Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ultrasound-guided Pleural Effusion Drainage With a Small Catheter Using the Single-step Trocar or Modified Seldinger Technique

Background:Studies have shown that small-catheter pleural effusion drainage is safe and has a lower complication rate. Our objective was to evaluate the outcomes and the safety of the single-step trocar or the modified Seldinger technique. Methods:A total of 124 patients (83 men and 41 women), with mean age of 46±18 years and mean duration of drainage 5.3±2 days, were include in the study. The trocar technique was attempted in 201 (86.5%) cases, and the modified Seldinger technique was used in 38 (16.5%) cases. Results:Technical success was obtained in 96% for the trocar technique and in 100% for the modified Seldinger technique. The procedure time for the trocar and the modified Seldinger techniques was approximately 7 and 12 minutes, respectively (P-value=0.02). The overall success rate was 72.9%. The success rate was highest for massive transudative effusions (98%) followed by malignant effusions (87%), and it was least for parapneumonic effusion/empyema (72 %). Pneumothorax occurred in 10.5% (n=4) for modified Seldinger versus 0.5% (n=1) (P=0.12) for trocar, whereas bleeding occurred in 0% for modified Seldinger and in 1% (n=2) for trocar (P=0.04). The single-step trocar technique was technically unsuccessful in 8 cases (7 had empyema with narrow intercostal spaces and one had kyphoscoliosis); technical success was achieved by using the modified Seldinger. Conclusion:Ultrasound-guided pleural effusion drainage by catheter insertion is a safe and effective procedure. The success rate is low when the effusion is loculated and septated. Both the trocar and the modified Seldinger techniques can be used. The trocar technique is faster and easier.
Identification of different nutritional status groups in institutionalized elderly people by cluster analysis.

OBJECTIVES To apply a cluster analysis to groups of individuals of similar characteristics in an attempt to identify undernutrition or the risk of undernutrition in this population. METHODS DESIGN A cross-sectional study. SETTING Seven public nursing homes in the province of Murcia, on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. PARTICIPANTS 205 subjects aged 65 and older (131 women and 74 men). MEASUREMENTS Dietary intake (energy and nutrients), anthropometric (body mass index, skinfold thickness, mid-arm muscle circumference, mid-arm muscle area, corrected arm muscle area, waist to hip ratio) and biochemical and haematological (serum albumin, transferrin, total cholesterol, total lymphocyte count). Variables were analyzed by cluster analysis. RESULTS The results of the cluster analysis, including intake, anthropometric and analytical data showed that, of the 205 elderly subjects, 66 (32.2%) were over - weight/obese, 72 (35.1%) had an adequate nutritional status and 67 (32.7%) were undernourished or at risk of undernutrition. The undernourished or at risk of undernutrition group showed the lowest values for dietary intake and the anthropometric and analytical parameters measured. CONCLUSIONS Our study shows that cluster analysis is a useful statistical method for assessing the nutritional status of institutionalized elderly populations. In contrast, use of the specific reference values frequently described in the literature might fail to detect real cases of undernourishment or those at risk of undernutrition.
Oral health profile in patients infected with HTLV‐1: Clinical findings, proviral load, and molecular analysis from HTLV‐1 in saliva

Human T‐lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV‐1) is associated with adult T‐cell leukemia (ATL) and HTLV‐1 associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) and has also been implicated in several disorders, including periodontal disease. The proviral load is an important biological marker for understanding HTLV‐1 pathogenesis and elucidating whether or not the virus is related to the clinical manifestation of the disease. This study describes the oral health profile of HTLV‐1 carriers and HAM/TSP patients in order to investigate the association between the proviral load in saliva and the severity of the periodontal disease and to examine virus intra‐host variations from peripheral blood mononuclear cells and saliva cells. It is a cross‐sectional analytical study of 90 individuals carried out from November 2006 to May 2008. Of the patients, 60 were HTLV‐1 positive and 30 were negative. Individuals from the HTLV‐1 positive and negative groups had similar mean age and social‐economic status. Data were analyzed using two available statistical software packages, STATA 8.0 and SPSS 11.0 to conduct frequency analysis. Differences of P < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. HTLV‐1 patients had poorer oral health status when compared to seronegative individuals. A weak positive correlation between blood and saliva proviral loads was observed. The mean values of proviral load in blood and saliva in patients with HAM/TSP was greater than those in HTLV‐1 carriers. The HTLV‐1 molecular analysis from PBMC and saliva specimens suggests that HTLV‐1 in saliva is due to lymphocyte infiltration from peripheral blood. A direct relationship between the proviral load in saliva and oral manifestations was observed. J. Med. Virol. 84:1428–1436, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Identify Influential Social Network Spreaders

