Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Study of the Effects of Cellular Telephone Microwave Radiation on the Auditory System in Healthy Men

We conducted a study of the effects of mobile cellular telephone microwave radiation on the auditory system in 20 healthy men. After the subjects underwent baseline measurements of transient evoked otoacoustic emission (TEOAE) and auditory brainstem response (ABR), they participated in three sessions of exposure to an electromagnetic field of 900 to 1,800 MHz produced by a cellular phone. Sessions ranged from 15 to 30 minutes in length. TEOAE and ABR were again measured after or during each exposure. Throughout the study, no significant changes in either measurement were noted. We conclude that the use of cellular phones does not alter the auditory system in the short term.
Asymmetric localization of lipopolysaccharides on the outer membrane of Salmonella typhimurium

Treatment of intact cells of Salmonella typhimurium with galactose oxidase (EC 1.1.3.9) resulted in an extensive oxidation of the susceptible galactose residues in the lipopolysaccharides. Comparison with the extent of oxidation in isolated lipopolysaccharides indicated that most lipopolysaccharide molecules were located in the outer leaflet of the outer membrane in intact cells.
Detailed Investigation of Alaryngeal Speech to Elucidate Etiology of Variation in Quality

Multiple parameters in the postlaryngectomy patient were statistically investigated with regard to acquisition and quality of alaryngeal speech. The 15 most significant variables are discussed. Esophageal peristalsis occurred during attempts to inject air for vocalization in 100% of the poor or nonspeakers. This may serve as an early indication to proceed with a synthetic vocal prosthesis.
Behind the counter: pharmacies and dispensing patterns of pharmacy attendants in Karachi.

BACKGROUND There is little literature available on dispensing patterns and unsupervised sale of medicines from pharmacies in developing countries. OBJECTIVE This study obtained background information on pharmacies, assessed the level of training, knowledge and dispensing patterns of pharmacy attendants in Karachi. METHODOLOGY This is a descriptive cross sectional study with convenient sampling. A structured questionnaire was used to interview pharmacy attendants. RESULTS Of the 219 pharmacies surveyed, 62% reported more than 50 customers daily and 20% also sold items of general provision. Mean operating hours were 13. Only 24 (11%) had a visible license. On an average 3 attendants were employed per pharmacy. We interviewed one in each. Amongst the 219 interviewed, 77 (35%) were intermediate qualified and only 26 (12%) pharmacologically trained. Correct frequency of ORS administration was not known by 167 (76%) and 21% incorrectly suggested an anti-diarrhoeal preparation for viral diarrhoea in children. The knowledge of those with pharmacological training was significantly better. For respiratory tract infection in children approximately 60% did not know the correct dose of Paracetamol and Amoxicillin. Only 13 (6%) knew that Propanalol was contraindicated in hypertensive asthamatics. For Cotrimoxazole, metronidazole and lomotil only 40%, 21% and 15% respectively, were aware that these could not be dispensed without prescription. CONCLUSION In the absence of trained pharmacists existing pharmacy attendants should be trained to improve drug-dispensing patterns.
The Use of Gamification in Higher Education: An Empirical Study

The use of gamification in higher education has increased considerably over the past decades. An empirical study was conducted in Hungary with two groups of students to investigate their behaviour while interacting with Kahoot! The results were analyzed based on the technology acceptance model. They indicate that the positive attitude, good experience and ease of availability contributed to improve student performance which strengthened the intention to use the application. Besides these, the perceived utility was positively influenced by the ease of use as consequence.
[Community ecology of metazoan parasites of apaiarí Astronotus ocellatus (Cope, 1872) (Perciformes: Cichlidae) from Guandu river, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil].

Thirty five specimens of apaiarí Astronotus ocellatus (Cope, 1872) from Guandu river, (22 degrees 48'32''S, 43 degrees 37'35''W), state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil were studied for their metazoan parasites from December 2004 to November 2005. A total of six species of metazoan parasites were collected and identified. Gussevia sp. (Monogenea) was the more prevalent species (71.4%) with highest mean intensity value (17.6), followed for the acanthochepalan Polymorphus sp. (cystacanth) which showed prevalence of 17.1%. No parasite species showed significant correlation between the body total length of the host and their prevalence and abundance. The sex of the hosts influenced the abundance of the acanthochepalan Polymorphus sp. , being the females more parasitized. The parasite species richness showed a mean value of 1.11+/-0.86 (0-3). The parasite species presented an aggregated distribution pattern.
Glucoregulatory disorders in school refusal students

Our previous studies demonstrated autonomic nervous system disorders and cerebral blood hypoperfusion in school refusal students with underlying emotional distress due to fear or anxiety associated with school attendance. Because severe stress is known to affect glucoregulatory metabolism, this study used the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) to measure glucose metabolism in school refusal students.
New insights and challenges in microscopic colitis

