Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A position statement on the management of patients with pityriasis rosea

Many clinical trials have been conducted on the treatment of pityriasis rosea (PR). Our aim was to establish a position statement for the management of adults with PR based on the best available evidence. We searched PubMed for all reports on randomized controlled trials for the treatment of PR published in the past 30 years. We retrieved 14 articles reporting randomized controlled trials, and found five which met our quality requirements for in‐depth analyses. Erythromycin was found in a well‐conducted triple‐blind study to cast significant impacts on clinical outcomes. However, adverse gastrointestinal effects were fairly common. Another well‐conducted study on azithromycin reported no significant benefit. It was reported in three well‐conducted studies on oral acyclovir in low dose (400 mg three times daily for 7 days or 400 mg five times daily for 7 days) and high dose (800 mg five times daily for 7 days), that acyclovir is effective in attaining rash regression and lessening the pruritus. When compared against each other, the high‐dose regimen demonstrated no benefit over the low‐dose regimens. Our statement comprises the follows: (i) The diagnosis of PR should be ascertained; (ii) The patients should be assessed for rash severity and impacts on quality of life; (iii) PR is a self‐limiting disease, and most patients do not necessitate any treatment; (iv) For patients necessitating active treatment, oral acyclovir as 400 mg three times daily for 7 days can be considered; (v) Attention should be given to adverse effects and contraindications of acyclovir; (vi) When PR occurs in early pregnancy, oral antiviral therapy could be considered after consulting experienced clinicians; (vii) Inadequate information exists in the use of acyclovir to treatment PR in children and breastfeeding women; and (viii) Treating PR is an off‐label use of acyclovir, and this has to be discussed with experienced colleagues and the patients.
Evaluation of a point-of-care blood analyzer and determination of reference ranges for blood parameters in rockfish.

OBJECTIVE To compare values of blood parameters in rockfish obtained by use of a point-of-care portable blood analyzer with values determined by a veterinary diagnostic laboratory, calculate reference ranges for various blood parameters in black rockfish, and compare values of blood parameters in clinically normal fish with those of fish with clinical abnormalities. DESIGN Prospective study. ANIMALS 41 captive adult black rockfish (Sebastes melanops) and 4 captive adult blue rockfish (Sebastes mystinus). PROCEDURE Rockfish were anesthetized with tricaine methanesulfonate for collection of blood samples. Heparinized blood samples were immediately analyzed with a point-of-care analyzer. Blood sodium, potassium, chloride, urea nitrogen, and glucose concentrations; Hct; pH; partial pressure of carbon dioxide; total carbon dioxide concentration; bicarbonate concentration; base excess; and hemoglobin concentration were determined. A microhematocrit technique was used to determine PCV, and a refractometer was used to estimate total plasma protein concentration. Paired heparinized blood samples were transported to a veterinary diagnostic laboratory for analyses. RESULTS Data obtained with the point-of-care analyzer were reproducible; however, values for most blood parameters were significantly different from those obtained by the veterinary diagnostic laboratory. Fish with poor body condition had several blood parameter values that were lower than corresponding values in clinically normal fish. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Point-of-care blood analyses may prove useful in rockfish. Point-of-care data for a large number of clinically normal fish must be obtained for reference ranges to be calculated, and further assessments of clinically abnormal fish are necessary to determine the relevance of the data.
The Organization of Connections between Areas V5 and V2 in Macaque Monkey Visual Cortex

Area V2 of the cerebral cortex of higher primates has a complex cytochrome oxidase architecture whose most characteristic element is a set of stripes running orthogonal to its long axis. These stripes can be related to the segregation between the various pathways in which V2 participates. In the macaque monkey the more metabolically active stripes are alternately thick and thin and only one set, the thick stripes, is found to possess clusters of labelled cells following injections of horseradish peroxidase — wheatgerm agglutinin into area V5. Some of these clusters, but not all, coincide with substructures inside the thick stripes. V2 of the owl monkey has a similar organization except that the diversification into thick and thin stripes is less prominent, both in terms of their appearance and in that more than every alternate stripe is connected to area MT, the likely homologue of V5.
The contribution of prostaglandin production to contractions of the isolated uterus of the rat

