Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A hypoglycemic episode diagnosis system based on neural networks for Type 1 diabetes mellitus

Hypoglycemia (or low blood glucose) is dangerous for Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) patients, as this can cause unconsciousness or even death. However, it is impossible to monitor the hypoglycemia by measuring patients' blood glucose levels all the time, especially at night. In this paper, a hypoglycemic episode diagnosis system is proposed to determine T1DM patients' blood glucose levels based on these patients' physiological parameters which can be measured online. It can be used not only to diagnose hypoglycemic episodes in T1DM patients, but also to generate a set of rules, which describe the domains of physiological parameters that lead to hypoglycemic episodes. The hypoglycemic episode diagnosis system addresses the limitations of the traditional neural network approaches which cannot generate implicit information. The performance of the proposed hypoglycemic episode diagnosis system is evaluated by using real T1DM patients' data sets collected from the Department of Health, Government of Western Australia, Australia. Results show that satisfactory diagnosis accuracy can be obtained. Also, explicit knowledge can be produced such that the deficiency of traditional neural networks can be overcome. A clear understanding of how they perform diagnosis can be indicated.
Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy in Patients With Permanent Atrial Fibrillation: Results From the Resynchronization for Ambulatory Heart Failure Trial (RAFT)

Background—Cardiac resynchronization (CRT) prolongs survival in patients with systolic heart failure and QRS prolongation. However, most trials excluded patients with permanent atrial fibrillation. Methods and Results—The Resynchronization for Ambulatory Heart Failure Trial (RAFT) randomized patients to an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) or ICD+CRT, stratified by the presence of permanent atrial fibrillation. Patients with permanent atrial fibrillation were randomized to CRT-ICD (n=114) or ICD (n=115). Patients receiving a CRT-ICD were similar to those receiving an ICD: age (71.6±7.3 versus 70.4±7.7 years), left ventricular ejection fraction (22.9±5.3% versus 22.3±5.1%), and QRS duration (151.0±23.6 versus 153.4±24.7 ms). There was no difference in the primary outcome of death or heart failure hospitalization between those assigned to CRT-ICD versus ICD (hazard ratio, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.65–1.41; P=0.82). Cardiovascular death was similar between treatment arms (hazard ratio, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.55–1.71; P=0.91); however, there was a trend for fewer heart failure hospitalizations with CRT-ICD (hazard ratio, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.38–1.01; P=0.052). The change in 6-minute hall walk duration between baseline and 12 months was not different between treatment arms (CRT-ICD: 19±84 m versus ICD: 16±76 m; P=0.88). Patients treated with CRT-ICD showed a trend for a greater improvement in Minnesota Living with Heart Failure score between baseline and 6 months (CRT-ICD: 41±21 to 31±21; ICD: 33±20 to 28±20; P=0.057). Conclusions—Patients with permanent atrial fibrillation who are otherwise CRT candidates appear to gain minimal benefit from CRT-ICD compared with a standard ICD. Clinical Trial Registration—URL: http://www.clinicaltrials. gov. Unique identifier: NCT00251251.
Association of acute adverse effects with high local SAR induced in the brain from prolonged RF head and neck hyperthermia

To provide an adequate level of protection for humans from exposure to radio-frequency (RF) electromagnetic fields (EMF) and to assure that any adverse health effects are avoided. The basic restrictions in terms of the specific energy absorption rate (SAR) were prescribed by IEEE and ICNIRP. An example of a therapeutic application of non-ionizing EMF is hyperthermia (HT), in which intense RF energy is focused at a target region. Deep HT in the head and neck (H&N) region involves inducing energy at 434 MHz for 60 min on target. Still, stray exposure of the brain is considerable, but to date only very limited side-effects were observed. The objective of this study is to investigate the stringency of the current basic restrictions by relating the induced EM dose in the brain of patients treated with deep head and neck (H&N) HT to the scored acute health effects. We performed a simulation study to calculate the induced peak 10 g spatial-averaged SAR (psSAR10g) in the brains of 16 selected H&N patients who received the highest SAR exposure in the brain, i.e. who had the minimum brain-target distance and received high forwarded power during treatment. The results show that the maximum induced SAR in the brain of the patients can exceed the current basic restrictions (IEEE and ICNIRP) on psSAR10g for occupational environments by 14 times. Even considering the high local SAR in the brain, evaluation of acute effects by the common toxicity criteria (CTC) scores revealed no indication of a serious acute neurological effect. In addition, this study provides pioneering quantitative human data on the association between maximum brain SAR level and acute adverse effects when brains are exposed to prolonged RF EMF.
Dendritic cell–B‐cell interaction: dendritic cells provide B cells with CD40‐independent proliferation signals and CD40‐dependent survival signals

