Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Report of a hospital neonatal unit outbreak of community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

SUMMARY Community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) with the type IV staphylococcal chromosomal cassette mec (SCCmec) is rarely reported as being acquired in hospital. We report a hospital outbreak, in Grampian, Scotland, of eight cases of skin and soft-tissue infections due to such a strain. All patients had been in the labour, delivery and maternity units of a small community hospital during a 7-month period. Typing by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis showed the isolates to be a single strain closely related to the USA800 lineage (paediatric clone) and additional typing confirmed it as ST5-MRSA-IV. Genes for exfoliative toxin A (ETA) and enterotoxin D were detected by PCR in all the isolates although none carried the Panton–Valentine leukocidin gene. Region-wide surveillance of over 6000 MRSA isolates collected from 1998 to 2004 showed that 95 (1·6%) were closely related to the outbreak strain although only 60 carried the ETA gene. The strain has not been seen elsewhere in Scotland.
Market Power in the World Oil Market: Evidence for an OPEC Cartel and an Oligopolistic Non-OPEC Fringe

This paper estimates a dynamic model of the world oil market and tests whether OPEC countries colluded and whether non-OPEC countries behaved oligopolistically over the period 1970-2004. Results of the analysis by decade support OPEC countries colluding as the dominant cartel producer and non-OPEC countries behaving as an oligopolistic fringe. The residual demand elasticity faced by OPEC is more elastic than the market demand elasticity, which is relatively inelastic. Market demand has become more inelastic over time over the period of study.
Some Theories with Positive Induction of Ordinal Strength phi omega 0

This paper deals with: (i) the theory ID* which results from ID] by restricting induction on the natural numbers to formulas which are positive in the fixed point constants, (ii) the theory BON(^) plus various forms of positive induction, and (iii) a subtheory of Peano arithmetic with ordinals in which induction on the natural numbers is restricted to formulas which are I in the ordinals. We show that these systems have proof-theoretic strength ipmO.
Assessment of renal artery stenosis using both resting pressures ratio and fractional flow reserve – Relationship to angiography and ultrasonography

Abstract Background. Clinical benefit from renal artery revascularization remains controversial, probably because of inaccurate stenosis severity assessment. Objective. The aim of the study was to evaluate resting translesional pressures ratio and renal fractional flow reserve (rFFR) in relation to angiography and Doppler duplex ultrasonography in patients with at least moderate renal artery stenosis (RAS). Methods. 44 hypertensive patients (48% of males, mean age 65 years) with at least moderate RAS were investigated. Translesional systolic pressure gradient (TSPG), resting Pd/Pa ratio (the ratio of mean distal to lesion and mean proximal pressures) and hyperemic rFFR – after intrarenal administration of papaverine – were evaluated. Quantitative angiographic analysis of stenosis severity was performed including minimal lumen diameter (MLD) and percent diameter stenosis (DS) assessment. Renal/aortic ratio (RAR), resistive index (RI) and deltaRI (side-to side difference) were obtained in Doppler-duplex ultrasonography. The predictive value of selected variables was calculated using receiver-operating characteristics curves. Results. Mean Pd/Pa ratio was 0.86 ± 0.12 and decreased to 0.79 ± 0.13 after papaverine administration. Both Pd/Pa ratio and rFFR strongly correlated with TSPG (r = −0.92, p < 0.0001 and r = −0.88, p < 0.0001, respectively) and moderately with MLD (r = 0.62, p < 0.0001 and r = 0.66, p < 0.0001) and DS (r = −0.63, p < 0.0001 and r = −0.70, p < 0.0001). To identify more than 70% RAS, considered severe, the most predictive cut-off values were 0.93 for Pd/Pa ratio and 0.80 for rFFR. Conclusions. Mean Pd/Pa ratio and rFFR strongly correlated with angiographic data and in less pronounced manner with ultrasound parameters reflecting intrarenal blood flow. The best accuracy cut-off points for severe RAS predicting were 0.93 and 0.80, respectively.
A novel method for night look image synthesis

Taking pictures at night is generally a difficult task compared to the daytime operation, especially when it requires continued photography as in a film production. This has induced an interesting research topic of night look image synthesis. In this paper, we addressed the issue of new techniques for the traditional synthesizing pipeline. After modifying brightness and contrast in the first step of rectification, we perform the chromaticity adjustment using the I/spl alpha//spl beta/ color-space model. Finally, some night invisible details are removed from the daylight reference image using wavelet transform. The method uses a simple input of image with RGB color value and a specified brightness value of the result look. Experimental results show that image with characteristic night look can be successfully produced using this approach.
Notice of RetractionSound loudness research on acoustic-structure coupling field in an enclosed cavity

