Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Profiling Patterns in Healthcare System: A Preliminary Study

In the 21st century, our planet revolves around data and is known as a digital earth. The astonishing growth in data has resulted in an increase in interest of Big Data Analytics to capture, store, process, analyze and visualize unprecedented amount of information. Big data has undoubtedly and will continue to shape modern information driven society where behind all the available data, there is a hidden potential to discover meaningful insights and patterns which may impact businesses in unexpected measures. The exponential growth of data is also present in the healthcare sector. In Malaysia, most employees are provided with medical benefits which includes general medical costs to hospitalization benefits and insurance coverages. With the healthcare data and information stored with the Human Resource (HR), employers could potentially analyze and identify patterns in the historical medical claims which could then help in making specific decisions to understand their employee population health and the usage of the premium coverage. Therefore, the aim of this research is to better understand the patterns presented in the employees’ healthcare data. Through the analysis and understanding of the patterns in past medical claim history, potential strategies can be proposed to allow employers to provide proactive and reactive measures to potentially help sustain medical expenditure.
Comparison of the effects of black and green tea on in vitro lipoprotein oxidation in human serum

Lipoprotein oxidation is a process thought to be involved in atherogenesis. Dietary antioxidants that prevent or inhibit oxidative damage to lipoproteins may help to prevent atherosclerosis. Both black and green teas can be major dietary sources of flavonoids and other phenolics with antioxidant activity. Results of previous studies suggest that green tea may have a greater antioxidant potential than black tea. The aim of this study was to assess and compare the effects of black and green tea on in vitro lipoprotein oxidation. The tea extracts were prepared using a method similar to that used to prepare infusions of tea for drinking. Antioxidant activities of seven black teas and four green teas were assessed using an in vitro assay that measures Cu2+ -induced oxidation of lipoproteins in human serum. All tea extracts inhibited in vitro lipoprotein oxidation in human serum to a similar extent. No significant difference in antioxidant activity was found between black and green tea. Caffeine prepared to a comparable concentration to that found in tea had no effect on lipoprotein oxidation. Further studies are required to determine the importance of these findings in relation to possible protective effects of black and green tea consumption against atherogenesis and cardiovascular disease. © 1999 Society of Chemical Industry
Security and Privacy Requirements for Cloud Computing in Healthcare

Cloud computing promises essential improvements in healthcare delivery performance. However, its wide adoption in healthcare is yet to be seen, one main reason being patients’ concerns for security and privacy of their sensitive medical records. These concerns can be addressed through corresponding security and privacy requirements within the system engineering process. Despite a plethora of related research, security and privacy requirements for cloud systems and services have seldomly been investigated methodically so far, whereas their individual priorities to increase the system success probability have been neglected. Against this background, this study applies a systematic requirements engineering process: First, based on a systematic literature review, an extensive initial set of security and privacy requirements is elicited. Second, an online survey based on the best-worst scaling method is designed, conducted, and evaluated to determine priorities of security and privacy requirements. Our results show that confidentiality and integrity of medical data are ranked at the top of the hierarchy of prioritized requirements, followed by control of data use and modification, patients’ anonymity, and patients’ control of access rights. Availability, fine-grained access control, revocation of access rights, flexible access, clinicians’ anonymity, as well as usability, scalability, and efficiency of the system complete the ranking. The level of agreement among patients is rather small, but statistically significant at the 0.01 level. The main contribution of the present research comprises the study method and results highlighting the role of strong security and privacy and excluding any trade-offs with system usability. Enabling a richer understanding of patients’ security and privacy requirements for adopting cloud computing in healthcare, these are of particular importance to researchers and practitioners interested in supporting the process of security and privacy engineering for health-cloud solutions. It further represents a supplement that can support time-intensive negotiation meetings between the requirements engineers and patients.
Cryopreservation of boar semen

