Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Informatics in the Service of Health, a Look to the Future

Abstract The paper attempts a balanced look at the directions of health informatics required in the future. In a high level review of impediments to health and health care a number of issues are identified that may be amenable to improvement by contributions from health informatics. Attention is drawn to the improvement ofthe collection and dissemination of knowledge in addition to the analysis of morbid conditions as a focus for health informatics. On this basis a review of the current state of health information systems is undertaken. The importance of adaptable user interfaces for end users and systems personnel, privacy and confidentiality protection, and linkage among clinical support systems and knowledge repositories is stressed. These improvements hinge on advancements in medical concept representation. Canadian contributions to these developments, particularly the instigation of Evidence Based Medicine (EBM) are briefly reviewed.
The effect of dietary creatine supplementation on skeletal muscle metabolism in congestive heart failure.

AIMS To assess the effects of dietary creatine supplementation on skeletal muscle metabolism and endurance in patients with chronic heart failure. METHODS A forearm model of muscle metabolism was used, with a cannula inserted retrogradely into an antecubital vein of the dominant forearm. Maximum voluntary contraction was measured using handgrip dynanometry. Subjects performed handgrip exercise, 5 s contraction followed by 5 s rest for 5 min at 25%, 50%, and 75% of maximum voluntary contraction or until exhaustion. Blood was taken at rest and 0 and 2 min after exercise for measurement of lactate and ammonia. After 30 min the procedure was repeated with fixed workloads of 7 kg, 14 kg and 21 kg. Patients were assigned to creatine 20 g daily or matching placebo for 5 days and returned after 6 days for repeat study. RESULTS Contractions (median (25th, 75th interquartiles)) until exhaustion at 75% of maximum voluntary contraction increased after creatine treatment (8 (6, 14) vs 14 (8, 17), P = 0.025) with no significant placebo effect. Ammonia per contraction at 75% maximum voluntary contraction (11.6 mumol/l/contraction (8.3, 15.7) vs 8.9 mumol/l/contraction (5.9, 10.8), P = 0.037) and lactate per contraction at 75% maximum voluntary contraction (0.32 mmol/l/contraction (0.28, 0.61) vs 0.27 mmol/l/contraction (0.19, 0.49), P = 0.07) fell after creatine but not after placebo. CONCLUSIONS Creatine supplementation in chronic heart failure augments skeletal muscle endurance and attenuates the abnormal skeletal muscle metabolic response to exercise.
Circuit Simulation of Threshold-Voltage Degradation in a-Si:H TFTs Fabricated at 175 $^{\circ}\hbox{C}$

This brief presents a novel approach to modeling gate bias-induced threshold-voltage (Vth) degradation in hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin-film transistors (TFTs). The Vth degradation model is added to the SPICE 3.0 TFT device model to obtain a composite model and is verified by comparing the simulated Vth shift with measured data in a TFT latch circuit.
The Aplastic Presentation of Childhood Leukaemia: a Feature of Common‐ALL

Summary. Transient pancytopenia preceded the onset of acute leukaemia in eight of 360 (2%) of children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) but did not occur in 70 cases of acute non‐lymphoblastic leukaemia. The patients developed overt leukaemia within 5—38 weeks of first presentation with features of marrow failure. Immunological classification of blast cells was performed in six of the eight patients and all had the phenotype of common‐ALL (c‐ALL). We conclude that the syndrome of pre‐leukaemia aplasia in childhood is a feature of c‐ALL.
The Balancing Act: Patient Care Time Versus Cost

