Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Non-Accident-Based Spatial Method to Analyse Pedestrian-Vehicular Conflict

Due to the tremendous increase in automobile transportation and heavy pedestrian movements in developing countries, roads are becoming deadlier year by year. It is acknowledged that context specific research on pedestrian-vehicular conflict are urgently needed considering the built environment characteristics. Therefore, this paper aims to (1) redefine pedestrian-vehicular conflict that would enable to explain micro- and macro-built environment-related variables in a particular context, and (2) develop a methodology that could be used in a place where comprehensive data are limitedly available for a spatial analysis. This research redefines pedestrian-vehicular conflict as “the pedestrian contact with potentially harmful vehicular traffic”, rather than accidents. Based on this definition devise a methodology. The primary data collection method adopted to collect causal factors related to spatial data was, photographs. The spatial data were analysed by using QGIS platform. The pedestrian volume models are constructed by a space syntax framework and correlated with a composite choropleth map to get the potential conflicting points. A perception survey was carried out to confirm the spatial analysis. The research findings indicate that the methodology developed can be used to identify built environment factors related risk areas spatially. Consequently, it is possible to fill the research gap by introducing a low-cost, widely applicable, impartial, spatial and perception-based methodology that assesses the built environmental characteristics in relation to pedestrian-vehicular conflict. This research would support the urban planners and designers, allowing them to comprehend the risk related nature of pedestrian-vehicular conflict in their urban planning schemes before intervening with plans and designs
The Advanced Bionics High Resolution Mode: Stimulation rates up to 5000 pps

Conclusion: The technology of stimulation rates between 1500 and 5000 pulses per second per channel (pps/ch) brings a benefit for all users. However, the fastest possible rate does not necessarily lead to best hearing performance in each individual subject. Individual optimization of stimulation rate is recommended. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of high stimulation rates on speech perception ability. Subjects and methods: Thirteen subjects with at least 3 months of experience with conventional Clarion speech coding strategies were recruited into cross-over studies. The first study investigated stimulation rates of 1500, 2000 and 3000 pps/ch, the second study investigated rates of 2500 and 5000 pps/ch. Speech perception data were collected for testing in quiet and in competing noise. Results: On average, speech perception performance increased significantly when changing from conventional speech coding strategies to High Resolution Mode. Subjects who preferred continous interleaved sampling (CIS) in standard mode appeared to obtain better results with rates of 2500 or 3000 pps/ch than with 5000 pps/ch. The stimulation rate that led to best performance provided the highest stimulation current efficiency in the majority of subjects.
The GlideScope Video Laryngoscope: randomized clinical trial in 200 patients.

BACKGROUND The GlideScope Video Laryngoscope is a new intubating device. It was designed to provide a view of the glottis without alignment of the oral, pharyngeal and tracheal axes. The aim of the study was to describe the use of the GlideScope in comparison with direct laryngoscopy for elective surgical patients requiring tracheal intubation. METHODS Two hundred patients were randomly assigned to intubation by direct laryngoscopy using a Macintosh size 3 blade (DL, n=100) or intubation using the GlideScope (GS, n=100). Prior to intubation all patients were given a Cormack and Lehane (C&L) grade by a separate anaesthetist using a Macintosh size 3 blade. The patient was then intubated, using direct laryngoscopy or the GlideScope, by a different anaesthetist during which the larynx was inspected and given a laryngoscopy score. Time to intubate was measured. RESULTS In the GS group, laryngoscopy grade was improved in the majority (28/41) of patients with C&L grade >1 and in all but one of patients who were grade 3 laryngoscopy (P<0.001). The overall mean time to intubate was 30 (95% CI 28-33) s in the DL group and 46 (95% CI 43-49) s in the GS group. The time to intubate for C&L grade 3 was similar in both groups, being 47 s for the DL group and 50 s for the GS group respectively. CONCLUSION In most patients, the GlideScope provided a laryngoscopic view equal to or better than that of direct laryngoscopy, but it took an additional 16 s (average) for tracheal intubation. It has potential advantages over standard direct laryngoscopy for difficult intubations.
Are the Level of Knowledge and Practices of Pregnant Women Regarding Folic Acid Supplementation Still Inadequate? A Cross-Sectional Study in a Middle Eastern Urban Setting

