Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
[Clinical analysis of benign paroxysmal positional vertigowith multiple canal involvement].

Objective:To compare the clinical features and outcomes between patients with multi-canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo(BPPV) and single-canal BPPV.Method:Five-hundred and seventy-eight patients with BPPV were retrospectively analyzed and divided into three groups: single-canal BPPV(526 cases),multi-canal BPPV in unilateral ear(11 cases) and multi-canal BPPV in both ears(41 cases). All patients were diagnosed by using the Dix-Hallpike test or roll test and treated with the canalith repositioning procedure.The following factors,including aetiology,age,sex,response to treatment and recurrence,were compared among the three groups.Results:①Greater percentage of idiopathic cases were identified in single-canal(66.2%:48.2%,P<0.01). Traumatic origin and prior history of BPPV were more common in bilateral multi-canal(41.6%:9.2%,P<0.05)and unilateral multi-canal (36.2%:0,P<0.01)respectively. ②The recurrence rate was higher in multi-canal BPPV(40.4%:14.3%,P<0.01). Conclusion:Idiopathic BPPV is more common in single-canal BPPV.Potential causes may be identified in multi-canal BPPV.However,over 90% of the patients with single-canal and multi-canal BPPV are cured.
Type D Personality, Social Support, and Depression Among Ethnic Chinese Coronary Artery Disease Patients Undergoing a Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: An Exploratory Study

This study investigated the relationships between Type D personality, depression, and social support among ethnic Chinese coronary artery disease (CAD) patients undergoing percutaneous coronary interventions. Type D personality is associated with CAD, and may increase patients’ depression and mortality rate. However, very few studies have explored the relationships between depression and social support among ethnic Chinese Type D CAD patients. A longitudinal, repeated-measures design was used; 105 Taiwanese CAD patients undergoing a percutaneous coronary intervention were recruited between January and December 2015. A demographic questionnaire, Type D Scale, ENRICHD Social Support Inventory, and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 were completed by 102 participants (mean age = 64.42, SD = 13.67 years) at hospitalization, and at the second week and third month after discharge. Data were analyzed using t tests and a generalized estimating equation. Results indicated that 46.7% of participants who had Type D personality had lower social support and higher depression than did the remaining (non-Type D) participants. At two weeks after discharge, the improvement in social support was higher among Type D patients than non-Type D participants; the same was true for depression at two weeks and three months after discharge each. Type D Taiwanese CAD patients showed lower perceived social support and higher depression during hospitalization than did non-Type D participants. Furthermore, the more social support patients received at home, the lower was their depression. Health-care providers should provide continuous mental health care, conduct early screening of mental health issues, and ensure that patients receive sufficient social support to reduce depression.
Unique Contribution of Haptoglobin and Haptoglobin Genotype in Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Survivors of cerebral aneurysm rupture are at risk for significant morbidity and neurological deficits. Much of this is related to the effects of blood in the subarachnoid space which induces an inflammatory cascade with numerous downstream consequences. Recent clinical trials have not been able to reduce the toxic effects of free hemoglobin or improve clinical outcome. One reason for this may be the inability to identify patients at high risk for neurologic decline. Recently, haptoglobin genotype has been identified as a pertinent factor in diabetes, sickle cell, and cardiovascular disease, with the Hp 2-2 genotype contributing to increased complications. Haptoglobin is a protein synthesized by the liver that binds free hemoglobin following red blood cell lysis, and in doing so, prevents hemoglobin induced toxicity and facilitates clearance. Clinical studies in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage indicate that Hp 2-2 patients may be a high-risk group for hemorrhage related complications and poor outcome. We review the relevance of haptoglobin in subarachnoid hemorrhage and discuss the effects of genotype and expression levels on the known mechanisms of early brain injury (EBI) and cerebral ischemia after aneurysm rupture. A better understanding of haptoglobin and its role in preventing hemoglobin related toxicity should lead to novel therapeutic avenues.
Supervisors and subordinates relationship impact on job satisfaction and efficiency : The case of obstetric clinics in Greece

