Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Improving the quality of mental health services using patient outcome data: making the most of HoNOS

Efforts to assess and improve the quality of mental health services are often hampered by a lack of information on patient outcomes. Most mental health services in England have been routinely collecting Health of the Nation Outcome Scales (HoNOS) data for some time. In this article we illustrate how clinical teams have used HoNOS data to identify areas where performance could be improved. HoNOS data have the potential to give clinical teams the information they need to assess the quality of care they deliver, as well as develop and test initiatives aimed at improving the services they provide.
Methylation of TFPI-2 is an early event of esophageal carcinogenesis.

AIMS To explore the epigenetic changes and the function of TFPI-2 in esophageal cancer. MATERIALS & METHODS Nine esophageal cancer cell lines, nine normal esophageal mucosa, 60 esophageal dysplasia and 106 advanced esophageal cancer samples were included in this study. TFPI-2 methylation was examined by methylation-specific PCR. TFPI-2 expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry in tissue samples. The effect of TFPI-2 on proliferation, apoptosis, invasion and migration was analyzed by colony formation assay, western blot assay, transwell assay and flow cytometric analysis. RESULTS TFPI-2 expression was regulated by promoter region hypermethylation in human esophageal cancer cell lines, and TFPI-2 expression is inversely correlated with methylation in primary cancer. Methylation was found in 28.2, 33.3 and 33.3% of grade 1, 2 and 3 esophageal dysplasia, and 67% of primary esophageal cancer, but no methylation was found in normal mucosa. Methylation is significantly related to tumor differentiation. Inhibition of invasion, migration, colony formation and proliferation, and induction of apoptosis occurred with the restoration of TFPI-2 expression in the KYSE70 cell line. CONCLUSION TFPI-2 is frequently methylated in esophageal cancer with a progression tendency. TFPI-2 is a potential tumor suppressor in esophageal cancer.
Impact of C-reactive protein on the likelihood of carotid atherosclerosis in Japanese adults.

OBJECTIVE Several cohort studies have shown a link between serum C-reactive protein (CRP) and subsequent cardiovascular disease; however, the role of CRP as an independent risk factor remains controversial. We therefore investigated the association between CRP and sclerotic lesions of common carotid atherosclerosis. PATIENTS AND METHODS We evaluated sclerotic lesions of common carotid arterial intima-media thickness (IMT) by ultrasonography in 139 men aged 67 +/- 15 years and 201 women aged 75 +/- 10 years. To investigate the relation between CRP and various confounding factors, subjects were divided into four groups based on the quartile of CPR. RESULTS Carotid IMT values were significantly higher in groups with higher CRP (p = 0.022). To identify the possible CRP level and risk factor interactions for IMT, multiple regression analysis for IMT was performed based on risk factors in subjects with a specific CRP level. It was shown that age, smoking status, systolic blood pressure (SBP) and LDL cholesterol were significantly associated with IMT in subjects in the lower CRP groups (CRP-1 approximately CRP-3), and age, SBP and presence of diabetes mellitus in the highest CRP group (CRP-4). To further investigate whether the interaction between CRP and conventional risk factors could influence IMT, a general linear model demonstrated that interaction between CRP and the presence of diabetes mellitus (F = 4.754 p = 0.030) was significantly associated with IMT, in addition to sex, age, SBP, antihypertensive drug use, LDL cholesterol and HDL cholesterol. CONCLUSIONS This finding indicates that the association between CRP and IMT significantly differed between subjects with and without diabetes mellitus.
Postoperative Albumin Infusion Therapy Based on Colloid Osmotic Pressure. A Prospectively Randomized Trial

In a prospectively randomized trial of 220 patients, 106 were given albumin when their colloid osmotic pressure (COP) fell below 24 cm H2O and 114 were given albumin when their COP fell below 29 cm H2O. There was no difference in the postoperative course between the two groups; however, by using the lower COP limit the postoperative albumin consumption in the intensive care unit was reduced significantly and thus the costs of treatment were lowered. In the case of extremely low COP, the prognosis of the disease worsened, indicating that the COP is of prognostic value. The albumin supply, however, did not influence the final outcome of the patients under these circumstances because it treated only a characteristic symptom and not the cause of the disease.
Optimization of the performance of a photovoltaic system with MPPT controller

The Work presented in this paper concerns the optimization of the performance of a photovoltaic system with MPPT controller, Specifically, we present and we analyze the simulation of electrical operation of a photovoltaic (PV) system adapted by a numerical control (MPPT control) based on a PIC microcontroller that will ensure the continuation of the maximum power output of the Photovoltaic generator whatever the metrological conditions. The results show that the well designed PV system converges after a time of about 60 ms to the optimum conditions regardless of weather conditions and variation of the load. The proper functioning of BOOST converter (94% efficiency) allowed us to conclude proper operation and satisfactory performance of PV systems performed during this work.
Managing the Conflict from Within : A Spiritual Model

