Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adherence to sublingual immunotherapy: the allergists' viewpoint

is a direct correlation between the levels of Pru p 3 specific IgE and symptom severity. In particular, patients with lower levels of Pru p 3 specific IgE had only OAS, which could be ascribed to Bet v 1 only in four cases. In conclusion, in patients with allergy to fruits belonging to Rosaceae family, the detection of high levels of Pru p 3 specific IgE can be regarded as a warning for systemic reactions.
Modeling, control and testing of a voltage-source-inverter-based microgrid

Microgrids are low-voltage distribution networks comprising various distributed generators (DGs), storage devices, and controllable loads that can operate either interconnected or isolated from the main distribution grid as a controlled entity. This paper concentrates on the modeling and control of a voltage-source-inverter-based microgrid. Considering the dispersion of DGs and loads, the controllers are designed using different control strategies respectively corresponding to the types of the DGs and ways of combining of storage devices. The Power and Voltage Controller coupled with the microsources provides fast response to disturbances and load changes without relying on communications. PQ control can realize the designated control of real and reactive power of DGs according to actual operation situation. V/f control can realize power sharing between different DGs when the load power changes, and provide frequency support when in the islanded mode. With the implementation of the unified controller, the inverter-based microgrid system is able to switch between islanding and grid-connected modes without disrupting connected critical loads. The two control strategies have been verified in simulation using MATLAB/SIMULINK by switching between interconnected and islanded modes.
Changing Epidemiology of Hepatitis A and Hepatitis E in Hong Kong ( Adopted from Surveillance of viral hepatitis in Hong Kong-2010 Update Report

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) and hepatitis E virus (HEV) are both transmitted by faecal-oral route. More local data on hepatitis A relative to hepatitis E was available over the last decades. Hong Kong is of intermediate endemicity for HAV []. Since 1988 with the breakdown of reported hepatitis according to aetiologic agents, the largest epidemic of hepatitis A occurred in 1992, with over 3,500 cases reported to the Department of Health (DH). This represents a notification rate of 63 per 100,000 population and since then, a gradual declining trend in HAV incidence has been observed. Since 2005, the annual number of notifications was below 100 and the respective numbers in the last 5 years were: 68 (2007), 71 (2008), 64 (2009), 65 (2010) and 46 (2011). Overall, case fatality rates from hepatitis A had been low and ranged between 0 and 0.7%. A seasonal pattern of acute hepatitis A is present, with cases more commonly reported between January and May each year. Over the years, there is an overall increase in age, with decrease in proportion of 15-24 age group people but increase in those >25 years old. The discernible decline in hepatitis A led to a parallel declining trend in overall reported viral hepatitis since 2002.
Hermetic Packaging Of Mems With Thick Electrodes By Silicon-Glass Anodic Bonding

Thick electrodes, which are widely used in micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) devices, create serious surface imperfection and would result in a low-quality bond or even debonding. In this work, the influence of electrode thickness on hermetic sealing was investigated. Two approaches to realise hermetic sealing via anodic bonding of silicon to glass with thick electrodes are presented. Embedded electrode is one method in which metal was deposited on shallow trench etched on the surface of wafers and planarisation of bonding surface was performed with a Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) process. Another approach, called vertical via electrode method, is to form vertical electrodes through vias by deposition and patterning of metal film.
Active Electrodes for Wearable EEG Acquisition: Review and Electronics Design Methodology

Active electrodes (AEs), i.e., electrodes with built-in readout circuitry, are increasingly being implemented in wearable healthcare and lifestyle applications due to AEs' robustness to environmental interference. An AE locally amplifies and buffers μV-level EEG signals before driving any cabling. The low output impedance of an AE mitigates cable motion artifacts, thus enabling the use of high-impedance dry electrodes for greater user comfort. However, developing a wearable EEG system, with medical grade signal quality on noise, electrode offset tolerance, common-mode rejection ratio, input impedance, and power dissipation, remains a challenging task. This paper reviews state-of-the-art bio-amplifier architectures and low-power analog circuits design techniques intended for wearable EEG acquisition, with a special focus on an AE system interfaced with dry electrodes.
HER-2/neu oncogene protein and prognosis in breast cancer.

