Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Isolation of viruses from nasopharyngeal secretions: comparison of aspiration and swabbing as means of sample collection.

Le probleme discute est celui de l'utilisation d'un filtrat de selles humaines pour la determination de la dose infectieuse d'un rotavirus, sous l'angle de l'innocuite pour les volontaires. Les regles d'innocuite definies il y a plus de 20 ans ne sont pas suffisantes aujourd'hui et d'autres criteres sont necessaires
Effects of estrogen therapy on postmenopausal sleep quality regardless of vasomotor symptoms: a randomized trial

Abstract Objective To determine the effects of estrogen therapy on objective sleep quality in insomniac postmenopausal women without severe vasomotor symptoms and/or recognized hot flushes during sleep. Study design Randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial, parallel design (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01501422). Methods Forty insomniac postmenopausal women with no severe vasomotor symptoms and/or recognized hot flushes during sleep were randomized into 2 months’ treatment with a 50-μg transdermal estradiol patch or placebo. Sleep quality was determined objectively with wrist actigraphy. Sleep efficiency, total sleep time, wake up after sleep onset and number of awakenings were compared before and after treatment. The Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) questionnaires were used for subjective sleep quality assessment before and after treatment. Results The study showed no significant difference in sleep efficiency improvement between women having estrogen alone or placebo (median 85.7% vs. 85.2%, respectively, p = 0.71). Similarly, sleep quality scores assessed by ISI and ESS were not significantly different. Conclusion Estrogen therapy in insomniac postmenopausal women without severe vasomotor symptoms and/or recognized hot flushes during sleep was not found to improve sleep efficiency during the study period.
Influence of Early Literacy Parental Involvement on Science Achievement of Junior Secondary School Students in Nigeria

Influence of early literacy on science achievement of Junior Secondary School students was examined in this study. The sample consisted of 360 Junior Secondary School II (JSSII) students(162 females and 198 males, mean age 13.47years, SD= 0.746) randomly selected from 12 co-educational junior secondary schools in Osun state, Nigeria. An achievement test (Integrated Science Achievement Test, ‘INSAT’) and a questionnaire (Early Literacy Parent Involvement Questionnaire, ‘ELIPIQ’) were used for data collection. The Cronbach coefficient alpha value for the questionnaire was found to be 0.62 while Reliability estimates of 0.74 was established for the achievement test. Findings revealed that: of the 360 parents involved in this study, only about 20.8% were highly involved in their children’s early literacy acquisition; parental involvement in literacy acquisition of boys was more than that of girls, though this difference was not significant; a positive relationship between parental involvement in early literacy acquisition and students’ science achievement was found and, parental involvement in children’s early literacy acquisition predicted only 0.280 (28%) of the variation of achievement in science (R2 = 0.280) and a positive but weak (r =0.183) significant relationship between parents’ educational attainment and their involvement in literacy acquisition of their children was also found. It was therefore recommended that parents should be more involved in early literacy acquisition of their children by spending time to read with them, share stories, recite rhymes, jingles, poetry, and so on.
Evaluation of sacroiliac joint interventions: a systematic appraisal of the literature.

