Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effectiveness of Hemcon Dental Dressing versus Conventional Method of Haemostasis in 40 Patients on Oral Antiplatelet Drugs.

OBJECTIVES The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the HemCon Dental Dressing (HDD) in controlling post extraction bleeding and to ascertain its role in healing of extraction wounds, as compared to control. METHODS The 40 participants in the study were all receiving oral antiplatelet therapy (OAT). A total of 80 extractions were conducted without altering the patients' drug therapy. The extraction sites were divided into 2 groups: one group received a HDD, and the control group where the conventional method of pressure pack with sterile gauze under biting pressure (followed by suturing if required) was used to achieve haemostasis. RESULTS All HemCon treated sites achieved haemostasis sooner (mean = 53 seconds) than the control sites (mean = 918 seconds) which was statistically significant (P <0.001). Postoperative pain in the HDD group (1.74) was also significantly lower than in the control group (5.26) (P <0.001). Approximately 72.5% of HDD-treated sites showed significantly better postoperative healing when compared to the control site (P <0.001). CONCLUSION HDD proved to be an excellent haemostatic agent that significantly shortened the bleeding time following dental extraction in patients on OAT. Additionally, HDD offered significantly improved post-operative healing of the extraction socket and less postoperative pain.
DETECTING AVIAN MALARIA: AN IMPROVED POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION DIAGNOSTIC

We describe a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay that detects avian malarial infection across divergent host species and parasite lineages representing both Plasmodium spp. and Haemoproteus spp. The assay is based on nucleotide primers designed to amplify a 286-bp fragment of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) coding sequence within the 6-kb mitochondrial DNA malaria genome. The rRNA malarial assay outperformed other published PCR diagnostic methods for detecting avian infections. Our data demonstrate that the assay is sensitive to as few as 10−5 infected erythrocytes in peripheral blood. Results of avian population surveys conducted with the rRNA assay suggest that prevalences of malarial infection are higher than previously documented, and that studies based on microscopic examination of blood smears may substantially underestimate the extent of parasitism by these apicomplexans. Nonetheless, because these and other published primers miss small numbers of infections detected by other methods, including inspection of smears, no assay now available for avian malaria is universally reliable.
Organizational improvisation: what, when, how, and why

In this article, the authors review the growing body of literature on organizational improvisation in order to present an encompassing and systematic perspective on this concept. An integrative definition of its construct is presented together with a new way of measuring this phenomenon in organizational settings. The article further explores this construct by presenting its triggers, necessary conditions, influencing factors and major outcomes. The issues of improvisation’s growing legitimization in the organizational arena for practitioners and researchers alike are addressed in order to argue for the need for and interest in a fuller development research on this concept.
Theorizing e‐learning participation: a study of the HRD online communities in the USA

Purpose – This study sets out to investigate the e‐learning participation and completion phenomenon in the US corporate HRD online communities and to explore determinants of e‐learning completion.Design/methodology/approach – Based on the HRD Learning Participation Theory (LPT), this study takes a two‐stage approach. Stage one adopts an interview approach to selected e‐learning managers and to bridge the LPT with empirical data for stage two; stage two develops a survey questionnaire for collecting e‐learning completion related data. Statistical techniques are used for data analysis.Findings – The study finds that the e‐learning completion rate is significantly higher in the online HRD communities than those reported in the popular media. The results show that e‐learning completion is influenced by individual, organizational, and learning process factors and variables. Environmental factors also influence the completion rate to a certain degree.Research limitations/implications – The data were obtained fr.
A Double Joint Bayesian Approach for J-Vector Based Text-dependent Speaker Verification

J-vector has been proved to be very effective in text-dependent speaker verification with short-duration speech. However, the current state-of-the-art back-end classifiers, e.g. joint Bayesian model, cannot make full use of such deep features. In this paper, we generalize the standard joint Bayesian approach to model the multi-faceted information in the j-vector explicitly and jointly. In our generalization, the j-vector was modeled as a result derived by a generative Double Joint Bayesian (DoJoBa) model, which contains several kinds of latent variables. With DoJoBa, we are able to explicitly build a model that can combine multiple heterogeneous information from the j-vectors. In verification step, we calculated the likelihood to describe whether the two j-vectors having consistent labels or not. On the public RSR2015 data corpus, the experimental results showed that our approach can achieve 0.02\% EER and 0.02\% EER for impostor wrong and impostor correct cases respectively.
Parsing of Sentences in a Language with Varying Word Order: Word-by-Word Variations of Processing Demands Are Revealed by Event-Related Brain Potentials ☆ ☆☆ ★

