Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Haemorrhagic manifestations and utility of haematological parameters in dengue fever: A tertiary care centre experience at Karachi

A retrospective observational study of dengue fever was performed, including 210 patients (male:female ratio 1.6:1, ages 6–74 y, mean 29.7 y) attending the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi from January 2001 to December 2006. All included patients proved dengue IgM antibody positive. Of these, 19 (9%) showed increased haemoglobin/haematocrit levels on admission which remained elevated in 4 (2.1%) at the time of discharge. 56 patients (26.6%) had leucopenia and neutropenia and 77.1% (161) had thrombocytopenia at the time of admission; 2.5% (5) and 16.7% (35) had deranged PT and APTT, respectively. Atypical lymphocytes were seen in 109 patients (52%). Platelet transfusion was given in 45 (22.1%) cases. The majority of patients were discharged without any adverse sequelae. The fatality rate was 3.3% (n =7) and these patients died of dengue shock syndrome, while 196 (93.3%) recovered completely. Haematological parameters are an important clue and should be tested when a patient presents with symptoms suggestive of dengue fever.
c-MET and HGF mRNA expression in hepatocellular carcinoma: correlation with clinicopathological features and survival.

BACKGROUND/AIM Data on the clinicopathological features and prognostic impact of c-N-Methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitroso-guanidine HOS Transforming gene (c-MET) and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are inconsistent. We assessed c-MET and HGF expression in 49 patients with early-stage HCC and correlated the results with disease characteristics and survival. MATERIALS AND METHODS Expression of c-MET and HGF mRNA in tumor (T) and non-tumor (NT) tissues was assessed. Results were correlated with patient characteristics and overall and recurrence-free survival. RESULTS Median relative tumor c-MET and HGF expressions were 3.23 (T/NT ratio 6.46) and 9.07 (T/NT ratio 0.77), respectively. c-MET and HGF were overexpressed in early-stage disease with favorable characteristics although there was no association with survival. CONCLUSION Contrary to other studies, in our series increased tumor c-MET and HGF expressions were associated with favorable disease attributes but not with survival. The prognostic and therapeutic applications of this knowledge to HCC are under active investigation.
Component reliability importance indices for electrical networks

This paper presents three new component reliability importance indices, developed for electrical networks. Component reliability importance indices are useful for prioritization of components as part of a system, especially when considering maintenance activities and/or investment in new equipment. Traditional component reliability importance indices were developed for systems with one input and one output point, which not captures the general function of electrical networks. The proposed indices utilize the concept of reliability worth as a single measure of system reliability in order to establish the importance of the components. This single measure of reliability works over several supply and load points and does for example enable comparisons between components decicated to different load points as well as components from different systems. Furthermore this paper presents data from application studies, which shows on some of the possibilities with the indices. The conclusion of the paper is that the proposed indices provide means of improving analysis of electrical network reliability.
Cloud-Based Control Strategy: Downstream Defect Reduction in the Production of Electric Motors

Classical computing is shifted gradually into the cloud offering completely new possibilities in information usage, computing power, and application of learning algorithms. In this paper, a cloud-based architecture of control systems is investigated showing the benefit for multistage production systems. All sequential manufacturing and assembly processes are connected via a cloud-based architecture, which allows using information from a previous production step in one of the subsequent steps for downstream deviation compensation. This strategy is applied to the rotor production of electric motors in the automotive industry, as the current production shows high defect rates due to the lack of adequate sensor signals and optimization algorithms. The magnetization process of permanent magnets is executed in saturation so that the generation of deviations cannot be avoided by process control or process optimization. Instead, the variance in the magnetization signal must be compensated in a downstream process, here the rotor assembly stage. Project results show how such a cloud-based architecture can increase the product quality while decreasing the amount of scrap parts in a real industrial scenario, consequently saving valuable resources such as energy and raw materials. Reduction of deviations is crucial for this emerging industrial sector as electric motor production for vehicles is moving towards mass production in the future.
How Effective is Cultural Competence Training of Healthcare Providers on Improving Patient Satisfaction of Minority Groups? A Systematic Review of Literature.

