Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The University Matriculation Examination as a Predictor of Performance in Post University Matriculation Examination: a Model for Educational development in the 21st Century

In the development process of any nation, education occupies a key position in the scheme of things. It is the bedrock of every nation‟s economy and is an indispensable instrument for national development. In fact, that is why most Universities take as their motto: knowledge for service, knowledge for excellence, knowledge for advancement etc which can be described as a “corrective” party of government. The thrust of this paper therefore, is to examine the relative strength and effectiveness of UME as admission criteria for selection into a Nigerian University. The study adopted a correlational design. 500 pairs of scores of candidates in UME and Post UME were obtained using stratified random sampling techniques from five Faculties in University of Benin and analyzed using t-test and simple correlation co-efficient. The results of the study revealed a low and statistically significant correlation r = 0.088 between UME and PUME scores. The relationship between the scores was inverse and there was a significant difference in the scores of UME and PUME (t = 3.51, p <0.05). The study concluded that high marks in UME did not reveal the academic performance of students and that admission based on merit only from the UME scores could bring into the Universities not the best qualified students. Key words: Education, Student, Examination, Nigeria, University, Admission
Chaos transition despite linear stability.

We present a linearly stable model in two complex dimensions that can be triggered by an initial perturbation or external noise to exhibit chaotic dynamics although all linear perturbations are damped. The transition to chaos is caused by an interplay between transient linear growth and nonlinear, energy conserving mixing. The linear growth mechanism is due to the non-normality of the linearized dynamics in the vicinity of the stationary point. We consider this combined mechanism of non-normal growth and nonlinear mixing as a model for a new but often realized transition scenario from laminar flow to turbulence.
Charge accumulation effects on time transition of partial discharge activity at GIS spacer defects

The partial discharge (PD) measurements are considered as the most important tool for condition monitoring of Gas Insulated Switchgears (GISs). However, if spacer surface is involved in PD activity, charge accumulation process greatly affects the time transition of PD characteristics. This paper investigates this effect considering the defect types of delamination at the electrode/spacer interface and metallic particles adhered to the spacer surface as the most serious defects that can lead to major failure. Two different electrode configurations were built to simulate the two defect types. The PD characteristics were measured and analyzed from immediately after voltage application up to several minutes where steady state characteristics have been obtained. As a result, it was found that the generation rate of PD pulses changed considerably with time for both defect types. This tendency of PD characteristics has been discussed considering the effect of charge accumulation. Comparing these effects for negative and positive PD enabled to clarify the similarities and differences in the charge accumulation effect for both defect types which can contribute to the defect type identification in GIS. It was found that the effects of charge accumulation on the electric field strength for the delamination defect case as well as on the ionization volume for the metallic particle case were the responsible parameters for the different PD tendencies.
Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation for AV Nodal Reentry: A Technique for Rapid Transection of the Slow AV Nodal Pathway