Abstract Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were recorded while native speakers read German sentences in which the order of the sentence elements subject, indirect object, and direct object was systematically varied. All sentences were legal grammatical constructions. Sentences were presented word by word and a question on the role assignments had to be answered 5 s after the presentation of the final word of each sentence. Behavioral data confirmed previous findings showing that sentences whose word order deviates from the canonical sequence of subject, indirect and direct object are more difficult to process. ERPs revealed several effects which differed in their antecedent conditions, topography, and timing: (1) Anticipating a question which taxes episodic verbal knowledge was accompanied by a pronounced tonic negative shift having a left anterior maximum. (2) Articles which function as case markers in German evoked a transient, left anterior negativity whenever they indicated that a noun phrase sequence would not continue in its canonical order. (3) Nouns which follow case markers at noncanonical positions were accompanied by an enlarged transient posterior positivity. (4) Processing of words at terminal positions in sentences with a noncanonical word order was accompanied by a sequence of effects: a slow posterior positivity, a transient anterior negativity, and a transient posterior negativity, respectively. These effects are discussed in relation to functionally distinct parsing mechanisms. They show that ERPs may help to disentangle functionally distinct processes during language comprehension even when no behavioral output is generated by the participant.
People on drugs: credibility of user statements in health communities

Online health communities are a valuable source of information for patients and physicians. However, such user-generated resources are often plagued by inaccuracies and misinformation. In this work we propose a method for automatically establishing the credibility of user-generated medical statements and the trustworthiness of their authors by exploiting linguistic cues and distant supervision from expert sources. To this end we introduce a probabilistic graphical model that jointly learns user trustworthiness, statement credibility, and language objectivity. We apply this methodology to the task of extracting rare or unknown side-effects of medical drugs --- this being one of the problems where large scale non-expert data has the potential to complement expert medical knowledge. We show that our method can reliably extract side-effects and filter out false statements, while identifying trustworthy users that are likely to contribute valuable medical information.
Construction of a Legal Ontology from a European Community Legislative Text

This paper describes the construction of an application ontology around the concept of EMPLOYEE in a European community legislation text. Firstly, the TERMI- NAE method is presented. Then it is shown how the text contributes to the building of this ontology. Afterward the use of a top level ontology as DOLCE and of a legal on- tology as LRI-Core are detailed. The essential points of this study are : the application of the TERMINAE method to the legal domain and its alignment to core ontologies. This paper presents the construction of a legal ontology from a European community legislation text. This construction is achieved both by building the ontology from texts by using the semi-automatic TERMINAE method (1) and aligning it with a top-level ontology. TERMINAE is based on knowledge elicitation from text and allows creating a domain model by analyzing a corpus with NPL tools. The method combines knowledge acquisition tools based on linguistics with modeling techniques so as to keep links between models and texts. During the building process (2), it is assumed that : (1) the ontology builder should have a comprehensive knowledge of the domain, so that she/he will be able to decide which terms (nouns, phrases, verbs or adjectives) are domain terms and which concepts and relations are labeled with these domain terms ; (2) the ontology builder knows well how the ontology will be used. The alignment process takes place during the construction. (3) defined ontology ali- gnment as follows : ontology alignment consists in establishing links between ontologies and allowing the aligned ontologies to reuse information one from the other. In alignment, the original ontologies persist, with links established between them. Alignment usually is perfor- med when the ontologies cover complementary domains. Our ontology is structured around two central ontologies DOLCE (4) and LRI-Core (5). The resulting ontology does not become part of the DOLCE ontology but uses its top-level distinction. The process of ontology align- ment was carried out during the ontology construction and was performed mostly by hand, with the TERMINAE tool. TERMINAE provides easy import of concepts among DOLCE but doesn't check whether consistency is maintained after the performed operations. The article is structured as follows : first different legal ontologies and their associated me- thods of construction are recalled. Then the semi-automatic TERMINAE method of ontology construction from texts, TERMINAE, is described. In the last section, the first results of the ontology construction are presented.
Temporal- and Strain-Specific Host MicroRNA Molecular Signatures Associated with Swine-Origin H1N1 and Avian-Origin H7N7 Influenza A Virus Infection

