Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Supracondylar fracture of humerus in children; presentation and outcome in a tertiary centre of Sri Lanka

Introduction: Supracondylar fracture is an important long bone fracture in children. It is of special concern due to the neurovascular injuries and malunion associated with it. Fracture sub-types, associated injuries and grades are important in decision making. The objectives were to assess epidemiology and closed manipulation impact on neurovascular outcomes. Methods: Consecutive patients were included in the study. Structured questionnaire was filled denoting demography, severity, subtypes and associated injuries. All patients underwent closed reduction and initial casting. Outcome was measured objectively to decide on need of open surgery. Results: There were 75 patients (male - 58%). Ninety two percent were extension-type while 48% and 21% were Gartland type 2 and 3, respectively. Neurological and vascular deficit was observed in 11% and 8% of patients, respectively. Major mechanisms of injury were direct fall (64%) and road traffic injuries (20%). Regression showed neurovascular deficit, need of open reduction and varus deformity was significantly higher with Grade 3 fracture (P Oxford elbow score was not different between Grade 2 and Grade 3. Eighty seven percent of Grade 2 and 68% of Grade 3 fractures were successfully reduced with closed manipulation. Conclusions: Vascular and neurological deficits were seen in 11%and 8% of patients but they were transient in most cases. Closed reduction alone has achieved good results in a majority. Further analysis is planned in future to compare these data with, closed reduction and percutaneous pinning.
Measuring psychological distress among Australians using an online survey

Abstract Objective To compare estimated levels of psychological distress in the Australian population as measured by online versus face‐to‐face survey methodologies. Method Kessler Psychological Distress Scale scores from a nationally representative online survey of 955 Australians were compared to results from the 2014–2015 and 2017–2018 National Healthy Surveys, which were conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Results Australians in the online survey reported levels of psychological distress that were significantly higher than those that completed the face‐to‐face National Health Surveys. This difference was greatest among respondents aged 18 to 34-years. Conclusions These results can likely be attributed to the effect of conducting the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale via a face‐to‐face interview versus an online survey. There are compelling reasons to believe that online surveys elicit more honest responses on sensitive issues, while face‐to‐face surveys are prone to social desirability bias. This suggests that Australian psychological distress may have been systematically under‐estimated in previous research.
The Association of Electronic Cigarette Use and the Subjective Domains of Physical and Mental Health: The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey

Introduction Individuals who use electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) may have a poor perception of physical and mental health. We, therefore, studied the association of e-cigarettes with subjectively reported health domains. Methods We utilized cross-sectional data from the 2016 and 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a nationally representative U.S. telephone-based survey. All variables were self-reported. E-cigarette use was characterized as never, former, or current. Health domains included overall health, physical health, and mental health, which was assessed as the frequency of emotional support, life satisfaction, and feeling stressed. Weighted multivariable-adjusted logistic regression models were used to examine the association between e-cigarette use and these health domains. Results Our study population consisted of 755,355 (79%) never e-cigarette users, 111,940 (16%) former users, and 28,917 (5%) current users. There was a significant association between e-cigarette use and the less favorable perceived state of overall health, physical health, or mental health. For example, the OR (95% CI) for the association of current e-cigarette use with health domains was as follows: good perception of overall health: 0.78 (0.74,0.83), physical health: 0.69 (0.66,0.73), adequate emotional support: 0.89 (0.79,0.99), feeling satisfied: 0.83 (0.71,0.96), or being free of stress: 0.64 (0.53,0.76). Similar results were obtained in younger individuals (aged 18-34 years). Conclusions E-cigarette use is associated with a less favorable perception of physical and mental health as compared to never use, particularly among younger adults. These results have important implications for clinicians for patient counseling and regulatory agencies to regulate e-cigarette sales.
Research Toward a Heterogeneously Integrated InGaN Laser on Silicon

A heterogeneously integrated InGaN laser diode (LD) on Si is proposed as a path toward visible wavelength photonic integrated circuits (PICs) on Si. Herein, InGaN films are vertically stacked on a TiO2 waveguide (WG) fabricated on a Si wafer by bonding. In the light propagation direction, it is composed of a hybrid InGaN/TiO2 section, a TiO2 WG, an adiabatic taper, and mirrors that can form a cavity. As the refractive index of GaN is well matched with that of TiO2, the optical transverse mode extends to both the GaN and TiO2 in a hybrid mode. Modes between a hybrid InGaN/TiO2 and a pure TiO2 WG can transfer with an adiabatic taper structure. The coupling loss is calculated to be less than 0.5 dB with fairly short taper length of 78 μm and tip width of 200 nm. GaN substrate removal and bonding are critical fabrication steps of this LD and PIC. The substrate removal is successfully done by photoelectrochemical etching. Although direct bonding of GaN wafers with thermal oxide on Si is successful, GaN epitaxial wafers are more difficult. An implication and remedy of this is discussed in terms of surface roughness of GaN epitaxial film.
Intervening Coupling Diffusion of Competitive Information in Online Social Networks

