Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Causes of preventable drug-related hospital admissions: a qualitative study

Objective: To explore the causes of preventable drug-related admissions (PDRAs) to hospital. Design: Qualitative case studies using semi-structured interviews and medical record review; data analysed using a framework derived from Reason’s model of organisational accidents and cascade analysis. Participants: 62 participants, including 18 patients, 8 informal carers, 17 general practitioners, 12 community pharmacists, 3 practice nurses and 4 other members of healthcare staff, involved in events leading up to the patients’ hospital admissions. Setting: Nottingham, UK. Results: PDRAs are associated with problems at multiple stages in the medication use process, including prescribing, dispensing, administration, monitoring and help seeking. The main causes of these problems are communication failures (between patients and healthcare professionals and different groups of healthcare professionals) and knowledge gaps (about drugs and patients’ medical and medication histories). The causes of PDRAs are similar irrespective of whether the hospital admission is associated with a prescribing, monitoring or patient adherence problem. Conclusions: The causes of PDRAs are multifaceted and complex. Technical solutions to PDRAs will need to take account of this complexity and are unlikely to be sufficient on their own. Interventions targeting the human causes of PDRAs are also necessary—for example, improving methods of communication.
On the error probability of wideband spatially correlated coherent MIMO channels

In this paper, we present the error probability expressions for a wideband coherent spatially correlated Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) channel in low signal to noise ratio (SNR) regimes. Prior works have depicted a decrease in performance due to spatial correlation in high SNR regimes. This work proves that in a power limited broadband MIMO system, spatial correlation across the channel fading matrix elements improves the probability of error performance. In other words, spatial correlation impacts the MIMO performance differently in high SNR compared to low SNR (wideband) regimes.
Optimization of a temperature and pressure fibre optic sensor based on a deformable micromirror

The sensor optimization is devoted to the study of the improvement of the sensor performance (sensitivity, operating interval) as a function of the radius of curvature of the micro-mirrors and the core diameter of the optical fibres. When the mode field diameter of the single mode fibre is smaller, the size of the waist image should have the same value (at a temperature or pressure value) to have a maximum coupling efficiency. During the fluctuation of T or P, the waist size image, which depends on the bend radius of the micro-mirror, scans the mode field diameter of the SMF beyond the Rayleigth range. As a result, the variation in the intensity of the reflected light is relatively faster. So, the slope of the coupling efficiency curve is quite steep. The sensitivity is improved but the range of temperature or pressure variation is shorter. Conversely, if the sizes are relatively large (SMF core as well as waist image), the scanning area is longer, so the sensitivity decreases, but the dynamic range is enlarged. This imposes a choice of detection. The main results and the structure of the sensor will be presented.
Germinal center selection and the development of memory B and plasma cells

Summary: A hallmark of adaptive immune responses is the generation of long‐lived protection after primary exposure to a pathogen. In humoral responses, this protection stems from a combination of sustained antibody titers and long‐lived memory B cells (MBCs), with the former deriving from long‐lived plasma cells (PCs). Both types of cell are thought to primarily derive from the germinal center (GC), a unique structure that forms during the immune response to many types of antigenic stimuli. GCs are seeded by antigen‐specific B and T cells that were previously activated in the early stages of the response. The GC does not directly or immediately generate effector function; rather, it is a site of intense B‐cell proliferation and cell death. GC B cells undergo both somatic hypermutation and isotype switch, and a Darwinian process very efficiently selects B cells with higher fitness for survival and expansion. GC B cells adopt a unique activation and transcriptional state, and the cells become poised to differentiate to either MBCs or PCs. Despite this general understanding of the events in the GC, the mechanisms that control both affinity selection as well as differentiation have not been well worked out. In this review, we address what is known about what determines whether GC B cells become MBCs or PCs. This is discussed in the broader context of the origins of both cell types, whether from the GC or potentially other sources. We present a model encompassing recent data from several laboratories including our own that suggests that the GC undergoes a temporal switch that alters the nature of its output from MBCs to PCs as the response progresses. We will discuss B‐cell receptor signaling in the GC as it relates to potential mechanisms for affinity‐based selection during the reaction.
Settling Characteristics of Polymeric Additives in Dodecane