Microscopic colitis (MC) is described as an inflammatory bowel disease characterized by chronic, bloodless diarrhea with normal or close to normal endoscopic findings. Histopathological examination reveals two subtypes: collagenous colitis (CC) and lymphocytic colitis (LC), which are indistinguishable clinically. The disease debuts typically in middle-aged patients, but can occur at all ages, including children. A female predominance is found in both CC and LC, but is not confirmed by others in LC. The etiology is unclear, but the disease has been assumed to be of autoimmune origin. However, several etiologies may render a microscopic inflammation in the mucosa; this is a common, universal reaction to a variety of irritants in contact with the intestinal lumen. Furthermore, some patients with a microscopic inflammation in their colonic mucosa have no symptoms, or are suffering from constipation or abdominal pain, rather than diarrhea. Recently, a discussion was initiated calling into question the overdiagnosing of symptoms and pointing out the danger of exacerbating people’s perception of their ailments, of weakening their eligibility in health insurance, of overprescription of drugs, and thus the increasing cost to the society of health care. In the light of this discussion, this review will highlight histopathological and clinical features of MC, and discuss the diagnosis and management of this disease. Perhaps, the intestinal mucosa has no other mode by which to react than an inflammatory response, irrespective of the presence or absence of autoimmunity. Thus, to better identify and classify subgroups of MC, and to clarify and correctly handle the inflammatory changes, this field of research stands to benefit from a review of the results and experience gained to date.
Caring for a Child with Spina Bifida: Understanding the Child and Carer

Spina bifida is a common congenital abnormality, which causes significant physical and psychological morbidity in affected children and which also affects their carers. This small-scale study looked at the health problems of a child with a myelomeningocoele. It also addresses the psychosocial problems that his mother, his main carer, faced and the social networks involved in his care. The evidence supporting various aspects of spina bifida prevention and management is explored. Furthermore, a literature review is included, with regards to physical and psychological issues for child and carer. This study aims to raise awareness of the problems faced by children with myelomeningocoele and their families. In particular, we aim to educate health care professionals on the importance of perceived stress by carers of such children, and suggest ways to reduce psychosocial morbidity.
Immunosuppression increases JC polyomavirus large T antigen DNA load in the brains of patients without progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy.

The relationship between latent JC polyomavirus (JCV) infection and progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) remains unclear. In this study, JCV DNA was quantified by real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) in brain and kidney tissue from patients without PML. Immunosuppressed patients had significantly higher JCV DNA levels in brain, compared with immunocompetent patients (P = .001). An inverse relationship was observed between CD4(+) T-cell counts and qPCR-determined brain JCV load among patients with HIV infection (r(2) = -0.9; P = . 01; n = 7). Higher kidney JCV DNA load was strongly associated with higher brain JCV DNA load (Spearman ρ = 0.65; P = .004; n = 18). These findings highlight the importance of latent JVC brain infection to the pathogenesis of PML.
A study of the relationships between compensation package, work motivation and job satisfaction

This study applied the theoretical framework based on expectancy and discrepancy theories to examine how the elements of total compensation might influence work motivation and job satisfaction. The principal dimensions of total compensation that give rise to distinct reactions among employees were examined. Two samples of employees, 269 exempt employees and 297 nonexempt employees, were studied separately in order to identify the differences of reaction between these two groups. The relationships between the elements of total compensation, work motivation and job satisfaction were analysed by a structural equations model with LISREL VII. Proposals were developed to predict the conditions of compensation efficiency on work motivation and job satisfaction in the cultural context of employment in France. The three principal conclusions of the study were: (1) under certain conditions, individualized compensation of exempt employees can be a factor of work motivation; (2) flexible pay of nonexempt employees neither motivates nor increases job satisfaction; (3) benefits of exempt and nonexempt employees neither motivate nor increase job satisfaction. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Neutrophil Elastase Inhibitor, ONO-5046, Modulates Acid-induced Lung and Systemic Injury in Rabbits

