Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A randomized, comparative study of supervised and unsupervised artesunate–amodiaquine, for the treatment of uncomplicated malaria in Ghana

Abstract Although the use of artesunate–amodiaquine treatment is growing in Africa, data on its effectiveness are limited. In only the second published comparison of supervised and unsupervised treatments with this combination, Ghanaian children with uncomplicated malaria have recently been investigated in an open-label, randomized, comparative study. Children aged 6–120 months attending the Navrongo War Memorial hospital between November 2005 and December 2006 were enrolled if they had uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria and at least one of their parents/guardians gave their informed consent. Overall, 638 patients were screened, 357 were found to have P. falciparum infection, and 308 of these satisfied the other selection criteria and were enrolled. The subjects were divided randomly into two treatment arms. All the children were scheduled to receive 10 mg amodiaquine/kg and 4 mg artesunate/kg daily for 3 days but only 154 (the 'supervised') were given all their treatments in hospital, with each dose directly observed. Although the other 154 children (the 'unsupervised') were given their first dose in hospital, under supervision, they were then sent home with the tablets they required to complete treatment. Study participation lasted for 28 days, with follow-up on days 3, 7, 14, 21 and 28. During follow-up, axillary temperatures, any emergent signs and symptoms, and concomitant drug consumption were recorded and haemoglobin concentrations and malarial parasitaemias and gametocytaemias were measured. All but seven of the 308 subjects completed the study. At enrolment the subjects had a mean age of 45.0 months, a mean weight of 14.8 kg, a mean axillary temperature of 37.9°C and a geometric mean parasitaemia of 11,367 asexual stages/μl. About 55% of the children investigated were girls. There were no significant baseline difference between the two treatment arms. Although there was also no difference in the clearance of fever and parasitaemia between the two arms by day 14, a supervised child was significantly more likely to show an adequate clinical and parasitological response, by day 21 (91.3% v. 84.1%; P= 0.05) or day 28 (80.0% v. 64.9%; P<0.01), than an unsupervised child. The reported adverse effects following treatment and the trend in haemoglobin recovery were, however, similar in the two arms. Although artesunate–amodiaquine appeared very effective in the treatment of uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria in children, whether supervised or not, it appears that supervised treatment provided stronger prevention against re-infection and recrudescence. At least in the present study, treatment at home, without medical supervision, probably led to relatively poor compliance.
Lymphopenia in leptospirosis

Leptospires, the aetiological agents of leptospirosis, are tightly coiled spirochaetes that are approximately 6–20 mm in length and 0.1–0.2 mm in diameter. They have optimal growth at 30uC, are obligate aerobes, and utilize long-chain fatty acids as their carbon source (Levett, 2001). The species of the genus Leptospira are traditionally classified by serological means, with the formal taxonomic units of the genus broken into serovars, each of which is identified by agglutination after cross-absorption with the homologous antigen. Although it has no official taxonomic standing, and more contemporary classifications make use of DNAbased methodologies (Yasuda et al., 1987; Brenner et al., 1999), serotyping continues to be used for most epidemiological investigations of leptospirosis (Levett, 2001). The anti-lymphoid activity of leptospiral exoproducts was first observed more than 30 years ago. Oravec and Kmety (1978) reported that Syrian hamsters given intraperitoneal injections of the supernatant fluid from a culture of L. biflexa serovar Patoc 1 subsequently showed a pronounced and transient fall in their peripheral lymphocyte counts. Much later, in their retrospective review of patients with leptospirosis who had been admitted to Pontchaillou Hospital, in Rennes, north–western France, Jauréguiberry et al. (2005) found that 29 (85%) of the 34 cases they investigated were lymphopenic, and concluded that lymphopenia is a common feature of leptospirosis. In response to this finding, however, Lopes et al. (2005) reviewed 253 leptospirosis cases in Salvador, north–eastern Brazil, and found that only 17% of these patients were lymphopenic on admission. Lopes et al. (2005) suggested that differences in environmental factors and in the leptospiral serovars involved may account for the differences seen in the frequency of lymphopenia in Salvador and Rennes. The most common serovar detected in Salvador is L. interrogans serovar Copenhageni (Ko et al., 1999; Tucunduva de Faria et al., 2008) whereas Jauréguiberry et al. (2005) found serovar Grippotyphosa (of L. interrogans or L. kischneri) to be the most common serovar among the patients attending Pontchaillou Hospital. In neither the French study nor in the Brazilian investigation, however, was any attempt made to determine the frequency of lymphopenia according to infecting serovar. In the present, retrospective study, in an attempt to see if lymphopenia in leptospirosis may, at least in part, be serovar-dependant, the prevalence of lymphopenia (defined as a lymphocyte count of ,1.2610/litre) in 258 patients diagnosed with leptospirosis at the WHO/FAO/OIE Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Leptospirosis, in Queensland, Australia, was assessed, separately for each infecting serovar.
Compact Modeling of Suspended Gate FET

