Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Serological evidence of hepatitis E virus infection in pigs and jaundice among pig handlers in Bangladesh

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is the most common cause of viral hepatitis in humans. Pigs may act as a reservoir of HEV, and pig handlers were frequently identified with a higher prevalence of antibodies to HEV. The objectives of this study were to identify evidence of HEV infection in pigs and compare the history of jaundice between pig handlers and people not exposed to pigs and pork. Blood and faecal samples were collected from 100 pigs derived from three slaughterhouses in the Gazipur district of Bangladesh from January to June, 2011. We also interviewed 200 pig handlers and 250 non‐exposed people who did not eat pork or handled pigs in the past 2 years. We tested the pig sera for HEV‐specific antibodies using a competitive ELISA and pig faecal samples for HEV RNA using real‐time RT‐PCR. Of 100 pig sera, 82% (n = 82) had detectable antibody against HEV. Of the 200 pig handlers, 28% (56/200) demonstrated jaundice within the past 2 years, whereas only 17% (43/250) of controls had a history of jaundice (p < .05). Compared to non‐exposed people, those who slaughtered pigs (31% versus 15%, p < .001), reared pigs (37% versus 20%, p < .001), butchered pigs (35% versus 19%, p < .001) or involved in pork transportation (28% versus 13%, p < .001) were more likely to be affected with jaundice in the preceding 2 years. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, exposure to pigs (odds ratio [OR]: 2.2, 95% CI: 1.2–3.9) and age (OR: 0.97, 95% CI: 0.95–0.99) was significantly associated with jaundice in the past 2 years. Pigs in Bangladesh demonstrated evidence of HEV infection, and a history of jaundice was significantly more frequent in pig handlers. Identifying and genotyping HEV in pigs and pig handlers may provide further evidence of the pig's role in zoonotic HEV transmission in Bangladesh.
KEEFEKTIFAN PENDEKATAN OPEN-ENDED DAN CTL DITINJAU DARI HASIL BELAJAR KOGNITIF DAN AFEKTIF

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan; (1) keefektifan pendekatan open-ended dan CTL ditinjau dari hasil belajar kognitif; (2) keefektifan pendekatan open-ended dan CTL ditinjau dari hasil belajar afektif ;dan (3) perbedaan keefektifan pendekatan open-ended dan CTL ditinjau dari hasil belajar kognitif dan afektif. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian eksperimen semu yang menggunakan dua kelompok eksperimen. One sample t-test digunakan untuk mendeskripsikan keefektifan pendekatan open-ended dan CTL pada masing-masing variabel. T 2 Hotelling digunakan untuk mengetahui ada tidaknya perbedaan keefektifan pendekatan open-ended dan CTL secara simultan pada keempat variabel dependen. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa: (1) pendekatan open-ended dan CTL tidak efektif ditinjau dari hasil belajar kognitif; (2) pendekatan open-ended dan CTL efektif ditinjau dari hasil belajar afektif; dan (3) tidak ada perbedaan keefektifan antara pendekatan open-ended dan CTL ditinjau dari hasil belajar kognitif dan afektif. Kata kunci: open-ended, contextual teaching and learning , prestasi belajar, berpikir kreatif, sikap belajar matematika, minat belajar matematika.
Incidence of ALS in Lombardy, Italy

Objective: To assess the incidence and trends of ALS in a large population at risk. Methods: This study was performed in nine provinces of Lombardy in Northern Italy (population 4,947,554). Patients with newly diagnosed ALS were enrolled during the period 1998 to 2002 through a prospective regional register. For each patient, the main demographic and clinical information was collected by the caring physicians and reviewed by a panel of experts according to the original and revised El Escorial diagnostic criteria. Overall, age- and sex-specific and standardized annual incidence rates were calculated for the entire population and for each year and province separately. Results: We studied 517 patients (M:F ratio 1.3) aged 18 to 92 years (mean 63.6). Onset of symptoms was bulbar in 29% of cases. ALS was definite in 45%, probable in 27%, probable laboratory supported in 3.5%, possible in 15%, and suspected in 10%. Mean disease duration at diagnosis was 10.6 months. The standardized incidence rate was 2.09 per 100,000/year (95% CI: 1.17 to 3.18). The rate, which was 2.43 in men and 1.76 in women, tended to increase up to ages 65 to 74 and to decrease thereafter. The rate was unchanged over time and presented moderate variations across provinces. The incidence rate of definite ALS was 0.93 (spinal-onset ALS 1.35; bulbar-onset ALS 0.74) and was consistently higher in men with spinal-onset ALS vs men with bulbar-onset ALS and women. Conclusions: The incidence of ALS varied according to age, sex, and site of onset. No temporal and geographic clusters were detected over a 5-year period.
Cow's Milk Allergy in Infancy

