Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The impact of anaemia and malaria parasite infection in pregnant women, Nigerian perspective.

Malaria and anaemia during pregnancy is still a major health problem in endemic countries with clinical consequences including death of both mother and child. In Nigeria, statistics shows that as many as 300,000 lives especially those of children and pregnant women are lost annually due to malaria. This study was aimed at assessing the impact of malaria and anaemia among pregnant women living in Calabar South Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria, which is characterized by unstable transmission of malaria. A total of 664 subjects were enrolled in the study made up of 414 pregnant women attending antenatal clinic in the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital Calabar, Nigeria and 250 age-matched non-pregnant women served as control group. Full blood count was done using PCE-210 automatic cell counter, malaria parasite detection was through examination of peripheral blood smears and malaria parasite count/density was done using WHO standard method (WHO, 1991). Anaemia was significantly(P <0.05) higher among the pregnant women 253(61.1)(Hb<11g/dl) than in the non-pregnant women 96(38.3%)(Hb<12g/dl). The prevalence of malaria parasite infection was 290(70.1%) in pregnant women and 152(60.8%) in the control group. Prevalence of anaemia and malaria parasite was found to be higher in the primigravidae than in the multigravidae. Primigravidae were more susceptible to the parasite especially Plasmodium falciparum with mean parasite density of 1962.50 ± 220.90 (parasite/µl) than the multigravidas with parasite density 446.70 ± 296.90 (parasite/µl). Malaria parasite density increased significantly with gestational age but anaemia was more prevalent in the second trimester than in the other trimesters. There was a negative correlation between haemglobin and malaria parsite density in both pregnant and non-pregnant women (r = -0.1964). The results showed that malaria infection caused by P. falciparum had serious effect on pregnant women living in the study area. Malaria in pregnancy should be recognized as a global priority in health care services.The study advocate the need for pregnant women to undergo routine haemoglobin estimation and early malaria prophylaxis considering the deleterious effects of anaemia on them and their foetus.
Transmission in Heteronymous Spinal Pathways Is Modified after Stroke and Related to Motor Incoordination

Changes in reflex spinal pathways after stroke have been shown to affect motor activity in agonist and antagonist muscles acting at the same joint. However, only a few studies have evaluated the heteronymous reflex pathways modulating motoneuronal activity at different joints. This study investigates whether there are changes in the spinal facilitatory and inhibitory pathways linking knee to ankle extensors and if such changes may be related to motor deficits after stroke. The early facilitation and later inhibition of soleus H reflex evoked by the stimulation of femoral nerve at 2 times the motor threshold of the quadriceps were assessed in 15 healthy participants and on the paretic and the non-paretic sides of 15 stroke participants. The relationships between this reflex modulation and the levels of motor recovery, coordination and spasticity were then studied. Results show a significant (Mann-Whitney U; P<0.05) increase in both the peak amplitude (mean±SEM: 80±22% enhancement of the control H reflex) and duration (4.2±0.5 ms) of the facilitation on the paretic side of the stroke individuals compared to their non-paretic side (36±6% and 2.9±0.4 ms) and to the values of the control subjects (33±4% and 2.8±0.4 ms, respectively). Moreover, the later strong inhibition observed in all control subjects was decreased in the stroke subjects. Both the peak amplitude and the duration of the increased facilitation were inversely correlated (Spearman r = −0.65; P = 0.009 and r = −0.67; P = 0.007, respectively) with the level of coordination (LEMOCOT) of the paretic leg. Duration of this facilitation was also correlated (r = −0.58, P = 0.024) with the level of motor recovery (CMSA). These results confirm changes in transmission in heteronymous spinal pathways that are related to motor deficits after stroke.
Selecting different protein representations and classification algorithms in hierarchical protein function prediction