Selective radiofrequency (RF) catheter ablation of the slow AV nodal puthway has shed new light on the anatomy and physiology of the atrioventricular junction. The recording of “slow pathway potentials” facilitates localization of the slow pathway and has led to a concept of multiple pathway components with atrial insertion sites covering a potentially broad region surrounding the coronary sinus os. The critical area for complete interruption of the slow pathway may be larger than lesion size produced by ablation at a single site, resulting in multiple RF applications with lengthy sessions and prolonged radiation exposure. Information from both old and recent literature suggests that the slow AV nodal pathway is represented by a group of fibers originating from the posteroinferior interatrial septum and coursing anterosuperiorly near the tricuspid annulus before converging upon the compact AV node. Based on this anatomical arrangement, the present study was conducted to evaluate a technique designed to transect the slow pathway by producing a linear RF lesion perpendicular to the orientation of the slow pathway within the mid‐portion of Koch's triangle. Using this technique, 30 of 30 patients with common AV nodal reentry ivere rendered noninducible using 1 to 3 RF applications. Total procedure time averaged 3.4 ± 1.1 hours and fluoroscopy time averaged 14.8 ± 4.6 minutes. As a marker of efficacy, episodic nonsustained atrial tachycardia (NSAT) during RF delivery occurred in 28 of 30 (93%) successful applications. Three patients experienced tachycardia recurrence and were successfully ablated by repeat procedure. Conduction characteristics and refractoriness of the fast pathway were unchanged in 23 of 23 patients reevaluated at a mean of 7.2 weeks postablation. Two of 30 (6%) patients experienced procedure related complications but there were no instances of AV block. We conclude that the technique of producing a linear lesion by continuous migratory RF application in the manner described safely and effectively eliminates AV nodal reentry, simplifies the procedure, and minimizes radiation exposure to the patient and the physician.
Short-term effect of volume recruitment–derecruitment manoeuvre on chest-wall motion in Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Because progressive respiratory muscle weakness leads to decreased chest-wall motion with eventual ribcage stiffening, the purpose was to compare vital capacity (VC) and contributions of chest-wall compartments before and after volume recruitment–derecruitment manoeuvres (VRDM) in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). We studied nine patients with DMD and VC lower than 30% of predicted. VRDM was performed using 15 insufflations–exsufflations of +30 to −30 cmH2O. VC and three-dimensional chest-wall motion were measured, as well as oxygen saturation, transcutaneous partial pressure of carbon dioxide and the rapid shallow breathing index (respiratory rate/tidal volume) before (baseline) and immediately and 1 hour after VRDM. VC increased significantly immediately after VRDM (108% ± 7% of baseline, p = 0.018) but returned to baseline within 1 hour, and the rapid shallow breathing index increased significantly. The non-dominant side systematically increased immediately after VRDM (p = 0.0077), and in the six patients with abnormal breathing asymmetry (difference >10% of VC) at baseline, this asymmetry was corrected immediately and/or 1 hour after VRDM. VRDM improved VC and reduced chest-wall motion asymmetry, but this beneficial effect waned rapidly with respiratory muscle fatigue, suggesting that VRDM may need to be repeated during the day to produce lasting benefits.
An experimental investigation of the effect of altered auditory feedback on the conversational speech of adults who stutter.

PURPOSE To investigate the impact on percentage of syllables stuttered of various durations of delayed auditory feedback (DAF), levels of frequency-altered feedback (FAF), and masking auditory feedback (MAF) during conversational speech. METHOD Eleven adults who stuttered produced 10-min conversational speech samples during a control condition and under 4 different combinations of DAF, FAF, and MAF. Participants also read aloud in a control condition with DAF and FAF. RESULTS A statistically significant difference was found between the NAF conversation condition and the 4 combined altered auditory feedback (AAF) conditions. No statistically significant differences in percentage of syllables stuttered were found in conversation or reading between the control conditions and the FAF/DAF or MAF conditions. The analysis of individual participants' data showed highly individual responsiveness to different conditions. CONCLUSIONS Participants' varying responses to differing AAF settings likely accounted for the failure to find group differences between conditions. These results suggest that studies that use standard DAF and FAF settings for all participants are likely to underestimate any AAF effect. It is not yet possible to predict who will benefit from AAF devices in everyday situations and the extent of those benefits.
Comparative bioavailability of two cefadroxil formulations in healthy human volunteers after a single-dose administration.

OBJECTIVE To compare the bioavailability of two cefadroxil capsule (500 mg) formulations (Cefadroxila from Eurofarma Laboratórios Ltd, Brazil, as test formulation and Cefamox from Bristol-Myers Squibb, Brazil S.A. as reference formulation) in 24 volunteers of both sexes. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study was conducted open with randomized two-period crossover design and a 1-week washout period. Plasma samples were obtained over a 12-h interval. Cefadroxil concentrations were analysed by combined reversed-phase liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS) with positive ion electrospray ionization using a selected ion monitoring method. From the cefadroxil plasma concentration versus time curves the following pharmacokinetic parameters were obtained: AUC(last), AUC(0-infinity) and C(max). RESULTS Geometric mean of Cefadroxila/Cefamox 500 mg individual percent ratio was 103.97% for AUC(last), 104.08% for AUC(0-infinity) and 95.23% for C(max). The 90% confidence intervals (CI) were 98.14-110.16%, 98.37-110.12%, and 85.59-105.96%, respectively. CONCLUSION Since the 90% CI for C(max), AUC(last) and AUC(0-infinity) were within the 80-125% interval proposed by the Food and Drug Administration, it was concluded that the Cefadroxila 500 mg capsule was bioequivalent to the Cefamox 500 mg capsule, according to both the rate and extent of absorption.
Teachers’ Characteristics as Correlates of Students’ Academic Performance among Secondary School Students in Saki-west Local Government Area of Oyo State

