Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Female Prisoners’ Preferences of Collection Methods for Testing for Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae Infection

Background There is an increasing reliance on noninvasive techniques to collect specimens for the detection of sexually transmitted infections. The acceptability of these methods among the general population has been explored, but little is known about their acceptability among women confined in prison. Goal The goal was to compare female prisoners’ preferences for collection of specimens (self-collected vaginal swab specimens, urine collection, or pelvic examination) for detection of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Study Design A cross-section of inmates in a large federal prison provided urine samples and self-collected vaginal swab specimens. Women then completed a questionnaire regarding the ease of each method and their preferences for future specimen collection. Results A total of 535 women between the ages of 18 and 52 years (median = 33) participated in the study. More than half of the participants (57%) reported no difference between urine and swab in terms of ease of collection. Approximately 30% of participants said they would prefer to give a swab specimen in the future rather than collect urine (21%), but nearly half of the women expressed no preference for one method over the other. Most participants (60%) expressed a preference for providing a self-collected swab specimen rather than having a pelvic examination (23%), but nearly 17% expressed a preference for one over the other. Conclusion The study population of female federal prisoners expressed no aversion to the self-collection of either vaginal swab or urine specimens for STD testing. A majority of participants expressed a preference for noninvasive techniques rather than a pelvic examination.
Nitrofurazone therapy of Trypanosoma gambiense sleeping sickness in man.

Summary Nitrofurazone, 5-nitro-2-furaldehyde semicarbazone (Furacin), a new trypanocidal drug, was used for the first time on human beings in the treatment of 32 patients suffering with Trypanosoma gambiense sleeping sickness, with encouraging therapeutic results. Administered orally, the drug is readily absorbed from the intestinal tract and is effective against trypanosomes in the circulating blood and in the cerebrospinal fluid. Oral doses of 2.1 to 12.5 mg. /kg. t.i. d. for seven to thirty-six days were tolerated by the patients without any permanent ill effects. During therapy some cases experienced side effects of temporary nausea and vomiting, and muscular and articular pains in the legs, which subsided within a month following cessation of therapy. Cures were effected with nitrofurazone alone in 2 of 3 adults without central nervous system involvement; 2 of 3 children with serious C.N. S. involvement were cured with a combination of nitrofurazone and Lomidine. A so-called “cocktail treatment” of nitrofurazone in conjunction with Bayer 205, Lomidine and Arsobal produced favorable prognoses in 9 of 20 hopeless relapsing cases refractory to all previous treatment. This combination was no more toxic than any of the drugs taken separately. In treating African sleeping sickness, particularly chronic, drug-resistant cases with severe nervous involvement, it is recommended that nitrofurazone be used orally, either alone or in conjunction with other trypanocides.
The role of word familiarity in Spanish/English bilingual word recognition