It appears that, in this country, allergy to cow's milk, manifesting itself in infancy, is still regarded as a rarity. Borman (1953) describes milk sensitivity in infancy as a rare condition and the only case report in the available British literature is that of Brodribb (1944). The purpose of this paper is to present the clinical findings in one infant in whom the diagnosis of milk allergy appears to have been proved and to summarize the features described in the literature.
Xenon Does Not Impair the Responsiveness of Cardiac Muscle Bundles to Positive Inotropic and Chronotropic Stimulation

Background Most volatile anesthetics exhibit a direct myocardial depressant effect. This side effect often limits their applicability in patients with impaired cardiac function. Xenon is a new gaseous anesthetic that did not show any adverse cardiovascular effects in clinical and experimental studies. The authors tested the hypothesis that xenon does not affect myocardial contractility or the positive inotropic effect of isoproterenol, calcium, and increase in pacing rate in isolated guinea pig ventricular muscle bundles. Methods Thin ventricular muscle bundles from guinea pig hearts with a mean diameter of 0.4–0.45 mm were prepared under stereomicroscopic control. Force of contraction and contraction times were studied in muscles superfused with medium equilibrated with either 65% xenon and 35% oxygen (xenon group), 1.2% isoflurane in oxygen (isoflurane group), or 65% nitrogen and 35% oxygen (control group). In addition, the positive inotropic effects of calcium, isoproterenol (10−10 − 3 × 10−8 m) and increasing frequency (0.5–2 Hz) were studied during xenon and isoflurane exposure. Results In contrast to isoflurane, xenon did not alter myocardial force of contraction or contraction times. The positive inotropic effect of isoproterenol, calcium, and increasing pacing frequencies did not differ between the muscles exposed to xenon and the control group. Isoflurane elicited the expected negative inotropic effect (30% reduction of force of contraction) but did not impair the response to inotropic stimuli. Conclusions Xenon does not alter myocardial contractility and the response to inotropic stimuli such as calcium, isoproterenol, or increase in pacing frequency in isolated guinea pig ventricular muscle bundles.
Statistical Corpus-Based Word Sense Disambiguation: Pseudowords vs. Real Ambiguous Words

In this paper we investigate whether the task of disambiguating pseudowords (artificial ambiguous words) is comparable to the disambiguation of real ambiguous words. Since the two methods are inherently different, a direct comparison is not possible. An indirect approach is taken where the setup for both systems is as similar as possible, i.e. using the same corpus and settings. The results obtained clearly indicate that the tasks are quite different. We conclude that the current practice of using pseudowords cannot be taken as a substitute for testing with real ambiguous words.
Dietary strategies to recover from exercise-induced muscle damage

Abstract Exhaustive or unaccustomed intense exercise can cause exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD) and its undesirable consequences may decrease the ability to exercise and to adhere to a training programme. This review briefly summarises the muscle damage process, focusing predominantly on oxidative stress and inflammation as contributing factors, and describes how nutrition may be positively used to recover from EIMD. The combined intake of carbohydrates and proteins and the use of antioxidants and/or anti-inflammatory nutrients within physiological ranges are interventions that may assist the recovery process. Although the works studying food instead of nutritional supplements are very scarce, their results seem to indicate that food might be a favourable option as a recovery strategy. To date, the only tested foods were milk, cherries, blueberries and pomegranate with promising results. Other potential solutions are foods rich in protein, carbohydrates, antioxidants and/or anti-inflammatory nutrients.
Human and sheep facial landmarks localisation by triplet interpolated features