Dendritic cells (DC) have recently been shown to play an important role in B‐cell function. We have previously shown that DC can capture and retain unprocessed antigen in vitro and in vivo, and can transfer this antigen to naive B cells to initiate antigen‐specific antibody responses. We also demonstrated that DC were providing B cells with isotype‐switch signals independent of T cells but that T‐cell help was essential for antibody production. In this study, using B cells and DC from wild type (WT) and CD40 knockout (CD40KO) mice we show that DC initiate proliferation of B cells independently of CD40, because WT or CD40KO DC could induce proliferation of WT or CD40KO B cells, but proliferation was greater in the absence of CD40. DC also provide B cells with survival signals as WT DC improved viability of B cells after a 5‐day culture but survival was reduced in the absence of CD40 expression.
Fault-tolerant techniques for nanocomputers

The proposed nanometre-sized electronic devices are generally expected to show an increased probability of errors both in manufacturing and in service. Hence, there is a need to use fault-tolerant techniques in order to make reliable information processing systems out of those devices. Here we examine and compare four fault-tolerant techniques: R-fold multiple redundancy; cascaded triple modular redundancy; von Neumann's multiplexing method; and a reconfigurable computer technique. It is shown that the reconfiguration technique is the most effective technique, able to cope with manufacturing defect rates of the order of 0.01-0.1, but the technique requires enormous amounts of redundancy, of the order of 103-105. However, in the case of transient errors, multiple modular redundancy and multiplexing are the only feasible options.
"Seeing the Patient Is the Joy:" A Focus Group Analysis of Burnout in Outpatient Providers.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES The increased demand on providers from health care systems combined with the complex and difficult practice of medicine contributes to provider stress and burnout. In order to develop effective, sustainable interventions for provider burnout, it is important to understand the lived experiences of providers and their perceptions of its causative factors. We describe focus group findings that explore provider perceptions and offer suggestions for future actions. METHODS We convened six focus groups in five clinics involving 44 participants and used a common set of questions for each group. Real-time follow-up questions varied as needed to clarify or explore specific themes. We asked for descriptions of providers' daily work, their ability to complete that work, and the frustrations associated with accomplishing their tasks. In addition, providers were asked about transparency of decision making and their perceptions of control in the workplace. RESULTS Three major themes evolved from these focus groups: the perceived impact of the work environment, work tasks, and "e-stress. " CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest three competing tensions contribute to provider burnout, none of which were attributable to patient volume or complexity. These tensions were described as originating from clinician experience of management practices and new requirements in the work environment, tension between direct patient care and non-direct patient care work tasks, and "e-stress" caused by the digital presence in providers' work lives.
Comparison between reflectance spectra obtained with an integrating sphere and a fiber optic collection system