Recent studies have shown that adding polymeric additives to hydrocarbon-based fuels can lead to suppression of their splashing behavior, as well as enhance their burning rates. However, there is a lack of objective data on polymeric additives settling times in these fuels. Choosing Dodecane as a representative of diesel-based fuels, present research experimentally investigates the settling behavior of polymeric additives (graphene) when mixed in with Dodecane, and the effects of various surfactants on such behavior. Methodology for experimental setup, data collection and data analysis is presented. Various concentrations of additives and surfactants are analyzed, and trends for settling times are shown.
An Amorphous Carbon Nitride Photocatalyst with Greatly Extended Visible‐Light‐Responsive Range for Photocatalytic Hydrogen Generation

Amorphous carbon nitride (ACN) with a bandgap of 1.90 eV shows an order of magnitude higher photocatalytic activity in hydrogen evolution under visible light than partially crystalline graphitic carbon nitride with a bandgap of 2.82 eV. ACN is photocatalytically active under visible light at a wavelength beyond 600 nm.
Rice MicroRNA Effector Complexes and Targets[C][W]

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small silencing RNAs with regulatory roles in gene expression. miRNAs interact with Argonaute (AGO) proteins to form effector complexes that cleave target mRNAs or repress translation. Rice (Oryza sativa) encodes four AGO1 homologs (AGO1a, AGO1b, AGO1c, and AGO1d). We used RNA interference (RNAi) to knock down the four AGO1s. The RNAi lines displayed pleiotropic developmental phenotypes and had increased accumulation of miRNA targets. AGO1a, AGO1b, and AGO1c complexes were purified and further characterized. The three AGO1s all have a strong preference for binding small RNAs (sRNAs) with 5′ U and have Slicer activity. We cataloged the sRNAs in each AGO1 complex by deep sequencing and found that all three AGO1s predominantly bound known miRNAs. Most of the miRNAs were evenly distributed in the three AGO1 complexes, suggesting a redundant role for the AGO1s. Intriguingly, a subset of miRNAs were specifically incorporated into or excluded from one of the AGO1s, suggesting functional specialization among the AGO1s. Furthermore, we identified rice miRNA targets at a global level. The validated targets include transcription factors that control major stages of development and also genes involved in a variety of physiological processes, indicating a broad regulatory role for miRNAs in rice.
Fracture risk in women with breast cancer: A population‐based study

A positive association has been reported between greater bone density and higher breast cancer risk, suggesting that these women could be at reduced risk of fracture. To estimate fracture risk among unselected community women with breast cancer and to systematically assess associations with various risk factors including breast cancer treatments, we conducted a population‐based historical cohort study of 608 Olmsted County, MN, USA, women with invasive breast cancer first diagnosed in 1990 to 1999 (mean age 61.6 ± 14.8 years), who were followed for 5776 person‐years. Altogether, 568 fractures were observed in 270 women (98 per 1000 person‐years). Overall fracture risk was elevated 1.8‐fold, but the absolute increase in risk was only 9%, and 56% of the women did not experience a fracture during follow‐up. Excluding pathologic fractures (15%) and those found incidentally (24%), to allow for ascertainment bias, the standardized incidence ratio was 1.2 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.99 to 1.3) for total fracture risk and 0.9 (95% CI 0.7 to 1.2) for osteoporotic fracture risk alone. Various breast cancer treatments were associated with an increased risk of fracture, but those associations were strongest for pathologic fractures, which were relatively more common among the women who were premenopausal when their breast cancer was diagnosed. Moreover, underlying clinical characteristics prompting different treatments may have been partially responsible for the associated fracture outcomes (indication bias). These data thus demonstrate that breast cancer patients in general are not at greatly increased risk of fracture but neither are they protected from fractures despite any determinants that breast cancer and high bone density may have in common. © 2012 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
Diagnosis of Full Open Defects in Interconnecting Lines