Background: With demands to improve patients' clinical outcomes and decrease the escalating costs of inpatient care, nurse executives are focusing on how nurses spend their time rather than just raising staffing levels to positively impact patient outcomes. Because nursing wages constitute a high proportion of a hospital's budget, understanding the costs of nursing activities is critical to managing them. Methods: An activity-based costing approach was used in 14 medical-surgical nursing units to study nursing activities and their related costs. Time use for 4 patient care activities (assess, teach, treat, provide psychosocial support) and 2 support activities (coordinate care and manage clinical records) including the percent of non-value-added (NVA) time for each of these activities was identified through focus groups, interviews, and timed observations. Annualized wage costs were assigned to these activities to determine average wage-related costs of each activity as well as NVA-related costs. Results: More than one-third of nurses' time was considered NVA, averaging $757,000 per nursing unit in wage costs annually. Nurses spent more time on support activities (56%) than in providing patient care (44%), with the least amount of time being spent on patient teaching and psychosocial support. Conclusion: Findings indicate a huge opportunity to both improve clinical outcomes in these units and, at the same time, reduce costs by focusing on processes to reduce the high amount time spent performing NVA and support activities and increase patient care time, particularly patient teaching and psychosocial support.
Transient investigation of sub-wavelength electromagnetic wave focusing through transmission line metamaterials

In this paper, we report the transient investigation of the planar sub-wavelength electromagnetic (EM) wave focusing systems realized by transmission line (TL) metamaterials. We demonstrate the transient analysis of the set-up of the focus point through the realistic superlens systems when different modulated signals are applied as the source signals. Through analysis, we investigate the image amplitude and time delay properties of the focusing systems. Different microwave circuit simulation results are compared by using isotropic left-hand materials (LHMs) superlens and anisotropic materials (AMMs) compensated bilayer superlens. We believe that these transient properties reveal more insight and could be helpful to understand the mechanism of the sub-wavelength EM wave focusing.
Streptomyces lacrimifluminis sp. nov., a novel actinobacterium that produces antibacterial compounds, isolated from soil.

A novel actinobacterial strain, designated Z1027T, was isolated from a soil sample collected near the Tuotuo River, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (China). The strain exhibited antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The taxonomic position of strain Z1027T was determined using a polyphasic approach. The organism had chemotaxonomic and morphological properties consistent with its classification in the genus Streptomyces and formed a distinct phyletic line in the 16S rRNA gene tree, together with Streptomyces turgidiscabies ATCC 700248T (99.19 % similarity), Streptomyces graminilatus JL-6T (98.84 %) and Streptomyces reticuliscabiei CFBP 4531T (98.36 %). The genomic DNA G+C content of strain Z1027T was 74±1 mol%. The DNA-DNA relatedness values between strain Z1027T and Streptomyces turgidiscabies ATCC 700248T and Streptomyces reticuliscabiei CFBP 4531T were 38.5±0.4 and 26.2±1.2 %, respectively, both of them signiﬁcantly lower than 70 %. Chemotaxonomic data revealed that strain Z1027T possessed MK-9(H6) and MK-9(H8) as the major menaquinones, ll-diaminopimelic acid as the diagnostic diamino acid and galactose as a whole-cell sugar. Diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatydilinositol and seven other unknown polar lipids were detected; iso-C16 : 0, summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω7c and/or C16 : 1ω6c) and C16 : 0 were the major fatty acids. On the basis of these genotypic and phenotypic data, it is proposed that isolate Z1027T (=CGMCC 4.7272T=JCM 31054T) should be classified as the type strain of a novel species of the genus Streptomyces,Streptomyces lacrimifluminis sp. nov.
Optimal bone strength and mineralization requires the type 2 iodothyronine deiodinase in osteoblasts

Hypothyroidism and thyrotoxicosis are each associated with an increased risk of fracture. Although thyroxine (T4) is the predominant circulating thyroid hormone, target cell responses are determined by local intracellular availability of the active hormone 3,5,3′-L-triiodothyronine (T3), which is generated from T4 by the type 2 deiodinase enzyme (D2). To investigate the role of locally produced T3 in bone, we characterized mice deficient in D2 (D2KO) in which the serum T3 level is normal. Bones from adult D2KO mice have reduced toughness and are brittle, displaying an increased susceptibility to fracture. This phenotype is characterized by a 50% reduction in bone formation and a generalized increase in skeletal mineralization resulting from a local deficiency of T3 in osteoblasts. These data reveal an essential role for D2 in osteoblasts in the optimization of bone strength and mineralization.
Prevention of Menstruation with Leuprorelin (GnRH Agonist) in Women Undergoing Myelosuppressive Chemotherapy or Radiochemotherapy for Hematological Malignancies: a Pilot Study

