Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A cluster randomized trial of standard quality improvement versus patient-centered interventions to enhance depression care for African Americans in the primary care setting : study protocol NCT 00243425

Background Several studies document disparities in access to care and quality of care for depression for African Americans. Research suggests that patient attitudes and clinician communication behaviors may contribute to these disparities. Evidence links patient-centered care to improvements in mental health outcomes; therefore, quality improvement interventions that enhance this dimension of care are promising strategies to improve treatment and outcomes of depression among African Americans. This paper describes the design of the BRIDGE (Blacks Receiving Interventions for Depression and Gaining Empowerment) Study. The goal of the study is to compare the effectiveness of two interventions for African-American patients with depression-a standard quality improvement program and a patient-centered quality improvement program. The main hypothesis is that patients in the patient-centered group will have a greater reduction in their depression symptoms, higher rates of depression remission, and greater improvements in mental health functioning at six, twelve, and eighteen months than patients in the standard group. The study also examines patient ratings of care and receipt of guideline-concordant treatment for depression. Methods/Design A total of 36 primary care clinicians and 132 of their African-American patients with major depressive disorder were recruited into a cluster randomized trial. The study uses intent-to-treat analyses to compare the effectiveness of standard quality improvement interventions (academic detailing about depression guidelines for clinicians and disease-oriented care management for their patients) and patient-centered quality improvement interventions (communication skills training to enhance participatory decision-making for clinicians and care management focused on explanatory models, socio-cultural barriers, and treatment preferences for their patients) for improving outcomes over 12 months of follow-up. Discussion The BRIDGE Study includes clinicians and African-American patients in under-resourced community-based practices who have not been well-represented in clinical trials to improve depression care. The patient-centered and culturally targeted approach to depression care is a relatively new one that has not been tested in most previous studies. The study will provide evidence about whether patient-centered accommodations improve quality of care and outcomes to a greater extent than standard quality improvement strategies for African Americans with depression. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00243425
Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry: protocol standardization and database expansion for rapid identification of clinically important molds.

AIM To standardize the matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry protocols and expansion of existing Bruker Biotyper database for mold identification. MATERIALS & METHODS Four different sample preparation methods (protocol A, B, C and D) were evaluated. RESULTS On analyzing each protein extraction method, reliable identification and best log scores were achieved through protocol D. The same protocol was used to identify 153 clinical isolates. Of these 153, 123 (80.3%) were accurately identified by using existing database and remaining 30 (19.7%) were not identified due to unavailability in database. On inclusion of missing main spectrum profile in existing database, all 153 isolates were identified. CONCLUSION Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry can be used for routine identification of clinically important molds.
A Parallel Algorithm for Solving LCS of Multiple Bioseqences

A fast algorithm named FAST_LCS is presented for the longest common substring (LCS) problem. The algorithm firstly seeks the successors of the initial identical character tuples according to successor tables to obtain all the identical tuples and their levels. Then the result of LCS can be obtained by tracing back from the identical character tuple with the largest level. For n biosequences X 1, X2, . , Xn, the time complexity of sequentially execution of our algorithm is O(L). Here L is the number of identical character tuples. The time complexity of our parallel algorithm is O(|LCS|), where LCS is the length of the longest common substring of X1, X2, . , Xn. This time complexity is independent of the number of sequences n. Some experiments have been conducted on the gene sequences of tigr database using MPP parallel computer Shenteng 1800. The results show that our algorithm is accurate and more efficient than other LCS algorithms
Virus of Pekin ducks with structural and biological relatedness to human hepatitis B virus

A virus found in the sera of Pekin ducks appears to be a new member of the human hepatitis B-like family of viruses. This virus had a diameter of 40 nm and an appearance in the electron microscope similar to that of human hepatitis B virus. The DNA genome of the virus was circular and partially single stranded, and an endogenous DNA polymerase associated with the virus was capable of converting the genome to a double-stranded circle with a size of ca. 3,000 base pairs. An analysis for viral DNA in the organs of infected birds indicated preferential localization in the liver, implicating this organ as the site of virus replication. In all of these aspects, the virus bears a striking resemblance to human hepatitis B virus and appears to be a new member of this family, which also includes ground squirrel hepatitis virus and woodchuck hepatitis virus.
Statistics of macrocell-synchronous femtocell-asynchronous users-delays for improved femtocell uplink receiver design

