Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Medicare claims analysis of agents used to manage dementia-related psychosis: a treatment pattern study

Currently, no agents are approved in the USA to treat dementia-related psychosis. After failure of a nonpharmacologic approach to treatment, antipsychotics or divalproex is often prescribed. We characterized existing treatment patterns in patients with dementia-related psychosis. Medicare claims data from 2008 to 2016 were used to identify patients with dementia-related psychosis. The agents and associated dosages prescribed, time to first use, and patterns of use were evaluated for agents prescribed to treat dementia-related psychosis. In total, 49 509 patients were identified as having dementia-related psychosis. Over three-quarters (76.8%) received an antipsychotic or divalproex. The most prescribed first-line agents were quetiapine (30.5%), risperidone (19.5%), and divalproex (11.2%). More than 80% of patients received a low dose of an agent, and 65.5% switched or discontinued their first-line treatment during a mean follow-up period of 1.8 years. In the absence of US FDA-approved therapies to treat dementia-related psychosis, treatment after behavioral intervention involves frequent use of low-dose antipsychotics or divalproex. The high rate of treatment switching or discontinuation is consistent with current treatment guidelines and suggests a need for an improved, standardized pharmacological approach to treat dementia-related psychosis.
AQUISIÇÃO INTERNACIONAL DE EMPRESAS: MUDANÇA DE VALORES DO GRUPO DIRIGENTE INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ACQUISITION: CHANGE OF SENIOR MANAGEMENT

This paper analyses the acquisition of a Brazilian company by an American, to identify changes in senior management values. The empirical research is grounded on a case study. Data was gathered from (1) primary sources – semi-structured interviews with actual, former managers and direct observation, and (2) secondary sources – company documents. Data analysis was based on document analysis and content analysis methods. The research findings indicate that the acquisition process changed senior management values. Before the acquisition, these values were secrecy, control, cost control, conformism, informality and investment. After the acquisition, these values changed to standardization, cost control, communication, information, responsibility and planning. The most significant change the company is facing after the acquisition is moving from limited information and centralized decision-making scenario, to one based on shared information and decision, in accordance with the acquiring company model.
A Review of Key Affordances of E-Business Technology and Related Constraints in Africa

The purpose of the paper is to discuss the key affordances of e-business technology and the related constraints in Africa. E-business technology is not only a main feature of today’s e-business environment, the affordances it brings facilitates the smooth conducts of e-business in many ways. The role of information systems have expanded over time and e-business has been a beneficiary of this expansion and has seen a transformation from its use of information systems to support single work systems in an organisation to supporting several and sometimes overlapping work systems within organisations in national and international borders. Using a theory of affordance, the paper reviews the notion that e-business technologies have affordances that characterise today’s e-business and how these affordances facilitate e-business. It argues that a clear articulation of these affordances would not only aid the understanding of e-business technologies but also how it can be used to facilitate as well as support e-business in Africa. The review portrays that e-business technology affords businesses the opportunity to reach over 1 billion users globally and connect them to millions of diverse products. It also provides rich and detailed product information on over 20 billion plus pages indexed by Google, whilst offering personalized messages for users. In the midst of diversity of several business across the globe, it also offers the chance for easy collaboration and communication through partnerships and affiliations. These affordances are better clarified through Gibson theory of affordance. Tapping the full benefits of the e-business technology affordance could easily be realised without any impediments. However, there are some constraints that may impede the smooth facilitation and effective utilisation of these affordances. These constraints do not only inhibit the facilitation of e-business, it also have implications for IS research, practice and policy.
Electrocardiogram (ECG) dengan Noise Reduction Berbasis Wavelet Menggunakan Pemrograman LabVIEW Electrocardiogram (ECG) with Noise Reduction Based on Wavelet Using LabVIEW Programming

