Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modelling the Cost-Effectiveness and Budget Impact of a Newborn Screening Program for Spinal Muscular Atrophy and Severe Combined Immunodeficiency

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) are rare, inherited genetic disorders with severe mortality and morbidity. The benefits of early diagnosis and initiation of treatment are now increasingly recognized, with the most benefits in patients treated prior to symptom onset. The aim of the economic evaluation was to investigate the costs and outcomes associated with the introduction of universal newborn screening (NBS) for SCID and SMA, by generating measures of cost-effectiveness and budget impact. A stepwise approach to the cost-effectiveness analyses by decision analytical models nested with Markov simulations for SMA and SCID were conducted from the government perspective. Over a 60-year time horizon, screening every newborn in the population and treating diagnosed SCID by early hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and SMA by gene therapy, would result in 95 QALYs gained per 100,000 newborns, and result in cost savings of USD 8.6 million. Sensitivity analysis indicates 97% of simulated results are considered cost-effective against commonly used willingness-to-pay thresholds. The introduction of combined NBS for SCID and SMA is good value for money from the long-term clinical and economic perspectives, representing a cost saving to governments in the long-term, as well as improving and saving lives.
A Guide to a Pharmacist-Led Pharmacogenetic Testing and Counselling Service in an Interprofessional Healthcare Setting

Genetic predisposition is one factor influencing interindividual drug response. Pharmacogenetic information can be used to guide the selection and dosing of certain drugs. However, the implementation of pharmacogenetics (PGx) in clinical practice remains challenging. Defining a formal structure, as well as concrete procedures and clearly defined responsibilities, may facilitate and increase the use of PGx in clinical practice. Over 140 patient cases from an observational study in Switzerland formed the basis for the design and refinement of a pharmacist-led pharmacogenetics testing and counselling service (PGx service) in an interprofessional setting. Herein, we defined a six-step approach, including: (1) patient referral; (2) pre-test-counselling; (3) PGx testing; (4) medication review; (5) counselling; (6) follow-up. The six-step approach supports the importance of an interprofessional collaboration and the role of pharmacists in PGx testing and counselling across healthcare settings.
Risk Factors for Mortality in Hospitalized Patients with Stenotrophomonas maltophilia Bacteremia

Objective Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (S. maltophilia) is an opportunistic and nosocomial pathogen with high mortality. And it has intrinsic resistance to a number of antibiotics classes. In this study, we investigated risk factors for death due to S. maltophilia bacteremia. Methods A retrospective cohort study was conducted at a tertiary-care hospital in Beijing, China. The patients from the hospital database with S. maltophilia bacteremia between January 2011 and December 2020 were investigated. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify factors associated with mortality. Results 51 patients with S. maltophilia bacteremia were identified. The mortality rate was 37.3%. Based on the univariate analysis, pulmonary disease (P=0.019), chronic kidney disease (P=0.014), shock (P=0.002), foley catheter (P=0.011), the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score (P<0.001), procalcitonin (PCT) (P=0.045) and using antifungal agent (P=0.033) were significantly related to mortality. Based on the multivariate analysis, the APACHE II score (odds ratio [OR] =1.211; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.061, 1.382; P=0.005) was independent factor associated with mortality. S. maltophilia was the most susceptible to minocycline (94.7%), followed by trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole (TMP/SMX, 92.2%). Conclusion Our findings suggested that the APACHE II score was a significantly independent predictor in S. maltophilia bacteremia patients. The use of TMP/SMX or minocycline might be the first choice for the treatment of S. maltophilia bacteremia.
Hydromulching Enhances the Growth of Artichoke (Cynara cardunculus var. scolymus) Plants Subjected to Drought Stress through Hormonal Regulation of Source–Sink Relationships