Identifying the most influential individuals spreading ideas, information, or infectious diseases is a topic receiving significant attention from network researchers, since such identification can assist or hinder information dissemination, product exposure, or contagious disease detection. Hub nodes, high betweenness nodes, high closeness nodes, and high k-shell nodes have been identified as good initial spreaders. However, few efforts have been made to use node diversity within network structures to measure spreading ability. The two-step framework described in this paper uses a robust and reliable measure that combines global diversity and local features to identify the most influential network nodes. Results from a series of Susceptible-Infected-Recovered (SIR) epidemic simulations indicate that our proposed method performs well and stably in single initial spreader scenarios associated with various complex network datasets.
Do matters of concern matter? Bringing issues back to participation

The objective of our article is twofold. First, we claim that the theoretical planning discussion dealing with public participation has forgotten one basic principle, namely that the people are taking part in the planning process because they are interested in a particular issue. There is a need for new conceptual approaches in participatory research which carry the discussion first towards the issues, then to the structures of participation. For this reason, we have combined practice-oriented policy analysis with the recent discussion of issue politics. Second, we implement the key propositions of the theoretical debate in an empirical case. The aim is to indicate how the trajectory of the issue, as well as its continuities and discontinuities, develop in diverse ways in different civic forums. We claim that this perspective provides more information for researchers, civil servants and citizens about the logic of participatory practice.
A Smartphone-Based Obstacle Detection and Classification System for Assisting Visually Impaired People

In this paper we introduce a real-time obstacle detection and classification system designed to assist visually impaired people to navigate safely, in indoor and outdoor environments, by handling a smartphone device. We start by selecting a set of interest points extracted from an image grid and tracked using the multiscale Lucas - Kanade algorithm. Then, we estimate the camera and background motion through a set of homographic transforms. Other types of movements are identified using an agglomerative clustering technique. Obstacles are marked as urgent or normal based on their distance to the subject and the associated motion vector orientation. Following, the detected obstacles are fed/sent to an object classifier. We incorporate HOG descriptor into the Bag of Visual Words (BoVW) retrieval framework and demonstrate how this combination may be used for obstacle classification in video streams. The experimental results demonstrate that our approach is effective in image sequences with significant camera motion and achieves high accuracy rates, while being computational efficient.
7 Free Will Is Un-natural

The history of social psychology, and especially its subfield of social cognition, is replete with surprising findings of complex judgmental and behavioral phenomena that operate outside of conscious awareness and even intention (Wegner & Bargh, 1998). Yet the surprising nature of these findings comes no longer from their relative infrequency, for they have become all too commonplace in the research literature. Instead, the surprise comes from the continuing overarching assumption of the field regarding the primacy of conscious will. Based most likely on our (i.e., research psychologists’) own subjective experience as human beings, the early process models of each new phenomenon tend to start with the assumption of a major role played by conscious choice and decisions, intention and awareness, in producing the phenomenon in question. Then further findings start coming in showing that, “surprisingly,” much of the phenomenon can be explained without need of stages or steps involving conscious intention or awareness. In the rest of the natural sciences, especially evolutionary biology and neuroscience, the assumption of conscious primacy is not nearly as prevalent as it is in psychology. Thus one goal for the present chapter is to help bring psychology more in line with the rest of the natural sciences, in which complex and highly intelligent design in living things is not assumed to be driven by conscious, intentional processes on the part of the plant or animal, but instead by “blind” natural selection processes (see Dawkins, 1976; Dennett, 1995). As Dennett (1991, p. 251) put it, “in biology, we have learned to resist the temptation to explain design in organisms by positing a single great Intelligence that does all
Understanding the interplay of factors informing vaccination behavior in three Canadian provinces

