Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Update on the current methods for the diagnosis and treatment of severe childhood asthma

The level of asthma control is the key outcome towards which asthma management is evaluated. The majority of children with asthma can obtain adequate control of symptoms through avoidance of triggering factors and/or with the help of low to moderate doses of current available medications. However, there is still a group of children with poor symptom control despite intensive treatment. The current review will provide an overview of a standardized approach to characterize this heterogeneous group of severely sick children. Factors that attenuate the effect of the prescribed treatment and make asthma difficult to treat are discussed. In addition, the usefulness of current methods of assessing asthma severity, pulmonary function, allergy and airway inflammation is also described. Finally, an overview of therapeutic options for children with severe asthma is provided.
Predicting the Timing and Magnitude of Tropical Mosquito Population Peaks for Maximizing Control Efficiency

The transmission of mosquito-borne diseases is strongly linked to the abundance of the host vector. Identifying the environmental and biological precursors which herald the onset of peaks in mosquito abundance would give health and land-use managers the capacity to predict the timing and distribution of the most efficient and cost-effective mosquito control. We analysed a 15-year time series of monthly abundance of Aedes vigilax, a tropical mosquito species from northern Australia, to determine periodicity and drivers of population peaks (high-density outbreaks). Two sets of density-dependent models were used to examine the correlation between mosquito abundance peaks and the environmental drivers of peaks or troughs (low-density periods). The seasonal peaks of reproduction (r) and abundance () occur at the beginning of September and early November, respectively. The combination of low mosquito abundance and a low frequency of a high tide exceeding 7 m in the previous low-abundance (trough) period were the most parsimonious predictors of a peak's magnitude, with this model explaining over 50% of the deviance in . Model weights, estimated using AICc, were also relatively high for those including monthly maximum tide height, monthly accumulated tide height or total rainfall per month in the trough, with high values in the trough correlating negatively with the onset of a high-abundance peak. These findings illustrate that basic environmental monitoring data can be coupled with relatively simple density feedback models to predict the timing and magnitude of mosquito abundance peaks. Decision-makers can use these methods to determine optimal levels of control (i.e., least-cost measures yielding the largest decline in mosquito abundance) and so reduce the risk of disease outbreaks in human populations.
Semantic Matching by Non-Linear Word Transportation for Information Retrieval

A common limitation of many information retrieval (IR) models is that relevance scores are solely based on exact (i.e., syntactic) matching of words in queries and documents under the simple Bag-of-Words (BoW) representation. This not only leads to the well-known vocabulary mismatch problem, but also does not allow semantically related words to contribute to the relevance score. Recent advances in word embedding have shown that semantic representations for words can be efficiently learned by distributional models. A natural generalization is then to represent both queries and documents as Bag-of-Word-Embeddings (BoWE), which provides a better foundation for semantic matching than BoW. Based on this representation, we introduce a novel retrieval model by viewing the matching between queries and documents as a non-linear word transportation (NWT) problem. With this formulation, we define the capacity and profit of a transportation model designed for the IR task. We show that this transportation problem can be efficiently solved via pruning and indexing strategies. Experimental results on several representative benchmark datasets show that our model can outperform many state-of-the-art retrieval models as well as recently introduced word embedding-based models. We also conducted extensive experiments to analyze the effect of different settings on our semantic matching model.
Displacing activism? The impact of international service trips on understandings of social change

This article reports key findings from in-depth interviews with undergraduate students returning from international service trips (ISTs). These interviews examined students’ perceptions of social change activities and assessed students’ affinity toward service and activism independently as well as the perceived relationship and interaction between the two. Using an identity project model, we argue that far from being complementary, service and activism may act as competing identities with service being preferred. We further argue that ISTs can incorporate and model a broader range of civic engagement activities to help students better understand the different approaches taken to enacting social change. In particular, we call for the deliberate incorporation of strategic activist skill-building, and discussions of the history and ideology of activism within ISTs.
Learning to teach across borders: Mainland Chinese student English teachers in Hong Kong schools

The literature on non-native English-speaking teachers (NNESTs) and native English-speaking teachers (NESTs) tends to focus on their respective strengths, the main strengths of NNESTs being their experience of learning English as a second language and their familiarity with their students’ language and educational background. This article proposes a further distinction between NNESTs who are local to their teaching settings, and ‘non-local NNESTS’, who are at risk of falling between the cracks of the NNEST–NEST distinction if they do not share their students’ first language and educational background. It also argues that the strengths of NNESTs and NESTs (local or non-local) are not intrinsic to these categories, but instead serve as contexts of discourse in which teachers construct their ‘authority’ to teach English in particular settings. A case study of two non-local NNESTs in their final year of a pre-service teacher education degree in Hong Kong explores how they struggled to construct authoritative identities as English teachers in the context of discourses that primarily validate the status of NESTs and local NNESTs. It concludes by calling for a more nuanced view of the NNEST–NEST distinction and for further fine-grained studies of the experiences of local and non-local NNESTs elsewhere in the world.
The role of power in intimate relationships

