Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Medical Inpatients’ Use of Information Technology: Characterizing the Potential to Share Information Electronically

Abstract:Hospitalized patients frequently have an incomplete understanding of important aspects of their care. Patient-facing technologies, increasingly used in outpatient settings to exchange information between patient and provider, may have utility in the hospital setting. We conducted structured interviews of hospitalized medical patients to assess current use of information technology, gauge interest in receiving information electronically, and prioritize potential content options. Overall, 150 of 175 (86%) eligible patients completed interviews. A majority (69%) of patients used the Internet prior to hospital admission. One third (32%) of patients had used the Internet during their hospitalization with half of those reporting use for health information. Overall, nearly half (42%) reported interest in receiving health information electronically during hospitalization and a majority (59%) were interested in receiving health information electronically after hospitalization. Patients expressed high interest in receiving information to help them learn more about diagnoses and treatments, medication lists, lists of planned tests, and summaries of completed tests and procedures. Many general medical patients are interested in receiving health information electronically from hospital providers. Our findings support the development of hospital-based patient-facing health information technologies and prioritize content options patients find most beneficial.
Justice motivation and place image influences on volunteer tourism: perceptions, responses, and deliberations

ABSTRACT In the growing area of alternative tourism, tourist motives have been discussed but there is little consensus about what drives volunteer tourists. This paper explores the salience of justice motivation to the travel decision and deepens this understanding by contextualizing the volunteer tourism decision within the destination place image. Interviews were conducted during a Kenyan expedition. Results show justice motivation theory contributes to the explanation of trip participation as perceived injustices aligned with poorly perceived dimensions of the country’s image.
Structure and function of 59‐base element recombination sites associated with mobile gene cassettes

The integration of gene cassettes into integrons is effected by site‐specific recombination catalysed by an integrase, IntI, encoded by the integron. The cassette‐associated recombination sites, 59‐base elements, are not highly conserved and vary in length from 57 to 141 bp. They can be identified by their location and the relationship of over 20 bp at their outer ends to consensus sequences that are imperfect inverted repeats of one another. The recombination cross‐over occurs close to one end of the 59‐base element, within a conserved core site with the consensus sequence GTTAGGC or GTTRRRY. By introducing single‐base changes at each of these positions in the aadB 59‐base element, bases that are critical for site activity were identified. The recombination cross‐over was also localized to a unique position between the adjacent G and T residues. Changes introduced in the conserved AAC of the inverse core site (GCCTAAC or RYYYAAC) located at the opposite end of the 59‐base element also reduced site activity but to a lesser extent. Sequences of rare recombinants revealed an alternative position for strand exchange and led to the conclusion that 59‐base elements comprise two simple sites, analogous to those recognized by other integrases, with each simple site made up of a pair of inversely oriented IntI binding domains separated by a spacer of 7 or 8 bp. Re‐examination of the sequences of all known 59‐base elements revealed that this simple site configuration was present at both the left and right ends in all 59‐base elements. The identity of bases in the spacer is not required for efficient recombination and the cross‐over is located at one end of the spacer, suggesting that during IntI1‐mediated recombination only one strand exchange occurs.
Semantically based search in a social speech task

In this work, we present an approach for semantically based search for similar segments of a speech task, i.e., the search for audio segments in a row audio repository that are semantically related to the audio segment given by a user. Our approach is based on the lexical representation of segments of words that are enriched by semantic relations. We have studied different distance measures and the lexical/semantic representation of the segments. We present experiments for a task of recorded dialogs between students talking about whatever they want, which is a semantically unbounded task. The results, which are encouraging, indicate the potential advantages of using this approach to address this problem. Index Terms: audio search, semantic similarity, social speech.
Increasing high school girls awareness of computer science through summer camp

This paper describes a computer science summer camp workshop designed for high school girls. High school girls have a common misconception about computer science and information technology fields; this misconception leads to choosing or avoiding the computing discipline mistakenly. The workshop aimed at increasing awareness of computer science among high school girls, clarifying the misconception, and attracting potential students to choose the computing field for their college major. The main contributions of this paper include thorough evaluation of the workshop's impact using pre and post surveys, as well as lessons learned after conducting the workshop.
Compact LTCC Rat-Race Couplers Using Multilayered Phase-Delay and Phase-Advance T-Equivalent Sections

