Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The performance of diversity combining for fast frequency hopped NCMFSK in Rayleigh fading

Several diversity combining methods which were developed to improve the jamming performance of fast frequency hopped noncoherent M-ary frequency shift keying have been investigated in Rayleigh fading. Based on performance results, the best methods in both jamming and fading are normalized envelope detection (NED), order-statistics (OS) NED, and OS-hard decision majority vote combining. They provide an increased robustness and should not be seriously affected by intelligent jamming and changing jammer strategies. Linear and square-law combining also perform well, but they are not as robust in a changing interference environment. <<ETX>>
Genetic variation and epidemiology of Echinococcus granulosus in Argentina

Polymerase chain reaction–ribosomal ITS-1 DNA (rDNA) restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR–RFLP) analysis and sequencing of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) and NADH dehydrogenase 1 (ND1) genes were used to characterize 33 Echinococcus granulosus isolates collected from different regions and hosts in Argentina, and to determine which genotypes occurred in humans with cystic hydatid disease. The results of the study demonstrated the presence of at least 4 distinct genotypes; the common sheep strain (G1) in sheep from Chubut Province and in humans from Río Negro Province, the Tasmanian sheep strain (G2) in sheep and 1 human from Tucumán Province, the pig strain (G7) in pigs from Santa Fe Province and the camel strain (G6) in humans from Río Negro and Buenos Aires Provinces. The finding that pigs harboured the pig strain and the occurrence of the Tasmanian sheep strain has considerable implications for the implementation of hydatid control programmes due to the shorter maturation time of both strains in dogs compared with the common sheep strain. Furthermore, this is the first report of the presence of the G2 and G6 genotypes in humans which may also have important consequences for human health.
Disease transmission model for community-associated Clostridium difficile infection

SUMMARY Participating researchers and public health personnel at a Canadian workshop in 2007, noted considerable gaps in current understanding of community-associated Clostridium difficile infection (CA-CDI), specifically infection sources and risk factors. A disease transmission model for CA-CDI was requested as an initial step towards a risk assessment, to analyse infection sources and risk factors, addressing priority research areas. The developed model contains eight infection states (susceptible, gastrointestinal exposure, colonized, diseased, deceased, clinically resolved colonized, relapse diseased, and cleared) and notes directional transfers between the states. Most published research used focused on hospital-associated C. difficile infection (HA-CDI) and further studies are needed to substantiate the use of HA-CDI knowledge in the transmission of CA-CDI. The aim was to provide a consistent framework for researchers, and provide a theoretical basis for future quantitative risk assessment of CA-CDI.
Leukocytosis and neutrophilia after laparoscopic gastric plication

Abstract Background: Laparoscopic gastric plication (LGP) is a relatively novel bariatric surgery technique. We have encountered a noticeable proportion of our LGP patients with findings such as leukocytosis and neutrophilia and hypothesized that they are part of normal body response to the operation. Objective: To evaluate the prevalence and clinical importance of leukocytosis, neutrophilia and abnormal vital signs in patients undergoing LGP during postoperative period. Methods: Forty-four consecutive LGP patients were prospectively followed for 3 months. Records of 44 laparoscopic cholecystectomy patients were also reviewed for comparison. Preoperative and postoperative laboratory test were performed. Minor and major complications were recorded during the study period. Results: Mean body mass index (BMI) and age were 37and 42.5, respectively. Mean hospital stay was 3.6 days (range: 3–8 days). Leukocytosis and neutrophilia were detected in 63% and 72% of the LGP patients, respectively, 48 h after the procedure. Whereas, after cholecystectomy only 38.5% and 18% of patients had leukocytosis and neutrophilia, respectively. 25% of the patients suffered from at least one minor complication after LGP. There was no mortality. Conclusions: Leukocytosis and neutrophilia are very common after LGP in both the complicated and uncomplicated cases, and may be a part of normal response to surgery.
Computational Explorations of Information and Mechanism Design in Markets

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Incomplete pancreas divisum: is it merely a normal anatomic variant without clinical implications?