A proposal for enhancing the diagnosis of full open defects in interconnecting lines of CMOS circuits is presented. The defective line is first classified as fully opened by means of a logic-based diagnosis tool (Faloc). The proposal is based on the division of the defective line into a number of segments. The selected group of segments is derived from the topology of the line and its surrounding circuitry. The logical information related to the neighbouring metal lines for each considered test pattern is taken into account. With the proposed diagnosis methodology, a set of likely locations for the open defect on the line is obtained. A ranking between the set of possible locations is presented based on the analysis of the quiescent current consumption of the circuit under test. Examples are presented in which the use of the diagnosis methodology is shown to discriminate between different locations of the full open defect.
P 2 P with JXTA-Java pipes

The peer-to-peer (p2p) paradigm is attracting increasing attention from both the research community and software engineers, due to potential performance, reliability and scalability improvements. This paper emphasizes that JXTA can help teachers to teach p2p with Java. This paper also presents an approach for performance analysis of JXTA pipes one of the key abstractions in JXTA, which has not yet been fully evaluated. It explains how to assess a pipe and demonstrates performance results of the JXTA-Java implementation. In doing so, this paper assists software developers in estimating the overall performance and scalability of JXTA, and the suitability of choosing JXTA for their specific application.
Surrogate mobile sensing

The proliferation of smart phones with sensing capabilities motivates exploring the applicability limits of (phone-based) mobile sensing. While a phone can directly measure variables such as location, acceleration, and orientation, other interesting quantities one may want to measure have higher-level semantics that a phone does not directly recognize. For example, one might want to map parking lots that are free after hours, or restaurants that are popular after midnight. How can we measure such higher-level logical quantities using sensors on phones? Techniques that address this question fall in the broad area of surrogate sensing, defined as inferring high-level logical quantities by measuring weaker surrogates. The surrogates in question are variables that can be sensed using a phone, but are only weakly related to the original high-level logical quantities one is really after. The key challenge is to exploit appropriate aggregation techniques that leverage the availability of large numbers of phones to overcome the poor quality of individual surrogates. Recently, significant advances have been made in understanding the quality limits of surrogate sensing. This article overviews the main ideas and insights underlying these advances.
Management of Coagulopathy in Patients with Decompensated Liver Cirrhosis

Patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis have significantly impaired synthetic function. Many proteins involved in the coagulation process are synthesized in the liver. Routinely performed tests of the coagulation are abnormal in patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis. This has led to the widespread belief that decompensated liver cirrhosis is prototype of acquired hemorrhagic coagulopathy. If prothrombin time is prolonged more than 3 seconds over control, invasive procedures like liver biopsy, splenoportogram, percutaneous cholangiography, or surgery were associated with increased risk of bleeding, and coagulopathy should be corrected with infusion of fresh frozen plasma. These practices were without any scientific evidence and were associated with significant hazards of fresh frozen plasma transfusion. Now, it is realized that coagulation is a complex process involving the interaction of procoagulation and anticoagulation factors and the fibrinolytic system. As there is reduction in both anti and procoagulant factors, global tests of coagulation are normal in patients with acute and chronic liver disease indicating that coagulopathy in liver disease is more of a myth than a reality. In the last few years, surgical techniques have substantially improved, and complex procedures like liver transplantation can be done without the use of blood or blood products. Patients with liver cirrhosis may also be at increased risk of thrombosis. In this paper, we will discuss coagulopathy, increased risk of thrombosis, and their management in decompensated liver cirrhosis.
A Scheme for Integrating Datatype Groups into Description Logics