Vaginal bleeding during aplasia can induce transfusion support, infection and discomfort. Oral and intramuscular hormonotherapy can be toxic and/or difficult to manage (mucositis). This single-center pilot study evaluated the efficacy and safety of leuprorelin (L) in preventing heavy vaginal bleeding in 20 nonmenopausal women with leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma and foreseable therapy-induced thrombocytopenia. Until platelet recovery, patients received subcutaneous injections of L, with concomitant nomegestrol acetate (NA) during the first 35 days to prevent flare-up. Median age was 33 years (18–48). Platelet nadir was < 20 × 109/1 in 17 patients; 103 L injections were performed (median per patient: 4 [1–14]). No moderate or severe adverse event was related to hormonal therapy. Seventeen patients did not experience any clinically or therapeutically relevant bleeding. Eleven spottings and 8 metrorrhagias (mean duration: 3 days) occurred in 11 patients, requiring enhanced NA in 3 cases (baseline platelet count was < 20 × 109/1 in 1 pt, premature termination of NA [the single platelet transfusion for metrorrhagia] in 1 pt, and endometrial hyperplasia (EH) in the third). In patients without EH, only 5 spottings were observed after the third injection, without neither clinical nor therapeutic impact (63 injections). In conclusion, leuprorelin administration is safe and effective in preventing vaginal bleeding. The sustained-release form and subcutaneous administration offer quality of life advantages.
Ultra small PCS duplexer in plastic package using bulk acoustic wave (BAW) filter technology

In this paper we present a high performance PCS duplexer for handset applications featuring very small footprint and height. The sue of the leadless plastic package is 3.8 mm x 3.8 mm x 0.8 mm The Rx and Tx fdter chips are fabricated using Bulk Acoustic Wave (BAY technology on Silicon. The package is based on an organic laminate and standard injection overmolding. The materials used are Considerably cheaper than ceramic LTCC. The small size reduces package costs and saves board space. Measurements show excellent performance. Isolation Tx to Rx and the stophand rejection of Rx filter in Tx band are 55 dB and 50 dB, respectively. Return loss of Rx is 9 dB, of Tx and antenna port better than 10 dB. Insertion loss is less than 3 dB. The Tx filter shows excellent out of band attenuation all over the stopband range, but specially at 2.4 GHz and at the 2" and 3d hamonics of the Tx signal.
Rapid Synthesis and Antiviral Activity of (Quinazolin-4-Ylamino)Methyl-Phosphonates Through Microwave Irradiation

This study describes the simple synthesis of new (quinazolin-4-ylamino) methylphosphonates via microwave irradiation. Substituted-2-aminobenzonitrile reacted with 1,1-dimethoxy-N,N-dimethylmethanamine at a reflux condition to obtain N′-(substituted-2-cyanophenyl)-N,N-dimethylformamidine (1). The subsequent reaction of this intermediate product with α-aminophosphonate (2) in a solution containing glacial acetic acid in 2-propanol through microwave irradiation resulted in the formation of (quinazolin-4-ylamino)methyl-phosphonate derivatives 3a to 3x, which were unequivocally characterized by the spectral data and elemental analysis. The influence of the reaction conditions on the yield of 3a was investigated to optimize the synthetic conditions. The relative optimal conditions for the synthesis of 3a include a 1:1 molar ratio of N′-(2-cyanophenyl)-N,N-dimethylformamidine to diethyl amino(phenyl)methylphosphonate and a 4:1 volume ratio of isopropanol to HOAc in the solvent mixture, at a reaction temperature of 150 °C, with a microwave power of 100 W and a corresponding pressure of 150 psi for 20 min in the microwave synthesizer. The yield of 3a was approximately 79%, whereas those of 3b to 3x were approximately 77% to 86%. Some of the synthesized compounds displayed weak to good anti-Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) activity.
Non-invasive glucose monitoring using open electromagnetic waveguides

This paper presents a novel approach towards non-invasive glucose measurement. The introduced concept is based on an electromagnetic (EM) wave transmission along blood vessels. Theoretical investigation of a TEM wave propagation through a aqueous glucose solution is shown. The concept was evaluated by a simplified demonstrator which consists of a dielectric covered TEM-Waveguide. A 3D field simulation of the structure has been performed with a glucose dependent Debye relaxation model. The EM waveguide was fabricated and measured with various glucose concentrations. A phase difference of 12 deg for a 500mg/dl variation in glucose concentration was measured at 20GHz.
Scientific papers presented orally at radiology meetings-trends in subspecialty publication rates and adaptations associated with the highest impact factor journal publications.