Sperm cryopreservation is the best technology for long-term storage of the semen. However, the damage of boar spermatozoa by cryopreservation is more severe than in other animal species and a standardized freezing protocol for efficient cryopreservation has not been established yet. Semen quality and freezability vary greatly between breeds as well as between individual boars and even the season. Boar spermatozoa are sensitive to low temperatures; they sustain damage and a high rate of mortality and freezing/thawing the boar semen may strongly impair the sperm function and decrease the semen quality. The freezability of boar semen can be influenced by a cryopreservation procedure, and also by using various additives to freezing and thawing extenders such as antioxidants. In order to obtain acceptable results after thawing the boar semen, it is necessary to combine an optimal amount of additives (glycerol, egg yolk, sugars, antioxidants), cooling and warming velocities.
Communicative Approach in Learning the Latvian Language as a Foreign Language

In accordance to increase in the number of foreigners in Latvia, the issue of learning the Latvian language as a foreign language (LATS) is also raised, as well as the appropriate teaching tools and teaching methods for learning the language. There are relatively many learning tools (approximately 40 textbooks, without textbooks there are also dictionaries, dictionary, grammar and task stocks), which are based on different approaches and methods. Thinking about foreigners in Latvia highlights the needs of language learners, so the process of learning a language based on the communicative approach seems more appropriate. The purpose of the article is therefore to describe the communicative approach and its implementation in the acquisition of the Latvian language as a foreign language, which is revealed in both teaching resources and teaching work. This article is based on studies of scientific literature and analysis of LATS textbooks. Major studies of foreign authors on the communicative approach were selected. To justify the use of the communicative approach in the acquisition of the Latvian language as a foreign language, teaching means of learning the LATS have been analysed. Insufficient understanding of the communicative approach makes think that it is not suitable for the acquisition of Latvian language as a foreign language. It is falsely believed that the communicative approach does not work in the learning of grammatical languages, including the acquisition of Latvian. The communicative approach does not exclude grammar learning and grammar explanations, but must be closely associated with the communicative goal. Translation exercises in the communicative approach are also preferable and even recommended. These findings could be useful for practitioners who teach Latvian as a foreign language but do not feel safe in implementing the communicative approach.
Profile of acute coronary syndrome in young diabetics: a review

The clinical presentation and angiographic findings of coronary artery disease (CAD) varies from diabetic and non-diabetic patients and varies with the age of presentation. Coronary artery disease in patients below the age of 45 is a special subset. The objective of this study is to compare the clinical and angiographic profile in patients with the acute coronary syndrome (ACS) with diabetes mellitus (DM) and without DM below the age of 45 years. Clinical Presentation of coronary artery disease in young patients with various risk factors differs, which plays an important role in management strategies. This was conducted through internet search on PubMed and ProQuest database from 2000 to until 2019. Key words used for searching are acute coronary syndrome, young diabetics, and clinical, angiographic profile. An important exclusion criterion is studies which included type one diabetic patients. Totally 35 papers were reviewed. Pattern of involvement of coronary arteries as assessed by the coronary angiographic study is found to be different in younger CAD patients. Atypical clinical presentation and distinct angiographic finding are common in diabetics below the age of 45. In most of the studies single vessel disease (SVD) is the most common angiographic finding in young CAD and non-diabetics. While the diabetics showed the more diffuse pattern of double vessel disease (DVD).
Physiological responses of cold-stressed blue and snow phase Lesser Snow Goose goslings

A comparison of cold-stressed Lesser Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens caerulescens) goslings revealed that the metabolic rates of light-colored (snow) and dark-colored (blue) goslings did not differ when they were measured in the dark. Small differences in plumage insulation (higher in snow goslings) and core body temperature (lower in blue goslings) seemed to balance each other so that there was no difference in rates of thermogenesis between morphs. We conclude that physiological thermoregulation does not compensate for potential differential radiative heat loads between the morphs.
Pharmacological characterization of α1‐adrenoceptor subtypes in rat heart: a binding study

