Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Morphological classification of patients with sleep obstructive disturbances

It has been suggested that enlarged values of morphological measurements manifesting obesity intensify the risk of sleep disturbances. The main goal of this work was to find a set of predictor morphometric variables that best distinguish between the mutually exclusive groups of interest, the well and the ill – i.e., those who suffer from obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) syndrome, and healthy patients. Somatic measurements of 96 males were taken. To analyze the dependencies between the degree of intensity of the studied pathology (oxygen desaturation index) and the values of the somatic measurements, the discriminant function analysis was applied. The use of this method allowed obtaining a set of sleep obstructive disturbance predictors. The correctness of classification into the group of healthy individuals was estimated at 81.4%, while correctness of classification into the group of OSA was estimated at 91.3%. The results showed that somatic measurements could be used as a preliminary index of individuals requiring further examination.
High prevalence of human papillomavirus infection in Eastern European and West African women immigrants in South Italy

Tornesello ML, Cassese R, de Rosa N, Buonaguro L, Masucci A, Vallefuoco G, Palmieri S, Schiavone V, Piccoli R, Buonaguro FM. High prevalence of human papillomavirus infection in Eastern European and West African women immigrants in South Italy. APMIS 2011; 119: 701–09.
Major Depressive Disorder with Anger Attacks and Cardiovascular Risk Factors

Objective: Depression and anger have been separately associated with cardiovascular risk factors. We investigated if major depressive disorder (MDD) with concomitant anger attacks was associated with cardiovascular risk factors. Method: We measured total serum cholesterol, glycemia, resting blood pressure, and smoking parameters in 333 (52.9% women) MDD non-psychotic outpatients, mean age of 39.4 years. MDD was diagnosed with the Structured Clinical Interview (SC1D) in accordance with the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition, Revised (DSM-III-R). The presence of anger attacks was established with the Massachusetts General Hospital Anger Attacks Questionnaire. Results: In a logistic regression analysis, anger attacks were independently associated with cholesterol levels ≥ 200mg/dL (odds ratio [OR], 2.16; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.18–3.94) and years of smoking >11 (OR, 2.59; 95%CI, 1.32–5.04). Conclusions: MDD with anger attacks was significantly associated with increased cholesterol levels and years of smoking.
Evaluation of pulmonary function in patients following on and off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate and compare the pulmonary function in patients following on- and off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). METHOD: Thirty patients (mean age 56.76 ± 10.20 years) were allocated to two groups, according to the use or not of cardiopulmonary bypasses: group A (n=15) off-pump and group B (n=15) on-pump, with all patients undergoing pre- and post-operative evaluation of the pulmonary function as well as arterial blood gases analysis. Forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume at 1 second (FEV1) were recorded in the preoperative period, and on the first, third and fifth postoperative days. Blood gases were evaluated in the preoperative period and on the first postoperative day. RESULTS: In both groups, significant falls in the FVC and FEV1 were detected up to the fifth postoperative day (p<0.05). When both groups were compared, the decreases in FCV and VEF1 were higher in group B (p<0.05). PaO2 values and the PaO2/FiO2 ratio presented significant drops on the first postoperative day in both groups, however the fall was higher in group B (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Patients who undergo CABG, regardless of the use of CPB, display a significant reduction in the postoperative pulmonary function. However, patients who undergo off-pump CABG have a better preservation of the lung function compared to on-pump CABG.
Testing the Correlations between Corporate Giving, Performance and Company Value

The paper seeks to identify the relationship between the charitable contributions, performance, and market value of Romanian listed companies. To achieve the objective, a panel data analysis was conducted on a group of companies listed at Bucharest Stock Exchange in the period 2011 to 2016, which registered profit for the entire period. The empirical analysis points out, using a logistic regression, which financial and non-financial indicators contribute to the decisions of the companies to make the charitable contributions. It also tests the impact of those indicators and corporate giving activities like Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities on company value, represented by Tobin’s Q Ratio and on company performance, expressed by Return on Equity (ROE). The results show that there is a positive correlation between the charitable contributions, performance, and market value of the Romanian listed companies.
Extent of Resection in Temporal Lobectomy for Epilepsy. II. Memory Changes and Neurologic Complications

