Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Arbovirus, herpesvirus, and enterovirus associated with neurological syndromes in adult patients of a university hospital, 2017-2018

Abstract INTRODUCTION: Herpesviruses, enteroviruses, and arboviruses are important because of their clinical relevance and ability to cause meningitis, encephalitis, meningoencephalitis, and other diseases. The clinical virology associated with diagnostic technologies can reduce the morbidity and mortality of such neurological manifestations. Here we aimed to identify the genomes of agents that cause neurological syndromes in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from patients with suspected nervous system infections admitted to the University Hospital of the University of Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil, in 2017-2018. METHODS: CSF samples collected from adult patients with neurological syndrome symptoms and negative CSF culture results were analyzed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), reverse transcriptase-PCR, and real-time PCR, and their results were compared with their clinical symptoms. One CSF sample was obtained from each patient. RESULTS: Viral genomes were detected in 148/420 (35.2%) CSF samples: one of 148 (0.2%) was positive for herpes simplex virus-1; two (0.5%) for herpes simplex virus-2; eight (1.9%) for varicella-zoster virus; four (1%) for Epstein-Barr virus; one (0.2%) for cytomegalovirus; 32 (7.6%) for human herpesvirus-6; 30 (7.1%) for non-polio enterovirus; 67 (16.0%) for dengue virus, three (0.7%) for yellow fever virus, and 21 (5%) for Zika virus. CONCLUSIONS: The viral genomes were found in 35.2% of all analyzed samples, showing the high prevalence of viruses in the nervous system and the importance of using a nucleic acid amplification test to detect viral agents in CSF samples.
A ultra wideband dual-polarized antenna with high isolation degree for passive radar application

ABSTRACT This paper presents an ultra wideband (UWB) dual polarization antenna with high polarization isolation for passive radar system The antenna is composed of a modified Vivaldi antenna and a folded dipole log periodic antenna. Based on the respective structural characteristics of the printed Vivaldi antenna and the folded dipole log periodic antenna, they are placed orthogonally without touching each other, which form two orthogonal polarization channels and can achieve high polarization isolation between the channels. The radiator shape of traditional Vivaldi antenna is modified and simplified to further reduce the electromagnetic coupling between two polarized radiators. The planar folded dipole log periodic antenna is fed by UWB Microstrip tapered line Balun, and a vertical through hole is introduced to connect the parallel double line of Balun and the coplanar stripline (CPS) at the input terminal of the folded dipole log periodic antenna. The two polarization ports of the antenna are welded by coaxial line and microstrip line. The dual polarization antenna is designed, optimized, fabricated and tested within the range of 3 GHz ~ 8 GHz. In the investigated frequency range, the polarization isolation of the simulated dual polarization antenna is greater than 30 dB, and the average polarization isolation is about –35 dB.The gain of Vivaldi antenna polarization port increases from 2.82dBi to 9.49 dBi, and the gain of folded dipole log periodic antenna polarization port increases from 5.21 dBi to 8.56dBi. A large number of experimental tests and analysis are carried out on the fabricated dual polarization antenna, and the test results are close to the simulation results, which prove the effectiveness of the proposed dual polarization antenna. In view of the printed circuit implementation method and structure characteristics of the dual polarization antenna designed in this paper, the scheme has the advantages of low cost, simple design and good polarization characteristics, so it is suitable for the application of anti radiation missile guidance radar and electronic reconnaissance.
Y/X-Chromosome-Bearing Sperm Shows Elevated Ratio in the Left but Not the Right Testes in Healthy Mice

The sex chromosomes play central roles in determining the sex of almost all of the multicellular organisms. It is well known that meiosis in mammalian spermatogenesis produces ~50% Y- and ~50% X-chromosome-bearing sperm, a 1:1 ratio. Here we first reveal that the X-chromosome-encoded miRNAs show lower expression levels in the left testis than in the right testis in healthy mice using bioinformatics modeling of miRNA-sequencing data, suggesting that the Y:X ratio could be unbalanced between the left testis and the right testis. We further reveal that the Y:X ratio is significantly elevated in the left testis but balanced in the right testis using flow cytometry. This study represents the first time the biased Y:X ratio in the left testis but not in the right testis is revealed.
Fiber Optic Distributed Sensing Network for Shape Sensing-Assisted Epidural Needle Guidance

Epidural anesthesia is a pain management process that requires the insertion of a miniature needle through the epidural space located within lumbar vertebrae. The use of a guidance system for manual insertion can reduce failure rates and provide increased efficiency in the process. In this work, we present and experimentally assess a guidance system based on a network of fiber optic distributed sensors. The fibers are mounted externally to the needle, without blocking its inner channel, and through a strain-to-shape detection method reconstruct the silhouette of the epidural device in real time (1 s). We experimentally assessed the shape sensing methods over 25 experiments performed in a phantom, and we observed that the sensing system correctly identified bending patterns typical in epidural insertions, characterized by the different stiffness of the tissues. By studying metrics related to the curvatures and their temporal changes, we provide identifiers that can potentially serve for the (in)correct identification of the epidural space, and support the operator through the insertion process by recognizing the bending patterns.
User Stories Applied: For Agile Software Development