This study examined relationship among teachers academic qualification, teachers professional qualification, teachers content knowledge, teachers instructional quality, teachers’ evaluation procedures, teachers’ work value, teachers’ classroom attendance’ and teachers’ job satisfaction on academic performance of secondary school students in Saki-west local government area. The study adopted a descriptive research design of correlational type. The secondary school teachers in Saki township were selected using multi-stage sampling technique and 718 teachers were selected at random for the study out of 2456 teachers working in this local government. The Teacher’s characteristics scale (α = 0.86) was used as a measure of teacher’s characteristics factor. Three research questions were answered in the study. Correlation and Multiple Regression were used as tools of analysis. The eight variables (teachers academic qualification, teachers professional qualification, teachers content knowledge, teachers instructional quality, teachers’ evaluation procedures, teachers’ work value, teachers’ classroom attendance’ and teachers’ job satisfaction) when combined, accounted for 54.6% of the total variance in the academic performance. There was also significant relative contribution of the independent variables (teachers academic qualification, teachers content knowledge, teachers instructional quality, teachers’ evaluation procedures and teachers’ job satisfaction) to academic performance of the participants (F(8,710)=47.48; p DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2014. v4n6p459
Hospitalization and Alzheimer's disease: results from a community-based study.

BACKGROUND Prior studies offer conflicting findings on whether Alzheimer's disease (AD) is associated with an increased risk of hospitalization. METHODS We investigated AD and hospitalization in the Washington Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project (WHICAP), a community-based study of 2,334 elders in New York City. In 1996, an electronic medical records system was established that allows an e-mail alert to be sent to the research team whenever WHICAP subjects are admitted to Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center (CPMC), the site of hospital care for the majority of subjects. RESULTS Of the WHICAP cohort, 13.1% was admitted to CPMC in 21 months of follow-up; 17.5% of AD patients and 11.9% of unaffected subjects were admitted (p<.01). Multivariate logistic regression models showed that more advanced AD (Clinical Dementia Rating scale 3+) was a significant risk factor for hospitalization independently of age, gender, education, comorbid medical conditions, and death in the follow-up period (OR 2.3; 95% CI: 1.1, 4.6); subjects with mild or moderate AD did not show a significantly elevated risk. The prevalence of psychiatric symptoms did not differ between AD subjects who were hospitalized in the reporting period and AD subjects who were not hospitalized. Infectious disease was a more common discharge diagnosis for subjects with AD (p<.05). CONCLUSIONS In this community-based cohort, subjects with severe AD were more likely to be hospitalized than unaffected subjects. The increased use of hospital care by these AD patients appears to be specific to AD but is not a result of psychiatric morbidity or end-of-life care. Rather, a greater risk of medical complications that require hospital care, especially infections, appears to be characteristic of severe AD.
Please be an Influencer?: Contingency-Aware Influence Maximization

Most previous work on influence maximization in social networks assumes that the chosen influencers (or seed nodes) can be influenced with certainty (i.e., with no contingencies). In this paper, we focus on using influence maximization in public health domains for assisting low-resource communities, where contingencies are common. It is very difficult in these domains to ensure that the seed nodes are influenced, as influencing them entails contacting/convincing them to attend training sessions, which may not always be possible. Unfortunately, previous state-of-the-art algorithms for influence maximization are unusable in this setting. This paper tackles this challenge via the following four contributions: (i) we propose the Contingency Aware Influence Maximization problem and analyze it theoretically; (ii) we cast this problem as a Partially Observable Markov Decision Process and propose CAIMS (a novel POMDP planner) to solve it, which leverages a natural action space factorization associated with real-world social networks; and (iii) we provide extensive simulation results to compare CAIMS with existing state-of-the-art influence maximization algorithms. Finally, (iv) we provide results from a real-world feasibility trial conducted to evaluate CAIMS, in which key influencers in homeless youth social networks were influenced in order to spread awareness about HIV.
The conjunctival epithelium in dry eye subtypes: Effect of preserved and non-preserved topical treatments

