Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Data Blindspots: High-Tech Disease Surveillance Misses the Poor

Influenza hospitalizations are positively associated with poverty. Therefore, individuals in lower socioeconomic brackets are considered to be members of at-risk populations. With the goal of improving situational awareness, we developed a framework for combining multiple data sources to predict at-risk hospitalizations. The data sources considered were: emergency departments, primary health care providers, and Google Flu Trends. We demonstrate that out-of-sample performance was lowest in the most at-risk zip codes, which identifies a key data blindspot, highlights the importance of understanding the dynamics of influenza in at-risk populations, and reveals the far-reaching public health consequences of restricted access to health care.
Definition and Implementation of a Flexible Communication Primitive for Distributed Programming

Distributed programming has to face problems due to asynchronism of underlying communication networks. If for some applications the only use of FIFO channels eliminates the undesired effects due to asynchronism, this is generally not sufficient. Total or causal order of deliveries of messages have been proposed to overcome such problems but in some cases these orders impose a too strong property that can reduce the potential parallelism of the application. This paper proposes a flexible broadcast primitive that attaches a type (ordinary or causal) to each message; these types impose constraints on message deliveries. In that way the programmer is able to exploit the potential parallelism of his application in order to get an efficient program. All causal messages obey causal delivery whereas ordinary message deliveries are only constrained by their position (sending time) with respect to causal messages. A protocol implementing these communication primitives is given and proved. Extensions are suggested.
A new SVM model for classifying genetic data

We propose a new formulation of the Support Vector Machine (SVM) for classifying genetic data. It is based on the development of ideas from the method of total least squares, in which assumed error in measured data are incorporated in the model design. For genetic data the number of features is always far greater than the sample size. Consequently, in our method, we introduce Lagrange multipliers and solve for the dual variables. Instead of finding the minimum value of the Lagrangian function, we solve the nonlinear system of equations obtained from the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker conditions. We also implement complementarity constraints and incorporate weighting of the linear system by the inverse covariance matrix of the measured data. The proposed algorithm gives improved results and higher sensitivity for classifying a set of Alzheimer’s Disease Positron Emission Tomography images as compared with SVM. It is also more robust to noise than SVM.
Reducing purposeful headers from goal kicks and punts may reduce cumulative exposure to head acceleration

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to measure peak linear and rotational head acceleration in women’s collegiate soccer and explore the variations in acceleration across different strategic scenarios. Game videos from 14 games were used to identify the strategic scenario in which the athlete headed the ball. Strategic scenarios included: bounce, secondary header, punt, throw-in, goal kick, corner kick, and kick. Peak linear and rotational accelerations were measured using the Smart Impact Monitor (Triax Technologies Inc., Norwalk, CT). Goal kick (38.8 ± 19.4 g, p = 0.001, ß = 8.9; 9.3 ± 3.9 krad/s2, p = 0.004, ß = 1.9) and punt (36.0 ± 15.1 g, p = 0.055, ß = 6.3; 10.1 ± 4.8 krad/s2, p = 0.002, ß = 2.5) impacts resulted in higher linear and rotational head accelerations than the base variable, kick (30.0 ± 19.5 g; 7.5 ± 4.1 krad/s2). This suggests that limiting headers from goal kicks and punts in younger athletes who are still learning proper heading technique may limit cumulative linear and rotational accelerations.
Quality control in spreadsheets: a software engineering-based approach to spreadsheet development

This paper presents work conducted towards the development of an effective software engineering-based methodology for integrity control in the process of spreadsheet development. Various approaches and concepts within the discipline of software engineering are investigated. The proposed methodology consists of a set of coherent stages incorporating relevant software engineering techniques and principles. The framework for spreadsheet quality control is mainly aimed at addressing the widespread problem of spreadsheet errors. This paper elaborately discusses the application of relevant software engineering techniques and principles in the construction of spreadsheet models, accompanied and supported by appropriate examples. The principles and techniques of tree-based formula representation, unique definition of spreadsheet elements, and separation of data and operations are among the main features explored.
Radiation Properties of EBG Textured Tall Transmission Lines and Applications: A Low-Profile Self-Excited EBG Resonator Antenna

