Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Experiences and Views on Palliative Care of Older People with Multimorbidities, Their Family Caregivers and Professionals in a Spanish Hospital

The increasing prevalence of complex chronic diseases in the population over 65 years of age is causing a major impact on health systems. This study aims to explore the needs and preferences of the multimorbid patient and carers to improve the palliative care received. The perspective of professionals who work with this profile of patients was also taken into account. A qualitative study was conducted using semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions. Separate topic guides were developed for patients, careers and health professionals. We included 12 patients, 11 caregivers and 16 health professionals in Spain. The results showed multiple unmet needs of patients and families/caregivers, including feelings of uncertainty, a sense of fear, low awareness and knowledge about palliative care in non-malignant settings, and a desire to improve physical, psychosocial and financial status. A consistent lack of specialized psychosocial care for both patients and caregivers was expressed and professionals highlighted the need for holistic needs assessment and effective and early referral pathways to palliative care. There is a lack of institutional support for multimorbid older patients in need of palliative care and important barriers need to be addressed by health systems to face the significant increase in these patients.
PSYKOTERAPIFORSKNING GENNEM 100 ÅR – HVOR LANGT ER VI NÅET?

Psykoterapiforskningens start er blevet lokaliseret til 1920, året for grundlæggelsen af det første psykoanalytiske institut, Berlin Poliklinik, hvor man fra starten registrerede patientdata til kvantitativ bearbejdelse. Artiklen gennemgår træk af psykoterapiforskningens historie ved effekt, proces og patientprædiktorer med opdateringer om aktuelle forskningstendenser. Den redegør for forskellige paradigmer for forståelsen af forholdet mellem videnskab og praksis: evidensbaseret psykoterapi, procesbaseret psykoterapi og fællesfaktorterapi. Det konkluderes, at psykoterapiforskningen har haft enorm indflydelse på psykoterapiens anvendelse, primært i kraft af den overbevisende dokumentation for psykoterapiens effekt. Der foregår nu metodisk avanceret forskning i terapiens virkningsmekanismer og patientprædiktorer i bestræbelser for at nå til ”personaliseret” terapi, tilpasset den enkelte patient. Forskningen er dog her fortsat uden klare, praktisk anvendelige resultater.
OAM beam and modal selection algorithm-based misalignment system

Orbital angular momentum (OAM), a new modulation degree of freedom, has the potential to significantly improve frequency spectrum. Alignment and static are, however, required for the OAM communication system based on uniform circular array (UCA), which is difficult to achieve. A beam selection scheme based on OAM is proposed and matching beam pair is obtained by beam scanning. To eliminate intermodal interference caused by misalignment, a modal selection algorithm is proposed. The simulation results demonstrate that the beam matching scheme can effectively address the issue of system performance degradation caused by misalignment. By selecting transmission modes, intermodal interference can be reduced.
Virtual Inertia Support in Power Systems for High Penetration of Renewables—Overview of Categorization, Comparison, and Evaluation of Control Techniques

By replacing conventional generation units with renewable energy sources (RESs), the power system gains an alternate source of future power generation and a better environmental platform. RESs, on the other hand, are unable to provide the required power demand due to poor inertia responses and low-frequency stability. As a result, multiple inertia augmentation control strategies were developed to increase frequency stability and maximize power usage in the grid-integrated renewable energy systems. Accordingly, this study thoroughly reviews existing virtual inertia control (VIC) strategies for improving inertia response and frequency stability. This study investigates 51 VIC approaches regarding required parameters, configurations, key contributions, sources, controllers, and simulation platforms. Furthermore, to emphasize the most promising ones, the VIC approaches are classified as intelligent, adaptive, derivative, coordinated control, and other VIC techniques. The classification approach is followed by the system configuration and the mode of operation of each control scheme. Integrating intelligent methods, such as fuzzy logic, genetic algorithm, non-convex optimization, and heuristic optimization, signify intelligent control methods. In contrast, adaptive control schemes emphasize the adaptation of control operations. These studies include both the standalone and grid-connected RESs frequency and power control approaches with necessary mathematical modelling and equations, which are rarely available in the recent existing works. The current state of research on improving frequency stability and inertia response in the grid-integrated RESs is discussed. Finally, this literature review reflects the present status of VIC technique research paths, and the categorization and analysis of these approaches demonstrate an extensive insight into the research field.
Cell-Type-Dependent Role for nsP3 Macrodomain ADP-Ribose Binding and Hydrolase Activity during Chikungunya Virus Infection