BACKGROUND The sacroiliac joint has been implicated as a source of low back and lower extremity pain. There are no definite historical, physical, or radiological features that can definitively establish a diagnosis of sacroiliac joint pain. Based on the present knowledge, an accurate diagnosis is made only by controlled sacroiliac joint diagnostic blocks. The sacroiliac joint has been shown to be a source of pain in 10% to 27% of suspected patients with chronic low back pain utilizing controlled comparative local anesthetic blocks. STUDY DESIGN A systematic review of diagnostic and therapeutic sacroiliac joint interventions. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the accuracy of diagnostic sacroiliac joint interventions and the utility of therapeutic sacroiliac joint interventions. METHODS The literature search was carried out by searching the databases of PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane reviews. Methodologic quality assessment of included studies was performed using the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) methodologic quality criteria for diagnostic accuracy and observational studies, whereas randomized trials were evaluated utilizing the Cochrane review criteria. Only studies with scores of 50 or higher were included for assessment. Level of evidence was based on the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) criteria. OUTCOME MEASURES For diagnostic interventions, the outcome criteria included at least 50% pain relief coupled with a patient's ability to perform previously painful maneuvers with sustained relief using placebo-controlled or comparative local anesthetic blocks. For therapeutic purposes, outcomes included significant pain relief and improvement in function and other parameters. Short-term relief for therapeutic interventions was defined as 6 months or less, whereas long-term effectiveness was defined as greater than 6 months. RESULTS The indicated level of evidence is II-2 for the diagnosis of sacroiliac joint pain utilizing comparative, controlled local anesthetic blocks. The prevalence of sacroiliac joint pain is estimated to range between 10% and 38% using a double block paradigm in the study population. The false-positive rate of single, uncontrolled, sacroiliac joint injections is 20% to 54%. The evidence for provocative testing to diagnose sacroiliac joint pain is Level II-3 or limited. For radiofrequency neurotomy the indicated evidence is limited (Level II-3) for short- and long-term relief. LIMITATIONS The limitations of this systematic review include the paucity of literature evaluating the role of both diagnostic and therapeutic interventions and widespread methodological flaws. CONCLUSIONS The indicated evidence for the validity of diagnostic sacroiliac joint injections is Level II-2. The evidence for the accuracy of provocative maneuvers in the diagnosing of sacroiliac joint pain is limited (Level II-3). The evidence for radiofrequency neurotomy is also limited (Level II-3).
Heteronormativity, homophobia and ‘culture’ arguments in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Despite a progressive Constitution and affirming legislation, sexual and gender minorities experience discrimination in South Africa. This reflects the ongoing impact of heteronormativity, ‘culture’ arguments and violence in suppressing non-normative sexual and gender identities. In the present study we conducted interviews with eight young, lesbian women and gay men in eThekwini municipality in KwaZulu-Natal province. Three major themes emerged: Language and constructions of gender and sexuality; Experiences of homophobia; and Challenging ‘culture’ arguments. Participants tended to replicate heteronormativity and traditional understandings of gender in their lives; they experienced homophobia and homophobic violence; and they challenged homophobic ‘culture’ arguments.
A clinical study of the combined use of bromocriptine and speech and language therapy in the treatment of a person with aphasia

Background: Bromocriptine has been used in previous studies to treat people with non-fluent aphasia with varying levels of success. Aims: This single case study set out to describe the effect of a 30 mg dose of bromocriptine on the behaviour, cognition and linguistic skills of a person with aphasia post-cerebrovascular accident. Methods & Procedures: The participant received speech and language therapy alone and combined with the drug. Four testing points were made to examine the effects of bromocriptine: (1) at baseline before the drug was administered, (2) once the drug reached 30 mg dosage, (3) after the combined speech and language therapy and drug regime and (4) after drug and therapy withdrawal. Outcomes & Results: The participant responded on all behavioural measures to the use of bromocriptine. The combined use of speech and language therapy with bromocriptine provided clear improvements in the participant’s overall behaviours and specifically in her verbal output. Conclusions: There is a case for the careful and correct selection of participants to use bromocriptine in combination with speech and language therapy. People who are adynamic, have non-fluent Broca’s type or transcortical motor type aphasia may benefit from this combined treatment.
Coupled Markovian Arrival Process for Automotive Machine Type Communication traffic modeling

Automotive Machine Type Communication (MTC) features three groups of applications: safety, road traffic efficiency and infotainment. The concrete set of automotive applications is yet uncertain. This application uncertainty and, thus communication traffic uncertainty, directly translates into the need for a highly flexible traffic model. Traffic model is required in order to chose appropriate communication technology, to perform accurate network dimensioning and for resource scheduling. The challenge for automotive MTC traffic modeling is in high individual and aggregated traffic complexity, e.g., bursty arrival distributions, as well as traffic correlation in space and time. To flexibly address this challenge, we present a traffic model based on Coupled Markovian Arrival Process (CMAP). CMAP models traffic of each individual user, and can include time and space correlation of users. We evaluate CMAP performance in learning multimodal complex inter-arrival time distributions and compare it to the reference traffic models that are limited to exponential inter-arrival time modeling. We show that, for bursty traffic, exponential inter-arrival time distribution results in significant traffic overestimation, while CMAP accurately captures the traffic.
A randomised prospective trial of the obstetric forceps versus vacuum extraction using defined criteria

The objective of this study was to determine the safety of obstetrics forceps when used under strictly defined criteria compared to vacuum extraction for delivery in the second stage of labour. A randomised prospective trial was performed on 442 women undergoing instrumental delivery in the second stage. Two hundred and four women were in the forceps group and 238 in the vacuum group. When using forceps traction efforts to deliver the baby were kept to less than three and the head was always delivered in the occipito-anterior position. In the two groups there were no significant difference in the incidence of third-degree perineal tears, post-partum haemorrhage or ruptured uterus. Cervical tears were slightly higher in the forceps group. Babies delivered by vacuum extraction showed a higher incidence of cephalhaematomas. There was no significant difference in babies needing resuscitation at birth, admission to neonatal intensive care unit, stillbirth or neonatal death rates. The failure rate was significantly higher in the vacuum group. The time taken to complete the procedure was significantly less in the forceps group. Forceps deliveries when performed under defined criteria are as safe as vacuum deliveries to the mother with a lesser failure rate and a lower incidence of cephalhaematomas in the neonate compared with vacuum deliveries.
HIV-1 Vpr Causes Neuronal Apoptosis and In Vivo Neurodegeneration

