Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tuberculosis diagnosis - an overview to the conventional diagnostic methodology and need for nanodiagnosis

The burden of tuberculosis is high in developing countries, where diagnosing latent TB, drug resistant TB, HIV coinfected Mycobacterium tuberculosis and for children remains still a challenge. Different conventional methods employed in diagnosing MTB lags in rapid and accurate diagnosis and there is no stand-alone test for diagnosing pathogenic Mycobacterium species in all the affected patients. Advent of nanotechnology has given fruitful results in diagnosing TB early and rapidly within hours. Arrival of nanotechnology in detecting pathogenic organism has speeded the sensitivity and specificity of the test. Optimisation of clinical results will give a point of care testing for diagnosing TB. This article reviews the various conventional methods available for TB diagnosis and highlights the need of nanotechnology in diagnosing TB.
Trajectory sampling for direct traffic observation

Traffic measurement is a critical component for the control and engine ering of communication networks. We argue that traffic measurement should make it possible to obtain the spatial flow of traffic through the domain, i.e., the paths followed by packets between any ingress and egress point of the domain. Most resource allocation and capacity planning tasks can benefit from such information. Also, traffic measurements should be obtained without a routing model and without knowledge of network state. This allows the traffic measurement process to be resilient to network failures and state uncertainty. We propose a method that allows the direct inference of traffic flows through a domain by observing the trajectories of a subset of all packets traversing the network. The key advantages of the method are that 1) it does not rely on routing state; 2) its implementation cost is small; and 3) the measurement reporting traffic is modest and can be controlled precisely. The key idea of the method is to sample packets based on a hash function computed over the packet content. Using the same hash function will yield the same sample set of packets in the entire domain, and enables us to reconstruct packet trajectories.
Making Deep Belief Networks effective for large vocabulary continuous speech recognition

To date, there has been limited work in applying Deep Belief Networks (DBNs) for acoustic modeling in LVCSR tasks, with past work using standard speech features. However, a typical LVCSR system makes use of both feature and model-space speaker adaptation and discriminative training. This paper explores the performance of DBNs in a state-of-the-art LVCSR system, showing improvements over Multi-Layer Perceptrons (MLPs) and GMM/HMMs across a variety of features on an English Broadcast News task. In addition, we provide a recipe for data parallelization of DBN training, showing that data parallelization can provide linear speed-up in the number of machines, without impacting WER.
Institute of Physics Publishing Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering Experiments and Simulations of Mems Thermal Sensors for Wall Shear-stress Measurements in Aerodynamic Control Applications

MEMS thermal shear-stress sensors exploit heat-transfer effects to measure the shear stress exerted by an air flow on its solid boundary, and have promising applications in aerodynamic control. Classical theory for conventional, macroscale thermal shear-stress sensors states that the rate of heat removed by the flow from the sensor is proportional to the 1/3-power of the shear stress. However, we have observed that this theory is inconsistent with experimental data from MEMS sensors. This paper seeks to develop an understanding of MEMS thermal shear-stress sensors through a study including both experimental and theoretical investigations. We first obtain experimental data that confirm the inadequacy of the classical theory by wind-tunnel testing of prototype MEMS shear-stress sensors with different dimensions and materials. A theoretical analysis is performed to identify that this inadequacy is due to the lack of a thin thermal boundary layer in the fluid flow at the sensor surface, and then a two-dimensional MEMS shear-stress sensor theory is presented. This theory incorporates important heat-transfer effects that are ignored by the classical theory, and consistently explains the experimental data obtained from prototype MEMS sensors. Moreover, the prototype MEMS sensors are studied with three-dimensional simulations, yielding results that quantitatively agree with experimental data. This work demonstrates that classical assumptions made for conventional thermal devices should be carefully examined for miniature MEMS devices. 1640 Experiments and simulations of MEMS thermal sensors for wall shear-stress measurements in aerodynamic control applications
Alginate Inhibits Iron Absorption from Ferrous Gluconate in a Randomized Controlled Trial and Reduces Iron Uptake into Caco-2 Cells