ABSTRACT This observational cross-sectional study aimed to examine the knowledge and practices of pregnant women in North Lebanon regarding periconceptional folic acid (FA) supplementation. A convenience sample of pregnant women attending gynecology clinics in North Lebanon was recruited between May and September 2013. Data were collected from a face-to-face interview performed by a trained local dietician as well as from review of obstetric charts. A total of 465 women were included in the study. Only 37 (7.9%) were aware of the role of FA in preventing birth defects, while 129 (27.7%) were able to identify one food item rich in FA or folate. Only 125 (26.9%) were taking FA supplementation before pregnancy. While 440 (94.6%) participants were taking FA supplements during pregnancy, 158 (34%) were receiving an inadequate dose. Adequate preconceptional supplementation of FA was significantly associated with the women's level of education (p =.008), planned pregnancy (p <.0001), and gynecologic visit before pregnancy (p <.0001). Moreover, young age (p =.003) and small number of children (p =.019) were significant predictors of adequate supplementation during pregnancy. Our study revealed deficient knowledge and inadequate intake of FA supplements before and during pregnancy.
Heme-Mediated Induction of CXCL10 and Depletion of CD34+ Progenitor Cells Is Toll-Like Receptor 4 Dependent

Plasmodium falciparum infection can cause microvascular dysfunction, cerebral encephalopathy and death if untreated. We have previously shown that high concentrations of free heme, and C-X-C motif chemokine 10 (CXCL10) in sera of malaria patients induce apoptosis in microvascular endothelial and neuronal cells contributing to vascular dysfunction, blood-brain barrier (BBB) damage and mortality. Endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) are microvascular endothelial cell precursors partly responsible for repair and regeneration of damaged BBB endothelium. Studies have shown that EPC’s are depleted in severe malaria patients, but the mechanisms mediating this phenomenon are unknown. Toll-like receptors recognize a wide variety of pathogen-associated molecular patterns generated by pathogens such as bacteria and parasites. We tested the hypothesis that EPC depletion during malaria pathogenesis is a function of heme-induced apoptosis mediated by CXCL10 induction and toll-like receptor (TLR) activation. Heme and CXCL10 concentrations in plasma obtained from malaria patients were elevated compared with non-malaria subjects. EPC numbers were significantly decreased in malaria patients (P < 0.02) and TLR4 expression was significantly elevated in vivo. These findings were confirmed in EPC precursors in vitro; where it was determined that heme-induced apoptosis and CXCL10 expression was TLR4-mediated. We conclude that increased serum heme mediates depletion of EPC during malaria pathogenesis.
Hypertension, fluid overload and micro inflammation are associated with left ventricular hypertrophy in maintenance hemodialysis patients

Abstract This cross-sectional study aims to identify the potential risk factors of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in hemodialysis (HD) patients. Echocardiography, anthropometric measurements and biochemical analyses were performed for 112 HD patients. In univariate analysis, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, glycosylated hemoglobin, glycated albumin, high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), cardiac troponin T (cTnT), amino-terminal pro-B-natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and carotid artery intima-media thickness were positively correlated with left ventricular mass index (LVMI); pre-albumin, serum creatinine, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and fractional shortening were negatively correlated with LVMI. Linear regression analysis showed systolic blood pressure, NT-proBNP and LVEF were independently associated with LVMI. According to a binary logistic regression model, higher systolic blood pressure, NT-proBNP and hs-CRP levels showed independent correlation with LVH. Receiver operator characteristic curves analysis showed the associations between NT-proBNP and LVH more closely than hs-CRP and cTnT. The area under the curve for NT-proBNP, hs-CRP and cTnT was 0.762 (95% CI: 0.660–0.864, p < 0.001), 0.734 (95% CI: 0.624–0.844, p < 0.001) and 0.677 (95% CI: 0.563–0.790, p = 0.004), respectively. These data support the main conclusions: hypertension, fluid overload and micro inflammation are associated with LVH in maintenance HD patients. It demonstrates traditional and nontraditional risk factors all play important roles in the development of LVH.
The role of media content in explaining the index futures market behaviour: a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Finance at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

This study examines sentiment from routine financial news and outlines the impact of the media content on three main index futures contracts of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, Bursa Malaysia and Singapore Exchange. The sample selection is based on high a percentage of English usage, thus enabling cross-country comparison. I generate several news factors from routine financial news and find that factors that represent pessimistic market sentiment are more prevalent. Highly pessimistic news factors (Pessimism, Negative and Weak) predict lower returns on the same day, while the negative impact will reverse within the next five days. The finding is consistent with the noise trader theory that investors initially overreact to negative market news and drive the price lower, before the price corrects itself. Since investors are only obligated to pay maintenance margin when trading futures contracts, the trading strategy based on this finding becomes more economically significant compared to paying full price in the spot market. The second part of this thesis examines the role of sentiment in predicting the mean-variance relationship. I argue that sentiment will affect returns volatility. Risk-averse rational investors require higher returns for holding risky assets, which implies positive mean-variance relationships. During a high sentiment period, noise traders dominate the trading activities, leading to a weaker mean-variance trade off. Evidence points to negative mean-variance relationships during a high sentiment period, but the results are mixed during a low sentiment period. The finding suggests that sentiment can be incorporated into the index futures pricing model, through its interaction with returns volatility.
Predicting the impact of biocorona formation kinetics on interspecies extrapolations of nanoparticle biodistribution modeling.

