Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Appraisal of primary health care services in Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria: how committed are the health workers?

Introduction The primary health care model was declared as the appropriate strategy for ensuring health-for-all. However up till date, very few studies have assessed the services provided by primary health centres in terms of its basic components. This study aimed to appraise health services provided and to estimate the commitment of the health workers in selected primary health care centres within Abuja Nigeria. Methods A cross sectional study was utilized to obtain information from 642 health workers across 6 area councils of the Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria. Data collection was performed using pre-tested, structured, interviewer-administered questionnaires and data were analyzed at 95% level of significance using SPSS version 17.0. Results Our study participants were largely females (58.6%), Christians (63.2%) and aged 30-39 years (40.0%). Health services offered in centres were adequate in all components of PHC except for mental health (23.7%) and care of the elderly (43.0%). Conduct of home visits was least practiced by health workers (83.8%) compared to the use of patient appointments (96.4%) and conducting staff outreach activities (94.9%). Commitment was three times more likely when service was related to health promotion and education (OR = 2.52; CI = 1.23-5.18); nutrition education (OR = 3.13; CI = 1.13-8.68). Conclusion Health workers in primary health centres of the federal capital territory still provide sub-optimal services with respect to mental health and care of elderly. Concerted efforts and unrelenting political will to strengthen mental and geriatric health components are recommended.
LDA-based classifiers for a mental tasks-based Brain-Computer Interface

This paper describes a Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) based on electroencephalography (EEG). This BCI registers the brain rhythmic activity through 16 electrodes situated on the scalp and differentiates three cognitive processes. The Wavelet Transform (WT) has been used to extract the features. In order to differentiate three mental tasks, two Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) based classifiers have been developed. Both classifiers integrate four simultaneous LDA model solutions. One classifier uses a score system to classify the EEG features vector, while the other classifier applies a logical criterion. In the paper, both classifiers have been evaluated. The experimental results with different volunteers have been reported in the paper. This BCI will be incorporated into a shared control architecture that we are developing to control a robot arm. This shared control architecture is based on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology.
Weight-loss attempts and risk of major weight gain: a prospective study in Finnish adults.

BACKGROUND The effects of weight-loss attempts on long-term weight gain remain unclear. OBJECTIVE The objective was to study prospectively how attempts to lose weight relate to future risk of major weight gain (>10 kg) and whether familial factors affect this relation. DESIGN Participants in the Finnish Twin Cohort (3536 men and 4193 women aged 18-54 y at baseline) were followed up for 6-15 y. The role of familial factors was studied in 1705 twin pairs in this cohort who were discordant for weight-loss attempts at baseline. Baseline (1975) and follow-up (1981 and 1990) data-including weight, weight-loss attempts (dieting), and selected confounders-were obtained via mailed questionnaires. RESULTS Average weight gain was at most weakly associated with weight-loss attempts. The risk of major weight gain for subjects attempting to lose weight at baseline was greatest among initially young (18-29 y) men (over 6 and 15 y, respectively-odds ratios: 2.01 and 1.74; 95% CI: 1.13, 3.57 and 1.11, 2.75) and middle-aged (30-54 y) women (over 6 and 15 y, respectively-2.43 and 1.52; 1.33, 4.42 and 1.06, 2.22) and persisted after potential confounders were controlled for. These risks decreased and became nonsignificant in the pairwise twin analysis, suggesting that the relation between dieting and subsequent major weight gain may also have a familial component. CONCLUSIONS Weight-loss attempts may be associated with subsequent major weight gain, even when several potential confounders are controlled for. Genetic and familial factors may contribute to this association.
Socio-Demographic Patterning of Physical Activity across Migrant Groups in India: Results from the Indian Migration Study

Objective To investigate the relationship between rural to urban migration and physical activity (PA) in India. Methods 6,447 (42% women) participants comprising 2077 rural, 2,094 migrants and 2,276 urban were recruited. Total activity (MET hr/day), activity intensity (min/day), PA Level (PAL) television viewing and sleeping (min/day) were estimated and associations with migrant status examined, adjusting for the sib-pair design, age, site, occupation, education, and socio-economic position (SEP). Results Total activity was highest in rural men whereas migrant and urban men had broadly similar activity levels (p<0.001). Women showed similar patterns, but slightly lower levels of total activity. Sedentary behaviour and television viewing were lower in rural residents and similar in migrant and urban groups. Sleep duration was highest in the rural group and lowest in urban non-migrants. Migrant men had considerably lower odds of being in the highest quartile of total activity than rural men, a finding that persisted after adjustment for age, SEP and education (OR 0.53, 95% CI 0.37, 0.74). For women, odds ratios attenuated and associations were removed after adjusting for age, SEP and education. Conclusion Our findings suggest that migrants have already acquired PA levels that closely resemble long-term urban residents. Effective public health interventions to increase PA are needed.
Adição de poeira de aciaria elétrica em ferro gusa líquido.

