Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Synergy between public health and veterinary services to deliver human and animal health interventions in rural low income settings

Rural African communities, especially those that are nomadic, often have poor access to health care. Collaboration with other services could help improve coverage Livestock contribute to the livelihood of at least 70% of the worlds' rural poor.1 In arid and semi-arid ecosystems of sub-Saharan Africa, livestock holders (mobile or settled pastoralists and agro-pastoralists) use vast grazing lands and residuals of crops that otherwise could not be used productively2 Yet, they are marginalised from development processes and vulnerable to exclusion from health services because of their geographical, social, and cultural environment. The weak infrastructure and quality of service in both the public health and veterinary sectors are closely related to resource constraints, especially lack of qualified staff.3 4 Therefore, professionals from the World Health Organisation and UN Food and Agriculture Organisation have suggested that public health and veterinary services should share resources.5 6 Few experiences of joint delivery of services to pastoral communities have been documented.7 We describe the implementation and effects of a joint project in Chad Veterinary services have a crucial role in controlling highly contagious diseases and zoonotic infections, which have implications for human health as well as that of livestock. However, in many contexts veterinary services could also contribute to the provision of essential public health interventions. This is particularly important in areas with unacceptably low health service coverage, as is often the case in rural settings of low income countries. One example of collaboration between public health and veterinary services is in providing child vaccination, one of the most cost effective health interventions, in developing countries.8 In southern Sudan, the Expanded Programme on Immunization shared cold chain equipment with the veterinary service,7 and the International Red Cross has implemented vaccination campaigns using veterinarians' vehicles (B Peterhans, personal communication). Similar …
Emotional Burnout, Perceived Sources of Job Stress, Professional Fulfillment, and Engagement among Medical Residents in Malaysia

This study was the first to explore factors associated with emotional burnout (EB) among medical residents in Malaysia. A cross-sectional study was conducted in a universal sample of 205 medical residents in a Malaysian general hospital. The self-administered questionnaire used consisted of questions on sociodemographics and work characteristics, sources of job stress, professional fulfillment, engagement, and EB. EB was measured using the emotional exhaustion subscale, the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). Mean (±SD) age of the respondents was 26.5 (±1.6). The most common source of job stress was “fear of making mistakes. ” Most of the participants were dissatisfied with the increase of residentship period from one year to two years. A high level of EB was reported by 36.6% of the respondents. In multivariate analysis, the most important correlates of EB were sources of job stress, professional fulfillment, and engagement. A high prevalence of EB was found among medical residents. Sociodemographic characteristics, performance pressure, and satisfaction with policies were significantly associated with EB. Although this study was limited by its cross-sectional design, its findings posit a sufficient foundation to relevant authorities to construct, amend, and amalgamate existing and future policies. Nothing will sustain you more potently than the power to recognize in your humdrum routine, as perhaps it may be thought, the true poetry of life—the poetry of the common place, of the common man, of the plain, toil-worn woman, with their loves and their joys, their sorrows and their grief. SirWilliam Osler, Aphorisms from the Student Life (Aequanimitas, 1952)
Wage and Employment Effects of Immigration to Germany: Evidence from a Skill Group Approach

The paper analyzes the labor market impact of migration by exploiting variation in the labor supply of foreigners across groups of workers with the same level of education but different work experience. Estimates on the basis of German register data for the period 1975-97 do not confirm the hypothesis that penetration of migrants into skill cells has a significant negative effect on the earnings and employment opportunities of native men. The results indicate that a 10 percent rise of the share of immigrants in the workforce would in general reduce wages by less than one percent and not increase unemployment. Though the adverse effects appear stronger for less-qualified and older workers, the evidence altogether sharply contrasts that from a parallel study for the United States indicating a consistent and substantial negative impact of an immigrant labor supply shock on native competitors.
On the hydrogen neutral outflowing disks of B[e] supergiants

