Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prevalence of blindness and visual impairment in Pakistan: the Pakistan National Blindness and Visual Impairment Survey.

PURPOSE To determine the prevalence of blindness and visual impairment in adults aged 30 years and older in Pakistan and to assess socio-demographic risk factors. METHODS Multistage, stratified (rural/urban), cluster random sampling, with probability proportional-to-size procedures, was used to select a nationally representative, cross-sectional sample of adults 30 years of age or older. Each subject was interviewed; had visual acuity measured (logMAR; logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution); and underwent autorefraction, biometry, and fundus-optic disc examination. Those with less than 6/12 acuity in either eye underwent a detailed ophthalmic examination, including corrected distance visual acuity measurement and dilated ophthalmoscopy. RESULTS A nationally representative sample of 16,507 adults (95.5% of those enumerated) was examined. The age- and gender-standardized prevalence of blindness was 2.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.4%-2.9%). It has been estimated that there are 1,140,000 (962,000-1,330,000) blind adults in Pakistan (2003 statistics). Blindness prevalence varied throughout the country, being highest in the provinces of Punjab and Baluchistan and lowest in the North West Frontier Province. Rural areas had a higher prevalence of blindness than did urban areas (3.8% vs. 2.5%, P < 0.001). Increasing age and being female were significantly associated with presenting visual acuity of <6/60 (odds ratio [OR], 2.5; 95% CI, 2.3-2.7 and 1.3; 95% CI, 1.1-1.5, respectively). Educational status was also associated with presenting visual acuity of <6/60. Subjects who had attended primary school were 60% (P < 0.001) less likely to have acuity of <6/60 than were subjects who had never been to school. CONCLUSIONS This comprehensive survey provides reliable estimates of the prevalence of visual impairment and blindness in Pakistan. A significant excess of visual impairment was found among the elderly and the uneducated. After adjustment for age differences, women were found to have a significant excess of severe visual impairment and blindness. Regional variations in the prevalence of blindness were also identified.
Democratization and International Border Agreements

Does the removal of salient external threats foster democratization? Recent research proposes an affirmative answer but either fails to examine democratization at the monadic level, to consider small-scale democratization, or to account for factors known to influence the democratization process. The current study addresses this deficit by (re)examining democratization during the period 1919–2006. The findings suggest a strong relationship between border settlement and democratization. A state that settles all of its interstate borders democratizes; any outstanding unsettled borders, however, prevent significant democratization. Furthermore, although border settlement contributes to democratization, it does not significantly affect democratic regime change. This empirical evidence cumulatively specifies a more precise relationship between external threat and democratization than previous work and thereby contributes directly to the recent debate between the territorial and democratic peace theories. It also suggests that democratization may proceed more readily if states address unsettled borders first.
Robust Vessel Segmentation in Fundus Images

One of the most common modalities to examine the human eye is the eye-fundus photograph. The evaluation of fundus photographs is carried out by medical experts during time-consuming visual inspection. Our aim is to accelerate this process using computer aided diagnosis. As a first step, it is necessary to segment structures in the images for tissue differentiation. As the eye is the only organ, where the vasculature can be imaged in an in vivo and noninterventional way without using expensive scanners, the vessel tree is one of the most interesting and important structures to analyze. The quality and resolution of fundus images are rapidly increasing. Thus, segmentation methods need to be adapted to the new challenges of high resolutions. In this paper, we present a method to reduce calculation time, achieve high accuracy, and increase sensitivity compared to the original Frangi method. This method contains approaches to avoid potential problems like specular reflexes of thick vessels. The proposed method is evaluated using the STARE and DRIVE databases and we propose a new high resolution fundus database to compare it to the state-of-the-art algorithms. The results show an average accuracy above 94% and low computational needs. This outperforms state-of-the-art methods.
Locating the Binding Sites of Pb(II) Ion with Human and Bovine Serum Albumins