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) causes outbreaks of rash, arthritis, and fever associated with neurologic complications, where astrocytes are preferentially infected. A determinant of virulence is the macrodomain (MD) of nonstructural protein 3 (nsP3), which binds and removes ADP-ribose (ADPr) from ADP-ribosylated substrates and regulates stress-granule disruption. We compared the replication of CHIKV 181/25 (WT) and MD mutants with decreased ADPr binding and hydrolase (G32S) or increased ADPr binding and decreased hydrolase (Y114A) activities in C8-D1A astrocytic cells and NSC-34 neuronal cells. WT CHIKV replication was initiated more rapidly with earlier nsP synthesis in C8-D1A than in NSC-34 cells. G32S established infection, amplified replication complexes, and induced host-protein synthesis shut-off less efficiently than WT and produced less infectious virus, while Y114A replication was close to WT. However, G32S mutation effects on structural protein synthesis were cell-type-dependent. In NSC-34 cells, E2 synthesis was decreased compared to WT, while in C8-D1A cells synthesis was increased. Excess E2 produced by G32S-infected C8-D1A cells was assembled into virus particles that were less infectious than those from WT or Y114A-infected cells. Because nsP3 recruits ADP-ribosylated RNA-binding proteins in stress granules away from translation-initiation factors into nsP3 granules where the MD hydrolase can remove ADPr, we postulate that suboptimal translation-factor release decreased structural protein synthesis in NSC-34 cells while failure to de-ADP-ribosylate regulatory RNA-binding proteins increased synthesis in C8-D1A cells.
Star Formation in Nuclear Rings of Barred-Spiral Galaxies

Abstract We study star formation occurring in nuclear rings of barred-spiral galaxies by using hydrodynamic simulations with the prescriptions of star formation and feedback included. In models without spiral arms, the star formation rate (SFR) in a ring exhibits a strong primary burst at early time and declines to small values at late time. The early burst is caused by a rapid gas infall due to the bar growth, consuming most of the gas inside the bar regions. On the other hand, models with spiral arms show multiple starburst activities at late time caused by arm-induced gas inflows, provided that the arm pattern speed is slower than that of the bar. The SFR in models with spirals is larger by a factor of ~ 1.4–4.0 than that in the bar-only models, with larger values corresponding to stronger and slower arms. In all models, young star clusters in nuclear ring show an azimuthal age gradient only when the SFR is small, such that younger clusters tend to locate closer to the contact points between the ring and dust lanes.
Sample mean based index policies by O(log n) regret for the multi-armed bandit problem

We consider a non-Bayesian infinite horizon version of the multi-armed bandit problem with the objective of designing simple policies whose regret increases slowly with time. In their seminal work on this problem, Lai and Robbins had obtained a O(log n) lower bound on the regret with a constant that depends on the Kullback–Leibler number. They also constructed policies for some specific families of probability distributions (including exponential families) that achieved the lower bound. In this paper we construct index policies that depend on the rewards from each arm only through their sample mean. These policies are computationally much simpler and are also applicable much more generally. They achieve a O(log n) regret with a constant that is also based on the Kullback–Leibler number. This constant turns out to be optimal for one-parameter exponential families; however, in general it is derived from the optimal one via a ‘contraction' principle. Our results rely entirely on a few key lemmas from the theory of large deviations.
Neutron-induced background in charge-coupled device detectors