The vigorously rising of social media brings a new opportunity for information diffusion in online social networks. However, the existing models of information diffusion only consider the single information, such as rumor. What's more, most of intervention frameworks are modeled under the ideal circumstances without reality constraints. In this article, we propose a novel model of competitive information coupling diffusion to describe the complex process of information diffusion in online social networks. Especially, in order to intervene the process of competitive information coupling diffusion, we introduce three intervention strategies and propose an intervention framework. More importantly, we take the dynamic constraints into consideration such as the budget of intervention and current state of the system, and further propose the constrained intervention model. To reduce the system loss, we establish an optimal control problem with constraints to achieve the optimal allocation of intervention strategies over time and minimize the total loss. We theoretically prove the existence and uniqueness of the optimal solution of the problem, and derive the optimal control solution. Through the experiments, we verify the effectiveness of the model and analyze the efficiency of different intervention strategies about competitive information coupling diffusion with or without constraints, respectively. The results show that the collaborative intervention strategies can effectively impact the process of diffusion and get the minimum system loss. This article provides high realistic significance to the commercial marketing in online social networks.
Patologia quirúrgica de la glándula tiroides en pacientes pediátricos

Introduction. The surgical pathology that involves the thyroid gland in pediatric patients has less presentation that adults, but if presented, the possibility of malignancies should be taken into consideration despite the age of the patient. Objective. To describe the previous and posterior surgical characteristics of the pediatric patients who underwent thyroid gland surgery. Methods. Clinical histories of the patients surgically treated with cystic, neoplastic or inflammatory pathology of the thyroid gland between january 2008 and january 2017 were reviewed. Results. Sixty cases were intervened, being the female sex the predominant with 80% of the cases and 56,6% between 13 to 16 years. The benign neoplasms correspond to 51,7% of the total. The hemithyroidectomy was the most realized surgery with 60% of the cases and in second place the resection of the remaining gland to complete the total thyroidectomy. We had two cases with transient hypocalcemia, and in one case permanent hypocalcemia with vocal cord paralysis, that required a tracheotomy. Conclusion. The treatment of neoplasms or thyroid cysts is eminently surgical, with minimal morbidity and lower mortality. Tumors of the thyroid gland are not exceptional presentation in pediatric patients.
Research on Marketing Strategy Innovation of Xi’an Small and Medium-sized Private Enterprises in the Era of New Media and Artificial Intelligence

— With the rapid development of new media and artificial intelligence, marketing innovation is imperative for enterprises. The aim of this study is to provide some suggestions and references to the marketing innovation of private SMEs in Xi'an. The research methods of this study are the interview method, the SWOT analysis method, and BCG matrix. This paper discusses the impact of new media and artificial intelligence on enterprise marketing, analyzes the current situation and existing problems of marketing of private SMEs in Xi'an. Finally, a new framework for the marketing strategy innovation of private SMEs in Xi'an is proposed
Foreseeing the endgame: who are the students who take the final exam at the beginning of a MOOC?

ABSTRACT Massive open online courses (MOOCs) show highly irregular participation behaviour among users. In this study, using data from Computer Science 50x of HarvardX, we investigated one extreme, yet common strategy to foresee the endgame: taking the final problem set at the beginning of the course. We found such a strategy to be the only dominant trajectory alternative to following the sequence prescribed by the syllabus. Whereas all students who took and passed the final problem set at the beginning of the course subsequently completed the course, those who took and failed the final problem set at the beginning of the course finished the fewest number of milestones, even fewer than those who never attempted the final problem set. Moreover, students with a lower prior programming proficiency were more likely than better prepared students both to take the final problem set early and to fail it. This study revealed the disconcerting phenomenon that many students dropped out of a MOOC because, apparently, their confidence was crushed even before they learned any course content. The study suggests that future MOOC practices and policies should offer informative and constructive syllabi to accommodate students' need for previewing the endgame.
Telemonitoring Versus Usual Care for Elderly Patients With Heart Failure Discharged From the Hospital in the United States: Cost-Effectiveness Analysis

