Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Patient aspects: A review of fifty-eight Danish HTA reports

Objectives: The objective of this study is to describe how patient aspects are assessed in Danish HTA reports, thereby contributing to the ongoing international debates concerning patient aspects in HTAs. Methods: Fifty-eight Danish HTA reports published from 1999 to 2010 were read systematically, focusing on the inclusion of patient aspects, the methods used to generate data, and if and how clinical recommendations concerning patient aspects were drawn. Results: Most of the fifty-eight HTA reports had a separate chapter about patient aspects. All reports included literature reviews for patient aspects. There was, however, much variation in the ways in which the authors presented and discussed their review methods. The most frequently used databases for the literature search were medical and HTA databases. More than half of the reports included primary research, either quantitative or qualitative methods, a few used both kinds of methods. Whereas some mentioned the importance of including patient aspects in daily clinical practice, others provided ideas on how to improve patient information or recommended changes in healthcare practices. Conclusions: Danish HTA reports do, to a large extent, include patient aspects in the assessment and in the final conclusions of the reports. If health policy and decision making is to be patient-focused, it is important that HTAs in the future integrate patient aspects in recommendations of HTA. Further improvement in assessments of patient aspects, in relation to use and description of methodologies and theoretical considerations, will assist producing the relevant evidence for these recommendations.
Fusion of Tracks with Road Constraints

This paper is concerned with tracking of ground targets on roads and investigates possible ways to improve target state estimation via fusing a target’s track with information about the road along which the target is traveling. A target track is estimated using a surveillance radar whereas a digital map provides the road network of the region under surveillance. When the information about roads is as accurate as (or even better than) radar measurements, it is desired naturally to incorporate such information (fusion) into target state estimation. In this paper, roads are modeled with analytic functions and their fusion with a target track is cast as linear or nonlinear state constraints in an optimization procedure. The constrained optimization is then solved with the Lagrangian multiplier, leading to a closed-form solution for linear constraints and an iterative solution for second-order nonlinear constraints. Geometric interpretations of the solutions are provided for special cases. Compared to other methods, the track-to-road fusion using the constrained optimization technique can be easily implemented as an add-on module without changes to an existing tracker. For curved roads with coarse waypoints, the nonlinear constrained solution outperforms the piecewise linearized constrained approach. Computer simulation results are presented to illustrate the algorithms.
Comparative evaluation of potential indicators and temporal sampling protocols for monitoring genetic erosion

Genetic biodiversity contributes to individual fitness, species' evolutionary potential, and ecosystem stability. Temporal monitoring of the genetic status and trends of wild populations' genetic diversity can provide vital data to inform policy decisions and management actions. However, there is a lack of knowledge regarding which genetic metrics, temporal sampling protocols, and genetic markers are sufficiently sensitive and robust, on conservation‐relevant timescales. Here, we tested six genetic metrics and various sampling protocols (number and arrangement of temporal samples) for monitoring genetic erosion following demographic decline. To do so, we utilized individual‐based simulations featuring an array of different initial population sizes, types and severity of demographic decline, and DNA markers [single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and microsatellites] as well as decline followed by recovery. Number of alleles markedly outperformed other indicators across all situations. The type and severity of demographic decline strongly affected power, while the number and arrangement of temporal samples had small effect. Sampling 50 individuals at as few as two time points with 20 microsatellites performed well (good power), and could detect genetic erosion while 80–90% of diversity remained. This sampling and genotyping effort should often be affordable. Power increased substantially with more samples or markers, and we observe that power of 2500 SNPs was nearly equivalent to 250 microsatellites, a result of theoretical and practical interest. Our results suggest high potential for using historic collections in monitoring programs, and demonstrate the need to monitor genetic as well as other levels of biodiversity.
Relationship Between Self-Esteem And Personal Development Of Prison Inmates In Jalingo, Taraba State Nigeria