Lead is a potent environmental toxin that has accumulated above its natural level as a result of human activity. Pb cation shows major affinity towards protein complexation and it has been used as modulator of protein-membrane interactions. We located the binding sites of Pb(II) with human serum (HSA) and bovine serum albumins (BSA) at physiological conditions, using constant protein concentration and various Pb contents. FTIR, UV-visible, CD, fluorescence and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) methods were used to analyse Pb binding sites, the binding constant and the effect of metal ion complexation on HSA and BSA stability and conformations. Structural analysis showed that Pb binds strongly to HSA and BSA via hydrophilic contacts with overall binding constants of KPb-HSA = 8.2 (±0.8)×104 M−1 and KPb-BSA = 7.5 (±0.7)×104 M−1. The number of bound Pb cation per protein is 0.7 per HSA and BSA complexes. XPS located the binding sites of Pb cation with protein N and O atoms. Pb complexation alters protein conformation by a major reduction of α-helix from 57% (free HSA) to 48% (metal-complex) and 63% (free BSA) to 52% (metal-complex) inducing a partial protein destabilization.
War has its own momentum : How windows of opportunity prevent negotiated settlements

Why do wars continue even when their original causes are resolved? I offer a rationalist explanation: wars end in a negotiated settlement only when wartime and peacetime balances of power are approximately equal. Since fighting tends to shift the wartime balance of power, war creates its own commitment problems which can preclude a peaceful settlement—even after its initial causes have become irrelevant. In contrast to previous work, I show how these commitment problems arise without any exogenous cause. Aside from the motivating puzzle, this finding accounts for two empirical trends: why costlier wars are shorter and more likely to end peacefully; and why wars are not more likely to end the longer they last, even though more information has been revealed. I then illustrate the model using the Iran-Iraq War. I also derive practical implications for military intervention and military strategy. The article concludes by proving that, for purely rational reasons, a peaceful settlement tends to become less likely the longer a war lasts.
RESEARCH RESULTS FOR QUALITY SCHOOLING: BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN RESEARCH AND PRACTICE

The quest for quality in education has been an avowed goal worldwide. The improvement of quality in school education depends largely on the research conducted in this field. The present study was conducted to know the extent of awareness of school teachers regarding researches conducted in school education and the problems faced by them in using the research results. The findings indicate that the teachers do not use research findings because they are not fully aware about the researches conducted, some of them do not understand the terminology used, while others find it difficult to access as these are printed in scattered form at different places. This study highlights some of the major factors accounting for the gaps that exist between the research and school practices and presents some strategic implementations to bridge this gap. The focus of the study is on getting research-based academic and non-academic practices into the hands of professionals for quality schooling.
An experimental analysis of Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP in Content Centric Networks

This paper presents the usage of CCN, which is a candidate for the next-generation Internet, in combination with the new Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (DASH) standard, which was recently ratified by ISO/IEC MPEG. In contrast to the Internet Protocol, which is mainly based on the host-to-host connection paradigm originated in the 1970s, Content Centric Networking (CCN) focuses on the content itself, instead of its location. Considering the dominance of multimedia traffic in todays' Internet, the streaming performance of DASH over CCN as well as the problems introduced by this combination is worth to be investigated in detail. Therefore, we evaluate the protocol overhead introduced by the usage of CCN compared to the HTTP versions 1.0 and 1.1. Furthermore, the performance of DASH over CCN under different network conditions is compared to the performance of HTTP 1.0/1.1. Our results showed that although CCN comes together with higher protocol overhead than HTTP 1.0/1.1 as well as a prototype implementation, it can definitely compete with HTTP 1.0 in media streaming. Based on the evaluation results, problems as well as improvement possibilities are identified, which are the basis for future work in this area.
The Effects of Globalization and Economic Growth on Income Inequality : Evidence for 24 OECD Countries