Background Telemonitoring-guided interventional management reduces the need for hospitalization and mortality of patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). Objective This study aimed to analyze the cost-effectiveness of usual care with and without telemonitoring-guided management in patients with CHF discharged from the hospital, from the perspective of US health care providers. Methods A lifelong Markov model was designed to estimate outcomes of (1) usual care alone for all postdischarge patients with CHF (New York Heart Association [NYHA] class I-IV), (2) usual care and telemonitoring for all postdischarge patients with CHF, (3) usual care for all postdischarge patients with CHF and telemonitoring for patients with NYHA class III to IV, and (4) usual care for all postdischarge patients with CHF plus telemonitoring for patients with NYHA class II to IV. Model inputs were derived from the literature and public data. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to assess the robustness of model. The primary outcomes were total direct medical cost, quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), and incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). Results In the base case analysis, universal telemonitoring group gained the highest QALYs (6.2967 QALYs), followed by the telemonitoring for NYHA class II to IV group (6.2960 QALYs), the telemonitoring for NYHA class III to IV group (6.2450 QALYs), and the universal usual care group (6.1530 QALYs). ICERs of the telemonitoring for NYHA class III to IV group (US $35,393 per QALY) and the telemonitoring for NYHA class II to IV group (US $38,261 per QALY) were lower than the ICER of the universal telemonitoring group (US $100,458 per QALY). One-way sensitivity analysis identified five critical parameters: odds ratio of hospitalization for telemonitoring versus usual care, hazard ratio of all-cause mortality for telemonitoring versus usual care, CHF hospitalization cost and monthly outpatient costs for NYHA class I, and CHF hospitalization cost for NYHA class II. In probabilistic sensitivity analysis, probabilities of the universal telemonitoring, telemonitoring for NYHA class II to IV, telemonitoring for NYHA class III to IV, and universal usual care groups to be accepted as cost-effective at US $50,000 per QALY were 2.76%, 76.31%, 18.6%, and 2.33%, respectively. Conclusions Usual care for all discharged patients with CHF plus telemonitoring-guided management for NYHA class II to IV patients appears to be the preferred cost-effective strategy.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and comorbidities

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major cause of mortality worldwide. Although it is well known that comorbidities are highly prevalent in patients with COPD, they are not considered for treatment effect analysis. Aims and objectives: To observe frequency of comorbidities in patients with COPD and compare its distribution in 4 GOLD groups. Methods: Observational cross sectional study was designed to identify comorbidities related with categorized disease groups. Patients with COPD treated at University Hospital Centre were included. Severity of COPD was estimated and number of comorbidities was counted. Comorbidity was defined as the presence of disorder in addition to COPD irrespective of their relation to COPD. Results: We enrolled 460 COPD patients (68,5% males; average age at diagnosis 61,3 years. Majority of patients were in GOLD group A (41%) and B (29%), followed by group D (25%) and C (5%). Comorbidities were present in 90% of patients, with 31% of patients with 1 comorbidity, 31% with 2 comorbidities and 28% with 3 or more (mean of 1.9). There was no significant difference in number of comorbidities among GOLD groups (P=0.81). Most common comorbidities were arterial hypertension (47%), lung neoplasm (40%) and cardiovascular diseases (23%). Conclusions: We showed that COPD is rarely diagnosed as an isolated condition, since different comorbidities were present in 90% of patients. Hypertension, lung neoplasms and cardiovascular diseases were revealed as the most common ones. High proportion of lung cancer can be attributed to searching for COPD in lung cancer patients. A multidimensional COPD diagnosis approach should be taken into account when classifying COPD patients into GOLD groups.
On the Trade-Off Between Environmental and Economic Objectives in Community Energy Storage Operational Optimization

The need to limit climate change has led to policies that aim for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Often, a trade-off exists between reducing emissions and associated costs. In this article, a multi-objective optimization framework is proposed to determine this trade-off when operating a Community Energy Storage (CES) system in a neighbourhood with high shares of photovoltaic (PV) electricity generation capacity. The Pareto frontier of costs and emissions objectives is established when the CES system would operate on the day-ahead spot market. The emission profile is constructed based on the marginal emissions. Results show that costs and emissions can simultaneously be decreased for a range of solutions compared to reference scenarios with no battery or a battery only focused on increasing self-consumption, for very attractive CO2 abatement costs and without hampering self-consumption of PV-generated electricity. Results are robust for battery degradation, whereas battery efficiency is found to be an important determining factor for simultaneously decreasing costs and emissions. The operational schedules are tested against violating transformer, line and voltage limits through a load flow analysis. The proposed framework can be extended to employ a wide range of objectives and/or location-specific circumstances.
Probability Neural Network Classification Model of Brain Tissue Pathologies using High Frequency Techniques