BACKGROUND With the rapid growth of minority populations in the United States, the need to train healthcare providers to give culturally competent care has never been greater. Extensive research on cultural competence of healthcare providers has been conducted, but no systematic review specifically focused on the effect of cultural competence training on patient satisfaction of clients from minority groups. AIMS To search and critically appraise published research articles that evaluated the effectiveness of cultural competence training of healthcare providers on improving patient satisfaction of clients from minority groups. METHODS Using MeSH entry terms: Competency, Cultural; Cultural Competencies; Cultural Competence; Competence, Cultural; Satisfaction, Patient; and non-MeSh text words: Cultural Awareness, Cultural Sensitivity, Cultural Competence Training, Cultural Sensitivity Training, and Cultural Awareness Training, a comprehensive literature search of peer-reviewed articles from 2002 to 2014 in CINAHL, Cochrane, PsycINFO, PubMed, and Web of Science databases was conducted. Original studies that reported cultural competence training and measured its impact on patient satisfaction were included. Quality of the reviewed studies was assessed on the basis of methodological limitations related to experimental design, sample size and sampling approaches, and ethnic spread of the participants. RESULTS Seven studies met the inclusion criteria. Six studies revealed that cultural competence training intervention significantly increased the cultural competence level of healthcare providers. Five studies demonstrated that cultural competence training of healthcare providers was significantly associated with increased patient satisfaction. LINKING EVIDENCE TO ACTION Cultural competence training is an effective intervention that enables healthcare providers to give culturally competent care that increases satisfaction of patients from minority groups. However, more research with better research designs, large sample sizes, and validated standardized cultural competence and patient satisfaction assessment tools is needed to unequivocally attribute cultural competence training to patient satisfaction.
Rules don’t apply: Kafka’s insights on bureaucracy

Weber’s ideal typical model of bureaucracy constitutes the starting point for most scholarship on organizations. Much organizational behaviour, however occurs outside this formalized model. It is thus somewhat surprising that behaviours outside the formal-rational model are, more often than not, treated as aberrations. In contrast, the emerging critical literature on ‘inhabited institutions’ has identified such gaps in our theoretical understanding as foundational, warranting a more agentic conception of organizational life—a conception more fully acknowledging of and sensitive to the dynamics of power in organizational life. In this regard, we highlight four prevalent (though seldom theoretically incorporated) features of contemporary bureaucracies—divergent goals, patrimonialism, unwritten rules and chaos. These features, which we contend are no less critical to organizational functioning than those identified by Weber, constitute an organizational logic more compatible with a Kafkan vision of bureaucracy than with a Weberian one. Theorizing such attributes allows us to explore elements of bureaucratic life that the formal-rational model of bureaucracy renders largely invisible and is conceptually and empirically ill equipped to incorporate. An illustrative analysis, drawing on narrative data drawn from the population of organizational ethnographies (n = 162) (1) demonstrates the prominence of such dynamics in organizational life; and (2) highlights their implications for rule breaking as a relatively common yet under-theorized occurrence. A core implication of our analysis and critique is that the social sciences need a fundamentally revised theory of bureaucracy capable of understanding bureaucracy’s power laden and often dystrophic features.
New scenario for transition to turbulence?

Numerical study of the one-dimensional nonlinear partial differential equation, equivalent to that proposed [Recent Advances in Engineering Science (Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1989)] to describe longitudinal seismic waves, is presented. The equation has a threshold of short-wave instability and symmetry, providing slow long-wave dynamics. It is shown that the threshold of the short-wave instability corresponds to a point of “continuous” (second order) transition from a spatially uniform state to a chaotic regime. Thus, contrary to the conventional scenarios, turbulence arises from the spatially uniform state as a result of one and the only one supercritical bifurcation.
Malleus-to-Footplate Ossicular Reconstruction Prosthesis Positioning: Cochleovestibular Pressure Optimization