For the first time, a compact model for suspended gate (SG) FET valid for entire bias range is proposed. The model is capable of simulating both pull-in and pull-out effects, which are the two important phenomena of this device. A novel hybrid numerical simulation approach combining ANSYS Multiphysics and ISE-DESSIS in a self-consistent system is developed. The model is then validated on this numerical device simulation of SGFET. The model shows excellent performance over the entire drain and gate voltage range. The model has been implemented in Verilog-A code and tested on ELDO and Spectre simulators, which makes it useful for circuit simulations using SGFET devices.
Emerging tropical diseases in Australia. Part 3. Australian bat lyssavirus

Abstract Since its discovery in a juvenile black flying fox (Pteropus alecto) in 1996, Australian bat lyssavirus (ABLV) has become the cause of a potentially important emerging disease for health authorities in Australia, with two human deaths (one in 1996 and one in 1998) attributed to the virus in the north–eastern state of Queensland. In Australia, the virus has been isolated from all four species of flying fox found on the mainland (i.e. P. alecto, P. scapulatus, P. poliocephalus and P. conspicillatus) as well as a single species of insectivorous bat (Saccolaimus flaviventris). Australian bat lyssavirus belongs to the Lyssavirus genus and is closely related, genetically, to the type strain of Rabies virus (RABV). Clinically, patients infected with ABLV have displayed the 'classical' symptoms of rabies and a similar disease course. This similarity has led to the belief that the infection and dissemination of ABLV in the body follows the same pathways as those followed by RABV. Following the two ABLV-related deaths in Queensland, protocols based on the World Health Organization's guidelines for RABV prophylaxis were implemented and, presumably in consequence, no human infection with ABLV has been recorded since 1998. ABLV will, however, probably always have an important part to play in the health of Australians as the density of the human population in Australia and, consequently, the level of interaction between humans and flying foxes increase.
Bortezomib for the treatment of mantle cell lymphoma

Introduction: Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is an infrequent lymphoma subtype characterized by aberrant cyclin D1 expression. As MCL is incurable, patients are destined to relapse. While there is no universally accepted treatment approach for relapsed MCL, several agents are now approved in this setting. Areas covered: Here we not only focus on the first approved agent bortezomib, but also discuss more recently approved agents as well. FDA approval in 2006 of bortezomib for patients with previously treated MCL was based on the PINNACLE study, with 33% response rate. In 2013, lenalidomide received FDA approval for MCL patients who had progressed after prior treatment that included bortezomib, based on the pivotal Phase II EMERGE study with 28% response rate. Also in 2013, the FDA granted accelerated approval of ibrutinib for patients with at least one prior therapy for MCL based on a Phase II study with 68% response rate. In Europe, temsirolimus is approved for relapsed MCL based on a randomized Phase III three-arm trial in which the higher dose of temsirolimus yielded response rate of 22%. Expert opinion: While single-agent bortezomib has activity in relapsed MCL, bortezomib in combination with immunochemotherapy are promising as initial therapy. Rational development of novel combinations will involve agents targeting other intracellular signaling pathways, epigenetic modulators and proapoptotic agents.
A −70dBm-sensitivity 522Mbps 0.19nJ/bit-TX 0.43nJ/bit-RX transceiver for TransferJet™ SoC in 65nm CMOS