Journal publication of material presented at medical conferences is vital in propagating research to the global community. The peer review process provides a rigorous assessment and critique of scientific methodology and helps ensure research remains relevant. Therefore, journal publication rates of material presented at meetings is a significant marker of the research quality of the meetings and their participants (1). Impact factors (IF) of journals are determined by dividing the number of citations articles receive by the number of citable articles over a period of time and is considered a marker of the scientific quality of a journal (2). The IF of the journal in which an article is published is therefore a partial marker of the scientific quality of that study.
Dispute or Mediator? : The Selection and Effectiveness of Conflict Management in Civil Wars

Literatura przedmiotu dotycząca dzialan mających na celu zapobieganie konfliktom oferuje dwa wyjaśnienia dlaczego ocena wplywu stron trzecich w zakresie zarządzania kryzysowego i rozwiązywania konfliktow poprzez mediacje tak bardzo rozni sie. Pierwsze wyjaśnienie uzaleznia pozytywny wynik mediacji w wojnach domowych od specyficznych cech konfliktu, natomiast drugie wyjaśnienie od umiejetności i doświadczenia mediatora oraz od strategii mediacji zastosowanych w procesie rozwiązywania konfliktu pomiedzy stronami. Celem badan jest ustalenie jakie czynniki w przedstawionych podejściach mają decydujący wplyw na to, ze niektore wysilki mediatorow konczą sie sukcesem a niektore nie. Badania zostaly przeprowadzone na probie 581 mediacji w wojnach domowych w latach 1945–2004 i potwierdzily nasze zalozenia dotyczące strategii mediacji. Analiza pokazuje, ze mediatorzy, ktorzy przejmują inicjatywe i sugerują rozwiązania (directive mediation strategies), odnoszą wiekszy sukces w rozwiązaniu konfliktu niz mediatorzy ktorzy stosują mediacje facylitatywne.
In Vitro Growth and Development of Bovine Oocyte-Granulosa Cell Complexes on the Flat Substratum: Effects of High Polyvinylpyrrolidone Concentration in Culture Medium1

Abstract The aim of this study was to establish a culture system to support the growth of bovine oocytes as enclosed in granulosa cell complexes that extend on a flat substratum. Such systems have been established for mouse oocytes but are not applicable to larger animals because it is difficult to maintain an appropriate association between the oocyte and companion somatic cells. Growing bovine oocytes with a mean diameter of 95 μm were isolated from early antral follicles: the growing stage corresponds to that of oocytes in preantral follicles of 12-day-old mice. Oocyte-granulosa cell complexes were cultured for 14 days in modified TCM199 medium supplemented with 5% fetal bovine serum, 4 mM hypoxanthine, and 0.1 μg/ml estradiol. The novel modification made for this medium was a high concentration, 4% (w/v), of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP; molecular weight of 360 000). The flat substratum used was either an insert membrane fit in the culture plate or the bottom surface of the wells of 96-well culture plates. PVP influenced the organization of complexes, resulting in a firm association between the oocyte and the innermost layer of surrounding cells. More oocytes enclosed by a complete cell layer were recovered from the medium supplemented with 4% PVP than from the control medium. Similarly, of the oocytes initially introduced into the growth culture, a significantly larger proportion developed to the blastocyst stage from medium containing 4% PVP than from medium without PVP. When PVP medium was used, the overall yield of blastocysts was similar between the system with the insert membranes (12%) and that with the 96-well culture plates (9%). A calf was produced from one of four embryos derived from oocytes grown in 96-well culture plates, matured, and fertilized in vitro and then transferred to a recipient cow.
Performance analysis of C-MRC technique in DF based cooperative system with co-channel interference

