Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clinical decision support system to assess the risk of sepsis using Tree Augmented Bayesian networks and electronic medical record data

Early and accurate diagnoses of sepsis enable practitioners to take timely preventive actions. The existing diagnostic criteria suffer from deficiencies, such as triggering false alarms or leaving conditions undiagnosed. This study aims to develop a clinical decision support system to predict the risk of sepsis using tree augmented naive Bayesian network by identifying the optimal set of biomarkers. The key feature of our approach is that we captured the dynamics among biomarkers. With an area under receiver operating characteristic of 0.84, the proposed model outperformed the competing diagnostic criteria (systemic inflammatory response syndrome = 0.59, quick sepsis-related organ failure assessment = 0.65, modified early warning system = 0.75, sepsis-related organ failure assessment = 0.80). The richness of our proposed model is measured not only by achieving high accuracy, but also by utilizing fewer biomarkers. We also propose a left-center-right imputation method suitable for electronic medical record data. This method uses the individual patient’s visit, instead of aggregated (mean or median) value, to impute the missing data.
of Nebraska - Lincoln DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln Life history of the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin in the Pearl Life history of the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin in the Pearl River Estuary, southern China River Estuary, southern China

We studied life history characteristics of the Hong Kong/Pearl River Estuary population of Indo-Paciﬁc humpback dolphins ( Sousa chinensis ), based on data from 120 specimens stranded between 1995 and 2009, 40 individuals biopsied at sea, and a long-term (14 + yr) photo-identiﬁcation study. Ages were determined for 112 specimens by thin-sectioning teeth and counting growth layer groups. Estimated length at birth was 101 cm. Longevity was at least 38 yr, and there was little difference in growth patterns of males and females. Growth was described by a Bayesian two-phase Gompertz model; asymptotic length was reached at 249 cm. The tooth pulp cavity ﬁlled at an average of 18.5 yr of age. Physical maturity was reached at between 14 and 17 yr of age, apparently a few years after attainment of sexual maturity. Maximum lengths and weights of about 268 cm and 240 kg were attained. Females appear to lose all their spots by 30 yr, although males may retain some spotting throughout life. Calving occurred throughout the year, with a broad peak from March to June. Of 60 females monitored at sea for > 14 yr of the study, none were documented to have more than three calves, suggestive of low reproductive output or low calf survival.
Planning for Outcomes (P4O) Modeling Tool: Estimating the Impact of Changing the Proportion of Injectable Progestins in the Contraceptive Method Mix

The interactive deterministic online modeling tool P4O allows users to estimate how changing the proportion of injectable progestins in the contraceptive method mix might affect HIV and maternal and child health outcomes. With careful consideration for women's individual choices, policy makers and program planners may use country-specific results to help inform programming and policy decisions. The interactive deterministic online modeling tool P4O allows users to estimate how changing the proportion of injectable progestins in the contraceptive method mix might affect HIV and maternal and child health outcomes. With careful consideration for women's individual choices, policy makers and program planners may use country-specific results to help inform programming and policy decisions. ABSTRACT Background: Observational studies raise concern about a potential link between injectable progestin contraceptive use and HIV acquisition risk. This possible link is particularly relevant in sub-Saharan Africa where HIV risk is high and the method mix is skewed toward injectables. We developed the Planning for Outcomes (P4O) model (https://planning4outcomes.ctiexchange.org/) to predict changes in maternal and child health (MCH) and HIV outcomes that could occur if the proportion of injectables in the method mix is changed. Methods: P4O incorporates evidence-based assumptions to predict yearly changes in unintended pregnancies, morbidity/mortality, HIV infections (women and infants), and anticipated health care costs associated with changing the proportions of injectable users in 22 selected countries. Users of this model designate all countries or a subset and adjust inputs including percentage of injectable users who discontinue, percentage of discontinuers who begin use of an alternative method, hazard ratio for HIV infection with injectable use, method mix used by injectable discontinuers, annual probabilities of method-specific pregnancy and mother-to-child transmission of HIV, condom effectiveness against HIV, risk of HIV during pregnancy, and HIV incidence among women of reproductive age. Results: Illustrative results from all sub-Saharan African countries combined and from selected countries demonstrate the potential of P4O to inform program planning and procurement decisions. In countries with high use of long-acting reversible contraception, the removal of injectables from the method mix is associated with improvement in MCH and HIV indicators if most injectable users switch to more effective methods (e.g., implants). In countries with high use of short-acting methods (e.g., condoms), the model predicts mostly negative MCH outcomes. Conclusions: Policy makers and program planners may use P4O to inform programming and policy decisions. In all scenarios, programmatic preparation to accommodate changes to the contraceptive method mix, considerations of how the individual desires of women will be addressed, and potential burden of anticipated MCH-related costs warrant advanced consideration.
Factors associated with the initiation of testosterone replacement therapy in men from the 45 and Up Study

