Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Causes of visual impairment and blindness in Kaduna State Special Education School

Aims and Objectives: To identify the causes of visual impairment and blindness in students of Kaduna State Special Education School (KASSES) and make recommendations for the planning of eye care, including prevention and management of the avoidable causes of childhood blindness in our environment. Background: Childhood blindness is one of the priorities of vision 2020: The Right to sight. The "blind years" attributable to childhood is comparable to that of age related cataract (the commonest cause of blindness worldwide). Significant proportions of the causes of childhood blindness are avoidable and can be identified after a screening exercise and treated. Periodic screening will also provide current data for planning and implementation of childhood blindness prevention programmes. Materials and Methods: All the students of the blind section of KASSES who were present during the study were examined and the Georgia Project′s screening protocol for visual impairment in children was completed for each of them. The data was analyzed using Analyze-it V2.22 (2010) statistical software. Results: A total of 71 students were examined. M:F ratio was 1.7:1. The age range was between 6-29 years but 76% were within the bracket of 10-19 years. Seventy percent were blind, 21% had severe visual impairment, and 9% had moderate visual impairment. Cataract was the commonest cause of blindness (25.3%), followed by trauma (16.9%), optic atrophy, buphthalmos, and retinitis pigmentosa (12.7% each). Others were corneal scarring/staphyloma (9.9%), Rubella (7.0%), and a case each of bilateral ankyloblepharon and uveitis (1.4%). Conclusion: The causes of visual impairment in KASSES are largely avoidable. Incorporation of Primary Eye Care (PEC) into Primary Health Care (PHC) will drastically reduce needless blindness, especially in childhood and the morbidity and mortality associated with the blind years. Early identification of students with treatable causes such as cataract should also be encouraged through regular school screening and health education.
Interview Findings on Middle Schoolers' Collaboration in Self-Organizing Game Design Teams

Understanding how younger students can learn to collaborate, and affordances of the learning environment that can effectively support this, are critical questions for knowledge sharing, networking and innovation in education. Exploratory research results on emergent middle schooler collaborative activity in a guided discovery-based learning program are reported. Students in self-organizing game design teams experience certain challenges (e.g., version control), and innovate solutions. Some indicate meta-knowledge development and socialization gains. We conclude with ongoing questions. "Guided discovery-based" learning experiences are those in which learners are given a particular task (e.g., a problem or a project) that must be supported by inquiry. That is, in order to successfully complete a task, the learner must develop core disciplinary knowledge as well as practices (e.g., the technical means of creating a multimedia project). Discovery denotes the need for student engagement in autonomous inquiry to support development of the core knowledge and expertise in the practices, to complete the given problem or project task. Often such complex activity is completed in teams. One example of this type of intervention is the Globaloria program, which embodies the principles of Constructionism and distributed cognition (Harel & Papert, 1991; Salomon, 1997), and is being implemented in middle and high schools in several U.S. states. Participating students engage in collaborative game design within a formal, in- school class. The primary goal from the students' perspective is successful completion and online publishing of a functioning web game, which they also enter into an annual competition. To complete a game, students participate in several integrated technology-supported activities to meet a range of instructional objectives (Reynolds & Harel, 2009). The instruction involves two less-structured areas that are largely self-organized by students: (1) resource use of a wiki- based information system containing the curriculum, online syllabus, sequence of assignments, and tutorials on game design and Flash programming, and (2) student collaboration in teams. An exploratory study was conducted to investigate students' collaborative engagement in co-located game design, as supported by the wiki environment and a studio-based classroom setting in which knowledge-sharing as a value was made explicit by teachers (Salomon, 1997). Here we discuss middle schoolers' collaborative activity that emerges when given the chance to self-organize their game design teamwork.
Aerobic Exercise Improves Microvascular Function in Older Adults