Arguably, the two most critical components in any response to a pandemic are effective risk communication and the rapid development of a vaccine. Despite the roll-out of a publicly-funded H1N1 vaccine program across the country, less than half of all Canadians were vaccinated during the 2009–10 pandemic. Using focus group data, this study examined vaccinating behaviors, the impact of public health messaging, and the public’s attitudes toward H1N1 and the H1N1 vaccine in three Canadian provinces. Drawing on vaccine risk communication literature, a framework was devised to identify and analyze the factors related to vaccine uptake and vaccine refusal. The most predictive factor for H1N1 vaccine uptake was a prior history of vaccinating against seasonal influenza. Other important factors included barriers to immunizing (access issues) and an individual’s perception of serious risk from contracting H1N1. Although critical gaps in the public’s understanding of influenza infections were identified, together with misinformation about vaccination effectiveness and safety, these factors were less frequently reported to be the core factors influencing an individual’s decision to vaccinate.
Is Colobus guereza gallarum a valid endemic Ethiopian taxon?

Abstract Black-and-white colobus (Colobus guereza Rüppell, 1835) are arboreal Old World monkeys inhabiting large parts of the deciduous and evergreen forests of sub-Saharan Africa. Two of the eight subspecies of Colobus guereza are endemic to Ethiopia: C. g. gallarum and C. g. guereza. However, the validity of the Ethiopian taxa is debated and observed morphological differences were attributed to clinal variation within C. g. guereza. To date, no molecular phylogeny of the Ethiopian guerezas is available to facilitate their taxonomic classification. We used mitochondrial DNA markers from 94 samples collected across Ethiopia to reconstruct a phylogeny of respective mitochondrial lineages. In our phylogenetic reconstruction, augmented by orthologous sequence information of non-Ethiopian black-and-white colobus from GenBank, we found two major Ethiopian mitochondrial clades, with one being largely congruent with the distribution of C. g. guereza. The second clade was found only at two locations in the eastern part of the putative range of C. g. gallarum. This second lineage clustered with the lowland form, C. g. occidentalis, from central Africa, whereas the C. g. guereza lineages clustered with C. g. caudatus and C. g. kikuyuensis from Kenya and northern Tanzania. These two guereza lineages diverged around 0.7 million years ago. In addition, mitochondrial sequence information does not support unequivocally a distinction of C. g. caudatus and C. g. kikuyuensis. Our findings indicate a previous biogeographic connection between the ranges of C. g. occidentalis and C. g. gallarum and a possible secondary invasion of Ethiopia by members of the C. g. guereza–C. g. caudatus–C. g. kikuyuensis clade. Given these phylogenetic relationships, our study supports the two-taxa hypothesis, making C. g. gallarum an Ethiopian endemic, and, in combination with the taxon's very restricted range, makes it one of the most endangered subspecies of black-and-white colobus.
Challenging the dominant ideological paradigm: Can community engagement contribute to the central epistemic aims of philosophy?

In this paper, we aim to put forward a view of philosophy that allows for the transformation of the discipline through community engagement activities within the South African higher education context in a way that enhances both the nature of the production and dissemination of philosophical knowledge and the project of philosophy simpliciter. This view contrasts strongly with what we call the dominant ideological paradigm that currently governs the South African philosophical community, and has implications for the ways in which philosophy is taught at universities, and for how philosophers go about conducting research, thinking about their discipline, and considering who is best suited to contribute to the formation of philosophical knowledge. Moreover, this view of philosophy, we suggest, would enable our community to make rich and nuanced contributions to the international community of philosophers, whose views have long held dominance over their African counterparts.
Diagnosis and characterization of acute erythroleukemia subsets by determining the percentages of myeloblasts and proerythroblasts in 69 cases