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS Incomplete pancreas divisum (PD) has been generally regarded as merely a normal anatomic variant, without clinical implications. This study compares the prevalence, symptom occurrence rate, clinical presentation, and outcomes of endoscopic treatment in patients with incomplete PD and those with complete PD. PATIENTS AND METHODS The study population consisted of 56 patients (27 with complete PD and 29 with incomplete PD), identified from 4473 newly performed endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography examinations. Endoscopic treatment (minor papilla sphincterotomy with stents or nasopancreatic drainage tube insertion) was attempted in 25 symptomatic patients with PD, which was suspected to be causing the associated pancreatic diseases: acute recurrent pancreatitis (ARP) (n = 13; five patients with complete PD and eight with incomplete PD); chronic pancreatitis (CP) (n = 10: five patients with complete PD and five with incomplete PD); and pancreatic-type pain (PP) (n = 2; one patient with complete PD and one with incomplete PD). The mean follow-up period was 17 months (range 9 - 49 months). RESULTS In 12 of the 27 patients with complete PD--six with ARP, five with CP, and one with PP--it was suspected that PD was the cause of pancreatic disease. Ten of the 11 symptomatic patients with complete PD underwent successful endoscopic treatment (five with endoscopic minor papilla sphincterotomy and stenting, and five with endoscopic minor papilla sphincterotomy and endoscopic nasopancreatic drainage), and seven of these ten patients benefited from the endoscopic treatment. In 14 of the 29 patients with incomplete PD--eight with ARP, five with CP, and one with PP--it was suspected that pancreas divisum was the cause of pancreatic disease. Thirteen of the 14 symptomatic patients with incomplete PD underwent successful endoscopic treatments (six with endoscopic minor papilla sphincterotomy and stenting, and seven with endoscopic minor papilla sphincterotomy and endoscopic nasopancreatic drainage), and eight of these 13 patients experienced clinical improvement. CONCLUSIONS The prevalence rate, symptom occurrence rate, clinical presentation, and outcomes of endoscopic treatment were similar in patients with complete PD and incomplete PD. Incomplete PD may therefore have similar clinical implications to those of complete PD.
Marketization strategies and the influence of business on the management of child welfare agencies

ABSTRACT Nonprofit organizations frequently face external pressures like marketization and governmentalization as well as internal pressures like normative and value expectations on how they should behavior. Using survey data from approximately 150 child welfare administrators, we explore how these pressures combine to influence the adoption of business management practices. Evidence shows that the influence of the business community is persuading managers to implement business strategies while government control and funding have less predictive power on management practices. Surprisingly, a nonprofit mindset has no effect on the likelihood of using business-like management strategies. We conclude with implications and make suggestions for further research.
Correlation between salivary alpha-amylase activity and pain scale in patients with chronic pain.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES The visual analog scale (VAS) is commonly used to assess pain intensity. However, the VAS is of limited value if patients fail to reliably report. Objective assessments are therefore clearly preferable. Previous reports suggest that elevated salivary alpha-amylase may reflect increased physical stress. There is a close association between salivary alpha-amylase and plasma norepinephrine under stressful physical conditions. In this study, we have determined the usefulness of a portable salivary alpha-amylase analyzer as an objective biomarker of stress. METHODS Thirty patients (male/female = 15/15, age: 60.5 +/- 15.3 years) with chronic low back or leg pain (pain (+) group) and 20 pain-free control patients undergoing elective surgery under general anesthesia with epidural analgesia (pain (-) group) were recruited. Patients received epidural block with 5 to 10 mL 1% lidocaine. VAS, blood pressure, and heart rates were assessed before and 30 and 45 minutes after the epidural block. Salivary alpha-amylase was simultaneously measured using a portable analyzer. The relationship between the VAS and salivary alpha-amylase in chronic pain patients was assessed. RESULTS After the epidural block both heart rate and systolic blood pressure decreased by approximately 8%. In the pain (+) group, the epidural block markedly decreased the VAS pain scale and salivary alpha-amylase from 56 +/- 22 to 19 +/- 16 mm (P < .01) and from 82 +/- 48 to 45 +/- 28 U/mL (P < .01), respectively, with a significant correlation between the 2 measures (r = 0.561, P < .01). In contrast, salivary alpha-amylase did not change significantly in the pain (-) group. CONCLUSIONS Because there was a significant correlation between VAS pain scale and salivary alpha-amylase, we suggest that this biomarker may be a good index for the objective assessment of pain intensity. In addition, a simple to use portable analyzer may be useful for such assessment.
A systematic mapping study of information visualization for software product line engineering

