Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Economic comparison of home-care-based versus hospital-based treatment of chemotherapy-induced febrile neutropenia in children.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to compare health-care resource utilization and outcomes among children treated for low-risk febrile neutropenia (FN) in a hospital-based setting with those treated in a home-care-based setting. METHODS The perspective of this retrospective, cohort study was the health payer. We collected health-care utilization and treatment outcome data from medical records of 63 children (26 boys and 37 girls) with low-risk, chemotherapy-induced FN who were treated at the University of Arizona (27 children, the hospital-based group) and University of New Mexico (36 children, the home-care-based group). We identified 144 FN episodes (72 episodes in each group). Health-care utilization included physician visits, home-care visits, laboratory visits, outpatient visits, hospital days, intensive care unit days, medical tests and studies, and medications used to manage FN (e.g., filgrastim, antimicrobials, and ancilliary drugs and supplies). We applied uniform charges, based on those used at the University of New Mexico in 1998. We collected outcomes of the FN treatment (success vs. failure and time to resolution, defined as number of days of antibiotic therapy). Rates of positive blood cultures during treatment were also compared. Data were analyzed using nonparametric Mann-Whitney U tests for continuous data and chi-square analysis for categorical data. Sensitivity analyses were conducted by varying the amount of total resource utilization, as well as utilization of specific health-care resources. RESULTS There was no difference in outcome; all episodes of treatment in both groups resulted in successful recovery from FN. Time to resolution of FN was 8.3 +/- 2.7 days for home-care FN episodes versus 7.3 +/- 3.6 days for hospital FN episodes (P =.064). Median charge per FN episode was significantly (P<.001) greater when managed in the hospital compared to home care (9392 US dollars vs. 5893 US dollars). There was greater use of laboratory and radiographic studies in the hospital-based patients (P <.01). However, children in the home-care-based group were more often treated with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (filgrastim, median charge 1085 US dollars vs. 451 US dollars, P <.001), and median antibiotic charges were higher (2523 US dollars vs. 1526 US dollars, P <.001). Positive blood cultures were more common among the hospital-based FN treatments (30.6 vs. 11.1%, P=.012). CONCLUSIONS We found that management of low-risk FN in a home-care-based setting was associated with significantly lower median total charges with no differences in outcome.
Effects of ZNC‐2381, a New Oral Compound, on Several Hepatic Injury Models and on Hepatocellular Apoptosis in Mice and Rats

The hepatoprotective effect of ZNC‐2381 (1‐(4‐aminophenyl) methyl‐3‐(3‐nitrophenyl)‐1,3‐dihydroimidazo[4,5‐b]pyridine‐2‐one), a novel 2‐one dihydroimidazopyridine derivative, has been evaluated in several experimental models of hepatic injury.
High-Frequency Gate-All-Around Vertical InAs Nanowire MOSFETs on Si Substrates

We demonstrate a vertical InAs nanowire MOSFET integrated on Si substrate with an extrinsic peak cut-off frequency of 103 GHz and a maximum oscillation frequency of 155 GHz. The transistor has a transconductance of 730 mS/mm and is based on arrays of nanowires with gate-all-around and high-κ gate dielectric. Furthermore, small-signal modeling shows a ~80% reduction of the total parasitic gate capacitance when the metal pad overlap in the transistors is reduced through additional patterning.
The Effect of Cinacalcet on Bone Remodeling and Renal Function in Transplant Patients With Persistent Hyperparathyroidism

Background. Parathyroidectomy is associated with renal functional losses in transplant patients; cinacalcet offers an attractive alternative. Methods. We performed a prospective observational study in 58 patients with persisting hyperparathyroidism after renal transplantation (Ca2+≥2.6 mmol/L) and impaired renal transplant function (estimated glomerular filtration rate [eGFR] <50 mL/min). The patients received 30 to 90 mg cinacalcet for 12 months with the target to normalize serum Ca2+. We measured parathyroid hormone (PTH), serum Ca2+, serum phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase, bone-specific alkaline phosphatase, osteocalcin, and telopeptide at 0, 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months of cinacalcet treatment. Fractional excretion of calcium and phosphorus (n=24) were monitored at 0 and 1 month. Results. At inclusion, creatinine was 181±70 &mgr;mol/L, eGFR 43±19 mL/min, PTH 371±279 pg/mL, and Ca2+ 2.73±0.22 mmol/L. We observed nephrocalcinosis in 58% of biopsied patients at enrollment. After cinacalcet, Ca2+ decreased significantly and normalized at nearly any measurement. Phosphorus increased significantly at months 1, 9, and 12. PTH decreased significantly, but only at months 9 and 12 and did not normalize. Bone-specific alkaline phosphatase increased significantly (>normal) by month 12. eGFR decreased and serum creatinine increased at all time points. The &Dgr;(creatinine) % increase correlated significantly with the &Dgr;(PTH) % decrease at month 1 and 12. Telopeptide and alkaline phosphatase correlated with PTH and telopeptide also correlated with serum creatinine. Conclusion. Calcium-phosphorus homeostasis in hypercalcemic renal transplant patients normalizes under cinacalcet and PTH decreases, albeit not to normal. The renal functional decline could be PTH mediated, analogous to the effects observed after parathyroidectomy.
Charge transfer inefficiency mitigation in a CCD by trap pumping