Electrocardiogram (ECG) was recorded electrical signals produced by the body from the heart using electrodes placed on the surface of the body. Electrocardiograph is an electrical activity that are important in diagnosing cardiac disorders such as myocardial infarction, conduction defects, and arrhythmia. But in fact, the ECG signal is often contaminated by a noise. Therefore it is necessary an ECG signal processing is capable of addressing the issue. Where to ECG feature extraction and detection of QRS complex needs a technique to overcome the baseline wandering and minimize disturbance in the ECG signal. In this paper noise reduction techniques that will be used is based on wavelet Daubechies 04 (db 04) with decomposition level 3. The algorithm was developed using Advanced Signal Processing Tool (ASPT) LabVIEW programming. In this study, of the five types tested wavelet (Haar, Daubechies 02, Daubechies 03, Daubechies Daubechies 04 and 06), the type of wavelet that delivers the best RMSE values are Daubechies 04. Because it can do a enhancement value is good for AWGN 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4 with the percentage value of 2.69%, 4.97% ,7.97%, and 11.31 %. Keyword : Signal ECG, Noise Reduction, Wavelet, and LabVIEW
Design, modelling and optimisation of an isolated small hydropower plant using pumped storage hydropower and control techniques.

Renewable energy source availability is enormous in Africa. The quantity of each is adequate to generate the required power for the day to day activities. These energy sources can serve as stand-alone or even supply power to national grids, but the truth is these sources are underutilised, thereby hindering technological, economic and social growth resulting in poor infrastructural development in many areas within the continent. This paper reviewed hydropower potentials with more emphasis on small hydro-power potentials. Small conventional power generation method has been combined with a pumped storage system to generate power. Advantages and disadvantages of engaging pumped storage hydro-power (PSH) system, the possibility of solving power demand and management forecast through its use for power storage and generation purposes, availability in Africa and global distribution are also reviewed. There are great potentials in small hydropower generation for sustainable development in Africa. Favourable policies are also needed to achieve this.
An Efficient Spam Filtering Techniques for Email Account

Unsolicited emails, known as spam, are one of the fast growing and costly problems associated with the Internet today. Electronic mail is used daily by millions of people to communicate around the globe and is a mission-critical application for many businesses. Over the last decade, unsolicited bulk email has become a major problem for email users. An overwhelming amount of spam is flowing into user's mailboxes daily. Not only is spam frustrating for most email users, it strains the IT infrastructure of organizations and costs businesses billions of dollars in lost productivity. The necessity of effective spam filters increases. In this paper, we presented an efficient spam filter techniques to spam email based on Naive Bayes Classifier. Bayesian filtering works by evaluating the probability of different words appearing in legitimate and spam mails and then classifying them based on those probabilities.
Mobility Assessment and Rehabilitation in a Case of an Old Person Suffering Triple Humeral Fracture

As the concern for the welfare of elderly people is rather poor in our country, unlike the other countries in the EU, it is a legitimate priority to look for improvements of the situation. Therefore the paper aims at presenting a non-invasive and creative procedure that allows the assessment and helps the rehabilitation of elderly people who suffer various physical traumas and are also affected by other diseases like high blood pressure, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, etc. A case study is developed as a model for other future assessments and procedures in order to open new opportunities for the improvement of elderly people life quality.
Indoor Positioning: Opportunities and Implementation Strategies of Bluetooth Low Energy

We spend 90% of our time indoors. Buildings became larger and more complex (international airports, subway stations, shopping malls or hospitals for example). Our behaviour has changed. Given the possibilities of ubiquitous technology, we are used to finding out what our position is whenever we want – so far almost exclusively outdoors, however. We have little data on where and how people move indoors. There are various technologies for Indoor Positioning, but none of them dominates the market because of the very different requirements of the large range of applications. With Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE or Bluetooth Smart), a new technology has entered the market, and using it for Indoor Positioning is currently at the forefront of developments. Common positioning methods based on BLE include lateration, angulation, fingerprinting and proximity solutions. Most of them are based on the Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI). The RSSI correlates with the distance between transmitter and receiver antenna. However, the link is not as continuous as mathematical models suggest. The RSSI is influenced by many variables, some of which can be controlled and others not. This paper sums up general BLE positioning methods and the challenges they face with RSSI.
بررسی اثر N – استیل سیستئین و ویتامینهای E و C بر استرس اکسیداتیو القا شده با دیازینون در اریتروسیتهای موش صحرایی

