Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Phytoremediation Potential of Weeds in Heavy Metal Contaminated Soils of the Bassa Industrial Zone of Douala, Cameroon

Phytoremediation is a promising option for reclaiming soils contaminated with toxic metals, using plants with high potentials for extraction, stabilization and hyperaccumulation. This study was conducted in Cameroon, at the Bassa Industrial Zone of Douala in 2011, to assess the total content of 19 heavy metals and 5 other elements in soils and phytoremediation potential of 12 weeds. Partial extraction was carried out in soil, plant root and shoot samples. Phytoremediation potential was evaluated in terms of the Biological Concentration Factor, Translocation Factor and Biological Accumulation Coefficient. The detectable content of the heavy metals in soils was Cu:70–179, Pb:8–130, Zn:200–971, Ni:74–296, Co:31–90, Mn:1983–4139, V:165–383, Cr:42–1054, Ba:26–239, Sc:21–56, Al:6.11–9.84, Th:7–22, Sr:30–190, La:52–115, Zr:111–341, Y:10–49, Nb:90–172 in mg kg−1, and Ti:2.73–4.09 and Fe:12–16.24 in wt%. The contamination index revealed that the soils were slightly to heavily contaminated while the geoaccumulation index showed that the soils ranged from unpolluted to highly polluted. The concentration of heavy metals was ranked as Zn > Ni > Cu > V > Mn > Sc > Co > Pb and Cr in the roots and Mn > Zn > Ni > Cu > Sc > Co > V > Pb > Cr > Fe in the shoots. Dissotis rotundifolia and Kyllinga erecta had phytoextraction potentials for Pb and Paspalum orbiculare for Fe. Eleusine indica and K. erecta had phytostabilisation potential for soils contaminated with Cu and Pb, respectively.
Transformational Leadership and Employees' Information Security Performance: The Mediating Role of Motivation and Climate

The importance of organizational information security is constantly increasing. Next to technical information security measures, research has incorporated multidisciplinary behavioral theories in order to explain employees’ information security awareness and behavior. While focusing on employees as the weakest link in the information security chain, the role of leadership has been considered less. To address this gap, the purpose of this explorative study is to investigate how transformational leadership can influence employees’ information security performance. A research model is developed that is empirically tested by means of structural equation modeling (SEM) with data collected from 208 employees across different industries. Our results indicate a significant influence of transformational leadership on employees’ information security participation. Moreover, our study reveals that transformational leaders are able to form a positive organizational climate towards information security and thereby (indirectly) enhance employees’ motivation. Drawing from our findings, implications for practitioners and future IS research are derived.
Resident physician operative times during cataract surgery.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE To determine resident physician operative times surrounding their 45th, 86th, and 121st cataract surgery. PATIENTS AND METHODS Retrospective chart review of 375 surgical records of 25 ophthalmology residents. Groups were compared with each other and to a published surgeon. RESULTS The mean operative times of surgeries 43 to 47, 84 to 88, and 119 to 123 were 39.9, 30.0, and 27.2 minutes, respectively. Surgical time decreased 25% from the 45th to the 86th case (P = .0002) and 9% from the 86th to the 121st case (P = .2049). Compared with a published surgeon's time of 26.8 minutes, residents' times were significantly longer around their 45th (P = .0001) and 86th surgery (P = .0012), but nearly identical around the 121st surgery (P = .7022). CONCLUSION Significant decreases in operative time occurred between the 45th and 86th case. Smaller decreases occurred after the 86th case. Residents' operative times approach that of a published ophthalmologist around the 121st case.
Chlamydia and Borrelia DNA in synovial fluid of patients with early undifferentiated oligoarthritis: results of a prospective study.