Using the World Income Inequality Database and static and dynamic panel data analyses, this paper analyses the correlation between income inequality in the OECD countries and economic globalization, measured by trade openness and foreign direct investment, for the period 1995-2007. The static analysis, conducted by means of the fixedeffects estimator, suggests that trade openness reduces inequality, whereas FDI is positively linked to inequality. Some control variables, such as unemployment and inflation, also have a positive effect on inequality. When we control for endogeneity, using the system GMM estimator with the Windmeijer correction for small samples, the results also show that trade openness decreases income inequality and that the FDI effect on inequality is not significant. The country’s economic growth causes inequality to increase, according to the findings of both our static and dynamic analyses. The Washington Consensus seems to be inconsistent.
Designing a reward distribution system and it ` s influence on increasing employees Satisfaction at Shadran-e-Mehr Company

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of applying reward distribution systemon increasing Shadran-e-Mehr employee’s satisfaction. The methodology was survey and descriptive and the sample size was 70 people. Sampling was random. Data was collected througha standard questionnaire. In this factory, the productive and unproductive employees were 99 percent satisfied with this system. By using the observation method and data analysis, Shadran-e-Mehr Company sale level rose about 9 percent and the price of sold productsrose only 2 percent after applying of the reward distribution system. Therefore, by fixing the stable possession, the efficiency of Shadran-e-Mehr Company's employees increased.
The Dopamine D1–D2 Receptor Heteromer in Striatal Medium Spiny Neurons: Evidence for a Third Distinct Neuronal Pathway in Basal Ganglia

Dopaminergic signaling within the basal ganglia has classically been thought to occur within two distinct neuronal pathways; the direct striatonigral pathway which contains the dopamine D1 receptor and the neuropeptides dynorphin (DYN) and substance P, and the indirect striatopallidal pathway which expresses the dopamine D2 receptor and enkephalin (ENK). A number of studies have also shown, however, that D1 and D2 receptors can co-exist within the same medium spiny neuron and emerging evidence indicates that these D1/D2-coexpressing neurons, which also express DYN and ENK, may comprise a third neuronal pathway, with representation in both the striatonigral and striatopallidal projections of the basal ganglia. Furthermore, within these coexpressing neurons it has been shown that the dopamine D1 and D2 receptor can form a novel and pharmacologically distinct receptor complex, the dopamine D1–D2 receptor heteromer, with unique signaling properties. This is indicative of a functionally unique role for these neurons in brain. The aim of this review is to discuss the evidence in support of a novel third pathway coexpressing the D1 and D2 receptor, to discuss the potential relevance of this pathway to basal ganglia signaling, and to address its potential value, and that of the dopamine D1–D2 receptor heteromer, in the search for new therapeutic strategies for disorders involving dopamine neurotransmission.
Mortality and use of psychotropic medication in patients with stroke: a population-wide, register-based study

Objectives The study sought to describe whether psychotropic medication may have long-term side effects in patients with stroke compared with controls. Setting Use of national register data from healthcare services were identified from the Danish National Patient Registry in Denmark. Information about psychotropic medication use was obtained from the Danish Register of Medicinal Product Statistics. Objectives We aimed to evaluate all-cause mortality in relation to the use of benzodiazepines, antidepressants and antipsychotics in patients with stroke and matched controls. Participants Patients with a diagnosis of stroke and either no drug use or preindex use of psychotropic medication (n=49 968) and compared with control subjects (n=86 100) matched on age, gender, marital status and community location. Primary outcome measure All-cause mortality. Results All-cause mortality was higher in patients with previous stroke compared with control subjects. Mortality HRs were increased for participants prescribed serotonergic antidepressant drugs (HR=1.699 (SD=0.030), p=0.001 in patients; HR=1.908 (0.022), p<0.001 in controls, respectively), tricyclic antidepressants (HR=1.365 (0.045), p<0.001; HR=1.733 (0.022), p<0.001), benzodiazepines (HR=1.643 (0.040), p<0.001; HR=1.776 (0.053), p<0.001), benzodiazepine-like drugs (HR=1.776 (0.021), p<0.001; HR=1.547 (0.025), p<0.001), first-generation antipsychotics (HR=2.001 (0.076), p<0.001; HR=3.361 (0.159), p<0.001) and second-generation antipsychotics (HR=1.645 (0.070), p<0.001; HR=2.555 (0.086), p<0.001), compared with no drug use. Interaction analysis suggested statistically significantly higher mortality HRs for most classes of psychotropic drugs in controls compared with patients with stroke. Conclusions All-cause mortality was higher in patients with stroke and controls treated with benzodiazepines, antidepressants and antipsychotics than in their untreated counterparts. Our findings suggest that care should be taken in the use and prescription of such drugs, and that they should be used in conjunction with adequate clinical controls.
Central Effects of Pc Vx Exposure

