Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Utilisation and clinical efficacy of echocardiography in a regional hospital.

OBJECTIVE To determine utilisation and clinical efficacy of echocardiography in a regional setting. DESIGN Consecutive patients referred for echocardiography studied prospectively using a pro-forma to be completed before and after echocardiography. SETTING Regional hospital in New South Wales. PARTICIPANTS A total of 103 consecutive patients. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Utilisation and clinical efficacy of echocardiography. RESULTS No significant abnormalities were detected in 41.7% of patients, but unexpected abnormalities were found in 31.1%. For 60% of pretest diagnoses there was a clinically important change in diagnostic certainty following the test and changes to treatment occurred in 30.1% of patients. A total of 19 patients with neurological events underwent echocardiography but none had cardiac thrombus demonstrated although thrombus was demonstrated in additional seven. CONCLUSIONS Echocardiography appears to be used appropriately in our regional setting, resulting in major changes to diagnostic certainty and leading to alterations to treatments in almost one-third of patients. Education in relation to the use of echocardiography in patients with neurological events is warranted.
Comparative analysis of different topologies for wireless power transfer systems

In the last years the use of the wireless power transfer systems has experienced a significant increase. In this context the study of the behavior of these systems has been the subject of debate for many researchers, in order to understand and improve their performances. This paper aims to bring a contribution in this regard. Based on previous studies, the paper makes a comparative analysis of three possible topologies met in wireless power transfer systems with inductive coupling, namely: series-series, series-parallel and parallel-parallel. Input and output quantities of the system are mainly represented here, for highlighting the conditions in which high performances are achieved. Finally important conclusions for practice are formulated.
Ultralow power processor employing block instruction for ECG applications

: Conventional processors that execute a single instruction at a time are easy to implement but lack the power ef ﬁ ciency. This paper presents a novel hardware-software co-designed method to save power consumption for ECG applications. The software generates block instruction which is comprised of several atomic operations, reduces the instruction memory space, and merges memory operations within a block. The hardware executes instructions block by block, eliminates redundant fetching and decoding operations. The experiments indicate that the proposed design methodology can reduce the active power consumption and code size by 40% and 55% relative to CK802 (a conventional processor).
Predictive relationships in the water solubility of salts of a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug.

A number of metal and amine salts of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug 2-(2-fluoro-4-biphenylyl)propionic acid (flurbiprofen) (1) were synthesized, and the water solubilities of these materials were investigated. The solubility of flurbiprofen versus pH is in excellent agreement with the theoretical profile which assumes an intrinsic solubility of 5.0 X 10(-5) M for the free acid and a pKa of 4.22. The solubility determination of 1:1 amine salts of slightly soluble carboxylic acids is complicated by possible precipitation of the free acid when the salt is dissolved in water. The lower than expected apparent salt solubility seen when this phenomenon occurs is referred to as the "stoichiometric solubility. " A theoretical treatment delineating three distinct regions in the phase solubility diagram for the tromethamine salt of flurbiprofen illustrates the care which must be taken in characterizing the system for salt solubility determinations. A multiple linear regression analysis was carried out to determine the relationship between the log Ksp of six amine salts and their melting points and cation hydrophilicities. While a strong dependence of Ksp on melting point was found, there was not a significant correlation between Ksp and amine cation hydrophilicity.
A numerical modeling of electric parameters from industrial plate-type electrostatic precipitator

The plate-type electrostatic precipitators are often used in industry, especially at dedusting of high gas flows. An important application is in case of thermo-electrical power plants. The electrostatic charging of dust particles depends on more electric parameters, and its experimental determination is difficult. The electrostatic charging depends on the electric field's strength, on the dust particles' diameter and on the particles' relative electric permittivity. For a real channel from the field on an ESP and for the discharge wires from industry, to which the discharge peaks are not identical, it was made a digital on-scale analysis, by the finite element method, for the field lines of the electric potential and electric fields' strength. The analysis was achieved for the cross-section and longitudinal section of a channel, when the gas has dust and when the dust is missing. The digital analysis is an important tool to determine and study the electric parameters, which are hard to be experimentally determined.
Determination of the optical properties of semi-infinite turbid media from frequency-domain reflectance close to the source

We investigate theoretically the errors in determining the reduced scattering and absorption coefficients of semi-infinite turbid media from frequency-domain reflectance measurements made at small distances between the source and the detector(s). The errors are due to the uncertainties in the measurement of the phase, the modulation and the steady-state reflectance as well as to the diffusion approximation which is used as a theoretical model to describe light propagation in tissue. Configurations using one and two detectors are examined for the measurement of the phase and the modulation and for the measurement of the phase and the steady-state reflectance. Three solutions of the diffusion equation are investigated. We show that measurements of the phase and the steady-state reflectance at two different distances are best suited for the determination of the optical properties close to the source. For this arrangement the errors in the absorption coefficient due to typical uncertainties in the measurement are greater than those resulting from the application of the diffusion approximation at a modulation frequency of 200 MHz. A Monte Carlo approach is also examined; this avoids the errors due to the diffusion approximation.
CDM secondary clamp of RX and TX for high speed SerDes application in 40nm CMOS technology