Purpose. To determine the effect of topical treatments on the conjunctiva in dry eye. Methods. N = 134 dry eye subjects were diagnosed using a protocol of McMonnies dry eye symptom survey score > 14, fluorescein break up time (FBUT) < 10s and presence of rose Bengal staining. Differential diagnosis of dry eye subtypes was based on biomicroscopic signs and ocular/medical history. Superficial perilimbal bulbar conjunctival epithelial samples were collected using impression cytology. The nucleo-cytoplasmic ratio (N/C), goblet cell density (GCD) and expression of monoclonal antibodies HLA DR and CD23 were determined. The ocular surface characteristics of untreated subjects, those receiving preserved dry eye treatments and those receiving non-preserved treatments were compared with each other and with controls. Ocular surface characteristics of dry eye subtypes were also examined. Results. An increase in N/C (p = 0.011), reduction in GCD (p = 0.0001) and increase in expression of HLA DR (p = 0.0001) and CD23 (p = 0.0001) were detected in the untreated group compared to controls. No significant differences were found between the group receiving non-preserved dry eye treatments and untreated dry eye group. The group receiving preserved treatments had a reduced GCD (p = 0.0003) and increased expression of HLA DR (p = 0.0003) and CD23 (p = 0.0001) compared to the group receiving non-preserved treatments. Dry eye subtype specific differences in HLA DR and CD23 expression were noted. Conclusions. The conjunctival inflammation and reduced goblet cell density of dry eye is exacerbated by use of preserved topical agents, and is not significantly improved by use of non-preserved artificial tear supplements alone. Therapeutic strategies for dry eye should aim to increase goblet cell density and control ocular surface inflammation.
Nuclear Accumulation of Influenza Viral RNA Transcripts and the Effects of Cycloheximide, Actinomycin D, and α-Amanitin

The use of virus-specific 32P-labeled complementary DNA and 125I-labeled virion RNA as hybridization probes has allowed us to quantitate the number of molecules of complementary RNA (cRNA) and progeny virion RNA in MDCK cells infected with influenza virus. We compared the distribution of cRNA between the nucleus and the cytoplasm in cycloheximide-treated cells to that found in untreated cells, beginning 1 h after infection. A greater percentage of the total cRNA was detected in the nucleus of the drug-treated cells at all times investigated. For the first 2 h after infection about 50% of the cRNA synthesized in the cycloheximide-treated cells was found in the nucleus. These nuclear cRNA molecules were characterized and shown to be polyadenylated transcripts of each of the genome virion RNA segments. Viral cRNA synthesis was not completely inhibited by the addition of actinomycin D at the beginning of infection, with or without the concomitant addition of cycloheximide. A large fraction (about 90%) of these cRNA sequences were detected in the nucleus. Characterization of these nuclear cRNA molecules showed that they contained polyadenylic acid and represented transcripts of both those segments coding for proteins synthesized predominantly early after infection (“early” proteins) and those virion RNA segments coding for “late” proteins. Also, in vitro translation of these cRNA molecules showed that they were functional virus mRNA's. In contrast to actinomycin D, α-amanitin completely inhibited cRNA synthesis when added at the beginning of infection, and addition of this drug after 1.5 h had no effect on further cRNA synthesis.
Study of serum lipids in leprosy.

