Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluating the Utility of mHealth ECG Heart Monitoring for the Detection and Management of Atrial Fibrillation in Clinical Practice.

Background Little attention has focused on the integration of mobile health (mHealth) technology with self-management approaches to improve the detection and management of atrial fibrillation (AF) in clinical practice. Objective The objective of this study was to investigate the differences between mHealth and usual care over a 6-month follow-up period among patients with a known history of atrial fibrillation. Methods A pilot cohort from within the larger ongoing randomized trial, iPhone® Helping Evaluate Atrial fibrillation Rhythm through Technology (iHEART), was evaluated to determine differences in detection of AF and atrial flutter (AFL) recurrence rates (following treatment to restore normal rhythm) between patients undergoing daily smartphone ECG monitoring and age and gender matched control patients. SF-36v2TM QoL assessments were administered at baseline and 6 months to a subset of the patients undergoing daily ECG monitoring. Differences between groups were assessed by t-test, Fisher's exact test, and Cox proportional hazard models. Results Among the 23 patients with smartphone ECG monitors (16 males and 7 females, mean age 55 ± 10), 14 (61%) had detection of recurrent AF/AFL versus 30% of controls. During the follow-up period, patients given smartphone ECG monitors were more than twice as likely to have an episode of recurrent AF/AFL detected (hazard ratio: 2.55; 95% CI: 1.06 - 6.11; p = 0.04). Among the 13 patients with baseline and 6 month QoL assessments, significant improvements were observed in the physical functioning (p = 0.009), role physical (p = 0.007), vitality (p = 0.03), and mental health domains (p = 0.02). Conclusions Cardiac mHealth self-monitoring is a feasible and effective mechanism for enhancing AF/AFL detection that improves quality of life.
Street-Level Bureaucrats and Passport Networking. Practices of Immigration Law Enforcement in Northern Uganda

The former conflict-torn area of Northern Uganda has only recently developed into a ‘safe haven’ for refugees from South Sudan. At the same time, Ugandan state officials picture inner-African migration as a threat to the internal security of the country, and to its Northern region in particular. This thesis is based on an ethnographic study in Northern Uganda and aims to describe how the Ugandan state tries to manage and control the movements of immigrants. Law enforcement practices are illustrated and analysed in case of passport control interactions. Police and immigration officers categorize people into citizens, migrants, refugees or as illegal by making use of documents in addition to digitalised personal data. For this categorization work they further require embodied skills, knowledge and networks that they can rely on. These networks are established between various state institutions. But they also appear informally between officers and immigrants, and often involve payments that are commonly referred to as corruption. This study tries to understand networking practices from an emic point of view, whereby it combines perspectives from multiple actors. On the one hand, it presents state agents and various challenges they face during work, while on the other hand it portraits the experiences of inner-African immigrants in Northern Uganda. All in all, the thesis concludes that while the Ugandan state tries to maintain the security of the country through new policies, their practical implementation often increases the insecurity of immigrants.
DNA-damaging activity of patulin in Escherichia coli

At a concentration of 10 micrograms/ml, patulin caused single-strand DNA breaks in living cells of Escherichia coli. At 50 micrograms/ml, double-strand breaks were observed also. Single-strand breaks were repaired in the presence of 10 micrograms of patulin per ml within 90 min when the cells were incubated at 37 degrees C in M9-salts solution without a carbon source. The same concentration also induced temperature-sensitive lambda prophage and a prophage of Bacillus megaterium. When an in vitro system with permeabilized Escherichia coli cells was used, patulin at 10 micrograms/ml induced DNA repair synthesis and inhibited DNA replication. The in vivo occurrence of DNA strand breaks and DNA repair correlated with the in vitro induction of repair synthesis. In vitro the RNA synthesis was less affected, and overall protein synthesis was not inhibited at 10 micrograms/ml. Only at higher concentrations (250 to 500 micrograms/ml) was inhibition of in vitro protein synthesis observed. Thus, patulin must be regarded as a mycotoxin with selective DNA-damaging activity.
Conceptualizing Youth Empowerment within Tobacco Control