This research highlights the relationship between self-esteem and personal development of prison inmates in the Jalingo prison in Taraba state. Additionally, it aimed to identify whether there are differences in self esteem between male and female inmates. The objectives of this study were achieved by sampling two hundred and fifty inmates from the Jalingo prison drawn for the study. The research instruments developed were a twenty- item questionnaire used for the pre-test and post-test. The instruments were tagged Self-Esteem Questionnaire (SEQ) and Personal Development Inventory (PDI). Inmates were randomly selected. The Pearson’s correlation formula and t-test were used for data analyses. The results of the study showed that Self-Esteem and Personal Development of Inmates are positively correlated (0.417). There is a significant difference in the level of personal development between male and female inmates and, no significant difference exists between self-esteem among male and female inmates. The study however, concluded that self esteem of inmates has a direct relationship with inmates’ personal development. Also, personal development of inmates differs according to gender but self esteem among inmates do not differ in terms of gender differential. It was recommended that government and especially, counsellors and prison officers should be aware of the link between self-esteem and personal development in inmates and should employ self esteem strategy as a rehabilitative technique among inmates. Key words : Development, Counseling, inmates, Prison, Self-Esteem
Dopamine D1 Receptor-Mediated Transmission Maintains Information Flow Through the Cortico-Striato-Entopeduncular Direct Pathway to Release Movements

In the basal ganglia (BG), dopamine plays a pivotal role in motor control, and dopamine deficiency results in severe motor dysfunctions as seen in Parkinson's disease. According to the well-accepted model of the BG, dopamine activates striatal direct pathway neurons that directly project to the output nuclei of the BG through D1 receptors (D1Rs), whereas dopamine inhibits striatal indirect pathway neurons that project to the external pallidum (GPe) through D2 receptors. To clarify the exact role of dopaminergic transmission via D1Rs in vivo, we developed novel D1R knockdown mice in which D1Rs can be conditionally and reversibly regulated. Suppression of D1R expression by doxycycline treatment decreased spontaneous motor activity and impaired motor ability in the mice. Neuronal activity in the entopeduncular nucleus (EPN), one of the output nuclei of the rodent BG, was recorded in awake conditions to examine the mechanism of motor deficits. Cortically evoked inhibition in the EPN mediated by the cortico-striato-EPN direct pathway was mostly lost during suppression of D1R expression, whereas spontaneous firing rates and patterns remained unchanged. On the other hand, GPe activity changed little. These results suggest that D1R-mediated dopaminergic transmission maintains the information flow through the direct pathway to appropriately release motor actions.
Knowledge and perceptions of filariasis in Colombo, Sri Lanka, among patients with chronic filarial lymphoedema

Abstract Knowledge of filariasis and perceptions of the disease were explored among 413 lymphoedema cases attending two filariasis clinics in the Colombo district of Sri Lanka. The information was collected in interviews based on a pre-tested, interviewer-administered questionnaire. Only 15% of the patients had initially attributed their limb swelling to filariasis. Most knew that filariasis resulted from mosquito bites (81.1%) and that the disease is transmissible (59.8%) and preventable (74.3%). The majority did not know, or were uncertain, whether filariasis causes swelling of the breasts in females (68.5%), scrotal swelling (60.7%) or dry cough/breathlessness (62.7%). Most (60%) of the interviewees wrongly believed that chronic filarial lymphoedema could be cured, primarily by long-term treatment with diethylcarbamazine. Knowledge of filariasis was significantly associated with level of education (P<0.05). Curiously, compared with the male interviewees, the females interviewed were much less likely to say that filariasis was the cause of their initial swelling (P<0.001). Those who had suffered with the disease for more than 1 year were not significantly more knowledgeable about the disease than the interviewees who had developed symptomatic filariasis more recently. Knowledge about the symptoms of filariasis was generally poor in the study population. In order to dispel several common myths about the disease, health-education programmes, that are targeted both at the community in general and at primary-care providers, are clearly needed.
Chitinase Expression in Listeria monocytogenes Is Positively Regulated by the Agr System