In this paper we present a method for localisation of facial landmarks on human and sheep. We introduce a new feature extraction scheme called triplet-interpolated feature used at each iteration of the cascaded shape regression framework. It is able to extract features from similar semantic location given an estimated shape, even when head pose variations are large and the facial landmarks are very sparsely distributed. Furthermore, we study the impact of training data imbalance on model performance and propose a training sample augmentation scheme that produces more initialisations for training samples from the minority. More specifically, the augmentation number for a training sample is made to be negatively correlated to the value of the fitted probability density function at the sample's position. We evaluate the proposed scheme on both human and sheep facial landmarks localisation. On the benchmark 300w human face dataset, we demonstrate the benefits of our proposed methods and show very competitive performance when comparing to other methods. On a newly created sheep face dataset, we get very good performance despite the fact that we only have a limited number of training samples and a set of sparse landmarks are annotated. Source code is available for academic use l.
Increased serum C-reactive protein levels by immunonephelometry in patients with rapidly destructive hip osteoarthritis.

OBJECTIVE To compare serum C-reactive protein levels measured using a highly sensitive immunonephelometry method in patients with rapidly destructive versus slowly progressive hip osteoarthritis. METHODS Ten patients meeting criteria for rapidly destructive hip osteoarthritis were compared to 25 patients with slowly progressive hip osteoarthritis defined as less than 0.20 mm joint space loss over the last year. Serum C-reactive protein was assayed using an immunonephelometry method with a detection threshold of 0.17 mg/L and a coefficient of variation of less than 5%. RESULTS One patient in each group was excluded because of a C-reactive protein level greater than 15 mg/L. The mean C-reactive protein level in the remaining 33 patients was 3.05 +/- 3.46 mg/L (range, 0.10-14.9 mg/L). Mean C-reactive protein was significantly higher in the rapidly destructive group than in the slowly progressive group (5.61 +/- 4.75 versus 1.94 +/- 1.98 mg/L, P = 0.01), even after adjustment for potential confounding factors. CONCLUSION Our data suggest that rapidly destructive hip osteoarthritis may be associated with some degree of inflammation reflected by a small but significant increase in serum C-reactive protein levels.
The VP1 N-Terminal Sequence of Canine Parvovirus Affects Nuclear Transport of Capsids and Efficient Cell Infection

ABSTRACT The unique N-terminal region of the parvovirus VP1 capsid protein is required for infectivity by the capsids but is not required for capsid assembly. The VP1 N terminus contains a number of groups of basic amino acids which resemble classical nuclear localization sequences, including a conserved sequence near the N terminus comprised of four basic amino acids, which in a peptide can act to transport other proteins into the cell nucleus. Testing with a monoclonal antibody recognizing residues 2 to 13 of VP1 (anti-VP1-2-13) and with a rabbit polyclonal serum against the entire VP1 unique region showed that the VP1 unique region was not exposed on purified capsids but that it became exposed after treatment of the capsids with heat (55 to 75°C), or urea (3 to 5 M). A high concentration of anti-VP1-2-13 neutralized canine parvovirus (CPV) when it was incubated with the virus prior to inoculation of cells. Both antibodies blocked infection when injected into cells prior to virus inoculation, but neither prevented infection by coinjected infectious plasmid DNA. The VP1 unique region could be detected 4 and 8 h after the virus capsids were injected into cells, and that sequence exposure appeared to be correlated with nuclear transport of the capsids. To examine the role of the VP1 N terminus in infection, we altered that sequence in CPV, and some of those changes made the capsids inefficient at cell infection.
Mature embryo axis-based high frequency somatic embryogenesis and plant regeneration from multiple cultivars of barley ( Hordeum vulgare L . )