Existing ontology-related formalisms focus on either datatypes (such as the OWL datatype formalism) or datatype predicates (such as the concrete domain approach). Furthermore, they don’t provide a general framework for representing customised datatypes and predicates, which is identified as a key requirement of ontology languages. In this paper we shall propose a scheme for integrating concept languages with customised datatypes and datatype predicates, based on a formalism called datatype group. The main difference between our approach and the concrete domain approach is that the latter one does not support customised datatypes and datatype predicates. According to Baader and Hanschke [2], the concrete domain approach assumes that datatype constraints are sufficiently structured by datatype predicates; therefore, they do not want to define new classes of elements of a concrete domain (customised datatypes) or new relations between elements of a concrete domain (customised datatype predicates). Specifically, the concrete domain approach does not support the oneOf constructor that OWL DL requires, which can be used to define simple customised datatypes (called enumerated datatypes) using typed literals. Intuitively speaking, a datatype group a set of datatype predicates defined over a set of primitive datatypes. Based on datatype groups, we provide a set of datatype constructors to build datatype expressions to represent customised datatypes and datatype predicates. We show the conditions that computable datatype groups require. Furthermore, we provide a scheme for integrating an arbitrary conforming datatype group into decidable Description Logics. We have proved that the family of combined DLs, including the datatype group extension of OWL DL, are all decidable. Our result generalises existing results on decidable DLs with feature chain-free concrete domains[1].
GPCR heterodimers: asymmetries in ligand binding and signalling output offer new targets for drug discovery

Dimers of GPCRs have held the imagination of researchers for almost 20 years. However, only recently has their value as potentially novel drug targets been increased significantly, and primarily, in the context of GPCR heterodimers. The view of receptor heterodimers as allosteric machines has transformed the way we understand structural and functional asymmetries inherent in their organization. These asymmetries alter both signalling output and how they might be targeted pharmacologically. The paper in this issue of BJP by Siddiquee and colleagues (2013) highlights our growing understanding of such asymmetries and their implications. They show that heterodimers of the angiotensin II AT1 receptor and the apelin receptor recognize and respond to their respective ligands in distinct ways from the parent receptors expressed alone. Further, they demonstrate asymmetric allosteric effects in the context of the heterodimer that may have significant implications for our understanding of such receptor complexes.
Characteristic Variations and Similarities in Biochemical, Molecular, and Functional Properties of Glyoxalases across Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes

The glyoxalase system is the ubiquitous pathway for the detoxification of methylglyoxal (MG) in the biological systems. It comprises two enzymes, glyoxalase I (GLYI) and glyoxalase II (GLYII), which act sequentially to convert MG into d-lactate, thereby helping living systems get rid of this otherwise cytotoxic byproduct of metabolism. In addition, a glutathione-independent GLYIII enzyme activity also exists in the biological systems that can directly convert MG to d-lactate. Humans and Escherichia coli possess a single copy of GLYI (encoding either the Ni- or Zn-dependent form) and GLYII genes, which through MG detoxification provide protection against various pathological and disease conditions. By contrast, the plant genome possesses multiple GLYI and GLYII genes with a role in abiotic stress tolerance. Plants possess both Ni2+- and Zn2+-dependent forms of GLYI, and studies on plant glyoxalases reveal the various unique features of these enzymes distinguishing them from prokaryotic and other eukaryotic glyoxalases. Through this review, we provide an overview of the plant glyoxalase family along with a comparative analysis of glyoxalases across various species, highlighting similarities as well as differences in the biochemical, molecular, and physiological properties of these enzymes. We believe that the evolution of multiple glyoxalases isoforms in plants is an important component of their robust defense strategies.
Radiation Exposure to Surgeon in Minimally Invasive Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion With Novel Spinal Locators