Agile requirements: discovering what your users really want. With this book, you will learn to: Flexible, quick and practical requirements that work Save time and develop better software that meets users' needs Gathering user stories -- even when you can't talk to users How user stories work, and how they differ from use cases, scenarios, and traditional requirements Leveraging user stories as part of planning, scheduling, estimating, and testing Ideal for Extreme Programming, Scrum, or any other agile methodology ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Thoroughly reviewed and eagerly anticipated by the agile community, User Stories Applied offers a requirements process that saves time, eliminates rework, and leads directly to better software.The best way to build software that meets users' needs is to begin with "user stories": simple, clear, brief descriptions of functionality that will be valuable to real users. In User Stories Applied, Mike Cohn provides you with a front-to-back blueprint for writing these user stories and weaving them into your development lifecycle.You'll learn what makes a great user story, and what makes a bad one. You'll discover practical ways to gather user stories, even when you can't speak with your users. Then, once you've compiled your user stories, Cohn shows how to organize them, prioritize them, and use them for planning, management, and testing. User role modeling: understanding what users have in common, and where they differ Gathering stories: user interviewing, questionnaires, observation, and workshops Working with managers, trainers, salespeople and other "proxies" Writing user stories for acceptance testing Using stories to prioritize, set schedules, and estimate release costs Includes end-of-chapter practice questions and exercisesUser Stories Applied will be invaluable to every software developer, tester, analyst, and manager working with any agile method: XP, Scrum. or even your own home-grown approach.ADDISON-WESLEY PROFESSIONALBoston, MA 02116www.awprofessional. comISBN: 0-321-20568-5
GAP Score and CA-153 Associated with One-Year Mortality in Anti-MDA-5 Antibody-Positive Patients: A Real-World Experience

Background. Anti-melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA-5) antibody is associated with respiratory failure and death in patients with idiopathic inflammatory myositis (IIM) and interstitial lung disease (ILD). This study aimed to investigate clinical parameters associated with mortality in anti-MDA-5 antibody-positive patients. Methods. We retrospectively reviewed the clinical and laboratory data, and pulmonary function test results in 55 anti-MDA-5 antibody-positive patients. A comparison was made between the survivors and non-survivors at the 12-month follow-up. Results. A total of 13 patients (23.6%) died within 12 months. Non-survivors had higher GAP scores (gender, age, and physiology score for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis) (1 vs. 6, p < 0.01) and CA-153 (16.4 vs. 72.9, p < 0.01). In addition, rapid progressive ILD, fever, peak ferritin, leukocyte count, lactate dehydrogenase, CT score, intravenous immunoglobulin, mycophenolic acid, CMV infections, pneumocystis pneumonia, and pneumothorax were significantly associated with increased risks of 1-year mortality, while forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in one second, and diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide were correlated with decreased risk of 1-year mortality. Conclusions. Our study results suggest that GAP scores and CA-153 could be prognostic factors for 1-year mortality in anti-MDA-5 antibody-positive patients. A prompt pulmonary function test and CA-153 are essential for these patients to guide further management.
Distributed situation awareness: Advances in theory, measurement and application to team work

Having an accurate understanding of what is going on is a key commodity for teams working within military systems. ‘Situation awareness’ (SA) is the term that is used within human factors circles to describe the level of awareness that operators have of the situation that they are engaged in; it focuses on how operators develop and maintain a sufficient understanding of ‘what is going on’ in order to achieve success in task performance. Over the past two decades, the construct has become a fundamental theme within the areas of system design and evaluation and has received considerable attention from the human factors research community. Despite this, there is still considerable debate over how SA operates in complex collaborative systems and how SA achievement and maintenance is best supported through system, procedure and interface design. This book focuses on the recently developed concept of distributed situation awareness, which takes a systems perspective on the concept and moves the focus on situation awareness out of the heads of individual operators and on to the overall joint cognitive system consisting of human and technological agents. Situation awareness is viewed as an emergent property of collaborative systems, something that resides in the interaction between elements of the system and not in the heads of individual operators working in that system. The first part of the book presents a comprehensive review and critique of existing SA theory and measurement approaches, following which a novel model for complex collaborative systems, the distributed SA model, and a new modelling procedure, the propositional network approach, are outlined and demonstrated. The next part focuses on real-world applications of the model and modelling procedure, and presents four case studies undertaken in the land warfare, multinational warfare and energy distribution domains. Each case study is described in terms of the domain in question, the methodology employed, and the findings derived in relation to situation awareness theory. The third and final part of the book then concentrates on theoretical development, and uses the academic literature and the findings from the case study applications to validate and extend the distributed SA model described at the beginning of the book. In closing, the utility of the distributed SA model and modeling procedure are outlined and a series of initial guidelines for supporting distributed SA through system design are articulated. [Book Synopsis]
Molecular Detection of Borrelia Bacteria in Cerebrospinal Fluid-Optimisation of Pre-Analytical Sample Handling for Increased Analytical Sensitivity

