Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Provider Perspectives of High-Quality Pediatric Hospital-to-Home Transitions for Children and Youth With Chronic Disease.

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to describe health care providers' and hospital administrators' perspectives on how to improve pediatric hospital-to-home transitions for children and youth with chronic disease (CYCD). METHODS Focus groups and key informant interviews of inpatient attending physicians, primary care physicians, pediatric residents, nurses, care coordinators, and social workers were conducted at a tertiary care children's hospital. Key informant interviews were performed with hospital administrators. Semistructured questions were used to elicit perceptions of transitional care quality and to identify key structures and processes needed to improve transitional care outcomes. Transcripts of discussions were coded to identify emergent themes. RESULTS Participants (N = 22) reported that key structures needed to enhance transitional care were a multidisciplinary team, inpatient provider-patient continuity, hospital resource availability, an interoperative electronic health record, and availability of community resources. Key processes needed to achieve high-quality transitional care included setting individualized transition goals, involving parents in care planning, establishing parental competency with home care tasks, and consistently communicating with primary care physicians. Providers identified a lack of reliable roles and processes, insufficient assessment of patient and/or family psychosocial factors, and consistent 2-way communication with community providers as elements to target to improve transitional care outcomes for CYCD. CONCLUSIONS Many key structures and processes of care perceived as important to achieving high-quality transitional care outcomes for CYCD have the opportunity for improvement at the institution studied. Engaging key stakeholders in designing quality improvement interventions to address these deficits in the current care model may improve transitional care outcomes for this vulnerable population.
Angiotensin-converting enzyme gene insertion/deletion, not bradykinin B2 receptor -58T/C gene polymorphism, associated with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor-related cough in Chinese female patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

To investigate the genetic susceptibility associated with cough related to angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes, 189 non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) patients with proteinuria or hypertension treated with perindopril were studied. Cough was considered to be present if the patients had been bothered by a cough during treatment and if they had had related symptoms for at least 2 weeks without an identifiable cause. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) coupled with single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) was used to detect polymorphisms of ACE and bradykinin B2-receptor genes. After 8 weeks of treatment, 49.2% (93 of 189) of our NIDDM patients were found to be suffering from ACEI-related cough. ACEI-related cough was mainly associated with female patients, with 71.7% (76 of 106) of female and only 20.5% (17 of 83) of male patients experiencing cough after ACEI treatment. There was a significant association of ACE II genotype with ACEI-related cough. The genotype frequencies were 58.2% for II, 47.8% for ID, and 16.7% for DD in patients with ACEI-associated cough and 41.8% for II, 52.2% for ID, and 83.3% for DD in subjects without ACEI-associated cough (chi(2) = 10.268; df = 2, P =. 006). As female patients made up the majority of the subjects suffering from ACEI-related cough, we further analyzed the association of ACE I/D genotype with ACEI-related cough separately by sex. Male patients with ACEI-related cough were not associated with ACE I/D genotype distribution, while female patients were strongly associated with ACE I/D genotype polymorphism (chi(2) = 16.12; df = 2; P <. 001). There was no association between the bradykinin B2 receptor gene -58T/C polymorphism with ACEI-related cough. In conclusion, our results indicate that Chinese diabetic female subjects are susceptible to ACEI-related cough, and this susceptibility may be genetically predetermined.
Short-chain free fatty acid receptors FFA2/GPR43 and FFA3/GPR41 as new potential therapeutic targets

The deorphanization of the free fatty acid (FFA) receptors FFA1 (GPR40), FFA2 (GPR43), FFA3 (GPR41), GPR84, and GPR120 has made clear that the body is capable of recognizing and responding directly to nonesterified fatty acid of virtually any chain length. Colonic fermentation of dietary fiber produces high concentrations of the short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) acetate, propionate and butyrate, a process which is important to health. The phylogenetically related 7-transmembrane (7TM) receptors free fatty acid receptor 2 (FFA2) and FFA3 are activated by these SCFAs, and several lines of evidence indicate that FFA2 and FFA3 mediate beneficial effects associated with a fiber-rich diet, and that they may be of interest as targets for treatment of inflammatory and metabolic diseases. FFA2 is highly expressed on immune cells, in particular neutrophils, and several studies suggest that the receptor plays a role in diseases involving a dysfunctional neutrophil response, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Both FFA2 and FFA3 have been implicated in metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and in regulation of appetite. More research is however required to clarify the potential of the receptors as drug targets and establish if activation or inhibition would be the preferred mode of action. The availability of potent and selective receptor modulators is a prerequisite for these studies. The few modulators of FFA2 or FFA3 that have been published hitherto in the peer-reviewed literature in general have properties that make them less than ideal as such tools, but published patent applications indicate that better tool compounds might soon become available which should enable studies critical to validate the receptors as new drug targets.
Powerful Tukey’s One Degree-of-Freedom Test for Detecting Gene–Gene and Gene–Environment Interactions

Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified thousands of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) robustly associated with hundreds of complex human diseases including cancers. However, the large number of G WAS-identified genetic loci only explains a small proportion of the disease heritability. This “missing heritability” problem has been partly attributed to the yet-to-be-identified gene-gene (G × G) and gene-environment (G × E) interactions. In spite of the important roles of G × G and G × E interactions in understanding disease mechanisms and filling in the missing heritability, straightforward GWAS scanning for such interactions has very limited statistical power, leading to few successes. Here we propose a two-step statistical approach to test G × G/G × E interactions: the first step is to perform principal component analysis (PCA) on the multiple SNPs within a gene region, and the second step is to perform Tukey's one degree-of-freedom (1-df) test on the leading PCs. We derive a score test that is computationally fast and numerically stable for the proposed Tukey's 1-df interaction test. Using extensive simulations we show that the proposed approach, which combines the two parsimonious models, namely, the PCA and Tukey's 1-df form of interaction, outperforms other state-of-the-art methods. We also demonstrate the utility and efficiency gains of the proposed method with applications to testing G × G interactions for Crohn's disease using the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium (WTCCC) GWAS data and testing G × E interaction using data from a case-control study of pancreatic cancer.
Project-Based Lab Teaching for Power Electronics and Drives

Project-based learning motivates students to learn actively, so it has been widely applied to many engineering subjects. However, the applications of this approach are limited in electric power courses because of the hazards associated with high voltage or mains voltage (240 V in Australia). This paper presents a project designed for a power electronics and drives course. In this project, students use a programmable intelligent computer (PIC) microcontroller and an H-bridge to design a control system for a real practical application, such as a washing machine, tram, or electric lift. Students gain hands-on experience, and also improve their skill in product development, self-directed learning, teamwork, and project management. Practical projects increase the challenge for students and, hence, their interest level. The project includes both hardware and software. Each part of the project and the student assessment are described here.
Catecholaminergic depletion in nucleus accumbens enhances trace conditioning.

PURPOSE To examine the effect of dopamine depletion in nucleus accumbens on trace conditioning; to distinguish the role of core and shell sub-regions, as far as possible. MATERIAL/METHODS 6-hydroxydopamine was used to lesion dopamine terminals within the core and shell accumbens. Experiment 1 assessed conditioning to a tone conditioned stimulus that had previously been paired with footshock (unconditioned stimulus) at a 30s trace interval. Experiment 2 subsequently assessed contiguous conditioning (at 0s trace) using a light conditioned stimulus directly followed by the unconditioned stimulus. RESULTS Both sham and shell-lesioned animals showed the normal trace effect of reduced conditioning to the trace conditioned stimulus but 6-hydroxydopamine injections targeted on the core subregion of the nucleus accumbens abolished this effect and enhanced conditioning to the trace conditioned stimulus. However, the depletion produced by this lesion placement extended to the shell. In Experiment 2 (at 0s trace), there was no effect of either lesion placement as all animals showed comparable levels of conditioning to the light conditioned stimulus. Neurochemical analysis across core, shell and comparison regions showed some effects on noradrenalin as well as dopamine. CONCLUSIONS The pattern of changes in noradrenalin did not systematically relate to the observed behavioural changes after core injections. The pattern of changes in dopamine suggested that depletion in core mediated the increased conditioning to the trace conditioned stimulus seen in the present study. However, the comparison depletion restricted to the shell subregion was less substantial, and a role for secondarily affected brain regions cannot be excluded.
Application of Incremental Mining and Apriori Algorithm on Library Transactional Database

Data mining is used to extract hidden, predictive information from large databases, which can be used for predicting future trends and allowing businesses to make knowledge- driven decisions [1]. In this paper we explain how Apriori algorithm can be applied on the university’s library transactional database in order to find out the frequent book items and generate rules on these book items so as to predict the book borrowing behavior of the students. It then explains how incremental mining when incorporated by adding five more transactions to the original set of ten transactions changes the number of frequent item-sets and association rules generated by the algorithm.
Knowledge Management in Software Engineering Environments

Knowledge is one of the organization’s most important value, influencing its competitiveness. One way to capture organization’s knowledge and make it available to all their members is through the use of knowledge management systems. In this paper we discuss the importance of knowledge management in software development and we present an infrastructure to deal with knowledge management in software engineering environments (SEEs). This infrastructure is applied to manage product software quality knowledge in ODE, an ontology-based SEE.
Analysis of Immunoglobulin and T Cell Receptor Gene Rearrangement in the Bone Marrow of Lymphoid Neoplasia Using BIOMED-2 Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction

The evaluation of bone marrow (BM) involvement is important for diagnosis and staging in patients with lymphoid neoplasia. We evaluated of immunoglobulin (Ig) and/or T-cell receptor (TCR) gene rearrangements in the BM using the standardized BIOMED-2 multiplex PCR clonality assays and compared the results with microscopic findings such as histology and CD10, CD20, CD79a, CD3 and CD5 immunohistochemistry. A total of 151 samples were enrolled; 119 B cell neoplasia, 29 T cell neoplasia, and 3 Hodgkin's lymphoma. The molecular clonality assay and microscopic diagnosis were concordant in 66.9% (n=101) and discordant in 33.1 % (n=50). Ig/TCR gene clonality assay detected 43 cases of BM involvement which was not presented in the morphology. Two cases among them turned into microscopic BM involvement during a close follow up. Clonal TCR gene rearrangements were detected in 12.6% of B cell neoplasia and Ig gene rearrangement were found in 3.4% of T cell neoplasia. This molecular clonality assay is valuable particularly in diagnosing BM involvement of lymphoid neoplasia if it is morphologically uncertain. But it should be carefully interpreted because molecular clonality may be present in the reactive lymphoproliferation. Therefore, comprehensive analysis with morphologic analysis should be important to reach a final diagnosis.
A Novel Method for Analyzing DSCE-Images With an Application to Tumor Grading

Objectives:(a) The development of a novel analysis method, named Dynamic pixel intensity Histogram Analysis (DHA) allowing for pixel intensity-histogram-model-parameter fitting of arbitrary-shaped regions defined in dynamic-susceptibility-contrast-enhanced (DSCE) difference MR-image time-series, and (b) its prospective application and evaluation for glioma grading. Materials and Methods:For each difference-image, pixel intensity histograms of arbitrary-shaped ROIs were computed and fitted using the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm. Time-dependent histogram center-position- and width-parameters are computed during bolus-passage. The method was applied to 25 patients with low and high grade gliomas. Results:During bolus outflow-time, histogram-center-position-parameter and histogram-width-parameter reach highest significance levels and discriminate gliomas of different grades. The histogram center-position-parameter discriminated grade-II from grade-III, grade-II from grade-IV but not grade-III from grade-IV. The observed histogram width-parameters discriminated grade-II from grade-III (P < 0.00022), grade-II from grade-IV (P <8.3 10−7), and grade-III from grade-IV (P < 0.00063). Conclusions:DHA is a easy-to-use method for glioma grading; the histogram width parameter is best indicator for histologic grade.
Fast disintegrating tablets: Opportunity in drug delivery system

Fast disintegrating tablets (FDTs) have received ever-increasing demand during the last decade, and the field has become a rapidly growing area in the pharmaceutical industry. Oral drug delivery remains the preferred route for administration of various drugs. Recent developments in the technology have prompted scientists to develop FDTs with improved patient compliance and convenience. Upon introduction into the mouth, these tablets dissolve or disintegrate in the mouth in the absence of additional water for easy administration of active pharmaceutical ingredients. The popularity and usefulness of the formulation resulted in development of several FDT technologies. FDTs are solid unit dosage forms, which disintegrate or dissolve rapidly in the mouth without chewing and water. FDTs or orally disintegrating tablets provide an advantage particularly for pediatric and geriatric populations who have difficulty in swallowing conventional tablets and capsules. This review describes various formulations and technologies developed to achieve fast dissolution/dispersion of tablets in the oral cavity. In particular, this review describes in detail FDT technologies based on lyophilization, molding, sublimation, and compaction, as well as approaches to enhancing the FDT properties, such as spray drying and use of disintegrants. In addition, taste-masking technologies, experimental measurements of disintegration times, and dissolution are also discussed.
Incremental Deployment and Throughput Maximization Routing for a Hybrid SDN

To explore the advantages of software defined network (SDN), while preserving the legacy networking systems, a natural deployment strategy is to deploy a hybrid SDN incrementally to improve the network performance. In this paper, we address two technical challenges: an incremental deployment strategy and a throughput-maximization routing, for deploying a hybrid network incrementally. For incremental deployment, we propose a heuristic algorithm for deploying a hybrid SDN under the budget constraint, and prove the approximate factor of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$ 1- \frac {1}{e} $ </tex-math></inline-formula>. For throughput-maximization routing, we apply a depth-first-search method and a randomized rounding mechanism to solve the multi-commodity <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$h$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-splittable flow routing problem in a hybrid SDN, where <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$h\ge 1$ </tex-math></inline-formula>. We also prove that our method has approximation ratio <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$O\left({\frac {1}{\log N}}\right)$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, where <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$ N $ </tex-math></inline-formula> is the number of links in a hybrid SDN. We then show, by both analysis and simulations, that our algorithms can obtain significant performance gains and perform better than the theoretical worst-case bound. For example, our incremental deployment scheme helps to enhance the throughout about 40% compared with the previous deployment scheme by deploying a small number of SDN devices, and the proposed routing algorithm can improve the throughput about 31% compared with ECMP in hybrid networks.
Precision of a Low-Cost InGaAs Detector for Near Infrared Photometry

