Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Moderating factors influencing adoption of a mobile chronic disease management system in China

ABSTRACT Mobile chronic disease management systems (MCDMS) have become increasingly important in recent years, but in China, challenges remain for their adoption. Existing empirical studies have not completely explored the adoption behavior of potential MCDMS users. This article presents a study in which we investigated factors that influence chronically ill patients in China and their families to adopt or decline to use MCDMS. We applied a research model based on the technology acceptance model (TAM) as well as four contextual constructs (perceived disease threat, perceived risk, initial trust, and technology anxiety) to a survey of 279 potential MCDMS service participants in China. Our key findings include: (1) as consistent with current research, both perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use have positive impact on potential users’ MCDMS adoption intention; (2) both perceived disease threat and initial trust have positive impact on MCDMS adoption intention; (3) the impact of perceived risk is negative, and technology anxiety has negative impact on perceived ease of use of MCDMS; (4) young people place more importance on their perceptions of usefulness, ease of operation, and disease threat than middle-aged and older users; (5) family members are more influenced by their perception of ease of use and disease threat than chronically ill patients, while chronically ill patients place more importance on perceived usefulness than family members. This article concludes by discussing the implications of our study for research and practice, as well as limitations and future research directions.
Separation and Characterization of Pollutant-Degrading Microbes Separated from Surface Seawater

Microbes capable of degrading pollutant such as 1,4-dioxane were selected from the seawater samples of four coastal areas of Okinawa located in the most southern islands of Japan using the developed method and a seawater-charcoal perfusion apparatus. Specifically, aerobic culture in the apparatus led to the selection of candidate 1,4-dioxane degraders. Among these, strain RM-31 and KY-3 exhibited the strongest 1,4-dioxane degradation ability. 16S rDNA sequencing and the similarity analysis of strain RM-31 and KY-3 suggested that this organism was most closely related to Pseudonocardia carboxydivorans and Rhodococcus erythropolis respectively. These species are similar to Pseudonocardia and Rhodococcus spp. which has previously been reported as a 1,4-dioxane degrader. However, it was probably first bacteria from the seawater that can exert a strong degrading ability. The biodegradation rate of 1,4-dioxane by these strains at 25°C in broth medium with 3% NaCl was almost 20% faster than that without NaCl. PCR amplification test indicated that isolated strains had the SDIMO (soluble di-iron monooxygenase) ɑ-subunit gene.
Isolation and characterization of 12 microsatellite loci for cross‐species amplification in the cyprinid gudgeons Squalidus chankaensis and S. japonicus

Twelve dinucleotide markers were successfully isolated and characterized from a microsatellite‐enriched genomic library obtained for the gudgeon Squalidus chankaensis biwae. These markers were also available for the congeners S. c. tsuchigae and S. japonicus from Japan, which had five to 46 alleles and an expected heterozygosity ranging from zero to 0.946. Linkage equilibrium was observed at all loci, and most loci did not show significant deviation from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. The isolated microsatellite markers will be useful for genetic diversity studies of Squalidus populations.
Tuning and Focusing of Terahertz Radiation by DC Magnetic Field in a Laser Beating Process

The role of an external DC magnetic held in tuning the frequency and power of terahertz (THz) radiation and obtaining focused radiation is clarified in a beating process using two spatial-triangular lasers, where a nonlinear ponderomotive force acting on the electrons provides oscillating current in longitudinal and transverse directions. The transient transverse current oscillating at the beating frequency produces THz radiations in extraordinary mode, when the beating frequency of lasers matches the upper hybrid frequency for the resonant excitation. Based on the maximum momentum transfer with the application of density ripples, this scheme is realized with high efficiency (>;0.01), where the radiation may attain >;107 V/cm held amplitude. This held can be further enhanced using higher amplitudes of density ripples and lasers fields. The consequences of any deviation from the triangular profile of lasers are also discussed by comparing the results with rounded triangular shape lasers.
Polar front shift and atmospheric CO2 during the glacial maximum of the Early Paleozoic Icehouse