OBJECTIVE More than 50% of patients with synovitis involving 1-4 joints remain classified as having undifferentiated oligoarthritis (UOA) after 1 year of disease. The clinical presentation is often similar to that of reactive arthritis (ReA) and other spondylarthropathies or to Lyme arthritis. We therefore determined how often Chlamydia trachomatis (Ct) and Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) can be identified in patients with UOA, by using an extensive laboratory approach. METHODS We prospectively studied 52 patients with UOA who presented at an early synovitis clinic in a region highly endemic for Lyme disease. Patients were examined by standardized clinical and immunoserologic procedures. Synovial fluid was screened for the presence of Ct and Bb DNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Urine was tested for Ct DNA by ligase chain reaction, and serum was tested for Ct antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Bb antibodies by hemagglutination test and Western blotting. PCR results in the UOA patients were compared with the results in cohorts of patients with definite rheumatoid arthritis (RA), Lyme arthritis, and Chlamydia-induced arthritis (CIA). RESULTS In the synovial fluid of 9 of 52 patients with UOA (17%), we found Ct DNA, and in 6 of the 52 patients (12%), Bb DNA was found. The frequency of bacteria-specific DNA was 50% (7 of 14) in CIA patients and 69% (11 of 16) in patients with Lyme arthritis. No Bb or Ct DNA was found in the synovial fluid of the 31 RA patients. CONCLUSION With optimized PCR protocols, it is possible to detect considerable levels of Bb and Ct DNA in the synovial fluid of patients with UOA. Although the presence of bacterial DNA does not unequivocally prove its etiologic significance, we suggest that at least one-third of patients with UOA may have a form of ReA that involves asymptomatic primary infection.
Visual recovery of the amblyopic eye in an adult patient after loss of the dominant eye.

Sir, T reatment of amblyopia is thought to be most effective during early childhood, while treatment benefit declines with increasing age (Epelbaum et al. 1993). However, in some circumstances, permanent visual improvement of anamblyopic eyehasbeendocumented even during adulthood (Wick et al. 1992; El Mallah et al. 2000; Jakobsson et al. 2002; Rahi et al. 2002a, 2002b). We report a case of full visual improvement from 0.3 to 1.0 in an amblyopic eye after enucleation of the leading eye. In 1985, a 19-year-old man was involved in a car accident that caused brain contusion and bulbus rupture of his leading eye. The dominant right eye was enucleated 1 day after the trauma. The surgeon performing the enucleation was unaware that the nondominant left eye was amblyopic due to hypermetropic anisometropia. Occlusion treatment during early childhood had not improved the subject’s best corrected visual acuity (VA) in the amblyopic eye, which was still only 0.3 in 1985. Both eyes were hypermetropic, with the right eye being þ2. 25 (VA 1.0) and the left þ6. 0 (VA 0.3) before the accident. Despite the hyperopia, the subject did not wear spectacles. The patient’s sister also suffered from anisometropic amblyopia. Two months after the right eye was enucleated, VA in the left eye was improved by two lines; after 1 year VA was almost normal and after 2 years it had achieved a normal level (Table 1). At the age of 36 years, after 17 years of follow-up, the patient did not accept full hyperopic correction (Table 1). This case shows that VA in an adult in an eye with anisometropic amblyopia is able to recover to normal spontaneously after the loss of the dominant eye. In this particular case, attempts had been made to treat the amblyopia during childhood, but with little success. Many amblyopic children do not show any improvement in VA because of poor parental co-operation (Campos 1995); this was probably the reason for failure in this case. The present accommodative amplitude might be explained by a developmental change due to the hyperopic anisometropia, rather than as congenital sequelae (Milder & Rubin 2000). The patient had accommodated continuously as a child and he had thus developed excessive accommodative amplitude, particularly as he had not worn spectacles before the accident. On the other hand, his excessive accommodative amplitude may be a normal variant. Accommodative capacity varies widely, although the amplitude of accommodation decreases with passing years (Milder & Rubin 2000). In conclusion, the loss of an eye is a dramatic experience for a patient; even more difficult to accept is enucleation of the better eye. In contrast to most earlier findings, which show poor prognoses in the treatment of amblyopia after 7 years of age, we report that full visual recovery of an amblyopic eye can take place in an adult patient after the loss of the leading eye when central foveal fixation is present.
ESCRITA INFANTIL: A CIRCULAÇÃO DA CRIANÇA POR REPRESENTAÇÕES SOBRE GÊNEROS DISCURSIVOS

