Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparison of Two Different Protocols of Methotrexate Therapy in Medical Management of Ectopic Pregnancy

Background: Ectopic pregnancy (EP) is one of the most dangerous complications of pregnancy and without prompt diagnosis and treatment, it could become a major cause of maternal morbidity and mortality. Objectives: In this randomized controlled study, we compared single and double dose of methotrexate (MTX) therapy in the treatment of ectopic pregnancy. Patients and Methods: This study was performed on 76 patients who were admitted to Obstetrics Ward with primary diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy based on their medical history, physical examination, beta subunit (β-HCG) level, and transvaginal ultrasonography. Using random block allocation, the patients were classified in two groups of single dose and double dose administration of MTX. In single dose group, 50 mg/m2 of MTX was given at day 0 and in double dose group, the patients received two doses of MTX at day 0 and 4. The level of β-HCG was measured at day 0, 4, 7 in both groups. The successful treatment was defined as 15% reduction in β-HCG level between day 4 and 7. The two groups were compared with each other with regard to their need for operation, or extra dose of MTX; duration of hospitalization; and MTX complications. Results: Results showed that the rate of success in double dose method was more than single dose one (79% versus 69%) but the difference was not significant (P = 0.29). Although the need for operation and extra dose of MTX were lower in the double dose group (15.8% vs. 18.8% and 5.26% vs. 13.2%, respectively), these differences were not significant too. Duration of hospitalization was significantly lower in double dose compared to the single dose (11.55 d vs. 14.76 d, P < 0.001). Conclusions: Single dose therapy of MTX has sufficient power and efficacy in the treatment of ectopic pregnancy, however in patients with higher serum level of β-HCG, the successful treatment increases by using double dose method. Using double dose also could decrease the necessity of operation, re-administration of MTX, and duration of hospitalization.
Chain Length Dependence of SAMs-Assisted Copper Thermocompression Bonding

Direct metal thermocompression bonding is one of the key approaches used in creating interconnections in many heterogeneous devices. It has been reported that by coating a monolayer of alkanethiols on metallic surfaces such as gold or copper prior to bonding, the bonding temperature required for forming joints can be significantly reduced. In this paper, room temperature copper bonding is demonstrated successfully with the help of the organic monolayers. We also found that all alkanethiol- coated copper (CnH2n+1SH, at n = 6, 11, 18) exhibited superior bond strength (>25MPa) compared to that of the uncoated copper (<23MPa) at bonding temperatures from 25°C to 80°C. Further investigation shows that bond strength of copper joints increases with alkanethiol chain length (C18>C11>C6), which contradicts our previous finding in gold. We attribute this discrepancy to the difference in hardness between the two substrates.
There Is No Difference in IQ between Suicide and Non-Suicide Psychiatric Patients: A Retrospective Case-Control Study

Objective The goal of this study was to examine the association between IQ and suicide in psychiatric patients. Methods We conducted a nested case-control study using data obtained from psychiatric patients affiliated with a general hospital in Seoul, Korea. In a one-to-two ratio the psychiatric patients who died of suicide (Suicide Group; n=35) were matched to those who didn't (Non-suicide Group; n=70) by age, gender, psychiatric diagnosis and approximate time of first treatment. IQ was measured using the Korean version of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised. Results There were no significant differences in any type of IQ between suicide patients and non-suicide patients. Logistic regression showed no evidence of an association between IQ and suicide. Conclusion These results do not support the existence of an association between IQ and suicide.
Extremal N = (2, 2) 2D Conformal Field Theories and Constraints of Modularity

We explore the constraints on the spectrum of primary fields implied by modularity of the elliptic genus of N = (2, 2) 2D CFT’s. We show that such constraints have nontrivial implications for the existence of “extremal” N = (2, 2) conformal field theories. Applications to AdS_3 supergravity and flux compactifications are addressed.
Floral volatiles, pollinator sharing and diversification in the fig–wasp mutualism: insights from Ficus natalensis, and its two wasp pollinators (South Africa)