Background and Objective: Diazinon (DZN) as an organophosphate is used for household and agricultural pest control. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) and vitamins E and C against DZN-induced oxidative stress in rat erythrocytes. Materials and Methods: In present experimental study, male Wistar rats were randomly divided into eight groups: control group (corn oil as DZN solvent), DZN group (100 mg/kg), NAC group (160 mg/kg), vitamin E group (150 mg/kg), vitamin C group (200 mg/kg) group, and NAC+DZN group, vitamin E+DZN group and vitamin C+DZN group, all of which were given intraperitoneally. 24 hours after injection, blood was collected and erythrocytes were obtained. Then, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione S-transferase (GST) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities, as well as glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were determined by biochemical methods. Results: DZN increased SOD (p<0.001) and GST (p<0.01) activities and MDA (p<0.05) level and decreased CAT (p<0.01) and LDH (p<0.01) activities and GSH content in erythrocytes. Administration of antioxidants changed antioxidant enzymes activities, decreased MDA level and increased GSH level. Conclusion: NAC by increasing the synthesis of GSH and vitamins E and C by scavenging free radicals reduces DZN-induced oxidative stress, but they do not protect completely.
Robust options for decarbonization

Thomas Bruckner, born in 1966, completed his doctoral studies in theoretical physics at the University of Wurzburg, Germany. After four years at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), he led the research group on Energy System Optimization and Climate Protection at the Institute for Energy Engineering at the Technical University of Berlin (2000 – 2008). Currently, he holds the Chair of Energy Management and Sustainability at Leipzig University, Germany. He is a fellow of the Heisenberg Programme of the German Research Foundation (DFG), a visiting scientist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, and a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. His current research focuses on integrated assessment modelling and the investigation of liberalized energy markets facing climate protection constraints.
SheerMP: Optimized Streaming Analytics-as-a-Service over Multi-site and Multi-platform Settings

Analytics are in the core of many emerging applications and can greatly benefit from the abundance of data and the progress in the processing capabilities of modern hardware. Still, new challenges arise with the extreme complexity of deciding how to execute analytics workflows given the plethora of choices of various cloud providers, the fragmented nature of diverse Big Data technologies, and the difficult task of resource provisioning to dynamically satisfy the demands of running streaming analytics over time. In this paper, we demonstrate a prototype system that optimizes streaming analytics workflows across Big Data platforms and computer clusters. Our system is the first that (i) considers a multi-user setup, (ii) examines the availability of multiple (potentially, geo-dispersed) compute choices, and (iii) provides a holistic framework covering a wide variety of practical optimization and adaptive resource allocation scenarios over a variety of streaming Big Data platforms.
Estimating Heterogeneous Effects in Static Binary Response Panel Data Models

This paper considers estimating heterogeneous effects in panel data models when the outcome is binary. We argue that a common practice of splitting the sample and performing estimation separately for each subsample results in inconsistent estimators of heterogeneous parameters. The paper presents methods that account for a possibility of nonrandom sorting and produce consistent estimators of causal effects in two or more heterogeneous sub-populations. Monte Carlo simulations show that considered methods perform well in finite samples. As an empirical application, the paper studies gender differences in job satisfaction by occupation type. JEL Classifications: C33, C34, C35
Iterative Design and Prototyping of Computer Vision Mediated Remote Sighted Assistance