1 The α1‐adrenoceptor subtypes of rat heart were characterized in binding experiments performed with [3H]‐prazosin as the radiolabel. The specific binding to the α1‐adrenoceptors was determined with 0.3 μm prazosin, because phentolamine (10 μm) was insufficient to inhibit completely the specific binding of high concentrations of [3H]‐prazosin. 2 In saturation experiments, [3H]‐prazosin bound to two distinct affinity sites (pKD = 10.39 and 8.19). The proportion of the low affinity sites was approximately 84% of total specific binding. Membranes pretreated with chloroethylclonidine (CEC, 10 μm) also showed two distinct affinity sites for [3H]‐prazosin, although the maximum numbers of high and low affinity sites were reduced by 86 and 64%, respectively. 3 In competition experiments, [3H]‐prazosin (100 pm) binding was inhibited by WB4101 (2‐(2,6‐dimethoxy‐phenoxyethyl)aminomethyl‐1,4‐benzodioxane) and 5‐methylurapidil. The inhibition curves displayed shallow slopes which could be subdivided into high and low affinity components (pK1 = 10.43 and 8.36 for WB4101, 8.62 and 6.61 for 5‐methylurapidil). However, unlabelled prazosin or HV723 (α‐ethyl‐3,4,5‐trimethoxy‐α‐(3‐((2‐(2‐methoxyphenoxy)‐ethyl)amino)propyl)benzeneacetonitrile fumarate) competed for [3H]‐prazosin binding monophasically (pK1 = 10.34 and 8.28, respectively). In CEC‐pretreated membranes, prazosin, WB4101, 5‐methylurapidil and HV723 antagonized the [3H]‐prazosin (100 pm) binding monophasically (pKI = 9.70, 9.56, 8.60 and 8.82, for each antagonist). 4 On the other hand, 1000 pm [3H]‐prazosin binding was inhibited by unlabelled prazosin biphasically (pKI = 10.49 and 8.49). HV723 did not discriminate both prazosin‐high and low affinity sites (pKI = 8.18). 5 These results suggest the presence of at least three distinct α1‐adrenoceptor subtypes in rat hearts (two prazosin‐high affinity sites and one prazosin‐low affinity site). According to the recent α1‐adrenoceptor subclassifications, one of the former two sites corresponds to the α1B subtype with low affinities for WB4101 and 5‐methylurapidil and sensitive to CEC, while another site with relatively high affinities for WB4101 and 5‐methylurapidil may be classical α1A, cloned α1C, α1D subtypes or their mixture. The prazosin‐low affinity site corresponds to putative α1L subtype with low affinity for HV723, which may be predominantly involved in the positive inotropic response to phenylephrine.
Selection and Validation of Reference Genes for the qRT-PCR Assays of Populus ussuriensis Gene Expression under Abiotic Stresses and Related ABA Treatment

Populus ussuriensis Kom. is one of the most important tree species for forest renewal in the eastern mountainous areas of Northeast China due to its fast growth, high yield, and significant commercial and ecological value. The selection of optimal reference genes for the normalization of qRT-PCR data is essential for the analysis of relative gene expression. In this study, fourteen genes were selected and assessed for their expression stability during abiotic stress (drought, high salinity, and cold stress) and after the treatment with the drought-related hormone ABA. Three algorithms were used, geNorm, NormFinder, and BestKeeper, and a comprehensive ranking of candidate reference genes was produced based on their output. The most appropriate reference genes were UBQ10 and RPL24 for drought and ABA treatment, UBQ10 and TUB3 for cold stress, and UBQ10 and 60S rRNA for high salinity. Overall, UBQ10 was the most stable reference gene for use as an internal control, whereas PP2A was the least stable. The expression of two target genes (P5CS2 and GI) was used to further verify that the selected reference genes were suitable for gene expression normalization. This work comprehensively assesses the stability of reference genes in Populus ussuriensis and identifies suitable reference genes for normalization during qRT-PCR analysis.
Marine pharmacology: an ocean to explore novel drugs