In this paper, compact low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) rat-race couplers are developed using multilayered phase-delay and phase-advance T-equivalent sections. By taking advantage of the multilayered LTCC layout capability, compact 3-D phase-delay and phase-advance T-equivalent sections are designed, and then treated as fundamental elements to construct two types of LTCC rat-race couplers. One type of coupler consists of three phase-delay and a phase-advance sections, whereas the other type coupler is integrated by a phase-delay and three phase-advance sections. At the design frequency 2 GHz, both two types of couplers occupy 3.8 × 3.8 mm2 circuit sizes, namely areas of 0.025 ¿0 × 0.025 ¿0 , where ¿0 is the free-space wavelength. The measured results of the developed couplers agree the simulated results very well. It demonstrates that using multilayered phase-delay and phase-advance T-equivalent sections is an effective approach to miniaturize the circuit size of the rat-race coupler.
Hemagglutinin‐neuraminidase sequence and phylogenetic analyses of mumps virus isolates from a vaccinated population in Singapore

During 1999–2000, a sustained mumps outbreak in the highly vaccinated population in Singapore was attributed to vaccine failure associated with the Rubini vaccine strain. To explain this phenomenon, the complete nucleotide and amino acid sequences of the hemagglutinin‐neuraminidase (HN) gene of eight mumps virus isolates from patients with parotitis in Singapore were determined and compared with those of known vaccine strains. Phylogenetic trees constructed on the basis of HN nucleotide and amino acid sequences showed that the Singapore mumps virus isolates were more closely related to the Urabe strain and belonged to a different cluster from the Rubini and Jeryl‐Lynn strains. The Rubini vaccine showed only ∼93% nucleotide and ∼96% amino acid sequence similarity to Urabe and Singapore isolates. Compared with the vaccine strains, six of the eight isolates lacked the extracellular glycosylation site at residues 400–402. Other significant amino acid disparities (e.g., at residue 354) may also affect the antigenic properties of the HN protein. These findings suggest that the evolution and adaptation of the currently circulating mumps virus strains in the community has led to the emergence of genetically distinct viral strains. The low vaccine efficacy of the Rubini strain represents a major reason for the recent mumps resurgence and failure of mumps immunization in Singapore. J. Med. Virol. 70: 287–292, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Risk factors and outcome in 100 patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.

OBJECTIVE Clinical and surgical outcome of patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) due to ruptured aneurysm were assessed in comparison to pre-operative data and risk factors such as previous medical history, clinical presenting condition, CT findings and site of bleeding. METHODS We evaluated 100 consecutive patients with aneurysmal SAH. Gender, color, history of hypertension, smoking habit, site and size of aneurysm, admittance and before surgery Hunt Hess scale, need for cerebro-spinal fluid shunt, presence of complications during the surgical procedure, Glasgow Outcome Scale, presence of vasospasm and of rebleeding were assessed and these data matched to outcome. For statistical analysis, we applied the chi-squared test or Fisher's test using the pondered kappa coefficient. Kruskal-Wallis test was used for comparison of continue variables. Tendency of proportion was analyzed through Cochran-Armitage test. Significance level adopted was 5%. RESULTS Patients studied were mainly white, female, without previous history of hypertension and non-smokers. Upon hospital admittance, grade 2 of Hunt-Hess scale was most frequently observed (34%), while grade 3 of Fisher scale was the most prevalent. Single aneurysms were most frequent at anterior circulation, between 12 and 24 mm. The most frequent Glasgow Outcome Scale observed was 5 (60%). Hunt Hess upon the moment of surgery and presence of complications during surgical procedure showed positive correlation with clinical outcome (p=0.00002 and p=0.001, respectively). Other variables were not significantly correlated to prognosis. Tendency of proportion was observed between Hunt-Hess scale and Fisher scale. CONCLUSION Among variables such as epidemiological data, previous medical history and presenting conditions of patients with ruptured aneurysms, the Hunt-Hess scale upon the moment of surgery and the presence of surgical adversities are statistically related to degree of disability.
Putting Strategy into Action – the Role of Artefacts for Business Format Replication

In order to facilitate the implementation of replication strategies, organizations often use a variety of artefacts such as manuals and handbooks. Existing research has largely focused on the extent to which artefacts can act as knowledge repositories that help to facilitate replication. This body of literature has made significant contributions to our understanding of the role of replication, but has focused more on highlighting key challenges involved in the codification of knowledge. This paper demonstrates that artefact based replication is a double edged sword. While replication is enabled by, ‘configuring’ artefact-action relationships (focussing, situating, coordinating) our analysis also reveals that replication is constrained by ‘decoupling’ artefact-action relationships (accounting, differentiating, disengaging). Our findings contribute to research on replication and provide a more nuanced understanding of why the implementation of replication strategies might fail. We also add to the recent debate on socio-materiality in strategy research more generally.
AMELIORATION OF HYPERTENSION IN PATIENTS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES —

Diabetes and hypertension are 2 of the most potent risk factors for the development of cardiovascular disease, and they rarely exist in isolation. In fact, hypertension and diabetes are inextricably linked—most patients with diabetes have hypertension and a significant proportion of hypertensive patients become diabetic. If we are to prevent the link between developing hypertension and type 2 diabetes, it is necessary to understand how hypertension, diabetes, and excess weight are related. This article reviews the pathophysiologic mechanisms involved in patients with hypertension and diabetes, and how they invoke a complex interplay among the reninangiotensin-aldosterone system, the sympathetic nervous system, the endothelium, the kidneys, and glucose metabolism. The current guidelines for preventing and managing hypertension in patients with type 2 diabetes are also briefly reviewed. In recent years, we have learned that hypertension can be prevented or effectively managed in patients with type 2 diabetes, utilizing the detailed recommendations from several established professional organizations to the wide range of currently available drugs. Our increasing understanding of the complex pathophysiology highlights why it is imperative that we must aggressively manage blood pressure in patients with type 2 diabetes. (Adv Stud Med. 2007;7(12):365-371) INTRODUCTION
Cepheid GeneXpert MTB/RIF Assay for Mycobacterium tuberculosis Detection and Rifampin Resistance Identification in Patients with Substantial Clinical Indications of Tuberculosis and Smear-Negative Microscopy Results

ABSTRACT The GeneXpert MTB/RIF assay was evaluated with microscopically negative and positive pulmonary and extrapulmonary specimens from patients with substantial clinical indications for tuberculosis. For the pulmonary samples, the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were 90.6%, 94.3%, 93.5%, and 91.7%, and for the extrapulmonary samples, they were 100%, 91.6%, 50%, and 100%, respectively. For microscopically negative specimens, the respective values were 86.3%, 93%, 79%, and 95.6%. The assay correctly detected rifampin resistance in all but one specimen, which harbored a mixed population. The GeneXpert assay was highly effective for tuberculosis diagnosis and identification of rifampin-resistant strains in smear-negative samples.
Alert correlation analysis based on attack path graph

Alert correlation analysis is trending to be an im-portant part of the cyber security currently. However, the existing approaches have shortcomings to analyze the alerts effectively. In this paper, an approach is proposed to perform alert correlation analysis based on the alert attack path. To handle the raw alerts effectively, the filtering and aggregation methods for big data processing was performed. Alerts were correlated according to the knowledge base and the correlation likelihood. An attack path construction algorithm was performed to obtain the attack paths for a specified victim IP. To present the attacker's strategies visually, an alert correlation graph was constructed to correlate the alerts in a special scope and merged according to the alert types. In addition, we implement the prototype and evaluate the effectiveness and usability of the database provided by an IDS applied in State Grid Corporation of China. The results demonstrate that the approach proposed in this paper improves the efficiency and accuracy in analyzing the attacker's strategies.
Short interfering RNAs can induce unexpected and divergent changes in the levels of untargeted proteins in mammalian cells

RNA interference (RNAi) mediated by short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) is a widely used method to analyze gene function. To use RNAi knockdown accurately to infer gene function, it is essential to determine the specificity of siRNA-mediated RNAi. We have assessed the specificity of 10 different siRNAs corresponding to the MEN1 gene by examining the expression of two additional genes, TP53 (p53) and CDKN1A (p21), which are considered functionally unrelated to menin but are sensitive markers of cell state. MEN1 RNA and corresponding protein levels were all reduced after siRNA transfection of HeLa cells, although the degree of inhibition mediated by individual siRNAs varied. Unexpectedly, we observed dramatic and significant changes in protein levels of p53 and p21 that were unrelated to silencing of the target gene. The modulations in p53 and p21 levels were not abolished on titration of the siRNAs, and similar results were obtained in three other cell lines; in none of the cell lines tested did we see an effect on the protein levels of actin. These data suggest that siRNAs can induce nonspecific effects on protein levels that are siRNA sequence dependent but that these effects may be difficult to detect until genes central to a pivotal cellular response, such as p53 and p21, are studied. We find no evidence that activation of the double-stranded RNA-triggered IFN-associated antiviral pathways accounts for these effects, but we speculate that partial complementary sequence matches to off-target genes may result in a micro-RNA-like inhibition of translation.
Guaranteed diagnosability of parametric faults in nonlinear systems

In this work we focus on unique diagnosability of parametric faults in the presence of measurement uncertainty and model mismatches. Specifically, we formulate a condition for diagnosability of parametric faults in a set-based framework that allows for direct consideration of uncertainty. Based on this condition we present an approach for the analysis and certification of diagnosability. Furthermore, we propose an approach for the redesign of initially given fault classifications in the parameter space. Specifically we compute diagnosable subsets of initially given parameter sets in polynomial discrete-time fault candidates by comparing pairs of fault candidates. Furthermore, we demonstrate the presented approach for a numerical example.
Modeling Exchange Rate Volatility: Application of the GARCH and EGARCH Models

