Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dual-Mode Dual-Band Bandpass Filter Based on a Stub-Loaded Patch Resonator

This letter presents a dual-mode dual-band bandpass filter using a patch resonator with a cross slot and two different groups of stubs loaded. The cross slot with different orthogonal lengths excites orthogonal modes in the passbands and reduces the patch size. Meanwhile, the two sets of stubs can modify the filter's input impedance at different frequencies and control the even and odd modes in the passbands, respectively. Utilizing these two kinds of elements, transmission poles can be realized easily in both passbands. For demonstration, a dual-band patch resonator filter working at 2.4 and 5.2 GHz is designed. The theoretical analysis is given and the simulated and measured results are presented. The good agreement verifies the proposed method.
Malignancy‐associated haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis in children and adolescents

Haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) in the context of malignancy is mainly considered a challenge of adult haematology. While this association is also observed in children, little is known regarding inciting factors, appropriate treatment and prognosis. We retrospectively analysed 29 paediatric and adolescent patients for presenting features, type of neoplasm or preceding chemotherapy, treatment and outcome. Haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis was considered triggered by the malignancy (M‐HLH) in 21 patients, most of whom had T‐ (n = 12) or B‐cell neoplasms (n = 7), with Epstein–Barr virus as a co‐trigger in five patients. In eight patients, HLH occurred during chemotherapy (Ch‐HLH) for malignancy, mainly acute leukaemias (n = 7); an infectious trigger was found in seven. In M‐ and Ch‐HLH, median overall survival was 1·2 and 0·9 years, and the 6 month survival rates were 67% and 63%, respectively. Seven of 11 deceased M‐HLH patients exhibited active malignancy and HLH at the time of death, while only two out of five deceased Ch‐HLH patients had evidence of active HLH. To overcome HLH, malignancy‐ and HLH‐directed treatments were administered in the M‐HLH cohort; however, it was not possible to determine superiority of one approach over the other. For Ch‐HLH, treatment ranged from postponement of chemotherapy to the use of etoposide‐containing regimens.
ANTIOXIDANT, ANTI-INFLAMMATORY, ANTIMICROBIAL AND CYTOTOXIC PROPERTIES OF FUNGAL ENDOPHYTES FROM GARCINIA SPECIES

Objective: Fungal endophytes of medicinal plants occupy a unique habitat, highly diverse and are important sources of natural metabolites of pharmaceutical importance. Methods: The endophytes isolated from four species of Garcinia were subjected to fermentation in still culture and extracted using ethyl acetate. The crude extracts were screened for the biological activity through the assays such as antioxidant activity, 15-lipoxygenase/ human cyclooxygenase-2 inhibition, cytotoxicity, DNA nicking assay and antimicrobial activity. Results: Aspergillus fumigatus and Fusarium sp. were most promising amongst the endophytes screened from Garcinia spp. The HPLC and MS profiling of Aspergillus fumigatus anticipated the presence of the compound phloroglucinol, which could be involved in the biological activities of this extract. Conclusion: The results indicate that some of these endophytes isolated from Garcinia plants are a potential source for bioactives and could be further exploited to foster the identity of the novel molecule.
Combined Tantalum Implant with Bone Grafting for the Treatment of Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head

ABSTRACT Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the short-term clinical outcome of using a tantalum implant in combination with bone grafting for the treatment of osteonecrosis of the femoral head. Methods: Sixty-nine patients with 94 osteonecrotic hips were treated with this method from March 2006 to March 2011. All the patients were treated with tantalum rod implantation in combination with bone grafting, and were followed for an average 35.4 months. Harris hip score and the survival rate were analyzed according to stage, etiology, and osteonecrosis part. Results: Patients with stage I and stage II diseases had significant greater Harris hip score improvement than patients having stage III disease (p < .05). The survival rate was also significantly higher in patients with stage I and stage II diseases than in patients having stage III disease (p < .05). Patients with type A and type B necrotic lesions had better recovery than patients with type C1 and type C2 having lateral column lesions (p < .05). No significant differences were detected in the clinical outcome among patients with different etiologies. Conclusion: Combined tantalum implant with bone grafting provided good short-term clinical outcomes for early stage I and stage II patients with type A and type B necrotic lesions. However, this treatment modality was not so effective for patients with stage III or type C1 and type C2 necrotic lesions.
Microbial growth dynamics and human disease