This article presents a conceptual framework that was developed to guide a national evaluation of the American Legacy Foundation’s (Legacy) Statewide Youth Movement Against Tobacco Use (SYMATU) program. This program was designed to develop youth-led, youth-directed initiatives within local communities. Two evaluation studies were designed and implemented from 2000 through 2003: a cross-site study that collected standard data elements across all 17 programs and a case study of five programs that collected formative data on variables thought to affect program implementation. In developing the youth empowerment (YE) conceptual framework, the authors started by reviewing literature to identify the concepts necessary for these types of initiatives and present a summary of their findings here. This article focuses on the development of the authors’overarching conceptual framework used to guide their evaluation studies. Other articles contained within this special issue present results from each of the SYMATU evaluation studies.
Antiepileptic effect of fisetin in iron-induced experimental model of traumatic epilepsy in rats in the light of electrophysiological, biochemical, and behavioral observations

Background: Traumatic epilepsy is defined by episodes of recurring seizures secondary to severe brain injury. Though drugs are found effective to control seizures, their long-term use have been observed to increase reactive oxygen species in animals. Flavonoid fisetin, a natural bioactive phytonutrient reported to exert anticonvulsive effect in experimental seizure models. But, trauma-induced seizures could not be prevented by anticonvulsants was reported in some clinical studies. Objective: To study the effect of fisetin on epileptiform electrographic activity in iron-induced traumatic epilepsy and also the probable reason behind the effect in rats. Methods: Fisetin pretreatment (20 mg/kg body wt., p.o.) of rats for 12 weeks were chosen followed by injecting iron (5 µl, 100 mM) stereotaxically to generate iron-induced epilepsy. Experimental design include electrophysiological study (electroencephalograph in correlation with multiple unit activity (MUA) in the cortex and CA1 subfield of the hippocampus; spectral analysis of seizure and seizure-associated behavioral study (Morris water maze for spatial learning, open-field test for anxiety) and biochemical study (lipid peroxidation, Na+,K+-ATPase activity) in both the cortex and the hippocampus. Results: Fisetin pretreatment was found to prevent the development of iron-induced electrical seizure and decrease the corresponding MUA in the cortex (*P˂0.05) as well as in the hippocampus (***P˂0.001). Fisetin pretreatment decreased the lipid peroxides (*P˂0.05) and retained the Na+,K+-ATPase activity (*P˂0.05) which was found altered in the epileptic animals and also found to attenuate the seizure-associated cognitive dysfunctions. Conclusion: This study demonstrated the antiepileptic action of fisetin in iron-induced model of epileptic rats by inhibiting oxidative stress.
The neo-Weberian state and the neodevelopmentalist strategies in Latin America: the case of Uruguay

This article seeks to contribute to the development of the neo-Weberian theory of public administration by making it travel to the Latin American context. We argue that this model of public administration reform, identified in continental European states, tends to be present in some Latin American countries that have followed neodevelopmentalist models of economic development. The neo-Weberian political strategy promotes a public sector modernization that enhances its steering and coordination capacities which is functional to a neodevelopmental view that aims to rebuild the state’s central role in leading economic growth and social cohesiveness. Yet, the public management model that is implanted resembles an ‘imperfect’ neo-Weberianism due to the institutional deficiencies of these countries and the difficulties in providing a clear reform script. We provide this link by decoding the main outlines of the public management model in Uruguay in the context of the reforms implemented by the Frente Amplio. Points for practitioners The article demonstrates two central points. First, that the processes of public sector reform are usually linked to other broader development strategies and to calculations of political feasibility. This can explain to some extent the options taken by politicians. Second, public sector reforms are often a combination of multiple administrative doctrines. This poses the risk of being unsystematic, incoherent or even contradictory.
Spirituality and Islamic feminism : a critical analysis of religious agency in selected literary and cinematic works