Background Acid instillation leads to direct lung and to secondary systemic organ injury, probably via activated macrophages and neutrophils. This study investigated the effects of neutrophil elastase on organ injury after unilateral lung acid instillation by administrating a specific neutrophil elastase inhibitor, ONO-5046, before acid instillation. Methods Three groups of anesthetized rabbits (n = 12 in each group) underwent tracheostomies, and instillations were made into their right lower lobe airspaces with either phosphate buffered saline (pH, 7.4; volume, 1.2 ml/kg; n = 12) or HCl (pH, 1.25; volume, 1.2 ml/kg; n = 24). In half of the acid-instilled rabbits, ONO-5046,10 mg/kg, was given intravenously 15 min before the HCl instillation, and then 10 mg [center dot] kg sup -1 [center dot] h sup -1 of the drug was continuously infused throughout the experiment. The other groups of animals received the vehicle intravenously. Anesthesia and mechanical ventilation was continued for 8 h, whereas arterial blood gases were sampled intermittently. Eight hours after saline or acid instillation, the animals were killed, and their lungs, heart, kidneys, liver, and small intestines were harvested. Wet-to-dry weight ratios (W/D) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) assays of these organs were done, and elastase assays on the bronchoalveolar lavage fluids (BALF) obtained from each lung also were performed. Results Pretreatment with ONO-5046 attenuated the physiologic changes seen in the vehicle-treated animals. Significant decreases in W/D of the noninstilled lungs and of the small intestine and normalization of the oxygenation of the experimental animals occurred. The ONO-5046 pretreatment did not affect the neutrophil sequestration in the lungs or in the other organs as determined by neutrophil counts in BALF and by the MPO assays. Conclusions A neutrophil elastase inhibitor, ONO-5046, administered immediately before acid instillation attenuated the physiologic changes seen in the vehicle-treated animals. The drug blocked neutrophil elastase but did not block neutrophil sequestration in the lungs, although the drug improved measurements of lung injury.
The debt tax shield, economic growth and inequality

We study the implications of the corporate debt tax shield in a growth economy that taxes household income and firm profits and redistributes tax revenues in an attempt to harmonize the lifetime consumption opportunities of households that differ in their endowments. Our model predicts that the debt tax shield (1) increases the risk-free rate, (2) leads to a higher growth rate of the economy, and (3) increases the degree of disparity in households' lifetime consumption opportunities. We further show that the debt tax shield affects the tradeoff between the goals of achieving a high growth rate of the economy and a low degree of inequality and quantify this tradeoff.
An anisotropic inhomogeneous ubiquity Theorem

Recently, mass transference principles in metric number theory extend towards two direction. On one hand, the shape of the approximating sets can be taken of various shape, balls, rectangles or even general open sets (one refers to some results of Rams and Koivusalo regarding this last example) when the ambient measure is Lebesgue, on the other hand, progress have been made to understand what can be said when the ambient measure is changed. For instance some computation in the case of a self-similar measure with open set condition have been made by Barral and Seuret. This article mixes the two approaches and presents a ubiquity theorem which handles the case where the approximating sets are rectangles and the measure is quasi-Bernoulli, but fully supported.
Subsequent Pregnancy Outcomes in Women Previously Diagnosed with Subclinical Hypothyroidism

Abstract Objective To evaluate subsequent pregnancy outcomes in women previously identified during an index pregnancy to have subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH). Study Design From 2000 to 2003, thyroid analytes were measured in 17,298 women. Using their index pregnancy thyroid-analyte classification, pregnancy outcomes were compared between the returning cohorts. Results There were 6,985 women previously screened and subsequently delivered at our hospital though 2011 with 230 (3.3%) designated to have SCH and 6,645 (95.1%) euthyroid. Significant differences between the two cohorts included risk for diabetes (odds ratio [OR] 1.8, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.2 to 2.7, p = 0.005), gestational diabetes (OR 1.74, 95% CI 1.13 to 2.69, p = 0.015), and stillbirth (OR 3.5, 95% CI 1.05 to 11.68, p = 0.042). After adjustment, the increased likelihood of diabetes (adjusted OR 1.58, 95% CI 1.04 to 2.40, p = 0.032) and stillbirth (adjusted OR 3.41, 95% CI 1.01 to 11.49, p = 0.048) persisted. Conclusions Women identified during a previous pregnancy with SCH are at increased risk for some adverse perinatal outcomes during a subsequent pregnancy.
Testing cloud microphysics parameterizations in NCAR CAM5 with ISDAC and M‐PACE observations

[1] Arctic clouds simulated by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Community Atmospheric Model version 5 (CAM5) are evaluated with observations from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Indirect and Semi-Direct Aerosol Campaign (ISDAC) and Mixed-Phase Arctic Cloud Experiment (M-PACE), which were conducted at its North Slope of Alaska site in April 2008 and October 2004, respectively. Model forecasts for the Arctic spring and fall seasons performed under the Cloud-Associated Parameterizations Testbed framework generally reproduce the spatial distributions of cloud fraction for single-layer boundary-layer mixed-phase stratocumulus and multilayer or deep frontal clouds. However, for low-level stratocumulus, the model significantly underestimates the observed cloud liquid water content in both seasons. As a result, CAM5 significantly underestimates the surface downward longwave radiative fluxes by 20–40 W m−2. Introducing a new ice nucleation parameterization slightly improves the model performance for low-level mixed-phase clouds by increasing cloud liquid water content through the reduction of the conversion rate from cloud liquid to ice by the Wegener-Bergeron-Findeisen process. The CAM5 single-column model testing shows that changing the instantaneous freezing temperature of rain to form snow from −5°C to −40°C causes a large increase in modeled cloud liquid water content through the slowing down of cloud liquid and rain-related processes (e.g., autoconversion of cloud liquid to rain). The underestimation of aerosol concentrations in CAM5 in the Arctic also plays an important role in the low bias of cloud liquid water in the single-layer mixed-phase clouds. In addition, numerical issues related to the coupling of model physics and time stepping in CAM5 are responsible for the model biases and will be explored in future studies.
X-linked hypophosphatemia: a search for gender, race, anticipation, or parent of origin effects on disease expression in children.

