Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Environmental Impact due to Agricultural runoff containing Heavy Metals – A Review

This paper is a collation and compilation of the research papers pertaining to the heavy metal contents in irrigation water used for agricultural purpose. The uptake of heavy metal by plants through contaminated soil gets accumulated and is a potential threat to animal and human health. The heavy metals in water bodies damage the aquatic organisms and fishes. Excess use of fertilizers and pesticides in agricultural activities to enhance productivity due to rapid population increase and development of technology threaten the groundwater and surface water on a large scale. This shows there is an obvious risk for human in the future. The pesticides used in crop cultivation should be free from heavy metals. Hence this study concentrates on effects of heavy metals present in irrigation water.
Subtypes of developmental dyslexia in transparent orthographies: A comment on Lachmann and Van Leeuwen (2008)

Lachmann and Van Leeuwen (2008) proposed two diagnostic subtypes of developmental dyslexia in a language with transparent orthography (German). The classification was based on reading time, rather than reading errors, for lists of words and nonwords. The two subtypes were “frequent-word reading impaired” (FWRI) and “nonword reading impaired” (NWRI). Notably, FWRI were very slow in reading high-frequency words but as fast as controls in reading nonwords; ca. one-third of these children showed this “reversed lexicality effect” in a particularly marked fashion (i.e., read nonwords two to three times faster than high-frequency words). Since Italian is a highly transparent language, we applied this classification to 87 third- and sixth-grade dyslexics from various previously published studies. Some children showed a marked lexicality effect, while others showed small or no difference between word and nonword reading speed. However, regardless of stimulus length, grade and presence/absence of a previous language delay, no child showed a marked reversed lexicality effect; more generally, no child could be classified as FWRI. These findings indicate that the search for subtypes of developmental dyslexia in transparent orthographies still constitutes an open question.
The Earnings Effect of Education at Community Colleges

In this paper, I make use of data from the 2000 follow-up of the National Education Longitudinal Survey (NELS) post-secondary education transcript files to extend what is known about the value of education at community colleges. I examine the effects of enrollment in community colleges on students’ subsequent earnings. I estimate the effects of credits earned separate from credentials because community colleges are often used as a means for students to engage in study not necessarily leading to a degree or certificate. I find consistent evidence of wage and salary effects of both credits and degrees, especially for women. There is no substantial evidence that enrollment in vocational rather than academic coursework has a particularly beneficial effect, however.
Anaemia and severe malarial anaemia burden in febrile Gabonese children: a nine-year health facility based survey.

INTRODUCTION Anaemia remains a major cause of poor health in children and pregnant women living in sub-Saharan Africa. Malaria is one of the main causes of anaemia in endemic countries. At the time of decreasing Plasmodium falciparum infection prevalence among children, it was essential to analyze the evolution of anaemia and severe malarial anaemia (SMA), the most frequent clinical manifestation of severe malaria, in Gabon. METHODOLOGY Yearly recorded haemoglobin levels of febrile children aged below11 years, who benefitted from microscopic malaria diagnosis, were retrospectively analyzed to determine the evolution of anaemia and SMA prevalence throughout a nine-year period between 2000 and 2008. RESULTS Anaemia prevalence remained high both in P. falciparum-infected children (between 87.6% and 90.7%) and in uninfected children (between 73.5% and 82.6%). Although the risk of developing severe anaemia ranged between 1.9 [0.9-3.8] in 2000 and 3.0 [1.3-6.5] in 2007, SMA prevalence did not significantly change during the study period, varying from 6.0% to 8.0%. From 2001, the frequency of SMA was comparable between children younger than five years of age and children older than five years of age. CONCLUSIONS The decreasing malaria prevalence previously observed in Gabon between 2000 and 2008 was not associated with a significant reduction of anaemia and SMA burden among children. Furthermore, other factors such as nutritional deficiencies, which may not be negligible, must be investigated in this vulnerable population.
CPT Violation and decoherence in quantum gravity