Models of conflict management depict tension between two poles of concern: the concern for self and others. However, the interaction of Jesus with His followers demonstrates the presence of a superordinate concern, which may be absent from previous models: the concern for spirituality. The sense of culpability to align one’s actions with God’s will and commands describes this concern. The spiritual model of conflict management (SMCM) deciphers how Christians respond to conflict when others in the group may deem a Christian’s behaviors as illogical. The SMCM presents the decisionmaking process of Christians when experiencing conflict from the inception of conflict, to the enactment, and finally to the period of reflective learning so that leaders can achieve productive group outcomes.
Determining dynamical parameters of the Milky Way Galaxy based on high-accuracy radio astrometry

In this paper we evaluate how the dynamical structure of the Galaxy can be constrained by high-accuracy VLBI (Very Long Baseline Interferometry) astrometry such as VERA (VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry). We generate simulated samples of maser sources which follow the gas motion caused by a spiral or bar potential, with their distribution similar to those currently observed with VERA and VLBA (Very Long Baseline Array). We apply the Markov chain Monte Carlo analyses to the simulated sample sources to determine the dynamical parameter of the models. We show that one can successfully determine the initial model parameters if astrometric results are obtained for a few hundred sources with currently achieved astrometric accuracy. If astrometric data are available from 500 sources, the expected accuracy of R0 and 0 is ∼ 1% or higher, and parameters related to the spiral structure can be constrained by an error of 10% or with higher accuracy. We also show that the parameter determination accuracy is basically independent of the locations of resonances such as corotation and/or inner/outer Lindblad resonances. We also discuss the possibility of model selection based on the Bayesian information criterion (BIC), and demonstrate that BIC can be used to discriminate different dynamical models of the Galaxy.
Crystal Structure of the C-type Lectin-like Domain from the Human Hematopoietic Cell Receptor CD69*

CD69, one of the earliest specific antigens acquired during lymphoid activation, acts as a signal-transducing receptor involved in cellular activation events, including proliferation and induction of specific genes. CD69 belongs to a family of receptors that modulate the immune response and whose genes are clustered in the natural killer (NK) gene complex. The extracellular portion of these receptors represent a subfamily of C-type lectin-like domains (CTLDs), which are divergent from true C-type lectins and are referred to as NK-cell domains (NKDs). We have determined the three-dimensional structure of human CD69 NKD in two different crystal forms. CD69 NKD adopts the canonical CTLD fold but lacks the features involved in Ca2+ and carbohydrate binding by C-type lectins. CD69 NKD dimerizes noncovalently, both in solution and in crystalline state. The dimer interface consists of a hydrophobic, loosely packed core, surrounded by polar interactions, including an interdomain β sheet. The intersubunit core shows certain structural plasticity that may facilitate conformational rearrangements for binding to ligands. The surface equivalent to the binding site of other members of the CTLD superfamily reveals a hydrophobic patch surrounded by conserved charged residues that probably constitutes the CD69 ligand-binding site.
Hydroxyethyl Starches: Different Products – Different Effects

With the development of a new generation of hydroxyethyl starches (HES), there has been renewed interest in their clinical potential. High doses of first- and second-generation HES were associated with adverse effects on renal function, coagulation, and tissue storage, thereby limiting their clinical applicability. Newer HES products have lower molar substitution and in vivo molecular weight, resulting in more rapid metabolism and clearance. In this review article, the differences between HES generations are highlighted, with particular emphasis on the improved safety profile of the third generation products. These improvements have been achieved with no loss of efficacy, and they contradict the assumption that efficacy of HES solutions is directly linked to plasma concentration. The impact of source material on structure and pharmacokinetics is highlighted, and the role of the carrier solution is critically assessed.
Reliability prediction based on Brownian motion with extended degradation rate

For considering the stochastic nature of storage conditions, an approximation procedure that extends the Brownian motion with extended degradation rate to incorporate the variations of stresses is proposed. The acceleration effects under the stochastic stresses are derived and verified by extensive simulation studies. The presented methodology is proved to be a powerful tool in relating accelerated aging experiments to field applications.
A low-crosstalk optical router using multi-layer coupled MR for ONoC

Crosstalk noise is a potential issue for optical router used by optical network-on-chip (ONoC). The huge crosstalk directly degrades the performance in optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) at optical router level, and greatly limits the scalability at ONoC level. This paper proposes ILCOR, a low-crosstalk optical router using multi-layer coupled MR. The use of multi-layer coupled MR enables less waveguide crossings which are closely related to crosstalk. As results show, the average OSNR for ILCOR increases by 1.7× and 6.7× compared with Cygnus and Crossbar, respectively.
Analyzing the Physico-Chemical Parameters of Detergents and Detergent Mixtures