This research aims to study the process of incorporation of the mass in final hot metal and volatilization mass contained in the electric arc furnace dust (EAFD), by addition in hot metal at a temperature of 1,400°C; 1,450°C and 1,500°C altering experimental conditions such as the percentage of EAFD to be added and the percentage of silicon in hot metal. Previously, the EAFD was characterized using techniques of chemical analysis and size analysis. After characterization, the EAFD to be added to the hot metal was agglomerated in the form of briquettes. The achievement of fusion experiments in laboratory scale was placed in a vertical tubular furnace with temperature control. A flow of inert gas (argon) was maintained inside the furnace during the experiments. The result of the sample EAFD volatilized shows that there is an increase in the zinc concentration when compared with the concentration of zinc present in EAFD “as received”.
Investigating skin penetration depth and shape following needle‐free injection at different pressures: A cadaveric study

The effectiveness of needle‐free injection devices in neocollagenesis for treating extended skin planes is an area of active research. It is anticipated that needle‐free injection systems will not only be used to inject vaccines or insulin, but will also greatly aid skin rejuvenation when used to inject aesthetic materials such as hyaluronic acid, botulinum toxin, and placental extracts. There has not been any specific research to date examining how materials penetrate the skin when a needle‐free injection device is used. In this study, we investigated how material infiltrates the skin when it is injected into a cadaver using a needle‐free device.
Spatial and Angular Resolution Enhancement of Light Fields Using Convolutional Neural Networks

Light field imaging extends the traditional photography by capturing both spatial and angular distribution of light, which enables new capabilities, including post-capture refocusing, post-capture aperture control, and depth estimation from a single shot. Micro-lens array (MLA) based light field cameras offer a cost-effective approach to capture light field. A major drawback of MLA based light field cameras is low spatial resolution, which is due to the fact that a single image sensor is shared to capture both spatial and angular information. In this paper, we present a learning based light field enhancement approach. Both spatial and angular resolution of captured light field is enhanced using convolutional neural networks. The proposed method is tested with real light field data captured with a Lytro light field camera, clearly demonstrating spatial and angular resolution improvement.
Effect of Surfactants and Manufacturing Methods on the Electrical and Thermal Conductivity of Carbon Nanotube/Silicone Composites

The effect of ionic surfactants and manufacturing methods on the separation and distribution of multi-wall carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in a silicone matrix are investigated. The CNTs are dispersed in an aqueous solution of the anionic surfactant dodecylbenzene sulfonic acid (DBSA), the cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), and in a DBSA/CTAB surfactant mixture. Four types of CNT-based composites of various concentrations from 0 to 6 vol.% are prepared by simple mechanical mixing and sonication. The morphology, electrical and thermal conductivity of the CNT-based composites are analyzed. The incorporation of both neat and modified CNTs leads to an increase in electrical and thermal conductivity. The dependence of DC conductivity versus CNT concentration shows percolation behaviour with a percolation threshold of about 2 vol.% in composites with neat CNT. The modification of CNTs by DBSA increases the percolation threshold to 4 vol.% due to the isolation/separation of individual CNTs. This, in turn, results in a significant decrease in the complex permittivity of CNT–DBSA-based composites. In contrast to the percolation behaviour of DC conductivity, the concentration dependence of thermal conductivity exhibits a linear dependence, the thermal conductivity of composites with modified CNTs being lower than that of composites with neat CNTs. All these results provide evidence that the modification of CNTs by DBSA followed by sonication allows one to produce composites with high homogeneity.
Lipoprotein Lipase Is a Feature of Alternatively-Activated Microglia and May Facilitate Lipid Uptake in the CNS During Demyelination

Severe demyelinating disorders of the central nervous system (CNS) such as multiple sclerosis (MS), can be devastating for many young lives. To date, the factors resulting in poor remyelination and repair are not well understood, and reparative therapies that benefit MS patients have yet to be developed. We have previously shown that the activity and abundance of Lipoprotein Lipase (LPL)—the rate-limiting enzyme in the hydrolysis of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins—is increased in Schwann cells and macrophages following nerve crush injury in the peripheral nervous system (PNS), suggesting that LPL may help scavenge myelin-derived lipids. We hypothesized that LPL may play a similar role in the CNS. To test this, mice were immunized with MOG35–55 peptide to induce experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE). LPL activity was increased (p < 0.05) in the brain at 30 days post-injection, coinciding with partial remission of clinical symptoms. Furthermore, LPL abundance and activity was up-regulated (p < 0.05) at the transition between de- and re-myelination in lysolecithin-treated ex vivo cerebellar slices. Since microglia are the key immune effector cells of the CNS we determined the role of LPL in microglia. Lipid uptake was decreased (p < 0.001) in LPL-deficient BV-2 microglial cells compared to WT. In addition, LPL-deficient cells showed dramatically reduced expression of anti-inflammatory markers, YM1 (−22 fold, p < 0.001), and arginase 1 (Arg1; −265 fold, p < 0.001) and increased expression of pro-inflammatory markers, such as iNOS compared to WT cells (+53 fold, p < 0.001). This suggests that LPL is a feature of reparative microglia, further supported by the metabolic and inflammatory profile of LPL-deficient microglia. Taken together, our data strongly suggest that LPL expression is a novel feature of a microglial phenotype that supports remyelination and repair through the clearance of lipid debris. This mechanism may be exploited to develop future reparative therapies for MS and primary neurodegenerative disorders (Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease).
Self-management in Type 2 Diabetes