Despite the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy, dementia caused by human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) infection remains a devastating and common neurological disorder. Although the mechanisms governing neurodegeneration during HIV-1 infection remain uncertain, the HIV-1 accessory protein, viral protein R (Vpr), has been proposed as a neurotoxic protein. Herein, we report that Vpr protein and transcript were present in the brains of HIV-infected persons. Moreover, soluble Vpr caused neuronal apoptosis, involving cytochrome c extravasation, p53 induction, and activation of caspase-9 while exerting a depressive effect on whole-cell currents in neurons (p < 0.05), which was inhibited by iberiotoxin. Vpr-activated glial cells secreted neurotoxins in a concentration-dependent manner (p < 0.001). Transgenic (Tg) mice expressing Vpr in brain monocytoid cells displayed the transgene principally in the basal ganglia (p < 0.05) and cerebral cortex (p < 0.01) compared with hindbrain expression. Vpr was released from cultured transgenic macrophages, which was cytotoxic to neurons and was blocked by anti-Vpr antibody (p < 0.05). Neuronal injury was observed in Tg animals compared with wild-type littermates, chiefly affecting GAD65 (p < 0.01) and vesicular acetylcholine transferase (p < 0.001) immunopositive neuronal populations in the basal ganglia. There was also a loss of subcortical synaptophysin (p < 0.001) immunoreactivity as well as an increase in activated caspase-3, which was accompanied by a hyperexcitable neurobehavioral phenotype (p < 0.05). Thus, HIV-1 Vpr caused neuronal death through convergent pathogenic mechanisms with ensuing in vivo neurodegeneration, yielding new insights into the mechanisms by which HIV-1 injures the nervous system.
Recent Applications of Fluorescence Recovery after Photobleaching (FRAP) to Membrane Bio-Macromolecules

This review examines some recent applications of fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) to biopolymers, while mainly focusing on membrane protein studies. Initially, we discuss the lateral diffusion of membrane proteins, as measured by FRAP. Then, we talk about the use of FRAP to probe interactions between membrane proteins by obtaining fundamental information such as geometry and stoichiometry of the interacting complex. Afterwards, we discuss some applications of FRAP at the cellular level as well as the level of organisms. We conclude by comparing diffusion coefficients obtained by FRAP and several other alternative methods.
Glutathione S-Transferases in Pediatric Cancer

The glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) are a family of ubiquitously expressed polymorphic enzymes important for detoxifying endogenous and exogenous compounds. In addition to their classic activity of detoxification by conjugation of compounds with glutathione, many other functions are now found to be associated with GSTs. The associations between GST polymorphisms/functions and human disease susceptibility or treatment outcome, mostly in adults, have been extensively studied and reviewed. This mini review focuses on studies related to GST epidemiology and functions related to pediatric cancer. Opportunities to exploit GST in pediatric cancer therapy are also discussed.
Monitoring of Internal and External Error Signals

Abstract: In the present study, a modified version of the Eriksen Flanker Task has been used to study event-related potentials (ERPs) elicited by correct responses, response errors, and invalid negative response feedback following correct button presses (“PC-error trials”). Conventional error potentials (error related negativity [ERN/Ne]; error-positivity [Pe]) were observed after incorrect button presses but not following negative response feedback in PC-error trials. Furthermore, a late positive deflection occurred specifically after PC-errors (Late positivity [PL]), which might reflect a conscious processing of these unexpected events. The results imply some restrictions for the notion that the ERN/Ne reflects the activity of a general and “generic” neural error-detection system in the human brain. Furthermore, the existence of an “event-detection system” is indicated, which might be involved in the processing of events that violate learned expectations.
Reversal by naloxone of the spinal antinociceptive actions of a systemically‐administered NSAID