Abstract Objective: This study examined the contribution of word familiarity to Spanish/English bilingual listeners’ recognition of English and Spanish words. Design: The study employed a counterbalanced design. Three lists of monosyllabic English and bisyllabic Spanish words (50 words per list per language) were presented in two blocks. For each block, word lists were presented in quiet and at +6 and 0 dB SNR. Listeners repeated each word in verbal and written forms. At the end of the experiment, they rated the familiarity of the test words on a seven-point scale. Study Sample: Twenty English-dominant (ED) and 22 Spanish-dominant (SD) normal-hearing adult listeners participated in the study. Results: Most test words, English or Spanish, were familiar to the listeners. However, ED listeners were less familiar with Spanish than English words, whereas SD listeners were less familiar with English than Spanish words. Contribution of word familiarity to word recognition remained largely constant across listening conditions for both English and Spanish tests. Conclusions: Despite high familiarity of most test words, clinicians should be aware of the residual effects of familiarity on the English word test even after most unfamiliar words are removed, regardless of clients’ language dominance. Sumario Objetivo: El presente estudio examinó la contribución de la familiaridad de las palabras Español/Ingles de participantes bilingües, el reconocimiento de palabras de Ingles y Español. Diseño: El estudio empleo un diseño contrabalanceado. Tres listas de palabras monosilábicas en Ingles y bisilábicas en Español (50 palabras en cada lista en cada lenguaje) fueron presentados en dos secciones. En cada sección, la lista de palabras fueron presentadas en silencio y a +6 y 0 dB SNR. Los participantes repetían cada palabra verbal y escribían las palabras. A final del experimento, los participantes clasificaron la familiaridad de las palabras que fueron presentados en el examen en un grado de siete puntos. Muestra Del Estudio: Veinte participantes de lengua inglesa predominante (ED) y 22 participantes de lengua española predominante (SD) todos adultos con audiciones normales participaron en el presente estudio. Resultados: Muchas palabras del examen, Ingles o Español, eran familiares para los participantes. Pero se encontró que los participantes ED tenían menos familiaridad con las palabras en Español que con las palabras en Ingles. Participantes SD eran menos familiares con las palabras en Ingles que con las palabras en Español. La contribución de palabras familiares a la identificación de palabras sigue constante, en las dos condiciones del examen en Ingles o Español. Conclusiones: A pesar de la alta familiaridad de muchos de los exámenes de palabras, los audiologistas deben de estar prevenidos de los efectos residuales de la familiaridad en el examen con las palabras en Ingles aun después de que las palabras que no son familiares se han ido sacando sin importar la lengua dominante del cliente.
On Globally Optimal Encoding, Decoding, and Memory Update for Noisy Real-Time Communication Systems

The design of optimal joint source-channel communication strategies for a real-time com- munication system, i.e., a sequential communication system in which information must be transmitted and decoded withing axed-�nite delay, is considered. First, a system which runs for anite horizon and consists of arst-order Markov source, a real-time encoder, a memoryless noisy channel, a real-time decoder withnite memory, and distortion met- ric that accepts zero delay, is considered. The design of optimal real-time communication strategies is formulated as a decentralized stochastic optimization problem. There is no ex- isting solution methodology to solve general decentralized stochastic optimization problems overnite and innite horizon. This paper develops a systematic methodology, based on the notions of information structure and information state, to sequentially obtain globally optimal real-time encoding, decoding, and memory update strategies. Such a sequential decomposition results in a set of nested optimality equations whose solution determines an optimal communication strategy. This methodology is extended to two classes of innite- horizon systems, where optimal communication strategies are determined by the solution of an appropriate functional equation. The methodology is also extended to systems where distortion metric accepts axed-�nite delay, to systems with higher-order Markov sources, and to systems with channels with memory. Thus, this paper develops a comprehensive method to study dierent variations of real-time communication.
Cerebral Hemodynamics and Cognitive Function in Cirrhotic Patients with Hepatic Encephalopathy

Aims. To investigate cerebral hemodynamics in cirrhotic patients with HE and to observe effects of treatment in cerebral hemodynamics and correlations among ammonia, cerebral hemodynamics, and cognitive function. Methods. There were four groups: healthy controls (group 1), cirrhosis without HE (group 2), cirrhosis with MHE (group 3), and cirrhosis with OHE (group 4). Ammonia and cerebral hemodynamics (by TCD) were assessed. Patients in group 3 were subsequently randomized to two subgroups: the control (group A) and the treated (group B, treated with lactulose for two months), and they were retested for ammonia and TCD after treatment. Results. Ammonia, Vm, Vd, PI, and RI were statistically different before treatment, and ammonia, PI, and RI levels paralleled the severity of HE (P < 0.05). In group B, Vd increased and ammonia, PI, and RI declined following treatment (P < 0.05), while there were no differences in group A (P > 0.05). Correlations were found between ammonia and Vd, PI, RI, NCT-A, and DST and also found between Vd, PI, RI, and NCT-A and DST (P < 0.05). Conclusions. This study revealed that cerebral hemodynamics were related to the severity of HE and cerebral autoregulation was impaired. There were tight correlations among ammonia, cerebral hemodynamics, and cognitive function, and, following treatment, cerebral hemodynamics improved.
Placental Gene Expression Profile in Intrauterine Growth Restriction Due to Placental Insufficiency