Automatically inferring the function of unknown proteins is a challenging task in proteomics. There are two major problems in the task of computational protein function prediction, which are the choice of the protein representation and the choice of the classification algorithm. There are several ways of extracting features from a protein, and the choice of the feature representation might be as important as the choice of the classification algorithm. These problems are aggravated in the case of hierarchical protein function prediction, where a hierarchy of classifiers is built and each of those classifiers' construction has to consider the aforementioned selection problems. In this paper we address these problem by employing three alternative selective hierarchical classification approaches: a selecting the best classifier given a fixed representation; b selecting the best representation given a fixed classifier; and c selecting the best classifier and representation simultaneously, in a synergistic fashion. The analysis of the results have shown that the selective representation approach is almost always ranked number 1 when compared against the different fixed representations and that the use of the selective classifier approach is not able to surpass using only the best classifier for the target problem.
Caught between regulations and meaning: Fifth grade students and their teachers respond to multicultural children's literature

ii Dedication . iv Acknowledgements. v Vita. vii List of Tables . ix List of Figures . xi Chapter 1: Introduction . 1 Chapter 2: Review of the Literature. 17 Chapter 3: Research Methodology. 89 Chapter 4: Findings of the Study . 166 Chapter 5: Discussion and Implications . 317 References. 347 Appendix A: Description of Student Participants in Peer Group Discussions . 391 Appendix B: Student Information. 446 Appendix C: Latino Book Collection Chart . 447 Appendix D: Sample Transcript . 451 Appendix E: Teacher Experience and Education . 453 Appendix F: Teacher Beliefs . 454 Appendix G: Four Minute Conversation with Abraham. 471
Rover Localization and Landing Site Mapping Technology for the 2003 Mars Exploration Rover Mission

SUMMARY The above introduced the technology and experiments for rover localization and landing sitemapping in the 2003 MER mission. At first, Mars global and landing site local reference systemsare elucidated. The initial rover position will be obtained through a triangulation usingobservations on orbital images and the very first set of surface images if common landmarks canbe found in these images. This location can then be improved and verified by UHF two-wayDoppler tracking and VLBI technology. As more ground images are acquired, landmarks seen inboth ground images and orbital images can be used to update landing site locations in the globalMars body-fixed reference system. Onboard rover localization techniques will perform roverlocalization tasks in real-time. The application of visual odometry will improve localization byovercoming problems associated with wheel odometry such as slippage and low accuracy.Finally, the bundle adjustment based rover localization method will build an image networkacquired by Pancam, Navcam and Hazcam cameras, as well as orbital images (such as Viking,MOC NA, and THEMIS images). The developed incremental and integrated bundle adjustmentmodels will supply improved rover locations and image orientation parameters, which are criticalfor generation of high quality landing site topographic mapping products. Based on the field testsperformed on Earth and Mars (MPF mission data), we expect that a 1 percent or better roverlocalization accuracy can be achieved during this mission. In addition, the bundle adjustmentresults will also enable us to produce high precision landing site topographic mapping productsincluding seamless panoramic image mosaics, DTM, and orthophotos.
Split-Thickness Skin Grafts to the Foot and Ankle of Diabetic Patients.

BACKGROUND There is an increased prevalence of foot ulceration in patients with diabetes, leading to hospitalization. Early wound closure is necessary to prevent further infections and, ultimately, lower-limb amputations. There is no current evidence stating that an elevated preoperative hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level is a contraindication to skin grafting. The purpose of this review was to determine whether elevated HbA1c levels are a contraindication to the application of skin grafts in diabetic patients. METHODS A retrospective review was performed of 53 consecutive patients who underwent split-thickness skin graft application to the lower extremity between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2015. A uniform surgical technique was used across all of the patients. A comparison of HbA1c levels between failed and healed skin grafts was reviewed. RESULTS Of 43 surgical sites (41 patients) that met the inclusion criteria, 27 healed with greater than 90% graft take and 16 had a skin graft that failed. There was no statistically significant difference in HbA1c levels in the group that healed a skin graft compared with the group in which skin graft failed to adhere. CONCLUSIONS Preliminary data suggest that an elevated HbA1c level is not a contraindication to application of a skin graft. The benefits of early wound closure outweigh the risks of skin graft application in patients with diabetes.
Isn't it ironic? Defining the scope of humorous irony