Microvascular function is reduced with age, disease, and inactivity. Exercise is well known to improve vascular health and has the potential to improve microvascular function in aging and disease. Purpose The study aimed to assess changes in peripheral microvascular function in sedentary older adults after aerobic exercise training. Methods Twenty-three sedentary older adults (67 ± 5 yr, body mass index = 29 ± 5, mean ± SD) successfully completed a randomized 12-wk graded treadmill walking intervention. The exercise group (EX) performed 40 min of uphill walking 4 d·wk−1 at 70% heart rate reserve. The control group (CON) maintained a sedentary lifestyle for 12 wk. Blood oxygen level–dependent (BOLD) responses of the soleus measured by magnetic resonance imaging were used to evaluate microvascular function; brief (1 s) maximal plantarflexion contractions were performed. Separately, blood flow in the popliteal artery was measured by ultrasound after brief contraction. Phosphorus magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the calf was used to examine muscle oxidative capacity, and whole-body peak oxygen consumption (V˙O2peak) was used to confirm training-induced cardiorespiratory adaptations. Results Peak postcontraction BOLD response increased by 33% in EX (PRE, 3.3% ± 1.0%; POST, 4.4% ± 1.4%) compared with CON (PRE, 3.0% ± 1.3%; POST, 3.2% ± 1.5%), P < 0.05. EX with hypertension tended to show a blunted peak BOLD increase (n = 6, 15%) compared with EX normotensive (n = 7, 50%), P = 0.056. Peak postcontraction blood flow increased by 39% in EX (PRE, 217 ± 88 mL·min−1; POST, 302 ± 167 mL·min−1) compared with CON (PRE, 188 ± 54 mL·min−1; POST, 184 ± 44 mL·min−1), P < 0.05. EX muscle oxidative capacity (kPCr) improved by 40% (PRE, 1.60 ± 0.57 min−1; POST, 2.25 ± 0.80 min−1) compared with CON (PRE, 1.69 ± 0.28 min−1; POST, 1.76 ± 0.52 min−1), P < 0.05. V˙O2peak increased by 9% for EX (PRE, 19.0 ± 3.1 mL·kg−1·min−1; POST, 20.8 ± 2.9 mL·kg−1·min−1) compared with a 7% loss in CON (PRE, 21.9 ± 3.6 mL·kg−1·min−1; POST, 20.4 ± 3.5 mL·kg−1·min−1), P < 0.05. Conclusion Moderate aerobic exercise significantly improved microvascular function of the leg in older adults.
Recent Advances in the Use of Galleria mellonella Model to Study Immune Responses against Human Pathogens

The use of invertebrates for in vivo studies in microbiology is well established in the scientific community. Larvae of Galleria mellonella are a widely used model for studying pathogenesis, the efficacy of new antimicrobial compounds, and immune responses. The immune system of G. mellonella larvae is structurally and functionally similar to the innate immune response of mammals, which makes this model suitable for such studies. In this review, cellular responses (hemocytes activity: phagocytosis, nodulation, and encapsulation) and humoral responses (reactions or soluble molecules released in the hemolymph as antimicrobial peptides, melanization, clotting, free radical production, and primary immunization) are discussed, highlighting the use of G. mellonella as a model of immune response to different human pathogenic microorganisms.
Ask Me About It: The Role of Inferencing Questions in Fostering Students' Reading Comprehension

Children’s reading comprehension has primarily been measured through scores on literal and inferential questions of texts. However, few studies have assessed whether the process of answering questions influences children’s level of comprehension. Moreover, no studies have explored the impact of ‘embedded’ inference questions, which are questions that contain inferences themselves. Here, a sample of 25 fifth and sixth grade students (10-12 years old) were given one short story to be read independently in class, each week, over the course of one month. After each story, students were asked six questions from one of four conditions: literal detail questions, causal inference questions, embedded inference questions, or were given no questions. After a one-day delay, students were then asked to retell the story. Performance on the questions and retell accuracy were measured. Children scored significantly higher on questions asking about literal details compared to the two inferencing conditions. However, in the retell task, children recalled an equal amount of story propositions in the literal detail and causal inference question conditions. The lowest retell scores were observed when students were either asked embedded inference questions or no questions at all. Furthermore, only literal detail questions were found to predict variance in students’ retell scores. Directions for future research and educational implications are discussed.
Deep motifs and motion signatures

