolic side effects, and monitoring and managing those side effects at appropriate intervals.
Adding a C-terminal Cysteine (CTC) Can Enhance the Bactericidal Activity of Three Different Antimicrobial Peptides

The emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has threatened our health worldwide. There is an urgent need for novel antibiotics. Previously, we identified a novel 37-mer antimicrobial peptide (AMP), HBcARD, with broad spectrum antimicrobial activity. Here, we improved the efficacy of HBcARD, by re-engineering the peptide, including the addition of a new cysteine to its C-terminus (CTC). The new 28-mer derivative, D-150-177C, contains all D-form arginines, in addition to a C-terminal cycteine. This peptide can kill antibiotic-resistant clinical isolates of Gram-negative bacteria, and is more potent than the parental HBcARD peptide in a mouse sepsis model. In another lung infection mouse model, D-150-177C showed protection efficacy against colistin-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii. Unlike colistin, we observed no acute toxicity of D-150-177C in vivo. Interestingly, we found that CTC modification could enhance the antibacterial activity of several other AMPs, such as buforinII and lysin. The potential application and mechanism of this CTC method as a general approach to improving drug efficacy, warrants further investigation in the future.
4 Observations : Changes in Snow , Ice and Frozen Ground Coordinating Lead

Contributing Authors: J. Box (USA), D. Bromwich (USA), R. Brown (Canada), J.G. Cogley (Canada), J. Comiso (USA), M. Dyurgerov (Sweden, USA), B. Fitzharris (New Zealand), O. Frauenfeld (USA, Austria), H. Fricker (USA), G. H. Gudmundsson (UK, Iceland), C. Haas (Germany), J.O. Hagen (Norway), C. Harris (UK), L. Hinzman (USA), R. Hock (Sweden), M. Hoelzle (Switzerland), P. Huybrechts (Belgium), K. Isaksen (Norway), P. Jansson (Sweden), A. Jenkins (UK), Ian Joughin (USA), C. Kottmeier (Germany), R. Kwok (USA), S. Laxon (UK), S. Liu (China), D. MacAyeal (USA), H. Melling (Canada), A. Ohmura (Switzerland), A. Payne (UK), T. Prowse (Canada), B.H. Raup (USA), C. Raymond (USA), E. Rignot (USA), I. Rigor (USA), D. Robinson (USA), D. Rothrock (USA), S.C. Scherrer (Switzerland), S. Smith (Canada), O. Solomina (Russian Federation), D. Vaughan (UK), J. Walsh (USA), A. Worby (Australia), T. Yamada (Japan), L. Zhao (China)
Planned and Unplanned Hospital Admissions and Their Relationship with Social Factors: Findings from a National, Prospective Study of People Aged 76 Years or Older

Objective To examine the relationship between social factors and planned and unplanned hospital admissions among older people. Data Sources/Study Setting 2011 data from the Swedish Panel Study of Living Conditions of the Oldest Old (SWEOLD) and data from the Swedish National Patient Register until December 31, 2012. Study Design The study had a prospective design. Data were analyzed via Cox proportional hazard regressions with variables entered as blocks (social factors, sociodemographic and ability factors, health factors). Data Collection Data were collected via interviews with people aged 76+ (n = 931). Principal Findings Living in institutions was negatively associated with planned admissions (hazard ratio (HR): 0.29; confidence interval (CI): 0.09–0.88), while being in receipt of home help was positively associated with unplanned admissions (HR: 1.57; CI: 1.15–2.14). Low levels of social contacts and social activity predicted unplanned admissions in bivariate analyses only. Higher ability to deal with public authorities was positively associated with planned admissions (HR: 1.77; CI: 1.13–2.78) and negatively associated with unplanned admissions, although the latter association was only significant in the bivariate analysis. Conclusions Hospital admissions are not only due to health problems but are also influenced by the social care situation and by the ability to deal with public authorities.
Chronological trends in maximum and minimum water flows of the Teesta River, Bangladesh, and its implications