Previous in vitro results indicated that alginate beads might be a useful vehicle for food iron fortification. A human study was undertaken to test the hypothesis that alginate enhances iron absorption. A randomised, single blinded, cross-over trial was carried out in which iron absorption was measured from serum iron appearance after a test meal. Overnight-fasted volunteers (n = 15) were given a test meal of 200 g cola-flavoured jelly plus 21 mg iron as ferrous gluconate, either in alginate beads mixed into the jelly or in a capsule. Iron absorption was lower from the alginate beads than from ferrous gluconate (8.5% and 12.6% respectively, p = 0.003). Sub-group B (n = 9) consumed the test meals together with 600 mg calcium to determine whether alginate modified the inhibitory effect of calcium. Calcium reduced iron absorption from ferrous gluconate by 51%, from 11.5% to 5.6% (p = 0.014), and from alginate beads by 37%, from 8.3% to 5.2% (p = 0.009). In vitro studies using Caco-2 cells were designed to explore the reasons for the difference between the previous in vitro findings and the human study; confirmed the inhibitory effect of alginate. Beads similar to those used in the human study were subjected to simulated gastrointestinal digestion, with and without cola jelly, and the digestate applied to Caco-2 cells. Both alginate and cola jelly significantly reduced iron uptake into the cells, by 34% (p = 0.009) and 35% (p = 0.003) respectively. The combination of cola jelly and calcium produced a very low ferritin response, 16.5% (p<0.001) of that observed with ferrous gluconate alone. The results of these studies demonstrate that alginate beads are not a useful delivery system for soluble salts of iron for the purpose of food fortification. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01528644
Effect of Growing Media and Depth on Rooftop Cultivation of Gerbera (Gerbera jamesonii Bolus) cv. Red Gem

Rooftops are places of fantasy and imagination. Roof gardens which are the precursors of contemporary green roofs have ancient roots. The earliest acknowledged roof gardens were the hanging gardens of Semiramis, the present day Syria, considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Today, similar elaborate and modern roofgarden projects have been designed for highprofile international hotels, business centres, and private homes (Oberndorfer et al., 2007). Since forests, agricultural fields, and suburban and urban lands are replaced with impervious surfaces resulting from development, the necessity to recover green space is becoming increasingly critical to maintain environmental quality (Getter and Rowe, 2006). In an accessible rooftop garden, space becomes available for localized small-scale urban agriculture, a source of local food production. International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 7 Number 05 (2018) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas. com
Cognitive and physiological effects of an acute physical activity intervention in elementary school children

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of an acute physical activity intervention that included cognitive engagement on executive functions and on cortisol level in young elementary school children. Half of the 104 participating children (6–8 years old) attended a 20-min sport sequence, which included cognitively engaging and playful forms of physical activity. The other half was assigned to a resting control condition. Individual differences in children's updating, inhibition, and shifting performance as well as salivary cortisol were assessed before (pre-test), immediately after (post-test), and 40 min after (follow-up) the intervention or control condition, respectively. Results revealed a significantly stronger improvement in inhibition in the experimental group compared to the control group, while it appeared that acute physical activity had no specific effect on updating and shifting. The intervention effect on inhibition leveled out 40 min after physical activity. Salivary cortisol increased significantly more in the experimental compared to the control group between post-test and follow-up and results support partly the assumed inverted U-shaped relationship between cortisol level and cognitive performance. In conclusion, results indicate that acute physical activity that includes cognitive engagement may have immediate positive effects on inhibition, but not necessarily on updating and shifting in elementary school children. This positive effect may partly be explained through cortisol elevation after acute physical activity.
Development of sensory‐motor synapses in the spinal cord of the frog.