1 Indomethacin and meclofenamate, both of which are potent inhibitors of prostaglandin synthetase, antagonized the contractor effects of oxytocin on the isolated uterus from the non‐pregnant rat. Contractions induced by acetylcholine or prostaglandin F2α were not antagonized. 2 Uteri from rats 17–22 days pregnant exhibited intermittent spontaneous contractions when used as isolated preparations. They also released prostaglandin‐like activity (mainly similar to F2α) into the bathing fluid. Both the prostaglandin release and the uterine activity were abolished by indomethacin. Activity could be restored by addition of low concentrations of prostaglandin E2 or F2α. 3 The release of prostaglandin F2α‐like activity by the uteri increased dramatically on the expected day of delivery (day 22). 4 The results add force to the hypothesis that the spontaneous activity of some isolated organs is due to an intramural prostaglandin generation, and that increased uterine prostaglandin production contributes to the expulsion of the foetus.
A study of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System's Leadership Development Institute and the impact of participation

viii Chapter 1: Introduction . 1 Louisiana Higher Education . 1 The Louisiana Community and Technical College System . 2 Leadership Development Institute (LDI) . 4 LDI Applicants . 6 LDI Program Design . 7 LDI Sessions . 8 Study Rationale . 10 Purpose . 12 Limitations . 14 Chapter 2: Literature Review . 15 History of Community Colleges . 15 Mission of Community Colleges . 17 Early Mission . 17 Current Mission . 18 Uniqueness of Community Colleges . 20 Educational Leadership . 22 Community College Leadership . 24 Community College Leadership Shortage . 25 Leadership Development Options . 30 Cohort Design . 38 Experiential Learning . 41 Mentoring . 42 Relevant Research on Educational Leadership Professional Development Programs . 43 Summary . 48 Chapter 3: Study Methods and Design . 49 Research Design . 49 Phase One – Sampling and Data Collection . 50 Leadership Development Long-term Impact Survey . 55 Phase Two – Sampling and Data Collection . 56 Summary . 59
Neuroimaging in Dementia

Although dementia is a clinical diagnosis, neuroimaging often is crucial for proper assessment. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) may identify nondegenerative and potentially treatable causes of dementia. Recent neuroimaging advances, such as the Pittsburgh Compound-B (PIB) ligand for positron emission tomography imaging in Alzheimer's disease, will improve our ability to differentiate among the neurodegenerative dementias. High-resolution volumetric MRI has increased the capacity to identify the various forms of the frontotemporal lobar degeneration spectrum and some forms of parkinsonism or cerebellar neurodegenerative disorders, such as corticobasal degeneration, progressive supranuclear palsy, multiple system atrophy, and spinocerebellar ataxias. In many cases, the specific pattern of cortical and subcortical abnormalities on MRI has diagnostic utility. Finally, among the new MRI methods, diffusion-weighted MRI can help in the early diagnosis of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Although only clinical assessment can lead to a diagnosis of dementia, neuroimaging is clearly an invaluable tool for the clinician in the differential diagnosis.
Application of the technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge framework in a positivist study on the use of ICT in pedagogy by teachers of mathematical disciplines at Makerere University: a conceptual paper

ICT provides an array of powerful tools that induce transformation from a teacher-centred to a student-focused and interactive knowledge environment. The use of ICT in pedagogy opens up opportunities for learning because it enables learners to access, extend, transform and share ideas and information in multi-modal communication styles and formats. Therefore, all efforts to enhance it should be expended. One way of enhancing the use of ICT in pedagogy is to isolate the factors that underpin it. It is with this understanding that, basing on the Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework, this paper proposes a positivist study to examine the extent to which knowledge relates with the use of ICT in pedagogy among teachers of mathematical disciplines at Makerere University. Keywords: Mathematical disciplines; Positivism; TPACK
Numerical solution of the CFIE using vector bases and dual interlocking meshes

A numerical solution of the combined-field integral equation for wave scattering from homogeneous dielectric bodies is proposed. The approach uses a simultaneous representation of the equivalent surface current densities in both curl-conforming and divergence-conforming bases, defined on a dual interlocking mesh representing the scatterer surface. The dual-mesh based approach is stable at internal resonances and allows the use of the optimum type of basis function for each integral operator within the combined field equation. The procedure can also be used to obtain a radiation boundary condition for differential equation formulations.
Profitability of Smallholder Sugarcane Farming Systems in Tanzania: A Comparative Analysis between Block Farming and Traditional Farming Systems in Morogoro.