Amplification of the HER-2/neu oncogene was recently reported to predict poor clinical outcome in node-positive breast cancer patients. Since expression of the oncogene as its protein product might be even more closely related than gene amplification to disease progression, we have now examined levels of the HER-2/neu oncogene protein for its prognostic potential in both node-positive and node-negative breast cancer. Using Western blot analysis, levels of this protein were determined in 728 primary human breast tumor specimens. We examined relationships between this protein and other established markers of prognosis, as well as clinical outcome. In node-negative patients (n = 378), the HER-2/neu protein failed to predict disease outcome. However, in node-positive patients (n = 350), those patients with higher HER-2/neu protein had statistically shorter disease-free (P = .0014) and overall survival (P less than .0001) than patients with lower levels of the protein. Higher HER-2/neu protein was found in tumors without estrogen receptor (ER) (P = .02) or progesterone receptor (PgR) (P = .0003), and in patients with more than three positive lymph nodes (P = .04). A significant correlation between levels of the HER-2/neu gene protein and amplification of the gene itself was also found (n = 48, P less than .001). Multivariate analyses in these patients showed that the HER-2/neu protein is a significant independent predictor of both the disease-free and the overall survival in node-positive breast cancer, even when other prognostic factors are considered.
NEXP is not in ACC 0

ACC is the class of all problems computable by constant depth, unbounded fan-in circuits with ∧,∨,¬ and MODm gates for any constant m. A related class to ACC is P/poly, which contains all problems computable by polynomial-size circuits with ∧,∨, and ¬ gates. IfC is a circuit with n inputs, then we use tt(C) to denote the string of length 2 obtained by evaluating C on all 2 possible inputs in lexicographic order and concatenating all of the resulting strings (the tt stands for truth table). Sometimes when we discuss circuits C that take multiple inputs, we will want to hardwire some of the inputs of C and leave the rest of the inputs unset. If this is the case, then we will write C(x, ·), which denotes the circuit obtained by hardwiring the first |x| inputs of C using the values in x, and leaving the rest of the inputs unset. The following is a canonical NEXP-Complete problem.
Survival and Growth Characteristics of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Pomegranate-Carrot and Pomegranate-Apple Blend Juices

Unpasteurized fruit juice has been implicated in outbreaks of Escherichia coli O157:H7 (E. coli O157:H7). Meanwhile, certain fruit, such as pomegranate, contains antimicrobial components. The objective of this study was to investigate the survival and growth characteristics of E. coli O157:H7 on pomegranate juice in laboratory medium and in pomegranate-carrot and pomegranate-apple blend juices at different concentrations. Single strain of E. coli O157:H7 (E0019, H1730, and Cider) was inoculated into brain heart infusion (BHI) broth or a mixture of three strains was inoculated into the blended juices containing pomegranate juice. Our results showed that the addition of pomegranate juice inhibited the growth of tested E. coli O157:H7 in both laboratory medium and blended juices.The antimicrobial activity increased with increased concentrations of pomegranate juice (P < 0.001) and incubation times.The bacterial population was reduced by at least 2 log CFU/ml in BHI broth and juice blend samples in the presence of 20% and 40% Pomegranate juice respectively. Sensory evaluations performed using a 9 point hedonic scale showed significant satisfaction on using 40% pomegranate juice blend with carrot and apple juices. Our study suggests that pomegranate juice could be used as a natural antimicrobial in different food systems including juices to inhibit the growth of E. coli O157:H7.
Cognitive Reduction in Presenile Dementia Related to Regional Abnormalities of the Cerebral Blood Flow