Mulching the soil with organic-based formulations (hydromulching) is a sustainable alternative to plastic mulching that is here hypothesized to maintain crop production under drought stress by hormonal and metabolic regulation of source–sink relationships. To test this hypothesis, artichoke plants were grown on non-mulched soil and on soil mulched with polyethylene and three different organic mixtures, and subjected to optimal and reduced irrigation regimes. Under drought stress, the growth parameters were higher in plants grown with the different mulching treatments compared to non-mulched plants, which was related to a higher photosynthetic rate and water-use efficiency. Importantly, mulching-associated growth improvement under stress was explained by higher sucrolytic activity in the leaves that was accompanied by a decline in the active cytokinins. Besides this, salicylic acid decreased in the leaves, and abscisic acid and the ethylene precursor 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid were impaired in the artichoke heads, which is associated with better regulation of photoassimilate partitioning. Taken together, these results help to explain the hydromulching-associated growth improvement of artichokes under water stress through the hormonal regulation of sucrose metabolism, which could be very useful in future breeding programs for drought tolerance.
Do Handwritten Notes Benefit Online Retailers? A Field Experiment

Despite the technological advances in online retailing, the human touch continues to be essential to relationships between retailers and customers. Although a handwritten note is proposed as a simple means to help establish a personal relationship, its economic significance and alignment with current practices have been insufficiently studied. In this article, the authors evaluate the benefits of a handwritten note for an online retailer and reveal the boundary conditions of its benefits. A randomized field experiment demonstrates that presenting a handwritten note has a positive and significant effect on customer spending. More importantly, the authors observe that an additional marketing incentive (i.e., giveaway, price discount) attenuates this beneficial effect. Further, the study shows that these two effects arise with loyal customers, but not with nonloyal customers. A follow-up experiment reveals that warmth underlies the key findings, lending support for the theoretical prediction. The article concludes with a general discussion that the authors hope will inspire future research on relationship management in online retailing.
Topology Optimization of Primary Support Members in Cargo Tank Region for Oil Tankers

To meet the needs of weight-light of ships, topology optimization for oil tankers has been proven to be more effective and promising. Nevertheless, due to its characteristics of topology optimization, massive restriction conditions and load-cases, long-time calculation and differences of the strain energy between different load-cases, there are still problems during this process. The objective of this article is to discuss topology optimization design of primary support members in cargo tank region for oil tankers. Here we select SIMP algorithm as the topology algorithm to achieve optimization design of the cargo tank structures. Main control parameters of topology optimization such as optimization subjects, optimization variables, design regions, restrictions, weight of load-cases and volume fractions are all in consideration. The modeling methods and analytical methods of topology optimization are expounded based on HCSR. According to the study, we conclude a detail topology optimization process of primary support members for oil tankers under complex constraints and complex forces. A case is given of an oil tanker with a single longitudinal bulkhead to explain the algorithm and achieve clear topology configuration.
Disaster Resilience Assessment of Building and Transportation System

ABSTRACT The paper presents a new methodology to assist decision-makers in the management of critical events such as earthquakes evaluating the recovery time, and the resilience index of a building system that is a component of the physical infrastructure dimension of the PEOPLES Resilience framework. The interdependencies between building system and transportation network in term of accessibility are modeled. Finally, the methodology has been implemented in a software and has been applied in two case studies: (a) the old medieval center of L’Aquila town and (b) the Treasure Island in the San Francisco Bay area.
Influence of road profiles and truck braking on the dynamic load transfer to the pavement