Acute erythroleukemia (FAB M6) is a rare heterogeneous disease with an increase in red cell precursors and myeloblasts. Three subsets have been described: M6A (myeloblast‐rich erythroleukemia); M6B (proerythroblast‐rich erythroleukemia); and M6C (myeloblast‐ and proerythroblast‐rich mixed variant). This study was undertaken to define and compare the clinical courses and survival outcomes among M6A, M6B, and M6C variants of erythroleukemia. Sixty‐nine cases of M6 leukemia were categorized as consisting of ≥50% erythroid of all nucleated cells and M6A with ≥30% myeloblasts/nonerythroid component; M6B with ≥30% proerythroblasts/erythroid component; and M6C with ≥30% myeloblasts and ≥30% proerythroblasts. The demographics, cell type distribution, and survival (mean ± sd) of these groups were compared. There were 32 M6A, 26 M6B, and 11 M6C patients. No significant difference was seen among the groups in age, sex, or treatment. Compared to M6A, both the M6B (P< 0.0001) and M6C (P< 0.0001) variants showed a statistically significant increase in the percentage of bone marrow erythroid cells, proerythroblasts, and the proerythroblasts/erythroid ratios. Comparing the groups for survival, M6B (3 ± 3.6 months) versus M6A (25 ± 28 months), P< 0.002, and M6C (10 ± 13 months) versus M6A, P< 0.01 had a poorer prognosis. Calculating the proerythroblasts as a component of total bone marrow erythroids provides a complimentary method for delineating the pure red cell erythroleukemia (M6B) and mixed variant (M6C), similar to that for the myeloid/erythroid (M6A) leukemia. Now that it is possible to delineate erythroleukemia subtypes, innovative treatments are indicated to target the malignant erythroid population, which is resistant to myeloid‐based therapies. Am. J. Hematol. 65:5–13, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Effect of pine-apple pulp on sensory and chemical properties of Burfi.

Burfi is a popular khoa based confection and it’s contain considerable amount of milk solids. The manufacture of value added products by using seasonal fruit like pineapple. The present investigation shows that, the overall acceptability of the pineapple pulp Burfi prepared with 15 per cent pineapple pulp in treatment T4 (93.53) was highest and superior. Treatment T4 was more acceptable than all treatments in flavor, body texture and colour and appearance. The chemical composition of Burfi was affected due to addition of pineapple pulp to the fat, protein, total solids, moisture and ash.
DiCAS: An Efficient Distributed Caching Mechanism for P2P Systems

Peer-to-peer networks are widely criticized for their inefficient flooding search mechanism. Distributed hash table (DHT) algorithms have been proposed to improve the search efficiency by mapping the index of a file to a unique peer based on predefined hash functions. However, the tight coupling between indices and hosting peers incurs high maintenance cost in a highly dynamic network. To properly balance the tradeoff between the costs of indexing and searching, we propose the distributed caching and adaptive search (DiCAS) algorithm, where indices are passively cached in a group of peers based on a predefined hash function. Guided by the same function, adaptive search selectively forwards queries to "matched" peers with a high probability of caching the desired indices. The search cost is reduced due to shrunk searching space. Different from the DHT solutions, distributed caching loosely maps the index of a file to a group of peers in a passive fashion, which saves the cost of updating indices. Our simulation study shows that the DiCAS protocol can significantly reduce the network search traffic with the help of small cache space contributed by each individual peer
Pengaruh Brand Personality terhadap Purchase Intention dengan Brand Trust sebagai Variabel Mediasi (Studi pada Produk Running Shoes Merek Nike)