We evaluated global placental gene expression in intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR; n = 8) compared to normal pregnancies (n = 8) and studied possible additional effect of preeclampsia. Placental samples were collected from IUGR pregnancies due to placental insufficiency ascertained by hemodynamic studies. Four IUGR pregnancies were associated with preeclampsia. Gene expression profile was evaluated by 30k oligonucleotide microarrays. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed good separation in terms of gene expression patterns between the groups. Pathway analysis showed upregulation of inflammation mediated by chemokine and cytokine signaling pathway in the IUGR placentas. Genes involved in placental glucocorticoid metabolism were also differentially expressed. None of the known imprinted placental genes were differentially expressed. Subgroup analysis between IUGR placentas with and without preeclampsia showed few (n = 27) differentially expressed genes. In conclusion, IUGR due to placental insufficiency appears to alter placental glucocorticoid metabolism, upregulates inflammatory response in placenta, and shares common pathogenic mechanisms with severe early-onset preeclampsia.
Visual feature integration and the temporal correlation hypothesis.

The mammalian visual system is endowed with a nearly infinite capacity for the recognition of patterns and objects. To have acquired this capability the visual system must have solved what is a fundamentally combinatorial prob­ lem. Any given image consists of a collection of features, consisting of local contrast borders of luminance and wavelength, distributed across the visual field. For one to detect and recognize an object within a scene, the features comprising the object must be identified and segregated from those comprising other objects. This problem is inherently difficult to solve because of the combinatorial nature of visual images. To appreciate this point, consider a simple local feature such as a small vertically oriented line segment placed within a fixed location of the visual field. When combined with other line segments, this feature can form a nearly infinite number of geometrical objects. Any one of these objects may coexist with an equally large number of other
Constant-based truncated cubing architectures

A new technique for computing the truncated cube of an operand at length of power two is proposed, implemented, analyzed, and compared to existing techniques. The new proposed method is comparable to previously proposed methods that compute the cube of an operand in parallel. Post layout results are presented in a 65nm Application Specific Integrated Circuit implementation and are compared against previous methods. Results demonstrate an area reduction compared to previous cubing architectures and considerable energy reduction using truncated cubing architectures.
A retrospective review of place of death of palliative care patients in regional north Queensland

Background: Palliative care strives to offer patients and their families choice in the location of their management and final terminal care. The place of death has been shown to be related to various patient, carer and health service factors. Aim: This study explores place of death of palliative care patients in regional north Queensland, and investigates which patient, disease, and other factors impact on place of death. Methods: All patients under the care of the specialist Palliative Care Service (PCS) at The Townsville Hospital, who died in 2004, were identified. Medical charts for these patients were analysed for various demographic data, disease-related information and place of death. Results: Some 270 patients were analysed. A total of 162 were male, median age was 72 years, and 146 (54%) were married. Home death rate was 19% (54 patients), with 64% (173) of patients dying in hospital. Factors significantly associated with home death included younger age, married, a diagnosis of colorectal carcinoma, and the involvement of community nurses. There was a trend towards male patients being more likely to die at home. Logistic regression analysis indicated that younger age and community nurse involvement were significantly associated with home death. Discussion: The results of this study are in keeping with available, largely urban-based literature, with respect to predictive factors of home death. Further prospective study, with an emphasis on choice regarding place of care and GP involvement with palliative care patients, is warranted.
Visual responses of inferior temporal neurons in awake rhesus monkey.

