Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Helping patients simplify and safely use complex prescription regimens.

BACKGROUND There is considerable variability in the manner in which prescriptions are written by physicians and transcribed by pharmacists, resulting in patient misunderstanding of label instructions. A universal medication schedule was recently proposed for standardizing prescribing practices to 4 daily time intervals, thereby helping patients simplify and safely use complex prescription regimens. We investigated whether patients consolidate their medications or whether there is evidence of unnecessary regimen complexity that would support standardization. METHODS Structured interviews were conducted with 464 adults (age range, 55-74 years) who were receiving care either at an academic general medicine practice or at 1 of 3 federally qualified health centers in Chicago, Illinois. Participants were given a hypothetical, 7-drug medication regimen and asked to demonstrate how and when they would take all of the medications in a 24-hour period. The regimen could be consolidated into 4 dosing episodes per day. The primary outcome was the number of times per day that individuals would take medication. Root causes for patients complicating the regimen (>4 times a day) were examined. RESULTS Participants on average identified 6 times (SD, 1.8 times; range, 3-14 times) in 24 hours to take the 7 drugs. One-third of the participants (29.3%) dosed their medications 7 or more times per day, while only 14.9% organized the regimen into 4 or fewer times a day. In multivariable analysis, low literacy was an independent predictor of more times per day for dosing the regimen (β = 0.67; 95% confidence interval, 0.12-1.22; P = .02). Instructions for 2 of the drugs were identical, yet 31.0% of the participants did not take these medications at the same time. Another set of drugs had similar instructions, with the primary exception of 1 drug having the added instruction to take "with food and water. " Half of the participants (49.5%) took these medications at different times. When the medications had variable expressions of the same dose frequency (eg, "every 12 hours" vs "twice daily"), 79.0% of the participants did not consolidate the medications. CONCLUSIONS Many patients, especially those with limited literacy, do not consolidate prescription regimens in the most efficient manner, which could impede adherence. Standardized instructions proposed with the universal medication schedule and other task-centered strategies could potentially help patients routinely organize and take medication regimens.
Accurate and Efficient Inter-Transaction Dependency Tracking

A reparable database management system has the ability to automatically undo the set of transactions that are corrupted by a human error or malicious attack. The key technical challenge to building repairable database management systems is how to accurately and efficiently keep track of inter-transaction dependencies due to data sharing through a database or through an application. In this paper, we present the design, implementation and evaluation of the inter-transaction dependency tracking mechanisms used in a repairable database management system called Blastema, which adds fast repairability in a portable way to a commercial DBMS, Oracle 9.2. 0. Compared with other repairable DBMSs, Blastema eliminates false positive dependencies using fine-grained inter-transaction dependency tracking, and is able to successfully recognize two major sources of false negative dependencies, phantom dependencies and dependencies among transactions due to application data sharing. With these advanced inter-transaction dependency tracking mechanisms, Blastema significantly improves the availability of modern DBMSs by facilitating and sometimes even automating the damage repair process after a human error or a malicious attack. Performance measurements on a fully operational Blastema prototype run under the TPC-C benchmark show that the average run-time throughput penalty of the proposed inter-transaction dependency tracking mechanisms is less than 18%.
Dual-band, cross coupled branch line coupler

A novel branch line coupler structure is proposed with application to the dual band operation. The proposed structure has additional cross coupling branches to the conventional branch hybrid coupler. Additional design freedom can be obtained using the proposed scheme, which can serve many useful purposes such as the dual band operation of the branch line coupler.
Effect of culture pH on the D-alanine ester content of lipoteichoic acid in Staphylococcus aureus

The lipoteichoic acid in Staphylococcus aureus growing at high pH values contained very little alanine ester, showing that high overall levels of substitution were not essential for growth. The low alanine content could have resulted from a progressive loss due to base-catalyzed hydrolysis of the labile ester linkages.
Analytical evaluation of splice and bending losses of photonic crystal fibers based on empirical relations

Photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) have been under intensive study for the past several years as they offer a number of unique and useful properties not achievable in conventional silica glass fibers. Important issues regarding the practical development of these PCFs are their splice and bending loss properties. In this work, we present an analytical evaluation of the splice losses as well as bending losses for PCFs using simple empirical relations in order to determine the Petermann-I and Petermann-II spot sizes as a function of the fundamental geometrical parameters — the air-hole diameter and the hole-pitch of the PCF. We consider the splice loss due to lateral, longitudinal as well as angular offsets, when a PCF is spliced to an identical PCF or to a step index single mode fiber (SMF). To deduce macro-bending loss in PCFs, we apply the standard radiation model for bend conventional fibers, making a full transformation of conventional SIF parameters to PCF effective parameters. The spectral response of bending loss is also investigated. The results can be utilized in the design and development of telecommunication and sensor systems based on PCFs.
Instructions for use Title Low Phosphorus Tolerance Mechanisms : Phosphorus Recycling and Photosynthate Partitioning in theTropical Forage Grass , Brachiaria Hybrid cultivar Mulato Compared with Rice Author ( s )