A highly reproducible regeneration system through somatic embryogenesis from the excised mature embryos (MEs) of dry seeds of a range of European barley cultivars was developed. By minimizing the germination of plated MEs, primary callus could be obtained with high frequency which permitted efficient embryogenesis and regeneration of a large number of green plants. Different approaches were tested to reduce or prevent normal germination: (i) the use of a well defined balance of maltose and 2,4-D in the induction medium, (ii) soaking of seeds in water containing 2,4-D solution, (iii) direct culture of excised embryonic axes, (iv) longitudinally bisected MEs giving two halves, and (v) complete removal of the elongated main shoot including any roots within a week of culture initiation. Culturing of bisected MEs and whole embryonic axes gave the best responses with respect to large amounts of callus combined with minimal germination. The incorporation of BAP at low levels in the medium was found to be most effective for embryogenesis and the maintenance of long-term morphogenic capacity (more than 11 months up to now). This procedure allows the complete regeneration of plants in 16–20 weeks, from the initial isolation of MEs through all the steps to the development of plants ready to be transferred to the soil. The protocol was first developed for cv. Golden Promise and successfully applied to commercial cultivars. All cultivars tested formed embryogenic callus, with overall rates ranging from 22–55% and an average number of green plants per embryogenic callus from 1.5 to 7.5 across the genotypes.
On the nature of experiencing self-agency : The role of goals and primes in inferring oneself as the cause of behavior

People often find themselves in situations where the cause of events may be ambiguous. Surprisingly though, the experience of self-agency, i.e., perceiving oneself as the causal agent of behavioral outcomes, appears quite natural to most people. How then do these experiences arise? We discuss common models proposing that self-agency experiences result from the comparison between actual action-outcomes and the outcomes one explicitly set as a goal. However, recent developments in psychology and neuroscience suggest that our behaviors and the outcomes they produce can be primed and implicitly guided by environmental cues and yet are accompanied by experiences of self-agency. Hence, we also review research revealing how self-agency experiences may arise over behavioral outcomes that are implicitly primed before they occur and how such implicitly cued agency experiences may differ from agency experiences that are the result of explicitly set goals. Directions for future research are briefly addressed.
Determinants of Dental Care Utilization for Diverse Ethnic and Age Groups

Dental services utilization in the past 12 months was compared across population-based samples of African-American, Navajo, Lakota, Hispanic, and White adults participating in the WHO International Collaborative Study of Oral Health Outcomes (ICS-II) at USA research locations. Bivariate results revealed that ethnic minority groups in both age cohorts reported significantly fewer dental visits in the past 12 months compared with White adults. When dentate status was controlled for, age cohort differences were not significant in Baltimore (African-American and White) and San Antonio (Hispanic and White) research locations. In contrast, older Native Americans (65-74 years) reported visiting the dentist significantly less often compared with their middle-aged (35-44 years) counterparts. Multivariate results indicated that generalizable variables were associated with dental contact in every ICS-II USA ethnic group (i.e., dentate, usual source of dental care, oral pain). Among the diverse ethnic groups, other determinants presented a varied pattern of risk factors for underutilizing dental care. Information on ethnic-specific risk factors can be used to design culturally appropriate and acceptable oral health promotion programs. Generalizable risk factors across ethnic groups inform oral health policy-makers about changing national priorities for promoting oral health.
NMDA synapses can bias competition between object representations and mediate attentional selection

Abstract Phillips & Silverstein emphasize the gain-control properties of NMDA synapses in cognitive coordination. We endorse their view and suggest that NMDA synapses play a crucial role in biased attentional competition and (visual) working memory. Our simulations show that NMDA synapses can control the storage rate of visual objects. We discuss specific predictions of our model about cognitive effects of NMDA-antagonists and schizophrenia.
How intuition contributes to high performance： An educational perspective

Intuition usually is defined as the capability to act or decide appropriately without deliberately and consciously balancing alternatives, without following a certain rule or routine, and possibly without awareness (Gigerenzer, 2007; Hogarth, 2001; Klein, 2003; Myers, 2002). It allows action which is quick (e.g. reaction to a challenging situation) and surprising, in the sense that it is extraordinary in performance level or shape. This paper reports theories of intuition and their empirical evidence in the field of professional work. It aims at reporting the state of research on intuition, discussing the relevance of different approaches for analyzing work performance, and describing challenges for future empirical research in the domain of professional working life.
Video coding using a fast non-separable matching pursuits algorithm