Our new data address the paradox of Late Ordovician glaciation under supposedly high pCO2 (8 to 22× PAL: preindustrial atmospheric level). The paleobiogeographical distribution of chitinozoan (“mixed layer”) marine zooplankton biotopes for the Hirnantian glacial maximum (440 Ma) are reconstructed and compared to those from the Sandbian (460 Ma): They demonstrate a steeper latitudinal temperature gradient and an equatorwards shift of the Polar Front through time from 55°–70° S to ∼40° S. These changes are comparable to those during Pleistocene interglacial-glacial cycles. In comparison with the Pleistocene, we hypothesize a significant decline in mean global temperature from the Sandbian to Hirnantian, proportional with a fall in pCO2 from a modeled Sandbian level of ∼8× PAL to ∼5× PAL during the Hirnantian. Our data suggest that a compression of midlatitudinal biotopes and ecospace in response to the developing glaciation was a likely cause of the end-Ordovician mass extinction.
Soft-landing isolation of Multidecker V2(benzene)3 complexes in an organic monolayer matrix: an infrared spectroscopy and thermal desorption study.

Gas-phase synthesized multidecker V2(benzene)3 sandwich complexes were soft-landed onto a self-assembled monolayer of an n-octadecanethiol (C18-SAM). The infrared absorption spectrum of this complex supported on the C18-SAM was obtained by infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRAS). The vibrational assignment of the IRAS spectrum for the V2(benzene)3 sandwich was based on a harmonic frequency analysis that employed density functional theory. The close similarity between the experimental and calculated results for the IR absorption frequencies demonstrates that the V2(benzene)3 complexes have a multidecker sandwich structure on the SAM substrate. Moreover, our thermal desorption study established that the sandwich complexes can be isolated on the SAM substrate up to a high temperature of ∼350 K.
Development of measurement system of three-dimensional shape and surface reflectance

We describe a three-dimensional measurement system which can acquire not only three-dimensional shapes of target objects but also these surface reflectance parameters. The system is constructed by one or some digital cameras, digital projector, and a computer which controls cameras and projectors. For 3-D geometrical reconstruction, we use well known gray code structured light method. The method projects gray code light patterns from the projector and obtain illuminated scenes by cameras. We add additional light patterns for surface reflectance measurement. These patterns are all white and gray light pattern. To recover complete shape of the target object, the object is measured from various viewpoints repeatedly, or measured repeatedly from fixed viewpoint while be moving by hand or turn table. To end the measurement, relative positions of each obtained range data are calculated by ICP algorithm. For each small region of the target object surface, we calculate reflectance parameters from surface normals, viewpoint (camera viewpoint), and light position (the projector viewpoint). Enough sampling of these three information sources are obtained for each small surface, we estimate reflectance parameters for each surface points. We demonstrate this geometrical and reflectance measurement method by experiments for fewer objects.
Development of low salt restructured chicken nugget by response surface methodology and its quality evaluation.

Central composite design of Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was used to study the effect of sodium chloride; NaCl (0.5-1%) and salt replacer potassium chloride KCl (0.5-1%) in combination with whey protein concentrate (0.5-1.5%) and black gram flour (2-4%) on the overall acceptability, saltiness and instrumental hardness of low salt restructured chicken nuggets. Reduction of NaCl content to 0.75% in the product with the addition of 0.70% KCl, 1.18% whey protein and 2.5% black gram flour showed a desirability of 97%. The physicochemical, sensory and textural properties as well as stability at refrigerated temperature (4±1oC) of low salt nuggets developed with optimized levels of the four factors were compared with control nuggets containing 1.5 % NaCl. Although the keeping quality of low salt nuggets was lower than control, a shelf life of at least 25 days was achieved under refrigerated condition.
Structural and biophysical characterisation of the interaction between OpcA from Neisseria meningitidis and the actin-binding domain of human ?-actinin