ABSTRACT During the braking manoeuvre of a vehicle on a pavement, the mechanics associated with load transfer is complex due to the presence of slip, load shift between the front and rear axles, and development of longitudinal forces. The road profiles, braking intensity, truck mass, and speed during braking play a critical role here. This investigation reports an attempt to collect such data. A unique Hardware-in-Loop set-up was integrated with vehicle dynamics software, TruckMaker, to perform a realistic braking manoeuvre. Three truck loadings were chosen from the axle load survey conducted in the field (unladen, laden, and overloaded). Three ISO road profiles (A, B, C) generated using the power spectral density approach, three initial speeds (30, 50, and 80 km/h), and three braking intensities (Partial (10%), Partial (45%), and Complete (100%)) were chosen for the simulation. In total 81 simulations were performed considering all the above-said factors. From the analysis of wheel slip values, it was identified that the wheels of unladen trucks lock during complete braking, irrespective of the speeds and road profiles. The complete braking manoeuvre for all vehicle types showed more load shift from the rear axle to the front axle compared to partial braking manoeuvres. Also, the unladen trucks were found to transfer more percentage (>50%) of their rear axle load to the front axle during braking. The maximum longitudinal force developed at the tyre-pavement interface was found to be independent of the loading conditions during complete braking.
Guiding marine protected area network design with comparative phylogeography and population genomics: An exemplary case from the Southern Ocean

Networks of connected marine protected areas (MPAn) are recognized as the key area‐based management tool to preserve biodiversity, moderate exploitation of marine resources and increase ecological resilience to climate change. Although population genetic studies could greatly benefit connectivity assessments between MPAs, genetic data are rarely used in MPAn planning. Here, we aim to illustrate the use of a multispecies and multilocus approach to provide recommendations for MPAn design, highlighting the importance of the species selected and the analyses performed. Our study is focused on the Southern Ocean, an area of keen multinational interest given its scientific significance, economic importance and its unique, shared legal status.
Physical Properties of Radio Stars Based on LAMOST Spectral Survey

Radio emission has been detected for all types of stars in the Hertzsprung Russell diagram. Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) low and medium-resolution spectroscopic surveys provide a good opportunity to obtain the spectroscopic properties of radio stars. We cross-matched big data from the LAMOST DR7 low resolution spectral survey with a catalogue of radio stars, and obtained 449 stellar spectra of 258 stars. We detected 185 spectra with Hα emission. There are a total of 108 objects with repeated low resolution spectral observations, of which 63 show variations in the Hα line over a long time, about several months. We cross-matched LAMOST DR7 medium resolution spectra with the radio star catalogue. We obtained 1319 LAMOST medium-resolution spectra of the 156 radio stars and then calculated their equivalent widths (EWs) of the Hα line. Among them, 93 radio stars with Hα emission were found from the LAMOST medium resolution spectra, and 63 objects showed short and long-term variabilities, especially on a short time scale of approximately 20 min. Finally, we estimated the minimal detectable radio flux of the FAST telescope and provided a scientific plan for studying radio stars.
Extraction of quasi-coherent modes based on reflectometry data

The identification of turbulence sources would drive to a deeper understanding of confinement dynamics in tokamak plasmas. Turbulence results from a mixture of instabilities corresponding to sources at different timescales and spatial scales. Using poloidal correlation reflectometry and multi-pin Langmuir probe, it was shown in the T-10 and the Tokamak Experiment for Technology Oriented Research (TEXTOR) tokamaks that the reflectometry frequency spectrum is the superposition of several components: broadband component, quasi-coherent (QC) modes and low-frequency components. The relevance of QC modes is associated with their link with the trapped electron mode instability. This link was exhibited in the transition from the linear ohmic confinement (LOC) to the saturated ohmic confinement (SOC) regime. A method is presented in this paper to extract the QC mode component from the reflectometry data, enabling its separation from the broadband component and the study of its time evolution. It is a first step toward the discrimination of turbulence sources. The central idea explores a way to combine the approach of signal processing and machine learning. The continuous wavelet transform on the basis of complex Morlet wavelet has proved to be efficient in providing a decomposition of a signal at different scales over time for fluctuation tackling; clustering techniques, such as the mini-batch K-means, are able to tackle clusters at different scales. The method was applied to Tore Supra and TEXTOR reflectometry data. In Tore Supra, the amplitude of the extracted QC mode component decreases during the LOC–SOC transition. In TEXTOR, the amplitude of the coherent spectra of the extracted QC mode component is similar to the experimental coherent spectra obtained through correlation reflectometry. The developed method permits the extraction of components, preserving their physical and statistical properties.
Factor investing: a unified view