1 Possible interactions between non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and endogenous opioids were examined in electrophysiological experiments in α‐chloralose anaesthetized spinalized rats without or with carrageenan‐induced acute inflammation of one hindpaw. Spinal reflex responses, monitored as single motor unit discharges, were elicited by noxious pinch and electrical stimuli. 2 The μ‐opioid agonist, fentanyl, was an effective depressant of reflexes under all conditions (ED50 6–14 μg kg−1, i.v.). In rats without peripheral inflammation the NSAID, flunixin, a niflumic acid derivative, had only a small effect that was not dose‐dependent. However, in animals with unilateral inflammation, flunixin reduced spinal reflexes evoked both by noxious pinch stimuli (that activate peripheral nociceptors; ID50 4 mg kg−1, i.v.) and by electrical stimuli (that bypass nociceptor endings; ID50 6.5–11 mg kg−1, i.v.), indicating that it has a central site of action at doses comparable to those used clinically. 3 The opioid antagonist, naloxone (1 mg kg−1, i.v.), reversed all actions of fentanyl. It did not reverse the small effects that flunixin had in rats without inflammation, showing that the NSAID is not a direct opioid agonist. In rats with carrageenan‐induced inflammation of the hindpaw, however, naloxone fully reversed or prevented the antinociception by flunixin, but not that by the α2‐adrenoceptor agonist, medetomidine. 4 We conclude that under conditions of peripheral inflammation and the resultant central changes, the NSAID, flunixin, has antinociceptive actions that are mediated by endogenous opioids acting within the spinal cord.
Reasons for the growth of traditional memory span across age

Three studies, covering together the age range from 3 to 16 years, show the relationships between age, short-term memory span, and language abilities. The growth of the traditional memory span in childhood is systematically related to a concomitant growth of language abilities as tested with CELF-3 Screening, two tests of word knowledge, a test of reception of grammar (TROG-2), and the British Picture Vocabulary Test (BPVS). Linear regression and ANCOVA analyses show that the growth of memory span is fully explained by the growth of language abilities in the three studies that covered different subsamples of children. In a confirmatory factor analysis a two-factor model fits the data well and shows that a “crystallised” language factor is strongly related to age, whereas a “fluid” short-term memory factor is unrelated to age. The two-factor model gives support to Baddeley's multicomponent model of working memory, and the current data suggest that the capacity of the phonological store is fully developed in children younger than 4 years old. The authors hold that chunking capacity, highly dependent on language abilities, is a major source of memory span growth with age. Rather than an increase in the number of chunks, or episodes retained in short-term memory (=chunk span), it is argued that childhood memory span development reflects an increase in the size of each chunk (=chunking capacity).
The Campfire Effect: A Preliminary Analysis of Preservice Teachers' Beliefs About Teaching English Language Learners After State-Mandated Endorsement Courses

Abstract This article focuses on the influence that Arizona's mandated Structured English Immersion endorsement policy has on preservice teachers' beliefs and attitudes toward English language learners. By utilizing both quantitative and qualitative methods of inquiry, our preliminary analysis showed “the campfire effect,” which is to say that our undergraduate students overwhelmingly reported that the endorsement courses had a positive result on both their confidence and underlying ideological beliefs about teaching English language learners. The campfire effect, therefore, is an important step in the teacher learning process, particularly with such controversial topics as the education of culturally and linguistically diverse students.
The importance of self-efficacy in the moderating effects of social support on stressor–strain relationships

Abstract Occupational stress research offers inconsistent findings on the moderating effects of social support on the stressor–strain relationship. This study contributes to the research literature by examining how social support's moderating effect is dependent on one's self-efficacy. Ninety-six US military police soldiers completed two surveys 3 months apart. The results showed that three out of four regression equations had significant three-way interactions. Organizational constraints×supervisor support×self-efficacy had statistically significant interactions in the prediction of job satisfaction and psychological well-being. Organizational constraints×co-worker support×self-efficacy had a significant interaction in the predicted of psychological well-being. These interactions explained between 5% and 10% of the variance in the dependent variables. Social support buffered the stressor–strain relationship when self-efficacy was high and reverse buffered the relationship when self-efficacy was low. These results indicate that interventions aimed at reducing strains by increasing social support should consider an individual's self-efficacy. Future research should consider incorporating content of communication to determine if high and low self-efficacy individuals receive or react differently to different types of communication content.
A Pólya Urn Document Language Model for Improved Information Retrieval

The multinomial language model has been one of the most effective models of retrieval for more than a decade. However, the multinomial distribution does not model one important linguistic phenomenon relating to term dependency—that is, the tendency of a term to repeat itself within a document (i.e., word burstiness). In this article, we model document generation as a random process with reinforcement (a multivariate Pólya process) and develop a Dirichlet compound multinomial language model that captures word burstiness directly. We show that the new reinforced language model can be computed as efficiently as current retrieval models, and with experiments on an extensive set of TREC collections, we show that it significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art language model for a number of standard effectiveness metrics. Experiments also show that the tuning parameter in the proposed model is more robust than that in the multinomial language model. Furthermore, we develop a constraint for the verbosity hypothesis and show that the proposed model adheres to the constraint. Finally, we show that the new language model essentially introduces a measure closely related to idf, which gives theoretical justification for combining the term and document event spaces in tf-idf type schemes.