Remote sighted assistance (RSA) is an emerging navigational aid for people with visual impairments (PVI). Using scenario-based design to illustrate our ideas, we developed a prototype showcasing potential applications for computer vision to support RSA interactions. We reviewed the prototype demonstrating real-world navigation scenarios with an RSA expert, and then iteratively refined the prototype based on feedback. We reviewed the refined prototype with 12 RSA professionals to evaluate the desirability and feasibility of the prototyped computer vision concepts. The RSA expert and professionals were engaged by, and reacted insightfully and constructively to the proposed design ideas. We discuss what we learned about key resources, goals, and challenges of the RSA prosthetic practice through our iterative prototype review, as well as implications for the design of RSA systems and the integration of computer vision technologies into RSA.
Robust Localization for Intelligent Vehicles Based on Compressed Road Scene Map in Urban Environments

High-precision localization is an important task for intelligent vehicles. Previous studies have used the raw point cloud for mapping and localization. The problems with this method are the large storage requirement of the map for localization in large-scale areas, and the many meaningless points that do not contribute to localization, and may even degenerate localization results, and result in drift and failure in the map matching process. This paper presents a robust localization method for intelligent vehicles based on the proposed compressed road scene map to solve these problems. This work consists of three parts: mapping, map matching, and sensor fusion. For mapping, the point cloud is first converted to 3D occupancy grids, and the grids are projected on a plane perpendicular to the ground and parallel to the longitudinal direction. This will produce a 2D grid map, which we name a compressed road scene map because it can reflect the depth of the road scene. For map matching, a Monte Carlo framework is used to sample several hypothetical real-time compressed road scenes, and the normalized information distance is used to measure the similarity between the hypothetical real-time compressed road scenes and the compressed road scene map. For sensor fusion, vehicle motion data provided by the IMU and wheel encoders are fused with the map matching result. The experimental results show that the storage of the compressed road scene map decreases substantially compared with the raw point cloud. The robustness and precision of the proposed localization method is also demonstrated via real-vehicle experiments in large-scale areas.
Prototyping of a Mobile Restaurant Application from a User Experience Perspective

The use of smart phones and the areas in which smart phone solutions are provided have increased immensely over the past decade. However, one area which has not been as keen of adopting the smart phone approach is the restaurant area. This study aims to investigate the amenability of users to adapt to this approach and outlines the requirements and desires of such a product. It also presents a solution implemented as a high fidelity prototype. Creating an intuitive interface for a target audience with differing previous experience using smart phones can be very challenging and the choice of structure and contents is not as trivial as it may sound. By conducting extensive research in form of usability tests, interviews and observations, we developed a high-fidelity prototype based on an elaborate requirements specification. The results show that the users are, to a great extent, willing to use an application for restaurant related tasks. Together with the prototype, the study provide support for further development of similar applications.
Triploid forms’ karyotypes of spined loaches from the genus Cobitis (Actinopterygii: Cypriniformes: Cobitidae) of the upper Dnieper and Western Dvina rivers: Analysis of the triploids’ origin