Aims: To determine 1) the best position for hydroxylapatite malleus-to-footplate (MFP), ossicular replacement prosthesis (ORP) in reconstructed ears, and 2) whether preserving the stapes superstructure (SS), when present, has acoustic advantages. Background: Positioning of the MFP-ORP head beneath the neck of the malleus may produce maximal force, whereas positioning beneath the manubrium of the malleus may produce the greatest displacement. It is not clear which is the optimal placement position. In addition, we look at the effect of the SS on sound transmission to the inner ear in ossicular reconstruction. Methods: The ear-canal air pressure and vestibular hydro-pressure were measured in human cadaver temporal bones with incus intact, removed, and replaced with the MFP-ORP; the ORP head was placed at three different positions on the malleus (head, mid-manubrium, and umbo) while keeping its base at the center of stapes footplate with intact or removed stapes SS. The vestibular pressure ratio between the ear with intact incus and MFP-ORP reconstructed ear is defined as Lmfp, the loss caused by the prosthesis in relation to the normal ossicular chain. Results: The mean magnitude of Lmfp, averaged in the important speech frequency region of 0.5 to 3 kHz, is approximately 7.8 dB at the neck with stapes SS. In comparison, mean magnitude of Lmfp for mid-manubrium without stapes SS is 15 dB (p = 0.04), and with the stapes SS it is 16 dB (p = 0.05), whereas at the umbo without SS it is 15 dB (p = 0.03). In the 8 kHz region, the mean magnitude of Lmfp is approximately 1 dB with the stapes SS intact and approximately 8.5 dB when it was removed (p < 0.09). Conclusion: There are significant physiologic advantages to placing the hydroxylapatite MFP-ORP beneath the neck of the malleus and preserving the SS.
The role of the breast radiologist in evaluation of breast incidentalomas detected on 18-fludeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/CT.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the significance of incidentally discovered breast lesions on 18-fludeoxyglucose ((18)F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/CT. METHODS 6050 (18)F-FDG PET/CT studies, performed between January 2009 and February 2012, were retrospectively reviewed. 55 lesions in 50 patients were identified. Additional work-up, including mammography, ultrasound, follow-up (18)F-FDG PET/CT and biopsy, was available for 39 incidental breast lesions in 36 patients. All patients were female, with mean age 61.5 years (range 36-90 years). The maximum standardised uptake value (SUVmax), CT size and CT Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS®) scores were compared between the malignant and the benign subgroups, using the unpaired t-test and Fisher's exact test. Tests were two-sided and a p-value of <0.05 was considered to be significant. RESULTS Incidental breast lesions were identified in 50 (0.8%) of 6050 (18)F-FDG PET/CT studies. 21 (53.8%) of the 39 breast incidentalomas were malignant on biopsy or imaging, of which 15 (38.5%) represented a second primary breast cancer. A statistically significant difference in the mean SUVmax between malignant and benign breast lesions was observed (p=0.021). Malignancy was significantly more common in the CT BI-RADS Category 4 or greater groups (76.2%; p=0.0105). CONCLUSION Incidental breast lesions detected at (18)F-FDG PET/CT are uncommon. When detected, however, they may represent malignancy in up to 53.8% of cases. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE SUVmax and CT findings at (18)F-FDG PET/CT can assist with differentiating benign and malignant breast conditions, guiding further evaluation with dedicated breast imaging. Review of (18)F-FDG PET/CT-detected breast lesions by a breast radiologist may be helpful in determining the need for and correlation with further breast imaging. Radiologists and nuclear medicine physicians should be cognisant of breast pathology when reporting (18)F-FDG PET/CT image data sets.
The relationship between recent alcohol use and sexual behaviors: gender differences among sexually transmitted disease clinic patients.