Novel secondary clamp solutions to boost CDM robustness for both RX and TX circuits along with dual diode of 135fF to meet over 6-G bit/s SerDes are presented. For RX circuit, active PMOS clamp with no voltage overshoot is used as secondary clamp to GND. For TX circuit, by constructing a secondary ESD path through the pre-driver and pumping-up the gate node of the main-driver, an additional series resistor deteriorating SerDes performance is not needed for secondary clamp.
Blood Flow Velocities in Common Carotid Artery Changes with Age and Exercise Study by using of telemetry method

Measurement of blood flow velocity using Doppler ultrasound has become an important noninvasive tool not only in the diagnosis of cardiovascular disease but also in physiological measurement. Physiological blood flow velocities in common carotid artery (CCA) is altered markedly with advancing age. It is unknown that regular aerobic exercise training can alter and improve blood flow velocity waveforms in either healthy young or healthy older individuals. Blood flow velocities were measured in 89 putatively healthy volunteers with age range of 20-76 years: 65 subjects were sedentary and 24 subjects were regular exercise-trained. Blood flow velocity spectra were measured at resting using our newly developed portable telemetry Doppler ultrasound velocimeter (TDUV) with real-time monitoring. Blood flow velocity waveforms were obtained from the spectral blood flow velocities of instantaneous peak-velocities. As a result, blood flow in peak systolic SI, end-diastolic d, and peak diastolic velocities D decreased with aging by the following yearly rate: 7.18 mm/s/year, 2.64 mm/s/year, and 1.24 mm/s/year, respectively. Thus the indices of d/S1, S1/S2, and D/I had a significant change with age. However, resting heart rate (HR) and second systolic velocities S2 were not significantly changed with aging. Blood flow velocities in SI were higher in the exercise-trained, whereas S2, D, and d velocities had no difference between trained and sedentary adults. However, the index of D/I had a marked higher in exercise-trained adults. As anticipated to exercise effect, the resting heart rate (HR) were significantly lower in exercise-trained. There were no differential effects in three age-groups (P= NS, by multivariate analysis). In conclusion, an age-associated decrease blood flow velocities in CCA was altered and improved in the healthy middle-aged and older individuals who regularly performed aerobic exercise. The blood flow patterns in three age-groups design had no markedly change with age in regular aerobic exercise-trained adults. The adaptations of blood flow velocities to regular exercise were not different with aging.
Xis Protein Binding to the Left Arm Stimulates Excision of Conjugative Transposon Tn916

ABSTRACT Tn916 and related conjugative transposons are clinically significant vectors for the transfer of antibiotic resistance among human pathogens, and they excise from their donor organisms using the transposon-encoded integrase (Tn916Int) and excisionase (Tn916Xis) proteins. In this study, we have investigated the role of the Tn916Xis protein in stimulating excisive recombination. The functional relevance of Tn916Xis binding sites on the arms of the transposon has been assessed in vivo using a transposon excision assay. Our results indicate that in Escherichia coli the stimulatory effect of the Tn916Xis protein is mediated by sequence-specific binding to either of its two binding sites on the left arm of the transposon. These sites lie in between the core and arm sites recognized by Tn916Int, suggesting that the Tn916Xis protein enhances excision in a manner similar to the excisionase protein of bacteriophage λ, serving an architectural role in the stabilization of protein-nucleic acid structures required for strand synapsis. However, our finding that excision in E. coli is significantly enhanced by the host factor HU, but does not depend on the integration host factor or the factor for inversion stimulation, defines clear mechanistic differences between Tn916 and bacteriophage λ recombination.
Targeting FGFR Signaling in Cancer