Unisexual forms of lower vertebrates (fish, amphibians, and reptiles) reproduced by parthenogenesis, gynogenesis, or hybridogenesis are represented by diploids, triploids, or tetraploids, whose origin is associated with interspecific hybridization. Among fish species, the highest variability of unisexual polyploids was found in the genus Cobitis. The structure of their genomes and putative parental species holds great interest for the investigation in association with questions about possible evolutionary success. In particular, it serves to elucidate the possible high colonization properties of a few polyploid forms, in contrast to the local history of rather numerous hybrid forms with a limited distribution. Therefore, the aim of this study was to describe the karyotype structure of two newly discovered triploid forms of the genus Cobitis, to analyze their origin and putative parental species. The karyotype structure of 182 spined loach individuals from the Western Dvina River and 91 individuals from the upper Dnieper River of the Smolensk District of Russia was studied. A total of 121 studied individuals from the Western Dvina comprised triploid females with a chromosome number 74 and karyotype consisting of 13 meta-, 39 submeta-, and 22 subtelo-acrocentric chromosomes. Among loaches collected in the upper Dnieper River, 42 triploid females were found with 74 chromosome number including 23 meta-, 26 submeta-, and 25 subtelo-acrocentric chromosomes. Other individuals from both localities were karyologically identified as Cobitis taenia Linnaeus, 1758 with 2n = 48. The triploid form of spined loaches of the Western Dvina River most likely arose as a result of the hybridization of Cobitis tanaitica Bǎcescu et Mayer, 1969 and C. taenia. The range of C. tanaitica, whose karyotype is characterized by an evolutionarily fixed Y-autosomal translocation, is limited to the rivers of the northern coast of the Black Sea. Therefore, hybridization probably happened in late Pleistocene in the Dnieper River system, where both parental species occur. The triploid form that arose here is unique for the Baltic Sea basin. Probably, it colonized the Western Dvina through the artificial Berezinskaya water system (Berezina Canal = Daugava–Dnieper Canal), but at the same time it was forced out of its area of origin by other triploid forms which are now widespread there. According to the karyotype structure, the triploid form, common for both the upper and lower reaches of the Dnieper, has a trihybrid origin, with probable hybridization of Cobitis elongatoides Bǎcescu et Mayer, 1969, C. tanaitica, and yet unidentified species Cobitis sp. Both studied triploid forms are parts of unisexual-bisexual complexes, in which their putative diploid maternal species (C. tanaitica and C. elongatoides) are absent, and the role of the host species involved in reproduction belongs to C. taenia.
Retrieval of Red Solar-Induced Chlorophyll Fluorescence With TROPOMI on the Sentinel-5 Precursor Mission

Solar-Induced chlorophyll Fluorescence (SIF) retrieved from spaceborne hyperspectral measurements can provide a synoptic perspective on the functioning of photosynthetic active vegetation and algae. The TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) onboard the Sentinel-5 precursor mission provides data for the retrieval of SIF with an unprecedented resolution in the spatial and temporal dimensions. In this study, we propose an approach for the retrieval of the red SIF peak value (at around 685 nm) over both land and ocean from TROPOMI measurements. This approach exploits the solar Fraunhofer lines located in the spectral window of 669–686 nm to disentangle SIF from the solar radiation reflected by the surface–atmosphere system. First, through simulated TROPOMI-like datasets, we determine the proper parameter settings and demonstrate the feasibility of the approach for the red SIF retrieval from TROPOMI data. Then, the approach is applied to real TROPOMI measurements. The red SIF retrieved with the proposed approach for two months’ TROPOMI data is compared with another TROPOMI red SIF dataset and the marine normalized fluorescence line height (nFLH) product of the Aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). The comparisons display similar spatial distributions over both land and ocean for the weekly global composites. Especially, the comparison of the two red SIF datasets demonstrates good agreement overall, indicating consistency of the two retrieval approaches. The retrieval uncertainty for the weekly global composite is about 13% and 10% of the peak SIF value over land/ocean, respectively, which can be considered as satisfactory error thresholds for global SIF observations.
Behavioral Changes of Laying Hens in an Aviary System

The aim of this study was to investigate the behavioral changes of laying hens in an aviary system. In this study, 500 laying hens (Hyline brown) were held in an aviary system in a open-type poultry house. The behaviors of laying hens were recorded using CCD cameras and a digital video recorder. The data were scanned every 2 min to obtain an instantaneous behavioral sample. In the behaviors of laying hens, `Feeding` and `Drinking` increased from 3 d placing chick and stabilized after 5 d placing chick. `Perching` increased from 19:00 to 05:00, while `Nest visiting` increased from 06:00 to 18:00. `Aggressive behavior` decreased gradually after 5 d placing chick. These results suggest that the behaviors of laying hens are changed rapidly for about 5 days after placing chick and the behaviors of the laying hens are almost stabilized at 5 d placing chick.