Examining microbial genome replication in tissues may reflect health status [Also see Report by Korem et al.] How do human-associated microbial communities contribute to health and disease? To answer this, scientists have been exploring changes in the gut microbiota between individuals, and even across generations and continents (1, 2). Large genome sequence data sets are producing tally sheets of bacteria in time and space throughout disease courses (3, 4). One challenge has been to determine the metabolic state of these microbial communities to identify bacteria that are responding to a perturbation and/or driving disease pathogenesis (5, 6). On page 1101 of this issue, Korem et al. (7) explore metagenomic DNA sequence data sets to estimate growth rates (metabolic states) of bacterial taxa in a microbial community.
Health benefits, costs, and cost-effectiveness of earlier eligibility for adult antiretroviral therapy and expanded treatment coverage: a combined analysis of 12 mathematical models.

BACKGROUND New WHO guidelines recommend ART initiation for HIV-positive persons with CD4 cell counts ≤500 cells/µL, a higher threshold than was previously recommended. Country decision makers must consider whether to further expand ART eligibility accordingly. METHODS We used multiple independent mathematical models in four settings-South Africa, Zambia, India, and Vietnam-to evaluate the potential health impact, costs, and cost-effectiveness of different adult ART eligibility criteria under scenarios of current and expanded treatment coverage, with results projected over 20 years. Analyses considered extending eligibility to include individuals with CD4 ≤500 cells/µL or all HIV-positive adults, compared to the previous recommendation of initiation with CD4 ≤350 cells/µL. We assessed costs from a health system perspective, and calculated the incremental cost per DALY averted ($/DALY) to compare competing strategies. Strategies were considered 'very cost-effective' if the $/DALY was less than the country's per capita gross domestic product (GDP; South Africa: $8040, Zambia: $1425, India: $1489, Vietnam: $1407) and 'cost-effective' if $/DALY was less than three times per capita GDP. FINDINGS In South Africa, the cost per DALY averted of extending ART eligibility to CD4 ≤500 cells/µL ranged from $237 to $1691/DALY compared to 2010 guidelines; in Zambia, expanded eligibility ranged from improving health outcomes while reducing costs (i.e. dominating current guidelines) to $749/DALY. Results were similar in scenarios with substantially expanded treatment access and for expanding eligibility to all HIV-positive adults. Expanding treatment coverage in the general population was therefore found to be cost-effective. In India, eligibility for all HIV-positive persons ranged from $131 to $241/DALY and in Vietnam eligibility for CD4 ≤500 cells/µL cost $290/DALY. In concentrated epidemics, expanded access among key populations was also cost-effective. INTERPRETATION Earlier ART eligibility is estimated to be very cost-effective in low- and middle-income settings, although these questions should be revisited as further information becomes available. Scaling-up ART should be considered among other high-priority health interventions competing for health budgets. FUNDING The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and World Health Organization.
Synthesis and antiviral activity evaluation of some new aminoadamantane derivatives. 2.

The synthesis of some new aminoadamantane derivatives is described. The new compounds were evaluated against a wide range of viruses [influenza A H1N1, influenza A H2N2, influenza A H3N2, influenza B, parainfluenza 3, herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2), thymidine kinase-deficient (TK-) HSV-1, vaccinia, vesicular stomatitis, polio 1, Coxsackie B4, Sindbis, Semliki forest, Reo 1, varicella-zoster virus (VZV), TK- VZV, human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), and human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and type 2 (HIV-2)]. Some of them proved markedly active against the influenza A H2N2 (compounds 4a,b, 5a, 6a, and 7a), H3N2 (compounds 5a, 6a, and 7a), and H1N1 (compounds 4b,c and 6d). Since compounds 5a, 6a, and 7a, amantadine, and rimantadine showed the same comparative pattern of potency against influenza strains H2N2, H3N2, and B, it may postulated that they act according to a similar mechanism, with regard to their “amine” effect, on the M2 ion channel of influenza A (H1N1, H2N2, or H3N2).
Impacts of Efficacy and Exemplification in an Online Message About Weight Loss on Weight Management Self-Efficacy, Satisfaction, and Personal Importance