The food-borne pathogen Listeria monocytogenes encodes two chitinases, ChiA and ChiB, which allow the bacterium to hydrolyze chitin, the second most abundant polysaccharide in nature. Intriguingly, despite the absence of chitin in human and mammalian hosts, both of the chitinases have been deemed important for infection, through a mechanism that, at least in the case of ChiA, involves modulation of host immune responses. In this study, we show that the expression of the two chitinases is subject to regulation by the listerial agr system, a homologue of the agr quorum-sensing system of Staphylococcus aureus, that has so far been implicated in virulence and biofilm formation. We demonstrate that in addition to these roles, the listerial agr system is required for efficient chitin hydrolysis, as deletion of agrD, encoding the putative precursor of the agr autoinducer, dramatically decreased chitinolytic activity on agar plates. Agr was specifically induced in response to chitin addition in stationary phase and agrD was found to regulate the amount of chiA, but not chiB, transcripts. Although the transcript levels of chiB did not depend on agrD, the extracellular protein levels of both chitinases were reduced in the ΔagrD mutant. The regulatory effect of agr on chiA is potentially mediated through the small RNA LhrA, which we show here to be negatively regulated by agr. LhrA is in turn known to repress chiA translation by binding to the chiA transcript and interfering with ribosome recruitment. Our results highlight a previously unrecognized role of the agr system and suggest that autoinducer-based regulation of chitinolytic systems may be more commonplace than previously thought.
Tectonic development of the Samail ophiolite: High‐precision U‐Pb zircon geochronology and Sm‐Nd isotopic constraints on crustal growth and emplacement

New high‐precision single grain U‐Pb zircon geochronology and whole rock Nd isotopic data provide insight into the magmatic and tectonic development of the Samail ophiolite. The analyzed rocks can be broadly divided into two groups based on their structural position, dates, and isotopic composition: an older group related to on‐axis magmatism and a younger group of post‐ridge dikes, sills, and stocks. On‐axis gabbros, tonalites and trondhjemites yielded Th‐corrected 206Pb/238U dates from 96.441 ± 0.062 to 95.478 ± 0.056 Ma. These dates, combined with dates from Rioux et al. (2012), suggest that most of the ophiolite crust formed at an oceanic spreading center in <1 Ma. The post‐ridge intrusions come from all depths in the crust, the upper mantle, and the metamorphic sole. Post‐ridge gabbros, tonalites, and trondhjemites from the crust and mantle yielded Th‐corrected 206Pb/238U dates of 95.405 ± 0.062 to 95.077 ± 0.062 Ma. A small trondhjemitic pod from the metamorphic sole yielded younger Th‐corrected 206Pb/238U dates of 94.90 ± 0.38 to 94.69 ± 0.12 Ma. Isotopic data suggest two distinct sources for the post‐ridge magmas: five of the gabbros and tonalites from the crust have εNd(96 Ma) = 6.90 ± 0.12 to 7.88 ± 0.16, and two trondhjemites from the upper mantle and metamorphic sole have εNd(96 Ma) = −7.77 ± 0.08 and −7.01 ± 0.16. The negative εNd(t) and U‐Pb dates from the mantle dike require that subduction or thrusting was established below the ophiolite ≤0.25–0.5 Ma after formation of the crust. The bimodal isotopic composition of post‐ridge magmas may reflect coeval decompression and/or fluid fluxed melting of the mantle and melting, dehydration, or assimilation of sediment in the down going plate at this time. The new data place temporal constraints on mid‐ocean ridge and supra‐subduction zone models for ophiolite formation.
Dysregulation of the hypothalamo-pituitary axis in rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE To study the dynamic response of the hypothalamo-pituitary- adrenal axis and of prolactin (PRL) pituitary secretion in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS We performed a cortisol releasing hormone (CRH) provocation test followed by determination of adrenocorticotropin hormone (ACTH), beta-endorphin, and cortisol concentration, and then a thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) provocation test followed by assessment of PRL pituitary secretion in 10 patients with RA and 5 control subjects. All were women under 40 years of age. Hormone concentrations were assessed by radioimmunoassay. RESULTS Basal PRL cortisol, and ACTH concentrations were similar in patients with RA and controls. We observed a dissociation between the pituitary secretion of beta-endorphin and of ACTH in response to CRH in RA. The ACTH peak and total ACTH production (area under the curve, AUC) were similar in the 2 groups. In contrast, basal beta-endorphin was increased in RA (12.6 +/- 1.41 vs 8.29 +/- 0.144 pg/ml), and the response upregulated (AUC: 83,080 +/- 12,000 vs 54,200 +/- 2400) after CRH compared to controls (p < 0.05). Cortisol adrenal response curve was blunted, but did not reach statistical significance. In contrast, the PRL response to TRH was increased at 120 and 150 min (3461 +/- 303 vs 1897 +/- 520 muIU/ml)(p < 0.01) in patients with RA, independent of disease activity. CONCLUSION We observed upregulated pituitary PRL secretion in RA, and a dissociation of ACTH stress. The implication concerning the neuroendocrine system in the chronic immune response in RA is discussed.
Attitudes Toward Labor Held by Young Blue-Collar Workers at Industrial Enterprises in the Soviet Era and the Post-Soviet Period