There is circumstantial evidence that smallholder sugarcane farming systems have substantial effect on the profitability of smallholder farmers. Primary data collected through semi structured questionnaires administered to a random sample of smallholder sugarcane farmers in Morogoro region were analysed by T-Tests, One way ANOVA, Tobit regression and Spearman‟s rank correlation tests all at p = 0.05 to comparatively assess differences and effects of hypothesized factors on profitability between Block Farming System (BFS) and Traditional Farming System (TFS). The effect of profitability of the farming systems on loan repayment rate (LRR) has also been analysed. BFS appears to be significantly more effective than TFS on both profitability and loan repayments. Profitability, expressed as a ratio of operating income to revenue, is significantly higher by 17% in BFS (M = 0.56) than profitability achieved through TFS (M = 0.39). Yield, price and cost have significant effects on profitability of both BFS and TFS. Effects of land size and sucrose were found not to be significant on BFS but significant on TFS. Correlation between profitability and LRR is significantly high on both BFS, r (7) = 0.84, p = 0.04, and TFS, r (68) = 0.79, p < 0.0001. LRR through BFS (M = 0.96) is significantly higher by 20% than LRR through TFS (M = 0.76). Reviews of the Agriculture and Livestock Policy and the Microfinance Policy are recommended. Generic model, FSP-M has been developed and recommended for future studies of profitability. Studies on how sucrose content is measured and its relation to sugarcane price setting is suggested. Also studies on factors affecting loan repayments among smallholder farmers as well as on institutional effects of microfinance institutions on loan repayment are recommended.
An evaluation by focus group and survey of a course for Midwifery Ventouse Practitioners.

OBJECTIVE to evaluate the Midwifery Ventouse Practitioners' (MVPs) Course and the MVPs' perception of its effect on their practice. DESIGN qualitative and quantitative. PARTICIPANTS 18 midwives who had completed the MVP course at Bournemouth University 1998-2000. DATA COLLECTION focus group (n=8) and postal questionnaire (n=18). FINDINGS important issues were identified by the focus group and informed the development of the questionnaire which achieved a 100% response rate. The mean length of full-time experience as a midwife was 18.6 years (SD 6.8; range 9-33); 11 midwives were based in community maternity units and seven in consultant units. Seventeen of the MVPs had been called to assist 505 women in this capacity; 366 (72%) had an MVP ventouse-assisted birth, 129 (26%) a normal birth and 10 women (2%) needed obstetric assistance. In this regard, there were considerable differences between individual MVPs. The midwives gave high priority to woman-centred values and to the very judicious use of intervention. They felt that the course had increased their confidence in relation to their midwifery practice, in general, and their ability to define fetal position and station, in particular. They reported a high level of confidence when undertaking their first ventouse birth after completing the course. KEY CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS midwives who have undertaken this course do not appear to expand their role to the detriment of normal midwifery, as had been feared. Even highly experienced midwives value increasing their confidence in relation to vaginal and abdominal examination. Ambulance transfer in the second stage of labour was prevented for at least 109 women. A long-term clinical evaluation of the births to which an MVP has been called is needed.
Sensorimotor integration in movement disorders