Title Low Phosphorus Tolerance Mechanisms: Phosphorus Recycling and Photosynthate Partitioning in the Tropical Forage Grass, Brachiaria Hybrid cultivar Mulato Compared with Rice Author(s) Nanamori, Masahiko; Shinano, Takuro; Wasaki, Jun; Yamamura, Takuya; Rao, Idupulapati M. ; Osaki, Mitsuru Citation Plant and Cell Physiology, 45(4): 460-469 Issue Date 2004-04 Doc URL http://hdl.handle. net/2115/515 Type article (author version)
Construction of Implicit Surfaces from Point Clouds Using a Feature-based Approach

We present a novel feature-based approach to surface generation from point clouds in three-dimensional space obtained by terrestrial and airborne laser scanning. In a first step, we apply a multiscale clustering and classification of local point set neighborhoods by considering their geometric shape. Corresponding feature values quantify the similarity to curve-like, surface-like, and solid-like shapes. For selecting and extracting surface features, we build a hierarchical trivariate B-spline representation of this surface feature function. Surfaces are extracted with a variant of marching cubes (MC), providing an inner and outer shell that are merged into a single non-manifold surface component at the field’s ridges. By adapting the isovalue of the feature function the user may control surface topology and thus adapt the extracted features to the noise level of the underlying point cloud. User control and adaptive approximation make our method robust for noisy and complex point data.
High-density Integrated Linkage Map Based on SSR Markers in Soybean

A well-saturated molecular linkage map is a prerequisite for modern plant breeding. Several genetic maps have been developed for soybean with various types of molecular markers. Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) are single-locus markers with high allelic variation and are widely applicable to different genotypes. We have now mapped 1810 SSR or sequence-tagged site markers in one or more of three recombinant inbred populations of soybean (the US cultivar ‘Jack’ × the Japanese cultivar ‘Fukuyutaka’, the Chinese cultivar ‘Peking’ × the Japanese cultivar ‘Akita’, and the Japanese cultivar ‘Misuzudaizu’ × the Chinese breeding line ‘Moshidou Gong 503’) and have aligned these markers with the 20 consensus linkage groups (LGs). The total length of the integrated linkage map was 2442.9 cM, and the average number of molecular markers was 90.5 (range of 70–114) for the 20 LGs. We examined allelic diversity for 1238 of the SSR markers among 23 soybean cultivars or lines and a wild accession. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 2 to 7, with an average of 2.8. Our high-density linkage map should facilitate ongoing and future genomic research such as analysis of quantitative trait loci and positional cloning in addition to marker-assisted selection in soybean breeding.
Joint Source Channel Decoding for Compressed Subband Coded Image Transmission in Communication Network

An investigation of joint source channel decoding (JSCD) methods using BPSK modulation applied to a vector quantization of compressed sub band coded source in Communication Network is presented. The proposed decoding scheme designed a feedback algorithm using error-detected source information to improve the error correction capability of the Turbo Log-MAP decoder without changing its constituent decoder. A reduction in bit error rate (BER) of at least one order of magnitude can be achieved by employing the proposed joint decoding technique. This may significantly reduce delay of decoding, making Turbo codes more appealing in many applications.
THE BLACK DEATH

Between 1347 and 1350, the Black Death killed at least one third of Europe's inhabitants. Bringing total destruction, the plague was greeted with incomprehension and a terrified helplessness as it spread from Asia into Europe, reaching England in 1348. Philip Ziegler's classic account traces the course of the virulent epidemic through Europe and its dramatic effect on the lives of those whom it afflicted. It includes detailed chapters on the state of medical knowledge, the position of the church, and the broader social and economic repercussions such as well as a fascinating reconstruction of life in a medieval English village suddenly overtaken by plague. This second edition contains a new preface and a new chapter on the Black Death in recent historiography.
Fingerprint classification using a feedback-based line detector