Abstract This paper takes as its bedrock a neo-Gricean definition of the trope of irony, championing two essential conditions for diagnosing its presence: overt untruthfulness (or pretence) arising from flouting the first maxim of Quality, together with evaluative implicature, i.e., implied (negative) evaluation. The paramount aim here is to delineate the boundaries of humorous irony, a term frequently overused both in everyday discourse and in academic research, vis-à-vis a range of distinct humor forms. Arguing in favour of a need for terminological and conceptual rigidity, the author indicates a few types of humor (teasing, absurdity, parody, and sarcasm) and potentially humorous phenomena (bald-faced lying, as well as metaphor, hyperbole and metonymy) which appear to meet at least one of the two conditions and, as a result, tend to be mistakenly labeled as (humorous) irony. The theoretical discussion is illustrated with humorous examples taken from the television series House.
Macrostructure, microstructure, and mental state terms in the narratives of English–Hebrew bilingual preschool children with and without specific language impairment

ABSTRACT Children's bilingual status is important because the interest here is in narrative performance in both languages of bilingual children, in particular the within-subject, cross language comparisons. As Paradis (2010) has argued, there are some structures where performance differences will point to a temporary lack of opportunity for mastery, whereas other structures will be markers of underlying difficulties. We expect the discriminators to be language specific, depending on attested vulnerabilities for each of the languages involved. Narratives were examined for macrostructure (goals, attempts, and outcomes), microstructure (e.g., length, lexis, and morphosyntax), and mental state terms (MSTs). Thirty-one preschool children (TLD = 19, SLI = 12) retold stories accompanied by six pictures that were matched across content (Baby Birds/Baby Goats) and to the extent possible across languages (first language/second language) for macrostructure, microstructure, and MSTs in the framework of the Working Group on Narrative and Discourse Abilities in COST Action 0804 Language Impairment in a Multilingual Society: Linguistic Patterns and the Road to Assessment. The macrostructure results confirmed previous findings showing similar performance in both languages for children with TLD and those diagnosed with SLI. Consistent with previous findings on narrative abilities among bilingual children, microstructure analysis of verbal productivity, length of communication units, and lexical diversity distinguished children with TLD from those with SLI. An analysis of MSTs yielded more MSTs in children's second language, in particular more mental verbs. The most prevalent MSTs used in all narratives were early acquired perceptual and motivational verbs (“see” and “want”). Overall, distinctions between narratives of children with TLD and SLI were found primarily for microstructure features, where error analysis was particularly important in uncovering possible markers, especially in second languages.
Cerebrovascular Hemodynamics during and after Recovery from Acute Asphyxia in the Newborn Dog

ABSTRACT: Cerebrovascular volume and transmural pressure loads accompanying acute increases in cerebral blood flow are implicated in the pathogenesis of periventricular-intraventricular hemorrhage in preterm infants. An acute increase in cerebral blood flow would be expected during acute recovery from asphyxia. Therefore, cerebrovascular hemodynamics, including flow (microspheres), were studied during and after acute recovery from asphyxia in seven newborn dogs in order to study the determinants of these volume and pressure loads. During the acute recovery phase, cerebral hemispheric blood flow was 69.6 ± 10 ml/100 g/min (mean ± SEM) representing a 250% increase from baseline values of 19.9 ± 1.8 ml/100 g/min (p < 0.005), while combined cerebellar-brainstem flow was 204.3 ± 19.3 ml/100 g/min representing a 536% increase from baseline values of 32.0 ± 1.5 ml/100 g/min (p < 0.005). Blood flow to both areas had returned to baseline levels 20 min after the onset of recovery. Associated with this cerebral hyperemia was an acute increase in mean arterial pressure from 21.3 ± 4.5 mm Hg at end asphyxia to 69.5 ± 6.0 mm Hg at peak recovery (p < 0.01), and parallel acute increases in sagittal sinus pressure (from 4.0 ± 0.4 to 14.6 ± 1.9 mm Hg, p ±.01) and cerebrospinal fluid pressure (from 3.8 ± 0.4 to 14.3 ± mm Hg, p <1). Central venous pressure fell from 4.3 ± 6 mm Hg at end asphyxia to 1.6 ± 0.5 mm Hg, and thus is not a determinant of the elevation in sagittal sinus pressure. AH of these pressure changes were attained within 20–30 s of the onset of recovery. Assuming that acute changes in cerebrospinal fluid pressure reflect acute changes in cerebrovascular volume via the cranial compliance (volume/pressure) relationship, then the acute (<30s) elevation of cerebrospinal fluid pressure reflects an acute cerebrovascular volume load. Also, the elevated cerebrospinal fluid pressure considerably modifies both the cerebral arterial and venous transmural pressures. The cranial compliance relationship thus plays a key role in determining both volume and transmural pressure loads. We propose that the combination of a high cranial compliance and frequent acute cerebral flow/volume loads may be involved in the pathogenesis of periventricular-intraventricular hemorrhage in premature newborn infants.
4D CT Angiography More Closely Defines Intracranial Thrombus Burden Than Single-Phase CT Angiography