1 Introduc�on In contrast to vola�le nerve agents of the so-called G-type such as sarin and soman, which act primarily via the respiratory route, nerve agents of the V-type are several orders of magnitude less vola�le due to their physicochemical proper�es and act primarily as a liquid via the percutaneous route (Maynard and Beswick 1992). The most important representa�ve of the V-agents is VX ([O-ethyl-S-(2-diisopropylaminoethyl) methylphosphonothioate), which is several orders of magnitude more lethal via the skin than for example sarin, but also highly toxic as a vapor via the respiratory and ocular route (Na�onal Research Council 1997; Reuter et al. 2000). Several na�ons have VX-stockpiles awai�ng destruc�on. The threat of using nerve agents in military conflicts (Macilwain 1993) and in terrorist a�acks (Nagao et al. 1997) urges the necessity for development of effec�ve treatment regimens. Following exposure, nerve agents induce several cholinergic signs, such as saliva�on, miosis, bradycardia, bronchoconstric�on, seizures and respiratory depression due to irreversible inhibi�on of acetylcholinesterase (AChE). VX also showed direct pharmacological effects on several receptor types, for example muscarinic (Bakry et al. 1988; Pi�el et al. 2006; Silveira et al. 1990) and nico�nic acetylcholine receptors (Bakry et al. 1988), inhibited evoked GABA and glutamate release and enhanced spontaneous release of the la�er transmi�ers (Rocha et al. 1998). Since the percutaneous route of exposure is less predic�ve in terms of onset �mes and severity of clinical signs, Van der Schans et al. (2003) have determined the toxicokine�cs of VX a�er percutaneous exposure in anaesthe�zed hairless guinea pigs. Maximum plasma levels of VX were not reached un�l several hours a�er exposure, followed by a slow elimina�on phase. In spite of the use of anaesthe�zed animals, the variability in toxicokine�cs was considerable. The la�er variable and delayed absorp�on of VX from the skin may have important implica�ons for military or civilian first responders with respect to triage, decontamina�on and therapeu�c drug regimens (Dalton et al. 2006; Hamilton et al. 2004). The present study was designed to inves�gate the central and peripheral effects of exposure to percutaneous VX in hairless guinea pigs, in order to broaden the scope for possible treatment. The hairless guinea pig is considered to be a more appropriate model in this respect than the common guinea pig since its skin structure is more comparable to that of man (Panchagnula et al. 1997; Sueki et al. 2000). Most previous experiments evalua�ng physiological effects of VX a�er …
Testing and modelling autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity of streamflow processes

Conventional streamflow models operate under the assumption of constant variance or season-dependent variances (e.g. ARMA (AutoRegressive Moving Average) models for deseasonalized streamflow series and PARMA (Periodic AutoRegressive Moving Average) models for seasonal streamflow series). However, with McLeod-Li test and Engle's Lagrange Multiplier test, clear evidences are found for the existence of autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (i.e. the ARCH (AutoRegressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity) effect), a nonlinear phenomenon of the variance behaviour, in the residual series from linear models fitted to daily and monthly streamflow processes of the upper Yellow River, China. It is shown that the major cause of the ARCH effect is the seasonal variation in variance of the residual series. However, while the seasonal variation in variance can fully explain the ARCH effect for monthly streamflow, it is only a partial explanation for daily flow. It is also shown that while the periodic autoregressive moving average model is adequate in modelling monthly flows, no model is adequate in modelling daily streamflow processes because none of the conventional time series models takes the seasonal variation in variance, as well as the ARCH effect in the residuals, into account. Therefore, an ARMA-GARCH (Generalized AutoRegressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity) error model is proposed to capture the ARCH effect present in daily streamflow series, as well as to preserve seasonal variation in variance in the residuals. The ARMA-GARCH error model combines an ARMA model for modelling the mean behaviour and a GARCH model for modelling the variance behaviour of the residuals from the ARMA model. Since the GARCH model is not followed widely in statistical hydrology, the work can be a useful addition in terms of statistical modelling of daily streamflow processes for the hydrological community.
Capitalism and communication : global culture and the economics of information