ABSTRACT MicroRNAs (miRNAs) repress the expression levels of genes by binding to mRNA transcripts, acting as master regulators of cellular processes. Differential expression of miRNAs has been linked to virus-associated diseases involving members of the Hepacivirus, Herpesvirus, and Retrovirus families. In contrast, limited biological and molecular information has been reported on the potential role of cellular miRNAs in the life cycle of influenza A viruses (infA). In this study, we hypothesize that elucidating the miRNA expression signatures induced by low-pathogenicity swine-origin infA (S-OIV) pandemic H1N1 (2009) and highly pathogenic avian-origin infA (A-OIV) H7N7 (2003) infections could reveal temporal and strain-specific miRNA fingerprints during the viral life cycle, shedding important insights into the potential role of cellular miRNAs in host-infA interactions. Using a microfluidic microarray platform, we profiled cellular miRNA expression in human A549 cells infected with S- and A-OIVs at multiple time points during the viral life cycle, including global gene expression profiling during S-OIV infection. Using target prediction and pathway enrichment analyses, we identified the key cellular pathways associated with the differentially expressed miRNAs and predicted mRNA targets during infA infection, including the immune system, cell proliferation, apoptosis, cell cycle, and DNA replication and repair. By identifying the specific and dynamic molecular phenotypic changes (microRNAome) triggered by S- and A-OIV infection in human cells, we provide experimental evidence demonstrating a series of temporal and strain-specific host molecular responses involving different combinatorial contributions of multiple cellular miRNAs. Our results also identify novel potential exosomal miRNA biomarkers associated with pandemic S-OIV and deadly A-OIV-host infection.
The effects of bilingualism on learning to read English: Evidence from the contrast between Urdu-English bilingual and English monolingual children.

Learning to read in a shallow alphabetic orthography such as Urdu may depend primarily on phonological processing skills, whilst learning to read in a deeper orthography, such as English, may place more reliance on visual processing skills. This study explores the effects of Urdu on the acquisition of English literacy skills by comparing the reading, memory and phonological processing skills of bilingual Urdu-English and monolingual English children (7–8 years). The bilingual children had more difficulty in reading irregular English words, but were better at reading regular words and nonwords compared to the monolinguals. The poor performance of the bilingual children with irregular English words was linked to their poor visual memory skills, whilst their good performance with regular words and nonwords was related to the presence of enhanced phonological skills. The results demonstrate the transfer of first language skills to reading development in a second language. In English, first language skills can facilitate the development of either lexical or non-lexical routes to reading.
Shifting the Curve: Fostering Academic Success in a Diverse Student Body

Problem Diversity in the health care workforce is key to achieving health equity. Although U.S. medical schools have worked to increase the matriculation and academic success of underrepresented minority (URM) students (African Americans, Latinos, others), they have had only limited success. Lower standardized test scores, including on the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), have been a barrier to matriculation for many URM applicants. Lower subsequent standardized exam scores, including on the United States Medical Licensing Exam Step 1, also have been an impediment to students’ progress, with mean scores for URM students lagging behind those for others. Approach Faculty at the Morehouse School of Medicine developed and implemented interventions to enhance the academic success of their URM students (about 75% are African American, and 5% are from other URM groups). To assess the outcomes of this work, the authors analyzed the MCAT scores and subsequent Step 1 scores of students in the graduating classes of 2009–2014. They also reviewed course evaluations, Graduation Questionnaires, and student and faculty interviews and focus groups. Outcomes Students’ Step 1 scores exceeded those expected based on their MCAT scores. This success was due to three key elements: (1) milieu and mentoring, (2) structure and content of the curriculum, and (3) monitoring. Next Steps A series of mixed-method studies are planned to better discern the core elements of faculty–student relationships that are key to students’ success. Lower test scores are not a fixed attribute; with the elements described, success is attainable for all students.
Some computational aspects of discrete orthonormal moments

Discrete orthogonal moments have several computational advantages over continuous moments. However, when the moment order becomes large, discrete orthogonal moments (such as the Tchebichef moments) tend to exhibit numerical instabilities. This paper introduces the orthonormal version of Tchebichef moments, and analyzes some of their computational aspects. The recursive procedure used for polynomial evaluation can be suitably modified to reduce the accumulation of numerical errors. The proposed set of moments can be used for representing image shape features and for reconstructing an image from its moments with a high degree of accuracy.
Does the severity of atopic dermatitis correlate with serum IgE levels?