Although current knowledge attributes movement disorders to a dysfunction of the basal ganglia–motor cortex circuits, abnormalities in the peripheral afferent inputs or in their central processing may interfere with motor program execution. We review the abnormalities of sensorimotor integration described in the various types of movement disorders. Several observations, including those of parkinsonian patients' excessive reliance on ongoing visual information during movement tasks, suggest that proprioception is defective in Parkinson's disease (PD). The disturbance of proprioceptive regulation, possibly related to the occurrence of abnormal muscle‐stretch reflexes, might be important for generating hypometric or bradykinetic movements. Studies with somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs), prepulse inhibition, and event‐related potentials support the hypothesis of central abnormalities of sensorimotor integration in PD. In Huntington's disease (HD), changes in SEPs and long‐latency stretch reflexes suggest that a defective gating of peripheral afferent input to the brain might impair sensorimotor integration in cortical motor areas, thus interfering with the processing of motor programs. Defective motor programming might contribute to some features of motor impairment in HD. Sensory symptoms are frequent in focal dystonia and sensory manipulation can modify the dystonic movements. In addition, specific sensory functions (kinaesthesia, spatial–temporal discrimination) can be impaired in patients with focal hand dystonia, thus leading to a “sensory overflow. ” Sensory input may be abnormal and trigger focal dystonia, or defective “gating” may cause an input–output mismatch in specific motor programs. Altogether, several observations strongly support the idea that sensorimotor integration is impaired in focal dystonia. Although elemental sensation is normal in patients with tics, tics can be associated with sensory phenomena. Some neurophysiological studies suggest that an altered “gating” mechanism also underlies the development of tics. This review underlines the importance of abnormal sensorimotor integration in the pathophysiology of movement disorders. Although the physiological mechanism remains unclear, the defect is of special clinical relevance in determining the development of focal dystonia.
Effect of Two Types of Soy Milk and Dairy Milk on Plasma Lipids in Hypercholesterolemic Adults: A Randomized Trial

Objective: To compare the effects of two commercially available soy milks (one made using whole soy beans, the other using soy protein isolate) with low-fat dairy milk on plasma lipid, insulin, and glucose responses. Design: Randomized clinical trial, cross-over design. Subjects: Participants were 30–65 years of age, n = 28, with pre-study LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) concentrations of 160–220 mg/dL, not on lipid lowering medications, and with an overall Framingham risk score of ≤10%. Intervention: Participants were required to consume sufficient milk to provide 25 g protein/d from each source. The protocol included three 4-week treatment phases, each separated from the next by a wash-out period of ≥4 weeks. Results: Mean LDL-C concentration at the end of each phase (± SD) was 161 ± 20, 161 ± 26 and 170 ± 24 mg/dL for the whole bean soy milk, the soy protein isolate milk, and the dairy milk, respectively (p = 0.9 between soy milks, p = 0.02 for each soy milk vs. dairy milk). No significant differences by type of milk were observed for HDL-cholesterol, triacylglycerols, insulin, or glucose. Conclusion: A 25 g dose of daily soy protein from soy milk led to a modest 5% lowering of LDL-C relative to dairy milk among adults with elevated LDL-C. The effect did not differ by type of soy milk and neither soy milk significantly affected other lipid variables, insulin or glucose.
Molecular epidemiology of tick-borne encephalitis virus: peptide mapping of large non-structural proteins of European isolates and comparison with other flaviviruses.

Nine virus-specified proteins were identified by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in [35S]methionine-labelled chick embryo cells infected with tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus by comparison with mock-infected cells. These proteins were designated P91, p74, p72, P67, GP53(E), P47, p25, P15(C) and P14.5 according to their molecular weights. Peptide mapping of P91, P67, GP53(E) and P47 from TBE virus-infected cells, as well as those of the corresponding proteins from West Nile virus (WNV)-infected cells (previously termed NV5, NV4, V3 and NV3), demonstrated the uniqueness of these proteins. Almost no subtype variability, with respect to the pattern of intracellular proteins, was found when isolates of TBE virus from Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Finland and Czechoslovakia were compared. Peptide mapping of NV5 (P91) and NV4 (P67) from all these isolates using limited proteolysis with alpha-chymotrypsin and V8 protease revealed completely identical patterns, thus extending our observations that TBE virus seems to represent a very stable member of the flavivirus genus, which was based on the lack of variation found with the structural glycoprotein. On the other hand, the Far Eastern subtype of TBE virus and the closely related louping-ill virus could not only be differentiated from the Western subtype by differences in the peptide maps of their structural glycoprotein but also in those of the non-structural protein NV5, i.e. subtype or subgroup variations are not confined to the virion surface glycoprotein. WNV and Murray Valley encephalitis virus (MVEV) revealed the expected heterogeneity of virus-specified proteins found in cells infected with different flaviviruses. It is especially interesting that also the largest non-structural protein, NV5, is subject to this heterogeneity, ranging in mol. wt. from 91 000 for TBE virus to 98 000 for MVEV and that also the peptide maps of NV5, as well as those of NV4, were unrelated. These proteins, therefore, revealed a variability between serologically distinct flaviviruses similar to that observed with the structural glycoprotein.
The Use of a Reversible Transcription Inhibitor, DRB, to Investigate the Involvement of Specific Proteins in the Ocular Circadian System of Aplysia