Islamic ideological evolution has been hugely affected by the cultural and political attributions of both colonisation and neo-colonisation. This is particularly evident in the polarising controversy over religious women's agency, which continues to engage many Islamic feminists. This research critically examines the religious agency of Muslim women as a product of the postcolonial ideological, historical and political factors that have shaped contemporary religious discourse, with a particular focus on Sufi informed religious agency. Sufism offers ideological and aesthetic tools that can empower agency in Islamic feminist writing, such as the spiritual ecology that is derived from Ibn 'Arabi's wa? dat al-wuj? d. Sufi literature is often critically analysed within the framework of Magical Realism, and this literary critical approach determines the reading of the mystical elements. These elements are therefore perceived as myths. This thesis avoids this critical mistake by asserting that these mystical aspects are faith-based articulations of resistance to the ideological normativity, of postcolonial ideologies. This research examines a number of Sufi-based feminist novels: Leila Aboulela's Minaret (2005), "Days Rotate" (2001) and The Kindness of Enemies (2015); Raja Alem's My Thousand and One Nights (2007) and Fatma (2002); as well as the film Bab'Aziz (2005) by Nacer Khemir. The study of feminist views and the representation of women's agency affiliated with Sufism permits a further understanding of the literary and cinematic resistance to the normativity within which Sufi literature has been read. This study reveals that the novelists' and cinematic director's perspectives on spiritual women's agency, as articulated in the works under scrutiny, accommodate variable views of religious knowledge. This not only encourages different levels of engagement in the textual traditions as a source of agency but also instigates considerable engagement with the political issues that are integral to Sufism and women's agency. Overall, this research problematises both the normative consideration of Sufism and feminist engagement in the religious agency of Muslim women.
Sorafenib combined with hepatectomy in patients with intermediate-stage and advanced hepatocellular carcinoma

Introduction Guidelines based on the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) classification system recommend that hepatic resection should be performed only in patients in BCLC stage A. Patients with stage B or stage C should receive palliative or no treatment. However, actual clinical practice varies, and a recent analysis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surgery outcomes in high volume surgical centers throughout the world concluded that hepatectomy can provide survival benefit for selected patients in all three BCLC stages. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of adjuvant sorafenib after hepatic resection in patients with intermediate-stage and advanced HCC. Material and methods In a retrospective case-control study involving 81 patients with intermediate/advanced HCC, 27 who received sorafenib 400 mg BID (median duration 7.33 months) following hepatic resection were compared with a matched group of 54 patients who received hepatic resection only. Overall survival (OS) and time to recurrence (TTR) were evaluated over a median follow-up time of 14.5 months. Results The median OS was significantly longer in the surgery+sorafenib group than in the surgery-only group (18.6 vs. 11.9 months, respectively; p = 0.014). However, the median TTR did not differ significantly between the 2 groups (p = 0.291). Conclusions Sorafenib is effective as adjuvant therapy after liver resection in intermediate-stage and advanced HCC, and can be considered a viable treatment option following surgery in such patients.
Antiglaucoma Medication and Clinical Depression

Objective: The aim of this paper is to alert the medical community to the potential risk of clinical depression following the use of antiglaucoma medication. Method: The available literature concerning systemic side-effects of topical antiglaucoma medication and the association of these agents with clinical depression were reviewed. In addition, two cases are reported of the occurrence of clinical depression following use of topical betaxolol which only resolved completely after switching glaucoma medication. Results/Conclusions: The case reports presented here add to the increasing body of literature linking topical ophthalmic β-adrenoceptor antagonists with depression. While these cases are uncommon, this phenomenon continues to be poorly recognized by the medical profession, psychiatrists, ophthalmologists and general practitioners alike.
Rapid detection of E. coli O157:H7 on turnip greens using a modified gold biosensor combined with light microscopic imaging system.