The issue of radiation induced Charge Transfer Inefficiency (CTI) is the main disadvantage of using a Charge Coupled Device (CCD) in hostile radiation environments. The formation of defects within the silicon lattice, arising from displacement damage from incident radiation, can capture and hold charge for a period of time dependant on the operating temperature and the type of defect. The location and type of these defects can be investigated using the CCD and a technique called trap pumping, where charge is shuffled forwards and backwards between pixels using different transfer times and temperatures to determine the defects emission time constant and activation energy. It is also possible to move the charge forwards and backwards using the clocking scheme used to perform normal CCD readout, in this case producing a trap map of the defects which will likely impact charge loss when the device is readout. This paper describes an analytical algorithm created to investigate the ability to recover lost charge in X-ray images from a p channel CCD204, irradiated at 153 K, and assess the ability to add charge back into the X-ray event from which it was lost.
Microelectronics in Poland - from accelerators to space technology

The paper presents achievements of the Department of Microelectronics and Computer Science of Lodz University of Technology in field of microelectronic design for applications in extreme environments. The presented achievements diverge from projects devoted to particle accelerator control, analysis and simulation of electromagnetic interference effects in 3-D integrated systems, up to space technology applications of integrated electronics intended for lifetime operation with no maintenance.
Cloning and expression of a novel isoform of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein-R

In the present study, we cloned a novel isoform of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein-R (hnRNP-R), hnRNP-R2. Compared with the previously reported hnRNP-R (hnRNP-R1), it lacks the exon 5. Two proteins are both nuclear. The expression of hnRNP-R1 is not tissue-specific and is strikingly higher than that of hnRNR-R2. In comparison, the expression of hnRNP-R2 is low and neural-specific. The expression of two isoforms is differentially regulated during brain development. The results suggest that hnRNP-R may contribute to the regulation of neural development through the variation of hnRNP-R components in the hnRNP complex.
Performance comparison of independent component analysis algorithms for fetal cardiac signal reconstruction: a study on synthetic fMCG data

Independent component analysis (ICA) algorithms have been successfully used for signal extraction tasks in the field of biomedical signal processing. We studied the performances of six algorithms (FastICA, CubICA, JADE, Infomax, TDSEP and MRMI-SIG) for fetal magnetocardiography (fMCG). Synthetic datasets were used to check the quality of the separated components against the original traces. Real fMCG recordings were simulated with linear combinations of typical fMCG source signals: maternal and fetal cardiac activity, ambient noise, maternal respiration, sensor spikes and thermal noise. Clusters of different dimensions (19, 36 and 55 sensors) were prepared to represent different MCG systems. Two types of signal-to-interference ratios (SIR) were measured. The first involves averaging over all estimated components and the second is based solely on the fetal trace. The computation time to reach a minimum of 20 dB SIR was measured for all six algorithms. No significant dependency on gestational age or cluster dimension was observed. Infomax performed poorly when a sub-Gaussian source was included; TDSEP and MRMI-SIG were sensitive to additive noise, whereas FastICA, CubICA and JADE showed the best performances. Of all six methods considered, FastICA had the best overall performance in terms of both separation quality and computation times.
Diffusion of Innovation Model of New Services Offerings in Univesities of Karachi

This research study aims to investigate the influence of adoption of new major/specialization in the universities of karachi, Pakistan. It also analyzes the relationship between new major and their adoption behavior. A convenient sample of 250 students from different universities students of Karachi was taken. After validating the instrument, one sample t-test was performed to test the relationship of selected variables i.e. Relative advantage, Observe-ability, Trial-ability, Compatibility and Complexity with the behavior of students in adopting a new major/specialization. Using SPSS 17.0 Statistical evidence at . 05 level of significance proved that relative advantage, trial-ability, compatibility, complexity and observe-ability are significantly correlated with a new major/specialization adoption. The findings are helpful for academicians, bureau of curriculum and other institutions to design and market new academic programs.
A Rare Appearance of Influenza A(H1N2) as a Reassortant in a Community Such as Yamagata Where A(H1N1) and A(H3N2) Co‐Circulate