Health information search is among the most popular Internet activities, requiring health campaigns to attract attention in a context of unprecedented competition with alternative content. The present study reconstructs a similar context that allows selective avoidance and exposure in order to examine which health message characteristics foster particular message impacts. Drawing on social cognitive theory, a 3-session study examined short-term and delayed impacts of efficacy and exemplification as characteristics of a weight loss online message, offered for selective reading among other content, on weight management self-efficacy, satisfaction, and personal importance. Short-term impacts and impacts 2 weeks after exposure reflect that the high-efficacy exemplar version increased self-efficacy and satisfaction, while the high-efficacy base-rate version lowered them. However, the exemplar and base-rate versions of the low-efficacy message increased importance of body weight management.
“It's been quite a challenge”: Redesigning end-of-life care in acute hospitals

Abstract Objective: This paper reports the findings of an interview-based study undertaken to investigate the introduction of end-of-life (EoL) care pathways in three acute trusts, as part of a larger project examining service redesign. The aim was to examine the barriers to and facilitators of change. Method: Twenty-one in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with staff working in three National Health Service (NHS) acute hospital trusts. These staff members were involved in end-of-life care, and their accounts were analyzed to identify the key issues when introducing service changes in these settings. Results: Thematic analysis revealed five major themes—two of which, leadership and facilitation, and education and training, indicate what needs to be in place if end-of-life care pathways are to be adopted by staff. However, the remaining three themes of difficult conversations, diagnosing dying, and communication across boundaries highlight particular areas of practice and organization that need to be addressed before end-of-life care in hospitals can be improved. Significance of results: Organization of end-of-life care in acute hospitals is challenging, and care pathways provide a degree of guidance as to how services can be delivered. However, even when there is effective leadership at all levels of an organization and an extensive program of education for all staff support the use of care pathways, significant barriers to their introduction remain. These include staff anxieties concerning diagnosing dying and discussing dying and end-of-life care planning with patients and their families. It is hoped these findings can inform the development of the proposed new care plans which are set to replace end of life care pathways in England.
Doubly Random Parallel Stochastic Algorithms for Large Scale Learning

We consider learning problems over training sets in which both, the number of training examples and the dimension of the feature vectors, are large. To solve these problems we propose the random parallel stochastic algorithm (RAPSA). We call the algorithm random parallel because it utilizes multiple processors to operate in a randomly chosen subset of blocks of the feature vector. We call the algorithm parallel stochastic because processors choose elements of the training set randomly and independently. Algorithms that are parallel in either of these dimensions exist, but RAPSA is the first attempt at a methodology that is parallel in both, the selection of blocks and the selection of elements of the training set. In RAPSA, processors utilize the randomly chosen functions to compute the stochastic gradient component associated with a randomly chosen block. The technical contribution of this paper is to show that this minimally coordinated algorithm converges to the optimal classifier when the training objective is convex. In particular, we show that: (i) When using decreasing stepsizes, RAPSA converges almost surely over the random choice of blocks and functions. (ii) When using constant stepsizes, convergence is to a neighborhood of optimality with a rate that is linear in expectation. Acelerated (A)RAPSA is further proposed by leveraging ideas of stochastic quasi-Newton optimization. Both, RAPSA and ARAPSA, are numerically evaluated on the MNIST digit recognition problem.
Alcohol Septal Ablation for Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy: Safe and Apparently Efficacious But Does Reporting of Aggregate Outcomes Hide Less-Favorable Results, Experienced by a Substantial Proportion of Patients?