Part 1 Methodology and the mass media: contribution to a political economy of mass communication film and media studies - reconstructing the subject the myths of video - a disciplinary reminder Pierre Bourdieu and the sociology of culture - an introduction politics and the mass media in the United Kingdom. Part 2 Policy and politics - public service broadcasting and the information market: the media and the public sphere public service versus the market telecommunications policy in the United Kingdom. Part 3 The political economy and the production of culture: public policy and the cultural industries the economics of the US motion picture industry.
MOLLER, HENRIK MOLLER CLAPPERTON and FLETCHER: RABBIT DENSITY IN MACKENZIE BASIN

numbers of rabbits killed and how these vary amongst patches of relatively high and low abundance are not usually assessed. Understanding this spatial variability is potentially important in predicting the spatial variation in impacts of standard control operations and sources of subsequent resurgence in rabbit abundance. An understanding of absolute rabbit abundance will give us a greater insight into rabbit-predator interactions. This is needed for determining whether the interaction between rabbit and predator numbers is an important predictor of the prevalence of bovine tuberculosis (Ragg, Waldrup and Moller, 1994). Measures of absolute abundance of rabbits will provide baselines for the study of the impact of Rabbit Calicivirus Disease (RCD) on the predator-prey relationships between introduced predators, rabbits and alternative prey species (Moller, Accurate measurements of absolute rabbit density can be used also to assess the reliability of indices of abundance. This study was conducted in conjunction with spotlight counts of rabbits along transect lines (Fletcher et al., 1995). Spotlight counts gave an imprecise estimate of relative density Summary: The density of rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in the modified tussock grasslands of the Mackenzie Basin, South Island, New Zealand, in August-September 1991 was determined within 26 1-ha quadrats spread over 1000 ha. The area was poisoned with 1080-carrot baits and dead and live rabbits counted. The overall kill rate was 93%. Wide variability in rabbit densities amongst the quadrats was correlated with burrow density, but vegetation was not a significant predictor of rabbit numbers. High density quadrats were not all spatially clumped together. Variation amongst quadrats of 0-43% of rabbits dying underground shows that searching burrows as well as the surface will provide the most accurate rabbit densities. Poisoning efficacy was 90% in 77% of the quadrats, but two low-density quadrats recorded kill rates <70%. Nine per cent of carcasses had been partly eaten by predators, suggesting a potential for the predators to be killed during rabbit control operations via secondary poisoning. The average density of 19 rabbits per ha confirms the classification of this area as a moderate to high rabbit-prone zone, with the rabbit population imposing grazing pressure equivalent to at least 1-2 sheep per ha at the beginning of spring. Sustainable agriculture cannot be attained in these semi-arid regions of New Zealand without cheap, widespread and effective rabbit control.
Local amplification of storm surge by Super Typhoon Haiyan in Leyte Gulf

Typhoon Haiyan, which struck the Philippines in November 2013, was an extremely intense tropical cyclone that had a catastrophic impact. The minimum central pressure of Typhoon Haiyan was 895 hPa, making it the strongest typhoon to make landfall on a major island in the western North Pacific Ocean. The characteristics of Typhoon Haiyan and its related storm surge are estimated by numerical experiments using numerical weather prediction models and a storm surge model. Based on the analysis of best hindcast results, the storm surge level was 5–6 m and local amplification of water surface elevation due to seiche was found to be significant inside Leyte Gulf. The numerical experiments show the coherent structure of the storm surge profile due to the specific bathymetry of Leyte Gulf and the Philippines Trench as a major contributor to the disaster in Tacloban. The numerical results also indicated the sensitivity of storm surge forecast.