The main tools for clinical diagnostics of Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB) are based on serology, i.e., detection of antibodies in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). In some cases, PCR may be used as a supplement, e.g., on CSF from patients with early LNB. Standardisation of the molecular methods and systematic evaluation of the pre-analytical handling is lacking. To increase the analytical sensitivity for detection of Borrelia bacteria in CSF by PCR targeting the 16S rRNA gene, parameters were systematically evaluated on CSF samples spiked with a known amount of cultured Borrelia bacteria. The results showed that the parameters such as centrifugation time and speed, the use of complementary DNA as a template (in combination with primers and a probe aiming at target gene 16S rRNA), and the absence of inhibitors (e.g., erythrocytes) had the highest impact on the analytical sensitivity. Based on these results, a protocol for optimised handling of CSF samples before molecular analysis was proposed. However, no clinical evaluation of the proposed protocol has been done so far, and further investigations of the diagnostic sensitivity need to be performed on well-characterised clinical samples from patients with LNB.
Exergy: Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development

This book deals with exergy and its applications to various energy systems and applications as a potential tool for design, analysis and optimization, and its role in minimizing and/or eliminating environmental impacts and providing sustainable development. In this regard, several key topics ranging from the basics of the thermodynamic concepts to advanced exergy analysis techniques in a wide range of applications are covered as outlined in the contents. It provides comprehensive coverage of exergy and its applications. It connects exergy with three essential areas in terms of energy, environment and sustainable development. It presents the most up-to-date information in the area with recent developments. It provides a number of illustrative examples, practical applications, and case studies. It features an easy to follow style, starting from the basics to the advanced systems.
FAK Inhibition Attenuates Corneal Fibroblast Differentiation In Vitro

Corneal fibrosis (or scarring) occurs in response to ocular trauma or infection, and by reducing corneal transparency, it can lead to visual impairment and blindness. Studies highlight important roles for transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 and -β3 as modulators in corneal wound healing and fibrosis, leading to increased extracellular matrix (ECM) components and expression of α-smooth muscle actin (αSMA), a myofibroblast marker. In this study, human corneal fibroblasts (hCF) were cultured as a monolayer culture (2D) or on poly-transwell membranes to generate corneal stromal constructs (3D) that were treated with TGF-β1, TGF-β3, or TGF-β1 + FAK inhibitor (FAKi). Results show that hCF 3D constructs treated with TGF-β1 or TGF-β3 impart distinct effects on genes involved in wound healing and fibrosis—ITGAV, ITGB1, SRC and ACTA2. Notably, in the 3D construct model, TGF-β1 enhanced αSMA and focal adhesion kinase (FAK) protein expression, whereas TGF-β3 did not. In addition, in both the hCF 2D cell and 3D construct models, we found that TGF-β1 + FAKi attenuated TGF-β1-mediated myofibroblast differentiation, as shown by abrogated αSMA expression. This study concludes that FAK signaling is important for the onset of TGF-β1-mediated myofibroblast differentiation, and FAK inhibition may provide a novel beneficial therapeutic avenue to reduce corneal scarring.
De-noising of Ultrasound Images with improved PNLM Algorithm

- The image processing is the technique which processes the information which store in form of pixels. The ultrasound image are the medical images which have speckle noise. Due to presence of noise in the image, the image quality is reduced . The NLM is the filtering technique to denoise ultrasound image. The PNLM is the improved version of NLM for denoising medical images. In this research work, PCA algorithm is applied which define the window size dynamically. The proposed algorithm is implemented in MATLAB and it has been analyzed that proposed technique performs well in terms of PSNR, MSSIM and MSE.
Phase-Dependent Monetary and Fiscal Policy

This paper studies how the eﬀects of monetary and ﬁscal policy vary depending on the business cycle phase. It shows that in a medium-scale DSGE model, estimated on US data, monetary policy has a stronger impact on the economy in downturns and booms. Labor and capital income taxes display similar patterns. Government expenditure shocks and consumption tax shocks, on the contrary, have a stronger impact on output in depressions and recoveries. The paper also shows that accounting for the source of business cycle ﬂuctuations is potentially important when assessing state-dependence in policy transmission.
The Influence Of Word-Of-Mouth Online And Celebrity Endorser On Attitudes And Intentions Of Tourists To Visit Indonesia During The Covid-19 Pandemic