The fibroblast growth factor signaling pathway (FGFR signaling) is an evolutionary conserved signaling cascade that regulates several basic biologic processes, including tissue development, angiogenesis, and tissue regeneration. Substantial evidence indicates that aberrant FGFR signaling is involved in the pathogenesis of cancer. Recent developments of deep sequencing technologies have allowed the discovery of frequent molecular alterations in components of FGFR signaling among several solid tumor types. Moreover, compelling preclinical models have demonstrated the oncogenic potential of these aberrations in driving tumor growth, promoting angiogenesis, and conferring resistance mechanisms to anticancer therapies. Recently, the field of FGFR targeting has exponentially progressed thanks to the development of novel agents inhibiting FGFs or FGFRs, which had manageable safety profiles in early-phase trials. Promising treatment efficacy has been observed in different types of malignancies, particularly in tumors harboring aberrant FGFR signaling, thus offering novel therapeutic opportunities in the era of precision medicine. The most exciting challenges now focus on selecting patients who are most likely to benefit from these agents, increasing the efficacy of therapies with the development of novel potent compounds and combination strategies, and overcoming toxicities associated with FGFR inhibitors. After examination of the basic and translational research studies that validated the oncogenic potential of aberrant FGFR signaling, this review focuses on recent data from clinical trials evaluating FGFR targeting therapies and discusses the challenges and perspectives for the development of these agents. Clin Cancer Res; 21(12); 2684–94. ©2015 AACR.
Electronically Switchable Dual-Band Microstrip Interdigital Bandpass Filter For Multistandard Communication Applications

This paper focuses on the design of electronically switchable microstrip interdigital filters for multistandard communication applications. The structures use PIN diodes as switching elements to operate at two different frequency bands. Two second-order bandpass filters are presented, one for which the switching achieves a "near frequency" shift, and the other one for wider switching operations. The insertion losses in the wide switching case are compensated by a MMIC negative resistance. Measurements are in good agreement with simulations.
Trough Tacrolimus Concentrations in the First Week After Kidney Transplantation Are Related to Acute Rejection

There is evidence showing the importance of reaching immunosuppressant target concentrations as soon as possible. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between tacrolimus trough concentrations within the first week after transplantation and the rate of acute rejection. In this descriptive-analytic study, we included 57 renal transplant patients receiving tacrolimus as the primary immunosuppressive drug. After univariate analysis, donor age, duration of hospital stay, and creatinine clearance (third month) showed significant differences between rejecters and nonrejecters. In addition, mean tacrolimus trough concentrations on day 5, day 7, mean of days 1-7, and mean of days 5-7 were found to be significantly lower in rejecters (P = 0.009, P = 0.012, P = 0.006, and P = 0.035, respectively). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis with tacrolimus trough concentrations measured on days 5 and 7 was able to discriminate between patients with and without acute rejection (P = 0.028 and P = 0.048 after Bonferroni correction). The tacrolimus trough concentration with the best sensitivity-specificity balance was 9.3 ng/mL on day 5 and 8.7 ng/mL on day 7. In the Kaplan-Meier analysis, patients with tacrolimus trough concentrations below 9.3 mg/mL on day 5 showed a lower survival time without acute rejection (P = 0.048 after correction) in comparison with patients with tacrolimus trough concentrations above this concentration. After logistic regression, we obtained a model relating rejection with sex, donor age, and tacrolimus trough concentrations on day 5 (P = 0.004). No significant relationship between tacrolimus trough concentrations and delta creatinine clearance from week 1 to month 3 was obtained. These results confirm that tacrolimus trough concentrations during the first week are an important predictor of acute rejection. Therefore, it is critical to reach target blood concentrations of tacrolimus as soon as possible to improve allograft survival.
Speech Recognition Using Vector Quantization through Modified K-meansLBG Algorithm

In the Vector Quantization, the main task is to generate a good codebook. The distortion measure between the original pattern and the reconstructed pattern should be minimum. In this paper, a proposed algorithm called Modified K-meansLBG algorithm used to obtain a good codebook. The system has shown good performance on limited vocabulary tasks. Keywords: K-means algorithm, LBG algorithm, Vector Quantization, Speech Recognition
Context-aware adaptive video streaming for mobile users

HTTP adaptive streaming (HAS) is the dominating type of video traffic in fixed and mobile networks. Although more and more mobile users stream videos over their cellular data connections, buffering is still a common problem due to fluctuating radio signal strength. We will demonstrate a new generation of context-aware HAS algorithms, which adapt video bit-rate based on location and radio information to the current coverage situation. Our demo will show an impressive reduction of buffering time compared to a conventional HAS algorithm. This outstanding quality gain can be directly observed by comparing the video streams on two Smartphones in diverse coverage scenarios such as buildings and elevators.
Immunohistochemical Demonstration of Equine Herpesvirus-1 Antigen in Neurons and Astrocytes of Horses with Acute Paralysis

Equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) infection in a few widely scattered neurons and astrocytes plus endothelial cells in brain and spinal cord of two horses with naturally occurring paralytic disease was demonstrated by use of an immunoperoxidase technique. These horses were euthanatized less than 48 hours after the onset of clinical signs. No staining for EHV-1 was demonstrated in brain or spinal cord of three horses that had a longer duration of clinical disease or in two uninfected horses.
Key Articles and Guidelines in the Acute Management and Secondary Prevention of Ischemic Stroke