Based on finite element model of acoustic-structure coupling field and the Zwicker's loudness model, the sound loudness of acoustic-structure coupling field in an enclosed cavity is studied in this paper. The effects of coupling plate thickness on sound intensity level, sound intensity density and critical-band level are also studied under the condition of taking the frequency selectivity of human hearing system into account. Furthermore, the transformation from sound intensity level to sound loudness of acoustic-structure coupling field in an enclosed cavity, which is caused by human hearing frequency selectivity characteristic, is evaluated in detail.
Linear fluorescence unmixing in cell biological research

One of the most important issues in biomedical research microscopy is the analysis of the spatial localization of fluorescently labelled structures. Today, a wide range of available dyes, fluorescent proteins and labelling techniques allows the creation of complex multicolored samples to study intracellular localization. However, analysis of localization and colocalization is often perturbed by a significant overlap of the fluorophores used to label the structures. This problem can be addressed by the use of multichannel fluorescence imaging together with linear unmixing of the image data. This method allows the reliable separation of overlapping fluorescence signals and subsequent accurate and quantitative (co)-localization analysis. In this chapter, we explain the theory of linear unmixing, provide information on how to perform such experiments, and point out technical limitations and potential pitfalls. Finally we demonstrate the benefit of this methodology, employing examples from cell biology and virology.
Numerical Weather Prediction in Daily Use

The last 10 years have seen a revolutionary change in the way weather forecasts are made. The basis for today's forecasts is a numerical calculation of the evolution of the energy distribution and motions in a physical model of the atmosphere. The benefits of this change have affected all types of weather forecasting. The substantial benefits to aviation are well established. The benefits to forecasts for the general public can't be conclusively documented but are strongly suggested. Our present limitations are mainly due to insufficient completeness of our atmospheric models. The removal of some of these deficiencies appears to be a relatively straightforward task. Other problems, particularly those of phase change of water, are more difficult. The eventual limitation to the prediction of atmospheric motions appears to be the supply of data describing the initial conditions, but I can safely say that solution of the other problems will require more than just a few years.
Characterization of low-temperature ultrananocrystalline diamond RF MEMS resonators

For the first time working MEMS resonators have been produced using low-temperature deposited (550degC) ultrananocrystallinetrade diamond (UNCDtrade) films. Using a lumped-element model to fit experimental data, UNCD materials properties such as a Young's modulus of 710 GPa and an acoustic velocity of 14,243 m/s have been deduced. This is the highest acoustic velocity measured to date for a diamond MEMS structural layer deposited at low temperatures. A 10 MHz resonator shows a DC-tunability of the resonance frequency of 15% between 15 and 25 V and the breakdown voltage behavior shows electrostatic breakdown rather than electro-mechanical pull-down for higher frequency devices. Good resonant frequency reproducibility is observed when cycling the resonators over bias voltages from 15 to 25 V and over RF power levels of -10 to 10 dBm
NeuroIS: Neurophilosophical Approach

Recent developments in neurosciences are being used in several fields such as economics, marketing and other social related sciences. Neurosciences are being used in different realms, from theoretical to philosophical, and it is creating new approaches to established fields. We believe that all social sciences should look at how the neurosciences could contribute to their field. We view Information Systems as a conjunction of a Technical System and a Social System, and therefore we think that there is the need to analyze whether the neurosciences can contribute to the field. We propose two different approaches of how neurosciences could contribute to the IS field. The first one analyzes parallelisms between Neuroeconomy and Information Systems, and the second one applies the Neurophilosophical Methodology in an attempt to ground Pragmatism’s premises.
Deposited in DRO : 14 November 2012 Version of attached le : Published Version Peer-review status of attached le : Peer-reviewed Citation for published item