The purpose of this research is to investigate supervisors and subordinates relationship factors and their impact on job satisfaction and employee performance. The research examines private and public obstetric clinics through a sample of 100 subordinates and 30 supervisors, using a structured questionnaire based on a five-point Likert scale. The research results show that the main factor that affects job satisfaction and employee performance is the relationship developed between supervisors and subordinates. Furthermore, the research results show that recognition of the work and open communication with the supervisor affect positively subordinates’ psychology. It is also proved that team spirit and equal treatment between the subordinates ultimately lead in the development of subordinates and the success of the supervisors. Finally, the importance of the factors of honesty and trust between supervisors and subordinates is confirmed
Importance of disturbance history on net primary productivity in the world's most productive forests and implications for the global carbon cycle

Analysis of growth and biomass turnover in natural forests of Eucalyptus regnans, the world's tallest angiosperm, reveals it is also the world's most productive forest type, with fire disturbance an important mediator of net primary productivity (NPP). A comprehensive empirical database was used to calculate the averaged temporal pattern of NPP from regeneration to 250 years age. NPP peaks at 23.1 ± 3.8 (95% interquantile range) Mg C ha−1 year−1 at age 14 years, and declines gradually to about 9.2 ± 0.8 Mg C ha−1 year−1 at 130 years, with an average NPP over 250 years of 11.4 ± 1.1 Mg C ha−1 year−1, a value similar to the most productive temperate and tropical forests around the world. We then applied the age‐class distribution of E. regnans resulting from relatively recent historical fires to estimate current NPP for the forest estate. Values of NPP were 40% higher (13 Mg C ha−1 year−1) than if forests were assumed to be at maturity (9.2 Mg C ha−1 year−1). The empirically derived NPP time series for the E. regnans estate was then compared against predictions from 21 global circulation models, showing that none of them had the capacity to simulate a post‐disturbance peak in NPP, as found in E. regnans. The potential importance of disturbance impacts on NPP was further tested by applying a similar approach to the temperate forests of conterminous United States and of China. Allowing for the effects of disturbance, NPP summed across both regions was on average 11% (or 194 Tg C/year) greater than if all forests were assumed to be in a mature state. The results illustrate the importance of accounting for past disturbance history and growth stage when estimating forest primary productivity, with implications for carbon balance modelling at local to global scales.
Conversational Memory Network for Emotion Recognition in Dyadic Dialogue Videos

Emotion recognition in conversations is crucial for the development of empathetic machines. Present methods mostly ignore the role of inter-speaker dependency relations while classifying emotions in conversations. In this paper, we address recognizing utterance-level emotions in dyadic conversational videos. We propose a deep neural framework, termed Conversational Memory Network (CMN), which leverages contextual information from the conversation history. In particular, CMN uses multimodal approach comprising audio, visual and textual features with gated recurrent units to model past utterances of each speaker into memories. These memories are then merged using attention-based hops to capture inter-speaker dependencies. Experiments show a significant improvement of 3 − 4% in accuracy over the state of the art.
Effectiveness of Different Mordants and Concentrations on the Dyeing Properties of Jackfruit (Atrocarpus heterophyllus) Bark on Silk

A study was carried out to assess the effect of different mordants and concentrations on the colouring characteristics of jackfruit bark dye on silk. Six types of mordants, viz. citric acid, alum, ferrous sulphate, aluminum sulphate, copper sulphate and potassium dichromate (K2Cr2O7) were used, each at 1, 2 and 3% of weight of the fabric (o.w.f.). The material liquor ratio was maintained at 1:40. The Hunterlab colour scale was used to analyse the variations in colour and intensities. The results indicated that the maximum change in colour with respect to the undyed silk fabrics was for 2% alum treated samples with the ΔE* value of 27.08±0.29. However, the values were not significantly different from the samples treated with FeSO4 mordant at 2% and 3% levels, CuSO4 mordant at 2% level and alum at 3% level. The change in chroma (ΔC*) value was maximum for the alum (2%) mordant (24.44±0.2). The analysis on colour fastness with respect to washing, rubbing and sunlight also indicated that all mordants and concentrations used in the study excepting 1% alum offered adequate fastness characteristics. The unmordanted samples exhibited moderate fastness. In view of the colour fastness with respect to washing, rubbing and exposure to light, the jackfruit bark dye can be applied on silk with any of the selected mordants at 3% level.
Associations between sleep duration, sleep quality and diabetic retinopathy