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES There have been large increases in testosterone prescribing since 2000. The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) initiation in men. METHODS Data were from the 45 and Up Study, an ongoing cohort study involving 266,942 participants from New South Wales aged ≥45 years. Baseline data (2006−09) were linked to administrative data on government-subsidised prescriptions and medical services. RESULTS The study included 105,429 men. In two years following baseline, 2.9 per 1000 men (95% confidence interval: 2.6, 3.2) had initiated TRT. Men with self-rated poor health, those treated for osteoporosis; anxiety, depression or high blood cholesterol, and those who lived in major cities or were aged 55–74 years had greater odds of TRT initiation. In the six months before TRT initiation, 41% of men had a hormone test record. DISCUSSION Discussion The high rate of TRT initiation and low rate of recommended investigations suggest TRT may have been prescribed outside recommended indications.
Cultural or Structural? Two Perspectives on Conflicts in Sino-U.S. Joint Ventures

Abstract There has been growing academic interests on conflicts in Sino-Foreign joint ventures. Existing literature shows that special attention has been paid to conflicts in Sino-US joint ventures, particularly about the internal conflicts among the Chinese and American partners/management teams. The paper reviews previous research on conflicts in Sino-U.S. joint ventures within two main theoretical perspectives, cultural and structural. It aims to find out are 1) what issues of conflicts these two perspectives tend to address, 2) what is the central issue of their studies, respectively, 3) how they interpret conflicts in joint ventures, and 4) what kind of conflict resolution strategies they tend to propose. By exploring these, the paper seeks to contextualize empirical studies into broader theoretical contexts and develop healthy dialogue between the two dominate approaches, and thus set up a stage for further studies.
A Theoretical Evaluation of AriDeM using Matrix Multiplication

The Von Neumann model has been used as a basis for sequential computation for decades. It is widely accepted that high performance computation is better achieved using parallel architectures and is seen as the basis for future computational architectures with the ever increasing need for high performance computation. We describe a new model of parallel computation known as the Arithmetic Deduction Model (AriDeM) which has some similarities with the Von Neumann. A theoretical evaluation of the model is performed using matrix multiplication and compared with the Von Neumann model. Initial results indicate AriDeM to be more efficient in resources utilization.
Analysis of “Simple Post-Processing of Continuous Glucose Monitoring Measurements Improves Endpoints in Clinical Trials”

Jensen et al used continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) data of the Dexcom G4 Platinum (DG4P) sensor obtained in a clinical efficacy and safety study of Novo Nordisk’s new insulin Fiasp® to calculate the CGM time delay versus plasma glucose (PG) and self-measured blood glucose (SMBG) measurements (9-10 min). Shifting the CGM signal by 9 min backward in time versus PG and SMBG data improved the analytical accuracy of the DG4P sensor and the reliability of clinical research endpoint (hypoglycemia, postprandial glucose increments) detection. Since this method takes advantage of post-processing of CGM data, it is particularly suited for the optimization of data processing in clinical studies. In contrast, real-time corrections of time delays need predictive algorithms.
Psychological Problems among aid workers oPerating in darfur

Aid workers operating in war zones are susceptible to mental health problems that could develop into stress and acute traumatic stress. This study examined the relationships between burnout, job satisfaction (compassion satisfaction), secondary traumatic stress (compassion fatigue), and distress in 53 Sudanese and international aid workers in Darfur (mean age = 31.6 years). Measures used were the Professional Quality of Life Questionnaire (ProQOL; Stamm, 2005), the Relief Worker Burnout Questionnaire (Ehrenreich, 2001), and the General Health Questionnaire (Goldberg & Williams, 1991). Results showed that burnout was positively related to general distress and secondary traumatic stress, and negatively related to compassion satisfaction. Sudanese aid workers reported higher burnout and secondary traumatic stress than did international workers. Results are discussed in light of previous findings. It was concluded that certain conditions might increase aid workers’ psychological suffering and relief organizations need to create positive work climates through equipping aid workers with adequate training, cultural orientation, and psychological support services.
Project Culture within Construction Projects - A Pilot Case Study

Abstract Project culture is raised as a general concept in some academic papers and industry reports. Those studies indicate that project culture is very important for the processing of construction projects; however, they do not provide a clear definition of project culture. In addition, there is no model that specifically examines the project culture of each construction project. This paper reviews the literature about cultural studies in a construction projects context, especially the culture at project level. A modified version of the current and generally used organizational culture model is suggested after the literature review. Finally a pilot case study was conducted to test the suggested model as well as the research instrument that will be used in further studies. The results show that the waste derived from the inappropriate behaviours/attitudes of the project participants can be minimized by creating a positive project culture. As a result, the value of the client/project will be improved.
Clinical characteristics and outcomes of Richter transformation: experience of 204 patients from a single center