The inertial confinement fusion (ICF) community must become more cognizant of the neutron-induced background levels in charge-coupled device (CCD) detectors that are replacing film as the recording medium in many ICF diagnostics. This background degrades the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the recorded signals and for the highest-yield shots comprises a substantial fraction of the pixel’s full well capacity. CCD detectors located anywhere in the OMEGA Target Bay are precluded from recording high precision signals (SNR>30) for deuterium–tritium neutron yields greater than 1013. CCDs make excellent calibrated neutron detectors. The average CCD background level is proportional to the neutron yield, and we have measured a linear response over four decades. The spectrum of deposited energy per pixel is heavily weighted to low energies, <50 keV, with a few isolated saturated pixels. Most of the background recorded by the CCDs is due to secondary radiation produced by interactions of the primary neutrons with all.
Influence of milk production records on the estimation of typical and extended curve lactation parameters in local goats under grazing management

The effect of measure number of milk production (MP) on the estimation of parameters in typical and extended lactations curve parameters of local goats was evaluated. This study was conducted with 14 producers in 5 communities of the Comarca Lagunera, State of Coahuila, MÃ©xico. MP was measured monthly by hand-milking during 4 years. Data analyzed included 12,097 observations belonging to 2,229 lactations from 1,125 local goats. The Wood model was utilized to characterize the lactation curve and its parameters (a, b, and c). Two groups were formed, G1 (typical lactation with 3-7 milk measures), and G2 (extended lactations with 8-10 milk measures). The criterion utilized to determine the adequate number of MP measures during lactation was the standard error of the estimate. The best fit in the estimation of the curve parameters was obtained in G2. Factors affecting the curve parameters were also evaluated utilizing the MIXED procedure of SAS. Community, year, and parity number influenced all the parameters in both groups. Flock within community influenced b and c in G1. Season of parity influenced c in G2. It is concluded that a higher measure number of MP in an extended lactation helps in better estimation of lactation curve parameters.
Burnout in hostels: How it shapes workers’ perceptions of human resources practices

There are scarce results on burnout in such organizations as hostels and how it influences workers’ perceptions of their companies. Therefore, this study aims to analyze burnout of hostel workers and assess how it influences their perceptions of the type of leadership, the kind of support, the existence of feedback sessions, the organizational climate, and the quality of T&amp;D programs. Data were collected from 96 employees of Portuguese hostels; existing validated measures were adapted from relevant literature. A pilot test was conducted to ensure the accuracy of the measures according to the target population. A PLS analysis of survey data provided the following results. Burnout plays a negative role in employees’ overall acknowledgment of the organization and their sense of satisfaction and loyalty toward it. Specifically, the most substantial negative effects of burnout were on feedback quality, manager support, and organizational climate (β = –0.557; –0.549; –0.542, p &lt; 0.001, respectively). Furthermore, the indirect and negative effect of burnout on employee loyalty and employee satisfaction was also verified (β = –0.415; –0.418, p &lt; 0.001, respectively). Therefore, managers can elaborate well-designed and applied practices based on these factors. Finally, this paper also discusses future research recommendations. AcknowledgmentThis study was financially supported by the research unit on Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policy (UIDB/04058/2020) + (UIDP/04058/2020), funded by national funds through FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia.
Voluntary Assist-as-Needed Controller for an Ankle Power-Assist Rehabilitation Robot

Objective: Although existing assist-as-needed (AAN) controllers have been designed to adapt the robotic assistance to patients' movement performance, they ignore patient's active participation. This study proposed a voluntary AAN (VAAN) controller considering both movement performance and active participation for an ankle rehabilitation robot. Methods: According to the trajectory tracking error of the human-robot cooperation movement, the controller can switch among four working modes, including robot-resist, free, robot-assist, and robot-dominant mode. In order to reflect patients’ active participation, the voluntary torque of the ankle joint was estimated by an EMG-driven musculoskeletal model. The control torque in robot-resist, free, and robot-assist mode was determined by the voluntary torque of ankle joint multiplied by an assistance ratio to encourage subjects’ active participation, and a stiff torque was provided in robot-dominant mode. The controller was evaluated with 2 healthy subjects and 5 stroke patients on an ankle rehabilitation robot to investigate the clinical impact on the stroke patients. Results: The experiment results showed that as patients’ disability level increased, the trajectory tracking error increased and the proportion of human-dominant time and the voluntary torque of ankle joint decreased. Moreover, the results showed that the proposed VAAN controller achieved higher human contribution ratio than that of previous studies. Conclusion: The proposed VAAN controller can adapt the working mode to the movement performance and promote the subjects to participate actively. Significance: Based on its performance, the proposed VAAN controller has potential for use in robot-assisted rehabilitation.
Sequential product of quantum effects