Radiation characteristics of an open-circuit electromagnetic band-gap (EBG) transmission line are employed to demonstrate a new low-profile antenna with high radiation efficiency. The self-excited EBG resonator antenna (SE-EBG-RA) presented is excited using a simple microstrip line, without requiring a separate probe. Tall metal traces enhance radiation while providing less loss, which results in better efficiency. Some desirable properties of the antenna including radiation pattern, gain/efficiency, overall footprint, and the input matching are investigated and discussed.
Theory in international business

International business has existed as a distinct field of study for the past three decades, but it does not have a widely accepted explanatory theory on which to base its uniqueness as a discipline. David Ricardo's theory of comparative advantage, Raymond Vernon's product life cycle, John Dunning's eclectic theory and all others are essentially explanations of business between domestic firms or regions, as well as international firms. They explain "multidomestic" investment and intra-national trade. Those theories offer important insights into the functioning of firms in business anywhere, including international firms, but they fail to focus on the distinguishing characteristics of business operating among different nations. Since international business is the study of business activities that cross national borders and, therefore, is fundamentally concerned with the firms that undertake that business and the national Governments that regulate them, a theory that is unique to such business must explain the responses of businesses to government policies and the policy-making of Governments themselves towards international firms. Empirical studies have distinguished international from domestic business strategies and operations, but they have not resulted in an international theory of cross-national business behaviour. The lack of a proper theoretical focus has diverted the discipline from an emphasis on policy and on conflicts and cooperation among corporations and Governments. A framework for constructing such a theory can be built on existing bargaining theory.
MECHANISMS OF EFFECTS OF PLATINUM ( II ) AND ( IV ) COMPLExES . COMPARISON OF CISPLATIN AND OxALIPLATIN wITH SATRAPLATIN AND LA-12 , NEw PT ( IV )-BASED DRUGS

Platinum-based complexes are important drugs for the treatment of cancer diseases. Compared to the commonly used Pt(II) compounds cisplatin and oxaliplatin, the recently reported complexes containing Pt(IV) seem to have several advantages; they are safer, can be used orally, have a higher scope of anticancer effect, and do not show cross-resistance to cisplatin. In the first part, cisplatin and oxaliplatin, and satraplatin and LA-12, the Pt(II) and Pt(IV) complexes, respectively, are characterised. Their structures, range of action and side effects are described. In the following part, the mechanisms of their effects are briefly explained, i.e., transport of the active agents to cells, adduct formation, biotransformation pathways, etc. The last part deals with protective mechanisms of the cell, differences in DNA repair mechanisms, and ideas concerning the development of resistance to these drugs.
Predictive Value of the High-Sensitivity Troponin T Assay and the Simplified Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index in Hemodynamically Stable Patients With Acute Pulmonary Embolism: A Prospective Validation Study

Background— The new, high-sensitivity troponin T (hsTnT) assay may improve risk stratification of normotensive patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE). We externally validated the prognostic value of hsTnT, and of the simplified Pulmonary Embolism Severity Index (sPESI), in a large multicenter cohort. Methods and Results— We prospectively examined 526 normotensive patients with acute PE; of those, 31 (5.9%) had an adverse 30-day outcome. The predefined hsTnT cutoff value of 14 pg/mL was associated with a high prognostic sensitivity and negative predictive value, comparable to those of the sPESI. Both hsTnT ≥14 pg/mL (OR, 4.97 [95% CI, 1.71–14.43]; P=0.003) and sPESI ≥1 point(s) (OR, 9.51 [2.24–40.29]; P=0.002) emerged, besides renal insufficiency (OR, 2.97 [1.42–6.22]; P=0.004), as predictors of early death or complications; in a multivariable model, they remained independent predictors of outcome (P=0.044 and 0.012, respectively). A total of 127 patients (24.1%) were identified as low risk by a sPESI of 0 and hsTnT <14 pg/mL; none of them had an adverse 30-day outcome. During 6-month follow-up, 52 patients (9.9%) died. Kaplan-Meier analysis illustrated that patients with hsTnT ≥14 pg/mL (P=0.001) and those with sPESI ≥1 (P<0.001) had a decreased probability of 6-month survival. Patients with sPESI of 0 and hsTnT <14 pg/mL at baseline had a 42% reduction in the risk of dying (hazard ratio, 0.58 [0.01–0.42]; P=0.005). Conclusions— The hsTnT assay and the sPESI improve risk stratification of acute PE. Combination of both modalities may yield additive prognostic information and particularly identify possible candidates for out-of-hospital treatment.
Distinctive DNA mismatch repair and APC rare variants in African Americans with colorectal neoplasia