The outer membrane protein OpcA is a ten-stranded transmembrane protein that facilitates adhesion and invasion of Neisseria meningitidis into human epithelial and endothelial cells. Recently, the human cytoskeletal protein ? -actinin was identified as a target of OpcA, and this interaction was shown to take place within the host cytoplasm after bacterial invasion. We have developed and optimised OpcA refolding and purification methods in order to improve solubility and prevent aggregation, and have investigated binding between OpcA and the actin-binding domain of ? -actinin isoform 4 (hAct-4) using structural and biophysical techniques. Using NMR chemical shift perturbation, we have demonstrated that the two proteins bind directly to each other in vitro. Binding was also confirmed by surface plasmon resonance, which provided binding affinity and kinetics constants of this interaction. The OpcA/hAct-4 complex was crystallised, yielding crystals that diffracted to a resolution limit of 3.9�, which SDS-PAGE analysis indicated were composed of both proteins at approximately equal concentrations. Our work has not only provided evidence at the structural level that this interaction occurs directly, but has also developed a method of solubilising OpcA into a mixed detergent micelle, enabling production of high quality NMR spectra.
The Influence of Risk-Taking on Bank Efficiency: Evidence from Colombia

This paper presents a stochastic frontier model with random inefficiency parameters which captures the influence of risk-taking on bank efficiency and distinguishes the effects among banks with different characteristics. The model is fitted to a 10-year sample of Colombian banks. Cost and profit efficiency are found to be over and underestimated, respectively, when risk measures are omitted or are not accurately modelled. Moreover, the magnitudes at which similar levels of risk affect bank efficiency vary with size and affiliation. In particular, domestic and small Colombian banks benefit more from being highly capitalised, while large and foreign banks benefit from higher exposure to credit and market risk. Holding more liquid assets is found to affect efficiency only at domestic banks. Lastly, we identify some channels that can explain these differences and provide insights for prudential regulation.
Endocarditis Due to a New Rod-Shaped Neisseria sp

ABSTRACT We report the first case of pacemaker endocarditis due to a new rod-shaped Neisseria sp. isolated from blood culture. On the basis of rrs sequencing, the isolate was found to be most closely related to an uncultured organism from human subgingival plaque and was identified as Neisseria sp. group AK105. A cure was achieved after a combination of surgical and antibiotic treatment. Oral flora-induced pacemaker endocarditis is a rare condition that reinforces the need for good oral hygiene as an important preventive measure.
Genetic Encoding of Caged Cysteine and Caged Homocysteine in Bacterial and Mammalian Cells

We report the genetic incorporation of caged cysteine and caged homocysteine into proteins in bacterial and mammalian cells. The genetic code of these cells was expanded with an engineered pyrrolysine tRNA/tRNA synthetase pair that accepts both light‐activatable amino acids as substrates. Incorporation was validated by reporter assays, western blots, and mass spectrometry, and differences in incorporation efficiency were explained by molecular modeling of synthetase–amino acid interactions. As a proof‐of‐principle application, the genetic replacement of an active‐site cysteine residue with a caged cysteine residue in Renilla luciferase led to a complete loss of enzyme activity; however, upon brief exposure to UV light, a >150‐fold increase in enzymatic activity was observed, thus showcasing the applicability of the caged cysteine in live human cells. A simultaneously conducted genetic replacement with homocysteine yielded an enzyme with greatly reduced activity, thereby demonstrating the precise probing of a protein active site. These discoveries provide a new tool for the optochemical control of protein function in mammalian cells and expand the set of genetically encoded unnatural amino acids.
Acute Otitis Media: One Year in General Pediatric Practice

• Diagnosis and treatment of otitis media (OM) occupied approximately one third of a pediatrician's time between October 1978 and October 1979. Of 4,602 office visits for sickness, 18% involved a diagnosis of acute OM, and an additional 14% were for follow-up of OM. Incidence was highest in March and lowest in July-August. The 830 episodes involved 677 children aged 1 week to 17 years: 40% were 24 months old or younger, and 12% were 60 months old or older. Pain and querulousness were absent In 24% of those brought in for mild upper respiratory tract infection, and fever (38.2°C or higher) was absent in 75% of the study group. Of 650 children who returned ten days later for reevaluation, 50% had otoscopic or tympanometric signs of OM with effusion. ( Am J Dis Child 1983;137:155-158)
Modelling Perception of Speed in Music Audio