The rise in burden of diseases and treatment failure demands discovery of novel compounds. Exploiting natural sources which include territory of land and water in potential manner paves the way for significant future innovations in drug discovery. Marine environment has striking functionalities in its skeleton that has fascinated scientists to show enormous interest in investigation of new compounds. Marine sponges, algae, tunicates, sea whip etc. from the marine pipeline are the important sources for biological active compounds. Recent technology advancements further added to the domain of drug research in isolation and evaluation of marine derived products. To date, significant number of compounds have been isolated. Wide range of antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antiparasitic, neuroprotective, antiviral, anticancer, analgesic, antimicrobial, antimalarial compounds have been pursued in control and management of diseases. These represent marine ecosystem as a hopeful resource in discovery of novel compounds with ideal starting point in scaffolding additional screening of natural marine products. This is review of abstracting on history, lead development process in identifying and comprehending basic nature of compounds that is promising initial step towards unique pharmacological design, the triumph of approved and ongoing trails, brief depiction on current status and challenges being faced in marine drug discovery field.
A Self-Tuning NPID Control Method for FOPTD Processes

Owing to the time-varying characteristics and nonlinearities of industrial processes, control has higher difficulties and results in challenges for advanced technology. In this paper, a self-tuning controller that includes a nonlinear proportional-integral-derivative (NPID) control function as well as a self-tuning function is proposed for first-order plus time delay (FOPTD) process control. The NPID control function is implemented using the nonlinear PID controller whose optimum parameters are adapted by a neural network (NN). The self-tuning function is able to identify the process dynamics using a short period of process behavior and tune NPID parameters based on the identified parameters. The advantage of the proposed method is validated with a set of simulation works on three processes and the comparison results are presented.
Early Homo

The origin of Homo is argued to entail niche differentiation resulting from increasing terrestriality and dietary breadth relative to the better known species of Australopithecus (A. afarensis, A. anamensis, A. africanus). I review the fossil evidence from ∼2.5 to 1.5 Ma in light of new finds and analyses that challenge previous inferences. Minimally, three cranial morphs of early Homo (including Homo erectus) exist in eastern Africa (1.9–1.4 Ma), with at least two in southern Africa. Because of taphonomic damage to the type specimen of Homo habilis, in East Africa two species with different masticatory adaptations are better identified by their main specimen (i.e., the 1813 group and the 1470 group) rather than a species name. Until recently, the 1470 group comprised a single specimen. South African early Homo are likely distinct from these groups. Together, contemporary early H. erectus and early Homo are bigger than Australopithecus (∼30%). Early H. erectus (including recently discovered small specimens) is larger than non-erectus Homo (∼15%–25%), but their size ranges overlap. All early Homo are likely to exhibit substantial sexual dimorphism. Early H. erectus is less “modern” and its regional variation in size more substantial than previously allowed. These findings form the baseline for understanding the origin of the genus.
The last acceptable prejudice in Europe? Anti-Gypsyism as the obstacle to Roma inclusion

National and European policies aim to facilitate the integration of Roma people into mainstream society. Yet, Europe’s largest ethnic group continues to be severely discriminated. Although prejudice has been identified to be at the core of this failure, social psychological research on anti-Gypsyism remains scarce. We conducted a study in six countries using student and community samples (N = 2,089; Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Norway, Italy, Spain) to understand how anti-Gypsyism among majority-group members predicts unfavorable acculturation preferences toward Roma people. Openly negative stereotypes predicted acculturation preferences strongly across the countries. However, stereotypes about the Roma receiving undeserved benefits were also relevant to some degree in East-Central Europe, implying that intergroup relations are framed there as realistic conflict. Stereotypes about traditional Roma culture did not play a central role in acculturation preferences. Our findings highlighted that anti-Gypsyism may be an impediment to integration efforts, and efforts should be context-specific rather than pan-national.
A prospective study to compare the efficacy of vilazodone and escitalopram tablets in the treatment of patients with newly diagnosed major depressive disorder