We studied the responses to visual stimuli of neurons in area TE of the inferior temporal (IT) cortex in four awake monkeys (Macaca mulatta) trained to perform behavioral tasks. While the monkey looked at a fixation point in order to detect its dimming, another stimulus, such as a spot of light or a sine- or square-wave grating, usually produced only slight responses in inferior temporal neurons. However, the response to the stimulus was more vigorous if the task was changed so the fixation point blinked off before the stimulus came on while the monkey maintained its gaze. Responses to visual stimuli during this blink task were seen in 199 of 288 cells studied, and nearly all responded to a visual stimulus better during the blink task than during the task in which the fixation point remained on. Small spots of light usually produced consistent responses; we did not explore the response to complex stimuli or to objects. Latency of the visual response ranged from 70 to 220 ms. While the response of cells to a stimulus in the presence of the fixation point was limited to areas near the fovea, this apparently constricted visual receptive field expanded during the blink of the fixation point. In order to determine whether the increased response of the cell in the absence of the fixation point was due to a shift of attention from the fixation point to the visual stimulus, we required the monkey to respond to the dimming of this stimulus rather than to the dimming of the fixation point. We found that attention to the visual stimulus decreased the response of the cell during both the fixation and blink tasks. That is, the best response to the stimulus occurred in the blink task when attention to the stimulus was not required, while the poorest response occurred in the fixation task when attention to the stimulus was required. The reappearance of the fixation point during stimulus presentation in the blink task caused a transient time-locked suppression of response to the stimulus. This suggests that the reduction of response to the stimulus in the presence of the fixation point is caused by an interaction between the responses to the fixation point and the visual stimulus. To insure that we were recording from the same population of cells that had first been characterized by Gross, Rocha-Miranda, and Bender (14) in anesthetized, paralyzed monkeys, we recorded under those same conditions in two of our four monkeys. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
On a mathematical theory of quantal response assays

Abstract : About seven years ago, one of the authors (Puri [16]) was confronted with the following biological phenomenon. At time t = 0, each member of a group of hosts such as animals is injected with a dose of a specified virulent organism such as viruses or bacteria, which elicit a characteristic response from the host during the course of time. This response may be death, development of a tumor, or some other detectable symptom. If n(t) denotes the number of hosts not responding by time t, the plot against t of either n(t) itself or of the proportion n(t)/n(O) is known as the time dependent response curve. These response curves differ with the dose and with the type of the organism. However, generally speaking, the larger the injected dose, the sooner the host responds. The question was raised as to how one could explain these observed response curves through a suitable stochastic model.
MicroRNA-494 is a master epigenetic regulator of multiple invasion-suppressor microRNAs by targeting ten eleven translocation 1 in invasive human hepatocellular carcinoma tumors

Vascular invasion provides a direct route for tumor metastasis. The degree to which microRNA (miRNA) expression plays a role in tumor vascular invasion is unclear. Here, we report that miR‐494 is up‐regulated in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tumors with vascular invasion and can promote HCC cell invasiveness by gene inactivation of multiple invasion‐suppressor miRNAs. Our results show that ten eleven translocation (TET) methylcytosine dioxygenase, predominantly TET1 in HCC cells, is a direct target of miR‐494. The reduced 5′‐hydroxymethylcytosine levels observed in the proximal cytosine‐phosphate‐guanine (CpG) regions of multiple invasion‐suppressor miRNA genes are strongly associated with their transcriptional repression upon miR‐494 overexpression, whereas enforced DNA demethylation can abolish the repression. Furthermore, TET1 knockdown shows a similar effect as miR‐494 overexpression. Conversely, miR‐494 inhibition or enforced TET1 expression is able to restore invasion‐suppressor miRNAs and inhibit miR‐494‐mediated HCC cell invasion. Conclusions: miR‐494 can trigger gene silencing of multiple invasion‐suppressor miRNAs by inhibiting genomic DNA demethylation by direct targeting of TET1, thereby leading to tumor vascular invasion. (Hepatology 2015;62:466–480
Characteristics of Laser Cavity Solitons in a Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser With Feedback From a Volume Bragg Grating