O proposito deste artigo e o de refletir sobre a circulacao imaginaria das criancas por representacoes sobre generos discursivos. Tem-se como objetivo mais especifico investigar como a circulacao por essas representacoes mostra-se na projecao que a crianca faz de um (ou mais) destinatario(s) para o (seu) enunciado. Para a realizacao deste estudo, assume-se o conceito de genero do discurso como proposto por Bakhtin (2000). Na analise dos enunciados escritos infantis selecionados, privilegiou-se um traco, essencial e constitutivo, dessa definicao de genero: o fato de os tipos relativamente estaveis de enunciados terem, sempre, um direcionamento, um enderecamento (BAKHTIN, 2000). Partindo dos conceitos de enderecamento e de outro – este ultimo segundo a proposta de Authier-Revuz (1982, 1990) –, supoe-se que, em enunciacoes escritas ou faladas, o sujeito precisa negociar com os outros (outros dizeres, outros registros, outros significantes e, tambem, outros destinatarios) que o constituem e determinam a emergencia dos enunciados que produz. A analise dos enunciados infantis permitiu observar dois fatos importantes e interligados: a nao univocidade e a flutuacao no enderecamento desses enunciados.
Impact of trait impulsivity and state aggression on divalproex versus placebo response in borderline personality disorder.

OBJECTIVE The authors' goal was to determine whether specific pretreatment clinical characteristics differentially predict favorable treatment response to divalproex versus placebo for impulsive aggression in patients with borderline personality disorder. METHOD Fifty-two outpatients with DSM-IV borderline personality disorder were randomly assigned to receive divalproex (N=20) or placebo (N=32), double-blind, for 12 weeks. Trait impulsivity symptoms were determined by using the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, and state aggression symptoms were determined by using the Overt Aggression Scale modified for outpatients. Affective stability was determined by using the Young Mania Rating Scale and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. Analyses were performed to identify possible baseline symptom domains that predict treatment response. RESULTS Divalproex was superior to placebo in reducing impulsive aggression in patients with borderline personality disorder. Divalproex-treated patients responded better than placebo-treated patients among those with higher baseline trait impulsivity symptoms and state aggression symptoms. The effects of baseline trait impulsivity and state aggression appear to be independent of one another. However, baseline affective instability did not influence differential treatment response. CONCLUSIONS Both pretreatment trait impulsivity symptoms and state aggression symptoms predict a favorable response to divalproex relative to placebo for impulsive aggression in patients with borderline personality disorder.
Utilisation of a sperm quality analyser to evaluate sperm quantity and quality of turkey breeders

1. A relatively new instrument known as a Sperm Quality Analyzer® (SQA) offers a rapid assessment of sperm quality and quantity by providing a sperm quality index (SQI). The SQA measures a combination of the intensity of sperm activity and motile concentration by determining the number and amplitude of sperm movements per second in a capillary tube as detected through light beam interference. 2. Because the SQA has not been tested for its potential use in turkeys, the objective was to determine if the SQA could accurately respond to changes in turkey sperm concentration, viability, and motility in semen collected from turkey breeders. 3. The effect of varying concentrations of sperm on SQI values was evaluated by diluting replicate pools of semen from 4 different aged turkey breeder flocks with saline. Results from all 4 flocks showed that semen dilutions greater than 20-fold resulted in a linear decline in SQI values. 4. Additional in vitro analysis evaluated the effects of turkey sperm viability on the SQI under conditions of constant sperm concentration. Incubated, live sperm was mixed in various proportions with thawed, dead sperm to determine changes in viability. Increased proportions of dead sperm caused a decline in the SQI. 5. To assess sperm motility, turkey semen was incubated under either aerobic (motile) or anaerobic (immotile) conditions. Varied amounts of immotile and motile sperm samples were mixed. A linear increase in the SQI was observed as per cent motile sperm increased. 6. These results indicate that the SQA can respond to differences in turkey sperm concentration, viability, and motility using in vitro analyses.
Seroprevalence of varicella zoster virus infections in Colombo district, Sri Lanka.