The most important physico-chemical characteristics describing detergent micelles are the CMC value and the aggregation number. These parameters depend critically on external conditions such as pH, ionic strength, buffer composition or temperature. However, the influence of these conditions on CMC or aggregation number is a priori not to predict, but the most important parameter. This holds especially for the aggregation number. Here, we present a simple, reliable and fast method for the analysis of detergent containing buffer systems. It enables the determination of CMC values and aggregation numbers of detergents as well as detergent mixtures in a 96well plate standard device relying on steady state fluorescence and fluorescence quenching. To prove the general applicability of our approach, we analyzed DDM as a prime example of a detergent and mixtures of DDM with six other detergents at different ratios to demonstrate the potential of our method.
Role of Red Blood Cell Distribution Width for Assessment of the Severity of Critically Ill Patients in Intensive Care Unit and to Correlate with Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation-II ( Apache-II )

Morbidity and mortality rate is high in ICU patients. Various scoring system is used like APACHE-II, SAPS-II, SOFA score to predict outcome of ICU patients and helps physicians for patient admission and management. APACHE-II score are used in our country. APACHE-II, SAPS-II, SOFA score contain multiple variable, 1 Corresponding author: mesba.lab@gmail.com Abdul Kader, Md. Saiful Islam, Sheuly Ferdoushi, Abdul Alam Chowdhury, Tuhin Sultana, Mesbah Uddin Ahmed, A N Nashimuddin AhmedRole of Red Blood Cell Distribution Width for Assessment of the Severity of Critically Ill Patients in Intensive Care Unit and to Correlate with Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation-II (Apache-II) Score EUROPEAN ACADEMIC RESEARCH Vol. III, Issue 1 / April 2015 670 which are expensive, time consuming, where as RDW is cheaper, rapidly and easily test. The study was cross sectional conducted to assess the RDW as a marker for severity of disease among critically ill patients in ICU. Study population was 60 patients selected from intensive care according to inclusion criteria. Suspected case of ICU and adult age group were included in the study. After taking informed written consent from patient’s attendant blood sample were obtained with all aseptic precaution from all patients and processed in hematology auto analyzer (cell counter). Among the more severely ill patients half were >60 years age group (50.0%). On the other hand among the less severely ill patients majority were 31 to 60 years age group (65.6%). RDW ranged from 14.70 to 23.00 and the mean APACHE-II score was ranged from 15.0 to 32.0. The higher tertile of RDW were observed in older critical ill patients in ICU. The primary finding of this study showed that increasing RDW levels can serve as a marker to assess the severity of ICU patients. This association remained significant even after adjustment for APACHE-II score. RDW is less expensive and common measurement found on the complete blood count. The RDW fared better than APACHE II for morbidity or mortality prediction of ICU patients. RDW is widely available test, no additional cost and found in routinely performed with complete blood cell count and is highly reproducible, RDW has the potentially clinical utility to predict outcome for ICU patients.
Personality change in Parkinson's disease patients: chronic disease and aging.

Parkinson's disease patients (N = 41, mean age = 65 years) were described by themselves and their spouses as they were presently and before their illness using the Adjective Check List. Equivalent self- and spouse descriptions were obtained from the members of a matched community sample (N = 96). Descriptions of patients and their spouses converged, both reporting sharp, pervasive (e.g., on all of the Big Five dimensions), and uniformly negative change in personality. Similar, but much less marked change was found in the community sample. The data as a set suggest that the reported changes in the patients were veridical and that their magnitude was primarily the result of the disease rather than aging. Evidence of continuities in personality (for example, differential stability) was also noted. We argued that the illness accelerated and intensified changes normally expected in later life.
Skin Cancer in Zaria, Nigeria

Skin cancer from 775 patients in the savannah showed a preponderance of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the leg related to neglected, poorly managed and chronic ulcers or scars from burns or injuries. SCC of the head and neck had no predisposing factor. Malignant melanoma overwhelmingly affected the feet, dermatofibrosarcoma affected the trunk and Kaposi sarcoma affected the limbs. Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) comprised only 2% of all skin cancers. The 18 albino patients had a higher frequency of both SCC and BCC mostly on the head and neck. Excisional surgery was generally effective, the wounds being closed primarily or by means of flaps and skin grafts. However, 98 patients required amputation below the knee for tibial involvement by SCC. The prognosis and health care costs of skin cancer will only be improved if burns and injuries are adequately treated.
A Fully 3-D Printed Waveguide and Its Application as Microfluidically Controlled Waveguide Switch