In a typical macrocell network, the mobile users are synchronized to the macrocell base station (mBS), where users further away to the mBS transmit their signals earlier. In such a network, the signals of the macrocell users arrive at a femtocell base station (fBS) asynchronously, which may yield interference problems such as inter-carrier-interference in orthogonal frequency domain multiple access (OFDMA) systems. In this letter, statistics of the arrival times of macrocell-synchronous femtocell-asynchronous mobile users' signals to an fBS is derived (conditioned on the fBS-mBS distance), and its implications on the femtocell uplink receiver design are briefly discussed.
Quality Assurance Issues Raised by Proposed Limited-Service Rural Hospitals

This article explores quality assurance issues that are likely to arise related to limited-service rural hospitals, an institutional alternative to existing ru ral hospitals. In exploring these issues, we use as an example, the Montana Medical Assistance Facility, a limited-service rural hospital model about to be im plemented by the Health Care Financing Administra tion as a demonstration. While such medical assist ance facilities will need to meet licensure and certi fication requirements, it is not reasonable to expect them to meet regulations that are designed for large hospitals. Also, because of their limited resources, medical assistance facilities will likely need outside help from a larger institution to perform quality as surance activities, particularly peer review activi ties. A key challenge for the medical assistance facil ity will be to define the nature of this relationship, while retaining ultimate responsibility for quality of patient care. Assuring quality of care is a particularly important issue for medical assistance facilities since community acceptance and financial viability will depend critically on establishing a record for quality of care that is at least comparable to existing small, rural hospitals.
Network disruption prediction based on neural networks

Network disruptions cause significant financial losses and discomfort of customers. However, communication systems provide various data about equipment condition. This information can be used to predict network disruptions. Purpose of research is applying neural networks to network disruption prediction. Introduced approach has good feature extraction ability and data corruption resilience. Representation for network disruption dataset has been developed. Chosen network type is deep belief networks. Net structure variations have been proposed for chosen data representation and neural network type. Experimental research of proposed methods gives meager results for selected dataset. Results can be improved by net structure complication and by increasing dataset volume.
Feature matching for object localization in the presence of uncertainty

The author focuses on the central problem of image and model feature matching. In particular he defines a model of the geometrical uncertainty of image features, and devises a tractable algorithm for determining all feasible sets of feature correspondences given the uncertainty tolerances. A key insight into the matching problem provided by this work is that the search for a matching should be guided by analysis of (feasible) transformation space rather than the space of feature correspondences. This is because the author is only interested in maximal feasible match-sets and not the exponentially many subsets of them as found by correspondence space search. <<ETX>>
Development and Validation of a Brief Measure of Eating Compulsivity (MEC)

ABSTRACT Food addiction is increasingly being recognised as a contributory factor in overweight and obesity. Management of eating compulsivity, a key component of food addiction, may assist greatly in the successful treatment of obesity. Measurement of food addiction and its core characteristic of eating compulsivity is fundamental to increasing understandings of the concept of food addiction, its prevalence among people with and without obesity and its utility within a treatment context. The current study describes the development and initial validation of a brief measure of eating compulsivity that can be used within clinical and research settings to establish a person's level of eating compulsivity. Sixty five participants with a BMI ≥30 (mean BMI 38.1) were recruited from a general population sample within Christchurch, New Zealand. Participants completed the test version of the Measure of Eating Compulsivity (MEC) and the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) as well as providing self-reported measures of height and weight. The 10-item MEC was developed. This measure was shown to have excellent internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha =.946), based on a single factor accounting for 67.4% of the variance and excellent test-retest reliability (r =.923). MEC10 score was strongly predictive of being categorised as having food addiction based on the YFAS, although not associated with BMI. This brief tool is likely to have high utility in clinical and research settings and requires further validation with a range of populations including those with and without obesity, binge eating disorder and other eating disorders.
CoABCMiner: An Algorithm for Cooperative Rule Classification System Based on Artificial Bee Colony

In data mining, classification rule learning extracts the knowledge in the representation of IF_THEN rule which is comprehensive and readable. It is a challenging problem due to the complexity of data sets. Various meta-heuristic machine learning algorithms are proposed for rule learning. Cooperative rule learning is the discovery process of all classification rules with a single run concurrently. In this paper, a novel cooperative rule learning algorithm, called CoABCMiner, based on Artificial Bee Colony is introduced. The proposed algorithm handles the training data set and discovers the classification model containing the rule list. Token competition, new updating strategy used in onlooker and employed phases, and new scout bee mechanism are proposed in CoABCMiner to achieve cooperative learning of different rules belonging to different classes. We compared the results of CoABCMiner with several state-of-the-art algorithms using 14 benchmark data sets. Non parametric statistical tests, such as Friedman test, post hoc test, and contrast estimation based on medians are performed. Nonparametric tests determine the similarity of control algorithm among other algorithms on multiple problems. Sensitivity analysis of CoABCMiner is conducted. It is concluded that CoABCMiner can be used to discover classification rules for the data sets used in experiments, efficiently.
Improved dynamic performance of type-2 fuzzy based DTC induction motor using SVPWM