Visible reflectance spectra of human skin might serve as a valuable tool for determining blood volume and pigmentation. They can therefore be used to evaluate the response to various skin treatments such as, e.g., port-wine stain therapy. A fiber-optic system is preferable for clinical evaluation of the therapeutic response due to its higher flexibility. Diffuse reflectance spectra obtained using a fiber system are compared with the corresponding spectra from an integrating sphere system. The results show that the most accurate reflectance spectra are obtained using the integrating sphere set-up. The aperture should then be much larger than the optical penetration depth of the skin. The system will then collect all the reflected light from superficial and deeper layers, and this enables a qualitative comparison between the wavelengths. However, the size and localization of many dermal lesions limit its use. In these cases the fiber-optic system is preferable. Light with an optical penetration depth shorter than the distance between the excitation and collecting fibers is, however, favorized. Normal dermis has typically a penetration depth of 600 micrometers and 2000 micrometers for, respectively, green/yellow and red light. Consequently, the collection efficiency of a typical fiber-optic system with a distance of 100 - 200 micrometers between the emitting and collecting fibers, will be higher in the green/yellow than in the red part of the spectrum. It is, however, important to remember that the relevant parameter is the change in reflectance at each particular wavelength, rather than comparison between the wavelengths. When such a comparison is required, the spectra collected by the fiber-optic system can be calibrated. The more accurate integrating sphere system is maybe preferable in a research laboratory environment, whereas the more flexible fiber-optic system is the most applicable for use in the clinic.
Claudins and paracellular transport: an update

Purpose of reviewClaudins are tight junction proteins that form paracellular barriers and pores. The purpose of this timely review is to provide an update on the exciting new advances in our understanding of claudin biology and their relevance to renal physiology and pathophysiology. Recent findingsAccumulating evidence from numerous studies indicates that the primary role of claudins is to determine the permeability and charge selectivity of the paracellular pathway to small ions. Studies in which claudins are overexpressed in cell lines have potential limitations and need to be interpreted cautiously. Ribonucleic acid interference is a novel approach to functional characterization. Claudins are believed to assemble into multimers by homophilic and heterophilic side-by-side and head-to-head interaction; however, there is still limited evidence for this. The roles of a few claudins in the renal tubule, including claudins 2, 8, 10, 16 and 19, have now been elucidated. SummaryThese findings reveal tantalizing clues to claudin biology and function. Much remains unknown, however, and these findings will hopefully encourage further research in this important area.
The placental origins of sudden cardiac death.

OBJECTIVE Most sudden cardiac deaths are due to cardiac arrhythmias, and abnormalities in the autonomic nervous system could underlie them. There is growing evidence that coronary heart disease is associated with alterations of fetal development as a result of variations in the processes of placentation that control fetal nutrition. We hypothesized that placental size would be associated with sudden cardiac death. METHODS We examined sudden cardiac death within the Helsinki Birth Cohort of 13 345 men and women. RESULTS One hundred eighty-seven (2.7%) men and 47 (0.7%) women had sudden unexplained cardiac death outside hospital. Sudden death was associated with a thin placenta, the hazard ratio being 1.47 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.11-1.93, P = 0.006] for each g/cm(2) decrease in thickness. Sudden death was independently associated with poor educational attainment (P < 0.0001). Both of these associations were independent of socio-economic status in later life. CONCLUSION Sudden death may be initiated by impaired development of the autonomic nervous system in utero as a result of shallow invasion of the spiral arteries in the maternal endometrium and consequent fetal malnutrition.
Multi-modal Imaging: Simultaneous MRI and Ultrasound Imaging for Carotid Arteries Visualization

The purpose of this study is to examine the feasibility of simultaneous Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Ultrasound (US) imaging in visualizing anatomical structures and functions in human carotid arteries. US has high frame rate in visualizing dynamic changes while high resolution MRI is capable of capturing volumetric structures with the best tissue contrast. Concurrent multi-modal image acquisition allows fusion of US Doppler flow measurement with volumetric MRI. We present a method for acquiring MR images in a known orientation with respect to US image by passive fiducial tracking and demonstrate concurrent real-time imaging in the right Common Carotid Artery (CCA) in both modalities. Preliminary results suggest that US and MRI can operate concurrently with proper shielding. Dispensability measurements are feasible on both modalities at the co-incident plane.
Performance Evaluation of Fuzzy based Ontology System for Identification of Malaria Disease

The disease identification from the symptoms and other detail is one of the important research area for researcher. The various ontology systems which relate the symptom and disease is evaluated by the researchers. Many time this system fail due to confusing symptom which make the fuzzy problem for classification. In this paper fuzzy based ontology system is presented. The fuzziness of the symptoms is solving by generating and optimizing the rule base. The Malaria disease has been used to evaluate the performance of classifier. The accuracy of classification on symptoms database is the key parameter used for performance evaluation of method.
Tolerability, pharmacokinetics and dose linearity of azelastine hydrochloride in healthy subjects.