We present a fingerprint classification algorithm in this paper. This algorithm classifies a fingerprint image into one of the five classes: arch, left loop, right loop, whorl, and tented arch. We use a new low-dimensional feature vector obtained from the output of a novel oriented line detector. Our line detector is a co-operative dynamical system that gives oriented lines and preserves multiple orientations at points where differently oriented lines meet. Our feature extraction process is based on characterizing the distribution of orientations around the fingerprint. We discuss three different classifiers: support vector machines, nearest-neighbor classifier, and neural network classifier. We present results obtained on a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) fingerprint database and compare with other published results on NIST databases. All our classifiers perform equally well, and this suggests that our novel line detection and feature extraction process indeed captures all the crucial information needed for classification in this problem.
Induction of Hyperphagia and Carbohydrate Intake by μ-Opioid Receptor Stimulation in Circumscribed Regions of Frontal Cortex

Frontal cortical regions are activated by food-associated stimuli, and this activation appears to be dysregulated in individuals with eating disorders. Nevertheless, frontal control of basic unconditioned feeding responses remains poorly understood. Here we show that hyperphagia can be driven by μ-opioid receptor stimulation in restricted regions of ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and orbitofrontal cortex. In both ad libitum-fed and food-restricted male Sprague Dawley rats, bilateral infusions of the μ-opioid agonist [d-Ala2, N-Me-Phe4, Gly5-ol]-enkephalin (DAMGO) markedly increased intake of standard rat chow. When given a choice between palatable fat-enriched versus carbohydrate-enriched test diets, intra-vmPFC DAMGO infusions selectively increased carbohydrate intake, even in rats with a baseline fat preference. Rats also exhibited motor hyperactivity characterized by rapid switching between brief bouts of investigatory and ingestive behaviors. Intra-vmPFC DAMGO affected neither water intake nor nonspecific oral behavior. Similar DAMGO infusions into neighboring areas of lateral orbital or anterior motor cortex had minimal effects on feeding. Neither stimulation of vmPFC-localized δ-opioid, κ-opioid, dopaminergic, serotonergic, or noradrenergic receptors, nor antagonism of D1, 5HT1A, or α- or β-adrenoceptors, reproduced the profile of DAMGO effects. Muscimol-mediated inactivation of the vmPFC, and intra-vmPFC stimulation of κ-opioid receptors or blockade of 5-HT2A (5-hydroxytryptamine receptor 2A) receptors, suppressed motor activity and increased feeding bout duration—a profile opposite to that seen with DAMGO. Hence, μ-opioid-induced hyperphagia and carbohydrate intake can be elicited with remarkable pharmacological and behavioral specificity from discrete subterritories of the frontal cortex. These findings may have implications for understanding affect-driven feeding and loss of restraint in eating disorders.
Analysis of volatile sulphur compounds in mouth air by gas chromatography.

The purposes of this investigation were to research the major component and sources of halitosis. The subjects were based on the clinical findings and the intensity of odour by olfactory panel of trained judges. These were divided into three groups, subjects without halitosis: group N, periodontally healthy subjects with halitosis: group H-N, periodontally diseased patients with halitosis: group H-P.The test samples were withdrawn with a 5ml gas tight syringe consisting of glass barrel through capillary tubes after closing the mouth and continuing breath through nose for 1min. Entire 5ml mouth air sample was injected directly on to G-C column, and determined by a gas chromatograph equipped with. flame photometric detector to measure the amount of sulphur containing compounds in mouth air.The results were as follows:1. The concentrations of volatile sulphur compounds in mouth air were proportional to organoleptic ratings by a panel of trained judges.2. It seemed that methyl mercaptan was more closely related than hydrogen sulphide to halitosis, and dimethyl sulphide was little related to halitosis judging from the direct determinations of the volatile sulphur compounds, odour threshold and objectionabilities.3. The tongue coating score of group H-N were remarkably higher than group: N and group: H-P.4. The pH of whole saliva showed no statistically significance among three experimental groups.5. In group H-P, methyl mercaptan content in mouth air was observed high correlation with gingival score (P<0.01), but no significant correlation with pocket depth and bone loss.6. Rinsing, brushing with dentifrice and without dentifrice were temporarily caused a pronounced reduction in sulphur content.7. It was assumed that main sources of halitosis were periodontal pockets and coated tongue. Surgical elimination of periodontal pockets and mechanical removal of tongue coating were the most effective treatments for halitosis.It is therefore concluded that halitosis is closely related with the volatile sulphur compounds represented by methyl mercaptan produced in the periodontal pockets and on the coated tongue.
Representation, Extraction of Nodal Features of DevNagri Letters