Editor, We read with interest the paper by Laske and Niggemann (1) in which 345 children with atopic dermatitis were investigated regarding the severity of their disease assessed by SCORAD index and total IgE levels. This provides useful data in this troublesome condition. We raise the following two issues. The authors state that the correlation between SCORAD score and total serum IgE levels was statistically highly significant, on the basis of the p-value (<0.001). However, the scatter diagram depicts a wide range of IgE (<2.0–13,155 kU/l), at all levels of SCORAD score. R 1⁄4 0.31 is a weak correlation and generally it is considered that more than 0.4 is meaningful. This appears to greatly limit its potential clinical value. Secondly, the authors report that, mean serum IgE levels in children within the high SCORAD quartile was significantly higher than in the low SCORAD quartile (5443 kU/l vs. 488 kU/l; p < 0.001). Although a mean is the most common measure of position, it is very sensitive to outlying values and it can be quite misleading to compare distribution of skewed data using the mean. An alternative measure of position, in this situation, is the median, and it is particularly useful when the distribution is skewed (2). We assume that these data were non-parametrical as a result of the log range used. We would be interested to learn the authors view of our comments, especially because their conclusion that serum IgE levels correlate with the degree of eczema , could result in a significant increase in the routine measurement of IgE in children with atopic dermatitis.
Attentional scanning in the selection of central targets from multi-symbol strings

Abstract Subjects responded to five-symbol strings consisting of a central target, one or two compatible or incompatible flankers, and neutral symbols in the remaining positions. Performance strongly depended on the position of compatible or incompatible flankers. With normal letters, left-side flankers had a much larger impact than right-side flankers. This left-side asymmetry of the flanker compatibility effect disappeared with strings composed of spaced letters or of tiny pictures and tended to turn into a right-side asymmetry with vertically mirrored letters. These results seem to indicate the operation of attentional scanning processes. Flankers may be scanned either automatically, due to a reading-like habit, or strategically, in attempting to localize the target.
Health status of patients with ankylosing spondylitis: a comparison with the general population

Objective: To examine the subjective health in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) compared with the general population, and to explore the associations between health status and age, sex of the patients, and educational level in AS. Methods: Health status was assessed with a generic instrument (SF-36) in 314 patients with AS and in 2323 people from the general population. Subgroup analyses were performed according to age, sex, and educational level. Standard difference scores (s-scores) were calculated to ensure the clinical meaningfulness of the norm based comparisons. Results: Both men and women with AS reported significantly impaired health on all scales of the SF-36. Women reported significantly worse health on physical health domains. However, when calculating differences from the general population, numerically larger s-scores were found for men (except for physical role and vitality). The relative impact of AS seems to diminish with increasing age. In AS, better health was significantly associated with higher education across all scales. Deviations from the general population on the non-physical health aspects were especially pronounced in patients with low education. Conclusions: All key dimensions of health are affected by AS. The physical aspects seem to be most severely affected, but in the less educated group of patients, the disease impact on the mental health aspects was also considerable. Evaluation and management planning should take the complexity of AS into consideration. The focus on physical function should be maintained, and additional attention should be paid to the mental and social consequences of AS.
Periodic event-triggered consensus of time-delayed multi-agent systems under switching topologies

The consensus problem of time-delayed multi-agent systems under switching topologies is investigated. Event-triggered consensus algorithms are proposed to reduce times of both network communication and control updates. Moreover, the judgements of events are based on periodic sampling data, which guarantees that the Zeno behavior which is often a challenge in event-triggered consensus investigation is automatically ruled out. It is shown that with appropriate choices of event-triggering parameters, sampling period, and time-delay, all the agents eventually reach the average of their initial sates if the system switches among a number of strongly connected and balanced topologies or connected ones.
2 Packer Unbelievable Folly of Clinical Trials drug that prolongs life in heart failure

Despite significant advances in the treatment of chronic heart failure during the past 30 years, there is a broad consensus that new treatments are needed because morbidity and mortality in this disorder remain unacceptably high. Nevertheless, the development of new drugs for chronic heart failure has waned during the past 20 years; the quantity of novel agents in clinical testing and the number of welldesigned clinical trials have diminished to a small fraction of that seen in the 1980s and 1990s. Some have suggested that investment in heart failure has declined because the primary mechanisms of the disorder are poorly understood, because the promising results of phase II trials are frequently not confirmed in large-scale definitive studies, and because the large-scale clinical trials needed for regulatory approval have often become prohibitively expensive. We know that clinical research in heart failure is extremely challenging, and so we beg innovators in the pharmaceutical and device industries to be patient, and we plead with sponsors to invest in large-scale investigations because the need is so great. Yet, when we critically examine how we react to data, it may not be too surprising that meaningful clinical trials in heart failure are becoming increasingly scarce. Do cardiologists act as if the results of clinical trials in heart failure really matter?