The development and specificity of monosynaptic sensory‐motor synapses were studied in the brachial spinal cord of bullfrog tadpoles. Intracellular and extracellular recordings were made from motoneurones innervating several different muscles of the forelimb. Excitatory synaptic potentials (e.p.s.p.s) were elicited by stimulation of various peripheral muscle nerves. Sensory and motor axons in the triceps brachii muscle nerves were electrically excitable at stage XIII, the earliest stage studied. Their conduction velocities were 0.2‐0.4 m/s. These velocities increased during subsequent development so that by stage XXII they were approximately 5 m/s. Before stage XVII, synaptic potentials evoked in motoneurones by stimulation of the triceps sensory fibres had a long central latency and fatigued easily. These potentials were probably mediated polysynaptically. At stage XVII, the first short‐latency triceps synaptic potentials appeared. They had central latencies of less than 3 ms and represented the direct, monosynaptic input from muscle sensory cells on to motoneurones. During subsequent development the percentage of triceps motoneurones innervated by triceps sensory fibres increased, while the number of long‐latency polysynaptic inputs decreased. Both the electrical and chemical components, characteristic of these monosynaptic e.p.s.p.s in adult frogs, were prominent from the time the e.p.s.p.s first appeared. The pattern of innervation of brachial motoneurones by triceps sensory afferents was specific from the beginning. Triceps sensory fibres innervated most triceps motoneurones but very few subscapular or pectoralis motoneurones, just as in adult frogs. At no time were there appreciable numbers of ‘aberrant’ connexions. The developmental time course of several different classes of sensory‐motor connexions was similar. Thus the synaptic specificity of this system cannot be explained by a differential timing of synaptogenesis.
Xenbase: a Xenopus biology and genomics resource

Xenbase (www.xenbase.org) is a model organism database integrating a diverse array of biological and genomic data on the frogs, Xenopus laevis and Xenopus (Silurana) tropicalis. Data is collected from other databases, high-throughput screens and the scientific literature and integrated into a number of database modules covering subjects such as community, literature, gene and genomic analysis. Gene pages are automatically assembled from data piped from the Entrez Gene, Gurdon Institute, JGI, Metazome, MGI, OMIM, PubMed, Unigene, Zfin, commercial suppliers and others. These data are then supplemented with in-house annotation. Xenbase has implemented the Gbrowse genome browser and also provides a BLAST service that allows users to specifically search either laevis or tropicalis DNA or protein targets. A table of Xenopus gene synonyms has been implemented and allows the genome, genes, publications and high-throughput gene expression data to be seamlessly integrated with other Xenopus data and to external database resources, making the wealth of developmental and functional data from the frog available to the broader research community.
Universality in the brain while listening to music

The human brain, which is one of the most complex organic systems, involves billions of interacting physiological and chemical processes that give rise to experimentally observed neuroelectrical activity, which is called an electroencephalogram (EEG). The presence of non-stationarity and intermittency render standard available methods unsuitable for detecting hidden dynamical patterns in the EEG. In this paper, a method that is suitable for non-stationary signals and preserving the phase characteristics and that combines wavelet and Hilbert transforms was applied to multivariate EEG signals from human subjects at rest as well as in different cognitive states: listening to music, listening to text and performing spatial imagination. It was found that, if suitably rescaled, the gamma band EEG over distributed brain areas while listening to music can be described by a universal and homogeneous scaling, whereas this homogeneity in scale is reduced at resting conditions and also during listening to text and performing spatial imagination. The degree of universality is characterized by a Kullback - Leibler divergence measure. By statistical surrogate analysis, nonlinear phase interaction was found to play an important role in exhibiting universality among multiple cortical regions.
Enhanced Water Splitting by Fe2O3-TiO2-FTO Photoanode with Modified Energy Band Structure