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: In patients with acute stroke, the location and extent of intravascular thrombi correlate with clinical and imaging outcomes and have been used to predict the success of intravenous thrombolysis. We hypothesized that 4D-CTA reconstructed from whole-brain CTP more closely outlines intracranial thrombi than conventional single-phase CTA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty-seven patients with anterior circulation occlusion were retrospectively analyzed. For 4D-CTA, temporal maximum intensity projections were calculated that combine all 30 spiral scans of the CTP examination through temporal fusion. Thrombus extent was assessed by a semi-quantitative clot burden score (0–10; in which 0 = complete unilateral anterior circulation occlusion and 10 = patent vasculature). In patients with sufficient collateral flow, the length of the filling defect and corresponding hyperdense middle cerebral artery sign on NCCT were measured. RESULTS: Clot burden on temporal maximum intensity projection (median clot burden score, 7.0; interquartile range, 5.1–8.0) was significantly lower than on single-phase CT angiography (median, 6.0; interquartile range, 4.5–7.0; P < .0001). The length of the hyperdense middle cerebral artery sign (14.30 ± 5.93 mm) showed excellent correlation with the filling defect in the middle cerebral artery on temporal maximum intensity projection (13.40 ± 6.40 mm); this filling defect was larger on single-phase CT angiography (18.08 ± 6.54 mm; P = .043). CONCLUSIONS: As the result of an increased sensitivity for collateral flow, 4D-CTA temporal maximum intensity projection more closely outlines intracranial thrombi than conventional single-phase CT angiography. Our findings can be helpful when planning acute neurointervention. Further research is necessary to validate our data and assess the use of 4D-CTA in predicting response to different recanalization strategies.
Child and Maternal Influence on Parenting Behavior in Clinically Anxious Children

This study examined child and maternal influences on maternal overinvolvement and negativity. A sample of mothers of children with anxiety disorders (n = 45) and mothers of nonclinical children (n = 46) were observed interacting during a speech preparation task with a child from the same diagnostic group as their child (i.e., anxious or nonanxious) and with a child from a different diagnostic group. During interactions involving children who were not their own, mothers were observed to be more involved with anxious children in comparison to nonclinical children. Mothers of clinically anxious children were observed to be less negative during the interactions with nonclinical children than with clinically anxious children. These results are discussed in relation to the cyclical relationship between parenting behavior and child anxiety.
Roles of the average voice in speaker-adaptive HMM-based speech synthesis

In speaker-adaptive HMM-based speech synthesis, there are typically a few speakers for which the output synthetic speech sounds worse than that of other speakers, despite having the same amount of adaptation data from within the same corpus. This paper investigates these fluctuations in quality and concludes that as mel-cepstral distance from the average voice becomes larger, the MOS naturalness scores generally become worse. Although this negative correlation is not that strong, it suggests a way to improve the training and adaptation strategies. We also draw comparisons between our findings and the work of other researchers regarding “vocal attractiveness. ” Index Terms: speech synthesis, HMM, average voice, speaker adaptation
Treadmill Exercise Induces Neutrophil Recruitment into Muscle Tissue in a Reactive Oxygen Species-Dependent Manner. An Intravital Microscopy Study