Many analysis tasks for human motion rely on high-level similarity between sequences of motions, that are not an exact matches in joint angles, timing, or ordering of actions. Even the same movements performed by the same person can vary in duration and speed. Similar motions are characterized by similar sets of actions that appear frequently. In this paper we introduce motion motifs and motion signatures that are a succinct but descriptive representation of motion sequences. We first break the motion sequences to short-term movements called motion words, and then cluster the words in a high-dimensional feature space to find motifs. Hence, motifs are words that are both common and descriptive, and their distribution represents the motion sequence. To cluster words and find motifs, the challenge is to define an effective feature space, where the distances among motion words are semantically meaningful, and where variations in speed and duration are handled. To this end, we use a deep neural network to embed the motion words into feature space using a triplet loss function. To define a signature, we choose a finite set of motion-motifs, creating a bag-of-motifs representation for the sequence. Motion signatures are agnostic to movement order, speed or duration variations, and can distinguish fine-grained differences between motions of the same class. We illustrate examples of characterizing motion sequences by motifs, and for the use of motion signatures in a number of applications.
Five new species of Caddisflies (Trichoptera: Insecta) from Upper Tenasserim Range, Thailand and Myanmar.

Five new species of caddisflies are described from the Upper Tenasserim Range, including Chimarra keawpradubi n. sp. , Ecnomus niyomwasi n. sp. , Psychomyia pinsuwanae n. sp. , Leptocerus suwannarati n. sp. , and Setodes lertpongsombatae n. sp. , based on distinctive characters of male genitalia. Chimarra keawpradubi n. sp. differs from other Chimarra spp. in ventral aspect of inferior appendages, each of which is rectangular with a bulging process apicoventrally and with an acute apex. The basal part of each inferior appendage is square and the apical part is narrow in E. niyomwasi n. sp. , differentiating it from other species in the genus. Psychomyia pinsuwanae n. sp. differs from P. amphiaraos Malicky and Chantaramongkol 1997, a closely similar species, by characters of the inferior appendages; the inner branch of each inferior appendage has a long, straight spine on its inner side. Leptocerus suwannarati n. sp. can be distinguished from other Leptocerus spp. by the processes of segment X, which are long, thin, and symmetrical. Setodes lertpongsombatae differs from other Setodes spp. in characters of segment X, which is deeply divided subapically into two very long saber-like blades in lateral view.
Use of corticosteroids.

The use of certain intra-articular corticosteroids for equine joint disease are still appropriate but the use of methylprednisolone acetate has deleterious effects on articular cartilage and its use should be questioned. The duration of action of each corticosteroid is still poorly defined and pharmacogenomic methods provide the potential of a more global assessment for pharmacodynamic responses after intra-articular corticosteroid injection. Author’s address: Gail Holmes Equine Orthopaedic Research Center, Colorado State University, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, 300 West Drake, Fort Collins, CO 80523; e-mail: Wayne.McIlwraith@colostate.edu. © 2011 AAEP.
Impact of Ceftazidime Use on Susceptibility Patterns in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