Background Abnormal durations of sleep have been associated with risk of diabetes. However, it is not clear if sleep duration is associated with diabetic retinopathy (DR). Methods In a cross-sectional study, we included 1,231 (Malay, n = 395; Indian, n = 836) adults (mean age 64.4 ± 9.0 years, 50.4% female) with diabetes from the second visit of two independent population-based cohort studies (2011–15) in Singapore. Self-reported habitual sleep duration was categorized as short (<6 h), normal (6≤ h <8), and long (≥8 h). Questionnaires were administered to detect risk of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), excessive daytime sleepiness, and insomnia, all of which may indicate poor quality of sleep. The associations between sleep-related characteristics with moderate DR and vision-threatening DR (VTDR) were analysed using logistic regression models adjusted for potential confounders. Results Prevalence of moderate DR and VTDR in the study population were 10.5% and 6.3% respectively. The mean duration of sleep was 6.4 ± 1.5 h. Compared to normal sleep duration, both short and long sleep durations were associated with moderate DR with multivariable odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of 1.73 (1.03–2.89) and 2.17 (1.28–3.66) respectively. Long sleep duration (2.37 [1.16–4.89]), high risk of OSA (2.24 [1.09–4.75]), and excessive daytime sleepiness (3.27 [1.02–10.30]) were separately associated with VTDR. Conclusion Sleep duration had a U-shaped association with moderate DR; long sleep duration, excessive daytime sleepiness and high risk of OSA were positively associated with VTDR.
Mortality and Low Serum Bicarbonate Level in Patients on Hemodiafiltration versus Peritoneal Dialysis

Mortality is substantially elevated in patients on chronic kidney disease in comparison to general population. In this study, we observed the mortality rate in relation to risk factors including low serum bicarbonate level, coronary artery disease (CAD), and dialysis modality in patients on dialysis during a median follow-up time of 60 months. We studied 96 dialysis patients, 62 males and 34 females, on mean age 62.1 ± 14.27 years old. The treatment modalities which were applied were predilution hemodiafiltration (HDF, n = 76), and peritoneal dialysis (PD, n = 20). We performed Kaplan–Meier curves and a Cox-regression analysis to investigate significant risk factors for mortality including hypertension, diabetes mellitus, smoking, bone disease defined by intact-parathormone, serum albumin, serum bicarbonate levels < or >22 mEq/L, dialysis modality, and the existence of CAD. Cox-regression analysis revealed a significant impact of serum bicarbonate levels <22 mEq/L on mortality in combination to dialysis modality and CAD. The prevalence of CAD on mortality was found significant (log-rank = 5.507, P = 0.02). Furthermore, the impact of dialysis modality on mortality was shown significant (log rank = 22.4, P = 0.001), noting that during the first 28–30 months from the treatment initiation, the survival was better for PD; but then, the mortality was significantly increased comparatively to HDF. Uncorrected metabolic acidosis and CAD were shown as independent significant predictors for mortality in patients on renal replacement therapy. PD may provide worse survival after 2–2.5 years of treatment initiation than HDF.
Effects of postural taping on pain, function and quality of life following osteoporotic vertebral fractures—A feasibility trial