To find a new influenza subtype A(H1N2), 383 isolates identified as H1 by hemagglutination inhibition test between the 1998–1999 and 2001–2002 seasons in Yamagata, Japan, were screened by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. As a result, 3 strains from the 1999–2000 season were identified as possibly being A(H1N2). Although several of their clones were found to be A(H1N2), A(H1N1) and A(H3N2), we could not confirm the origin of the A(H1N2) clones without the original specimens. These results suggest that a reassortment to produce A(H1N2) does not readily occur even when A(H1N1) and A(H3N2) co‐circulate in a community such as Yamagata.
Custom fabrication of reinforced lithium disilicate ceramic ingot

A method of formulating a reinforcement lithium disilicate ceramic ingot was proposed. The ceramic ingot was broken manually with a mallet to finer particles. The sectioned ingot is ball milled along with 10% of nano zirconia by weight to obtain the desired powder. The reinforced powder is condensed in a 5 ml disposable syringe by powder slurry technique. The compacted ceramic were sintered at 900°C to obtain ceramic ingots. The reinforced ceramic ingots were used in pressable ceramic machines to obtain the desired advantages of zirconia reinforcement and pressable ceramic system.
Heat cleavage of bacteriophage T4 gene 23 product produces two peptides previously identified as head proteins

During studies on the intracellular protein pools of bacteriophage T4, we found that amber mutants in gene 23 blocked the synthesis of a 20-kilodalton (kDa) protein. Radiolabeled amino acid pulses showed that the protein appears at 8 min postinfection with kinetics similar to those of other major late species. Pulse-chase experiments demonstrated that the 20-kDa protein behaves like a primary product and also revealed a 29-kDa protein which, like other proteins cleaved during head assembly, appeared only after a long chase. Both species have been identified as constituents of the T4 head and have resisted previous efforts to identify their genetic origin. The dependence of the 20- and 29-kDa head proteins on the presence of gene 23 protein (gp23) and the observation that the sum of their masses equalled that of mature cleaved gp23 suggested that these two proteins were derived from this major capsid species. Evidence is presented demonstrating that heating samples before electrophoresis causes peptide bond cleavages in gp23, leading to the formation of the two peptides. As predicted by the results of Rittenhouse and Marcus (Anal. Biochem. 138:442-448, 1984), the cleavage occurs at Asp-336-Pro-337 and at two other Asp-Pro sites. Limited heat-induced proteolysis followed by two-dimensional gel analysis provided a peptide map of gp23 useful in the characterization of its assembly-related cleavages.
Reduction of Power System Dynamic Models Using Sparse Representations

This paper proposes a model reduction technique that simplifies the dynamic equations of complex power networks, using sparse representations of the system matrices. Instead of removing components from the state vector, elements from the system matrices are eliminated such that these matrices become sparse. This is achieved by three different numeric algorithms that approximate the original system model using fewer nonzero elements. These algorithms lead to simpler models, since the complexity of operations involving sparse matrices is primarily affected by the matrices density. Furthermore, this approach enables to identify significant dynamic relations between units in the network. The proposed methods are demonstrated on several test-case systems with 9 and 2383-buses. In these examples, more than ${\text{90}}$% of the elements in the system matrices are eliminated.
Cryptocurrency Value Formation: An Empirical Analysis Leading to a Cost of Production Model for Valuing Bitcoin

This paper aims to identify the likely determinants for cryptocurrency value formation, including for that of bitcoin. Due to Bitcoin’s growing popular appeal and merchant acceptance, it has become increasingly important to try to understand the factors that influence its value formation. Presently, the value of all Bitcoins in existence represent approximately $7 billion, and more than $60 million of notional value changes hands each day. Having grown rapidly over the past few years, there is now a developing but vibrant marketplace for bitcoin, and a recognition of digital currencies as an emerging asset class. Not only is there a listed and over-the-counter market for bitcoin and other digital currencies, but also an emergent derivatives market. As such, the ability to value bitcoin and related cryptocurrencies is becoming critical to its establishment as a legitimate financial asset.Using cross-sectional empirical data examining 66 of the most widely used cryptocurrencies, a regression model was estimated that points to three main drivers of cryptocurrency value: the level of competition in the network of producers, the rate of unit production, and the difficulty of algorithm used to “mine” for the cryptocurrency. These amount to relative differences in the cost of production of one digital currency over another at the margin, pointing to differences in relative cost of production – electricity goes in, cryptocurrency comes out. Using that as a starting point, a no-arbitrage situation is established for Bitcoin-like cryptocurrencies followed by the formalization of a cost of production model to determine the fair value of a bitcoin.
Computerized Image Analysis as a Tool to Quantify Infiltrating Leukocytes