Ischemic stroke is a prevalent disease with a large burden on the health system. It is essential for practitioners caring for patients who have experienced an ischemic stroke to be familiar with the literature supporting both acute management as well as secondary preventive strategies. Due to the large amount of literature available on this topic, this bibliography (the second of a two‐part series) aims to provide a comprehensive resource for medical practitioners charged with caring for this population. Acute management strategies involve controlling patients' blood pressure and administering thrombolysis (either pharmacologic or mechanical) to improve blood flow and preserve neurologic function. Various neuroprevention strategies have also been investigated. Secondary prevention strategies, similar to primary prevention, focus on modulation of various risk factors including antiplatelet treatments and control of blood pressure, and lipid levels, amongst others.
Theoretical and Empirical Validation of IS Success Models A Theoretical and Empirical Validation of IS Success Models in a Temporal and Quasi Volitional Technology Usage Context

IS implementation success is a critical information systems research issue. This study further extends and assesses both empirically and theoretically prior research on information system (IS) success. Specifically, we examine DeLone and McLean’s (1992) seminal model of IS success, and its subsequent refinement by Seddon (1997), and Rai et al. (2002) in a temporal context through a longitudinal study. Our study evaluates the IS success model by examining quasi-volitional use of email to support work requirements. Structural equation modeling is used to analyze data collected from 216 employees of Chinese organizations on their email usage at two different points in time. Our findings are interpreted in the broader context of IS success including the Davis’ (1989) Technology Acceptance and Goodhue’s (1995) Task-Technology fit models. Our results provide a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of IS management in a richer context and should help organizations prescribe better strategies in IS management.
Medical Treatment of Choroidal Neovascularization Secondary to Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in individuals over 50 years of age in the Western world. Strategies to prevent AMD-related blindness have focused on prevention and management of choroidal neovascularization (CNV). The past 15 years have seen a revolution in the treatment of AMD-related CNV. The Macular Photocoagulation Study recommended laser photocoagulation as treatment of extrafoveal, juxtafoveal, and subfoveal classic CNV. Since then, clinical studies on the efficacy of photodynamic therapy (PDT) have shown treatment benefit for subfoveal predominantly classic and occult membranes with verteporfin PDT. The Verteporfin In Minimally Classic CNV resulting from the AMD (VIM) trial will hopefully answer remaining questions regarding the relative importance of size versus subtype of membrane in PDT treatment effect. Both steroids and other antiangiogenic drugs show promise in early clinical trials. In particular, a recent large, randomized, controlled study showed that the VEGFinhibitor pegaptanib sodium is effective in treating subfoveal CNV of all subtypes. Significant efficacy of treatments such as feeder vessel photocoagulation, radiotherapy, and transpupillary thermotherapy has yet to be documented in large-scale, randomized clinical trials. No one treatment of AMD-related CNV has yet been proven a clinical ‘‘home run. ’’ It is likely that future research will focus on combinations of existing treatments to benefit from additive or synergistic effects of different treatment modalities. Age-related macular degeneration is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in individuals over 50 years of age in the Western world. The
The Effects of Computer-assisted Electrocardiographic Interpretation on Physicians' Diagnostic Decisions

Objective. To evaluate the effect of computer-assisted interpretation of electrocardiograms (ECGs) on diagnostic decision making by primary care physicians. Design. Randomized controlled trial. Setting. Primary care physicians' outpatient clinics in or near the Minneap olis/St. Paul metropolitan area. Participants. Forty family physicians and general internists who were members of either of two large consortia of clinics. Intervention. Subjects evaluated ten clinical vignettes accompanied by ECGs and reported their diagnostic impressions. The vignettes were based on actual patient visits. Half of the subjects received ECGs with computer-generated reports, the other half received the same ECGs without reports. Main outcome measures. ECG reading time; agreement with the clinical diagnosis; agreement with the computer report; diagnostic confidence. Results. The subjects receiving the reports were more likely to agree with the clinical diagnoses of the original cases, particularly for two vignettes in which the diagnoses were uncommon and were mentioned in the reports. The subjects receiving the reports were also more likely to make diagnoses that were consistent with the reports, even when the reports were erroneous. Those receiving the reports spent, on average, 15 seconds less time looking at each ECG, a 25% decrease. Conclusions. In simulated cases, primary care physicians appear to use computer interpre tations of ECGs when available, as shown by enhanced diagnostic accuracy and modestly reduced time spent reading the tracings. However, erroneous reports may mislead physi cians. Since the effects of computerized ECG interpretation do not appear to have been uniformly favorable in this mock-clinical setting, it will be important to evaluate the effects of this technology in actual practice. Key words: computer-assisted diagnosis; computer-as sisted decision making; physician decision making; electrocardiogram. (Med Decis Making 1995;15:107-112)