Purpose African Americans have a higher incidence and mortality from colorectal cancer. This disparity might be due, in part, to the type of mutations in driver genes. In this study, we examined alterations specific to APC, MSH3, and MSH6 genes using targeted exome sequencing to determine distinctive variants in the course of neoplastic transformation. Experimental Design A total of 140 African American colon samples (30 normal, 21 adenomas, 33 advanced adenomas and 56 cancers) were used as our discovery set on an Ion Torrent platform. A 36 samples subset was resequenced on an Illumina platform for variants’ validation. Bioinformatics analyses were performed and novel validated variants are reported. Results Two novel MSH6 variants were validated and mapped to the MutS-V region near the MSH2 binding site. For MSH3, 4 known variants were validated and were located in exon 10 (3 non-synonymous) and exon 18 (1 synonymous). As for APC, 20 variants were validated with 4 novel variants: 3 stopgain and 1 non-synonymous. These variants mapped prior to and on the Armadillo repeats region, to the 15-amino acid repeat region, and to the 20-amino acid repeats region, respectively. Conclusion We defined novel variants that target DNA mismatch repair and APC genes in African Americans with colorectal lesions. A greater frequency of variants in genes encoding DNA mismatch repair functions and APC likely plays major roles in colorectal cancer initiation and higher incidence of the disease in African Americans.
Effect of constraint-induced movement therapy with modified opposition restriction orthosis in chronic hemiparetic patients with stroke.

OBJECTIVES Constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) has been demonstrated to be effective in improving hemiparetic upper extremity function in stroke patients, but few studies have been performed to assess orthosis modification. We investigated the effect of the newly designed small orthosis named modified opposition restriction orthosis (MORO) in chronic hemiparetic patients with stroke. DESIGN Twenty-one stroke patients were randomly assigned to the CIMT group or control group. Thirteen patients in the CIMT group wore MORO confining the thumb and index finger for at least 5 hours of each day, 7 days a week for 8 weeks. The affected upper extremity function was evaluated using the manual function test (MFT), Purdue Pegboard (PP) score, and motor activity log (MAL) at pre and post-CIMT. RESULTS Four of the 13 patients in the CIMT group dropped out due to motivational problems, and 9 patients remained in the CIMT group at the end of the study. The patients in the CIMT group showed a mean improvement of 195.8% on MAL AOU (Amount of Use), 24.6% on PP score, and 5.5% on MFT. CONCLUSION This new MORO would be effective for use in a CIMT program in chronic hemiparetic patients with stroke.
Design, development, and characteristics of an in-shoe triaxial pressure measurement transducer utilizing a single element of piezoelectric copolymer film

In gait analysis, there is growing awareness of the need to simultaneously measure shear and vertical forces for the diagnosis and treatment assessment of pathological foot disorders. This is especially the case in the measurement of the forces between the plantar surface of the foot and the shoe. Although clinical awareness of the need to simultaneously measure shear and vertical forces under the foot has increased little has been done to provide the technology. This is mainly due to the difficulty in constructing devices capable of carrying out this task in the in-shoe environment. The aim of this paper is to describe the development and characteristics of a miniature triaxial transducer measuring 10 /spl times/ 10 /spl times/ 2.7 mm and a weight of only 2 g. This transducer is capable of simultaneously measuring three orthogonal forces under any location of the plantar surface of the foot utilizing a single element piezoelectric copolymer P(VDF-TrFE). Transducer sensitivity, linearity, hysteresis, crosstalk and temperature dependence is presented. As well as in-shoe force measurement, this triaxial transducer could have other biomedical and general engineering applications, e.g., prosthetic interface forces, handgrip forces, sport, robotics, etc.
Catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation using remote magnetic catheter navigation: a case-control study.