Context. B[e] supergiants are known to possess geometrically thick dusty disks. Disk-forming wind models in the literature have, however, been found to be insufficient in reproducing the observed dust emission. This problem arises due to the severe assumption that, as for classical Be stars, the near-infrared excess emission originates in the disk. Modeling of the free-free and free-bound emission therefore results in an upper limit for the disk mass loss rate as well as for the disk opacity. Dust condensation in the disk can thus severely be hampered. Aims. In order to overcome the dust formation problem, and based on our high-resolution optical spectroscopy and model results, we propose a revised scenario for the non-spherical winds of B[e] supergiants: a normal B-type line-driven polar wind and an outflowing disk-forming wind that is neutral in hydrogen at, or very close to the stellar surface. Methods. We concentrate on the pole-on seen LMC B[e] supergiant R 126 and calculate the line luminosities of the optical [Oil emission lines and their emergent line profiles with an outflowing disk scenario. In addition, we compute the free-free and free-bound emission from a line-driven polar wind and model the spectral energy distribution in the optical and near-infrared. Results. Good fits to the [OI] line luminosities are achieved for an outflowing disk that is neutral in hydrogen right from the stellar surface. Neutral thereby means that hydrogen is ionized by less than 0.1%. Consequently, the free-free and free-bound emission cannot (dominantly) arise from the disk and cannot limit the disk mass loss rate. The hydrogen neutral outflowing disk scenario therefore provides an ideal environment for efficient dust formation. The spectral energy distribution in the optical and near-infrared range can be well fitted with the stellar continuum plus free-free and free-bound emission from the polar line-driven wind. Our modeling further delivers minimum values for M disk ≥ 2.5 x 10 -5 M ⊙ yr -1 and for the density contrast between equatorial and polar wind of ∼ 10.
Store-Independent Orai1/3 Channels Activated by Intracrine LeukotrieneC4: Role in Neointimal Hyperplasia

Rationale: Through largely unknown mechanisms, Ca2+ signaling plays important roles in vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) remodeling. Orai1-encoded store-operated Ca2+ entry has recently emerged as an important player in VSMC remodeling. However, the role of the exclusively mammalian Orai3 protein in native VSMC Ca2+ entry pathways, its upregulation during VSMC remodeling, and its contribution to neointima formation remain unknown. Objective: The goal of this study was to determine the agonist-evoked Ca2+ entry pathway contributed by Orai3; Orai3 potential upregulation and role during neointima formation after balloon injury of rat carotid arteries. Methods and Results: Ca2+ imaging and patch-clamp recordings showed that although the platelet-derived growth factor activates the canonical Ca2+ release-activated Ca2+ channels via store depletion in VSMC, the pathophysiological agonist thrombin activates a distinct Ca2+-selective channel contributed by Orai1, Orai3, and stromal interacting molecule1 in the same cells. Unexpectedly, Ca2+ store depletion is not required for activation of Orai1/3 channel by thrombin. Rather, the signal for Orai1/3 channel activation is cytosolic leukotrieneC4 produced downstream thrombin receptor stimulation through the catalytic activity of leukotrieneC4 synthase. Importantly, Orai3 is upregulated in an animal model of VSMC neointimal remodeling, and in vivo Orai3 knockdown inhibits neointima formation. Conclusions: These results demonstrate that distinct native Ca2+-selective Orai channels are activated by different agonists/pathways and uncover a mechanism whereby leukotrieneC4 acts through hitherto unknown intracrine mode to elicit store-independent Ca2+ signaling that promotes vascular occlusive disease. Orai3 and Orai3-containing channels provide novel targets for control of VSMC remodeling during vascular injury or disease.
Rhythm is it: effects of dynamic body feedback on affect and attitudes

Body feedback is the proprioceptive feedback that denominates the afferent information from position and movement of the body to the central nervous system. It is crucial in experiencing emotions, in forming attitudes and in regulating emotions and behavior. This paper investigates effects of dynamic body feedback on affect and attitudes, focusing on the impact of movement rhythms with smooth vs. sharp reversals as one basic category of movement qualities. It relates those qualities to already explored effects of approach vs. avoidance motor behavior as one basic category of movement shape. Studies 1 and 2 tested the effects of one of two basic movement qualities (smooth vs. sharp rhythms) on affect and cognition. The third study tested those movement qualities in combination with movement shape (approach vs. avoidance motor behavior) and the effects of those combinations on affect and attitudes toward initially valence-free stimuli. Results suggest that movement rhythms influence affect (studies 1 and 2), and attitudes (study 3), and moderate the impact of approach and avoidance motor behavior on attitudes (study 3). Extending static body feedback research with a dynamic account, findings indicate that movement qualities – next to movement shape – play an important role, when movement of the lived body is an independent variable.
Proteases and Protease Inhibitors: Implications in Antitumorigenesis and Drug Development