Summary: We present correlations of extent of temporal lobectomy for intractable epilepsy with postoperative memory changes (20 cases) and abnormalities of visual field and neurologic examination (45 cases). Postoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the coronal plane was used to quantify anteroposterior extent of resection of various quadrants of the temporal lobe, using a 20‐compartment model of that structure. The Wechsler Memory Scale‐Revised (WMS‐R) was administered pre‐operatively and postoperatively. Postoperative decrease in percentage of retention of verbal material correlated with extent of medial resection of left temporal lobe, whereas decrease in percentage of retention of visual material correlated with extent of medial resection of right temporal lobe. These correlations approached but did not reach statistical significance. Extent of resection correlated significantly with the presence of visual field defect on perimetry testing but not with severity, denseness, or congruity of the defect. There was no correlation between postoperative dysphasia and extent of resection in any quadrant. Assessment of extent of resection after temporal lobectomy allows a rational interpretation of postoperative neurologic deficits in light of functional anatomy of the temporal lobe.
High Variability of Iron Status in Adolescent during Pregnancy in Côte d’Ivoire

Iron metabolism in adolescents during pregnancy is degraded in the world. And yet, very few studies in Cote d'Ivoire are devoted to this public health concern. This study aims to evaluate and characterize possible changes in iron metabolism in adolescents during pregnancy. Our study involved 112 adolescents aged 15 to 19 in consultation in urban community health centers of Abidjan (Cote d'Ivoire). In each adolescent, a blood sample was taken at bend of the elbow in morning on an empty stomach. These blood samples were collected in tubes with anticoagulant (EDTA) and dry tubes. The haematological and biochemical parameters were determined to assess iron status of adolescent in the three trimesters of pregnancy. Findings of study showed that iron stores and all evaluation parameters of iron metabolism were altered in adolescents during pregnancy. Haematological parameters except for MCH and MCHC and serum iron, saturation coefficient of transferrin and serum ferritin were decreased in the third trimester of pregnancy. Conversely, serum transferrin and total iron bindin capacity were increased at this same trimester of pregnancy. Anaemia prevalence of 77.7% among study subjects was observed in third trimester of pregnancy. Moreover, at this stage of pregnancy, no adolescent has indicated normal biological parameter of iron metabolism. In this sense, observed components of iron status were, iron deficiency, iron deficiency anaemia, inflammatory anaemia and inflammatory anaemia associated with iron deficiency. Iron deficiency anaemia is most prevalent among adolescents with 76.8% in the third trimester of pregnancy. Iron metabolism in adolescents of Abidjan is highly altered. This degradation is more significant in third trimester of pregnancy.
Unimodal and Bimodal Backchannels in Conversational English

This paper presents differences in use of verbal ((oh) yeah, (mh)mh, okay . ) and visual backchannels (head nods, shakes, tilts), e.g. unimodal backchannels, as well as bimodal backchannels that combine a verbal token and a head movement in conversational English. We analyze the participants’ gaze-pattern before the production of a BC but also during and immediately after its delivery. We also analyze their placement regarding the main speaker’s turn and within the discourse topic. Lastly, we discuss their functions. Our findings reveal that each BC type shows a different picture from the other two both in terms of where they occur within the main speaker’s turn and what their functions are. We however do not confirm previous observations regarding the constraints on their occurrence within a discourse topic.
Acute Ataxia in Childhood

We categorized the causes of acute ataxia in the pediatric population—referred to the Division of Neurology—at a large, urban pediatric medical center. Of the 120 cases identified over the past 11 years, post-infectious cerebellar ataxia was the most commonly diagnosed (59%), followed by drug intoxication, opsoclonus-myoclonus ataxia syndrome, episodic ataxia, acute cerebellitis, cerebellar stroke, ADEM, meningitis, cerebral vein thrombosis, Leigh’s disease, Miller-Fisher syndrome, and concussion. Among the patients with post-infectious cerebellar ataxia, 85% were 1–6 years old and all had a history of antecedent viral illness. CSF pleocytosis was present in 40% of patients; all had normal brain MRIs. The majority (91%) recovered within 30 days. We conclude that post-infectious cerebellar ataxia remains the most common cause of acute ataxia in childhood and that it carries a good prognosis. We also differentiate acute post-infectious cerebellar ataxia from other causes with similar presentations.
The broader language phenotype of autism: a comparison with specific language impairment.