Previously, the effects of 2-h treatments with the reversible transcription inhibitor 5,6-dichloro-1-β-D-ribobenzimidazole (DRB) on the phase of the circadian rhythm in the eye of Aplysia californica were studied. Here we report a study of the effects of DRB on protein synthesis and a more detailed investigation of the effects of DRB on the phase of the circadian rhythm. Treatments of DRB for 30 min reduced the rate of transcription to about 30% of control values, and this inhibition reversed completely within 2 h after the end of the treatment. A phase-response curve was obtained for 30-min treatments of DRB. Shorter (30 min) treatments with DRB produced phase shifts comparable to those produced by treatments with DRB for 2 h. The phase-response curve obtained using 30-min treatments of DRB was similar to one obtained using 2-h treatments with respect to the phase at which DRB exerts its maximum effect on the rhythm (around circadian time [CT] 6). However, some aspects of the two phase-response curves were different. The effect of DRB on the phase of the rhythm appeared rapidly after removal of DRB treatments given during CT 22-6, but the effects of DRB on the phase of the rhythm appeared more slowly (∼10 h) after the treatments given during CT 6-12. Because the effects of DRB on the phase of the overt rhythm appear to be rapid at a particular phase, it is very likely that DRB affects the phase of the rhythm by altering the synthesis of proteins during or shortly after the treatment. Thus we searched for proteins whose synthesis was altered by DRB. Incorporation of labeled amino acids into 2 proteins was found to be altered during the DRB treatment, whereas 15 proteins were affected after the DRB treatment. Among the proteins affected during or shortly after the DRB treatment were four previously identified proteins affected by other treatments that can shift the phase of the eye circadian rhythm. These four proteins are worthy of further study as possible candidates for components of the circadian oscillator.
Corporate Entrepreneurship: Partial Divestitures as a Real Option

Scholars in strategy and entrepreneurship have discussed the benefits and difficulties of keeping ventures inside the firm versus separating them through divestitures and the balance between control and autonomy. Using an in-depth analysis of cases of partial divestitures, this study examines the organizational arrangement that arises from divestitures with a retained parent-unit relationship. The emerging framework connects the parent-unit relationship and its modifications along the divestiture's objective – specifically, the exploration carried out by the unit. Partial divestitures are designed as real options, for firms to manage corporate venturing, taking advantage of the flexibility that such arrangement may grant.
Practical T2 quantitation for clinical applications

Many studies have investigated the use of magnetic resonance relaxation times for tissue characterization. A number have been performed in vivo with clinical whole‐body imagers. Unfortunately, the results have yet to establish the role of quantitative tissue relaxation time measurements in clinical diagnosis. One of the major problems is that the techniques used in many of these studies are error prone, making the results inconclusive. In the present study, the problems associated with clinical T2 measurements were systematically evaluated in an attempt to obtain reliable in vivo quantitation. The authors demonstrate that spoiler gradients are the most effective technique for artifact suppression but that they render ineffective radio‐frequency phase schemes such as the Meiboom‐Gill modification to the Carr‐Purcell sequence to compensate experimental imperfections. The present study results in a more reliable multiecho sequence for T2 measurement. Preliminary clinical results in brain and cervix demonstrate the performance of the new technique.