Combining biogeographic, ecological, morphological, molecular and chemical data, we document departure from strict specialization in the fig-pollinating wasp mutualism. We show that the pollinating wasps Elisabethiella stuckenbergi and Elisabethiella socotrensis form a species complex of five lineages in East and Southern Africa. Up to two morphologically distinct lineages were found to co-occur locally in the southern African region. Wasps belonging to a single lineage were frequently the main regional pollinators of several Ficus species. In South Africa, two sister lineages, E. stuckenbergi and E. socotrensis, pollinate Ficus natalensis but only E. stuckenbergi also regularly pollinates Ficus burkei. The two wasp species co-occur in individual trees of F. natalensis throughout KwaZulu-Natal. Floral volatile blends emitted by F. natalensis in KwaZulu-Natal were similar to those emitted by F. burkei and different from those produced by other African Ficus species. The fig odour similarity suggests evolutionary convergence to attract particular wasp species. The observed pattern may result from selection for pollinator sharing among Ficus species. Such a process, with one wasp species regionally pollinating several hosts, but several wasp species pollinating a given Ficus species across its geographical range could play an important role in the evolutionary dynamics of the Ficus-pollinating wasp association.
Predictors of Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy in Rural Zambia

Background/Objective:Antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence levels of ≥95% optimize outcomes and minimize HIV drug resistance. As such, identifying barriers to adherence is essential. We sought to assess travel to point-of-care for ART as a potential barrier to adherence in rural Zambia, within the context of patient demographics, perceived stigma, and selected clinical indices. Methods:We studied 424 patients receiving ART from the Macha Mission Hospital (MMH). Interviews ascertained age, gender, education, perceived stigma, nearest rural health facility (RHF), and mode/cost/time of transport for each study participant. Motorcycle odometer and global positioning system way-points measured distance from the MMH to each of the RHFs, estimating patients' home-to-MMH travel distances. Body mass index, World Health Organization HIV/AIDS stage, and pill counts were assessed from review of patients' medical and pharmacy records. Results:At least 95% adherence was documented for 83.7% of the patients in their first months of ART. Travel-related factors did not predict adherence. Adherence was higher for those on ART for a longer time (odds ratio = 1.04 per day; P = 0.002). Conclusions:Patients in rural Zambia can achieve adherence rates compatible with good clinical outcomes despite long travel distances. The MMH was able to provide quality HIV/AIDS care by implementing programmatic features selecting for a highly adherent population in this resource-limited setting.
On motion planning for an underactuated ship: Fundamental limitations and a bearings-only navigation strategy

The problem of guiding an underactuated ship to a particular position and heading is considered. A common approach to motion planning of robots and vehicles involves finding suitable trajectories for the positions of each configuration variable, and then using feedback to regulate the system to these trajectories. However, when the system has less actuators than dynamical degrees of freedom, it is not always possible to do this arbitrarily. In this paper it is shown that such an approach is not feasible for an underactuated ship when the desired path is an arc of circle. An alternative strategy is proposed in which a constraint on velocities is regulated, based on the circular navigation guidance principle previously developed for missile guidance and wheeled robot navigation.
Copper Transporter 2 Regulates Endocytosis and Controls Tumor Growth and Sensitivity to Cisplatin In Vivo