In this paper, the properties of laser cavity solitons (CS) in a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser with feedback from a volume Bragg grating (VBG) are experimentally characterized. Independent optical manipulation of all eight possible bit states of three CS is demonstrated. Tilting the VBG provides evidence for different trapping states due to device disorder. The CS are found to ldquosplitrdquo from a single peak to two peaks with increasing current, then to more complex arrangements, which are strongly governed by the spatial inhomogeneities. Due to the lack of any dominant polarizing elements, the system shows complex polarization behavior; however, each stage of the CS evolution has an approximately constant polarization angle unique for each CS. The polarization state of the CS can be controlled by adding polarization-selective or changing optics into the cavity.
Efficacy of a triage system to reduce length of hospital stay

Background Attempts have been made to improve the efficiency of in-patient acute care. A novel method has been the development of a ‘triage system’ in which patients are assessed on admission to develop plans for discharge or transfer to an in-patient ward. Aims To compare a triage admission system with a traditional system. Method Length of stay and readmission data for all admissions in a 1-year period between the two systems were compared using the participating trust's anonymised records. Results Despite reduced length of stay on the actual triage ward, the average length of stay was not reduced and the triage system did not lead to a greater number of readmissions. There was no significant difference in costs between the two systems. Conclusions Based on our findings we cannot conclude that the triage system reduced length of stay, but we can conclude that it does not increase the number of readmissions as some have feared.
Düşünme Becerileri Eğitiminin Okul Öncesi Öğretmen Adaylarinin Yaratici Düşünme Becerilerine Etkisi* The Effects of Thinking Skills Education on the Creative Thinking Skills of Preschool Teacher Candidates

Oz Arastirmanin amaci, Robert Sternberg'in Basarili Zekâ Kurami'na dayali dusunme becerileri egitimi programinin okul oncesi ogretmen adaylarinin yaratici dusunme becerilerine etkisini belirlemektir. Arastirmada yari-deneysel desen kullanilmistir. Arastirma grubu; egitim grubu (n=34), Karsilastirma 1 grubu (n=34), Karsilastirma 2 grubu (n=33) olarak belirlenmistir. Arastirmada Torrance Yaratici Dusunce Testi uygulanmistir. Sonuclara bakildiginda, egitim grubunun yaratici dusunce testi ontest ve sontest puanlarinda sozel akicilik, sozel esneklik, sozel orijinallik, sekilsel akicilik, sekilsel orijinallik, basliklarin soyutlulugu, sekilsel zenginlestirme, duygusal ifadeler, alisilmadik gorsellestirme, hayal gucunun zenginligi ozelliklerinde sontest puan ortalamalari ontest puan ortalamalarindan anlamli derecede yuksektir. Egitim ve Karsilastirma gruplarinin sontest puanlari arasindaki farkliliga bakildiginda; sozel akicilik, sozel orijinallik, sekilsel orijinallik, basliklarin soyutlulugu, hayal gucunun zenginligi ve fantazi ozelliklerinde egitim grubu lehine anlamli derecede farklilik gorulmustur. Anahtar Sozcukler: Okul oncesi egitimi, ogretmen egitimi, yaratici dusunme. Abstract The aim of this study was to test the effects of "Thinking Skills Training Program" which is based on Sternberg's "Theory of Successful Intelligence" on preschool teacher candidates' creative thinking. A quasi-experimental design was applied with three samples. Treatment group (n=34), Comparison I (n=34) and Comparison II group (n=33). Data were collected by Torrance Creative Thinking Test (TCTT). According to the results derived from the treatment group, the total scores obtained from the pre and post-tests indicate significant results on the dimensions of creative thinking skills (Verbal fluency, verbal flexibility, verbal originality, figural fluency, figural originality, abstractness of the titles, figural elaboration, emotional expressiveness, unusual visualization, richness of imagery, movement or action). The treatment groups' post tests scores of dimensions of creative thinking skills (verbal fluency, verbal originality, figural originality, abstractness of titles, richness of imagery, fantasy) performed significantly better than the comparison groups