Unsharp quantum measurements can be modelled by means of the class e(H) of positive contractions on a Hilbert space H, in brief, quantum effects. For A, B ∈ e(H) the operation of sequential product AcB = A 1/2 BA 1/2 was proposed as a model for sequential quantum measurements. We continue these investigations on sequential product and answer positively the following question: the assumption A o B > B implies AB = BA = B. Then we propose a geometric approach of quantum effects and their sequential product by means of contractively contained Hilbert spaces and operator ranges. This framework leads us naturally to consider lattice properties of quantum effects, sums and intersections, and to prove that the sequential product is left distributive with respect to the intersection.
Liver Proteome Alterations in Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) Infected by the Giant Liver Fluke Fascioloides magna

Liver fluke infections are recognised as diseases with worldwide distribution and considerable veterinary and public health importance. The giant liver fluke, Fascioloides magna, is an important non-native parasite which has been introduced to Europe, posing a threat to the survival of local wildlife populations such as red deer (Cervus elaphus). The aim of the study was to analyse differences in liver proteomes between F. magna-infected and control red deer groups using a label-based high-throughput quantitative proteomics approach. The proteomics analysis identified 234 proteins with differential abundance between the control and infected groups. Our findings showed that F. magna infection in this definitive host is associated with changes in the metabolism of proteins and fatty acids, oxidative stress, fibrosis, and signaling pathways. The identified proteins and associated biological pathways represent a valuable contribution to the understanding of host–parasite interactions and the pathogenesis of liver fluke infection.
Image restoration using a two-dimensional lorentzian probability model

Abstract It is known that the distribution of intensity gradients along separate horizontal and vertical directions in an image of a general scene often has a sharp peak with a long tail. This property, can be described by a Lorentzian probability function, and is the basis of an efficient nonlinear one-dimensional restoration algorithm. It can also superresolve a two-dimensional separable image. This paper discusses the gradient distribution in a general two-dimensional image and shows that the distribution of the maximum gradient at any picture point is also Lorentzian. This has been used to develop an iterative two-dimensional restoration algorithm. It starts by evaluating the likelihood of the intensity gradients within a Wiener filtered image. Then a nonlinear correction term is introduced which increases this likelihood under mean square error criterion. The method is applied to synthetic images and to a 94 GHz passive millimetre wave image. This new two-dimensional method is shown to be superior to the previous one-dimensional algorithm which had to be applied separately along two orthogonal directions.
CVCNet: Learning Cost Volume Compression for Efficient Stereo Matching

State-of-the-art deep learning based stereo matching algorithms usually rely on full-size cost volumes for highly accurate disparity estimation. The full-size cost volume processes all possible disparity candidates equally without considering their different matching uncertainties. Consequently, considerable redundant computation is involved on those candidates with very low matching uncertainties, making these methods difficult to be deployed in real-time applications. To tackle this problem, we propose CVCNet featuring an adaptive disparity range prediction module (ADR) and a disparity refinement module (DRM). The ADR adaptively predicts pixel-wise disparity range to discard the “unimportant” disparity candidates. It enables our network to obtain a compressed cost volume. Besides, the DRM improves disparity range prediction and refines the predicted disparity map. With the proposed modules, our CVCNet learns to build a compressed cost volume to achieve efficient disparity estimation. Experimental results on the KITTI and SceneFlow datasets show that our method achieves state-of-the-art performance, and runs at a significant order of magnitude faster speed than existing 3D CNN based methods. Particularly, our method ranks $\mathbf {1}\mathrm{st}$ on the KITTI 2012 and KITTI 2015 benchmarks among all published methods with running time shorter than 100 ms.
Microeconometrics: Methods and Applications