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to document barriers and facilitators of self-management as perceived by adolescents with type 2 diabetes. METHODS Focus groups were conducted with adolescents diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Adolescents aged 13 to 19 years were recruited from an academic medical center diabetes clinic. Between 2003 and 2005, 6 focus groups were used to elicit responses from the adolescents related to self-management of their diabetes. Questions were asked by trained group facilitators. Transcripts were coded by 3 reviewers. Qualitative analyses were conducted using NVIVO software. RESULTS A total of 24 adolescents participated in 6 focus groups. Coding resulted in 4 common domains affecting self-management: adolescent psychosocial development; the role of others with diabetes; environmental influences; and adolescents' problem-solving/coping skills. Adolescents identified both barriers to and facilitators of self-management within each domain. Barriers often related to social situations, embarrassment, seeking acceptance or perceived normalcy, and balancing competing interests. Adolescents viewed having another family member with diabetes as both a positive and a negative influence. Environmental influences, including school and family situations, had a large impact on self-management behaviors. Making sensible food choices was a common challenge. Descriptions of problem-solving or coping skills were limited, but cognitive techniques, such as reframing, were described. CONCLUSION Adolescents with type 2 diabetes identified many barriers to self-management, particularly related to interpersonal interactions, the influence of others with diabetes, and environmental influences. Results suggest that improving self-management in adolescents may require multimodal interventions to address individual, family, and social processes.
Sliding Mode Observer-Based Heading Control for a Gliding Robotic Dolphin

This paper proposes a sliding mode observer (SMO)-based heading control method for the gliding motion of a dolphin-like gliding robot. A pair of flippers are employed to regulate gliding direction via differential actions, rather than actuators commonly used in traditional underwater gliders. The framework of the control algorithm is established based on a derived dynamic model, including an SMO, a backstepping controller, and a solver for action commands of the flippers. Considering gliding velocity is indispensable for heading control but difficult to measure practically, we design the SMO to estimate gliding velocity by data acquired from a depth sensor and an attitude and heading reference system. Afterward, the backstepping methodology is applied to derive the heading control law. Further, a solver is designed to convert the controller's instruction to deflection angles of the flippers, which can simultaneously eliminate coupled but undesired roll and sideslip. Simulation results obtained demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Non-adherence to antipsychotic medication, relapse and rehospitalisation in recent-onset schizophrenia

BackgroundThe aims of this study were to describe outcome with respect to persistent psychotic symptoms, relapse of positive symptoms, hospital admissions, and application of treatment by coercion among patients with recent onset schizophrenia being adherent and non-adherent to anti-psychotic medication.Materials and methodsThe study included 50 patients with recent onset schizophrenia, schizoaffective or schizophreniform disorders. The patients were clinically stable at study entry and had less than 2 years duration of psychotic symptoms. Good adherence to antipsychotic medication was defined as less than one month without medication. Outcomes for poor and good adherence were compared over a 24-month follow-up period.ResultsThe Odds Ratio (OR) of having a psychotic relapse was 10.27 and the OR of being admitted to hospital was 4.00 among non-adherent patients. Use of depot-antipsychotics were associated with relapses (OR = 6.44). ConclusionNon-adherence was associated with relapse, hospital admission and having persistent psychotic symptoms. Interventions to increase adherence are needed.Trial registrationCurrent Controlled Trials NCT00184509. Key words: Adherence, schizophrenia, antipsychotic medication, admittances, relapse.
Performance validity testing in neuropsychology: a clinical guide, critical review, and update on a rapidly evolving literature

Abstract Objective: Over the past two decades, there has been much research on measures of response bias and myriad measures have been validated in a variety of clinical and research samples. This critical review aims to guide clinicians through the use of performance validity tests (PVTs) from test selection and administration through test interpretation and feedback. Method/results: Recommended cutoffs and relevant test operating characteristics are presented. Other important issues to consider during test selection, administration, interpretation, and feedback are discussed including order effects, coaching, impact on test data, and methods to combine measures and improve predictive power. When interpreting performance validity measures, neuropsychologists must use particular caution in cases of dementia, low intelligence, English as a second language/minority cultures, or low education. Conclusions: PVTs provide valuable information regarding response bias and, under the right circumstances, can provide excellent evidence of response bias. Only after consideration of the entire clinical picture, including validity test performance, can concrete determinations regarding the validity of test data be made.
Quorum Sensing Signaling Molecules Produced by Reference and Emerging Soft-Rot Bacteria (Dickeya and Pectobacterium spp.)