TransferJet™ is an emerging high-speed close-proximity wireless communication standard, which enables a data transfer of up to 522Mbps within a few centimeters range. We have developed a fully integrated TransferJet SoC with a 4.48-GHz operating frequency and a 560-MHz bandwidth (BW) using 65nm CMOS technology. Baseband filtering techniques for both a transmitter (TX) and a receiver (RX) are proposed to obtain a sensitivity of -70dBm with low power consumption. The SoC achieves an energy per bit of 0.19nJ/bit and 0.43nJ/bit for the TX and the RX, respectively, We have also built the world's smallest module prototype using the SoC, which is suitable for small mobile devices.
A 4.5-mW 8-b 750-MS/s 2-b/step asynchronous subranged SAR ADC in 28-nm CMOS technology

A 8-b 2-b/step asynchronous subranged SAR ADC is presented. It incorporates subranging technique to obtain fast reference settling for MSB conversion. The capacitive interpolation reduces number of NMOS switches and lowers matching requirement of a resistive DAC. The proposed timing scheme avoids the need of specific duty cycle of external clock for defining sampling period in a conventional asynchronous SAR ADC. Operating at 750 MS/s, this ADC consumes 4.5 mW from 1-V supply, achieves ENOB of 7.2 and FOM of 41 fJ/conversion-step. It is fabricated in 28-nm CMOS technology and occupies an active area of 0.004 mm2.
A 900mA 93% efficient 50µA quiescent current fixed frequency hysteretic buck converter using a highly digital hybrid voltage- and current-mode control

A hysteretic buck converter employs a hybrid voltage/current mode control to regulate output voltage and switching frequency independently. Fabricated in a 130nm CMOS process, the prototype consumes only 50μA quiescent current and operates at a constant switching frequency of 1MHz over a wide range of output voltages (0.7-to-1.8V) and inductor values (1-to-5μH) with a peak efficiency of 93%. The output ripple and the settling time of the converter are less than ±2.5mV and 10μs, respectively.
A quad-channel 112–128 Gb/s coherent transmitter in 40 nm CMOS

A quad-channel, 112-128 Gb/s coherent DP-QPSK transmitter in 40 nm CMOS is presented. The 27.9-32.1 Gb/s TX features a half-rate architecture with a 2-tap FIR. The measured output has an amplitude of 1.2Vpp-diff with 1.3 ps deterministic jitter (DJ). The DP-QPSK TX's precoded data alignment is maintained through the quad-lane transmitter by the use of an automatic synchronous feedback loop, removing the need for a master global reset. The PLL outputs the full-rate and half-rate clock with ±0.5 UI skew adjustment relative to the data. The power consumption of the transmitter and PLL is 712 mW.
From Alginate Impressions to Digital Virtual Models: Accuracy and Reproducibility

Objective To compare the accuracy and reproducibility of measurements performed on digital virtual models with those taken on plaster casts from models poured immediately after the impression was taken, the ‘gold standard’, and from plaster models poured following a 3–5 day shipping procedure of the alginate impression. Design Direct comparison of two measuring techniques. Setting The study was conducted at the Department of Orthodontics, School of Dentistry, University of Aarhus, Denmark in 2006/2007. Participants Twelve randomly selected orthodontic graduate students with informed consent. Methods Three sets of alginate impressions were taken from the participants within 1 hour. Plaster models were poured immediately from two of the sets, while the third set was kept in transit in the mail for 3–5 days. Upon return a plaster model was poured as well. Finally digital models were made from the plaster models. A number of measurements were performed on the plaster casts with a digital calliper and on the corresponding digital models using the virtual measuring tool of the accompanying software. Afterwards these measurements were compared statistically. Results No statistical differences were found between the three sets of plaster models. The intraand inter-observer variability are smaller for the measurements performed on the digital models. Conclusions Sending alginate impressions by mail does not affect the quality and accuracy of plaster casts poured from them afterwards. Virtual measurements performed on digital models display less variability than the corresponding measurements performed with a calliper on the actual models.
Registration of stereo-based 3D maps for object modeling: a stochastic yet intelligent solution