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many community activities were restricted, including visiting tourist destinations. This policy has an impact on the management of tourist areas experiencing losses. This study aims to examine the effect of electronic word of mouth (e-WOM), Celebrity Endorser, on the attitudes and intentions of tourists to visit West Java, Indonesia. Collecting data using a questionnaire with a sample of 180 respondents with convenience sample method The technique of data analysis using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) of a statistical software package AMOS version 24. The conclusion from hypothesis The results show (1) e-WOM has no significant effect on tourist attitudes, (2) e-WOM has a significant effect on the intention to visit tourists. (3) celebrity endorser has a significant effect on tourist attitudes. (4) celebrity endorser has a significant effect on intentions to visit tourist attractions, (5) tourist attitudes have no significant effect on intentions to visit tourist attractions. The COVID-19 pandemic has become a momentum and taken into consideration to implement Virtual Reality Tourism as a solution before tourists decide to make a tourist visit.
A weighted-least-squares matrix decomposition method with application to the design of two-dimensional digital filters

A matrix decomposition method that generates a decomposition which is similar to that produced by the singular-value decomposition (SVD) is proposed. When applied to the design of 2-D FIR or IIR digital filters, the method provides for different error weightings at each point in the frequency plane, thereby allowing for smaller errors or don't care conditions in specified regions. When compared to the SVD, the proposed method can be better suited to the design of two-dimensional filters when using a sum-of-products realization. Examples for the design of 2-D FIR lowpass filters are given. <<ETX>>
The Necessity of Controlling Bacterial Populations in Potable Waters: Community Water Supply

The waters in some of the community water-supply systems in the US often contain a myriad of microorganisms that carry past the disinfection barrier. Although the majority of those that survive and flourish are not pathogenic, the situation presents a potential danger. Here is an article on the sort of organisms that contribute to the trouble, with a description of factors relating to propagation of the species.
Examination of prospective teachers' educational beliefs and attitudes towards educational history

The aim of this research is to reveal the educational beliefs of prospective teachers and their attitudes towards the History of Education course and the relationship between them. This research aimed to determine the opinions of prospective teachers about their future profession and to make suggestions about teacher training. The research was designed in the survey model and the relational survey model was used to determine the relationship between the variables. The sample of the study consisted of a total of 453 teacher candidates, 90 of whom were male and 363 were female. The data of the research were collected by using the "Educational Beliefs Scale" and "Attitude Scale Towards Turkish Education History Course". The data were analyzed with computer package programs. In line with the educational beliefs scale used in the research, it was revealed that the educational beliefs of the teacher candidates were 'Existentialism', 'Progressivism', 'Perennialism', 'Reconstructionism' and 'Essentialism', respectively. According to the data obtained from the scale of attitude towards education history, it was concluded that prospective teachers’ attitudes towards education history are high. Finally, it was concluded that there is a moderate, positive, and significant relationship between the educational beliefs of the prospective teachers and their attitudes towards Education History.
Parallel Assessment Tracks for Human-Centered Design (PATH): A Framework for Transitioning to a New Health Information Technology System

This practice-oriented paper presents a human-centered design (HCD) framework that we developed to perform a comprehensive evaluation of a new health information technology (HIT) system under development, intended to replace a legacy system. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veteran Crisis Line (VCL) program provides a vital service in crisis intervention and suicide prevention. VCL staff rely on a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) legacy system, Medora. VCL intended to replace Medora with Microsoft Dynamics 365 (D365) CRM system. Due to wide-spread criticism of D365, the VA Human Factors Engineering (HFE) team engaged in a multi-study, mixed-method HCD evaluation to investigate the legacy system and intended replacement in terms of ability to support VCL staff needs. The HCD framework we developed to perform this evaluation may be adapted for other large-scale HIT transitions and may provide human factors practitioners with guidance to make evidence-based decisions to support (or abandon) such transitions.
Planar elliptically shaped dipole antenna for UWB Impulse Radio

The goal of this thesis was to develop design concepts of the UWB antenna with improved characteristics for impulse radio applications. To reach this goal a number of theoretical and experimental investigations were carried out. The major result of the thesis is a number of novel concepts for UWB antennas including: - The shielded elliptically-shaped dipole; - The active UWB antenna with an integrated pulse generator on chip; - The differential feeding of balanced UWB antennas via a shielded loop; - -Reduced size elliptically-shaped dipoles; - The study of the environmental impact on transmission of ultra-short pulses via a pair of UWB antennas. Each of these concepts include a number of results, which we overview below and discuss their novelty and importance.