OBJECTIVE Osteoporotic vertebral fractures (OVFs) are common and present a significant burden to patients and healthcare services. Poor posture can increase vertebral pressure, pain and the risk of further fractures. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of postural taping on pain, function and quality of life when used in addition to usual care. METHODS A feasibility randomized, controlled trial was carried out in men and women with at least one clinically diagnosed painful OVF. Participants were randomly allocated to use an adhesive postural taping device at home for 4 weeks or to continue with usual care. Outcomes assessed at baseline and 4 weeks included pain at rest and on movement (visual analogue scales [VASs]), and function and quality of life (Quality of Life Questionnaire of the European Foundation for Osteoporosis [QUALEFFO]). Health resource use and acceptability were explored using a specifically designed questionnaire. RESULTS Twenty-four participants completed the trial (taping, n = 13; control, n = 11). Groups were comparable in age, although the control group contained more men (n = 3 versus n = 0) and scored slightly lower on most outcome measures at baseline. Descriptive analysis favoured the taping group for most outcome measures. Effect sizes were small to medium (0.37, 0.45 and 0.66 for VAS rest, VAS movement and QUALEFFO, respectively). CONCLUSIONS The taping device demonstrated potential to improve pain and function. However, the findings need to be replicated in an appropriately powered study. The study procedures were largely acceptable. A more extensive pilot trial is recommended prior to a definitive trial.
Involvement of the Bufodienolides in the Pathogenesis and Potential Therapy of Preeclampsia, the Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and Traumatic Brain Injury

The purpose of this review is to provide detailed information on the evidence for marinobufagenin (MBG) as a predictive and causative factor in preeclampsia(PE), the acute respiratory distress syndrome(ARDS) and traumatic brain injury (TBI). In addition, evidence is provided that resibufogenin (RBG),the antagonist of MBG is effective in the treatment of all three diseases. Results from experiments conducted on animal models and in human subjects indicate that patients with PE, ARDS and TBI have increased urinary and serum MBG levels. In PE patients, MBG is elevated in the early stages of pregnancy. In ARDS, MBG was elevated in serum samples of hyperoxic rats. MBG levels were also elevated in concussed athletes and in rat studies in which TBI was induced. In the animal models, all three disease processes were prevented/treated by the administration of RBG. Human trials of MBG as a predictor of PE, ARDS and TBI are underway as are studies of RBG as a therapy with respect to its usefulness and safety. Early detection of PE will significantly reduce its effects on pregnancy. ARDS, which has a high mortality rate, would benefit from studies on employing RBG. TBI patients can be diagnosed much more quickly than currently possible utilizing MBG as an early indicator. Furthermore, RBG may serve as a therapy.
Long‐Term and Recent Weight Change Are Associated With Reduced Peripheral Bone Density, Deficits in Bone Microarchitecture, and Decreased Bone Strength: The Framingham Osteoporosis Study

Weight loss in older adults is associated with increased bone loss and fracture. Little is known about the potential impact of weight loss on cortical and trabecular bone density, microarchitecture, and strength. In this study, participants were members of the Framingham Offspring Cohort (769 women, 595 men; mean age 70 ± 8 years), who underwent high‐resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR‐pQCT) scanning at the tibia and radius in 2012 to 2016. Weight measurements taken every 4 to 6 years were used to assess recent weight change over 6 years and long‐term change over 40 years. General linear models, adjusting for age, sex, height, smoking, and diabetes, were used to evaluate the association between HR‐pQCT indices and relative long‐term and recent weight change. We found that long‐term and recent weight loss were associated with lower cortical density and thickness, higher cortical porosity, and lower trabecular density and number. Associations were stronger for the tibia than radius. Failure load was lower in those individuals with long‐term but not short‐term weight loss. Deterioration in both cortical and trabecular indices, especially at the weight‐bearing skeleton, characterizes bone fragility associated with long‐term and recent weight loss in older adults. © 2018 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
Knowledge and Practice of Exclusive Breastfeeding Among Mothers Seen at the University of PortHarcourt Teaching Hospital

Exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life is a natural, cost effective and feasible intervention that promotes child survival. Exclusive breastfeeding has been promoted severally but its practice has remained poor in Nigeria. This study aims to determine the knowledge and practice of exclusive breastfeeding among mothers who bring their children to the department of Paediatrics University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital. This was a descriptive cross-sectional hospital based study carried out from January 2012 to December 2013. A total of three hundred mothers presenting with their children for treatment at the Department of Paediatrics outpatient clinics, emergency and children medical wards were consecutively recruited into the study. Data on demographics, marital status, socioeconomic characteristics, knowledge and practice of breastfeeding were obtained using a structured self-administered questionnaire. The respondents were aged between 18 and 55years with a mean age of 31.59+6.6years. Most of the women were between 26-35years, majority (39%) were aged 25-30years and majority(89.3%) were married. Thirteen percent had no formal education while majority (63.8%) had tertiary education. Ninety eight percent of the respondents had heard about EBF. Knowledge of the correct meaning of EBF was 91.3% while awareness of the benefits of EBF was 69.3%. Thirty five (11.7%) practiced EBF for the first 6months. More than half (57.7%) of the respondents initiated breastfeeding within 1hour of delivery while 24.7% did so after 1hour but within 24hours of delivery. One hundred and twenty seven (42.3%) of the mothers had given prelacteal feeds to their babies. Of those who gave prelacteal feeds, 8.6% gave plain water, 6.3% glucose water, and 0.3% infant formula and herbs. In conclusion, the practice of exclusive breastfeeding in this study is very low and therefore there is an urgent need to scale up programmes that will promote exclusive breastfeeding in our region.
Efficient GPU-Based Query Processing with Pruned List Caching in Search Engines

There are two inherent obstacles to effectively using Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) for query processing in search engines: (a) the highly restricted GPU memory space, and (b) the CPU-GPU transfer latency. Previously, Ao et al. presented a GPU method for lists intersection, an essential component in AND-based query processing. However, this work assumes the whole inverted index can be stored in GPU memory and does not address document ranking. In this paper, we describe and analyze a GPU query processing method which incorporates both lists intersection and top-k ranking. We introduce a parameterized pruned posting list GPU caching method where the parameter determines how much GPU memory is used for caching. This method allows list caching for large inverted indexes using the limited GPU memory, thereby making a qualitative improvement over previous work. We also give a mathematical model which can identify an approximately optimal choice of the parameter. Experimental results indicate that this GPU approach under the pruned list caching policy achieves better query throughput than its CPU counterpart, even when the inverted index size is much larger than the GPU memory space.
Glaubwürdigkeit in der sozialen Kommunikation

Was macht Menschen glaubwurdig? Die Frage stellt sich insbesondere fur Personen, die wir nicht von Angesicht zu Angesicht, sondern nur durch die Medien "kennen". Das Buch zeigt auf, welche Kriterien fur eine Einschatzung der Glaubwurdigkeit herangezogen werden und erlautert am Beispiel politischer Skandale, auf welche Weise die Darstellung in den Medien dazu beitragt, die Glaubwurdigkeit von Politikern zu stutzen oder zu untergraben.
Specialized Subpopulations of Deep-Layer Pyramidal Neurons in the Neocortex: Bridging Cellular Properties to Functional Consequences

Neocortical pyramidal neurons with somata in layers 5 and 6 are among the most visually striking and enigmatic neurons in the brain. These deep-layer pyramidal neurons (DLPNs) integrate a plethora of cortical and extracortical synaptic inputs along their impressive dendritic arbors. The pattern of cortical output to both local and long-distance targets is sculpted by the unique physiological properties of specific DLPN subpopulations. Here we revisit two broad DLPN subpopulations: those that send their axons within the telencephalon (intratelencephalic neurons) and those that project to additional target areas outside the telencephalon (extratelencephalic neurons). While neuroscientists across many subdisciplines have characterized the intrinsic and synaptic physiological properties of DLPN subpopulations, our increasing ability to selectively target and manipulate these output neuron subtypes advances our understanding of their distinct functional contributions. This Viewpoints article summarizes our current knowledge about DLPNs and highlights recent work elucidating the functional differences between DLPN subpopulations.