Bangladesh shares a common border with India in the west, north and east and with Myanmar in the southeast. These borders cut across 57 rivers that discharge through Bangladesh into the Bay of Bengal in the south. The upstream courses of these rivers traverse India, China, Nepal and Bhutan. Transboundary flows are the important sources of water resources in Bangladesh. Among the 57 transboundary rivers, the Teesta is the fourth major river in Bangladesh after the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the Meghna and Bangladesh occupies about 2071 km2. The Teesta River floodplain in Bangladesh accounts for 14% of the total cropped area and 9.15 million people of the country. The objective of this study was to investigate trends in both maximum and minimum water flow at Kaunia and Dalia stations for the Teesta River and the coping strategies developed by the communities to adjust with uncertain flood situations. The flow characteristics of the Teesta were analysed by calculating monthly maximum and minimum water levels and discharges from 1985 to 2006. Discharge of the Teesta over the last 22 years has been decreasing. Extreme low-flow conditions were likely to occur more frequently after the implementation of the Gozoldoba Barrage by India. However, a very sharp decrease in peak flows was also observed albeit unexpected high discharge in 1988, 1989, 1991, 1997, 1999 and 2004 with some in between April and October. Onrush of water causes frequent flash floods, whereas decreasing flow leaves the areas dependent on the Teesta vulnerable to droughts. Both these extreme situations had a negative impact on the lives and livelihoods of people dependent on the Teesta. Over the years, people have developed several risk mitigation strategies to adjust with both natural and anthropogenic flood situations. This article proposed the concept of ‘MAXIN (maximum and minimum) flows’ for river water justice for riparian land.
Attosecond interferometry unravels complex delays in photoemission from solids

Recent progress in ultrafast spectroscopy has allowed us to directly study the dynamics of electrons, which is essential to understand underlying processes since electrons are the carriers of energy and information and form the chemical bonds between atoms. These electronic processes naturally occur on an attosecond timescale as a result of the characteristic electron velocities and length scales. Small relative delays between photoemission from different electronic states were observed in noble gas atoms and from metal surfaces. Despite these advances, our understanding of the temporal characteristics of the photoemission process in condensed matter systems remains limited. We extend gas phase methodology based on quantum path interference to noble metal surfaces and we demonstrate that we can derive energy-dependent photoemission delays using attosecond pulse trains. Taking photoemission from Ar 3p as temporal reference enables us to extract absolute delays since the case of argon atoms has been extensively studied and is well understood from a theoretical point of view. Our experimental photoemission delays from Ag(111) and Au(111) are in the same time range as those obtained from simulations based on scattering theory and ballistic transport, but vary strongly with small changes in energy. This interesting behaviour cannot be reproduced with our theoretical model and it must be attributed to effects beyond transport. Complex interactions of the outgoing electron with the photohole, the remaining electrons and the crystal lattice are imprinted on the temporal characteristics and accessible in our experiment. Our approach does not require single attosecond pulses and directly delivers photoemission delays at different electron energies.
A Meta-Analysis of the Five-Factor Internal Structure of the Personality Inventory for DSM–5

The Alternative Model for Personality Disorders (AMPD) in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition, Section III, presents a new approach to conceptualizing personality psychopathology and diagnosing personality disorders. The Personality Inventory for DSM–5 (PID-5) was designed to measure Criterion B of the AMPD and is composed of 25 lower-order facet trait scales that form 5 higher-order domain trait scales. Although the PID-5 has mostly adequate to strong psychometric qualities, the lower-order factor structure of PID-5 facet scales has shown considerable variability across studies, and several PID-5 facets scales show evidence of interstitiality—the cross-loading of facets onto more than 1 domain. This interstitiality is neither unexpected nor especially problematic because complex models of personality have traits that are by nature interstitial. What is problematic, however, is that the factor loadings of these interstitial facets vary across samples, suggesting that some PID-5 facet scales are likely susceptible to sampling error and sampling variability. Moreover, the magnitude of some cross-loadings in some studies is substantive (i.e., ≥.30). The objective of the current study was to conduct a meta-analysis of the internal structure of the PID-5 to offset potential variability associated with sampling error and gain a clearer picture of the lower-order structure of PID-5 facet scales. This was accomplished using weighted mean factor loadings of the PID-5 facet scales across 14 independent samples (N = 14,743). Results supported that the level of interstitiality decreased when multiple samples were combined, and a clearer picture of the internal structure of the PID-5 facet scales emerged.
Head-mounted display for interactive inspection of painted free-form surfaces

Defects of painted surfaces have proven to be visually disturbing even when their depth is only a few microns. Most inspection approaches neither enable a reliable classification of small defects nor provide a suitable human-machine interface to identify areas to be refinished. Consequently, in most cases the inspection still takes place manually and visually - an unsatisfactory compromise that lacks both objectivity and reproducibility. Our approach combines the reliability of automated methods with the acceptance and flexibility of human-based techniques. The measurement principle is based on deflectometry, and features a significantly higher sensitivity than triangulation methods. The developed system consists of a light source based on a digital micromirror device (DMD), a screen where defined patterns are projected on, as well as a mobile inspection device equipped with a head-mounted display (HMD) and a video camera. During operation, the camera captures images of different patterns reflected in the surface. By combining several images using one of the two techniques described to enhance surface defects, the resulting feature image is displayed in the HMD. This procedure takes place in real time and is repeated continuously. The system performance is demonstrated with the visual inspection of car doors. Promising results show that our prototype allows a reliable yet cost-efficient inspection of painted surfaces matching the needs of automotive industry.