AIM To assess the impact of biocorona kinetics on expected tissue distribution of nanoparticles (NPs) across species. MATERIALS & METHODS The potential fate of NPs in vivo is described through a simple and descriptive pharmacokinetic model using rate processes dependent upon basal metabolic rate coupled to dynamics of protein corona. RESULTS Mismatch of time scales between interspecies allometric scaling and the kinetics of corona formation is potentially a fundamental issue with interspecies extrapolations of NP biodistribution. The impact of corona evolution on NP biodistribution across two species is maximal when corona transition half-life is close to the geometric mean of NP half-lives of the two species. CONCLUSION While engineered NPs can successfully reach target cells in rodent models, the results may be different in humans due to the fact that the longer circulation time allows for further biocorona evolution.
The effects of firm reputation and status on interorganizational network structure

In this article, we explore the differential effects of a firm’s reputation and status on its interorganizational network. We hypothesize that due to its stable, unitary, and relational characteristics, status has a stronger influence on partner selection than reputation, which is less stable, multidimensional, and based more on perceptions of product quality and financial performance. Results from our analyses of the director networks of the 300 largest US firms from 1985 to 1993 confirm that across multiple measures of network characteristics, it is status that is the stronger predictor. In particular, high-status firms have networks that are higher in partner quality but are less diverse and contain fewer opportunities to bridge structural holes than the networks of high-reputation firms. These results contribute to our understanding of the different effects of reputation and status on firm behavior by emphasizing the importance of studying both together in order to understand the effects of either. They also contribute to work on interorganizational networks by demonstrating how structure emerges primarily as a function of focal firm status.
Private housing development : refining rational choice

Housing, as the principal focus of personal and family life, has a pervasive impact on all aspects of our existence, providing privacy and security, both physical and emotional, while embodying not only our material possessions, but also our dreams and despair. For most households in developing countries, financing housing constitutes a substantial proportion of household expenditure. Most research on housing finance focuses on measures of affordability and establishment of formal institutions. Others restrict their field of inquiry to the implementation of micro-credit facilities for incremental housing by lower income groups. Due to successive failures of public housing in many developing countries, strategies advocated by the global community tend towards diverting State involvement from provision to facilitation effective regulatory mechanisms deemed essential to enable private enterprise and informal practices in housing provision. Maldives experienced rapid economic growth during the last decades propelled by the expansion of tourism Yet, economic and social disparities between the capital, Male, and other islands continue to exist Consequently, in-migration to Male has fuelled an insatiable demand for housing. In the absence of formal housing finance, plot-holders in Male cannot construct multi storey housing that optimised land scarcity. This research focuses on the process by which private developers rent land from plot-holders to construct multi-storey rental housing, resulting in: income and shelter security for plot-holders increase in housing stock of Male and accumulation of capital for developers, with minimal State involvement or institutional support. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from renters, plot-holders and developers through purposive sampling. Based on the ideological perspective of rational choice theory, grounded theory methodology was utilised to develop a substantive theory on housing finance that. in situations of absolute scarcity of land, and low levels of institutional support, the decisions of private developers in the process of multi-storey rental housing production appear within the paradigm of rational utility maximisation. However, deeper analyses of their motives reveal elements of altruism, benevolence and charity dominating their decisions within the socio-cultural milieu of Male where kith and kin relationships influence investment decisions.
Assessment of olfaction in multiple sclerosis: evidence of dysfunction by olfactory evoked response and identification tests

OBJECTIVE To resolve whether the olfactory pathways are affected in multiple sclerosis. METHODS Olfaction was assessed by: (1) The University of Pennsylvania smell identification test (UPSIT, which uses microencapsulated odours that are released when scratched with a pencil) in 72 patients with multiple sclerosis and 96 controls, (2) olfactory evoked potentials (OEP) to 20 ppm H2S by volume, and 50% CO2 in air for 45 patients with multiple sclerosis and 47 controls. The abnormality rate in patients with multiple sclerosis for both tests (1) and (2) was compared with that for visual evoked potentials measured using a standard checquerboard technique. RESULTS By comparison with controls, patients exhibited significantly low scores on the smell identification test with 15% of patients scoring outside the 95% confidence intervals for controls. The UPSIT was occasionally abnormal when the visual evoked potential (VEP) was normal. In general UPSIT scores correlated well with the H2S-evoked response in controls and patients. For H2S, there was a statistically significant increase of latency and decrease of amplitude for patients compared with controls. Increased H2S latency and reduced UPSIT score correlated with greater disability on conventional rating scales. Overall, H2S responses were abnormal in about one quarter of patients with multiple sclerosis. The sensitivity of UPSIT and OEP was similar although disorder on one test did not necessarily indicate abnormality in the other. The visual evoked potential was found to be a more sensitive indicator of disease than OEP or UPSIT. CONCLUSION These findings confirm the existence of olfactory dysfunction in multiple sclerosis and validate a new evoked potential technique.
Metformin is associated with survival benefit in cancer patients with concurrent type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