AIMS To compare the acute and the 6 month outcome of catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) using irrigated tip magnetic catheter and remote magnetic cathter navigation (RMN) with manual catheter navigation (MCN) in patients with paroxysmal and persistent AF. METHODS AND RESULTS In this retrospective analysis 356 patients (235 male, mean age: 57.9 ± 10.9 years) with AF (70.5%, paroxysmal) who underwent catheter ablation between August 2007 and May 2008 using either RMN (n = 70, 46 male, mean age: 57.9 ± 10.1 years, 50% paroxysmal) or MCN (n = 286, 189 male, mean age: 58.0 ± 13.9 years, 75.5% paroxysmal) were included. All patients completed an intensive follow-up strategy. Complete pulmonary vein isolation was achieved in 87.6 and 99.6% of patients in RMN and MCN groups, respectively (P < 0.05). The procedure, fluoroscopy, and radiofrequency application times were 223 ± 44 vs. 166 ± 52 min (P < 0.0001), 13.7 ± 7.8 vs. 34.5 ± 15.1 min (P < 0.0001), and 75.4 ± 20.9 vs. 53.2 ± 21.4 min (P < 0.0001) in RMN and MCN groups, respectively. Seven (10.0%) and 28 (9.8%) patients in RMN and MCN groups received antiarrhythmic medications during the follow-up (P = 0.96). All the patients completed the 6 month follow-up. Freedom from AF at 6 months was achieved in 57.8 and 66.4% of the patients in RMN and MCN groups, respectively (P = 0.196). In patients without previous AF catheter ablation procedure the freedom from AF at 6 months were 68.2 and 60.5% in the MCN and RMN groups, respectively (P = 0.36). CONCLUSION Catheter ablation using irrigated tip magnetic catheter and RMN is an effective and safe method for catheter ablation of AF. Compared to manual catheter navigation, the procedure and radiofrequency application times were longer and fluoroscopy time was shorter in the RMN group compared with the MCN group.
A System for Simultaneous Finger Joints Goniometric Measurements Based on Inertial Sensors

In this work, a system to record continuously and simultaneously the flexion and extension of finger joints and to compute a range of motion of the hand joints is presented. The system is based on micro-inertial sensors and a graphical interface in LabVIEW with a mathematical algorithm for signal conditioning. Ten sensors were attached to fingers with adjustable velcro belts, eight on proximal and distal phalanges from index to little fingers, one on the proximal phalanx of the thumb and another on the hand dorsum. The evaluation protocol consisted of 3 sessions of 10 repetitions each, on both hands of 6 healthy volunteers where the angular trajectory was recorded during grasping a 7.8 cm diameter sphere. A statistical analysis was performed in order to determine the variation among the measurements. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the suitability of this system for simultaneous measurements of range of motion during flexion and extension, considering that it can be used interchangeably in the two hands, regardless the size. The results showed that the developed system is suitable for registering objectively the range of motion of the hand.
Automatic business process model assembly on the basis of subject-oriented semantic process mark-up

Business processes of large companies often lack the flexibility of their smaller competitors. This fact results in slower reaction to the changes in business environment which usually require to launch complicated IT projects. Nevertheless many tasks faced in these situations by IT departments have standard solutions which could be expressed in form of semi-formalized best practices and recommendations. Authors propose a business process model enriched by the semantic mark-up that enables to represent these recommendations in form of fully formalized high-level process descriptions. Using the proposed technical approaches concrete business process models can be generated from these descriptions. Authors discuss formal methods of searching the relevant high-level descriptions as well as rating and evaluation of the generated concrete models based on different criteria.
Cloning and characterization of PAS5: a gene required for peroxisome biogenesis in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris

The biogenesis and maintenance of cellular organelles is of fundamental importance in all eukaryotic cells. One such organelle is the peroxisome. The establishment of a genetic system to study peroxisome biogenesis in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris has yielded many different complementation groups of peroxisomal assembly (pas) or peroxisome-deficient (per) mutants. Each appears to be deficient in functional peroxisomes. One of these mutants, pas5, has been characterized, complemented, and the gene sequenced. Ultrastructural studies show that normal peroxisomes are not present in pas5, but aberrant peroxisomal structures resembling "membranous ghosts" are frequently observed. The "peroxisome ghosts" appear to be induced and segregated to daughter cells normally. Biochemical fractionation analysis of organelles of the pas5 mutant reveals that peroxisomal matrix enzymes are induced normally but are found mostly in the cytosol. However, purification of peroxisome ghosts from the mutant shows that small amounts (< 5%) of matrix enzymes are imported. The PAS5 gene was cloned and found to encode a 127-kD protein, which contains a 200-amino acid-long region of homology with PAS1, NEM- sensitive factor (NSF), and other related ATPases. Weak homology to a yeast myosin was also observed. The gene is not essential for growth on glucose but is essential for growth on oleic acid and methanol. The role of PAS5 in peroxisome biogenesis is discussed.
The Role of Access to Finance in Explaining Cross-National Variation in Entrepreneurial Activity: A Panel Data Approach

The aim of the paper is to investigate to what extent access to finance explains differences in entrepreneurial activity across European Union (EU) member countries. We use a dataset containing information across countries and time to investigate the determinants of entrepreneurial activity in twenty-five EU members over the period between 2007 and 2013. Our sample comprises both periods of difficult access to finance and periods of excessive liquidities. Employing a panel data model with fixed effects, we found a positive relationship between access to finance and entrepreneurial activities. Furthermore, we showed that this positive relationship is more important for the individuals who believe they have the required skills and knowledge to start a business. The results proved to be robust when we employed different measures of entrepreneurial activity and several proxies for access to finance. Our findings provide empirical evidence for the need of policy initiatives at national and EU level to facilitate the creation of sustainable new ventures.
Effects of Adjuvant Radiotherapy in Patients With Synovial Sarcoma

Objectives: To analyze the treatment outcomes and the effects of adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) in patients with synovial sarcoma (SS). Materials and Methods: The medical records of 103 patients treated with definitive surgery for SS, with/without RT, from August 1982 to July 2013 were reviewed retrospectively. The median age of the patients was 33 years (range, 5 to 72 y). The most frequent tumor location was the extremities (79 patients, 77%). Seventy-five patients (73%) received adjuvant RT and 26 (25%) did not. The median dose of adjuvant RT was 61.2 Gy (range, 45 to 66.6 Gy). Results: The median follow-up period was 5.4 years (range, 0.2 to 31.0 y). The 5- and 10-year overall survival rates were 77 % and 65%, respectively. The progression-free survival (PFS) rates at 5 and 10 years were 52% and 43%, respectively. The most common site of initial failure was the lung (24 patients), followed by local recurrence (14 patients). The 5-year local-recurrence-free survival (LRFS) and distant-metastasis-free survival (DMFS) rates were 80% and 63%, respectively. On multivariate analysis, a mitosis count of <10 per 10 high-power fields (HPF) was a significant predictor of better overall survival, PFS, LRFS, and DMFS (P=0.004, <0.001, 0.025, and <0.001, respectively). Adjuvant RT was an additional prognostic factor for better PFS and LRFS (P=0.006 and 0.028, respectively). A positive/uncheckable resection margin was associated with poor prognosis for DMFS (P=0.011). There was no significant difference in LRFS between the higher and lower RT dose groups (<63 Gy group, 89%; ≥63 Gy group, 88%; P=0.772). Conclusions: The lung and primary site were frequent sites of failure in patients treated with definitive surgery for SS. Adjuvant RT improved LRFS and PFS. Frequent mitotic figures (≥10 mitoses per 10 HPF) were the worst prognostic factor for these patients.