Background Several small diffusible molecules are involved in bacterial quorum sensing and virulence. The production of autoinducers-1 and -2, quinolone, indole and γ-amino butyrate signaling molecules was investigated in a set of soft-rot bacteria belonging to six Dickeya or Pectobacterium species including recent or emerging potato isolates. Methodology/Principal Findings Using bacterial biosensors, immunoassay, and chromatographic analysis, we showed that soft-rot bacteria have the common ability to produce transiently during their exponential phase of growth the N-3-oxo-hexanoyl- or the N-3-oxo-octanoyl-l-homoserine lactones and a molecule of the autoinducer-2 family. Dickeya spp. produced in addition the indole-3-acetic acid in tryptophan-rich conditions. All these signaling molecules have been identified for the first time in the novel Dickeya solani species. In contrast, quinolone and γ-amino butyrate signals were not identified and the corresponding synthases are not present in the available genomes of soft-rot bacteria. To determine if the variations of signal production according to growth phase could result from expression modifications of the corresponding synthase gene, the respective mRNA levels were estimated by reverse transcriptase-PCR. While the N-acyl-homoserine lactone production is systematically correlated to the synthase expression, that of the autoinducer-2 follows the expression of an enzyme upstream in the activated methyl cycle and providing its precursor, rather than the expression of its own synthase. Conclusions/Significance Despite sharing the S-adenosylmethionine precursor, no strong link was detected between the production kinetics or metabolic pathways of autoinducers-1 and -2. In contrast, the signaling pathway of autoinducer-2 seems to be switched off by the indole-3-acetic acid pathway under tryptophan control. It therefore appears that the two genera of soft-rot bacteria have similarities but also differences in the mechanisms of communication via the diffusible molecules. Our results designate autoinducer-1 lactones as the main targets for a global biocontrol of soft-rot bacteria communications, including those of emerging isolates.
Human-mobility networks, country income, and labor productivity

Abstract This paper asks whether the level of integration of world countries in the international network of temporary human mobility can explain differences in their per-capita income and labor productivity. We disentangle the role played by global country centrality in the network from traditional openness measures, which only account for local, nearest-neighbor linkages through which ideas and knowledge can flow. Using 1995-2010 data, we show that global country centrality in the international temporary human-mobility network enhances both per-capita income and labor productivity. Our results hold cross-sectionally, as well as in a dynamic-panel estimation, and take into account potential endogeneity issues. Our findings imply that how close a country is to the theoretical technological frontier, depends not only on how much she is open to temporary human mobility, but mostly on whether she is embedded in a web of relationships connecting her with other influential partners in the network. Our exercises also suggest that most of the gain in income and productivity can be attained if country centrality in the network comes mostly from influential partners that lie not too far away from, but neither too close to them in the network.
Tracking of body mass index from childhood to adolescence: a 6-y follow-up study in China.

BACKGROUND Although extensive descriptive research shows that childhood obesity predisposes a person to adult obesity, little is understood about the dynamics of weight during childhood and the predictors of weight tracking. OBJECTIVE Our objective was to examine tracking patterns of body mass index (BMI) as well as their predictors between childhood and adolescence. DESIGN A cohort of 975 Chinese children aged 6-13 y was followed for 6 y (1991-1997). Tracking of BMI was defined as an individual maintaining a certain status (overweight or underweight) or relative position (relative BMI quartile) over time. Relative BMI related BMI to age- and sex-specific BMI cutoffs. RESULTS After 6 y, approximately 40% of the subjects had maintained their relative positions, but 30% had moved into a lower or higher quartile. The BMIs of thin and fat children were more likely to track: 51% and 46% remained in the bottom and upper quartiles, respectively. Nearly one-third of the underweight children remained underweight in 1997. Overweight children were 2.8 times as likely as all other children to become overweight adolescents; underweight children were 3.6 times as likely to remain underweight as adolescents. Parental obesity and underweight, individuals' initial BMIs, dietary fat intake, and family income helped predict tracking and changes in BMI. CONCLUSION In a society undergoing enormous changes in diet and activity, BMI tracking is still very important between childhood and adolescence in China.