UNLABELLED Patients with type 2 diabetes have increased cancer risk and cancer-related mortality, which can be reduced by metformin treatment. However, it is unclear whether metformin can also modulate clinical outcomes in patients with cancer and concurrent type 2 diabetes. PATIENTS AND METHODS A meta-analysis of 20 publications that included 13,008 subjects was performed to investigate the association between metformin and overall survival (OS) as well as cancer-specific survival (CSS) in patients with cancer and concurrent type 2 diabetes. RESULTS We found that there was a relative survival benefit associated with metformin treatment compared with treatment with other glucose-lowering medications in both OS and CSS (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.66; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.55-0.79 and HR = 0.62; 95% CI: 0.46-0.84, respectively). These associations were also observed in subgroups by cancer type and country. CONCLUSION These results suggest that metformin is the drug of choice in the treatment of patients with cancer and concurrent type 2 diabetes.
Testicular regression syndrome: a clinical and pathologic study of 11 cases.

CONTEXT The vanishing or regressed testis is an entity well known to urologists and pediatric surgeons, affecting approximately 5% of patients with cryptorchidism. However, there is little review and discussion of this entity among pathologists with only 2 of 40 published reviews of testicular regression syndrome (TRS) found in the pathologic literature. OBJECTIVES To assess recognition of TRS among a subset of pathologists and to determine the applicability of histologic criteria for TRS as published. DESIGN An 8-year retrospective review of cases submitted as atrophic or regressed testis was performed. Original diagnosis and diagnosis after review were compared to assess pathologic recognition of TRS. Pathologic assessment included identification of vas deferens, epididymis, dystrophic calcification, hemosiderin, dominant vein, pampiniform plexus-like vessels, and vascularized fibrous nodule formation. At minimum, the presence of a vascularized fibrous nodule (VFN) with calcification or hemosiderin or VFN with cord element(s) was required for diagnosis. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS Medical records and pathologic specimens of patients undergoing surgery for cryptorchidism or with specimens reviewed at a medium-sized university hospital were analyzed. RESULTS The original diagnosis in 3 (23%) of 13 cases was that of TRS. On secondary review, 11 (85%) of 13 cases showed features consistent with TRS. The diagnoses both before and after review showed a concurrence of 23% (3/13 cases). Two (15%) of 13 cases were correctly recognized and diagnosed as TRS at primary review; 1 case originally thought to represent TRS was not confirmed. Pathologic features correlated well with those reported in the literature. Among all 13 cases, the 11 confirmed TRS cases showed VFN in 11 (85%), intranodular calcification in 8 (62%), intranodular hemosiderin in 9 (69%), vas deferens in 9 (69%), epididymal structures in 5 (38%), and a dominant venous structure in 11 (85%). The average size of the VFN was 1.1 cm. CONCLUSION A urologic and pediatric surgical problem, TRS may be unrecognized by many practicing pathologists. In the typical situation in which a blind ending spermatic cord is submitted for tissue analysis, characterization of such cases as consistent with regressed testis is desirable and achievable in a high percentage of cases. Pathologists may play a pivotal role in management of these patients since histologic confirmation of the testis as regressed reassures the surgeon and the family of the correctness of diagnosis and can eliminate the necessity for further intervention.
Proximate factors associated with high levels of extraconsort fertilization in polygynous grey seals

Behavioural estimates of male mating success in polygynous grey seals, Halichoerus grypus, may be misleading as females are known to be promiscuous. At Sable Island, Nova Scotia, we collected behavioural observations and skin samples for paternity analysis from 56 females and their attending males. Twenty-four of these females were found in the following year and their offspring were sampled. Using seven hypervariable microsatellite loci, we excluded the consort male as the father in 43% of the cases. The probability of exclusion of these seven loci was 98.2%. Contrary to expectations, inland females had higher rates of extraconsort fertilizations (ECFs) (70%) than beach females (23%). Younger females (<9 years) had slightly more ECFs than older females, but this was not significant. The duration of male consortship did not differ between females with ECFs and females fertilized by their consort male. Two explanations may account for the inland females having more ECFs: a higher ratio of females to tenured males inland may provide a greater opportunity for nonconsort males to obtain copulations; and inland females travel greater distances to depart for the ocean and may attract more males. These results are more consistent with the hypothesis that ECFs are a by-product for females of male strategies to maximize reproductive success than with hypotheses concerned with either material or genetic benefits gained by females. Copyright 1999 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.