Background: Rural populations experience a higher suicide rate than urban areas despite their comparable prevalence of depression. This suggests the identification of additional contributors is necessary to improve our understanding of suicide risk in rural regions. Investigating the independent contribution of depression, and the impact of co-existing psychiatric disorders, to suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in a rural community sample may provide clarification of the role of depression in rural suicidality. Methods: 618 participants in the Australian Rural Mental Health Study completed the Composite International Diagnostic Interview, providing assessment of lifetime suicidal ideation and attempts, affective disorders, anxiety disorders and substance-use disorders. Logistic regression analyses explored the independent contribution of depression and additional diagnoses to suicidality. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to illustrate the benefit of assessing secondary psychiatric diagnoses when determining suicide risk. Results: Diagnostic criteria for lifetime depressive disorder were met by 28% (174) of the sample; 25% (154) had a history of suicidal ideation. Overall, 41% (63) of participants with lifetime suicidal ideation and 34% (16) of participants with a lifetime suicide attempt had no history of depression. When lifetime depression was controlled for, suicidal ideation was predicted by younger age, being currently unmarried, and lifetime anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder. In addition to depression, suicide attempts were predicted by lifetime anxiety and drug use disorders, as well as younger age; being currently married and employed were significant protective factors. The presence of comorbid depression and PTSD significantly increased the odds of reporting a suicide attempt above either of these conditions independently. Conclusions: While depression contributes significantly to suicidal ideation, and is a key risk factor for suicide attempts, other clinical and demographic factors played an important role in this rural sample. Consideration of the contribution of factors such as substance use and anxiety disorders to suicidal ideation and behaviours may improve our ability to identify individuals at risk of suicide. Acknowledging the contribution of these factors to rural suicide may also result in more effective approaches for the identification and treatment of at-risk individuals.
MONOZYGOTIC AND DIZYGOTIC TWIN DIAGNOSIS

A method of estimating the probability of dizygotic and monozygotic twin pairs is described. Parent‐child and sib‐sib frequency tables for the ABO, MNS and Rhesus blood‐group systems and formulae for obtaining these tables for the P, Lutheran, Kell, Duffy, Kidd and non‐secretor (or Lewis) systems are given.
Dobutamine stress echocardiography for risk stratification after myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND Because dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) provides assessment of left ventricular function and ischemia at a distance, the major determinants of adverse outcome after acute myocardial infarction (AMI), we undertook this study to determine the role of DSE in risk stratification after AMI. METHODS AND RESULTS A graded DSE in 5-minute stages was performed in 214 patients (age, 57 +/- 13 years [mean +/- SD]) at 2 to 7 days after AMI. Coronary angiography was performed in 193 patients. Follow-up data regarding major cardiac events were obtained through telephone interviews and chart reviews. All patients were followed for > or = 500 days or until a hard cardiac event occurred. The mean follow-up interval was 494 +/- 182 days after AMI. Peak heart rate and systolic blood pressure were 115 +/- 21 bpm and 135 +/- 29 mm Hg, respectively. An adverse outcome occurred in 80 of 214 patients; cardiac death occurred in 15, nonfatal AMI occurred in 15, sustained or symptomatic ventricular arrhythmia occurred in 5, congestive heart failure occurred in 14, and unstable angina occurred in 31. Significant predictors of adverse outcome by univariate analysis were prior myocardial infarction (P = .005), anterior infarction (P = .006), multivessel coronary artery disease (P < .0001), global resting left ventricular wall motion score index (P < .0001), infarction zone nonviability based on akinesis unresponsive to low-dose dobutamine (P < .0001), and ischemia/infarction at a distance (P < .0001). Furthermore, the extent of infarct zone and nonviability correlated with the severity of the cardiac event. Multivariate analysis of clinical, angiographic, and DSE variables revealed that the only independent predictors of adverse outcome were ischemia/infarction at a distance (P < .0001) and infarction zone nonviability (P < .0001). Multivessel disease identified through DSE was more predictive of adverse outcome than was angiographically determined multivessel disease. CONCLUSIONS DSE can be used to predict adverse outcomes after AMI.
Human Action Unit detection of patient using geometric feature analysis

Human Action Units are based on head, hand and leg movements. Head movements include 11 action units, hand movements show 13 action units whereas leg movements have 16 action units. The measurement parameters are local feature points of body parts and global feature points of whole body. For each body parts such as head, left hand, right hand, left leg, right leg and torso, local descriptors are obtained from the histogram of local features of body parts. Global descriptors includes measurement parameters related to the position and orientation of different parts of body, It also includes area, perimeter, centroid, and eccentricity. Body features are used to detect predetermined action units of head, hand and leg. Rule based logic is developed to detect negative emotion of patient considering 3 head gestures, 4 hand gestures and 4 leg gestures. The proposed algorithm gives promising results for leg action unit detection, moderate results for head and hand action units detection. The body gesture recognition produced promising results. Efficiency of hand movements and leg movements was 90 % where as head movements produced efficiency of 85 %.
Offset rejection for PLL based synchronization in grid-connected converters