BACKGROUND Although Varicella Zoster virus (VZV) infections occur worldwide, the epidemiology is remarkably different in tropical and temperate climates. VZV infections result in significant morbidity and mortality among adults in Sri Lanka. AIMS For future VZV vaccination strategies, we set to determine the age-specific seroprevalence rate of VZV infections in Colombo, Sri Lanka. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study was carried out from 1999 to 2000. Multi-stage cluster sampling technique was used to collect 913 blood samples, which were tested for the presence of VZV-specific IgG antibodies. RESULTS VZV seroprevalence rates were markedly lower in all age groups when compared to temperate climates. The seroprevalence rates increased with age in both the rural and urban populations. Of those aged 60 years, only 50% in the rural population and 78.9% in the urban population were immune to VZV. Seroprevalence rates of VZV infections were significantly different between the urban and rural populations (P< 0.001), with VZV-specific IgG antibodies detected in 47.5% in the urban population and 27.9% in the rural population. It was found that 56.2% (131) of females of childbearing age were nonimmune to VZV. CONCLUSIONS These findings highlight the need for a VZV vaccination program, which is likely to have a huge impact on the incidence of chickenpox and its associated morbidity and mortality.
Evaluating Midwives Communication Skills from the Perspective of Parturient Women Attending to Hospitals for Delivery

Background & aim: Communication is a fundamental human need. Medical students and healthcare professionals must be attuned to the needs of patients using effective communication skills. With regards to medical training, currently the focus is on theoretical matters and communication skills are taken for granted. This problem has caused miscommunication with patients referred to teaching hospitals. We conducted this study to assess communication skills of midwives from the perspective of parturient women. Methods: In this descriptive study, we evaluated 50 midwives working in maternity wards of Ghaem, Imam Reza, Omolbanin, and Hasheminejad hospitals in Mashhad, Iran. Three parturient women were selected per one midwife in a maternity ward. The parturient women participating in this study were in labor, delivery, admission or postpartum stages and completed the Interpersonal Communication Skills inventory by interview. To analyze the data, descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson product-moment correlation were performed, using SPSS 16. Results: The mean scores of communication behaviors of midwives with parturient in delivery, admission, and postpartum stages were 92.61±10.81, 93.31±10.59, and 94.19±8.26, respectively. Between the previous delivery of parturient, with communication behavior of midwives in the stage of admiss­ion or post-partum (P=0.015) and satisfaction of pregnancy with communication behavior of midwife in labor stage (P<0.04), there was satisfactory significant. Conclusion: From the perspective of parturient women, the midwives’ communication was average. Today, the midwives’ communication skills are of optimal importance in health system development plan. Thus, implementing training programs on communication skills while utilizing modern methods and emphasizing on specific educational needs of midwives, as well as continuing to monitor their communication behaviors are recommended.
NorC, a New Efflux Pump Regulated by MgrA of Staphylococcus aureus

ABSTRACT NorC, a new efflux pump, like NorB, contributes to quinolone resistance that includes resistance to moxifloxacin and sparfloxacin in Staphylococcus aureus. norC expression, like that of norB and tet38, is negatively regulated by MgrA, and overexpression of both norC and norB contributes to the quinolone resistance phenotype of an mgrA mutant.
Uncertainty estimation of DNN classifiers

New efficient measures for estimating uncertainty of deep neural network (DNN) classifiers are proposed and successfully applied to multistream-based unsupervised adaptation of ASR systems to address uncertainty derived from noise. The proposed measure is the error from associative memory models trained on outputs of a DNN. In the present study, an attempt is made to use autoencoders for remembering the property of data. Another measure proposed is an extension of the M-measure, which computes the divergences of probability estimates spaced at specific time intervals. The extended measure results in an improved reliability by considering the latent information of phoneme duration. Experimental comparisons carried out in a multistream-based ASR paradigm demonstrates that the proposed measures yielded improvements over the multistyle trained system and system selected based on existing measures. Fusion of the proposed measures achieved almost the same performance as the oracle system selection.
Advances in autism neuroimaging research for the clinician and geneticist