BACKGROUND Binge drinking is associated with risky sexual behaviors and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Few studies have investigated this by gender or in an STD clinic. This cross-sectional study examined the association between binge drinking and risky sexual behaviors/STDs among patients attending an urban STD clinic. METHOD A total of 671 STD clinic patients were tested for STDs, and queried about recent alcohol/drug use and risky sexual behaviors using audio computer-assisted-self-interview. The association between binge drinking and sexual behaviors/STDs was analyzed using logistic regression adjusting for age, employment, and drug use. RESULTS Binge drinking was reported by 30% of women and 42% of men. Gender differences were found in rates of receptive anal sex which increased linearly with increased alcohol use among women but did not differ among men. Within gender analyses showed that women binge drinkers engaged in anal sex at more than twice the rate of women who drank alcohol without binges (33.3% vs. 15.9%; p < 0.05) and 3 times the rate of women who abstained from alcohol (11.1%; p < 0.05). Having multiple sex partners was more than twice as common among women binge drinkers than women abstainers (40.5% vs. 16.8%; p < 0.05). Gonorrhea was nearly 5 times higher among women binge drinkers compared to women abstainers (10.6% vs. 2.2%; p < 0.05). The association between binge drinking and sexual behaviors/gonorrhea remained after controlling for drug use. Among men, rates of risky sexual behaviors/STDs were high, but did not differ by alcohol use. CONCLUSION Rates of binge drinking among STD clinic patients were high. Among women, binge drinking was uniquely associated with risky sexual behaviors and an STD diagnosis. Our findings support the need to routinely screen for binge drinking as part of clinical care in STD clinics. Women binge drinkers, in particular, may benefit from interventions that jointly address binge drinking and risky sexual behaviors. Developing gender-specific interventions could improve overall health outcomes in this population.
Local modulation of adrenergic responses in the hindlimb vasculature of the intact conscious rat.

1. Local modulation of adrenergic responses was examined in the hindlimb vasculature of chronically instrumented intact conscious rats. Sprague‐Dawley rats (n = 22) were instrumented with a Doppler flow probe around the right common iliac artery, a polyethylene catheter inserted just distal to the flow probe and a left carotid arterial catheter. 2. The effects of various concentrations of the alpha 1‐adrenergic receptor agonist phenylephrine (0.005‐0.075 microgram kg‐1), the alpha 2‐adrenergic receptor agonist clonidine (0.1‐0.7 microgram kg‐1), and the endogenous adrenergic receptor agonist adrenaline (0.02‐0.08 microgram kg‐1), were investigated under control conditions, and in the presence of the nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibitor N omega‐nitro‐L‐arginine methyl ester hydrochoride (L‐NAME) (NO‐X, 0.2 mg kg‐1) and the cyclo‐oxygenase inhibitor indomethacin (CO‐X, 10 mg kg‐1). Results were presented as dose‐response curves. 3. Heart rate and arterial pressure were not altered by any of the agents because all were locally injected into the hindlimb vasculature and the selected doses were lower than those which elicited systemic responses. 4. Maximal vasoconstrictor responses to phenylephrine were enhanced in the presence of NO‐X (50 +/‐ 6%) and CO‐X (70 +/‐ 9%). Maximal vasoconstrictor responses to clonidine were also enhanced in the presence of NO‐X (75.3 +/‐ 4.8%) and CO‐X (50.6 +/‐ 5.7%). 5. The responses to adrenaline were biphasic; NO‐X significantly attenuated the vasodilator response (87 +/‐ 6%), and enhanced the vasoconstrictor response (51 +/‐ 7%). CO‐X attenuated the vasoconstrictor response (71 +/‐ 6%). 6. These results demonstrate local modulation of responses to alpha 1‐ and beta‐adrenergic receptor agonists by receptor‐mediated dose‐dependent release of NO and prostaglandins.
A GPS-Reflections Receiver That Computes Doppler/Delay Maps in Real Time