This paper presents a fast matching pursuits algorithm. In addition to a fast implementation, the algorithm also allows the efficient use of non-separable dictionary basis functions. The use of non-separable components allows basis functions which provide a better match to diagonally orientated image features. In order to demonstrate the proposed method, a simple dictionary is developed and used. Even without any sophisticated entropy coding, the proposed system gives performance exceeding that of H.263.
Low-grade gliomas of the cerebral hemispheres in children: an analysis of 71 cases.

Low-grade gliomas constitute the largest group of cerebral hemispheric tumors in the pediatric population. Although complete tumor resection is generally the goal in the management of these lesions, this can prove difficult to achieve because tumor margins may blend into the surrounding brain. This raises several important questions on the long-term behavior of the residual tumor and the role of adjuvant therapy in the management of these lesions. To examine these issues, the authors reviewed their experience in 71 children with low-grade cerebral hemispheric gliomas who were treated at their institution between 1956 and 1991 and assessed the relationship between clinical, radiographic, pathological, and treatment-related factors and outcome. Only seven patients in the series died, one from perioperative complications, five from progressive disease, and one (a child with neurofibromatosis) from a second neoplasm. For the 70 patients who survived the perioperative period, overall actuarial survivals at 5, 10, and 20 years were 95%, 93%, and 85%, respectively; progression-free status was maintained in 88%, 79%, and 76%, respectively. On univariate analysis, the factor that was most strongly associated with both overall and progression-free survival was the extent of tumor resection (p = 0.013 and p = 0.015, respectively). A relationship between extent of resection and progression-free survival was present both in patients with pilocytic astrocytomas (p = 0.041) and those with nonpilocytic tumors (p = 0.037). Histopathological diagnosis was also associated with overall survival on univariate analysis; poorer results were seen in the patients with nonpilocytic astrocytoma compared to those with other low-grade gliomas, such as pilocytic astrocytoma, mixed glioma, and oligodendroglioma (p = 0.021). The use of radiotherapy was not associated with a significant improvement in overall survival (p = 0.6). All three patients who ultimately developed histologically confirmed anaplastic changes in the vicinity of the original tumor had received prior radiotherapy, 20, 46, and 137 months, respectively, before the detection of malignant progression. In addition, children who received radiotherapy had a significantly higher incidence of late cognitive and endocrine dysfunction than the nonirradiated patients (p < 0.01 and 0.05, respectively). The authors conclude that children with low-grade gliomas of the cerebral hemispheres have an excellent overall prognosis. Complete tumor resection provides the best opportunity for long-term progression-free survival. However, even with incomplete tumor excision, long-term progression-free survival is common. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
RACE AND ONLINE CONTENT CREATION

The user-generated Web provides new tools for participation by creating content. Drawing from uses and gratifications and social identity gratifications paradigms, the authors investigated quantitatively the differentiated uses of participatory technologies among diverse racial and ethnic groups of college students. Using qualitative techniques, we also explored the different discourses and meanings these social groups attach to these tools. A survey showed that among online users, minority groups – African-Americans, Latinos, and Asians – tend to create online content more frequently than white students. Four focus groups with different racial and ethnic groups revealed that the meanings attached to these participatory tools differ. Although three main principles emerged as organizing discourses – connecting, enacting the self, and struggling – these themes were framed differently. For instance, while social connection with friends and family was mentioned across all groups, connecting with niche communities emerged among minorities; they valued these tools as an opportunity to connect with communities to which they share identities and their voices are relevant. The authors also found that although these tools open the opportunity of representing the self for everyone, different groups framed this possibility differently. While African-Americans highlighted the idea of self-expression, that is, expressing their inner thoughts and culture to others, white students focused more prominently on instrumental reasons such as promoting their work. Finally, all groups, except African-Americans, expressed their struggles with the problems that emerge when nobody controls the creation of content such as hostile or ‘immature’ interactions.