The current study examined relationship power in the context of the investment model of relationship commitment (Rusbult, 1980). It was hypothesized that satisfaction with, quality of alternatives to, and investment in the relationship would mediate the relationship between power and commitment in 120 dating couples. Data were analyzed using mediation within the actor-partner interdependence model. Participants who possessed a higher level of power reported lower satisfaction and commitment and higher quality of alternatives. Furthermore, the relationship between female’s power and male’s commitment was mediated by male’s satisfaction and the relationship between male’s power and female’s commitment was mediated by male’s quality of alternatives. Findings are discussed within the context of the field’s expanding conceptualization of power within intimate relationships.
A robust image-based method for 3D registration

Today modeling from reality receives more and more attention. In this paper, we present a novel image-based 3D registration method. Compared with a previous one it does not require accurate starting position, albedo and geometric invariants, but has to address the more apparent mismatch problems. First, distinctive corner points, which act as salient features for subsequent image matching, are detected via the minimal eigenvalue of the auto-correlation matrix. Then, a verification scheme discards the potential mismatches by thresholds of the correlation coefficients and point-to-point distances. Experimental results demonstrate the superiority of our proposed verification scheme to the previous one using only correlation coefficients under the relaxed conditions.
Hemorrhagic Lacunar Stroke

A total of 17 patients with lacunar syndromes due to intracerebral hemorrhage or hemorrhagic lacunar stroke (pure motor hemiparesis 9, sensorimotor stroke 5, pure sensory stroke 3) are reported. Data from these patients were obtained from consecutive stroke patients included in the prospective Hospital Sagrat Cor-Aliança Stroke Registry. Hemorrhagic lacunar stroke accounted for 3.8% of all cases of lacunar syndrome (n = 439) and 7.4% of all cases of intracerebral hemorrhage (n = 229) entered in the database. Demographic, anamnestic, clinical and neuroimaging variables in patients with hemorrhagic lacunar stroke, non-lacunar intracerebral hemorrhage and non-hemorrhagic lacunar stroke were compared. Predictors of hemorrhagic lacunar stroke were assessed by logistic regression analysis. Hypertension, cigarette smoking and involvement of the internal capsule were significantly more frequent in patients with hemorrhagic lacunar stroke than in those with non-lacunar intracerebral hemorrhage, whereas nausea and vomiting, altered consciousness, speech disturbances, hemianopia, and ventricular hemorrhage were significantly less frequent. As compared with non-hemorrhagic lacunar stroke, patients with hemorrhagic lacunar stroke were more likely to have hypertension, sudden stroke onset (minutes), head injury, headache, and basal ganglia involvement and less likely to have diabetes, gradual stroke onset (hours), and dysarthria. After multivariate analysis, only headache (OR 10.14), sudden onset (OR 9.89), and dysarthria (OR 0.10) were independent predictors of hemorrhagic lacunar stroke. Accordingly, the presence of headache and sudden onset of symptoms and absence of dysarthria may be useful signs for distinguishing hemorrhagic lacunar stroke from other causes of lacunar stroke.
Effects of CW interference on carrier tracking

This paper focuses on the modeling and analysis of phase locked loops in the presence of CW interference such that the operating vulnerability to CW jamming and interference can be accessed. In the absence of noise the loop phase error signal is characterized analytically and the conditions under which the loop remains locked to the desired carrier are presented. Contrary to previous literature, analysis has been conducted for arbitrary detuning between the desired carrier and the quiescent voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) frequencies. The results show that loop performance degradation depends on the frequencies of the interferer and the desired signal relative to the center (quiescent) VCO frequency; it also depends upon the interference power to the desired signal power ratio. In the presence of noise and interference, a model which manifests the time evolution of the phase error process is developed. A Fokker Planck analysis is conducted on this model in order to illustrate the method and obtain insight into system performance in the presence of interferer. <<ETX>>
Applications of omics approaches to the development of microbiological risk assessment using RNA virus dose–response models as a case study