Policy makers need accurate forecasts about future values of exchange rates. This is due to the fact that exchange rate volatility is a useful measure of uncertainty about the economic environment of a country. This paper applies univariate nonlinear time series analysis to the daily (TZS/USD) exchange rate data spanning from January 4, 2009 to July 27, 2015 to examine the behavior of exchange rate in Tanzania. To capture the symmetry effect in exchange rate data, the paper applies both ARCH and GARCH models. Also, the paper employs exponential GARCH (EGARCH) model to capture the asymmetry in volatility clustering and the leverage effect in exchange rate. The paper reveals that exchange rate series exhibits the empirical regularities such as clustering volatility, nonstationarity, non-normality and serial correlation that justify the application of the ARCH methodology. The results also suggest that exchange rate behavior is generally influenced by previous information about exchange rate. This also implies that previous day’s volatility in exchange rate can affect current volatility of exchange rate. In addition, the estimate for asymmetric volatility suggests that positive shocks imply a higher next period conditional variance than negative shocks of the same sign. The main policy implication of these results is that since exchange rate volatility (exchange-rate risk) may increase transaction costs and reduce the gains to international trade, knowledge of exchange rate volatility estimation and forecasting is important for asset pricing and risk management.
Palm oil price forecasting model: An autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach

Palm oil price fluctuated without any clear trend or cyclical pattern in the last few decades. The instability of food commodities price causes it to change rapidly over time. This paper attempts to develop Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model in modeling and forecasting the price of palm oil. In order to use ARDL as a forecasting model, this paper modifies the data structure where we only consider lagged explanatory variables to explain the variation in palm oil price. We then compare the performance of this ARDL model with a benchmark model namely ARIMA in term of their comparative forecasting accuracy. This paper also utilize ARDL bound testing approach to co-integration in examining the short run and long run relationship between palm oil price and its determinant; production, stock, and price of soybean as the substitute of palm oil and price of crude oil. The comparative forecasting accuracy suggests that ARDL model has a better forecasting accuracy compared to ARIMA.
Radially-symmetric reflection maps

When designing lighting for outdoor scenes, area lights can represent distant sources such as the sun and sky with greater shading fidelity than is possible with simple directional or hemispherical lights, but the combination of dynamic area light sources and complex BRDFs is challenging to render efficiently in real-time. Prefiltered reflection maps are a popular solution to this problem, but for applications which need a wide variety of light sources and materials, the texture data requirements of cubic reflection maps can be prohibitive in terms of memory overhead and render efficiency. In addition, traditional environment map representations are difficult for artists to directly paint and refine for use in scene lighting.
Multiple characteristic modes excitation for pattern reconfigurable antennas design

The study of the Characteristic Modes (CMs) on a square conductive plane has been addressed to design a pattern reconfigurable antenna. More in detail, it is demonstrated that an efficient stimulation of suitable current modes distribution (Jn) by a proper placing of capacitive exciters over the square plate is able to provide a pattern reconfigurable capability. In particular, the positioning of the capacitive coupling exciters (CCEs) allows stimulating three current modes, whose modal excitation degree can be easily controlled. An appropriate phase shifting between the CCEs enables to control the modal excitation coefficient of the current modes, allowing the pattern reconfigurability.
Whole-cell response of the pennate diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum to iron starvation

Marine primary productivity is iron (Fe)-limited in vast regions of the contemporary oceans, most notably the high nutrient low chlorophyll (HNLC) regions. Diatoms often form large blooms upon the relief of Fe limitation in HNLC regions despite their prebloom low cell density. Although Fe plays an important role in controlling diatom distribution, the mechanisms of Fe uptake and adaptation to low iron availability are largely unknown. Through a combination of nontargeted transcriptomic and metabolomic approaches, we have explored the biochemical strategies preferred by Phaeo dactylum tricornutum at growth-limiting levels of dissolved Fe. Processes carried out by components rich in Fe, such as photosynthesis, mitochondrial electron transport, and nitrate assimilation, were down-regulated. Our results show that this retrenchment is compensated by nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) reallocation from protein and carbohydrate degradation, adaptations to chlorophyll biosynthesis and pigment metabolism, removal of excess electrons by mitochondrial alternative oxidase (AOX) and non-photochemical quenching (NPQ), and augmented Fe-independent oxidative stress responses. Iron limitation leads to the elevated expression of at least three gene clusters absent from the Thalassiosira pseudonana genome that encode for components of iron capture and uptake mechanisms.