ABSTRACT A unified view of factor investing is presented. By examining the levels of exposure to a set of factors collectively, we construct enhanced factor portfolios from conventional single-factor portfolios that substantially increase factor risk premia consistently for nearly five decades in the US equity data. Detailed comparison between these and multifactor portfolios is conducted, and we find that a form of the latter delivers superior return performance. In particular, we present the outperformance of the signal-blended multifactor portfolio for various return measures over all factor portfolios considered at a statistical significance level of 1%.
Iterative Fine Point-Set Matching of a Free-Form Surface Based on the Point-to-Sphere Distance

Three-dimensional point-set matching that aligns the moving point set with the fixed design model is an increasingly popular technique in manufacturing automation, which also increases the demand for matching performance. In this article, an iterative fine matching algorithm based on point-to-sphere distance is proposed to balance convergence accuracy, stability, and speed. By considering the neighborhood of a fixed point as a spherical surface, a point-to-sphere distance from a moving point to the design model is derived to improve the distance calculation accuracy with respect to unknown motion parameters. A point-to-sphere iterative closest point (ICP) matching method is presented, which translates the matching into a nonlinear optimization problem. Using the Newton method, a second-order Taylor expansion is applied to iteratively solve the motion parameters. Theoretical analysis verifies the advantages in convergence performance. It is proven that the proposed method can show faster convergence speed than point-to-point ICP and better convergence stability than point-to-plane ICP in large initial poses. Experiments implementing five models verify the feasibility of the point-to-sphere distance and the corresponding matching method.
Effective Elasticity Tensor of Fiber-Reinforced Orthorhombic Composite Materials with Fiber Distribution Parallel to Plane

An orthogonal composite material Ω with fibers consists of a matrix and orthothombic distribution fibers. In addition to the matrix properties, the fiber properties and the fiber volume fraction, the effective (macroscopic) elastic stress–strain constitutive relation of Ω is related to the fiber direction distribution. Until now, there have been few papers that give an explicit formula of the macroscopic elastic stress–strain constitutive relation of Ω with the effect of the fiber direction distribution. Taking the expanded coefficients of the Fourier series as the fiber direction distribution coefficients, we give a formula of the fiber direction distribution parallel to a plane computed through the fiber directions. By the self-consistent estimates, we derive an explicit formula of the macroscopic elastic stress–strain constitutive relation of Ω with the fiber direction distribution coefficients. Since all tensors are represented in Kelvin notation, the macroscopic elastic stress–strain constitutive relation of Ω can be derived and computed only by matrix manipulations. To check the explicit formula, we use the FEM computation to obtain the macroscopic elastic stress–strain relation of Ω for three examples. The computational results of the explicit formula for the three examples are consistent with those of the FEM simulations.
Investigations Concerning the Influence of Sleep Disorders on Postural Stability in Young Men

Lack of sleep is a factor that disrupts the receptors’ reception of information from the environment and contributes to the emergence of problems with maintaining balance. The main aim of the study was to determine whether sleep disorders affect postural stability in young men. The study participants were 76 male students who were divided into groups with good and poor sleep quality. The division was made based on the results obtained from the questionnaire of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). In each group, postural stability had been tested using three main tests: Sensory Organization Test (SOT); Motor Control Test (MCT); and Adaptation Test (ADT). The results of the analysis show that the obtained results differ in the examined groups under the SOT test. Different values of the tested parameters were noted among people with poor sleep quality and compared with the values of those who sleep well, which translates into a difference in the ability to maintain balance. The greatest impact is observed when using visual and a vestibular system to maintain a stable posture. It was confirmed that the lack of sleep significantly disturbs postural stability.
Biocompatible circuit-breaker chip for temperature regulation of electrothermally driven smart implants