This research aims to demonstrate the feasibility of a modified gold biosensor to detect E. coli O157:H7 in leafy turnip greens. The gold biosensor was modified with dithiobis-succinimidyl propionate (DSP) and/or protein A or G. The gold biosensor modified with DSP (Gold-DSP) was combined with a light microscopic imaging system (LMIS). The optimal concentration and specificity of anti-E. coli O15 polyclonal antibodies (pAbs) on the biosensor were determined. The reliability of Gold-DSP biosensor was investigated by determining the sensitivity, specificity, and limit of detection (LOD) of the Gold-DSP combined with LMIS. The Gold-DSP combined with LMIS was applied to turnip greens for E. coli O157:H7 detection. The modification of Gold biosensor with DSP significantly increased the detected number of E. coli O157:H7. The specificity of pAbs was sufficient to react with target E. coli O157:H7 among the tested bacterial culture. The optimum concentration of pAbs was determined as 200 μg/mL. The sensitivity, specificity, and LOD of Gold-DSP combined with LMIS were determined as 100%, 90%, and 10(3) CFU/25 mm(2) , respectively. When applied to turnip greens, the Gold-DSP combined with LMIS could detect 2641 ± 394 and 15383 ± 3853 cell/mm(2) with the initial concentrations of 10(1) and 10(2) CFU/25 g turnip greens, respectively, after 10 h-enrichment. Overall, this research suggested that the Gold-DSP combined with LMIS could be used to detect E. coli O157:H7 on turnip greens qualitatively and quantitatively.
MicroRNA co-expression networks exhibit increased complexity in pancreatic ductal compared to Vater's papilla adenocarcinoma

MiRNA expression abnormalities in adenocarcinoma arising from pancreatic ductal system (PDAC) and Vater's papilla (PVAC) could be associated with distinctive pathologic features and clinical cancer behaviours. Our previous miRNA expression profiling data on PDAC (n=9) and PVAC (n=4) were revaluated to define differences/similarities in miRNA expression patterns. Afterwards, in order to uncover target genes and core signalling pathways regulated by specific miRNAs in these two tumour entities, miRNA interaction networks were wired for each tumour entity, and experimentally validated target genes underwent pathways enrichment analysis. One hundred and one miRNAs were altered, mainly over-expressed, in PDAC samples. Twenty-six miRNAs were deregulated in PVAC samples, where more miRNAs were down-expressed in tumours compared to normal tissues. Four miRNAs were significantly altered in both subgroups of patients, while 27 miRNAs were differentially expressed between PDAC and PVAC. Although miRNA interaction networks were more complex and dense in PDAC than in PVAC, pathways enrichment analysis uncovered a functional overlapping between PDAC and PVAC. However, shared signalling events were influenced by different miRNA and/or genes in the two tumour entities. Overall, specific miRNA expression patterns were involved in the regulation of a limited core signalling pathways in the biology landscape of PDAC and PVAC.
Effects of viewing distance on accommodative and pupillary responses following a three‐dimensional task

We have investigated accommodation and pupil responses after viewing stereoscopic images related to the resting position of accommodation. After a 10‐min visual task viewing stereoscopic three‐dimensional images, measurements of dynamic accommodation and pupil response were made using an infrared optometer and a pupil analyser. Four conditions were given for the viewing distance: 0.4 m (closer than the subjects' resting position), 1 m (approximating to their resting state), and 1.5 and 3 m (farther than the resting position). For the 0.4‐ and 1‐m groups, a delay in the accommodation response for near‐to‐far movement was shown after the task, from 817 to 1120 ms and from 830 to 898 ms, respectively, but there was no change in the pupillary response. In the 1.5‐ and 3‐m groups, on the other hand, a significant delay in the accommodation response for far‐to‐near movement was shown, from 827 to 912 ms and from 857 to 1150 ms, respectively, and greater miosis was found, from 7.2 to 9.2 mm2 and from 8.0 to 10.4 mm2. The data reveal that there are different after‐effects on accommodation and pupillary functions when subjects perform the task within their accommodative resting position, than when the task is performed outside the resting position.
Education and Health Impacts of an Affirmative Action Policy on Minorities in India

vi Chapter One: Introduction.1 1.1 Background.1 1.2 Institutional Setting.7 1.2. 1 Caste System.7 1.2. 2 Political Reservation System.15 Chapter Two: Education.19 2.
Insecticide Enhancement with Feeding Stimulants in Corn for Western Corn Rootworm Larvae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