In this brief review I discuss ways and tests of CPT-Violation in the context of quantum gravity theories with space-time foam vacua, which entail quantum decoherence of matter propagating in such backgrounds. I cover a wide variety of sensitive probes, ranging from cosmic neutrinos to meson factories. I pay particular emphasis on associating the latter with specific, probably unique (‘smoking-gun’), effects of this type of CPT Violation, related to a modification of Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) correlations in the entangled states of the relevant neutral mesons. I also present some semi-microscopic estimates of these latter effects, in the context of a specific string-inspired model of space-time foam (‘D-particle foam’).
High constant incidence of second primary colorectal cancer

Patients who had a colorectal cancer have a 1.5‐ to 2‐fold excess risk of a second colorectal cancer as compared to the general population, the excess being higher at younger age at diagnosis. To further investigate the risk and the age‐relation of the incidence of second primary colorectal cancer, we considered 9,389 first colon and rectal cancers registered in the Vaud Cancer Registry, Switzerland, between 1974 and 2008, and followed‐up to the end of 2008 for a total of 44,113 person‐years. There were 136 second colorectal cancers versus 90.5 expected, corresponding to a standardized incidence ratio (SIR) of 1.5 (95% confidence interval, CI, 1.3–1.8). The SIRs were not heterogeneous between men and women, and in strata of calendar year at diagnosis, duration of follow‐up, and subsite. However, the SIR was 7.5 (95% CI 4.2–12.4) for subjects diagnosed below age 50 and declined thereafter to reach 1.0 (95% CI 0.6–1.6) at age 80 or over. Consequently, the incidence of second primary colorectal cancer was stable, and exceedingly high, around 300–400/100,000 between age 30–39 and 70 or over. This age pattern is consistent with the existence of a single mutational event in a population of highly susceptible individuals.
Low-dose thalidomide in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the role of thalidomide in patients with metastic renal cell carcinoma and the efficacy, toxicity and response rates to thalidomide. METHODS The phase-II clinical trial study was conducted at the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT), Karachi between November 2008, and April 2009, comprising 80 patients with metastic renal cell carcinoma who had either progressed on or were not suitable for immunotherapy/biologic therapy. After institutional approval and informed consent, the patients received thalidomide 400mg daily. Thalidomide was continued until the time of disease progression or documented severe toxicity. Primary endpoints were the safety, response, progression free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). SPSS version 16.0 was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS The median follow-up was 18 months (15-20); median age was 51.11 years (range 23-73). Three were 59 (73.8%) males. The bone (n=83; 47.5%), lungs (n=26; 32.5%) and lymph nodes (n=8; 10%) were frequent sites of distant metastases. Of the patients, 32 (40%) had previous different systemic treatments. Grade 3 and 4 toxicities were; fatigue (n=34; 42.5%), sensory neuropathy (n=8; 10%), deep venous thrombosis (n=7; 8.8%) and gastrointestinal upset (n=6; 7.5%). Response rates were available for 75 patients: partial 48 (60%); stable disease 12 (15%); progression 15 (18.8%); while 5 (6.2%) were not evaluated. Median progression free survival and overall survival rates were 7 months and 19 months respectively. CONCLUSION Low-dose thalidomide resulted in manageable toxicity, better response rates, progression free survival and overall survival in the study population. Further large randomised trials are warranted.
A data cache with multiple caching strategies tuned to different types of locality

Current data cache organizations fail to deliver high performance in scalar processors for many vector applications. There are two main reasons for this loss of performance: the use of the same organization for caching both spatial and temporal locality and the “eager” caching policy used by caches. The first issue has led to the well-known trade-off of designing caches with a line size of a few tens of bytes. However, for memory reference patterns with low spatial locality a significant pollution is introduced. On the other hand, when the spatial locality is very high, larger lines could be more convenient. The eager caching policy refers to the fact that data that miss in the cache and is required by the processor is always cached (excepting writes in a no write allocate cache). However, it is common in numerical applications to have large working sets (large vectors, larger than the cache size), that result on a swept of the cache without any opportunity to exploit temporal locality. In addition, they replace some other data that may be required later. In this paper, a novel data cache organization, called dual data cache, is presented. To our knowledge, this is the first time a cache with independent parts for managing spatial and temporal locality 1s proposed. In this way, both types of locality can be more efficiently exploited. In addition, the dual data cache implements a lazy caching policy, which tr]es not to cache something until a benefit (in terms of spatial or temporal locality) can be predicted. For both purposes, the dual data cache makes use of a locality prediction table, which is a history table with information about the most recently executed Ioad/store instructions. In addition, a simplified implementation of the dual data cache, which is called selective cache is also presented.
Histomorphological and morphometrical changes of placental terminal villi of normotensive and preeclamptic mothers