T e in the amount of ‘omics’ data available and in our ability to interpret those data. The aim of this paper was to consider how omics techniques can be used to improve and refine microbiological risk assessment, using dose–response models for RNA viruses, with particular reference to norovirus through the oral route as the case study. The dose–response model for initial infection in the gastrointestinal tract is broken down into the component steps at the molecular level and the feasibility of assigning probabilities to each step assessed. The molecular mechanisms are not sufficiently well understood at present to enable quantitative estimation of probabilities on the basis of omics data. At present, the great strength of gene sequence data appears to be in giving information on the distribution and proportion of susceptible genotypes (for example due to the presence of the appropriate pathogen‐binding receptor) in the host population rather than in predicting specificities from the amino acid sequences concurrently obtained. The nature of the mutant spectrum in RNA viruses greatly complicates the application of omics approaches to the development of mechanistic dose–response models and prevents prediction of risks of disease progression (given infection has occurred) at the level of the individual host. However, molecular markers in the host and virus may enable more broad predictions to be made about the consequences of exposure in a population. In an alternative approach, comparing the results of deep sequencing of RNA viruses in the faeces/vomitus from donor humans with those from their infected recipients may enable direct estimates of the average probability of infection per virion to be made.
Who Is Happy?

A flood of new studies explores people's subjective well-being (SWB) Frequent positive affect, infrequent negative affect, and a global sense of satisfaction with life define high SWB These studies reveal that happiness and life satisfaction are similarly available to the young and the old, women and men, blacks and whites, the rich and the working-class Better clues to well-being come from knowing about a person's traits, close relationships, work experiences, culture, and religiosity We present the elements of an appraisal-based theory of happiness that recognizes the importance of adaptation, cultural world-view, and personal goals
VOWEL REDUCTION IN BULGARIAN and its Implications for Theories of Vowel Production: a Review of the Problem

Phonological vowel reduction in Bulgarian is discussed, distinguishing between formal & informal speech & dialectal & standard forms. The Bulgarian vowel system is presented, with an evaluation of the articulatory models of Bulgarian vowel production, & a description of the orthographic representation of the "indeterminate vowel. " Alternations between stressed & nonstressed vowels in informal Bulgarian are listed. The dialectal, morphological, sociolinguistic, & stylistic aspects of vowel reduction in Bulgarian are discussed - it is found that the extent of vowel reduction varies considerably, depending on stylistic, dialectal, & morphological constraints. The articulatory pattern of the Bulgarian indeterminate vowel is defined & the phonetic solutions of vowel reduction in Bulgarian are considered. (Less)
Real-time heart rate entropy predicts the need for lifesaving interventions in trauma activation patients

BACKGROUND Heart rate complexity (HRC), commonly described as a “new vital sign,” has shown promise in predicting injury severity, but its use in clinical practice has been precluded by the absence of real-time data. This study was conducted to evaluate the utility of real-time, automated, instantaneous, hand-held heart rate entropy analysis in predicting the need for lifesaving interventions (LSIs). We hypothesized that real-time HRC would predict LSIs. METHODS Prospective enrollment of patients who met criteria for trauma team activation was conducted at a Level I trauma center (September 2011 to February 2012). A novel, hand-held, portable device was used to measure HRC (by sample entropy) and time-domain heart rate variability continuously in real time for 2 hours after the moment of presentation. Electric impedance cardiography was used to determine cardiac output. Patients who received an LSI were compared with patients without any intervention (non-LSI). Multivariable analysis was performed to control for differences between the groups. RESULTS Of 82 patients enrolled, 21 (26%) received 67 LSIs within 24 hours of hospital arrival. Initial systolic blood pressure was similar in both groups. LSI patients had a lower Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score (9.2 [5.1] vs. 14.9 [0.2], p < 0.0001). The mean (SD) HRC value on presentation was 0.8 (0.6) in the LSI group compared with 1.5 (0.6) in the non-LSI group (p < 0.0001). With the use of logistic regression, initial HRC was the only significant predictor of LSI. A cutoff value for HRC of 1.1 yields sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value, and positive predictive value of 86%, 74%, 94%, and 53%, respectively, with an accuracy of 77% for predicting an LSI. CONCLUSION Decreased HRC on hospital arrival is an independent predictor of the need for LSI in trauma activation patients. Real-time HRC may be a useful adjunct to standard vital signs monitoring and predicts LSIs. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE Prognostic and diagnostic study, level III.
Cultural Proximity and Loan Outcomes

We present evidence that shared codes, religious beliefs, ethnicity - cultural proximity - between lenders and borrowers improves the efficiency of credit allocation. We identify in-group preferential treatment using dyadic data on the religion and caste of bank officers and borrowers from a bank in India, and a rotation policy that induces exogenous matching between officers and borrowers. Cultural proximity increases lending on both intensive and extensive margins and improves repayment performance, even after the in-group officer is replaced by an out-group one. Further, cultural proximity increases loan dispersion and reduces loan to collateral ratios. Our results imply that cultural proximity mitigates informational problems that adversely affect lending, which in turn relaxes financial constraints and improves access to finance.
In vitro susceptibility and resistance phenotypes in contemporary Citrobacter isolates in a University Hospital in Crete, Greece