BACKGROUND Some individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) experience linguistic difficulties similar to those found in individuals with specific language impairment (SLI). Whether these behaviours are indicative of a common underlying genetic cause or a superficial similarity is unclear. METHODS Standardised language assessments were administered to three participant groups: parents of children with ASD (Par-A), parents of children with specific language/literacy impairment (Par-L) and parents of typically developing children (Par-T) (n = 30, in each group). Additionally, the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) was used to assess autism-like tendencies, in particular, social language use. RESULTS The Par-A group performed better than the Par-L group (and identical to the Par-T group) on all language tests. Conversely, the Par-A group was characterised by higher levels of pragmatic difficulties than the other two groups, as measured by the communication subscale of the AQ. CONCLUSIONS No evidence was found for a shared phenotype in parents of children with ASD and SLI. A model is presented describing the relation between SLI and ASD.
The automatic acquisition of knowledge about discourse connectives

This thesis considers the automatic acquisition of knowledge about discourse connectives. It focuses in particular on their semantic properties, and on the relationships that hold between them. There is a considerable body of theoretical and empirical work on discourse connectives. For example, Knott (1996) motivates a taxonomy of discourse connectives based on relationships between them, such as HYPONYMY and EXCLUSIVE, which are defined in terms of substitution tests. Such work requires either great theoretical insight or manual analysis of large quantities of data. As a result, to date no manual classification of English discourse connectives has achieved complete coverage. For example, Knott gives relationships between only about 18% of pairs obtained from a list of 350 discourse connectives. This thesis explores the possibility of classifying discourse connectives automatically, based on their distributions in texts. This thesis demonstrates that state-of-the-art techniques in lexical acquisition can successfully be applied to acquiring information about discourse connectives. Central to this thesis is the hypothesis that distributional similarity correlates positively with semantic similarity. Support for this hypothesis has previously been found for word classes such as nouns and verbs (Miller and Charles, 1991; Resnik and Diab, 2000, for example), but there has been little exploration of the degree to which it also holds for discourse connectives. We investigate the hypothesis through a number of machine learning experiments. These experiments all use unsupervised learning techniques, in the sense that they do not require any manually annotated data, although they do make use of an automatic parser. First, we show that a range of semantic properties of discourse connectives, such as polarity and veridicality (whether or not the semantics of a connective involves some underlying negation, and whether the connective implies the truth of its arguments, respectively), can be acquired automatically with a high degree of accuracy. Second, we consider the tasks of predicting the similarity and substitutability of pairs of discourse connectives. To assist in this, we introduce a novel information theoretic function based on variance that, in combination with distributional similarity, is useful for learning such relationships. Third, we attempt to automatically construct taxonomies of discourse connectives capturing substitutability relationships. We introduce a probability model of taxonomies, and show that this can improve accuracy on learning substitutability relationships. Finally, we develop an algorithm for automatically constructing or extending such taxonomies which uses beam search to help find the optimal taxonomy.
Risk Factors for Postpartum Depressive Symptoms in Low-Income Women With Very Low-Birth-Weight Infants