Summary Fifty-five patients with presenile dementia were examined. There were 28 women and 27 men, and the mean age was 59 and 56 years respectively at the time of the study. A large series of psychometric tests was used, and with the aid of age-matched non-demented controls five significantly different cognitive reduction groups could be identified. In the demented patients the regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was determined with an eight-detector or 32-detector equipment. There was a rough proportionality between the cognitive reduction and a decrease of the cerebral blood flow (especially the flow in the grey matter). In addition, certain regional flow abnormalities correlated with specific cognitive functions in a manner resembling the cognitive defects found in focal brain lesions in the same region. Thus, patients who showed only memory disturbances demonstrated a focal flow reduction in the temporal region. More severely affected patients, with reduction of verbal abilities and signs of agnosia, showed very low flows in occipitotemporo-parietal parts of the hemisphere. The results offer a principal confirmation of the dynamic field theory concerning the functional organization of the cerebral cortex (Luria, 1966).
Ampicillin-resistant Hemophilus influenzae in Canada: nationwide survey of hospital laboratories.

diabetes insipidus associated with the long-term ingestion of lithium carbonate. The condition did not improve after cessation of the lithium therapy but was ameliorated by the use of a diuretic. The presence of interstitial fibrosis and a depressed glomerular filtration rate may be the result of lithium toxicity in patients particularly susceptible to the drug; hence, all cases of lithium-associated antidiuretic-hormone-resistant diabetes insipidus
Postpartum caecal perforation due to endometriosis

The prevalence of endometriosis in women in the general population is in the region of 10% and it most commonly occurs in the pouch of Douglas, pelvic peritoneum and ovaries. However, extra-genital sites such as the small and large intestine can be involved. Extra-uterine endometrial tissue behaves just as uterine endometrial tissue and, therefore, undergoes hormone-induced changes during the menstrual cycle including bleeding. The clinical consequence of this is severe pain, which is the commonest presentation of endometriosis.1 During pregnancy the endometrial stroma undergoes decidualisation due to hormonal changes and the normally small cells of the endometrial stroma undergo enlargement. Ectopic endometrial tissue also undergoes decidualisation.2,3
Apoptotic Signaling Pathway Activated byHelicobacter pylori Infection and Increase of Apoptosis-Inducing Activity under Serum-Starved Conditions

ABSTRACT The enhanced gastric epithelial cell apoptosis observed during infection with Helicobacter pylori has been suggested to be of significance in the etiology of gastritis, peptic ulcers, and neoplasia. To investigate the cell death signaling induced by H. pylori infection, human gastric epithelial cells were incubated with H. pylori for up to 72 h. H. pyloriinfection induced the activation of caspase -8, -9, and -3 and the expression of the proapoptotic Bcl-2 family proteins Bad and Bid. The peak of the activity of the caspases occurred at 24 h. At this time, the inhibition of caspase-8 or -9 almost completely suppressedH. pylori-induced apoptosis. Inhibition of caspase-8 suppressed the expression of Bad and Bid and the subsequent activation of caspase-9 and -3. These observations indicate that H. pylori induces apoptosis through a pathway involving the sequential induction of apical caspase-8 activity, the proapoptotic proteins Bad and Bid, caspase-9 activity, and effector caspase-3 activity. Activation of the pathway was independent of CagA or vacuolating toxin. A membrane fraction of H. pylori was sufficient to activate this pathway, and treatment with proteinase K eliminated the activity. Apoptotic activity of the membrane fraction was significantly increased by incubating the bacteria under serum-starved conditions for 24 h. These observations suggest that environmental conditions in the human stomach could induce H. pylori-mediated pathogenesis, leading to a variety of clinical outcomes.
Utility of hepatobiliary scintigraphy in diagnosing or excluding biliary atresia in premature neonates and full-term infants with conjugated hyperbilirubinemia who received parenteral nutrition