Copper transporter 2 (CTR2) is one of the four copper transporters in mammalian cells that influence the cellular pharmacology of cisplatin and carboplatin. CTR2 was knocked down using a short hairpin RNA interference. Robust expression of CTR2 was observed in parental tumors grown in vivo, whereas no staining was found in the tumors formed from cells in which CTR2 had been knocked down. Knockdown of CTR2 reduced growth rate by 5.8-fold, increased the frequency of apoptotic cells, and decreased the vascular density, but it did not change copper content. Knockdown of CTR2 increased the tumor accumulation of cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II) [cisplatin (cDDP)] by 9.1-fold and greatly increased its therapeutic efficacy. Because altered endocytosis has been implicated in cDDP resistance, uptake of dextran was used to quantify the rate of macropinocytosis. Knockdown of CTR2 increased dextran uptake 2.5-fold without reducing exocytosis. Inhibition of macropinocytosis with either amiloride or wortmannin blocked the increase in macropinocytosis mediated by CTR2 knockdown. Stimulation of macropinocytosis by platelet-derived growth factor coordinately increased dextran and cDDP uptake. Knockdown of CTR2 was associated with activation of the Rac1 and cdc42 GTPases that control macropinocytosis but not activation of the phosphoinositide-3 kinase pathway. We conclude that CTR2 is required for optimal tumor growth and that it is an unusually strong regulator of cisplatin accumulation and cytotoxicity. CTR2 regulates the transport of cDDP in part through control of the rate of macropinocytosis via activation of Rac1 and cdc42. Selective knockdown of CTR2 in tumors offers a strategy for enhancing the efficacy of cDDP.
Concealed Around-the-Ear EEG Captures Cognitive Processing in a Visual Simon Task

In theory, miniaturized systems such as the around-the-ear electrode arrays (cEEGrids) enable mobile monitoring of the electroencephalogram (EEG) in a variety of real life situations without interfering with the natural setting. However, the research benefit of such cEEGrid recordings critically depends on their validity. To investigate whether visual and motor processing are reflected in the cEEGrid-EEG, a direct comparison of EEG that was concurrently recorded with the cEEGrids and with a high-density cap setup was conducted. Thirteen participants performed a classic Simon task in which letters were presented laterally and a lateralized choice response was executed. N1, P1 and P300 event-related potential (ERP) waveforms were extracted from cEEGrid-EEG: they were found to be strongly correlated with corresponding waveforms extracted from cap-EEG but with lower signal strength and lower signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR). Event-related lateralizations (ERLs) recorded at posterior scalp sites were well reflected in middle cEEGrid pairs. Moreover, the effect size of the Simon correspondence effect on the extracted ERLs was similar between the two systems. However, lateralizations at central cap sites were less well reflected in the cEEGrid-EEG indicating a difficulty in capturing motor response preparation and execution. These results show that well-described visual and cognitive ERPs and ERLs can be measured using the cEEGrids, while motor-related cortical potentials are not well captured. This study further demonstrates the potential and possible limitations of unobtrusive cEEGrid-EEG recordings.
Spaces whose Pseudocompact Subspaces are Closed Subsets

Every first countable pseudocompact Tychonoff space X has the property that every pseudocompact subspace of X is a closed subset of X (denoted herein by “FCC”). We study the property FCC and several closely related ones, and focus on the behavior of extension and other spaces which have one or more of these properties. Characterization, embedding and product theorems are obtained, and some examples are given which provide results such as the following. There exists a separable Moore space which has no regular, FCC extension space. There exists a compact Hausdorff Frechet space which is not FCC. There exists a compact Hausdorff Frechet space X such that X, but not X 2 , is FCC.
A year of automated LDT testing on ion beam sputtered thin film optics and laser conditioning of IBS films

The automated laser damage testing system at REO has been in operation for over a year, providing quantitative and detailed information on laser damage of ion beam sputtered (IBS) thin films in a production setting. Results have accumulated in a database, which can be queried in complex ways. We present statistical analysis on event curves (number vs. fluence) for various defect size groups. We examine the differences in event curves for high-threshold and lower-threshold IBS optics. We also present results of experiments on laser conditioning of IBS thin films.
The Parkes Pulsar Timing Array Project