The effect of TiO2 layer applied to the conventional Fe2O3/FTO photoanode to improve the photoelectrochemical performance was assessed from the viewpoint of the microstructure and energy band structure. Regardless of the location of the TiO2 layer in the photoanodes, that is, Fe2O3/TiO2/FTO or TiO2/Fe2O3/FTO, high performance was obtained when α-Fe2O3 and H-TiNT/anatase-TiO2 phases existed in the constituent Fe2O3 and TiO2 layers after optimized heat treatments. The presence of the Fe2O3 nanoparticles with high uniformity in the each layer of the Fe2O3/TiO2/FTO photoanode achieved by a simple dipping process seemed to positively affect the performance improvement by modifying the energy band structure to a more favorable one for efficient electrons transfer. Our current study suggests that the application of the TiO2 interlayer, together with α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles present in the each constituent layers, could significantly contribute to the performance improvement of the conventional Fe2O3 photoanode.
A novel UBIAD1 mutation identified in a Chinese family with Schnyder crystalline corneal dystrophy

Purpose To identify the molecular defect causing Schnyder crystalline corneal dystrophy (SCCD) in a Chinese family with bilateral corneal abnormalities. Methods The Chinese SCCD family was subjected to a complete ophthalmic examination that included slit-lamp examination and slit-lamp photography to assess and document the crystalline deposits and arcus lipoides. In vivo laser scanning confocal microscopy and Fourier-domain OCT were also performed on both eyes of SCCD patients. Blood samples were taken for subsequent genetic analysis. The two coding exons of the UbiA prenyltransferase domain-containing protein 1 (UBIAD1) gene were screened for mutations by direct sequencing. Results We report on a novel heterozygous mutation of UBIAD1, G98S, in two patients with SCCD. The identified molecular defect cosegregates with the disease and is not found in 50 unaffected individuals. Morphological evaluation on SCCD by in vivo laser scanning confocal microscopy and Fourier-domain OCT highlighted pathological observations at the level of Bowman’s membrane and anterior stroma. Conclusion The newly identified mutation expands the spectrum of mutations in UBIAD1 that may cause pathological corneal cholesterol deposition. Observations by in vivo laser scanning confocal microscopy and Fourier-domain OCT were consistent with the previous histopathologic descriptions of SCCD.
Book review: The Art of the MetaObject Protocol By Gregor Kiczales, Jim des Rivieres, Daniel G. and Bobrow(MIT Press, 1991)

Object oriented programming (OOP) is a primary feature of many popular AI tools. The Art of the MetaObject Protocol is by the principal creators of the Common Lisp Object System (CLOS), probably the best conceived and most flexible of today's object oriented languages. This book is an annotated walk-through of the implementation of a subset of CLOS the authors call Closette. The authors are all from Xerox PARC.
Optimal duration of an early intervention programme for first-episode psychosis: randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND Numerous early intervention services targeting young people with psychosis have been established, based on the premise that reducing treatment delay and providing intensive treatment in the initial phase of psychosis can improve long-term outcome. AIMS To establish the effect of extending a specialised early intervention treatment for first-episode psychosis by 1 year. METHOD A randomised, single-blind controlled trial (NCT01202357) compared a 1-year extension of specialised early intervention with step-down care in patients who had all received a 2-year intensive early intervention programme for first-episode psychosis. RESULTS Patients receiving an additional year of specialised intervention had better outcomes in functioning, negative and depressive symptoms and treatment default rate than those managed by step-down psychiatric care. CONCLUSIONS Extending the period of specialised early intervention is clinically desirable but may not be feasible in lower-income countries.
Connectivity shapes

We describe a method to visualize the connectivity graph of a mesh using a natural embedding in 3D space. This uses a 3D shape representation that is based solely on mesh connectivity: the connectivity shape. Given a connectivity, we define its natural geometry as a smooth embedding in space with uniform edge lengths and describe efficient techniques to compute it. Our main contribution is to demonstrate that a surprising amount of geometric information is implicit in the connectivity. We also show how to generate connectivity shapes that approximate given 3D shapes. Potential applications of connectivity shapes to modeling and mesh coding are described.
How is rating of perceived capacity related to VO2max and what is VO2max at onset of training?