1. Introduction 2. Causal and non-causal models 3. Microeconomic data structures 4. Linear models 5. ML and NLS estimation 6. GMM and systems estimation 7. Hypothesis tests 8. Specification tests and model selection 9. Semiparametric methods 10. Numerical optimization 11. Bootstrap methods 12. Simulation-based methods 13. Bayesian methods 14. Binary outcome models 15. Multinomial models 16. Tobit and selection models 17. Transition data: survival analysis 18. Mixture models and unobserved heterogeneity 19. Models of multiple hazards 20. Models of count data 21. Linear panel models: basics 22. Linear panel models: extensions 23. Nonlinear panel models 24. Stratified and clustered samples 25. Treatment evaluation 26. Measurement error models 27. Missing data and imputation A. Asymptotic theory B. Making pseudo-random draw.
Development of Squalene-Based Oil-in-Water Emulsion Adjuvants Using a Self-Emulsifying Drug Delivery System for Enhanced Antigen-Specific Antibody Titers

Introduction A recombinant protein cannot induce sufficient immune response by itself. Various substances, including cytokine and mineral, have been used as adjuvants to enhance the immunogenicity and efficacy of vaccines; however, most of them induce excessive immune responses or exhibit cytotoxicity. In this study, a self-emulsifying drug delivery system (SEDDS), an isotropic mixture of oil, surfactant, and solvent, was designed for oil-in-water emulsions as a non-toxic adjuvant to increase immune response to antigens. Methods Squalene-based oil-in-water emulsions were prepared by SEDDS to assess its value as an adjuvant. Fifteen emulsions (F1–F15) were prepared by stirring two types of surfactants (Span® 85 and Kolliphor® RH40), and squalene and carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) were added at different ratios. The physical properties and viscosity of the 15 emulsions were evaluated by measuring droplet size, zeta potential, and polydispersity index. The toxic effect of emulsions was assessed by acute toxicity test in mice. Mice were immunized twice with 1:1 mixtures of antigen and adjuvant (15 emulsions, phosphate-buffered saline, and commercial alum-based adjuvant). Antigen-specific antibody titers from immunized mice serum were measured by an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results All emulsions exhibited droplet sizes ranging from 322 to 812 nm and maintained zeta potential values between −30 mV to –10 mV for 4 weeks, indicating good physical stability as a vaccine adjuvant. Additionally, all emulsions were non-toxic, and they induced humoral immunity at a similar level compared to commercial alum-based adjuvant in the first immunization. However, 12% squalene-based oil-in-water emulsion containing 0.5% of ultra-high viscosity CMC (F15) showed significantly higher immune response than a commercial adjuvant in the second immunization. Conclusion Squalene-based oil-in-water emulsions could be conveniently prepared using SEDDS technique and are non-toxic and stable at room temperature storage. Moreover, squalene-based oil-in-water emulsions show enhanced immune induction with antigen; hence, they can possibly be used as effective adjuvants.
Model calculation of the electronic structure of a (111) surface in a diamond-structure solid?

The authors present exact results for a model calculation of the surface electronic structure of a (111) face of a diamond-type solid. The model contains only one s-state per atom, but allows for surface rearrangement both at the outer layer and at the outer bounds. Two kinds of surface states are found. The first kind are localized at the outer bounds and split off the bulk bands as the bond potential increases beyond a critical value. The second kind are intrinsic surface states and exist independently of the surface rearrangement but only in a restricted domain in the Brillouin zone where structure factors are smaller than 1. These intrinsic states have not been discussed before; they exist also in more realistic hybrid models of diamond-structure solids.