Abstract A ‘pulsar timing array’ (PTA), in which observations of a large sample of pulsars spread across the celestial sphere are combined, allows investigation of ‘global’ phenomena such as a background of gravitational waves or instabilities in atomic timescales that produce correlated timing residuals in the pulsars of the array. The Parkes Pulsar Timing Array (PPTA) is an implementation of the PTA concept based on observations with the Parkes 64-m radio telescope. A sample of 20 ms pulsars is being observed at three radio-frequency bands, 50 cm (~700 MHz), 20 cm (~1400 MHz), and 10 cm (~3100 MHz), with observations at intervals of two to three weeks. Regular observations commenced in early 2005. This paper describes the systems used for the PPTA observations and data processing, including calibration and timing analysis. The strategy behind the choice of pulsars, observing parameters, and analysis methods is discussed. Results are presented for PPTA data in the three bands taken between 2005 March and 2011 March. For 10 of the 20 pulsars, rms timing residuals are less than 1 μs for the best band after fitting for pulse frequency and its first time derivative. Significant ‘red’ timing noise is detected in about half of the sample. We discuss the implications of these results on future projects including the International Pulsar Timing Array and a PTA based on the Square Kilometre Array. We also present an ‘extended PPTA’ data set that combines PPTA data with earlier Parkes timing data for these pulsars.
Calorimetric study of phase transitions in confined liquid crystals.

Using an ac calorimetry technique we measured the specific heat at the nematic-isotropic, smectic-A\char21{}nematic, and smectic-A\char21{}isotropic phase transitions, for the alkylcyanobiphenyl liquid crystal nCB series confined to the 0.2-\ensuremath{\mu}m-diam pores of Anopore membranes. Studies were also performed as a function of nematic director alignment within the pores. Novel effects regarding specific-heat amplitudes, transition-temperature shifts, and broadening and rounding of phase transitions are found. They are strongly dependent on the director orientation and on the order of the phase transition.
Older Users’ Perspectives on the Benefits of Preventive Home Visits

In this article we explore older people’s perspectives on the benefits of preventive home visits (PHVs), after long-term follow-up. PHVs are health services intended to promote older people’s health and independence, prevent disease, and postpone functional decline. We applied an explorative and descriptive design and analyzed qualitative research interviews of 10 PHV users who had received multiple visits for at least 6 years. We sought manifest and latent content in our analysis. The participants reported benefits falling within four main categories: to feel safe, to manage everyday life, to live well, and to be somebody. Two latent themes emerged: living with an underlying, realistic concern about an uncertain future, and striving to maintain oneself as a person. The perceived benefits of PHVs differed significantly from the outcome measures commonly used in randomized, controlled trials. PHV interventions should have a longitudinal approach and support each person’s current needs and valued goals.
RX J0720.4-3125: Implications for neutron star cooling and the dense matter equation of state

The soft X-ray source RX J0720.4-3125 appears to be a clean example of a cooling neutron star. Its X-ray emission is well-fit by a 79 4 eV blackbody and displays a periodic modulation with period P =8 :391 sec and semi-amplitude 10%. The observational upper limit to the period deriva- tive implies a minimum spindown age of t0 =1 :7 10 5 yr if the star was born rapidly rotating. The absence of a visi- ble supernova remnant independently suggests an age for this source of & 10 5 yr. With the interpretation of this source as a cooling-driven, magnetized, rotating neutron star, we explore the implications for the dense matter equation of state (EOS), the mode of energy loss (modified URCA vs. direct URCA), and the rate of internal heating due to superfluid friction. For the standard (modified URCA) cooling models, we study two types of stars: those born slowly rotating, with relatively small spin- down rates and conventional dipole magnetic fields ( 10 12 G), and those born rapidly rotating with large spin-down rates and magnetar-scale dipole fields ( 10 14 G). We find that standard cooling with a stiff or moderately stiff EOS is consistent with the observations of RX J0720.4-3125 provided the star's age is . 3t0 =5 10 5 yr. If the EOS is very stiff, the star must be born with a short rotation period and significant internal heating by superfluid friction is required. More moderate heating suffices only if the star is very massive ( 2M) and has an age t0. Stars withM 1:4M and a moderately stiff EOS give modu- lations about a factor of five below that observed. However, the inclusion of atmospheric effects or more complex field geome- tries could increase the modulation to a level consistent with the observations. Stars with a stiff EOS give modulations close to that observed. As an illustration of the effects of accelerated cooling processes, we consider direct quark URCA cooling. We find that these models cool too fast and are cleanly ruled out for this source. Hence, exotic matter is an insignificant component in the stellar core, or does not participate in accelerated cooling. Direct URCA reactions in nucleonic matter are similarly ruled out. A measure of RX J0720.4-3125's spin-down age would afford crucial tests of our conclusions.
Attitude and awareness towards organ donation in western India