A moving object in front of a stereovision system provides range views of its surface. Assuming that we can reconstruct a sequence of partial 3D descriptions of the whole surface, a rigid displacement of the object between successive views can be estimated. This is known as 3D surface registration problem. The closest relevant works are presented and consist in iterative matching and then registration. Unfortunately, they ignore all the particular features and origins of the 3D maps. Hence this paper attacks the registration of stereo based 3D maps. This knowledge leads to use widely the backprojection of the 3D data onto the sensor image planes to model and solve the problem. In contrast to previous approaches, a stochastic scheme iterates to refine a rough estimate and to impose the consistency of the solution both in 3D and image spaces.
A 14-bit 8.9GS/s RF DAC in 40nm CMOS achieving >71dBc LTE ACPR at 2.9GHz

We show for the first time an 8.9 GS/s RF current-steering DAC, with an on-chip 1:1 Balun, and an 8-lane 12.5 Gbps JESD204B compliant SerDes, with a measured LTE ACPR >71 dBc in the adjacent 20 MHz band for a 2.9 GHz channel. The DAC has IM3 <;-65 dBc for output frequencies up to Nyquist. This performance is accomplished using a novel DAC switch driver and data/dummy-data scheme to minimize the pattern dependent sourcing/sinking of current on the DAC driver supply and ground. The DAC is fabricated in a 40nm dual-oxide CMOS process and dissipates 1.2W, with the contribution of the synthesized digital block and SerDes excluded.
Face feature extraction from spatial frequency for dynamic expression recognition

A new facial feature extraction technique for expression recognition is proposed. We employ the spatial frequency domain information to obtain robust performance to the random noise on a image or the lighting conditions. It exhibited high ability sufficiently even if combined with a low-performance region tracking method. As an application of this technique, we have constructed a dynamic facial expression recognition system. We use hidden Markov models to utilize temporal changes in the facial expressions. The spatial frequency information and the temporal information make better rates of facial expression recognition. In the experiment, we established a correct response rate of approximately 84.1% of recognition with six categories.
Layout-Aware Solution Preparation for Biochemical Analysis on a Digital Microfluidic Biochip

A biochemical analysis is based on several laboratory protocols that require repeated mixing of samples with reagents. Sample preparation and analyte identification steps in such bioassays often involve mixing for solution preparation, i.e., various fluids are to be mixed in a certain volumetric ratio in their resulting mixture. We present an efficient approach for automated mixing of three or more fluids on a droplet based digital micro fluidic biochip and design a layout for implementing this algorithm. The proposed method reduces the droplet transportation time from boundary reservoirs to on chip mixers as well as cross-contamination among overlapping droplet routing paths. Simulation of several example solutions reveals encouraging results.
Model-based learning of segmentations

A method for integrating image segmentation information into geometric models is presented. The resulting object representation has advantages of both model-based and view-based representations, in that model geometry plus learned appearance information is used to improve the prediction of object appearance over purely geometric methods. The combined models are constructed over a training set of imagery using prior geometric models. Segmentation features are matched to the geometric models, and an evidential framework is used to characterize the segmentations of model features. To test the validity of the models, a pose adjustment system was modified to incorporate the prior segmentation information. Results indicate that the inclusion of the segmentation information significantly improves pose adjustment accuracy over using purely geometric information for model appearance.
The Effects of Branched Chain Amino Acid Supplementation on Indicators of Muscle Damage after Prolonged Strenuous Exercise

Branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) supplementation is becoming more widely used by athletes in an attempt to improve their recovery between training or competition. This study examined the effects of the supplementation on indicators of muscle damage after intense prolonged exercise. Sixteen male subjects were used in the study with eight taking BCAA supplementation and eight acting as the control group. The experimental group were required to take the manufacturer's recommended dose for the 14 days oi iesiing. For the seven days before the exercise test both groups had their blood analysed every second day for creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase which have been shown to be accurate indicators of muscle damage. The exercise test was a 120 minute bicycle ride at 70% of their predetermined VO2max. Directly after the exercise and hourly for 4 hours all subjects again had blood samples analysed. The experimental group continued to take supplementation for 7 days after the test and all subjects had their blood analysed every second day. Subjects were also required to keep activity to a minimum and have their diet analysed during the 14 days and manipulated if necessary to ensure that the recommended daily Intake of BCAA's were being consumed as part of their normal diet. Results indicated that all subjects' diets did not require manipulation as they all consumed the recommended daily intake of BCAA's in their normal diet. No significant differences were found between any of the two enzyme values in the 7 days prior to the test. There were, however, significant changes in pre-exercise and post-exercise values for LDH at 2 hrs. , 3 hrs. , 4 hrs. , 1 day, 2 days and 4 days after the test (p<0.05). There were also significant changes in pre -exercise and post-exercise values for CK at 4 hrs. , 1 day, 2 days and 4 days after the test. The BCAA was shown to significantly (p<0.05) reduce this change in LDH at 3 hrs. , 4 hrs. and 1 day and CK at 4 hrs. , 1 day and 2 days post exercise. These results indicate that supplementary Branched Chain Amino Acids significantly reduce the levels of the intramuscular enzymes creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase after prolonged strenuous exercise. This suggests that the supplementation may reduce muscle damage.
Multiple-view-based tracking of multiple humans

We propose a multiple-view-based tracking algorithm for multiple-human motions. In vision-based human tracking, self-occlusions and human-human occlusions are a part of the more significant problems. Employing multiple viewpoints and a viewpoint selection mechanism, however can reduce these problems. In our system, human positions are tracked with a sequence of multiple-viewpoint images. This tracking is based on the Kalman filtering approach. The estimation results are utilized to select proper viewpoints in other sub-tasks (rotation angle detection and body-side detection). Each sub-task has a different criterion for selecting viewpoints. We also describe the criterions for accomplishing individual sub-tasks and relationships between sub-tasks. We have already built an experimental system based on a small number of reliable image features. We confirm the stability of our algorithm through simulations. We also performed fundamental examinations on the experimental system.
Efficient MAP/ML similarity matching for visual recognition

Moghaddam et al. previously (1996, 1998) advanced a new technique for direct visual matching of images for the purposes of face recognition and image retrieval, using a probabilistic measure of similarity, based primarily on a Bayesian (MAP) analysis of image differences. The performance advantage of this probabilistic matching technique over standard Euclidean nearest-neighbor eigenspace matching was recently demonstrated using results from DARPA's 1996 "FERET" face recognition competition, in which our probabilistic matching algorithm was found to be the top performer. We have further developed a simple method of replacing the rather costly computation of nonlinear (online) Bayesian similarity measures by the relatively inexpensive computation of linear (off-line) subspace projections and simple Euclidean norms, thus resulting in a significant computational speed-up for implementation with very large image databases.
Effect of gestation on initiation and duration of breastfeeding

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of gestation on initiation and duration of breastfeeding in Australian infants. Methods: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children recruited a national sample of children born between March 2003 and February 2004 (n = 3600 in this multivariate sample). Results: Breastfeeding initiation was lower for infants of 35–36 weeks’ gestation (88.2%) than 37–39 weeks’ gestation (92.0%) and ⩾40 weeks’ gestation (93.9%). At 6 months, 41.2% of infants 35–36 weeks’ gestation were breastfeeding compared with 54.5% of 37–39 weeks’ gestation infants and 60.5% of infants born ⩾40 weeks. Compared with infants born ⩾40 weeks, infants born at 35–36 weeks had an adjusted odds ratio (OR) of 0.51 (95% CI 0.34 to 0.76) and infants born at 37–39 weeks had an adjusted OR of 0.80 (95% CI 0.69 to 0.93) of breastfeeding at 6 months. Conclusion: Infants born before 40 weeks are at greater risk of being artificially fed than infants born ⩾40 weeks.