Grid-connected converters rely on fast and accurate detection of the phase angle, amplitude and frequency of the utility voltage to guarantee the correct generation of the reference signals. An important issue associated with accurate grid voltage monitoring is the presence of an offset in the measured grid voltage. This voltage offset is typically introduced by the measurements and data conversion processes and causes errors for the estimated parameters of the grid voltage. Accordingly, this paper presents an offset rejection method for grid-connected converters based on a phase-locked-loop (PLL) technique. The offset rejection method relies on the second order generalized integrator (SOGI) having the advantages of a simple implementation independent of the grid frequency and avoidance of filtering delays due to its resonance at the fundamental frequency. Selected experimental results validate the performance and robustness of the proposed offset rejection method.
The role of integrins in the human reproductive process

Integrins are heterodimeric transmembrane glycoproteins involved in cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix adhesion. They also participate in cytoskeletal rearrangement, co-regulation of growth factor activities and activation of signal transduction. This review describes the available information regarding the role of integrins in human reproductive physiology and discusses their clinical implications. Integrins play important roles in several reproductive processes including fertilization, embryogenesis, and implantation. Disturbance of integrin expression in reproductive organs can be the cause, or the result of such reproductive disorders as endometriosis, unexplained infertility, hydrosalpinx, ectopic pregnancy, and preeclampsia. Further knowledge of the integrin-mediated regulation of cell growth and cell survival may facilitate our understanding of many key aspects of development and physiology in reproduction.
A Hybrid Active Gate Drive for Switching Loss Reduction and Voltage Balancing of Series-Connected IGBTs

Insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) are usually connected in series to form high-voltage switches in power electronics applications. However, the series operation of IGBTs is not easy due to the unbalanced voltage sharing between them, especially during the switching transients and the tail-current period. In this paper, a hybrid active gate drive is presented for both switching loss reduction and voltage balancing of the series-connected IGBTs. Compared with the conventional gate drive, the proposed method allows dynamical adjustment of the switching speed of IGBTs; thus the switching loss can be suppressed without increasing the current and voltage stresses of the power device. For series connection, the transient voltage sharing is achieved by using an adaptive control method, while the voltage balancing during the tail-current period is optimized by a low-loss snubber circuit. The performance of the proposed hybrid active gate drive and control method has been validated by experimental results.
Older Adults’ Reactions to a Robot’s Appearance in the Context of Home Use

Robots are being designed to assist older adults in their homes. However, we lack a clear understanding of the aspects of robot appearance older adults pay attention to and consider important for accepting a robot in their homes. The goal of this study was to systematically assess older adults’ reactions to a specific robot’s appearance in the context of home use. Independent living older adults interacted with the PR2 and were interviewed about its appearance. In general, there was expectation for a small sized robot that fits with the home and is easy to control. There was variability for desired human-likeness, although some human-like characteristics might be acceptable to most.
High-voltage LED-based efficient lighting using a hysteretic controlled boost converter

Car industries are especially interested on decreasing the power rating of the electrical sub-system to reduce wire weight and fuel consumption. Using LED devices, a typical 50W halogen-based car spot-light, could be replaced by a LED array of 8–12W. To improve the array life-time and simplify light dimming, all LED devices are series-connected to a high-voltage current-source driver. This driver, based on a single-stage boost converter has a very high voltage gain. Supplied from a 12 V car-battery, and limited only by the commercially-available switching devices, our prototype reaches 900V. Hysteretic control is decisive to achieve the required extremely high duty ratios, circa 98%, as well as to guarantee DCM-CCM border converter operation to reduce switching losses.
Tunable Bandgaps: Simulation Evidence of Hexagonal‐to‐Tetragonal ZnSe Structure Transition: A Monolayer Material with a Wide‐Range Tunable Direct Bandgap (Adv. Sci. 12/2015)

In article 1500290, X. C. Zeng and co‐workers demonstrate simulation evidence for a structural transition in 2D ZnSe. The 2D tetragonal ZnSe monolayer exhibits highly tunable bandgap from 2 to 3 eV under the biaxial strain, suggesting its potential application as light‐emitting material in red‐green‐blue light emission diodes or for visible‐light driven water splitting through suitable band alignment.