Abstract The role of proteases in cancer is far more complex than initially anticipated and include tumor promoting as well as suppressive effects and their inhibitors are emerging with promising therapeutics in cancer treatment. Proteases are involved in tumor growth both at the primary and metastatic sites. Inhibitors of all the five classes of proteases (serine, aspartyl, cysteine, metallo-and threonine) have been widely reported from plant, animal and microbial origin. Each protease exhibits a characteristics “recognition–specificity” and are specific to cleave proteins with a particular structure. Such a capability allows identifying signatures of protease activity in biological fluids. Individual pattern of protease expression help in easy prognosis and therapeutic administration of specific protease inhibitor. With the advance of surface enhanced laser desorption ionization time-of-flight (SELDI-TOF) mass spectrometry, proteomic technologies are directly applied into clinical diagnostic tests. The substrate phage technology can be used to develop protease profile signatures for all type of cancers. Recently, application of biomarkers in cancer treatment has become increasingly target-oriented. Gene expression signatures in cancer provide molecular phenotype that identifies tumor classification not evident by traditional histo-pathological methods. The current review deals with the role of proteases, their inhibitors in cancer especially in tumor progression, invasion/metastasis and also addresses the therapeutic approaches, viable strategy for cancer treatment and regime of the future drug development.
Takes Two to Tango: Essential Practices of Highly Effective Transfer Partnerships

Objective: The objective of this study was to describe practices of 2- and 4-year institutional partnerships effective in supporting transfer student success. Method: Using student records from the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) for the entire 2007 fall cohort of first-time-in-college community college students nationwide, researchers identified partnerships of 2- and 4-year institutions that were more effective than expected (controlling for student and institutional characteristics) in enabling community college entrants to transfer to a 4-year institution and earn a bachelor’s degree. Based on this methodology, and in partnership with the Aspen Institute’s College Excellence Program, researchers visited six pairs of 2- and 4-year college transfer partnerships identified as high performers, interviewing more than 350 faculty, student-facing and senior-level staff, and transfer students. Results: From these in-depth interviews, researchers identified a set of essential transfer practices common among these highly effective institutional partnerships. The practices were grouped under three broad strategies: (a) make transfer a priority, (b) create clear programmatic pathways with aligned high-quality instruction, and (c) provide tailored transfer advising. Contributions: This study offers a set of essential transfer practices culled from national fieldwork to 2- and 4-year institutional transfer partnerships identified using NSC data as highly effective in supporting transfer student success.
A national study on weight classes among children in Greenland at school entry

Objectives To estimate the proportion of gender-specific thinness, overweight and obesity among children born in 2005 at school entry in Greenland and to compare figures between the capital, Nuuk, with the rest of Greenland. Study design A cross-sectional study based on data from Electronic Medical Records (EMR). Methods All children born in 2005 with permanent address in Greenland at the time of data extraction with a registered weight and height in EMR from January 1st 2011 to January 31st 2013 were included in the study. Information about height without shoes and weight in light indoor clothing was obtained. Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated. Participants were categorized into age and gender-specific weight classes based on the International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) cut-offs for child overweight, obesity and thinness. Results A total of 842 children born in 2005 were identified. Of those, 72% (N=607, 308 boys and 299 girls) had a recorded weight and height in the study period. In total, 74.6% (71.2–78.1) were categorized as of normal weight. The proportion of children with overweight was 15.8% (12.9–18.7) while 6.8% (4.8–8.8) were obese. In all, 2.9% were categorized as thin. The proportion of overweight among boys (12.7%) was lower (p=0.031) than among girls (19.1%), and boys in Nuuk had a lower median BMI compared to the rest of Greenland. No differences in distribution of age and gender-specific overweight and obesity were observed between the capital and the rest of Greenland. Conclusion Nearly 1 quarter of Greenlandic children are overweight or obese at school entry. No differences were observed between Nuuk and the rest of Greenland. Information about weight and height is available in the EMR for the majority of all children at school entry in Greenland. Continuous monitoring of the proportion of overweight and obesity among children using data from the EMR in Greenland is recommended.
On the Approximation of the Sum of Lognormals by a Log Skew Normal Distribution

Several methods have been proposed to approximate the sum of lognormal RVs. However the accuracy of each method relies highly on the region of the resulting distribution being examined, and the individual lognormal parameters, i.e., mean and variance. There is no such method which can provide the needed accuracy for all cases. This paper propose a universal yet very simple approximation method for the sum of Lognormals based on log skew normal approximation. The main contribution on this work is to propose an analytical method for log skew normal parameters estimation. The proposed method provides highly accurate approximation to the sum of lognormal distributions over the whole range of dB spreads for any correlation coefficient. Simulation results show that our method outperforms all previously proposed methods and provides an accuracy within 0.01 dB for all cases.
Contextual Guessing Strategy