Background: With the availability of large number of anti-depressant drugs, a thorough knowledge of comparative efficacy of the commonly used antidepressants is necessary to prescribe best drug molecule to the patient. This improves the compliance and therapeutic outcome. The aim of the study is to compare the efficacy of vilazodone and escitalopram in the treatment of patients with newly diagnosed major depressive disorder in a prospective study. Methods: 200 patients attending the psychiatry out-patient department diagnosed with major depressive disorder were assessed and enrolled into vilazodone 40 mg and escitalopram 20 mg treatment groups. Hamilton depression rating scale score (HDRS) was used to assess the severity of depression disorder at regular intervals. Results: Maximum cases were in the 21-30 age group and minimum cases in above 60 years age group. Males contributed maximum to number of depression cases with respect to females in both the treatment groups. Both escitalopram and vilazodone therapy group showed onset of improvement at the end of 1st week. The efficacy of both treatment arms in reducing HDRS is comparable till 2nd week of treatment, but at 6 th month vilazodone was more efficacious than escitalopram therapy. Conclusions: Escitalopram tablet given once/twice daily is significantly effective in reducing HDRS score as early as 2 nd week. At 6 th month vilazodone tablet was more efficacious than escitalopram therapy. Vilazodone is safe with fewer adverse effects as compared to escitalopram.
Severity of Coronary Artery Disease in Prediabetic Patients Undergoing Elective Coronary Angiography

Introduction Our objective was to determine the severity frequency of coronary artery disease (CAD) in prediabetes patients undergoing coronary angiography (CAG) in a catheterization laboratory. Materials and methods This descriptive comparative study was conducted on patients who were planned for elective CAG in the hospital from January 2019 to November 2019. The study includes patients age ≥40 years undergoing elective CAG with or without percutaneous coronary intervention/percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty. There were 458 patients (381 men and 77 women) in this study that were categorized into three groups on the basis on their glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels: group I (n = 143) as non-diabetes, group II (n = 110) as prediabetes, and group III (n = 205) as diabetes. The severity of CAD was determined using the Gensini score. Results A total of 458 patients were included. Of these, 44.97% had hypertension; n = 36 (25.17%), n = 48 (43.63%), and n = 122 (59.51%) in group I, group II and group III, respectively (P = .0001). A total of 214 (46.72%) had a smoking history. There was a strong family history of CAD in group II (n = 29, 26.36%) and group III (n = 43, 20.98%). Group II and group III patients had a higher extension of CAD than group I (P = .01). Group II (n = 27, 41.54) and group III (n = 65, 50.39%) had a higher frequency of deployment of two stents compared to group I. Conclusion Coronary artery atherosclerosis disease increases parallel to the HbA1c severity and smoking. The present study emphasizes prediabetes as an independent risk factor for CAD.
The River Odra Estuary as a gateway for alien species immigration to the Baltic Sea Basin

The river Odra estuary belongs to those water bodies in the Baltic Sea area which are most exposed to immigration of alien species. Non-indigenous species that have appeared in the Szczecin Lagoon (i.a. Dreissena polymorpha, Potamopyrgus antipodarum, Corophium curvispinum) and in the Pomeranian Bay (Cordylophora caspia, Mya arenaria, Balanus improvisus, Acartia tonsa) in historical time and which now are dominant components of animal communities there as well as other and less abundant (or less common) alien species in the estuary (e.g. Branchiura sowerbyi, Eriocheir sinensis, Orconectes limosus) are presented. In addition, other newcomers - Marenzelleria viridis, Gammarus tigrinus, and Pontogammarus robustoides - found in the estuary in the recent ten years are described, The significance ofthe sea and inland water transport in the region for introduction of non-indigenous species is discussed against the background of the distribution pattern of these recently introduced polychaete and gammarid species.