The natural history, prognostication and optimal treatment of Richter transformation developed from chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) are not well defined. We report the clinical characteristics and outcomes of a large series of biopsy-confirmed Richter transformation (diffuse large B-cell lymphoma or high grade B-cell lymphoma, n=204) cases diagnosed from 1993 to 2018. After a median follow up of 67.0 months, the median overall survival (OS) was 12.0 months. Patients who received no prior treatment for CLL had significantly better OS (median 46.3 vs. 7.8 months; P<0.001). Patients with elevated lactate dehydrogenase (median 6.2 vs. 39.9 months; P<0.0001) or TP53 disruption (median 8.3 vs. 12.8 months; P=0.046) had worse OS than those without. Immunoglobulin heavy chain variable region gene mutation, cell of origin, Myc/Bcl-2 double expression and MYC/BCL2/BCL6 double-/triple-hit status were not associated with OS. In multivariable Cox regression, elevated lactate dehydrogenase [Hazard ratio (HR) 2.3, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.3-4.1; P=0.01], prior CLL treatment (HR 2.0, 95%CI: 1.2-3.5; P=0.01), and older age (HR 1.03, 95%CI: 1.01-1.05; P=0.01) were associated with worse OS. Twenty-four (12%) patients underwent stem cell transplant (20 autologous and 4 allogeneic), and had a median post-transplant survival of 55.4 months. In conclusion, the overall outcome of Richter transformation is poor. Richter transformation developed in patients with untreated CLL has significantly better survival. Stem cell transplant may benefit select patients.
Asymptomatic urinary tract infections in pregnant women attending antenatal clinic in Cape Coast, Ghana

Urinary tract infections culminating from poor diagnosis during pregnancy puts pregnant women at high risk of serious complications. This study investigated the incidence of urinary tract infections among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in the Cape Coast Metropolis of the Central Region of Ghana. Physical, chemical, microscopic, and microbial analysis were performed on urine samples obtained from 200 pregnant women aged 15 - 45 years attending the University of Cape Coast Hospital, Cape Coast Metropolitan Hospital and Ewim Urban Health Centre. The prevalence of urinary tract infections in the three trimesters was determined together with sensitivity testing of the bacteria isolates to antimicrobial drugs. Overall prevalence stood at 56.5 %, although comparatively high in pregnant women in the second trimester (50.4 %). Escherichia coli were the most implicated organism (48.7 %). Pregnant women aged between 15 – 32 years were the most affected and gentamycin was the most effective antimicrobial against the bacteria isolates. Results indicated that the incidence of urinary tract infections was high among pregnant women in the study area; therefore, urine microbial screening should be included in the routine antenatal checkups for pregnant women to detect the asymptomatic infections to reduce its risk to pregnancies.
Gold as a Possible Alternative to Platinum-Based Chemotherapy for Colon Cancer Treatment

Due to the increasing incidence and high mortality associated with colorectal cancer (CRC), novel therapeutic strategies are urgently needed. Classic chemotherapy against CRC is based on oxaliplatin and other cisplatin analogues; however, platinum-based therapy lacks selectivity to cancer cells and leads to deleterious side effects. In addition, tumor resistance to oxaliplatin is related to chemotherapy failure. Gold(I) derivatives are a promising alternative to platinum complexes, since instead of interacting with DNA, they target proteins overexpressed on tumor cells, thus leading to less side effects than, but a comparable antitumor effect to, platinum derivatives. Moreover, given the huge potential of gold nanoparticles, the role of gold in CRC chemotherapy is not limited to gold(I) complexes. Gold nanoparticles have been found to be able to overcome multidrug resistance along with reduced side effects due to a more efficient uptake of classic drugs. Moreover, the use of gold nanoparticles has enhanced the effect of traditional therapies such as radiotherapy, photothermal therapy, or photodynamic therapy, and has displayed a potential role in diagnosis as a consequence of their optic properties. Herein, we have reviewed the most recent advances in the use of gold(I) derivatives and gold nanoparticles in CRC therapy.
Protein aggregation mediates stoichiometry of protein complexes in aneuploid cells

In this study, Brennan et al. identify protein complex stoichiometry imbalances as a major cause of protein aggregation in aneuploid cells. They propose that proteotoxic stress is a universal feature of aneuploid cells and show that degradation and aggregation of excess polypeptides function as a form of dosage compensation.
The Impact of Competition on Pricing in a Two-sided Market