BACKGROUND Ceftazidime use in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) has increased after a cefotaxime shortage. The impact of this change is unknown. The purpose was to assess the effect of increased ceftazidime use on susceptibilities of Gram-negative organisms in the NICU. METHODS Retrospective study of Gram-negative isolates identified in blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, tracheostomy, abdominal fluid and pleural fluid cultures from a single-center NICU over a 5-year period. Duplicate cultures that occurred within 90 days were noted. Pre- and postshortage periods were defined based on cessation of cefotaxime. Third- and fourth-generation cephalosporin susceptibility rates were compared between periods, as well as rates of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) Escherichia coli and Klebsiella species. RESULTS Analysis included 666 isolates. Twelve (1.8%) were duplicate isolates that occurred after a 90-day period. The preshortage period included 464 (69.7%) isolates, and the postshortage included 202 (30.3%). No significant differences in susceptibility rates were noted when excluding duplicates. No difference in ESBL rates for E. coli were noted between periods (3.8% vs. 4.9%, P =1.000). No ESBL-positive Klebsiella species were identified. A post-hoc analysis of duplicate isolates demonstrated significant lower susceptibility rates for Pseudomonas aeruginosa to ceftazidime (risk ratio 0.58; 95% CI: 0.43-0.79) and cefepime (risk ratio 0.66; 95% CI: 0.51-0.86). CONCLUSIONS Ceftazidime use did not appear to affect susceptibility rates for third- and fourth-generation cephalosporins for most Gram-negative organisms in the short-term of 1.5 years. However, susceptibility rates for P. aeruginosa decreased when evaluating duplicate isolates. Long-term monitoring is needed to assess the true impact.
Quantifying important risk factors and survival following treatment in people with lung cancer using routinely collected national data

Background: Survival for people with lung cancer is poor and inequalities in access to care have been demonstrated. Methods: Primary care data from The Health Improvement Network, secondary care data from Hospital Episodes Statistics and the National Lung Cancer Audit, and death records from the Office for National Statistics, were used to investigate clinical questions in lung cancer. Matched case-control methodology was used to investigate the association between sex, smoking quantity, chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD), and lung cancer. Case control and cohort studies were performed to investigate early mortality after lung cancer surgery and treatment decisions in small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Multivariate logistic regression was used to generate a predictive score for early mortality after lung cancer surgery. Results: Sex significantly modified the effect of smoking on lung cancer with women at higher risk for the same quantity smoked. COPD was strongly associated with lung cancer in univariate analysis however this was heavily confounded by smoking and strongly related to timing of diagnosis. For people with non-small cell lung cancer, 90-day mortality after surgery was 5.9%. Age, co-morbidity index, performance status, procedure type and stage were significantly associated with this outcome and therefore make up the predictive score. 70% of people with SCLC were treated with chemotherapy however this varied according to several factors including referral method and socioeconomic status. Survival after chemotherapy for people with SCLC was similar to that reported in clinical trials. Conclusions: The work in thesis provides further evidence that women are at higher risk of lung cancer per quantity of cigarettes smoked, and challenges the commonly held belief that COPD is a strong independent risk factor for lung cancer. In addition it produced a predictive score for early mortality following lung cancer surgery, and provides information on treatment decisions and outcomes for SCLC.
Common Chromosomal Fragile Sites—Conserved Failure Stories

In order to pass on an intact copy of the genome during cell division, complete and faithful DNA replication is crucial. Yet, certain areas of the genome are intrinsically challenging to replicate, which manifests as high local mutation propensity. Such regions include trinucleotide repeat sequences, common chromosomal fragile sites (CFSs), and early replicating fragile sites (ERFSs). Despite their genomic instability CFSs are conserved, suggesting that they have a biological function. To shed light on the potential function of CFSs, this review summarizes the similarities and differences of the regions that challenge DNA replication with main focus on CFSs. Moreover, we review the mechanisms that operate when CFSs fail to complete replication before entry into mitosis. Finally, evolutionary perspectives and potential physiological roles of CFSs are discussed with emphasis on their potential role in neurogenesis.
Pengelolaan Dana Desa dalam Pemberdayaan Masyarakat Desa

Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk mendeskripsikan pengelolaan dana desa dalam memberdayakan penduduk desa dan untuk mencari tahu beberapa faktor yang memungkinkan dan menghambat dalam mengelola dana desa. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode deskriptif kualitatif. Kegiatan ini dilakukan di Desa Tetehosi Sorowi, Kecamatan Lahewa Timur, Kabupaten Nias Utara, dengan melakukan wawancara dan observasi untuk mendapatkan data dan informasi tentang dana desa yang diinterpretasikan. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa pengelolaan dana desa yang dilakukan oleh pemerintah desa tidak transparan, penduduk desa tidak berpartisipasi secara aktif, dan pejabat pemerintah desa lebih dominan dalam merencanakan kegiatan dan pelaksanaan dana desa. Pengelolaan dana desa dicatat secara vertikal kepada Camat, tetapi tidak untuk penduduk desa sehingga mereka tidak mempercayai pejabat pemerintah desa. Kegiatan pemberdayaan diprioritaskan untuk pemberdayaan fisik seperti pembangunan jalan dan limbah, sementara pemberdayaan non-fisik terkait dengan pelatihan resmi pemerintah desa dan PKK (Pemberdayaan Kesejahteraan Keluarga). Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa faktor-faktor pendukung pengelolaan dana desa dalam memberdayakan penduduk desa di Desa Tetehosi Sorowi adalah dukungan untuk kebijakan/peraturan, sosialisasi, fasilitas, dan infrastruktur. Faktor penghambat adalah kurangnya sumber daya manusia dan kurangnya partisipasi penduduk desa.
Electronic Pillbox Logger for people with Parkinson's Disease

i Dedication iii Acknowledgements iv List of Tables viii List of Figures ix 1.Introduction . 1 1.1 Problem Statement . 2 1.2 Objective . 3 1.3 Why Parkinson’s Disease . 3 1.4 Impact on Humanity . 4 1.5 Significance. 4 1.6 Demonstration of Mastery . 5 2. Existing Technologies and Literature Review . 6 2.1 Electronic Monitoring of Adherence . 6 2.1.1 Medication Event Monitoring System (MEMS). 7 2.1.2 Med-Tracker . 8 2.1.3 Eye drop medication monitor. 11 2.2 Patents for Pillbox Design . 12 2.3 Commercially available e/pillboxes . 15 2.4 Summary . 21
The use of formative assessment and support materials to assist students in taking control of their own online learning

Traditionally, science instruction has focused on creating an interactive, intrinsically motivational approach to teaching, i.e., ‘delivery’, but there is a need to be paying just as much attention to empower students with the ability to ‘receive’ the science. Some of the keys to this recipe include the use of self-assessment tests; activities that require the interpretation of case studies; peer instruction interactions; online and multimedia lessons which encourage top down/bottom up science processing strategies to decipher meaning; and simulations that test all of the science skills in action. Online materials foster autonomous learners in a science practice. The end goal progresses students to function outside a passive classroom environment so they may, without the aid of an external evaluator, shift the process of learning from the teacher to the student. This paper addresses critical issues in Anatomy and Physiology education; how to better motivate students and help them make the connection to what is important to learn; how to get students to see the whole topic rather than minute details; how to help students who lack study skills and how to instill critical thinking skills from entry to the course so as to succeed in learning attribution to efficacy. Within this philosophical framework, formative assessment techniques provide students with the knowledge and detail that is needed to move forward in their careers, through an emphasis on critical thinking, conceptual understanding, and relevant application of knowledge. In doing so the resources provided help students to: • come to class better prepared for lectures • get immediate feedback and context-sensitive help on assignments and quizzes; and • track their progress throughout the course
Six new Cyrtodactylus (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from northeast India.

We use mitochondrial sequence data to identify divergent lineages within the gekkonid genus Cyrtodactylus in northeast India and use morphological data to describe six new species from within the Indo-Burma clade of Cyrtodactylus. The new species share an irregular colour pattern but differ from described species from the region in morphology and mitochondrial sequence data (>11 % uncorrected pairwise sequence divergence). Three new species are from along the Brahmaputra River and three are from mountains south of the Brahmaputra, including the largest Cyrtodactylus from India and the fifth gecko to be described from a major Indian city, Guwahati.