X-Linked hypophosphatemia (XLH) is a sex-linked dominant disorder. It is possible that females are more mildly affected than males. No information is available regarding other potential genetic influences on XLH expression in patients, such as race, anticipation, parent of origin, or molecular heterogeneity. We investigated the above potential genetic influences on XLH expressivity using data from 116 pediatric patients. To compare biochemical parameters, we used data from the 30 prepubertal children (23 girls and 7 boys) selected because they had been without medical therapy for at least 3 months (25 of 30 never treated). To compare height z-scores, we used data from the 27 patients (pre- or postpubertal) selected because they had never received medical or surgical treatment. Ascertainment bias (i.e. referral of girls who were severely affected) was not apparent (observed female/male ratio, 1.64; expected, 2.00; P = 0.29). Parameters of mineral homeostasis did not show statistically significant differences between girls vs. boys, sporadic vs. multigenerational cases (except lower fasting serum phosphate levels in sporadic cases; mean +/- SEM, 2.68 +/- 0.10 vs. 3.02 +/- 0.04 mg/dL; P = 0.049), blacks vs. whites, or for the girls for whom affected fathers vs. mothers transmitted the disorder. Height z-scores correlated with renal phosphate reclamation (i.e. tubular maximum of phosphorus/glomerular filtration rate; r = 0.68; P = 0.014), but were not different for the groupings above. Furthermore, we found no evidence for meiotic drive or for a parental age effect to explain the 18.3% of patients that were new mutations for XLH. Our data fail to show any evidence for genetic heterogeneity or for gender, race, anticipation, or parent of origin effects on XLH expression in children. Despite the recent discovery of a gene (PEX) that is mutated in XLH, the sex-linked dominant phenotype and apparent absence of a gene dose effect in XLH expression in children require explanation.
Explorer Optimising Energy Consumption of Design Patterns

Software design patterns are widely used in software engineering to enhance productivity and maintainability. However, recent empirical studies revealed the high energy overhead in these patterns. Our vision is to automatically detect and transform design patterns during compilation for better energy efficiency without impacting existing coding practices. In this paper, we propose compiler transformations for two design patterns, Observer and Decorator, and perform an initial evaluation of their energy efficiency.
Reproductive impairment in the zebrafish, Danio rerio, upon chronic exposure to 1,2,3-trichlorobenzene.

Most organic pollutants are supposed to act via the mechanism of nonpolar narcosis upon acute exposure. Because the chronic effects of these compounds are still relatively unknown, in this study a chronic toxicity experiment was performed with zebrafish, Danio rerio, exposed to 1,2,3-trichlorobenzene (123TCB), a nonpolar narcotic. Fish were exposed in a flow-through system for 68 and 147 days. Parameters measured are survival, growth, reproduction, and glycogen and protein content. The only parameter which was influenced was the number of eggs produced per female, resulting in an EC(50) of 40 microg/L. Using this value and acute toxicity data for 123TCB, an acute to chronic ratio (ACR) of 80 was calculated, which is larger than ACRs for other species exposed to nonpolar narcotics. This finding might indicate that compounds acting by nonpolar narcosis in acute tests can have completely different effects upon chronic exposure.
SCN4A-associated hypokalemic periodic paralysis merits a trial of acetazolamide

Primary hypokalemic periodic paralysis (HypoPP) is characterized by episodes of transient flaccid paralysis in association with reduced serum potassium levels.1 Onset of transient weakness is typically in the first or second decade, often on awakening. Weakness may be mild and focal or progress to flaccid quadriplegia, and the duration may last hours to days. Interindividual attack frequency varies, from daily episodes to a single lifetime episode, commonly decreasing with age. Predictable triggers are rest after exercise and high carbohydrate meals. Unlike hyperkalemic periodic paralysis, myotonia is absent. A proportion of affected individuals have slowly progressive permanent weakness. Inheritance is autosomal dominant, although one-third of cases are sporadic, and penetrance is reduced in women. HypoPP is genetically heterogeneous. Three common mutations in CACN1AS , the α-subunit of the skeletal …