Purpose:This study examined factors associated with postpartum depressive symptoms in mothers with premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Subjects:A total of 113 new mothers with very low-birth-weight infants in their initial NICU admission were recruited from 2 urban hospitals servicing low-income minority communities. Design:This study employed a cross-sectional design. Methods:Data were collected during the infants' postpartum NICU admission and included maternal demographic information (eg, age, education, race, living with the baby's father), infant illness severity (Neurobiologic Risk Score from infant's medical record), and maternal psychological measures (the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, the Perinatal Posttraumatic Stress Questionnaire, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory). Results:The findings indicated that 47 (42%) women had elevated postpartum depressive symptoms and 33 (30%) women had elevated postpartum posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSs). Factors associated with postpartum depressive symptoms included PTS, anxiety, maternal age, and whether the mother lived with the baby's father (F4,104 = 52.27, P < .001). The severity of the infants' illness, parental stress, and maternal education were not associated with depressive symptoms among low-income mothers of NICU infants. Conclusions:On the basis of our findings, we recommend that low-income women should be screened for symptoms of anxiety, posttraumatic stress, and postpartum depression on their infants' admission to the NICU. When this is not feasible, we advise NICU healthcare providers to assess women for familial support, maternal age, posttraumatic stress related to their infants birth, and anxiety to determine which mothers are at the greatest risk for postpartum depressive symptoms. Screening for postpartum depression in the NICU can aid in early identification and treatment, thereby decreasing negative consequences for mothers and their infants.
Cytolytic Capabilities of Lamina Propria and Intraepithelial Lymphocytes in Normal and Chronically Inflamed Human Intestine

Cell‐mediated lymphocyte cytotoxicity in ileum and colon of patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), Crohn's disease (CD) and controls was investigated. Frequencies of cells expressing perforin and Fas‐ligand (FasL) were determined by immunomorphometry. mRNA expression of perforin, granzyme B and FasL in T cells and subsets was assayed by reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction. Cytotoxicity of intraepithelial and lamina propria lymphocytes was analysed without ex vivo activation in three functional assays: (1) anti‐CD3‐dependent T‐cell receptor (TCR)‐/CD3‐mediated redirected cytotoxicity, (2) Fas‐/FasL‐mediated TCR‐/CD3‐independent cytotoxicity and (3) natural killer (NK) cell cytotoxicity. Inflammation in ileum of CD patients caused increased frequency of perforin‐expressing cells and enhanced perforin‐dependent TCR‐/CD3‐mediated cytotoxicity. In contrast, lymphocytes in the inflamed colon of UC or Crohn's colitis patients did not display this cytotoxicity nor did lymphocytes of normal colon. Normal colon lymphocytes showed spontaneous Fas‐/FasL‐mediated cytotoxicity. This activity was retained but not enhanced in inflamed UC colon. In contrast, a significant increase of FasL‐expressing cells was seen in situ. Inflammation did not induce NK cell activity in colonic lymphocytes. Intestinal lymphocytes comprise effectors active in two different cytolytic processes. ‘Classical’ cytotoxic T lymphocytes in small intestine and lymphocytes executing TCR‐/CD3‐independent FasL‐/Fas‐mediated killing of unknown biological role present throughout the intestinal mucosa. Ongoing normal cytolytic processes seem to be enhanced by chronic inflammation.
Adoption of Agroforestry Practices in Malawi : A Case Study of Gliricidia Sepium and Maize

1 Study was conducted and first presented in partial fulfillment of MS degree, University of Edinburgh, Scotland. 2 Authors are, respectively, Graduate student and Assistant Professor, School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL32611. In this study, we consider farmers who designed and managed technology trails on their farms. As such we consider experimenters as adopters and non-experimenters as non-adopters. Abstract
Efficiency of RAPD and ISSR markers in assessment of genetic diversity in Brassica napus genotypes