Abstract Purpose: Hepatobiliary scintigraphy (HBS) is used to aid in the diagnosis of Biliary Atresia in full-term infants with conjugated hyperbilirubinemia. There is little information on the utility of the HBS in premature infants with conjugated hyperbilirubinemia and infants with parenteral nutrition associated cholestasis (PNAC). The purpose of this study is to assess the utility of HBS in differentiating Biliary Atresia and PNAC in premature neonates and full-term infants who received parenteral nutrition (PN). Materials and methods: Retrospective data collection and analysis on infants who developed conjugated hyperbilirubinemia and had HBS performed during their stay at level IV neonatal intensive care unit between 2005 and 2015. Results: A total of 20 patients with exposure to PN had HBS; two patients were confirmed to have Biliary Atresia. There were no statistically significant differences between patients with Biliary Atresia versus PNAC in demographics, days on PN, or gamma glutamyl-transferase levels. Stool color was statistically significantly different between the two groups; patients with Biliary Atresia had acholic stools more consistently than patients without Biliary Atresia. HBS had 100% sensitivity, 17% specificity, positive-predictive value of 12%, and a negative-predictive value (NPV) of 100%. Conclusions: These data indicate that the ability of HBS to aid in diagnosing Biliary Atresia is poor in a population of preterm neonates and full-term infants with PNAC. Although there is 100% sensitivity, the poor specificity (17%) should be acknowledged when utilizing HBS to diagnose Biliary Atresia in this vulnerable patient population. NPV of 100% is helpful in ruling out Biliary Atresia in this population.
Determinants of Insurers' Performance in Risk Pooling, Risk Management, and Financial Intermediation Activities

Corporate finance theory predicts that firms’ characteristics affect agency costs and hence their efficiency. Cummins et al (2006) have proposed a cost function specification that measures separately insurer efficiency in handling risk pooling, risk management, and financial intermediation functions. We investigate the insurer characteristics that determine these efficiencies. Our empirical results show that mutuals outperform stock insurers in handling the three functions. Independent agents and high capitalization reduce the cost efficiency of risk pooling. Certain characteristics such as being a group of affiliated insurers, handling a higher volume of business in commercial lines, assuming more reinsurance, or investing a higher proportion of assets in bonds, do significantly increase insurers’ efficiency in risk management and financial intermediation.
Current Management of Hairy Cell Leukemia

1st International Lymphoma Leukemia Myeloma (LLM) Congress Hairy cell leukemia (HCL) is a B-cell chronic lymphoproliferative disorder characterized by splenomegaly, pancytopenia, circulating lymphocytes displaying prominent cytoplasmic projections and reactive marrow fibrosis [1, 2]. HCL usually has an indolent disease course, and similarly to chronic lymphocytic leukemia , patients who are asymptomatic do not require therapy. However, treatment should be considered for symptomatic or cytopenic patients. Treatment is indicated for patients with significant neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, symptomatic splenomegaly, constitutional symptoms due to HCL or recurrent serious infections [3].
The Challenge of Treatment in Bipolar Depression: Evidence from Clinical Guidelines, Treatment Recommendations and Complex Treatment Situations

Abstract Bipolar depression and its clinical presentation is a frequent but complex psychiatric disease. Despite the high prevalence and the clinical and economic relevance of bipolar depression, few treatments are proven to be highly and consistently effective. In practice, the treatment of bipolar depression typically includes complex treatment decision-making. The best evidence for a pharmacological treatment exists for quetiapine. Alternatives with limitations are lamotrigine (also in the combination with lithium), carbamazepine and olanzapine. The effectiveness and recommendation of antidepressants in the treatment of bipolar depression remains controversial. Initially, depressive episodes should been treated with one of the named substances with antidepressant properties. In non-responders, a combination of lithium and lamotrigine, or antidepressants in combination with either lithium, an antiepileptic drug or atypical antipsychotics, may be necessary. If a depressive episode occurs under ongoing mood-stabilizing treatment, combination treatments of different substances, even with antidepressants, can be necessary. In the case of treatment-resistant depressive episodes, complex treatment strategies (combination therapies, MAO inhibitors) should be considered. This review describes the treatment recommendations of different guidelines for bipolar depression and emphasizes their differences. Furthermore, alternative pharmacological treatment strategies and complex treatment situations are discussed.
Deep Q-Learning for Home Automation