Abstract Background: To determine the knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding organ donation in western India. Methods: Convenience sampling was used to generate a sample of 250; 200 interviews were successfully completed and used for analysis. Data collection was carried out via face to face interviews based on a pre-tested questionnaire in selected public areas of Ahmedabad, Gujarat state of India. Data entry was made in excel software in codes and analysis was done by SPSS software. Results: About 86% of participants were aware of the term organ donation but knowledge about its various aspects was low. About 48% aware people heard about organ donation through medical fraternity, whereas only about 21% became aware through mass media. About 59% of aware people believed there is a potential danger of donated organs being misused, abused or misappropriated. About 47% of aware people said they would consider donating organs, while only 16% said they would definitely donate irrespective of circumstances. Around 97.67% participants said they would prefer to donate to nonsmokers. About 74.41% participants were unaware about any legislation regarding organ donation. About 77% participants showed their will to donate to mentally sound persons, and 42.04% participants showed their will to donate even physically challenged people. Around 78 participants felt that they would donate organs to persons irrespective of their religion. About 81% of aware people were of the opinion that consent for organ donation after death should be given by family members. None of the interviewed participants had a donor card. Conclusion: Better knowledge and awareness will help in promoting organ donation. Effective campaign needs to be driven to educate people with relevant information with the involvement of media, doctors and religious scholars.
Factor models on locally tree-like graphs

We consider homogeneous factor models on uniformly sparse graph sequences converging locally to a (unimodular) random tree T, and study the existence of the free energy density ϕ, the limit of the log-partition function divided by the number of vertices n as n tends to infinity. We provide a new interpolation scheme and use it to prove existence of, and to explicitly compute, the quantity ϕ subject to uniqueness of a relevant Gibbs measure for the factor model on T. By way of example we compute ϕ for the independent set (or hard-core) model at low fugacity, for the ferromagnetic Ising model at all parameter values, and for the ferromagnetic Potts model with both weak enough and strong enough interactions. Even beyond uniqueness regimes our interpolation provides useful explicit bounds on ϕ. In the regimes in which we establish existence of the limit, we show that it coincides with the Bethe free energy functional evaluated at a suitable fixed point of the belief propagation (Bethe) recursions on T. In the special case that T has a Galton–Watson law, this formula coincides with the nonrigorous “Bethe prediction” obtained by statistical physicists using the “replica” or “cavity” methods. Thus our work is a rigorous generalization of these heuristic calculations to the broader class of sparse graph sequences converging locally to trees. We also provide a variational characterization for the Bethe prediction in this general setting, which is of independent interest.
Motivational Differences between Slot Machine and Lottery Players

Little research has investigated motivational differences between players on specific recreational gambling activities. The present study compared 17 slot machine gamblers and 47 state lottery players on the Gambling Motivation Scale. Ages ranged from 17 to 49 years (M = 28.7, SD = 9.8). Nonparametric tests showed significant differences between the two groups on motivation, but not for sex and age. Compared with lottery players, slot machine gamblers scored higher on motivation for stimulation, tension release, and feelings of importance. Both were almost equally highly motivated for rewards. The findings were discussed in terms of reasons why regular players continue in their preferred forms of gambling.