This paper reports the design, fabrication, and characterization of a fully 3-D printed waveguide (WG) and a microfluidically controlled WG switch, operating at K-band. The WG body is printed using a benchtop 3-D printer with thermoplastic substrate acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, and the conductive layer is incorporated using the same printer by automated deposition of conductive silver ink. The measured total insertion loss of the 3-D printed WG is in good match with the simulations showing better than 0.11 dB/cm for the entire K-band. The 3-D printed WG is characterized, and its attenuation and propagation constants are computed for the K-band using a multiline technique. In addition, microfluidically controlled eutectic gallium-indium and galistan liquid metals are integrated with the 3-D printed WG, and a novel reflective WG switch is implemented. The insertion loss and isolation of the switch are measured to be better than 0.5 dB and better than 15 dB for the entire K-band, respectively. Furthermore, the switch's performance with respect to changes in ambient temperature has been studied. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that fused deposition modeling printing and automated ink dispensing is used to fabricate fully 3-D printed WGs, and a 3-D printed WG switch is developed, exhibiting the potential of such technology for rapid prototyping of RF devices.
3-D Face Modeling and Its Applications

This paper describes some issues in building a 3-D human face modeling system which mainly consists of three parts: • Modeling human faces; • Analyzing facial motions; • Synthesizing facial expressions. A variety of techniques developed for this system are described in detail in this paper. Some preliminary results of applying this system to computer animation, video sequence compression and human face recognition are also shown.
Lamellipodia in invasion.

In vivo imaging of GFP-labeled metastatic tumor cells reveals cell orientation towards blood vessels. Orientation of tumor cells during chemotactic responses to ligands such as EGF begins with lamellipod extension. Evaluation of some of the downstream events in lamellipod extension indicates: (1) plasma membrane distribution of the EGF receptor is uniform but internalized receptor accumulates on the side of the cell closest to the source of EGF; (2) the alpha p110 isoform of PI-3 kinase is required; and (3) protrusion of the lamellipod relies upon the combined actions of the Arp2/3 complex and cofilin for generation of filamentous actin.
Reinforcement learning in case-based systems

Case-based reasoning (CBR) systems compare a new problem to a library of cases and adapt a similar library case to the problem, producing a preliminary solution. Since CBR systems require only a record of library cases with successful solutions, they are often used in areas lacking a strong theoretical domain model, such as medicine, economics and law. The problem is that many CBR systems use expert knowledge to determine how to build indexes for the case library so that cases that match the current situation can be identified. Human experts - whose time is valuable and scarce - often find it difficult to explain precisely their reasoning. Thus, a knowledge elicitation bottleneck occurs for many knowledge-based applications. Reinforcement-trained case-based reasoning (RETCBR) uses feedback from the user or some external process to learn how to match cases. RETCBR expands the domains in which CBR techniques can be applied, because it requires knowledge only for case recognition, not for determining indexing strategies. We are currently applying these techniques to human-computer interaction problems, such as user modeling and collaborative filtering.
In Vitro Antimicrobial Activity of Propolis Dry Extract

Abstract In this study the antibacterial and antifungal properties of propolis, a natural product of bees, have been investigated against different pathogens. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) were determined according to NCCLS standards on 320 strains including Staphylococcus aureus, Group A beta-hemolytic streptococci, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Moraxella catarrhalis, Haemophilus influenzae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Candida albicans. Time-kill curves were assessed for susceptible microorganisms, testing 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 4 × MIC for propolis, by counting viable bacteria after 0, 3, 6, 24 hours and viable yeasts after 0, 3, 6, 24 and 48 hours. Propolis showed good antimicrobial activity against most of the isolates, particularly S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae and M. catarrhalis, but not against Enterobacteriaceae. Time-kill curves demonstrated bacteriostatic rather than bactericidal activity of propolis, the latter being evident only at high concentrations.
Pre‐existing hypertension and the impact of stroke on cognitive function

Hypertension has been associated with subclinical injury in the brain and may therefore increase the impact of an incident stroke on cognitive function. The Study of Osteoporotic Fractures (SOF) is a prospective, observational study of 9,704 women aged 65 years and older recruited from four U.S. metropolitan areas. Blood pressure was measured at study entry, and cognitive decline was defined by the change from prestroke to poststroke cognitive testing. During an average follow‐up of 6.8 years, incident stroke occurred in 260 participants (3.1%) who had previously completed baseline cognitive testing. Among participants with stroke, 119 completed follow‐up cognitive testing a median of 1.9 years after the stroke, 80 died before the next study visit, and 61 did not complete further cognitive testing. After adjustment for demographic factors and other confounders, pre‐existing hypertension was a strong predictor of cognitive decline when a stroke occurred (odds ratio [OR], 4.07; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.37–12.1). In contrast, hypertension was only weakly associated with cognitive decline in the absence of stroke (OR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.04–1.22) (p for interaction = 0.032). Pre‐existing hypertension in women is associated with a greater impact of stroke on cognitive function, possibly by influencing the ability to tolerate or recover from brain injury. Ann Neurol 2005;58:68–74