AIMS To describe individual and aggregate outcomes for patients undergoing alcohol septal ablation (ASA) for hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM). METHODS Retrospective case series reviewing all patients undergoing ASA at a United Kingdom tertiary referral center from 2000-2012. Aggregate and individual outcomes are described in terms of symptomatic and hemodynamic response. RESULTS Eighty-eight patients were reviewed. Alcohol was delivered in 84, with clinical status data available in 82 and hemodynamic data available in 74. All patients had resting or exercise stress left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) gradient >50 mm Hg. Mean age was 60.3 ± 14.3 years. Follow-up period was 4.2 ± 3.3 years. Twenty-four patients (27%) required ≥2 procedures. Complete heart block was observed in 17%. New York Heart Association (NYHA) class pre ASA was 2.80 ± 0.46, improving to 1.92 ± 0.84 post ASA (P<.001). Fifty-eight out of 82 patients (71%) had improved NYHA class. Resting peak gradient was 99.80 ± 45.86 mm Hg. Post-ASA peak gradient fell to 23.77 ± 41.87 mm Hg (P<.001). Sixty-one out of 74 patients (82%) had successful treatment of LVOT gradient. A successful outcome in both symptomatic and gradient treatment was seen in 66% of patients. No patient who received alcohol suffered sudden cardiac death. Fifteen patients had implantable cardioverter defibrillator implantation; no appropriate therapy was delivered. CONCLUSIONS ASA is safe, with few major complications. Aggregate outcomes are good, but can hide individual failure. There is a need to refine case selection, procedure planning, and performance to secure more uniform favorable outcomes.
Penile Enlargement: From Medication to Surgery

Penis lengthening pills, stretch apparatus, vacuum pumps, silicone injections, and lengthening and thickening operations are available for men who worry about their penis size. Surgery is thus far the only proven scientific method for penile enlargement. In this article, we consider patient selection, outcome evaluation, and techniques applied. In our view, sexological counseling and detailed explanation of risks and complications are mandatory before any operative intervention.
Optimization Modeling for GM(1,1) Model Based on BP Neural Network

In grey theory, GM(1,1) model is widely discussed and studied. The purpose of GM(1,1) model is to work on system forecasting with poor, incomplete or uncertain messages. The parameters estimation is an important factor for the GM(1,1) model, thus improving estimation method to enhance the model forecasting accuracy becomes a hot topic of researchers. This study proposes an optimization method for GM(1,1) model based on BP neural network. The GM(1,1) model is mapped to a BP neural network, the corresponding relation between GM(1,1) model parameters and BP network weights is established, the GM(1,1) model parameters estimation problem is transformed into an optimization problem for the weights of neural network. The BP neural network is trained by use of BP algorithm, when the BP network convergence, optimization model parameters can be extracted, and the optimization modeling for GM(1,1) Model based on BP algorithm can be also realized. The experiment results show that the method is feasible and effective, the precision is higher than the traditional method and other optimization modeling methods.
Growth Paths and Survival Chances ∗

We investigate the growth and survival of nascent businesses by analyzing their bank records. We do not find strong evidence in favour of a taxonomy of growth paths, because we observe that every possible growth path seems to occur with roughly equal probability. However, we observe that survival depends on the business’ growth path. Controlling for lagged size, we observe that longer lags of growth, and even start-up size, have significant effects on survival. JEL codes: L25
Acoustic radiation force impulse elastography and serum fibrosis markers in chronic hepatitis C

