Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
HIV/AIDS Related Stigma and Discrimination against PLWHA in Nigerian Population

Background HIV/AIDS remain a major public health concern in Nigeria. People living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) face not only personal medical problems but also social problems associated with the disease such as stigma and discriminatory attitudes. This study provides an insight into HIV/AIDS related stigma and discrimination against PLWHA in Nigeria. Methods The data for this study was extracted from the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey conducted by the National Population Commission. All men and women aged 15–49 years, permanent residents and visitors of the households were eligible for the interview. Several questionnaires were used in the survey, some covering questions on HIV/AIDS. Results A total of 56 307 men and women aged 15–49 years participated in this national survey. About half of the population in Nigeria have HIV stigma. Younger persons, men, those without formal education and those within poor wealth index are more likely to have stigma towards PLWHA. In addition, married people are more likely to have stigma on PLWHA and are more likely to blame PLWHA for bringing the disease to the community. Also about half of the population discriminates against PLWHA. However, those with higher levels of education and those from higher wealth index seem to be more compassionate towards PLWHA. About 70% in the population are willing to care for relative with AIDS, even more so among those with higher level of education. Conclusion There is a high level of HIV stigma and discrimination against PLWHA in the Nigerian population. Education seems to play a major role in the society with respect to HIV stigma and discrimination against PLWHA. Educating the population with factual information on HIV/AIDS is needed to reduce stigma and discrimination towards PLWHA in the community.
Guideline for the diagnosis and management of myelofibrosis

The guideline group regarding the diagnosis and management of myelofibrosis was selected to be representative of UK‐based medical experts, together with a contribution from a single expert from the USA. MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched systematically for publications in English from 1966 until August 2011 using a variety of key words. The writing group produced the draft guideline, which was subsequently revised by consensus of the members of the General Haematology and Haemato‐oncology Task Forces of the British Committee for Standards in Haematology (BCSH). The guideline was then reviewed by a sounding board of UK haematologists, the BCSH and the British Society for Haematology Committee and comments incorporated where appropriate. The criteria used to state levels and grades of evidence are as outlined in the Procedure for Guidelines commissioned by the BCSH; the ‘GRADE‘ system was used to score strength and quality of evidence. The objective of this guideline is to provide healthcare professionals with clear guidance on the investigation and management of primary myelofibrosis, as well as post‐polycythaemic myelofibrosis (post‐PV MF) and post‐thrombocythemic myelofibrosis (post‐ET MF) in both adult and paediatric patients.
Alternative Implementation of Simplified Brillouin Optical Correlation-Domain Reflectometry

We developed an alternative configuration of simplified Brillouin optical correlation-domain reflectometry, which can overcome the drawbacks of the original configuration. This system uses, as reference light, the light that is Fresnel reflected at a partial reflection point artificially produced near an optical circulator. We show that the influence of the zeroth correlation peak fixed at the partial reflection point can be suppressed by replacing the nearby fibers with other fibers having different Brillouin frequency shift values (here, multimode fibers are used). Finally, we demonstrate a distributed measurement for detecting a 1.46-m-long strained section with a high signal-to-noise (SN) ratio.
Robust aggregation of local image descriptors for visual search

Visual search and recognition underpins numerous applications including management of multimedia content, mobile commerce, surveillance, navigation, robotics and many others. However the task is still challenging predominantly due to the variability of object appearance and ever increasing size of the databases, often exceeding billions of images. The objective of this thesis is to develop a robust, compact and discriminative image representation suitable for tasks of visual search. This thesis contributes to four research areas. First we propose a novel method, named Robust Visual Descriptor (RVD), for deriving a compact and robust representation of image content which significantly advances state of the art and delivers world-class performance. In our approach, the local descriptors are assigned to multiple cluster centres with rank weights leading to a stable and reliable global image representation. Residual vectors are then computed in each cluster, normalized using a direction preserving normalization and aggregated based on the neighbourhood rank information. We then propose two extensions to the core RVD descriptor. The first one consists of de-correlating weighted residual vectors by applying cluster level PCA before aggregation. In the second extension, the weighted residual vectors are whitened in each cluster before aggregation, leading to a balanced energy distribution in each dimension and improved performance. Compressing floating point global signatures to binary codes improves storage requirements and matching speed for large scale image retrieval tasks. Our third contribution is to derive a compact and robust binary image signature from the core RVD representation. In addition, we propose a novel binary descriptors matching algorithm, PCAE with Weighted Hamming distance (PCAE+WH), to minimize the quantization loss associated with converting floating point vector to discrete binary codes. In the context of industry work on Compact descriptors for Visual Search (CDVS) and its standardization in MPEG (ISO), we propose a scalable RVD representation. The bitrate scalability is achieved by employing novel Cluster Selection and Bit Selection mechanisms which support interoperable binary RVD representations. Moreover, we propose a very efficient and effective score function based on weighted Hamming distance, to compute similarity between two binary representations. Our fourth contribution is to develop an image classification system based on RVD representation. We introduce an effective method to incorporate second order statistics in the original RVD framework.
Wiskott—Aldrich Syndrome: Qualitative Platelet Defects and Short Platelet Survival