Placental morphology and cellular arrangement are altered in maternal diseases such as preeclampsia (PE) in which oxygen delivery from the mother to the fetus is greatly disturbed, ultimately resulting in cellular oxidative stress. The present study was conducted at the Department of Anatomy and included 112 placentas (56 each from mothers with and without PE [controls]) collected at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. A histological study was performed using hematoxylin and eosin staining. The morphology of stem and terminal villi (TV) was studied, and the surface area and diameter of TV and capillaries were measured. The gross placental morphometrical study revealed that the mean placental weight, thickness, diameter, and surface area were significantly lower in placentas with PE than in controls. The histomorphometrical findings of the villous surface area and diameter were lower in placentas with PE, whereas the TV density was higher in placentas with PE than in controls, and the differences were significant (P<0.0001). In these TV, the diameter and density of fetal blood vessels of placentas with PE were significantly lower than those of controls (P<0.05). In conclusion, the both morphological and histological changes in PE placentas are indicative of the pathogenesis of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality in women with PE. The observed and comparative histomorphometrical changes indicate a decline in all aspects of the PE placenta, except the number of TV.
Exploring Models and Data for Image Question Answering

This work aims to address the problem of image-based question-answering (QA) with new models and datasets. In our work, we propose to use neural networks and visual semantic embeddings, without intermediate stages such as object detection and image segmentation, to predict answers to simple questions about images. Our model performs 1.8 times better than the only published results on an existing image QA dataset. We also present a question generation algorithm that converts image descriptions, which are widely available, into QA form. We used this algorithm to produce an order-of-magnitude larger dataset, with more evenly distributed answers. A suite of baseline results on this new dataset are also presented.
An analysis of the information spreading delay in heterogeneous mobility DTNs

Epidemic spreading is one of the most popular bio-inspired principles, which has made its way into computer networking. This principle naturally applies to Opportunistic or Delay Tolerant Networks (DTNs), where nodes probabilistically meet their neighbors thanks to mobility. Epidemic-based algorithms are often the only choice for DTN problems such as broadcast and unicast routing, distributed estimation etc. Existing analyses of epidemic spreading in various contexts only consider specific graph geometries (complete, random, regular etc) and/or homogeneous exponential node meeting rates. In addition, in wired networks, synchronous communication is usually assumed. In this paper, we relax these assumptions and provide a detailed analysis of epidemic spreading in DTNs with heterogeneous node meeting rates. We observe the special properties of a Markov model, describing the epidemic process and use them to derive bounds for the delay (expectation and distribution). We apply our analysis to epidemic-based DTN algorithms for routing and distributed estimation and validate the bounds against simulation results, using various real and synthetic mobility scenarios. Finally, we empirically show that the delay distribution is relatively concentrated, and that, depending on graph properties (communities, scale-freeness), the delay scales very well with network size.
The role of conventional bronchoscopy in the workup of suspicious CT scan screen-detected pulmonary nodules.