Today, many high-tech products function as intermediaries in two-sided markets and a thorough understanding of the distinguished market mechanism is considered to be a key to success. The hardware manufacturers battle for getting the initial advantage, reinforcing their own networks and ultimately dominating the market. Although an extensive empirical research focuses on the relationship between competition and indirect network effects, accounting for market dominance due to the unique price mechanism, little empirical studies have addressed the extent to which the distinguished price structure in two-sided markets depends on the market structure among platforms. The reverse causality of the commonly investigated relationship in durable goods industry is a particularly interesting avenue for research. This paper develops an empirical model to investigate the impact of competition on optimal pricing of durable products under indirect network effects by extending the framework in Dubé, Hitsch and Chintagunta(2010). This study differs from theirs in the following ways: First, I modify the framework in the supply side to incorporate the hypothetical market structure (i.e. monopoly) as well as the observed market structure (i.e. oligopoly). Second, they focus on the endogenous market dominance of one platform whereas my analysis explains the impact of exogenously determined market structure. I estimate demand that accounts for consumers' forward-looking behaviors and solve for the Markov Perfect Nash Equilibrium through numerical dynamic programming techniques. The research entails comparing the expected price in the oligopoly market to the hypothetical expected price in the absence of competition and examines the impact of exogenously determined competition among intermediaries. The monopoly case consists of two scenarios: 1) one of the existing firms in the oligopoly market produces and sells a single product and 2) the existing firms are merged into one firm which offers several kinds of hardware products at different prices. This research investigates the second scenario and compares the price levels in oligopoly market to those in monopoly market. I apply my model to the U.S. video game console market, a canonical example of a two-sided market. The empirical estimation and simulation results indicate that the manufacturers price skim over time regardless of market structure. The price level differentiates the two markets. The merged firm sets higher prices by 12.6% for Sony PlayStation and 14.1% for Nintendo 64 on average than the different firms do for their single platforms respectively since the merged firm does not get engaged in the standard war. The measure of difference between the price levels reveals the impact of exogenously determined competition on two-sided dynamic pricing for customers.
Classification of Satellite Derived Chlorophyll a Space-Time Series by Means of Quantile Regression: An Application to the Adriatic Sea

In this paper, we present the results of a classification of Adriatic waters, based on spatial time series of remotely sensed Chlorophyll type-a. The study was carried out using a clustering procedure combining quantile smoothing and an agglomerative clustering algorithms. The smoothing function includes a seasonal term, thus allowing one to classify areas according to “similar” seasonal evolution, as well as according to “similar” trends. This methodology, which is here applied for the first time to Ocean Colour data, is more robust with respect to other classical methods, as it does not require any assumption on the probability distribution of the data. This approach was applied to the classification of an eleven year long time series, from January 2002 to December 2012, of monthly values of Chlorophyll type-a concentrations covering the whole Adriatic Sea. The data set was made available by ACRI (http://hermes.acri.fr) in the framework of the GlobColour Project (http://www.globcolour.info). Data were obtained by calibrating Ocean Colour data provided by different satellite missions, such as MERIS, SeaWiFS and MODIS. The results clearly show the presence of NorthSouth and West-East gradient in the level of Chlorophyll, which is consistent with literature findings. This analysis could provide a sound basis for the identification of “water bodies” and of Chlorophyll type-a thresholds which define their Good Ecological Status, in terms of trophic level, as required by the implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. The forthcoming availability of Sentinel-3 OLCI data, in continuity of the previous missions, and with perspective of more than a 15-year monitoring system, offers a real opportunity of expansion of our study as a strong support to the implementation of both the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive and the UNEP-MAP Ecosystem Approach in the Mediterranean.
Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Possible Related Risk Factors

Aim: To identify the prevalence, related viral and non viral risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Egypt over last 15 years. Methods: All HCC patients attending Agouza Liver Center between January 1996 and December 2010 were enrolled in the study. Trend, demographic features of patients (age, gender, and residence), risk factors (HBsAg, HCV-Ab, schistosomiasis and others). Results: Over 15 years, 1 759 HCC patients out of 29 000 chronic liver disease patients were diagnosed with an overall proportion of 6.1%. The annual proportion of HCC showed a variation ranged from 5.3%to 6.5%. It was evident that the male proportion was significantly increased 84 %(P-value=0.0001). M/F was about 5:1 with high significant increase among age group of 45-60 years (P-value=0.0001). The distribution of viral hepatitis among HCC patients was: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection proportion was 89.8%, hepatitis B virus infection proportion was 1.8%,co infection of HCV and HBV proportion was1.3%, none B none C proportion was 7.1%. As regards distribution of non viral causes among HCC patients: 8 (0.5%) patients suffered from autoimmune hepatitis, 94 (5.3%) cases were due to non alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and the remaining cases were due to idiopathic causes. Conclusion: HCC is an increasing problem. The most related risk factors are viral hepatitis infections; older ages and male gender. NASH is a health problem that must be not ignored as a risk factor for developing HCC.