The purpose of the present study was to establish a rapid and reproducible method for quantification of tissue-infiltrating leukocytes using computerized image analysis. To achieve this, the staining procedure, the image acquisition, and the image analysis method were optimized. Because of the adaptive features of the human eye, computerized image analysis is more sensitive to variations in staining compared with manual image analysis. To minimize variations in staining, an automated immunostainer was used. With a digital scanner camera, low-magnification images could be sampled at high resolution, thus making it possible to analyze larger tissue sections. Image analysis was performed by color thresholding of the digital images based on values of hue, saturation, and intensity color mode, which we consider superior to the red, green, and blue color mode for analysis of most histological stains. To evaluate the method, we compared computerized analysis of images with a ×100 or a ×12.5 magnification to assess leukocytes infiltrating rat brain tumors after peripheral immunizations with tumor cells genetically modified to express rat interferon-γ (IFN-γ) or medium controls. The results generated by both methods correlated well and did not show any significant differences. The method allows efficient and reproducible processing of large tissue sections that is less time-consuming than conventional methods and can be performed with standard equipment and software. (J Histochem Cytochem 49:1073–1079, 2001)
Detecting female precise natal philopatry in green turtles using assignment methods

It is well established that sea turtles return to natal rookeries to mate and lay their eggs, and that individual females are faithful to particular nesting sites within the rookery. Less certain is whether females are precisely returning to their natal beach. Attempts to demonstrate such precise natal philopatry with genetic data have had mixed success. Here we focused on the green turtles of three nesting sites in the Ascension Island rookery, separated by 5–15 km. Our approach differed from previous work in two key areas. First, we used male microsatellite data (five loci) reconstructed from samples collected from their offspring (N = 17) in addition to data for samples taken directly from females (N = 139). Second, we employed assignment methods in addition to the more traditional F‐statistics. No significant genetic structure could be demonstrated with FST. However, when average assignment probabilities of females were examined, those for nesting populations in which they were sampled were indeed significantly higher than their probabilities for other populations (Mann–Whitney U‐test: P < 0.001). Further evidence was provided by a significant result for the mAIC test (P < 0.001), supporting greater natal philopatry for females compared with males. The results suggest that female natal site fidelity was not sufficient for significant genetic differentiation among the nesting populations within the rookery, but detectable with assignment tests.
Characterization of shapes for use in classification of starch grains images

As tradition Chinese herbal medicine becomes increasingly popular, there is an urgent need for efficient and accurate methods for the authentication of the Chinese Materia Medica (CMM) used in the herbal medicine. In this work, we present a denoising filter and introduce the use of chord length distribution (CLD) for the classification of starch grains in microscopic images of Chinese Materia Medica. Our simple denoising filter is adaptive to the background and is shown to be effective to remove noise, which appears in CMM microscopic starch grains images. The CLD is extracted by considering the frequency of the chord length in the binarized starch grains image, and we shall show that the CLD is an efficient and effective characterization of the starch grains. Experimental results on 240 starch grains images of 24 classes show that our method outperforms benchmark result using the current state‐of‐the‐art method based on circular size distribution extracted by morphological operators at much higher computational cost. cost. Microsc. Res. Tech., 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
' s personal copy Marriage , gender and obesity in later life

A large body of literature argues that marriage promotes health and increases longevity. But do these benefits extend to maintaining a healthy body weight, as the economic theory of health investment suggests they should? They do not. Using the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), I find that entry into marriage among both men and women aged 51–70 is associated with weight gain and exit from marriage with weight loss. I evaluate three additional theories with respect to the cross-sectional and longitudinal variation in the data. First, it may be that a broader set of shared risk factors (such as social obligations regarding meals) raises body mass for married couples. However, the shared risk factor model predicts that the intra-couple correlation should increase with respect to marital duration. Instead, it declines. Second, scholars have recently promoted a ‘‘crisis’’ model of marriage in which marital transitions, not marital status, determine differences in body mass. The crisis model is consistent with short-term effects seen for divorce, but not for the persistent weight gains associated with marriage or the persistent weight loss following widowhood. And transition models, in general, cannot explain significant cross-sectional differences across marital states in a population that is no longer experiencing many transitions, nor can it account for the prominent gender differences (in late middle-age, the heaviest group is unmarried women and the lightest are unmarried men). Third, I argue that pressures of the marriage market, in combination with gendered preferences regarding partner BMI, can account for all the longitudinal and cross-sectional patterns found in the data. 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. * Tel. : +1 8014229018. E-mail address: Sven_wilson@byu.edu. 1 This literature is vast. See Wood et al. (2007) for a review of some of the more recent evidence. With respect to marriage and mortality, Rendell et al. (2011) find a consistent survival advantage for married over unmarried men and women, though the effect for women is smaller. A recent meta-analysis of published studies shows a relative risk of mortality of 0.88 (95% CI: [0.85–.91]) for the married compared to the unmarried (Manzoli et al., 2007). 2 Not all scholars view obesity as a central public health problem. Campos et al. (2006), for instance, argue that the obesity epidemic is a ‘‘moral panic’’ more than a public health crisis and that high body mass is a very weak predictor of mortality.