Summary. Investigations of the haemostatic functions in three patients with the Wiskott‐Aldrich syndrome are presented. All patients had severe thrombocytopenia and prolonged bleeding times. The platelets had abnormal morphology with reduced size and variations of shape. Electron microscopy revealed ultrastructural abnormalities with a reduced number of organelles, and many of the platelets contained large numbers of tubules. Platelet electrophoretic mobility in citrated plasma was not reduced by collagen, and platelet aggregation by collagen and ADP was deficient. Biochemical studies revealed a lack of the storage pool of adenine nucleotides. Platelet adhesiveness in vitro in whole blood was reduced. Platelet factor‐3 release by kaolin, ADP and freezing and thawing was normal in one and reduced in another of the patients.
Neighborhood-Centric Congestion Control for Multihop Wireless Mesh Networks

Complex interference in static multihop wireless mesh networks can adversely affect transport protocol performance. Since TCP does not explicitly account for this, starvation and unfairness can result from the use of TCP over such networks. In this paper, we explore mechanisms for achieving fair and efficient congestion control for multihop wireless mesh networks. First, we design an AIMD-based rate-control protocol called Wireless Control Protocol (WCP), which recognizes that wireless congestion is a neighborhood phenomenon, not a node-local one, and appropriately reacts to such congestion. Second, we design a distributed rate controller that estimates the available capacity within each neighborhood and divides this capacity to contending flows, a scheme we call Wireless Control Protocol with Capacity estimation (WCPCap). Using analysis, simulations, and real deployments, we find that our designs yield rates that are both fair and efficient. WCP assigns rates inversely proportional to the number of bottlenecks a flow passes through while remaining extremely easy to implement. An idealized version of WCPCap is max-min fair, whereas a practical implementation of the scheme achieves rates within 15% of the max-min optimal rates while still being distributed and amenable to real implementation.
Using Google Ngram Viewer for Scientific Referencing and History of Science

Today, several universal digital libraries exist such as Google Books, Project Gutenberg, Internet Archive libraries, which possess texts from general collections, and many other archives are available, concerning more specific subjects. On the digitalized texts available from these libraries, we can perform several analyses, from those typically used for time-series to those of network theory. For what concerns time-series, an interesting tool provided by Google Books exists, which can help us in bibliographical and reference researches. This tool is the Ngram Viewer, based on yearly count of n-grams. As we will show in this paper, although it seems suitable just for literary works, it can be useful for scientific researches, not only for history of science, but also for acquiring references often unknown to researchers.
Postnatal depression and faltering growth: a community study.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the association between faltering growth in children and maternal postnatal depression. METHODS Children aged < or =2 years were identified from community child health surveillance records if their weights fell across 2 centile channels on standardized growth charts or fell below the second centile. Mothers of these index children were invited to complete the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and the anxiety subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Those who scored above threshold values on either scale were interviewed with the revised Clinical Interview Schedule. Matched control children were obtained from health visitor records, and records of their weights were obtained. Mothers of control children completed the same questionnaires. RESULTS A total of 196 index children and 567 control children were studied. Significantly more mothers in the index group scored above the threshold for both the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (33% vs 22%; odds ratio [OR]: 1.71; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.16-2.53) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (24% vs 13%; OR: 2.08; 95% CI: 1.33-3.25) questionnaires. Furthermore, clinical interviews with these mothers demonstrated that 21% of the index group and 11% of the control group fulfilled criteria for depressive episode (OR: 1.88; 95% CI: 1.21-2.94). CONCLUSIONS Depression in mothers of children with faltering growth during the first 2 years of life is significantly greater than in mothers of children who are gaining weight appropriately. In view of the high rates of maternal depression in children with poor weight gain, clinical management at presentation of either problem should focus on both members of the mother-child dyad and on the interaction between mother and child. These findings have implications for all professionals who work in primary and secondary health care.
Effects of Statin Therapy According to Plasma High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein Concentration in the Controlled Rosuvastatin Multinational Trial in Heart Failure (CORONA): A Retrospective Analysis