Intense exercise is a physiological stress capable of inducing the interaction of neutrophils with muscle endothelial cells and their transmigration into tissue. Mechanisms driving this physiological inflammatory response are not known. Here, we investigate whether production of reactive oxygen species is relevant for neutrophil interaction with endothelial cells and recruitment into the quadriceps muscle in mice subjected to the treadmill fatiguing exercise protocol. Mice exercised until fatigue by running for 56.3±6.8 min on an electric treadmill. Skeletal muscle was evaluated by intravital microscopy at different time points after exercise, and then removed to assess local oxidative stress and histopathological analysis. We observed an increase in plasma lactate and creatine kinase (CK) concentrations after exercise. The numbers of monocytes, neutrophils, and lymphocytes in blood increased 12 and 24 hours after the exercise. Numbers of rolling and adherent leukocytes increased 3, 6, 12, and 24 hours post-exercise, as assessed by intravital microscopy. Using LysM-eGFP mice and confocal intravital microscopy technology, we show that the number of transmigrating neutrophils increased 12 hours post-exercise. Mutant gp91phox-/- (non-functional NADPH oxidase) mice and mice treated with apocynin showed diminished neutrophil recruitment. SOD treatment promoted further adhesion and transmigration of leukocytes 12 hours after the exercise. These findings confirm our hypothesis that treadmill exercise increases the recruitment of leukocytes to the postcapillary venules, and NADPH oxidase-induced ROS plays an important role in this process.
Population Growth: A Comparison of Evolutionary Views

"Economists are divided about population growth: the pessimism of neo-Malthusians contrasts strongly with the optimism of cornucopians. Despite their differences, however, both schools of thought reject economic orthodoxy and prefer evolutionary forms of theory. Their interpretations of evolution are different: the neo-Malthusians appeal to the entropy law, whereas the cornucopians emphasize human creativity expressed through markets. [The author argues] that both schools are right to adopt an evolutionary outlook, but that they are too restrictive in their conception of evolution. A more complete evolutionary view, which allows properly for social institutions, could give a more balanced account of population growth. "
Immediate Effects of Maternal Deprivation on the (Re)Activity of the HPA-Axis Differ in CD1 and C57Bl/6J Mouse Pups

The postnatal development of the mouse is characterized by a period of hypo-responsiveness of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis to mild stressors. Maternal deprivation (MD) during this period can disrupt the quiescence of the HPA-axis. The present study examined the influence of strain (outbred CD1 vs. inbred C57BL/6J mice) on some central and peripheral components of the HPA-axis in neonatal mice (5-day-old) in the presence of their mother or after 24 h MD (on postnatal day 4) under basal or mild stressful conditions. In the presence of the dam, adrenal corticosterone (CORT) secretion was low in both mouse strains. Compared to CD1 mice, C57BL/6J had lower CORT levels associated with higher ACTH levels and ACTH/CORT ratio (i.e., lower adrenal sensitivity to ACTH), and higher glucocorticoid receptor (GR) mRNA expression in the paraventricular nucleus. Although MD disinhibited the HPA-axis in both strains as reflected by increased basal CORT and ACTH, we found a strain-dependent pattern. MD increased CORT more in C57BL/6J compared to CD1 mice together with a lower ACTH/CORT ratio (i.e., higher adrenal sensitivity to ACTH), while GR mRNA was no longer different in the two strains. However, this increased adrenal sensitivity in maternally deprived C57BL/6J mice was not reflected in their CORT response to a subsequent novelty stressor, possibly due to an MD-induced ceiling effect in their steroidogenic capacity. In conclusion, the immediate outcome of MD depends on the genetic background of the mother–infant dyad, suggesting that maybe also the outcome in later-life cannot be generalized.