Study Design: A prospective study. Objective: To further investigate the implication of our surface locator and intradermal locator to reduce the radiation exposure to surgeons in minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MIS-TLIF) surgery. Summary of Background Data: Our previous studies published in the journal have introduced our novel spinal locators effectively minimizing fluoroscopic time during minimally invasive spinal surgery. Methods: Twenty patients underwent MIS-TLIF surgery with G-arm fluoroscopy from January 2013 to June 2013. There were 10 patients in group A who underwent standard MIS-TLIF using our spinal locators, and the other 10 in group B underwent conventional MIS-TLIF without spinal locators. The radiation dosages to the arm, the finger, the whole body, thyroid gland, gonad gland, and the eye of the surgeon were measured by thermoluminescence badges for both groups. Results: All 20 patients (9 male, 11 female), aged from 48 to 77 years old, successfully underwent the surgery. The operation time was 171.20±10.28 minutes for group A and 189.80±11.99 minutes for group B. The fluoroscopy time was 49.60±7.32 seconds for group A and 68.40±7.62 seconds for group B, hence a reduction of 27.49% was observed. There was no correlation between operation time and exposure time for group A or group B. The radiation reduction was 35.28% for the arm, 17.95% for the finger, 45.23% for the whole body, 53.62% for the thyroid gland (protected), 52.44% for the thyroid gland (unprotected), 44% for gonad gland (protected), 36.42% for the gonad gland (unprotected), 59.42% for the eye (protected), and 59.70% for the eye (unprotected). Conclusion: The study indicated that radiation exposure to the surgeon would be effectively reduced in MIS-TLIF using our surface locator and intradermal locator, and it could be another practical choice for radiation-minimizing strategy.
A pair of non-homeomorphic product measures on the Cantor set

Abstract For r ∈ [0, 1] let μ r be the Bernoulli measure on the Cantor set given as the infinite power of the measure on {0, 1} with weights r and 1 − r. For r, s ∈ [0, 1] it is known that the measure μ r is continuously reducible to μ s (that is, there is a continuous map sending μ r to μ s ) if and only if s can be written as a certain kind of polynomial in r; in this case s is said to be binomially reducible to r. In this paper we answer in the negative the following question posed by Mauldin: Is it true that the product measures μ r and μ s are homeomorphic if and only if each is a continuous image of the other, or, equivalently, each of the numbers r and s is binomially reducible to the other?
Post-crash log processing for fuzzy checkpointing main memory databases

The impact of updating policy and access pattern on the performance of post-crash log processing with a fuzzy checkpointing main memory database (MMDB) is discussed. The problem of restoring the database to a consistent state and several algorithms for post-crash log processing under the various updating alternatives are reviewed. Using an analytic model, the checkpoint behavior and post-crash log processing performance of these algorithms are examined. Analytic results show that deferred updating always takes less time to process the log after a crash. <<ETX>>
Drug use patterns and trends in rural communities.

CONTEXT AND PURPOSE This study examines the prevalence of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drug use among adolescents and adults in 3 types of counties: "rural" (nonmetropolitan counties with urban population less than 20,000), "urbanized nonmetropolitan" (nonmetropolitan counties with urban population 20,000 or higher), and "metropolitan" (counties in metropolitan areas). METHODS Data from the 2002-2004 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health are used to compare residents of the 3 county types. Descriptive findings and a multivariate model of marijuana use among adolescents are presented by county type. FINDINGS Past year illicit drug use is generally similar among adolescents in rural, urbanized nonmetropolitan, and metropolitan counties, except that Ecstasy use is higher among youth in metropolitan and urbanized nonmetropolitan counties than rural counties, while rural youth have a higher prevalence of stimulant and methamphetamine use than metropolitan youth. Gender, race/ethnicity, and family income functioned differentially across the 3 county types as predictors of youth marijuana use during the past year. Rural adults had generally lower rates of illicit drug use than metropolitan adults, but adults in rural and urbanized nonmetropolitan areas had higher rates of methamphetamine use than those in metropolitan areas. Rural youth had a higher prevalence of past month use of tobacco and alcohol. Rural adults had higher rates of tobacco use but lower rates of alcohol use. CONCLUSIONS This study dispels the notion that substance abuse is only an urban problem and provides information useful in developing and implementing interventions that consider the unique characteristics of rural residents.