BACKGROUND Up to 50% of the participants in CT scan lung cancer screening trials have at least one pulmonary nodule. To date, the role of conventional bronchoscopy in the workup of suspicious screen-detected pulmonary nodules is unknown. If a bronchoscopic evaluation could be eliminated, the cost-effectiveness of a screening program could be enhanced and the potential harms of bronchoscopy avoided. METHODS All consecutive participants with a positive result on a CT scan lung cancer screening between April 2004 and December 2008 were enrolled. The diagnostic sensitivity and negative predictive value were calculated at the level of the suspicious nodules. In 95% of the nodules, the gold standard for the outcome of the bronchoscopy was based on surgical resection specimens. RESULTS A total of 318 suspicious lesions were evaluated by bronchoscopy in 308 participants. The mean ± SD diameter of the nodules was 14.6 ± 8.7 mm, whereas only 2.8% of nodules were > 30 mm in diameter. The sensitivity of bronchoscopy was 13.5% (95% CI, 9.0%-19.6%); the specificity, 100%; the positive predictive value, 100%; and the negative predictive value, 47.6% (95% CI, 41.8%-53.5%). Of all cancers detected, 1% were detected by bronchoscopy only and were retrospectively invisible on both low-dose CT scan and CT scan with IV contrast. CONCLUSION Conventional white-light bronchoscopy should not be routinely recommended for patients with positive test results in a lung cancer screening program.
Psychometric evaluation of the Early/Late Preferences Scale

This paper examines the psychometric quality of the Early/Late Preferences Scale (PS) relative to that of the Composite Morningness Scale (CS). Questionnaires were completed by 670 undergraduate students aged 16–37 years (mean 22.5), of whom 64% were female. Both scales displayed satisfactory inter-item correlations and similar total mean scores to those reported previously, although the CS had higher variability. Principal axis factor analysis produced single-factor solutions for both scales, although loadings for Items 7 and 9 on the PS were low. Internal consistencies for both scales were good (PS = 0.86, CS = 0.90) with only a small improvement achieved by deleting Items 7 and 9 from the PS. Test-retest reliability over 11 weeks was good for both scales (PS = 0.92, CS = 0.89). Differences between morning, evening and intermediate groups in self-rated alertness at different times of day, and significant correlations with other indices of morning-evening orientation, provided evidence of validity for both scales. These results indicate that PS is psychometrically comparable with CS. In view of its simpler format and lower cultural specificity, PS may be considered a preferable measure for most applications.
Children with hyperdiploid but not triple trisomy (+4,+10,+17) acute lymphoblastic leukemia have an increased incidence of extramedullary relapse on current therapies: A single institution experience

To evaluate the outcome of children with high hyperdiploid acute lymphoblastic leukemia (hHDALL) treated at the author's institution. One hundred thirty‐five consecutive children with B‐precursor ALL were diagnosed between 1991 and 2002: 38 (28.1%) hHDALL and 97 (71.9%) non‐hHDALL. In the hHDALL group, 11/38 (28.9%) relapsed at a median interval of 2.8 years (range: 0.8–5.0 years) with 9/11 relapses occurring at the end or after the completion of therapy. Three (27.3%) relapses were isolated hematopoietic (BM), while eight (72.7%) were either isolated extramedullary (EM) relapses (n = 6; Testis: 4; CNS: 2) or combined hematopoietic and extramedullary relapses (n = 2; BM + CNS: 1; BM + Testis: 1). For the non‐hHDALL group, 29/97 (29.9%) relapsed. Unlike the hHDALL group, the non‐hHDALL group experienced hematopoietic relapses (62%; n = 18) more frequently than isolated extramedullary (27.5%; n = 8: Testis: 1; CNS: 7) or combined hematopoietic and extramedullary relapses (10.3%; CNS + BM: 3), with 24/29 (82.8%) of the relapses occurring on therapy. Relapses in hHDALL frequently involved EM sites (P = 0.053). Presence of triple trisomy of +4,+10,+17 at diagnosis had a protective effect against relapse (P < 0.05). Five‐year EFS for the hHDALL and non‐hHDALL patients was similar, 70.5 ± 7.5% and 66.4 ± 4.9%, respectively. Five‐year OS for the hHDALL patients was significantly higher than for the non‐hHDALL patients, 92 ± 4.5% vs. 74.1 ± 4.5%, P = 0.038. Biologically significant differences exist between relapse patterns of hHDALL and non‐hHDALL cases related to relapse sites and time periods when relapses occur. hDALL relapses continue to be chemo‐sensitive. Am. J. Hematol. , 2008. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
GABA‐immunoreactive starburst amacrine cells in pigmented and albino rats