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh brand personality dan brand trust terhadap purchase intention konsumen produk running shoes merek Nike . Penelitian ini menggunakan sampel sebanyak 210 responden yang diambil dari populasi mahasiswa S1 Universitas Brawijaya. Teknik analisis data menggunakan analisis jalur (path analysis). Kesimpulan dari hasil penelitian ini adalah variabel brand personality mempunyai pengaruh langsung secara signifikan terhadap variabel brand trust pada produk running shoes merek Nike dengan nilai sebesar 0.722 . Variabel brand personality mempunyai pengaruh langsung secara signifikan terhadap variabel purchase intention pada produk running shoes merek Nike dengan nilai sebesar 0.372 . Variabel brand trust mempunyai pengaruh langsung secara signifikan terhadap variabel purchase intention produk running shoes merek Nike sebesar 0.407 . Variabel brand personality mempunyai pengaruh tidak langsung secara signifikan terhadap variabel purchase intention melalui brand trust produk running shoes merek Nike dengan nilai sebesar 0.294 . K ata kunci: Brand Personality , Brand Trust , Purchase Intention .
Relations between segmental and motor variability in prosodically complex nonword sequences.

PURPOSE To assess how prosodic prominence and hierarchical foot structure influence segmental and articulatory aspects of speech production, specifically segmental accuracy and variability, and oral movement trajectory variability. METHOD Thirty individuals participated: 10 young adults, 10 children who are normally developing, and 10 children diagnosed with specific language impairment. Segmental error and segmental variability and movement trajectory variability were compared in low and high prosodic prominence conditions (i.e., strong and weak syllables) and in different prosodic foot structures. RESULTS Between-participants findings were that both groups of children showed more segmental error and segmental variability and more movement trajectory variability than did adults. A similar within-participant pattern of results was observed for all 3 groups. Prosodic prominence influenced both segmental and motor levels of analysis, with weak syllables produced less accurately and with more lip and jaw movement trajectory variability than strong syllables. However, hierarchical foot structure affected segmental but not motor measures of speech production accuracy and variability. CONCLUSIONS Motor and segmental variables were not consistently aligned. This pattern of results has clinical implications because inferences about motor variability may not directly follow from observations of segmental variability.
Contributing to an integrated profession: a model-based examination of the A-ONE

Abstract Yerxa’s [1] model of an integrated profession depicts a circular scholarly process whereby ideas formed in practice are subjected to research and then returned to practice through education. This knowledge-generating cycle supports occupational science and the development of our professional identity. The aim of this article is to demonstrate how Yerxa’s model was used to evaluate if three developmental cycles of the ADL-Focused Occupation-Based Neurobehavioral Evaluation (A-ONE) sufficiently represented all necessary model components required for implementation into practice. The three cycles were historical, educational and measurement. The necessary components included: (a) dilemmas in practice, (b) new ideas that emerged from those practice issues, (c) research to test those ideas and (d) education designed to integrate new knowledge into practice. The results of this analysis of the A-ONE supported adequate research related to ideas from practice being implemented back into practice. Through using the model of an integrated profession to reflect on ideas ignited within practice, and then implementing research to explore the potential contribution of those ideas to knowledge generation, we gain the power to influence the future development of occupational science and the profession.
Learning invariant features through local space contraction

We present in this paper a novel approach for training deterministic auto-encoders. We show that by adding a well chosen penalty term to the classical reconstruction cost function, we can achieve results that equal or surpass those attained by other regularized auto-encoders as well as denoising auto-encoders on a range of datasets. This penalty term corresponds to the Frobenius norm of the Jacobian matrix of the encoder activations with respect to the input. We show that this penalty term results in a localized space contraction which in turn yields robust features on the activation layer. Furthermore, we show how this penalty term is related to both regularized auto-encoders and denoising encoders and how it can be seen as a link between deterministic and non-deterministic auto-encoders. We nd empirically that this penalty helps to carve a representation that better captures the local directions of variation dictated by the data, corresponding to a lower-dimensional non-linear manifold, while being more invariant to the vast majority of directions orthogonal to the manifold. Finally, we show that by using the learned features to initialize a MLP, we achieve state of the art classication error on a range of datasets, surpassing other methods of pre-training.