In a double-blind, randomized, 4-period crossover study, single oral doses of azelastine hydrochloride tablets (A-05610, Allergodil, Radethazin, Azeptin, CAS 79307-93-0) were ingested by 12 healthy volunteers (6 males, 6 females, mean age 25.2 +/- 3.5 years). Dose linearity was demonstrated for 2.2, 4.4, 8.8 and 17.6 mg of azelastine hydrochloride. The values of AUC0-infinity and Cmax increased linear to the dose (means of AUC0-infinity: 47.3, 93.7, 208.0 and 405.90 ng-eq h/ml; means of Cmax: 1.5, 3.3, 6.0 and 12.5 ng-eq/ml), whereas tmax and the terminal half-life of elimination (t1/2 beta) were obviously not influenced by the dose. Mean values over all doses and subjects amounted to 4.6 h (tmax) and 25.5 h (t1/2 beta). Plasma levels showed relatively high inter- and somewhat less intraindividual variations. This is most likely due to a varying degree of enterohepatic circulation resulting from alimentary factors. As for the co-detection of azelastine and the pharmacodynamically active metabolite N-desmethyl-azelastine by the radio-immuno-assay (RIA) used, the parameters describe the pharmacokinetic behaviour as a resultant from both compounds and thus the active principle of the drug. Independently of the dosages administered the overall tolerance proved to be very good. According to this trial the therapeutic range is wide enough to recommend 4.4 mg b.i. d. or single doses of 8.8 mg of azelastine hydrochloride per day for therapy in adult patients.
Subjective memory complaints in an elderly population with poor sleep quality

ABSTRACT Objectives: The association between sleep disturbances and cognitive decline in the elderly has been putative and controversial. We evaluated the relation between subjective sleep quality and cognitive function in the Korean elderly. Method: Among 459 community-dwelling subjects, 352 subjects without depression or neurologic disorders (mean age 68.2 ± 6.1) were analyzed in this study. All the participants completed the Korean version of the consortium to establish a registry for Alzheimer's disease neuropsychological battery (CERAD-KN) as an objective cognitive measure and subjective memory complaints questionnaire (SMCQ). Based on the Pittsburgh sleep quality index, two types of sleepers were defined: ‘good sleepers’ and ‘poor sleepers’. Results: There were 192 good sleepers (92 men) and 160 poor sleepers (51 men). Poor sleepers reported more depressive symptoms and more use of sleep medication, and showed higher SMCQ scores than good sleepers, but there was no difference in any assessments of CERAD-KN. In the regression analysis, depressive symptoms and subjective sleep quality were associated with subjective memory complaints (β = 0.312, p < 0.001; β = 0.163, p = 0.005). Conclusion: In the elderly without depression, poor sleep quality was associated with subjective memory complaints, but not with objective cognitive measures. As subjective memory complaints might develop into cognitive disorders, poor sleep quality in the elderly needs to be adequately controlled.
Needs-Based Segmentation: Principles and Practice

While the principles of needs or benefit-based market segmentation have been long established, its potential value as a route to a stronger market understanding and ultimately competitive advantage has been largely untapped in pharmaceutical marketing research, with internal process rather than market focus driving market understanding. Many of the tensions around the use of geodemographics for market segmentation in the consumer work are mirrored in the use of classification systems and diagnosis in the pharmaceutical environment. This paper presents the application of needs-based segmentation - market segmentation based on understanding how physicians use perceptions of patient needs to group patients and then use this understanding to make appropriate treatment decisions specific to each patient group. The need to include patient needs in market segmentation is taken into account by considering the consequences of not segmenting the market strategically. The approach is illustrated to show how valuable outputs are generated and how direction may be provided across the brand development process. The potential impact and application of this novel thinking within pharmaceutical companies is reviewed. This paper shows how a benefit-based or needs-based segmentation of the market provides a more potent view of the market, and argue that market segmentation should therefore be fashioned to reflect this.
The SENSITIVE TO FREEZING2 Gene, Required for Freezing Tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana, Encodes a β-Glucosidase