Objective To evaluate how rating of perceived capacity (RPC) is related to maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) and examine VO2max at onset of training in healthy adults. Methods In total, 125 newly registered fitness centre members, equally men and women, answered the RPC scale and performed a treadmill test for measurement of VO2max. Eligible criteria were <4 weeks of fitness centre membership, physically inactive, ≥18 years and not pregnant. The RPC is a one-page scale (1–20) based on metabolic equivalent tasks, where the individual chooses the most strenuous activity that can be sustained for at least 30 min. Results The Bland-Altman plot demonstrated a tendency of overestimation, meaning that the participants ranked their own aerobic capacity 17.5% higher than objectively measured values of VO2max. The mean difference between the two methods were +4.92±1.96 and +6.35±1.96 mL/min/kg VO2 in men and women, respectively. The Pearson correlation coefficient was moderate, with r=0.426 (p<0.01). A linear regression analysis showed that both age and VO2max were significant predictors of RPC (p<0.01). Measured VO2max at onset of fitness centre membership was in men aged 38.7±11.7 and women aged 34.7±9.9, 40.5±7.2 and 35.0±6.0 mL/min/kg, respectively. Estimated VO2max from the RPC scale was 45.7±9.8 and 41.4±10.1 mL/min/kg in men and women, respectively. Conclusions The RPC seems less accurate at the individual level and may overestimate VO2max. Still, it may be considered useful in large-scale studies.
Validation of the Spanish Translation of the Patient Assessment of Chronic Illness Care (PACIC) Survey

Introduction The Patient Assessment of Chronic Illness Care (PACIC) survey is a patient-centered instrument for evaluating the quality and patient-centeredness of chronic illness care received according to the Chronic Care Model paradigm. This study validates the Spanish translation of the PACIC in an urban, Spanish-speaking population. Methods One hundred Spanish-speaking patients with diabetes completed the translated PACIC and sociodemographic and cultural questionnaires. Test-retest reliability was assessed in a subset of 20 patients who completed the questionnaire 2 to 4 months later. Internal consistency was evaluated with Cronbach α. PACIC score and subscale associations with sociodemographic characteristics were examined. Results Test-retest reliability for the overall translated PACIC scale was 0.77. Scores were not associated with patient sociodemographic characteristics, including age, country of birth, years living in the United States, or education level (P >.05). Conclusion The Spanish translation of the PACIC survey demonstrated high reliability, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability. Scores showed no association with sociodemographic or cultural characteristics. The Spanish version can reliably be used to assess care delivered according to the Chronic Care Model in a heterogeneous Spanish-speaking population.
A pragmatic study of the predictive values of the Morse falls score.

BACKGROUND inpatient falls are an important safety challenge, with around half causing physical injuries that compromise the recovery of older, frailer patients. Falls risk scores are in widespread use, but validation studies of their predictive values are few. OBJECTIVES to assess the predictive values of the Morse falls score (MFS) in an acute general hospital. METHODS age, admitting speciality, MFS, and any falls in the subsequent 7 days were collected in April 2011 through case note review and incident reporting systems. RESULTS a total of 467 inpatients were included in the study; 51% were aged 75+ years; 56% had an MFS ≥25; 23% had an MFS ≥55; 28 fell. An MFS ≥25 was not significantly better than chance in the total sample or in any subgroups considered (YI: -0.01 to 0.15). An MFS ≥55 was significantly better than chance for the total sample (YI: 0.39), patients ≥75 years (YI: 0.31) and geriatrician-led wards (YI 0.37), although either sensitivity or specificity fell below 70% in each of these groups. Other subgroups did not demonstrate significantly better accuracy than chance, but may have been affected by type II error. CONCLUSIONS using MFS ≥25 cannot be clinically justified, while using MFS ≥55 would be contingent on an effective intervention that was ethically acceptable to withhold from the patients with an MFS < 55, despite >40% of falls occurring in that group. Given similar limitations of alternative falls risk scores, hospitals should consider directly assessing and acting on individual patients' specific modifiable risk factors for falls.