This paper describes a new instrument that was specially designed and developed to gather Global Positioning System (GPS) signals after they have been reflected from suitable surfaces (sea, ice, and ground), for Earth remote sensing. The device has been called the GPS open-loop differential real-time receiver (GOLD-RTR). Its main and most innovative feature is its computation and storage, in real time, of complex-valued (I and Q) cross correlations (waveforms) between GPS L1-C/A signals - received directly and after reflection - and the corresponding models of these signals. Particularly, the GOLD-RTR schedules consecutive coherent integration time slots of 1 ms over which ten parallel correlation channels, with 64 lags each, work simultaneously and continuously with the input raw data sampled at 40 MHz. The total throughput is 10 000 waveforms per second, each waveform being 64 lags long. These real-time correlation resources can be flexibly distributed in several configurations according to the observational requirements, for instance: Doppler/delay maps or up to ten simultaneous reflected waveforms for ten different GPS satellites are examples of what can be done. The further processing of the real-time computed 1-ms waveforms in a flight campaign over the ocean, ice, or ground can be used to obtain geophysical parameters such as sea level and tides, sea surface mean-square slopes, ice roughness and thickness, soil moisture and biomass, or future applications. This paper covers the GOLD-RTR architecture and hardware, signal processing and data storage issues, machine-user interface, laboratory readiness tests, and waveform data samples from the first two jet aircraft campaigns at 9300 m over the sea
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CELL MEMBRANE IN EMBRYONIC PROCESSES

VIDEKCE of the embryological significance of the cell nienibrane E may be derived froni a consideration of this structure in connection with the following phenomena: cellular permeability, amoeboid inotility, morphogenetic movements, cytoplasniic division, selective ad hesiveness, cell polarity, and cellular differentiation. It is clear that such a wide range of phenomena cannot be discussed exhaustively within the fraiiie of the present review. The aim of this paper is, therefore, t o give not more than a tentative synopsis of the embryological functions of the cell nienibrane and to discuss the physico-chemical and physiological properties of this structure only as they may serve this purpose. This paper will mainly be concerned with observations on amphibian development, although i t is realized that some of the phenomena t o be touched upon have been inore thoroughly investigated in other foriiis, such as the echinoderms. The discussion will include nunierous unpublished observations.
Effects Of Organizational Culture On Organizational Performance In The Hospitality Industry

The Problem Of This Research Was To Determine If The Organizational Culture Has An Effect On Organizational Performance In The Hospitality Industry With An Aim Of Establishing If It Can Be Further Exploited And Invested In By Players In The Hospitality Industry To Achieve Sustainable Competitive Advantage. This Research Involved Analysis Of Effects Of Six Elements Of Organizational Culture I.E. Control Systems, Organizational Structure, Power Structures, Rituals And Routines, Symbols, Stories And Myths On The Organization’s Performance. The Target Population Is The Hospitality Sector In Kakamega County. This Study Has Verified That Certain Elements Of Organization Culture Are Positively And Significantly Correlated To Organizational Performance. It Also Proves That There Is Strong Significant Correlation And Predictability Of Control Systems, Organization Structure And Rituals And Routines On Organizational Performance. There Is Also Weakinsignificant Correlation And Predictability On Organization Performance. The Study Also Covers A Detailed Analysis On The Effect Of Moderating Variables, Technological Innovation And Profile/Strategic Direction On The Organization’s Performance. There Was A Decline In Strength Of Correlation And Predictability Between The Dependent Variable And The Moderated Independent Variables.
Isoform‐specific increase of spastin stability by N‐terminal missense variants including intragenic modifiers of SPG4 hereditary spastic paraplegia

Hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) is a neurodegenerative disorder selectively affecting axons of spinal cord motoneurons. Classical mutations in the most frequent HSP gene SPAST (spastin protein) act through haploinsufficiency by abolishing the activity of a C‐terminal ATPase domain or by interfering with expression from the affected allele. N‐terminal missense variants have been suggested to represent rare polymorphisms, to cause unusually mild phenotypes, and to aggravate the effect of a classical mutation. We confirm these associations for p.S44L but do not detect two other variants (p.E43Q; p.P45Q) in HSP patients and controls. We show that neither of several disease mechanisms associated with classical SPAST mutations applies to the N‐terminal variants. Instead, all three alterations enhance the stability of one of two alternative spastin isoforms. Their phenotypic effect may thus not be mediated by haploinsufficiency but by increasing isoform competition for interacting proteins, substrates or oligomerization partners.