One of the major parameters in music is the overall speed of a musical performance. Speed is often associated with tempo, but other factors such as note density (onsets per second) seem to be important as well. In this study, a computational model of speed in music audio has been developed using a custom set of rhythmic features. The original audio is first separated into a harmonic part and a percussive part and onsets are extracted separately from the different layers. The characteristics of each onset are determined based on frequency content as well as perceptual salience using a clustering approach. Using these separated onsets a set of eight features including a tempo estimation are defined which are specifically designed for modelling perceived speed. In a previous study 20 listeners rated the speed of 100 ringtones consisting mainly of popular songs, which had been converted from MIDI to audio. The ratings were used in linear regression and PLS regression in order to evaluate the validity of the model as well as to find appropriate features. The computed audio features were able to explain about 90 % of the variability in listener ratings.
Increased albumin and fibrinogen synthesis rate in patients with chronic renal failure.

BACKGROUND Hypoalbuminemia and hyperfibrinogenemia are frequently observed in patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) and are both associated with cardiovascular diseases. The mechanisms responsible for hypoalbuminemia and hyperfibrinogenemia in CRF are unknown. METHODS In the present study, both albumin and fibrinogen kinetics were measured in vivo in predialysis patients (N = 6), patients on peritoneal dialysis (N = 7) and control subjects (N = 8) using l-[1-13C]-valine. RESULTS Plasma albumin concentration was significantly lower in patients on peritoneal dialysis compared to control subjects (P < 0.05). Plasma fibrinogen was significantly increased in both predialysis patients (P < 0.01) as well as patients on peritoneal dialysis (P < 0.001) in comparison to control subjects. In contrast to albumin, fibrinogen is only lost in peritoneal dialysate and not in urine. The absolute synthesis rates (ASR) of albumin and fibrinogen were increased in patients on peritoneal dialysis (ASR albumin, 125 +/- 9 mg/kg/day versus 93 +/- 9 mg/kg/day, P < 0.05; ASR fibrinogen, 45 +/- 4 mg/kg/day versus 29 +/- 3 mg/kg/day, P < 0.01) compared to control subjects. Albumin synthesis is strongly correlated with fibrinogen synthesis (r2 = 0.665, P < 0.0001, N = 21). In this study, the observed hypoalbuminemia in patients on peritoneal dialysis is likely not explained by malnutrition, inadequate dialysis, inflammation, metabolic acidosis, or insulin resistance. We speculate that peritoneal albumin loss is of relevance. CONCLUSION Synthesis rate of albumin and fibrinogen are coordinately up-regulated. Both albumin and fibrinogen are lost in peritoneal dialysis fluid. To compensate protein loss, albumin synthesis is up-regulated, but the response, in contrast to predialysis patients, does not fully correct plasma albumin concentrations in peritoneal dialysis patients. The increase in fibrinogen synthesis introduces an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis, since plasma fibrinogen pool is enlarged.
Dual Run-time Environments for Dual Data Memory Bank Architecture

Most vendors of digital signal processors (DSPs) support a Harvard architecture, which has two or more memory buses, one for program and one or more for data and allow the processor to access multiple words of data from memory in a single instruction cycle. We already addressed how to efficiently assign data to multi-memory banks in our previous work. This paper reports on our recent attempt to manipulate dual run-time environment. The run-time environment for dual data memory banks requires two run-time stacks to control activation records located in two memory banks corresponding to calling procedures. Unfortunately, several existing compilers use only single stack or fully static dual run-time stack. The former cannot utilize dual data memory banks, and the latter waste run-time memory. Therefore, we provide dual run-time environment based on stacks in this paper. The experimental results have revealed that our run-time environment utilize dual data memory banks efficiently and diminished usage of run-time memory
Atomistic Investigation of Low-Field Mobility in Graphene Nanoribbons