We have investigated the performance analysis of DF (Decode-And-Forward) based cooperative system using co-operative MRC (C-MRC) at the destination with co-channel interference in Rayleigh fading channels. The performance of C-MRC is compared with maximal-ratio combining (MRC) using the effective Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) of the system. It is seen that performance of C-MRC technique is much better than that of MRC. The Monte Carlo simulations are provided to illustrate the effect of interference on the performance where interference channels are independent and identically distributed.
Ashes to ashes, time to time - Parental time discounting and its role in the intergenerational transmission of smoking

Intergenerational correlations of risky health behaviors such as tobacco consumption are well established. However, there is still limited empirical evidence about the underlying process through which the transmission is driven. This paper aims at analyzing parental time discounting and its role in the intergenerational transmission of smoking. The analysis is based on longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) for the years 2006, 2008 and 2010. We use a linear panel regression model to estimate the child's likelihood of being a current smoker. The SOEP contains a great many of socio-economic characteristics and also meaningful measures of individual discounting behavior, namely, general patience and impulsivity. This enables us to distinguish between time preference and self-control, respectively. We find significant effects of time preference for both, mothers and fathers. That is, an increasing level of patience of parents is associated with a lower smoking probability of the child. Regarding self-control, only father's impulsivity has a similar decreasing impact. Stratifying the sample by gender reveals substantial mother-daughter, mother-son and father-son effects. Additionally, we estimate the influence of health-related mediating factors such as parental smoking and alcohol consumption. It turns out that role modeling as well as time discounting of the parents are highly relevant in this transmission process.
Network Coding based Energy Efficient Routing Algorithm in Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have received significant attention recently. Wireless sensors are deployed to achieve network load balancing, prolonging network lifetime, and improving network coverage. To achieve these goals, energy efficiency directly affects battery life and thus is a critical design parameter for WSNs. In this paper, we propose an Network Coding based Energy Efficient Routing Algorithm in WSNs to prolong lifetime (NC-ER), which is able to dramatically prolong network lifetime while effectively improve energy efficient. We also present an algorithm for deciding the network lifetime scheme for a node to further improve energy efficient by minimizing redundant packet transmissions. Simulation results show that, with the proposed NC- ER Algorithm in WSN throughput, network lifetime and energy efficiency can be improved in most of cases. It is an available approach to routing decision. Index Terms - WSN, throughput, network lifetime, energy efficient, multicast routing
Speedometer fault detection and GNSS fusion using Kalman filters

Navigation systems used in racing boats require sensors to be more and more sophisticated in order to obtain accurate information in real time. To meet the need for accuracy of the surface speed measurement, the mechanical sensor paddle wheel has been replaced by the ultrasonic sensor. This ultrasonic sensor measures the water speed precisely and with very good linearity. Furthermore, by its principle of operation, it measures the water flow several centimetres from the sensor, which puts it outside the boundary layer, the region close to the hull where the flow is disturbed. However, this sensor has several drawbacks: it is quite sensitive and if the flow contains too many air bubbles, the sensor picks them up, which can happen quite frequently on boat with a planing hull. Another limitation of this sensor is its low frequency measurement rate. In this paper we explain the techniques used based on Kalman filters to address these shortcomings, firstly by identifying the inaccurate measurements caused by inadvertent dropouts, then by improving the useful sensor frequency with GNSS data fusion.
ANNz2: Photometric Redshift and Probability Distribution Function Estimation using Machine Learning

We present ANNz2, a new implementation of the public software for photometric redshift (photo-z) estimation of Collister & Lahav, which now includes generation of full probability distribution functions (PDFs). ANNz2 utilizes multiple machine learning methods, such as artificial neural networks and boosted decision/regression trees. The objective of the algorithm is to optimize the performance of the photo-z estimation, to properly derive the associated uncertainties, and to produce both single-value solutions and PDFs. In addition, estimators are made available, which mitigate possible problems of non-representative or incomplete spectroscopic training samples. ANNz2 has already been used as part of the first weak lensing analysis of the Dark Energy Survey, and is included in the experiment's first public data release. Here we illustrate the functionality of the code using data from the tenth data release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey. The code is available for download at http://github.com/IftachSadeh/ANNZ.