We have designed, constructed, and tested an InGaAs near-infrared camera to explore whether low-cost detectors can make small (≤ 1 m) telescopes capable of precise (< 1 mmag) infrared photometry of relatively bright targets. The camera is constructed around the 640 × 512 pixel APS640C sensor built by FLIR Electro-Optical Components. We designed custom analog-to-digital electronics for maximum stability and minimum noise. The InGaAs dark current halves with every 7°C of cooling, and we reduce it to 840 e- s-1 pixel-1 (with a pixel-to-pixel variation of ± 200 e- s-1 pixel-1) by cooling the array to -20°C. Beyond this point, glow from the readout dominates. The single-sample read noise of 149 e- is reduced to 54 e- through up-the-ramp sampling. Laboratory testing with a star field generated by a lenslet array shows that two-star differential photometry is possible to a precision of 631 ± 205 ppm (0.68 mmag) hr-1/2 at a flux of 2.4 × 104 e- s-1. Employing three comparison stars and decorrelating reference signals further improves the precision to 483 ± 161 ppm (0.52 mmag) hr-1/2. Photometric observations of HD80606 and HD80607 (J = 7.7 and 7.8) in the Y band shows that differential photometry to a precision of 415 ppm (0.45 mmag) hr-1/2 is achieved with an effective telescope aperture of 0.25 m. Next-generation InGaAs detectors should indeed enable Poisson-limited photometry of brighter dwarfs with particular advantage for late-M and L types. In addition, one might acquire near-infrared photometry simultaneously with optical photometry or radial velocity measurements to maximize the return of exoplanet searches with small telescopes.
Estimation of the global burden of disease attributable to contaminated sharps injuries among health-care workers.

BACKGROUND The global burden of hepatitis B (HBV), hepatitis C (HCV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection due to percutaneous injuries among health care workers (HCWs) is estimated. METHODS The incidence of infections attributable to percutaneous injuries in 14 geographical regions on the basis of the probability of injury, the prevalence of infection, the susceptibility of the worker, and the percutaneous transmission potential are modeled. The model also provides the attributable fractions of infection in HCWs. RESULTS Overall, 16,000 HCV, 66,000 HBV, and 1,000 HIV infections may have occurred in the year 2000 worldwide among HCWs due to their occupational exposure to percutaneous injuries. The fraction of infections with HCV, HBV, and HIV in HCWs attributable to occupational exposure to percutaneous injuries fraction reaches 39%, 37%, and 4.4% respectively. CONCLUSIONS Occupational exposures to percutaneous injuries are substantial source of infections with bloodborne pathogens among health-care workers (HCWs). These infections are highly preventable and should be eliminated.
Inteligencia emocional percibida, ansiedad y afectos en estudiantes universitarios

ABSTRACT Perceived emotional intelligence (PEI), anxiety and affect become especially relevant among the teaching staff during the initial training period. The main purpose of this study aims to check the links between PEI, anxiety and affect, detect any significant differences depending on the socio-demographic indicators taken into consideration (gender, age and academic qualification), as well as predicting which indicators could be considered in measuring trait anxiety. The sample is made up of 325 students at the University of Jaen (Spain) involved in teaching degree programmes. The tools deployed consisted of a socio-demographic questionnaire (gender, age and academic qualification), the Trait Meta-Mood Scale 24 –TMMS 24- (Fernandez-Berrocal, Extremera and Ramos, 2004), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory –STAI- (Spielberger, Gorsuch y Lushene, 1970; 2008), as well as the PANASN Scale of positive and negative affect (Sandin, 2003). Significant differences (p<.01) have been obtained in some instrument dimensions depending on the socio-demographic variables taken into consideration (gender, age and academic qualification), as well as important correlations between the instrument scales (p<.05; p<.01). Finally, similar results were obtained both for men and women as regards the most reliable variables predicting trait anxiety in the lineal regression analysis carried out by using the stepwise regression method, negative affect resulting the most important variable concerning women, while the dimension “perception of PEI” resulted the most influential one with reference to men; in both cases, these variables proved the most relevant to ensure predictability. The achieved results relate to those obtained in other studies implemented in similar contexts.
The Family Chess Board and Projective Genogramming

Abstract The Family Chess Board is a vehicle for creating differentiation, integration, and change in families. It was formulated by Sandra Neil and Robert Silverberg as a way of adapting Virginia Satir's notion of sculpting families to environments where movement of family members is impractical or undesirable. Family members are symbolically represented in complex three-dimensional “chessboard and pieces” interactions. Family rules are explicated. Family bonds and triangulations, boundaries, affectional and power roles, gender issues, and occupational issues are identified and transformed. The relationship to Florence