We have investigated the main scattering mechanisms affecting the mobility in graphene nanoribbons using detailed atomistic simulations. We have considered carrier scattering due to acoustic and optical phonons, edge roughness, single defects, and ionized impurities, and we have defined a methodology based on simulations of statistically meaningful ensembles of nanoribbon segments. Edge disorder heavily affects the mobility at room temperature in narrower nanoribbons, whereas charged impurities and phonons are hardly the limiting factors. Results are favorably compared with the few experiments available in the literature.
A continuous-time ΣΔ modulator with noise shaped blocker filtering for universal mobile TV receiver

A low-voltage 5th-order continuous-time ΣΔ modulator for a universal mobile TV receiver is presented. A unique feature of the proposed modulator is the blocker filtering provided using a 3rd order notch filter employing frequency dependent negative resistance (FDNR). The noise added by the FDNR is shaped. The modulator employs 3-level switched-capacitor DAC in the feedback. It has been implemented in 6 5nm CMOS process and occupies an area of 0.26mm2. It consumes 6mA from a single 1.2V supply at a sampling frequency of 146MS/s while providing 70dB of dynamic range in 3.85MHz bandwidth.
Depth image based analysis of facial expressions and head orientation

In this paper, we propose a method of spatial and time-series analysis of facial expressions using a real-time depth image, particularly for the measurement of head orientation and for the dynamic analysis of facial expression. The method is based on an evaluation of the 3-dimensional shape of the face and is able to assess facial expressions, independent of the orientation of the head. It aims to extract psychological and physiological features from the physical features of the face's shape. This research focuses on the characteristics of transitions detected during changes of facial expression, particularly using dynamical spatial and time-series analysis. This paper describes the development of the sensing system, the experimental results of head orientation measurements, and the results of facial expression analysis.
The measurement and management of service quality in dental healthcare

This paper reports the findings of a research study designed to manage and measure service quality in dental healthcare. Two large dental practices located in a major UK city were chosen for the research, and 300 patients from each of the two surgeries participated in the study. The findings provide insights into the appropriateness of the SERVQUAL framework (Parasuraman et al., 1988) as a tool for measuring service quality in the context of two distinct dental healthcare practices, one public and one private. The findings suggest that 'price' and 'experience' are two variables that may have an influence on service quality perceptions, when measured by customers. From the data, it was possible to identify service quality gaps where improvements could be made, and where resources could be re-allocated to obtain more optimum results in terms of enhancing service. In summary, the findings provide support for the SERVQUAL framework as a management tool for both measuring service quality and highlighting areas where improvements could be made within a dental healthcare environment.
The binding energetics of first- and second-generation HIV-1 protease inhibitors: implications for drug design.

KNI-764 is a powerful HIV-1 protease inhibitor with a reported low susceptibility to the effects of protease mutations commonly associated with drug resistance. In this paper the binding thermodynamics of KNI-764 to the wild-type and drug-resistant mutant V82F/I84V are presented and the results compared to those obtained with existing clinical inhibitors. KNI-764 binds to the wild-type HIV-1 protease with very high affinity (3.1 x 10(10) M(-1) or 32 pM) in a process strongly favored by both enthalpic and entropic contributions to the Gibbs energy of binding (Delta G = -RTlnK(a)). When compared to existing clinical inhibitors, the binding affinity of KNI-764 is about 100 fold higher than that of indinavir, saquinavir, and nelfinavir, but comparable to that of ritonavir. Unlike the existing clinical inhibitors, which bind to the protease with unfavorable or only slightly favorable enthalpy changes, the binding of KNI-764 is strongly exothermic (-7.6 kcal/mol). The resistant mutation V82F/I84V lowers the binding affinity of KNI-764 26-fold, which can be accounted almost entirely by a less favorable binding enthalpy to the mutant. Since KNI-764 binds to the wild type with extremely high affinity, even after a 26-fold decrease, it still binds to the resistant mutant with an affinity comparable to that of other inhibitors against the wild type. These results indicate that the effectiveness of this inhibitor against the resistant mutant is related to two factors: extremely high affinity against the wild type achieved by combining favorable enthalpic and entropic interactions, and a mild effect of the protease mutation due to the presence of flexible structural elements at critical locations in the inhibitor molecule. The conclusions derived from the HIV-1 protease provide important thermodynamic guidelines that can be implemented in general drug design strategies.