Fifty fresh and untreated patients of leprosy constituted the study group. Fifty, age and sex matched healthy individuals formed the controls. Ridly and Jopling system of classification was used in the study. Majority i.e. 21 cases were of BT group, 12 of BB, 7 of BL, 9 of LL and one case was of TT leprosy. The serum triglyceride level was lower than normal in TT, showed no alteration in BT or BB and was insignificantly increased in bL and LL patients. The total cholesterol was lower than normal in TT, showed no alteration in BT or BB and was insignificantly increased in Bland LL patients. The total cholesterol was lower than normal in TT, whereas in BT, BB, BL and LL groups the levels were statistically decreased. The HDL cholesterol was within normal range in TT, significantly decreased in BT and LL patients, showed no significant alteration in BB and was insignificantly decreased in BL group. The LDL cholesterol in TT was low but was not so low statistically when compared with the controls, whereas in BT, BB, BL and LL groups the levels were statistically decreased. The VLDL cholesterol was within normal range in TT and BT, was raised insignificantly in 3 of 12 cases of BB, was within normal range in BL and in LL leprosy it was raised in one out of 9 cases. In the absence of any derangement of liver function tests, it can be concluded that leprosy per se leads to alterations in lipid metabolism. However, no correlation could be established between the group/type of leprosy, bacterial indices and levels of different lipid fractions in the present study.
Almanac 2011: valvular heart disease. The national society journals present selected research that has driven recent advances in clinical cardiology

With an ageing population and improved diagnostic modalities, the number of patients with valvular heart disease is dramatically increasing. Considering projected changes in the age distribution, a further accentuation of this trend can be expected and this may indeed be considered “the next cardiac epidemic”. 1 Obviously, we are faced with more complex decisions in patients with advanced age and increasing comorbidities. Advances in percutaneous valve interventional techniques have entered into routine practice. At the same time, new data on the natural history of disease and the identification of predictors of outcome permit improvement in the decision-making process and management of patients with valvular heart disease. ### Disease progression In a population-based study which followed up 953 subjects for 10 years, a high prevalence of calcific aortic valve disease (28%) associated with long-term exposure to raised cholesterol levels and active smoking was described.2 Intraleaflet haemorrhage (detected by immunohistochemistry at the moment of aortic valve replacement surgery) was frequently present in the valve leaflets of degenerative aortic stenosis (AS) and was associated with rapid progression of AS.3 In a small study of 164 patients with rheumatic AS (of whom 30 were treated with a statin), progression of AS was slower in patients receiving statins than in untreated patients (annual change of peak aortic velocity: 0.05±0.07 m/s/year vs 0.12±0.11 m/s/year, p=0.001). 4 On the other hand in the ASTRONOMER trial, a randomised double-blind study, that allocated 269 patients to rosuvastatin 40 mg daily or to placebo, statin treatment did not reduce progression of the disease in patients with AS.5 ### Predictors of outcome Based on the aortic jet velocity and the B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) level, a risk score predicting outcome in patients with moderate-to-severe asymptomatic AS was derived and validated in an independent cohort: score=(peak velocity (m/s) × 2)+(ln of BNP × 1.5)+1.5 (if female sex). Event-free survival after …
Intramuscular versus Subcutaneous Administration of Iron Dextran in Suckling Piglets

Svoboda M. , J. Drabek: Intramuscular versus Subcutaneous Administration of Iron Dextran in Suckling Piglets. Acta Vet. Brno 2007, 76: S11-S15. The aim of the study was to compare the development of red blood cell indices after subcutaneous versus intramuscular administration of iron dextran to suckling piglets during early postnatal period. The piglets in group I (n = 17) were injected subcutaneously (into groin) with 200 mg Fe 3+ as iron dextran on day 3 of life. In group II (n = 16), the piglets received intramuscular injection (into gluteal muscles) of 200 mg Fe 3+ as iron dextran on day 3 of life. In group III (n = 10), the piglets did not receive any iron till the age of 3 days. The blood was taken and analyzed (Hb, PCV, RBC, MCV, MCH, MCHC, Fe) on days 3, 7, 14, 21, 28 and 35. Haematological indices of piglets in group III were characteristic for hypochromic anaemia. Anaemia in group III had a detrimental effect on the growth rate of piglets. The development of red blood cell indices and iron concentration in blood plasma in subcutaneously treated piglets did not differ significantly from that of intramuscularlytreated group. Both treatments prevented development of anaemia. Haemoglobin, packed cell volume, anaemia, neonatal