This paper proposes a method for the recognition of handwritten DevNagri characters. Recognition has been done using an HMM-based approach, using junction points of a character as the main feature. The character has been divided into 3 major Zones (Upper, Middle, and Lower). This paper explains the method for middle zone which depends upon three major features i.e. number of paths, directions of paths, & region of the node. Tolerance of feature points has been proposed as an additional important parameter. Heuristic features taken up from the existing methods have been redefined and refined for this application. The connectivity features which give meaning to the whole word have been redefined, excluding number of Matra endpoints, Matra type (curve/line). Finally every character has been recognized using HMM. The proposed method has been tested for the sample-words taken from 100 persons.
Towards a Variable Compliance Hydrostatic Skeleton Inspired

Variable compliance is a subject of great interest in the robotics community, particularly in the area of HumanRobot interaction. In this work, variable compliance is achieved in a novel grasping device inspired by the hydrostatic skeletons of invertebrates. This is accomplished passively, relying on material properties and innovative prototype design. The design will be described and its behavior evaluated through a series of experiments. It will also be shown that a prototype with a very simple design is able to grasp the object with little active control.
Double-stranded telomeric DNA binding proteins: Diversity matters

ABSTRACT Telomeric sequences constitute only a small fraction of the whole genome yet they are crucial for ensuring genomic stability. This function is in large part mediated by protein complexes recruited to telomeric sequences by specific telomere-binding proteins (TBPs). Although the principal tasks of nuclear telomeres are the same in all eukaryotes, TBPs in various taxa exhibit a surprising diversity indicating their distinct evolutionary origin. This diversity is especially pronounced in ascomycetous yeasts where they must have co-evolved with rapidly diversifying sequences of telomeric repeats. In this article we (i) provide a historical overview of the discoveries leading to the current list of TBPs binding to double-stranded (ds) regions of telomeres, (ii) describe examples of dsTBPs highlighting their diversity in even closely related species, and (iii) speculate about possible evolutionary trajectories leading to a long list of various dsTBPs fulfilling the same general role(s) in their own unique ways.
Improvement of Virtual Screening Results by Docking Data Feature Analysis

In this study, we propose a novel approach to evaluate virtual screening (VS) experiments based on the analysis of docking output data. This approach, which we refer to as docking data feature analysis (DDFA), consists of two steps. First, a set of features derived from the docking output data is computed and assigned to each molecule in the virtually screened library. Second, an artificial neural network (ANN) analyzes the molecule's docking features and estimates its activity. Given the simple architecture of the ANN, DDFA can be easily adapted to deal with information from several docking programs simultaneously. We tested our approach on the Directory of Useful Decoys (DUD), a well-established and highly accepted VS benchmark. Outstanding results were obtained by DDFA not only in comparison with the conventional rankings of the docking programs used in this work but also with respect to other methods found in the literature. Our approach performs with similar good results as the best available methods, which, however, also require substantially more computing time, economic resources, and/or expert intervention. Taken together, DDFA represents an automatic and highly attractive methodology for VS.
Multiple mobile data offloading through delay tolerant networks

To cope with the explosive traffic demands and limited capacity provided by the current cellular networks, Delay Tolerant Networking (DTN) is used to migrate traffic from the cellular networks to the free and high capacity device-to-device networks. The current DTN-based mobile data offloading models do not address the heterogeneity of mobile traffic and are based on simple network assumptions. In this paper, we establish a mathematical framework to study the problem of multiple mobile data offloading under realistic network assumptions, where 1) mobile data is heterogeneous in terms of size and lifetime, 2) mobile users have different data subscribing interests, and 3) the storage of offloading helpers is limited. We formulate the maximum mobile data offloading as a Submodular Function Maximization problem with multiple linear constraints of limited storage and propose greedy, approximated and optimal algorithms for different offloading scenarios. We show that our algorithms can effectively offload data to DTNs by extensive simulations which employ real traces of both humans and vehicles.
A topological approach for segmenting human body shape

Segmentation of a 3D human body, is a very challenging problem in applications exploiting human scan data. To tackle this problem, the paper proposes a topological approach based on the discrete Reeb graph (DRG) which is an extension of the classical Reeb graph to handle unorganized clouds of 3D points. The essence of the approach concerns detecting critical nodes in the DRG, thereby permitting the extraction of branches that represent parts of the body. Because the human body shape representation is built upon global topological features that are preserved so long as the whole structure of the human body does not change, our approach is quite robust against noise, holes, irregular sampling, frame change and posture variation. Experimental results performed on real scan data demonstrate the validity of our method.