As is well known, a worker’s attitude toward labor is to a considerable extent determined by his age. During the Soviet era this was the cause of many problems, such as the high turnover in cadres, very poor labor discipline, and the decline of labor’s role in the system of value orientations. Researchers pointed out that it was most often young workers who were let go [1], and the number of violations of labor discipline in the age group up to thirty was double that among forty-year-olds [2, p. 56]. Young blue-collar workers and specialists (especially up to the age of twenty-five) felt that they were discriminated against in terms of wages and salaries compared to older age groups [3].
Source versus object code extraction for recovering software architecture

The architecture of many large software systems is rarely documented and if documented it is usually out of date. To support developers maintaining and evolving these systems, an up to date view of the architecture could be recovered from the system's implementation. Source code or object code extractors may be used to recover the architecture. In this paper, we explore using two types of extractors (source code and object code extractors) to recover the architecture of several large open source systems. We then investigate the differences between the results produced by these extractors to gain a better understanding of the benefits and limitations of each type of extractor. Our experimental results show that both types of extractors have their benefits and limitations. For example, an object code extractor is easier to implement while a source code extractor recovers more dependencies that exist in the source code as seen by developers.
Ablation of Programmed −1 Ribosomal Frameshifting in Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus Results in Attenuated Neuropathogenicity

ABSTRACT The alphaviruses Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV), eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV), and western equine encephalitis virus (WEEV) are arthropod-borne positive-strand RNA viruses that are capable of causing acute and fatal encephalitis in many mammals, including humans. VEEV was weaponized during the Cold War and is recognized as a select agent. Currently, there are no FDA-approved vaccines or therapeutics for these viruses. The spread of VEEV and other members of this family due to climate change-mediated vector range expansion underscores the need for research aimed at developing medical countermeasures. These viruses utilize programmed −1 ribosomal frameshifting (−1 PRF) to synthesize the viral trans-frame (TF) protein, which has previously been shown to be important for neuropathogenesis in the related Sindbis virus. Here, the alphavirus −1 PRF signals were characterized, revealing novel −1 PRF stimulatory structures. −1 PRF attenuation mildly affected the kinetics of VEEV accumulation in cultured cells but strongly inhibited its pathogenesis in an aerosol infection mouse model. Importantly, the decreased viral titers in the brains of mice infected with the mutant virus suggest that the alphavirus TF protein is important for passage through the blood-brain barrier and/or for neuroinvasiveness. These findings suggest a novel approach to the development of safe and effective live attenuated vaccines directed against VEEV and perhaps other closely related −1 PRF-utilizing viruses. IMPORTANCE Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) is a select agent that has been weaponized. This arthropod-borne positive-strand RNA virus causes acute and fatal encephalitis in many mammals, including humans. There is no vaccine or other approved therapeutic. VEEV and related alphaviruses utilize programmed −1 ribosomal frameshifting (−1 PRF) to synthesize the viral trans-frame (TF) protein, which is important for neuropathogenesis. −1 PRF attenuation strongly inhibited VEEV pathogenesis in mice, and viral replication analyses suggest that the TF protein is critical for neurological disease. These findings suggest a new approach to the development of safe and effective live attenuated vaccines directed against VEEV and other related viruses.
Relationships of Thyroid Hormones with Polychlorinated Biphenyls, Dioxins, Furans, and DDE in Adults