Evaluation of relationships is of prime importance in any breeding studies. In current research, genetic diversity among different rapeseed genotypes from several geographical origins including Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden, Iran, and Somegenotypesof unknown origin, were evaluated by RAPD and ISSR markers. All of the generated bands using 12 RAPDs and 15 ISSRs markers were polymorphic among genotypes. Mean polymorphism Information Content (PIC) was 0.346 and 0.350 for RAPD and ISSR markers, respectively. Distance matrix between genotypes was calculated using Dice dissimilarity coefficient. For integrated data maximum (0.95) and minimum (0.26) distance were observed between Elvis and Dankeld and between Goliath and Hyola 401 genotypes, respectively. Cluster analysis of data using Dice dissimilarity matrix and Neighbor Joining (NJ) algorithm divided genotypes into seven, five and three main clusters by RAPDs, ISSRs and both markers, respectively. Non accordance of genetic diversity obtained from this study to origin of these genotypes, showing that screening on genotypes for breeding program cannot rely on geographical origin and it must be carried out by exact genetic studies. Our results show that RAPD and ISSR markers are suitable tools for evaluation of genetic diversity in Brassica napus. Kay words: Genetic variation, ISSR, Plant breeding. Rapeseed, RAPD.
Reversible Posterior Leukoencephalopathy, Cerebral Vasoconstriction, and Strokes After Intravenous Immune Globulin Therapy in Guillain‐Barré Syndrome

The authors report a patient with Guillain‐Barré syndrome who developed acute hypertension, reversible posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome, ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes, and reversible cerebral arterial vasoconstriction shortly after initiating intravenous immune globulin therapy. Possible interrelationships and mechanisms of these complications are discussed.
Income inequality and FDI: evidence with Turkish data

ABSTRACT This article explores how foreign direct investment (FDI) and other determinants impact income inequality in Turkey in the short- and long-run. We apply the nonlinear auto-regressive distributed lag (ARDL) modelling approach, which is suitable for small samples. The data for the study cover the years from 1970 to 2008. The empirical results indicate the existence of a co-integration relationship among the variables with asymmetric adjustment of the income distribution in the short- and long-run. The negative impact of FDI on the Gini coefficient, decreasing income inequality, is statistically significant in the short- and long-run, though with a quantitatively small impact in both cases. In the short run, GDP growth increases inequality initially, an effect that is reversed in the next period, increases in domestic gross capital formation decreases inequality, and increases in the literacy rate have very minor adverse effects on income equality. However, in the long run these variables have no statistically significant effects on the Gini coefficient. A reduction in the population growth rate reduces inequality in the short run but has no effect in the long run, whereas an increase in the rate reduces inequality in the long run but has no effect in the short run.
Intravitreal Bevacizumab Therapy for Choroidal Neovascularization Secondary to Age-Related Macular Degeneration: 6-Month Results of an Open-Label Uncontrolled Clinical Study

Purpose To investigate the 6-month safety and clinical outcomes of intravitreal injections of bevacizumab administered to treat choroidal neovascularization secondary to age-related macular degeneration. Methods Twenty-seven patients underwent 1.25 mg intravitreal injections of bevacizumab at baseline. A similar intravitreal injection was administered to all eyes at 1 and 2 month follow-up visits. At baseline and at each follow-up visit (1, 2, 3, and 6 months), patients underwent best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) measurement, fluorescein angiography, indocyanine green angiography, and optical coherence tomography. Laboratory testing, visual field analyses, and endothelial cell counts were performed at baseline and third and sixth months. Results At 3 months, the mean BCVA remained substantially stable at 20/100. Mean central retinal thickness (CRT) decreased from 373 to 279 μm (p<0.01). Mean lesion greatest linear dimension (GLD) decreased from 4087 to 3782 microns (p<0.01). At 6 months, mean BCVA slightly decreased from 20/100−1 to 20/125−3 (not significant, p=0.40). Mean CRT was still inferior to baseline (305 μm, p<0.01). Mean lesion GLD was 4186 μm, not different from baseline values (p=0.59), but superior to 3-month mean GLD (p<0.01). Significant visual field defects or endothelial cell losses were not detected at 3 and 6 months. Laboratory testing did not reveal any clinically significant deviations compared to baseline values. Conclusions Intravitreal therapy using bevacizumab over 6 months showed stabilization of visual acuity and choroidal neovascularization activity; the safety data were convincing. (Eur J Ophthalmol 2007; 17: 230–7)