The conventional method of analysing the brain tissue pathologies on Diffusion Weighted-Magnetic Resonance (DW-MR) images is by human inspection. Such operator-assisted classification techniques are not viable for large amounts of medical data and are generally non-reproducible. The use of neural networks shows a great potential in this area to carry out fast, accurate and automatic data classification. In the present study, Probability Neural Network (PNN) architecture was employed to develop an automated classification model based on the quantified signal intensity variations on DW-MR images, derived from the subjects with brain pathologies, using High Frequency Power (HFP) parameter. The PNN models were designed to provide important reference in judging the timing and developmental stages of the subjects with cerebral infarction and Intracerebral Haemorrhage (ICH), and help in carrying out the differential diagnosis of the subjects with brain tumors, namely, glioma and meningioma. The PNN models were able to accurately (100%) categorize ICH subjects into their respective stages, and presented an overall efficiency of 96.67% in classifying the infarct subjects. Also the model was able to clearly differentiate (100%) between the subjects with glioma and meningioma. Consequently, the PNN models developed in the present work were helpful in providing valuable information about the brain tissue pathologies, which could speed up the diagnosis and execution of treatment. Further, it could help in providing timely and appropriate treatment to the subjects with these brain pathologies, to protect them from additional damage to their brain tissues.
emerging risk factors for dementia: Associations between clinical infections, PTSD, psychotropic PTSD medication use, and the risk for dementia

20 Introduction. 20 Materials and methods . 22 Search strategy . 22 Inclusion criteria. 23 Exclusion criteria . 23 Data extraction . 23 Study quality and risk of bias assessment . 23 Results . 24 Compatibility of central nervous system Alzheimer’s disease pathology with infections . 24 Infectious agents that could be associated with Alzheimer’s disease . 26 The possible role of systemic infections in Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias . 39 Compatibility of an infectious etiology with the epidemiology of other Alzheimer’s disease risk factors . 41 Infections as promoters of Alzheimer’s disease . 42 Discussion and conclusions . 42 REFERENCES . 51
Drug-related problems among polysubstance and monosubstance users: a cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT Objective: The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence as well as the sociodemographic and clinical correlates among patients diagnosed with polysubstance use who sought treatment in comparison to monosubstance users. Design and Methods: This is a cross-sectional study which included 100 patients diagnosed with SUDs based on the DSM-IV-TR criteria who sought treatment. The said patients were assessed using structured clinical interview for DSM-IV Axis I disorders (SCID-I) and DSM-IV Axis II disorders (SCID-II), in addition to urine screen for drugs. Furthermore, the addiction severity index (ASI) was employed to assess drug-related problems in these patients. Results: The results show that 46% of the SUDs patients demonstrate polysubstance use, which primarily includes tramadol (92%), cannabis (86%) and alcohol (59%). Polysubstance users are more likely to be males, skilled workers and smokers compared to monosubstance users. Moreover, polysubstance use is associated with alcohol, drug, legal and psychiatric problems based on the ASI scores in comparison to monosubstance use. Additionally, polysubstance patients are two times more likely to suffer from antisocial personality disorders (ASPD) than monosubstance patients (24% in contrast to 9%). Conclusions: Polysubstance use is associated with the male gender, employment, smoking, ASPD and drug-related problems.
The impact of docetaxel-related toxicities on health-related quality of life in patients with metastatic cancer (The QoLiTax-Trial of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft Internistische Onkologie, AIO).

9621 Background: Docetaxel is a widely used cytotoxic agent. It causes a number of side effects, most frequently leukopenia and neutropenia, alopecia, nausea, diarrhea, and fatigue. This study evaluates the impact of docetaxel toxicities on patient’s health-related Quality of life (QoL). Methods: We conducted a multicenter, prospective, non-interventional trial, in which the QoL was assessed using the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire at baseline and every 4 weeks up to 40 weeks in patients receiving a docetaxel-based chemotherapy for metastatic disease. The primary endpoint was the 4-months ≥5% deterioration rate of the global health status/QoL scale in patients with vs. those without grade 3/4 leukopenia or neutropenia. Secondary endpoints were the effect of other treatment-related adverse events on QoL. Uni- and multivariate analyses were applied. Results: From January 2008 to June 2011 a total of 2,659 patients were included. The majority of patients (48.1%) had prostate cancer, followed by breast (17.1%) a.
Focus on changing fire regimes: interactions with climate, ecosystems, and society

Fire is a complex Earth system phenomenon that fundamentally affects vegetation distributions, biogeochemical cycling, climate, and human society across most of Earth’s land surface. Fire regimes are currently changing due to multiple interacting global change drivers, most notably climate change, land use, and direct human influences via ignition and suppression. It is therefore critical to better understand the drivers, patterns, and impacts of these changing fire regimes now and continuing into the future. Our review contributes to this focus issue by synthesizing results from 27 studies covering a broad range of topics. Studies are categorized into (i) Understanding contemporary fire patterns, drivers, and effects; (ii) Human influences on fire regimes; (iii) Changes in historical fire regimes; (iv) Future projections; (v) Novel techniques; and (vi) Reviews. We conclude with a discussion on progress made, major remaining research challenges, and recommended directions.