Background Thyroid hormone homeostasis can be disrupted by exposure to ubiquitous and bioaccumulative organochlorines such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs). Whereas investigations of health effects have generally focused on human populations with relatively high exposures through occupation, accident, or high fish consumption, general population exposures may also carry risk. Methods We studied associations of total thyroxine (T4) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) with PCBs, dioxin-like toxic equivalents (TEQs), and p,p′-diphenyldichloroethene (DDE) in adult participants without thyroid disease who participated in the 1999–2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a cross-sectional survey examining a random sample representative of the U.S. population. Results We found inverse associations of total T4 with exposure to TEQs in both sexes, with stronger associations in females. In women, mean T4 was 8.2 μg/dL, and levels were on average 0.75 μg/dL lower (95% confidence interval, 0.04–1.46) in women in the highest quintile of TEQ exposure compared with the lowest two quintiles. Effects were stronger in people > 60 years of age, with negative associations of T4 with PCBs and TEQs, and positive associations of TSH with PCBs and TEQs in older women, and a negative association of TSH with PCBs in older men. Conclusions The data show a dose-dependent decrease in total T4 with exposure to TEQs at levels similar to those found in the general U.S. population. The effects were stronger in women. The results suggest that older adults, who have a high risk of thyroid disease, may be more at risk for disruption of thyroid hormone homeostasis by dioxin-like organochlorines than younger adults.
FlexSC: Flexible System Call Scheduling with Exception-Less System Calls

For the past 30+ years, system calls have been the de facto interface used by applications to request services from the operating system kernel. System calls have almost universally been implemented as a synchronous mechanism, where a special processor instruction is used to yield userspace execution to the kernel. In the first part of this paper, we evaluate the performance impact of traditional synchronous system calls on system intensive workloads. We show that synchronous system calls negatively affect performance in a significant way, primarily because of pipeline flushing and pollution of key processor structures (e.g., TLB, data and instruction caches, etc.). We propose a new mechanism for applications to request services from the operating system kernel: exception-less system calls. They improve processor efficiency by enabling flexibility in the scheduling of operating system work, which in turn can lead to significantly increased temporal and spacial locality of execution in both user and kernel space, thus reducing pollution effects on processor structures. Exception-less system calls are particularly effective on multicore processors. They primarily target highly threaded server applications, such as Web servers and database servers. We present FlexSC, an implementation of exceptionless system calls in the Linux kernel, and an accompanying user-mode thread package (FlexSC-Threads), binary compatible with POSIX threads, that translates legacy synchronous system calls into exception-less ones transparently to applications. We show how FlexSC improves performance of Apache by up to 116%, MySQL by up to 40%, and BIND by up to 105% while requiring no modifications to the applications.
Materialized Views Selection in a Multidimensional Database

A multidimensional database is a data repository that supports the efficient execution of complex business decision queries. Query response can be significantly improved by storing an appropriate set of materialized views. These views are selected from the multidimensional lattice whose elements represent the solution space of the problem. Several techniques have been proposed in the past to perform the selection of materialized views for databases with a reduced number of dimensions. When the number and complexity of dimensions increase, the proposed techniques do not scale well. The technique we are proposing reduces the soluticn space by considering only the relevant elements of the multidimensional lattice. An additional statistical analysis allows a further reduction of the solution space.