Abstract Objective. Liver biopsy (LB) remains the gold standard for the assessment of liver fibrosis, although it is invasive and can have complications. The present study compares several noninvasive methods of fibrosis assessment in chronic hepatitis C (CHC), including acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) elastography, aspartate aminotransferase:platelet ratio index (APRI), Forns, FIB-4, and King scores versus percutaneous LB. Material and methods. This prospective study enrolled 51 untreated CHC patients. Biological tests necessary for the calculation of the scores (according to the classic formulas) were performed within a week of LB. The time interval between LB and tissue stiffness, assessed according to the Metavir score, was <6 months. Cutoff values were determined using area under receiver-operating characteristic curves (AUROC). Results. The best test for predicting significant fibrosis (F ≥2 Metavir) was ARFI elastography with an AUROC of 0.90, followed by FIB-4 (AUROC = 0.86), King (AUROC = 0.85), Forns (AUROC = 0.84), and APRI (AUROC = 0.82). For a cutoff of 1.31 m/s, ARFI had 89.3% sensitivity (Se) and 87% specificity (Sp). The best test for predicting cirrhosis was ARFI elastography with an AUROC of 0.98, followed by FIB-4 (AUROC = 0.94), King (AUROC = 0.90), APRI (AUROC = 0.82), and Forns (AUROC = 0.81). For a cutoff of 1.95 m/s, ARFI had 100% Se and 95.2% Sp. Conclusion. ARFI elastography had very good accuracy for the assessment of liver fibrosis. It was more effective than APRI, Forns, King, and FIB-4 scores for the prediction of significant fibrosis and cirrhosis in CHC patients.
A novel push-and-pull hybrid data broadcast scheme for wireless information networks

A new push-and-pull hybrid data broadcast scheme is proposed for providing wireless information services to three types of clients, general, pull and priority clients. Only pull and priority clients have the back channel for sending requests to the broadcast server. There is no scalability problem with the hybrid scheme because the amount of pull and priority clients is very small. Based on the requests collected from pull and priority clients, the server estimates the interest pattern changes of the whole client population. Then the broadcast schedule on the push channel for the next broadcast cycle is adjusted. Besides the push channel, a small amount of broadcast bandwidth is allocated to a pull channel. The data to be broadcast on the pull channel is decided by the server in real-time and priority is given to requests from priority clients. Simulations show that with a time-varying client interest pattern, the average data access time for all three types of clients can be minimized. Because of the priority in using the pull channel, priority clients can achieve the lowest access time and pull clients can achieve a lower access time than general clients. To further improve the performance, the hybrid scheme with local client cache is also investigated.
No Privacy Surprises in Mobile Apps: Managing Privacy Expectation through Annotated Security Information in App Stores

This paper proposes an investigation on the effect of mobile users’ privacy expectation disconfirmation on the continued usage of apps sourced from different app distribution stores. Drawing upon the security awareness literature and expectation-disconfirmation perspective, we identify two key types of security-awareness information, namely access annotation and modification annotation. It is noted that these types of information can be emphasized in app distribution stores to reduce subsequent privacy-expectation disconfirmation. This study plans to examine the downstream effect of privacy expectation disconfirmation on continued usage intention. To operationalize the study, a longitudinal experiment will be conducted. Expected theoretical contributions and practical implications are discussed.
Differentiation of Beats of Ventricular and Sinus Origin Using a Self‐Training Neural Network

Despite advances in the computerized detection of arrhythmias, arrhythmia recognition by morphological waveform analysis still poses a difficult problem. Artificial neural networks, computer algorithms that are self‐trained by an analog of biological synaptic modification to perform pattern recognition, hold great promise for the differentiation of various cardiac rhythms. The goal of this study was to differentiate beats of sinus and ventricular origin on a global basis and on a patient‐specific basis by the use of artificial neural network analysis. Neural networks were trained to recognize digitized intracardiac electrograms (9 patients) and surface electrocardiograms (11 patients) obtained during sinus rhythm and ventricular tachycardia. After training, sinus rhythm or ventricular tachycardia beats were input into the neural network, and classified as to their origin. By the use of modified receiver operating characteristic curve plots, it was possible to differentiate with high sensitivity and specificity between beats of sinus origin and ventricular origin in all patients. The addition of high amounts of noise to the beats did not markedly degrade the performance of the surface ECG neural networks, and still allowed high sensitivity in differentiating beats of sinus origin from beats of ventricular origin, especially when noise was added to the training set. Neural networks provided sensitive and specific detection of cardiac electrical activity during sinus rhythm and ventricular tachycardia, and may play an important role in allowing development of improved arrhythmia recognition and management systems.