Taken together, since vocabulary is a momentous hurdle to the majority of students at different levels of instruction, a prima facie case for the development of intervention programs that boost vocabulary in students seems to be inevitable. For that matter, there are various techniques and devices for vocabulary teaching in methodology textbooks, one oft-cited of which is contextual guessing strategy. The instrumentalist hypothesis predicts a causal link between vocabulary and reading comprehension, i.e., enhanced vocabulary knowledge could culminate in improved reading comprehension. Previous research on the effect of contextual guessing strategy on vocabulary and reading comprehension at the pre-university level in the Iranian context insofar as authentic texts are concerned as well as gender differences in this regard seems to be inadequate. The current study can be of significance in the sense that it attempts to investigate the issue from a triangular perspective: the use of authentic texts, gender differences, and gender-unbiased texts. Pedagogical implications are also provided.
Hard constraints and the Bethe Lattice: adventures at the interface of combinatorics and statistical physics

Statistical physics models with hard constraints, such as the discrete hard-core gas model (random independent sets in a graph), are inherently combinatorial and present the discrete mathematician with a relatively comfortable setting for the study of phase transition. In this paper we survey recent work (concentrating on joint work of the authors) in which hard-constraint systems are modeled by the space $\hom(G,H)$ of homomorphisms from an infinite graph $G$ to a fixed finite constraint graph $H$. These spaces become sufficiently tractable when $G$ is a regular tree (often called a Cayley tree or Bethe lattice) to permit characterization of the constraint graphs $H$ which admit multiple invariant Gibbs measures. Applications to a physics problem (multiple critical points for symmetry-breaking) and a combinatorics problem (random coloring), as well as some new combinatorial notions, will be presented.
rnn : Recurrent Library for Torch

The rnn package provides components for implementing a wide range of Recurrent Neural Networks. It is built withing the framework of the Torch distribution for use with the nn package. The components have evolved from 3 iterations, each adding to the flexibility and capability of the package. All component modules inherit either the AbstractRecurrent or AbstractSequencer classes. Strong unit testing, continued backwards compatibility and access to supporting material are the principles followed during its development. The package is compared against existing implementations of two published papers.
Identification of the fire blight pathogen, Erwinia amylovora, by PCR assays with chromosomal DNA

Erwinia amylovora, the causative agent of fire blight, was identified independently from the common plasmid pEA29 by three different PCR assays with chromosomal DNA. PCR with two primers was performed with isolated DNA and with whole cells, which were directly added to the assay mixture. The oligonucleotide primers were derived from the ams region, and the PCR product comprised the amsB gene, which is involved in exopolysaccharide synthesis. The amplified fragment of 1.6 kb was analyzed, and the sequence was found to be identical for two E. amylovora strains. The identity of the PCR products was further confirmed by restriction analysis. The 1.6-kb signal was also used for detection of the fire blight pathogen in the presence of other plant-associated bacteria and in infected plant tissue. For further identification of isolated strains, the 16S rRNA gene of E. amylovora and other plant-associated bacteria was amplified and the products were digested with the restriction enzyme HaeIII. The pattern obtained for E. amylovora was different from that of other bacteria. The sequence of the 16S rRNA gene was determined from a cloned fragment and was found to be closely related to the sequences of Escherichia coli and other Erwinia species. Finally, arbitrarily primed PCR with a 17-mer oligonucleotide derived from the sequence of transposon Tn5 produced a unique banding pattern for all E. amylovora strains investigated. These methods expand identification methods for E. amylovora, which include DNA hybridization and a PCR technique based on plasmid pEA29.
Random finite set-based Bayesian filters using magnitude-adaptive target birth intensity

Modelling new-born targets that spontaneously appear in the multi-target tracking scene is an indispensable yet challenging task for any multi-target tracker, which asks for a careful formulation of the target birth intensity (TBI) in random finite set based Bayesian filters. However, the TBI is widely assumed to hold for a constant magnitude that needs to be specified in advance, indicating a constant speculation for the number of new targets to be appeared at all scans. This is not always desirable and can be problematic as the TBI magnitude is generally unknown and varies in time. In this paper, a data-driven approach is proposed to determine the TBI magnitude in real time based on the information contained in the newest observations. Simulations of the sequential Monte Carlo implementation of the probability hypothesis density filter and the multi-Bernoulli filter have demonstrated the validity of our approach.