This paper presents space vector PWM (SVPWM) technique for Direct torque Control of induction motor drive, SVPWM gives the lower ripples in current and voltage with low torque distortion. Further the switching losses are reduced for a given switching frequency due to single switching transition takes place in each state of the vector. The PI-control (PIC) doesn't give the good dynamic performance of the induction motor drive using two level Voltage Source Inverter due to sudden changes in the load and speed. Further, to improve dynamic performance in the torque and Flux of induction motor drive is simulated using type-2 fuzzy logic control in place of PI-Control. The concept of type-2 fuzzy set initially proposed as an extension of classical (type-1) fuzzy sets. Type-2 fuzzy sets are very useful in circumstances where it is difficult to determine an exact membership function for a fuzzy set; hence, they are very effective for dealing with uncertainties. However, type-2 fuzzy sets are more difficult to understand than type-1 fuzzy sets. Even in the face of these difficulties, type-2 fuzzy logic has found applications in many fields like decision making in critical load.
Content Comparison of Self-Report Measures Used in Vestibular Rehabilitation Based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health

Background Physical therapists should understand the content included in self-report questionnaires in order to choose the appropriate questionnaire for examination and follow-up purposes. The International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) provides a universal and standard language for the description of health and health-related states and can be used for the content comparison of self-report questionnaires. Objective The purpose of this study was to describe and compare the contents covered by 8 self-report measures used in vestibular rehabilitation based on the linkage of their content to the ICF. Design This was a cross-sectional study. Method Eight vestibular questionnaires were identified and linked to the ICF by 2 health care professionals according to established linking rules. Based on the linking, the contents of the 8 questionnaires were compared and the interobserver agreement between 2 raters was estimated using kappa coefficients. Results A total of 312 meaningful concepts from the 164 items of the 8 vestibular questionnaires were identified and linked to the ICF. The meaningful concepts identified were linked to 51 different ICF components: 19 categories of the component “body functions,” 30 categories of the component “activities and participation,” and 2 categories of the component “environmental factors. ” Forty-two concepts could not be linked to any of the ICF components. The estimated kappa coefficients for 2 raters at the component and first and second levels of the ICF ranged from 0.83 to 0.96. Limitations The method of identifying vestibular measures was not based on a systematic search; instead, the most widely used instruments in the field of vestibular rehabilitation were selected. Thus, the study results are limited to the examined vestibular instruments. Conclusion Using the ICF as a theoretical framework was found to be useful for comparing the content of health status questionnaires, as well as for exploring the focus of the measures currently in use in vestibular rehabilitation.
Performance analysis of a variable‐gain amplify‐and‐forward relayed mixed RF‐FSO system

In this work, an amplify‐and‐forward variable‐gain relayed mixed RF‐FSO system is studied. The considered dual‐hop system consists of a radio frequency (RF) link followed by a free space optical (FSO) channel. The RF link is affected by short‐term multipath fading and long‐term shadowing effects and is assumed to follow the generalized‐K fading distribution that approximates accurately several important distributions often used to model communication channels. The FSO channel experiences fading caused by atmospheric turbulence that is modeled by the gamma‐gamma distribution characterizing moderate and strong turbulence conditions. The FSO channel also suffers path loss and pointing error induced misalignment fading. The performance of the considered system is analyzed under the collective influence of distribution shaping parameters, pointing errors that result in misalignment fading, atmospheric turbulence, and path loss. The moment‐generating function of the Signal power to noise power ratio measured end‐to‐end for this system is derived. The cumulative distribution function for the Signal power to noise power ratio present between the source and destination receiver is also evaluated. Further, we investigate the error and outage performance and the average channel capacity for this system. The analytical expressions in closed form for the outage probability, symbol and bit error rate considering different modulation schemes and channel capacity are also derived. The mathematical expressions obtained are also demonstrated by numerical plots.
Is Sexual Victimization Gender Specific?