Background— We examined whether the antiinflammatory action of statins may be of benefit in heart failure, a state characterized by inflammation in which low cholesterol is associated with worse outcomes. Methods and Results— We compared 10 mg rosuvastatin daily with placebo in patients with ischemic systolic heart failure according to baseline high sensitivity-C reactive protein (hs-CRP) <2.0 mg/L (placebo, n=779; rosuvastatin, n=777) or ≥2.0 mg/L (placebo, n=1694; rosuvastatin, n=1711). The primary outcome was cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke. Baseline low-density lipoprotein was the same, and rosuvastatin reduced low-density lipoprotein by 47% in both hs-CRP groups. Median hs-CRP was 1.10 mg/L in the lower and 5.60 mg/L in the higher hs-CRP group, with higher hs-CRP associated with worse outcomes. The change in hs-CRP with rosuvastatin from baseline to 3 months was −6% in the low hs-CRP group (27% with placebo) and −33.3% in the high hs-CRP group (−11.1% with placebo). In the high hs-CRP group, 548 placebo-treated (14.0 per 100 patient-years of follow-up) and 498 rosuvastatin-treated (12.2 per 100 patient-years of follow-up) patients had a primary end point (hazard ratio of placebo to rosuvastatin, 0.87; 95% confidence interval, 0.77 to 0.98; P=0.024). In the low hs-CRP group, 175 placebo-treated (8.9 per 100 patient-years of follow-up) and 188 rosuvastatin-treated (9.8 per 100 patient-years of follow-up) patients experienced this outcome (hazard ratio, 1.09; 95% confidence interval, 0.89 to 1.34; P>0.2; P for interaction=0.062). The numbers of deaths were as follows: 581 placebo-treated (14.1 per 100 patient-years of follow-up) and 532 rosuvastatin-treated (12.6 per 100 patient-years) patients in the high hs-CRP group (hazard ratio, 0.89; 95% confidence interval, 0.79 to 1.00; P=0.050) and 170 placebo-treated (8.3 per 100 patient-years) and 192 rosuvastatin-treated (9.7 per 100 patient-years) patients in the low hs-CRP group (hazard ratio, 1.17; 95% confidence interval, 0.95 to 1.43; P=0.14; P for interaction=0.026). Conclusion— In this retrospective hypothesis-generating study, we found a significant interaction between hs-CRP and the effect of rosuvastatin for most end points whereby rosuvastatin treatment was associated with better outcomes in patients with hs-CRP ≥2.0 mg/L. Clinical Trial Registration Information— URL: http://www.clinicaltrials. gov. Unique identifier: NCT00206310.
Altitudinal and seasonal variation in microsatellite allele frequencies of Drosophila buzzatii

Variation in climate, particularly temperature, is known to affect the genetic composition of populations. Although there have been many studies of latitudinal variation, comparisons of populations across altitudes or seasons, particularly for animal species, are less common. Here, we study genetic variation (microsatellite markers) in populations of Drosophila buzzatii collected along altitudinal gradients and in different seasons. We found no differences in genetic variation between 2 years or between seasons within years. However, there were numerous cases of significant associations between allele frequencies or expected heterozygosities and altitude, with more than half showing nonlinear relationships. While these associations indicate possible selection and local altitudinal adaptation, direct tests gave strong evidence for selection affecting two loci and weaker evidence for five other loci. Two loci that are located within an inversion (including the one with strongest evidence for selection) show a linear increase in genetic diversity with altitude, likely due to thermal selection. Parallel associations with altitude here and with latitude in Australian populations indicate that selection is operating on chromosomal regions marked by some of the loci.
clpC and clpP1P2 gene expression in Corynebacterium glutamicum is controlled by a regulatory network involving the transcriptional regulators ClgR and HspR as well as the ECF sigma factor σH

The ATP‐dependent protease Clp plays important roles in the cell's protein quality control system and in the regulation of cellular processes. In Corynebacterium glutamicum, the levels of the proteolytic subunits ClpP1 and ClpP2 as well as of the corresponding mRNAs were drastically increased upon deletion of the clpC gene, coding for a Clp ATPase subunit. We identified a regulatory protein, designated ClgR, binding to a common palindromic sequence motif in front of clpP1P2 as well as of clpC. Deletion of clgR in the ΔclpC background completely abolished the increased transcription of both operons, indicating that ClgR activates transcription of these genes. ClgR activity itself is probably controlled via ClpC‐dependent regulation of its stability, as ClgR is only present in ΔclpC and not in wild‐type cells, whereas the levels of clgR mRNA are comparable in both strains. clpC, clpP1P2 and clgR expression is induced upon severe heat stress, however, independently of ClgR. Identification of the heat‐responsive transcriptional start sites in front of these genes revealed the presence of sequence motifs typical for σECF‐dependent promoters. The ECF sigma factor σH could be identified as being required for transcriptional activation of clpC, clpP1P2 and clgR in response to severe heat stress. A second heat‐responsive but σH‐independent promoter in front of clgR could be identified that is subject to negative regulation by the transcriptional repressor HspR. Taken together, these results show that clpC and clpP1P2 expression in C. glutamicum is subject to complex regulation via both independent and hierarchically organized pathways, allowing for the integration of multiple environmental stimuli. Both the ClgR‐ and σH‐dependent regulation of clpC and clpP1P2 expression appears to be conserved in other actinomycetes.
Balance improvement in patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo

Objective: To investigate the effect of an additional vestibular stimulated exercise programme on balance for patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Setting: Medical centre. Subjects: Twenty-six subjects with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo involving the unilateral posterior semicircular canal. Interventions: Subjects were randomized into experimental or control groups. Thirteen subjects in the experimental group received the canalith repositioning manoeuvre and vestibular stimulated exercise training three times a week for four weeks. Thirteen subjects in the control group received only the canalith repositioning manoeuvre. Main measures: Static balance tests, tandem walk test, Dynamic Gait Index and subjective rating of the intensity of vertigo were measured at baseline, two-week and four-week assessments. Results: Compared with the control group, subjects in the experimental group demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in single leg stance with eyes closed at the two-week assessment (P<0.05). Furthermore, stance on foam surface with eyes closed, single-leg stance with eyes closed, and Dynamic Gait Index at the four-week assessment were also significantly improved (P<0.05). Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that additional exercise training, which emphasizes vestibular stimulation, can improve balance ability and functional gait performance among patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo who had already undergone the canalith repositioning manoeuvre.
Part-Based Automatic System in Comparison to Human Experts for Forensic Signature Verification

The purpose of writing this paper is three-fold. First, it presents a novel local / part-based automatic system for forensic signature verification involving disguised signatures. Disguised signatures are written by authentic authors but with the intention of later denial. The proposed system reaches an equal error rate of 3.36% in classifying disguised and genuine signatures. Second, it compares the performance of the proposed system with various state-of-the-art signature verification systems on the same data, i.e., the publicly available dataset of 4NSigComp2010 signature verification competition. Third, it presents a performance comparison of the proposed system with human forensic handwriting examiners. It is important as it highlights the potential of the proposed system to assist humans in solving real world forensic signature verification cases.
Long-term Care in China: Issues and Prospects

One of the major socioeconomic challenges China faces is the rapid aging of its population. China is now an aging society, even though it is still regarded as a middle-income economy. Coupled with the market-driven reform of social services and rapid erosion of family support, the provision of affordable and accessible social care services to older people has already become an urgent issue for the government to address. Looking into the future, the formulation of a sustainable position on long-term care (LTC) will increasingly become the major focus of social policy. This article sets out the background to the demographic shifts resulting in the emerging need for LTC in China. It analyzes the issues facing LTC services and reviews their prospects, including the structure, operation, financing, and interfacing of residential and community-based home care services.
Binding of Yeast Frataxin to the Scaffold for Fe-S Cluster Biogenesis, Isu*

Friedreich ataxia is caused by reduced activity of frataxin, a conserved iron-binding protein of the mitochondrial matrix, thought to supply iron for formation of Fe-S clusters on the scaffold protein Isu. Frataxin binds Isu in an iron-dependent manner in vitro. However, the biological relevance of this interaction and whether in vivo the interaction between frataxin and Isu is mediated by adaptor proteins is a matter of debate. Here, we report that alterations of conserved, surface-exposed residues of yeast frataxin, which have deleterious effects on cell growth, impair Fe-S cluster biogenesis and interaction with Isu while altering neither iron binding nor oligomerization. Our results support the idea that the surface of the β-sheet, adjacent to the acidic, iron binding ridge, is important for interaction of Yfh1 with the Fe-S cluster scaffold and point to a critical role for frataxin in Fe-S cluster biogenesis.
Pneumococcal Serotypes and Serogroups Causing Invasive Disease in Pakistan, 2005–2013

While pneumococcal conjugate vaccines have been implemented in most countries worldwide, use in Asia has lagged in part because of a lack of data on the amount of disease that is vaccine preventable in the region. We describe pneumococcal serotypes elicited from 111 episodes of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) from 2005 to 2013 among children and adults in Pakistan. Seventy-three percent (n = 81) of 111 IPD episodes were cases of meningitis (n = 76 in children 0–15 years and n = 5 among adults). Serotypes were determined by target amplification of DNA extracted from pneumococcal isolates (n = 52) or CSF specimens (n = 59). Serogroup 18 was the most common serogroup causing meningitis in children <5 years, accounting for 21% of cases (n = 13). The 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV 10) or PCV10- related serotypes were found in 61% (n = 47) of childhood (age 0–15 years) meningitis episodes. PCV-13 increased this coverage to 63% (one additional serotype 19A; n = 48). Our data indicate that use of PCVs would prevent a large proportion of serious pneumococcal disease.