Abstract Background: Data on Citrobacter spp. susceptibility are scarce. We sought to study the evolution in the susceptibility of 385 Citrobacter spp. at the University Hospital of Heraklion, Crete, Greece during a six-year period (2010–2015). Methods: Non-duplicate strains isolated from inpatients (intensive care unit, oncology, surgery, internal medicine, paediatrics) and outpatients were studied using Vitek 2. Phenotypic confirmatory tests were applied for detection of β-lactamases and aminoglycoside modifying enzymes. Results: C. freundii (172, 44.7%) and C. koseri (166, 43.1%) were the most commonly isolated species. C. braakii (34), C. amalonaticus (6), C. youngae (6) and C. sedlakii (1) were the remaining isolates. Colistin and fosfomycin were the most active antibiotics (both 99.2%) followed by carbapenems (99%) aminoglycosides (96.6–98.4%), tigecycline (96.1%), cefepime (94.8%), ciprofloxacin (94.3%), tetracycline (92.7%), trimethoprim/sulphamethoxazole (91.4%), chloramphenicol (88.1%), piperacillin/tazobactam (86.5%) and 3rd generation cephalosporins (85.7%). C. freundii were more resistant than C. koseri. Antibiotic resistance did not increase during the study period for most antibiotics. Lower susceptibility to all antibiotics was observed among multi-drug resistant (MDR) strains. AmpC was the most common resistant mechanism (10.9%); carbapenemases (1.3%) and aminoglycoside modifying enzymes (2.9%) were also detected. All AmpC producers were resistant to cephalosporins but not to carbapenems. In all but one isolates aminoglycoside resistance was accompanied by acquired β-lactamases. Conclusions: Although Citrobacter species in general were susceptible, antibiotic susceptibility testing is required for the detection of resistant isolates.
Fpk1/2 kinases regulate cellular sphingoid long-chain base abundance and alter cellular resistance to LCB elevation or depletion

Sphingolipids are a family of eukaryotic lipids biosynthesized from sphingoid long‐chain bases (LCBs). Sphingolipids are an essential class of lipids, as their depletion results in cell death. However, acute LCB supplementation is also toxic; thus, proper cellular LCB levels should be maintained. To characterize the “sphingolipid‐signaling intercross,” we performed a kinome screening assay in which budding yeast protein kinase‐knockout strains were screened for resistance to ISP‐1, a potent inhibitor of LCB biosynthesis. Here, one pair of such DIR (deletion‐mediated ISP‐1 resistance) genes, FPK1 and FPK2, was further characterized. Cellular LCB levels increased in the fpk1/2∆ strain, which was hypersensitive to phytosphingosine (PHS), a major LCB species of yeast cells. Concomitantly, this strain acquired resistance to ISP‐1. Fpk1 and Fpk2 were involved in two downstream events; that is, ISP‐1 uptake due to aminophospholipid flippase and LCB degradation due to LCB4 expression. RSK3, which belongs to the p90‐S6K subfamily, was identified as a functional counterpart of Fpk1/2 in mammalian cells as the RSK3 gene functionally complemented the ISP‐1‐resistant phenotype of fpk1/2∆ cells.
Review of chronic non‐cancer pain research among Aboriginal people in Canada

Purpose: Aboriginal people in Canada are disproportionately affected by chronic illnesses, compared to non‐Aboriginal Canadians. The purpose of this review was to determine whether differences exist between the two groups with respect to chronic non‐cancer pain (CNCP) in order to better inform clinical practice and to identify research gaps. Data sources: Four electronic databases were searched for the period of 1990‐2015. Study selection: Only English and French language original studies that examined CNCP prevalence, assessment tools and beliefs among Aboriginal people in Canada were considered. Data extraction: Data extracted included Aboriginal group, geographic location, study setting and pain definition (for prevalence studies only). Results of data synthesis: A total of 11 studies matched the selection criteria: 10 reported estimates of chronic pain prevalence among Aboriginal people in Canada, 1 was about a culturally adapted pain assessment tool, and no study was found about CNCP beliefs within Aboriginal people. Conclusion: CNCP among Aboriginal people is still a largely unexplored research field. The limited evidence available so far does not allow us to conclude that CNCP affects a higher proportion of Aboriginal than non‐Aboriginal people in Canada. However, arthritis, a specific condition associated with chronic pain, is more prevalent in Aboriginal than non‐Aboriginal people. Additional research is needed on other CNCP types and conditions. Furthermore, pain assessment tools are not culturally adapted and clinicians should inquire more about the beliefs of Aboriginal patients to make them feel safer and to better target interventions.