In this paper, the first deep reinforcement learning model for home automation systems is presented. Home automation has been one of the most important applications in the field of Artificial Intelligence. The system should learn the pattern and behaviour of the user automatically from experience and take future actions accordingly. The system proposed here makes use only of images to learn the user’s needs using Deep Q-Learning, thus minimizing the use of any sensors and other hardware. The model makes use of a Convolutional Neural Network that takes as input, the image and outputs the future reward for each action. The system was tested with images of a house and describes the methods and results in the paper.
Comparison of two molecular methods for detecting toxigenic Clostridium difficile.

BACKGROUND Clostridium difficile is one of the most common causes of nosocomial diarrhea, and diagnostic methods for detecting C. difficile infection have shifted from conventional to more recent molecular techniques. This study aimed to compare the performance of two molecular assays (Meridian Illumigene™ and AdvanSure CD real-time PCR) in detecting C. difficile using a toxigenic culture as a reference standard. MATERIALS AND METHODS This study was conducted at Kyung Hee University Hospital, a tertiary university teaching hospital in Seoul, Korea, from July 2010 to February 2011. The study used 203 fresh diarrheal stools. All fecal specimens were immediately tested by culture and the VIDAS C. difficile toxin A & B assay using an automated VIDAS immunoanalyzer. The remainder was stored at -70°C until required for AdvanSure CD real-time polymerase chain reaction and Illumigene™. The alcohol shock procedure was then performed. Aliquots were inoculated directly on C. difficile-selective agar and blood agar and then incubated in an anaerobic jar for 48 h at 35°C. The Rapid ID 32 A test was used for specifying colonies on plates. The AdvanSure CD real-time PCR was used to detect the tcdA and tcdB gene, and PCR Illumigene™ kits were used to detect the tcdA gene of the pathogenicity locus (PaLoc) harboring toxigenic C. difficile. RESULTS Of 203 clinical samples, 197 showed identical results between the two molecular assays, with a concordance rate of 97.0%. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) were as follows: Illumigene: 92.3, 99.4, 96.0, and 98.9, respectively; AdvanSure CD real-time PCR: 84.6, 98.3, 88.0, and 97.8, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Both molecular assays demonstrated good sensitivity and specificity. Additionally, both molecular assays showed comparable results to those of a toxigenic culture, albeit with a slight decrease in test sensitivity and specificity.
Femoral rollback of cruciate‐retaining and posterior‐stabilized total knee replacements: In vivo fluoroscopic analysis during activities of daily living

Restoration of the physiological flexor/extensor mechanism at the knee in terms of appropriate muscular lever arms, proper required quadriceps force, and suitable patellofemoral compressive force, is fundamental for the success of total knee replacement. Therefore, measurements of anteroposterior translation of the femoral component over the tibial base‐plate against joint flexion during daily living activities are essential for the assessment of the in vivo performance of current prosthesis designs. Patients treated with posterior stabilized and cruciate retaining prostheses with excellent clinical scores were evaluated during stair climbing, sitting and rising from a chair, and step up and down, using a three‐dimensional pose reconstruction technique based on videofluoroscopy. The posterior stabilized patients experienced a fairly consistent and physiological rollback specific of each motor task, demonstrating proper function of the spine‐cam mechanism. Rollback was somehow inconsistent among subjects in the cruciate retaining group, accompanied with a smaller range of knee flexion. In this group, more posterior locations of the condyles correlated significantly with higher clinical and functional scores. Articular surface conformity restores physiological rollback in the presence of a spine‐cam mechanism, but not coherently in the presence of the posterior cruciate ligament. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res