The present study investigates the prevalence of sexual victimization and correlations between sexual victimization and indicators of poor health in two representative samples of men and women in Denmark. Specifically, the authors explore the prevalence of self-reported victimization among adolescents (N = 5,829) and adults (N = 3,932) and analyze differences in self-reported health outcomes between male and female victims and corresponding controls. Gender differences are found in the reported prevalence of sexual victimization. Significantly more females than males reported forced sexual experiences in both samples. Associations between sexual victimization and poor health outcomes are found for both genders. Comparable patterns of association for men and women are found on a number of variables, particularly those pertaining to risk behavior.
Fault detection: Different strategies for modelling applied to the three tank benchmark — A case study

In this contribution different modelling strategies for fault detection and isolation (FDI) in view of the model complexity are studied at the benchmark problem Three Tank System. The particularities of models needed for model-based FDI in contrast to models used in control are pointed out. Of special interest is the question of complexity. This depends basically on the given situation such as the kind of plant, the kind and number of faults to be detected, the demands for fault isolation and robustness and the measurements available. The paper shows for a certain process that diagnostic models for controllable and observable plants comprise only a partial description of the input/output model and are therefore less complex than those for control. This issue is discussed in terms of different model-based FDI approaches - analytical and data-based. The results are demonstrated in a case study, where several model-based FDI approaches are applied to the Three Tank System, which has been declared as a benchmark within the COSY project of the European Science Foundation (ESF).
First isolation and identification of H1N1 swine influenza viruses in Colombian pig farms

The pig industry in Colombia has grown 30% in the last decade achieving high levels of technology and efficiency; in spite of that, respiratory diseases remain a constraint. Since 1970, serological evidence and histological findings suggested the role of swine influenza virus (SIV) as part of the porcine respiratory disease complex; nevertheless, elusive and molecular typing isolates are missing. This study was aimed at isolating SIV from intensive pig farms and to achieve molecular characterization to determine strains circulating in the field. In order to accomplish this goal, 242 samples were taken from nasal swabs, 25 from bronchial washes and 8 from lung tissue. Samples were collected during a period of three years, between 2008 and 2010 and were originated from 78 farms of the three main pig production regions of the country. The samples were transported in BHI broth with 2% antibiotic and antimycotic solution and stored at –70? C until processed. The swabs were inoculated in 9 - 11 days old embryo chicken eggs and in MDCK (Madin Darby Canine Kidney) cell cultures with the addition of trypsin. The isolates were identified by the HA (hemoagglutination) test and by RT-PCR targeting the HA (hemagglutinin), NA (Neuraminidase) and M (Matrix) genes. Full length sequence of the HA and NA glycoproteins from four selected virus isolates was conducted (Macrogen? . USA). As a result, fifteen SIV isolates from nine farms distributed in the three regions were obtained. Twelve of the isolates are related to the swine origin H1N1 virus that caused the 2009 influenza pandemic. The remaining three viruses were related to classical swine influenza viruses.
Pharmacokinetics of Pravastatin in Elderly versus Young Men and Women

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of age on the pharmacokinetics of pravastatin in men and women. A secondary objective was to evaluate the effect of oral contraceptive steroids on the pharmacokinetics of pravastatin in young women. DESIGN: Open, single-dose study. SETTING: Clinical Pharmacology Unit of Princeton Medical Center for study in men and Hill Top Pharmatest, Cincinnati, for study in women. PARTICIPANTS: Normal, healthy male (aged 19–75 y) and female (aged 18–78 y) volunteers. INTERVENTIONS: Subjects received a single 20-mg dose of pravastatin after an overnight fast MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The maximum plasma pravastatin concentration (Cmax), time required for that concentration to develop (Tmax). and the elimination half-life (βt1/2). Serum concentrations of pravastatin and its major metabolite, the 3-α isomer, SQ 31,906, were determined at 12 intervals from 0.33 to 48 hours after the dose. Urine was collected cumulatively during the same period to determine urinary excretion of pravastatin and SQ 31,906. Both measures were used to determine pharmacokinetic parameters. RESULTS: The pharmacokinetic profiles of pravastatin and SQ 31,906 in young and elderly subjects of men and women differed little. Although the mean area under the concentration time curve of pravastatin was higher in the elderly and significantly higher in the elderly women, Cmax and βt1/2 values were similar in the young and the elderly volunteers. Concomitant administration of oral contraceptives in young women did not affect the pharmacokinetics of pravastatin or SQ 31,906. CONCLUSIONS: The pharmacokinetics of pravastatin do not necessitate dosage adjustments in elderly men or women. No differences were detected between the disposition of the parent drug or its metabolite in men and women.