In this study we tested whether the critical anatomical substrate for retinal direction selectivity is altered in albino mammals. We used dual immunostaining for GABA and choline acetyltransferase and quantitatively analyzed the number of double‐labelled starburst amacrine cells in wild‐type and albino rats. In albino rats, the percentage of ON‐amacrine cells with high GABA content was significantly lower than in pigmented animals. OFF‐amacrines did not significantly differ between the two rat strains. Thus, the decreased GABA content in ON‐amacrine cells could reflect an altered neuronal substrate for retinal direction selectivity. These results are discussed in relation to the optokinetic deficits described in albino mammals.
Inflow Behavior Observation of Molten Mold Powder between Mold and Solidified Shell by Continuous Casting Simulator Using Sn-Pb Alloy and Stearic Acid

High productivity and high quality slab machine have been recently required in continuous casting process to lower the cost of steel production. It is important to know the inflow behavior of mold powder between mold and solidified shell to develop higher-speed casting. The purpose in this study is to make clear the mechanism of lubrication between mold and solidified shell. Sn-5mass%Pb alloy and stearic acid were used as substituted of liquid steel and molten mold powder in the experiment simulated continuous casting machine. Direct observation on inflow behavior of mold powder was made experimentally by a digital video camera. The friction force between mold and solidified shell was measured by a load cell which was set under the mold. Mold powder flowed into the aperture between mold and solidified shell during both positive strip time period and negative strip time period and the amount of powder consumption in positive strip time period was more than that in negative strip time period. The friction force between mold and solidified shell decreased when positive strip time ratio increased. When the modification rate or amplitude increased, or when frequency or casting speed decreased, the friction force decreased. These inclinations corresponded with those in the industrial continuous casting machine qualitatively.
Differential methylation in inflammation and type 2 diabetes genes in siblings born before and after maternal bariatric surgery

Siblings born before (BMS) and after (AMS) maternal biliopancreatic diversion (BPD) show differences in the methylome. The objective was to use a sibling‐pair design to examine the effects from interpregnancy weight loss as a consequence of maternal bariatric surgery, other than BPD, on the methylome comparing BMS and AMS.
Nitrogen Metabolism in Preterm Infants Fed Human Donor Breast Milk: the Possible Essentiality of Glycine

Summary: Nitrogen metabolism was studied in three preterm infants (mean gestation 32 wk) by the method of consecutive metabolic balance. The absorption and retention of nitrogen from breast milk was measured, and protein turnover, synthesis, and breakdown were calculated from isotopic plateau of urinary urea and ammonia using an intermittent oral administration of 15N-glycine. Weight gain and nitrogen retention were compared with the weight gain and nitrogen accumulated for a foetus of equivalent gestational age in utero.The average composition of the milk was 289 ± 19 KJ dl-1 and 1.44 ± 24 g protein dl-1. The intake of energy was 572 ± 61 KJ kg-1 day-1 and of nitrogen 447 ± 99 mg kg-1 day-1. Stool output of nitrogen was 100 ± 32 mg kg-1 day-1 giving an absorption of 348 ± 78 mg kg-1 day-1, as urinary excretion was 91 ± 17 mg kg-1 day-1 retained nitrogen was 256 ± 71 mg kg-1 day-1, or 56% of intake.The specific weight gain was 15.6 ± 2.6 g kg-1 day-1 and 53% of this comprised lean tissue (range 34 to 89%). In all but one study the postnatal retention of nitrogen fell far short of calculated in utero accumulation.The results of protein turnover were surprising. In six of the eight studies urinary urea failed to become enriched at all. Protein turnover calculated from the ammonia plateau was 1.94 ± 0.54 g nitrogen kg-1 day-1, synthesis 10.9 ± 3.4 g protein kg-1 day-1 and breakdown 9.3 ± 3.4 g protein kg-1 day-1.It is concluded that the amino acid composition of breast milk may be inappropriate for supporting rates of lean tissue deposition equivalent to in utero accumulation.Speculation: Endogenous synthesis of glycine in preterm infants may be inadequate to meet the needs of growth, making glycine a semiessential amino acid in this situation. The glycine content of breast milk may be insufficient to meet the requirements of preterm infants.