The sensitive to freezing2-1 (sfr2-1) mutation causes freezing sensitivity in Arabidopsis thaliana. By mapping, transgenic complementation, and sequencing, sfr2-1 was revealed to be a mutation in gene At3g06510. A new knockout allele was obtained, and its identical freezing-sensitive phenotype confirmed that the SFR2 gene product is essential for freezing tolerance. Transcription of SFR2 was observed to be constitutive rather than stress inducible and was distributed throughout most aerial tissues. SFR2 encodes a protein homologous to family 1 glycosyl hydrolases (β-glycosidases), but the predicted AtSFR2 protein is divergent from all other family 1 β-glycosidases of Arabidopsis, showing closer homology to the sequences of several β-glycosidases from thermophilic archea and bacteria. After purification from a heterologous expression system, AtSFR2 displayed a specific hydrolytic activity against β-d-glucosides.
A Robust Metric for Screening Outliers from Analogue Product Manufacturing Tests Responses

Mahalanobis distance is one of the commonly used multivariate metrics for finely segregating defective devices from non-defective ones. An associated problem with this approach is the estimation of a robust mean and a covariance matrix. In the absence of such robust estimates, especially in the presence of outliers to test-response measurements, and only a sub-sample from the population is available, the distance metric becomes unreliable. To circumvent this problem, multiple Mahalanobis distances are calculated from selected sets of test-response measurements. They are then suitably formulated to derive a metric that has a reduced variance and robust to shifts or deviations in measurements. In this paper, such a formulation is proposed to qualitatively screen product outliers and quantitatively measure the reliability of the non-defective ones. The application of method is exemplified over a test set of an industrial automobile product.
Dynamic ramp with the invariant inductor in current-mode control for Buck converter

A dynamic ramp with the invariant inductor in current-mode control for Buck converter is proposed in this paper. This configuration maintains system stability under different input/output voltages without changing the inductor and compensation circuit. The dynamic ramp can be adjusted according to varied the output voltage or the voltage droop between the input voltage and the output voltage to maintain bandwidth and phase margin using the invariant inductor and compensation circuit. Finally, the dynamic ramp sampling the output voltage is implemented using MathCAD predictions, SIMPLIS simulation results, and experimental results to verify its viability and superiority.
Role of nm 23 expression in nephroblastoma in determining prognosis and metastatic potential

Nm23 gene family is associated with metastasis suppression and differentiation with known 4 types. Nm23 genes are expressed in different tumors where the levels are associated with reduced or increased metastatic potential. The aim of this study is to search for prognostic role and metastatic importance of nm23 protein expression in nephroblastomas. Monoclonal antibody specific for nm23 was applied immunohistochemically by LSAB method in formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissue sections of nephroblastoma in 30 children between 1-10 years of age in different stages of disease. Its prognostic role and relation with metastasis and other factors were searched. Seventeen of the cases were female (56.7%) while 13 were male (43.3%). The mean age was 4.3±2.4 (1-10). Thirteen cases were stage I (43.3%), one case was stage II (3.3%), 10 cases were stage III (33.3%), while 6 were stage IV (20%). Twenty-one cases were alive, while 9 cases were exitus. Mean survival time was 87.2±49.7 (8-154) months. Nm23 was positive in 20 cases (66.7%) and negative in 10 cases (33.3%). The mean survival time for nm23 negative cases was 50.90 months, while it was 105.35 months for positive cases. In Spearman correlation analysis, stage was positively related with nm23 status (p=0.0001) and Cox Regression analysis indicated nm23 protein expression as an independent factor for metastasis (p=0.010) and for prognosis (p=0.001). Log Rank Survival analysis showed a significant difference between nm23 positive and negative cases (p=0.019). Prognosis was better in nm23 positive cases. Our results revealed that negative nm23 protein expression might be a predictor for metastasis in nephroblastomas and it is an independent prognostic factor. It would worth studying the prognostic importance of nm23 in nephroblastoma and other tumors. [Turk J Cancer 2004;34(3):101-105]