Abstract Amounts of the insecticide thiamethoxam required for 50% mortality of western corn rootworm larvae, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, were reduced 100-fold when extracts of germinating corn, Zea mays L. , were used to entice neonate larvae to feed on it. In behavioral bioassays, neonate rootworm larvae fed vigorously on filter paper disks treated with liquid pressed from corn roots. Moreover, disks treated with an acetone extract of corn (dried and rewetted with water) also elicited strong feeding from larvae. Larvae wandered away from filter paper disks treated with distilled water without feeding. Dilutions of thiamethoxam were tested in the bioassay alone or with corn extract and the efficacy of this insecticide was improved by the addition of the corn extract. For solutions containing 10 ppm thiamethoxam, 95% larval mortality occurred after 30 min of exposure when corn extract was present, but only 38% mortality occurred when the same concentration of insecticide alone (no feeding stimulants) was tested. Larval mortality after 24 h was significantly higher for corn extract-treated disks with 0.01, 0.1, 1, or 10 ppm insecticide than for the same concentrations without corn extract. Thiamethoxam did not deter larval feeding on corn extract, even at the highest concentration of thiamethoxam tested.
Prognostic factors in patients with advanced hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy.

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to evaluate different prognostic factors affecting response to treatment, locoregional control (LRC) and survival in patients with advanced hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HPSCC). METHODS A retrospective analysis of 41 patients with advanced HPSCC who had undergone definitive concurrent chemoradiation treatment between January 2006 and October 2009 was performed. RESULTS Complete composite response (CCR) was achieved in 27 patients (65.9)). Significant prognostic factors for CCR were T stage, technique of radiation, and gross tumor volume (GTV). Unfavorable prognostic factors for CCR in multivariate analysis were higher T stage and radiation technique with electron-photon fields. The 2-year LRC rate was 51.3%. The 2-year disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were 29.3% and 32.8%, respectively. Significant prognostic factors for LRC, DFS, and OS in univariate analysis were T stage, overall stage, and GTV. OS was also significantly influenced by N stage. In multivariate analysis T stage was found to be the only significant independent prognostic factor for LRC (p=0.003), DFS (p=0.01), and OS (p=0.005). CONCLUSION Revealing the significant prognostic value of T stage for CCR, LRC, DFS, and OS in the multivariate analysis, we consider that the implementation of intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and the adoption of intensified concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT), sequential therapy, and targeted therapy should be strongly advocated in order to improve outcome in patients with locally advanced HPSCC.
Dopamine Agonist‐Mediated Inhibition of Acetylcholine Release in Rat Striatum Is Modified by Thyroid Hormone Status

Abstract: K+‐evoked acetyl[3H]choline ([3H]ACh) release was inhibited in a concentration‐dependent manner by apomorphine and the D2 agonist quinpirole in striatal slices prepared from euthyroid and hypothyroid rats. However, there was a significant increase in the maximum inhibition observed with both agonists in the hypothyroid compared with the euthyroid group, which paralleled the increased D2 agonist sensitivity reported for stereotyped behavior. The D2 antagonist raclopride decreased, and the D, antagonist SCH 23390 increased, the inhibition of [3H]ACh release by apomorphine, confirming an inhibitory role for D2 receptors and an opposing role for D1 receptors. Because there is no difference in D1 or D2 receptor concentration between the euthyroid and hypothyroid groups, it is suggested that thyroid hormone modulation of D2 receptor sensitivity affects a receptor‐mediated event. Following intrastriatal injection of pertussis toxin (PTX), apomorphine no longer inhibited [3H]ACh release. In fact, increased [3H]‐ ACh release was observed, an effect reduced by SCH 23390, providing evidence that D1 receptors enhance [3H]‐ ACh release, and confirming that a PTX‐sensitive G protein mediates the D2 response. As it has been reported that thyroid hormones modulate G protein expression, this mechanism may underlie their effect on dopamine agonist‐ mediated inhibition of ACh.