This review focuses on recent advances in the in vivo study of the whole brain in idiopathic autism. The brain is abnormally large in some but not all children with autism during post‐natal development. Age‐related changes in brain volume in autism are complex and appear to be abnormal from infancy into adulthood. Diffuse differences in total and regional gray and white matter volumes are found. The volumetric abnormalities appear to follow anomalous, complex, and non‐uniform developmental curves. Diffuse abnormalities of brain chemical concentrations, neural network anatomy, brain lateralization, intra‐ and inter‐hemispheric morphologic and functional connectivity, and serotonin synthesis capacity are also found. Abnormalities of head growth are first apparent during infancy. Abnormalities of total brain volume, gray and white matter volumes, brain chemistry, serotonin synthesis, and brain electrophysiology are evident by early childhood. Currently, no method of brain imaging helps with diagnosis or treatment of idiopathic autism, but ongoing research aims to unravel the heterogeneity of autism and may provide future diagnostic tools that inform treatment. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Mechanical remodeling of normally sized mammalian cells under a gravity vector

Translocation of the dense nucleus along a gravity vector initiates mechanical remodeling of a cell, but the underlying mechanisms of cytoskeletal network and focal adhesion complex (FAC) reorganization in a mammalian cell remain unclear. We quantified the remodeling of an MC3T3‐E1 cell placed in upward‐, downward‐, or edgeon‐orientated substrate. Nucleus longitudinal translocation presents a high value in downward orientation at 24 h or in edge‐on orientation at 72 h, which is consistent with orientation‐dependent distribution of perinuclear actin stress fibers and vimentin cords. Redistribution of total FAC area and fractionized super mature adhesion number coordinates this dependence at short duration. This orientation‐dependent remodeling is associated with nucleus flattering and lamin A/C phosphorylation. Actin depolymerization or Rho‐associated protein kinase signaling inhibition abolishes the orientation dependence of nucleus translocation, whereas tubulin polymerization inhibition or vimentin disruption reserves the dependence. A biomechanical model is therefore proposed for integrating the mechanosensing of nucleus translocation with cytoskeletal remodeling and FAC reorganization induced by a gravity vector. —Zhang, C. , Zhou, L. , Zhang, F. , Lü, D. , Li, N. , Zheng, L. , Xu, Y. , Li, Z. , Sun, S. , Long, M. Mechanical remodeling of normally sized mammalian cells under a gravity vector. FASEB J. 31, 802–813 (2017). http://www.fasebj. org
Assessment of serum paraoxonase and arylesterase activity in patients with endometrial cancer.

PURPOSE OF INVESTIGATION Serum paraoxonase (PON 1) is one of the most important enzymatic antioxidants that hydrolyzes lipid peroxidation, an indicator of carcinogenic activity. The aim of this study was to compare the serum levels of paraoxonase and arylesterase activity in patients with endometrial cancer to those of healthy controls. METHODS Serum paraoxonase and arylesterase activities, total free sulphydryl (-SH) groups and lipid hydroperoxide (LOOH) levels were measured in patients with endometrial cancer (n = 20) and controls (n = 23). RESULTS Serum paraoxonase, arylesterase activities and total -SH group levels were significantly lower in patients compared to controls (p < 0.05, p < 0.05 and p < 0.001; respectively), while LOOH levels were significantly higher (p < 0.001). Among patients, serum paraoxonase and arylesterase activities were inversely correlated with LOOH levels (r = -0.680, p < 0.05; r = -0.708, p < 0.001; respectively), while these were positively correlated with the total -SH group (r = 0.526, p < 0.05; r = 0.508, p < 0.05; respectively). CONCLUSION Reduced serum PON 1 activity might contribute to an impaired antioxidant defense system which plays a critical role in carcinogenesis in patients with endometrial cancer.
Diagnosis for MRAM write disturbance fault

To help improve quality and yield of magnetic random access memory (MRAM), we propose an adaptive diagnosis algorithm (ADA) that can efficiently identify the write disturbance fault (WDF) for MRAM. The proposed test algorithm is a March-based one, i.e., it has linear time complexity and can easily be implemented with built-in self-test (BIST). However, the proposed test method can evaluate the process stability and uniformity using logical test method. We also develop a BIST circuit that supports the proposed WDF diagnosis test method. We propose the BIST scheme based on the decision write mechanism of the toggle MRAM to reduce total test time. A 1 Mb toggle MRAM prototype chip with the proposed BIST circuit has been designed and fabricated using a special 0.15 mum CMOS technology. The BIST circuit overhead is only about 0.04% with respect to the 1 Mb MRAM. The test time is reduced by about 30% as compared with the test method without using the decision write mechanism.