This paper presents a thermoresponsive micro circuit breaker for biomedical applications specifically targeted at implantable microsystems. The circuit breaker is micromachined to have a shape-memory-alloy cantilever actuator as a normally closed temperature-sensitive switch to protect the device of interest from overheating, a critical safety feature for smart implants including those that are electrothermally driven. The micro breaker is constructed using biocompatible materials in a form of 1.5×2.0×0.46 mm3 Ti-packaged chip and exhibits a cold-state resistance of 14 Ω. The chip functionality is tested in combination with a wireless resonant heater powered by radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation, demonstrating self-regulation of heater temperature. The developed breaker chip operates in a fully passive manner, contributing to the miniaturization of smart implants in which thermal management is essential.
Generalized Multicarrier PWM Technique for Two-Level Voltage Source Inverters

Two-level voltage source inverters are the mainstream solution for many power applications. The conventional modulation method of such inverters is the single-carrier pulsewidth modulation (PWM) technique. In this article, the usage of a generalized PWM method with three independent carriers is analyzed. The carrier phase-displacement angles are evaluated in order to reduce the common-mode voltage (CMV) total harmonic distortion (THD), the dc-link capacitor current THD, and the phase currents THD. These targets are difficult to be met at the same time and a cost function is deployed in order to look for a suitable solution that develops a tradeoff between all the targets. The proposed method has been tested in a laboratory prototype demonstrating its superior performance.
EVALUATION OF PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES AND P SORPTION CHARACTERISTICS OF SOIL WITH DIFFERENT LAND USE IN TIGONI, KIAMBU COUNTY, CENTRAL KENYA

<p><strong>Background: </strong>Phosphorous is a limiting crop nutrient in highly weathered tropical soils due to fixation, and its availability for plants’ uptake is influenced by soil physico-chemical characterics, land use type and management practices. <strong> </strong> <strong>Objective:</strong> To evaluate the relationship between selected physico-chemical properties and phosphorous sorption characteristics of a humic nitisol (Alfisol) from Tigoni, Kiambu County, central Kenya. <strong>Methodology:</strong> The soil was sampled from the same area with different land uses that include tea plantation, maize field and natural forest at 0-25, 25-50 and 50-75 cm depths. P solution at the rates of 50, 100, 150, 200 mg P L<sup>−1</sup> in a 24 h contact time were used in the study for maximum sorption. The data was analysed by simple regression and Pearson correlation analysis. <strong>Results:</strong> The adsorption data was fitted more to Langmuir model (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.9100-0.9994) compared to Freundlich (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.6815-0.9971). The values of P sorption maxima ( ) determined by Langmuir model ranged from 3,333-5,000 mg kg<sup>-1</sup> and bonding energies ( ) ranged from 0.2308-1.5385 L mg<sup>-1</sup>. The buffering capacity of soil ranged from 769-5000 L kg<sup>-1</sup> and the external P requirement at 0.2 mg kg<sup>-1</sup> ( ranged from 147-1176 mg P kg<sup>-1</sup> both increasing with soil depth. P sorption maxima were negatively and significantly correlated with organic carbon (r<sup>2</sup> = -0.700*) and Ca<sup>2+</sup> (r<sup>2</sup> = -0.703*) contents. The pH of soil and clay content were negatively correlated with adsorption parameters ( ) while Al content was positively correlated though none of them was statistically significant. <strong>Implication</strong>: The data revealed a highly P-sorbing soil particularly<strong> </strong>tea plantation, a situation that can be alleviated by management practices such as liming and enhancing soil organic matter content. Field experiments are however, recommended to validate the findings of this study. <strong>Conclusion:</strong> Land use type influences P-sorption capacity of soil hence, fertilizer recommendations should be based on soil physico-chemical characteristics besides crop nutrient requirements. </p>