Software product lines (SPLs) are families of related systems whose members are distinguished by the set of features they provide. Over 2 decades of research and practice can attest to the substantial benefits of applying SPL practices such as better customization, improved software reuse, and faster time to market. Software product line engineering (SPLE) refers to the paradigm of developing SPLs. Typical SPLE efforts involve a large number of features that are combined to form also large numbers of products, implemented using multiple and different types of software artifacts. Because of the sheer amount of information and its complexity, visualization techniques have been used for different SPLE activities. In this paper, we present an extended systematic mapping study on this subject. Our research questions aim to gather information regarding the techniques that have been applied, at what SPLE activities, how they were implemented, the publication fora used, the methods of empirical evaluation, and the provenance of the evaluation examples. Our driving goal is to identify common trends, gaps, and opportunities for further research and application.
Faculty perception of Moodle software as a teaching tool at the University of Zambia

In the existing educational milieu in the world today, there is an increasing application of electronic learning software in the delivery of tertiary education. However, one critical issue in the successful deployment of electronic learning platforms in teaching and learning is dependent on lecturers’ ability and commitment to accept and use the systems. This paper describes the results of a questionnaire survey among academics at the University of Zambia in the aftermath of the implementation of Moodle software. The survey aimed to gather perceptions of lecturers toward the use of Moodle online environment, from which future practice could be informed. In this regard, the researcher used a survey design method with a sample of 42 respondents conveniently selected for this study. The survey was carried out in the third term of the 2017 academic calendar. Quantitative data was analysed with the help of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 20). The main findings were that there were low adoption levels of Moodle as a supplementary mode of lesson delivery and that a limited number of respondents agreed that Moodle had helped them improve their teaching, indicative that academics were still in a period of transition from shallow systems compliance to deep pedagogical change. Overall, the experience showed that the move to Moodle needs careful planning and communication and must be part of a wider strategy to integrate e-learning solutions throughout course design and institutional culture. Nevertheless, respondents indicated their willingness to participate in programmes to equip them with the requisite skills that would make them proficient in using Moodle. The main obstacles to the integration of Moodle were limited knowledge of Moodle functionalities on the part of the faculty and slow internet speed. These findings may be used to develop e-learning support structures critical to an effective implementation of Moodle as an integral part of the teaching and learning process. With continuous promotion and training of Moodle usage among the lecturers and students and increased training of faculty members coupled with improved broadband connectivity, Moodle holds the prospect for diversifying e-learning experiences that can support faculty members’ professional learning outcomes.
Non-Stationary Bandits with Habituation and Recovery Dynamics

In many sequential decision-making settings where there is uncertainty about the reward of each action, frequent selection of specific actions may reduce expected reward while choosing less frequently selected actions could lead to an increase. These effects are commonly observed in settings ranging from personalized healthcare interventions and targeted online advertising. To address this problem, the authors propose a new class of models called ROGUE (reducing or gaining unknown efficacy) multiarmed bandits. In the paper, the authors present a maximum likelihood approach to estimate the parameters of these models, and we show that these estimates can be used to construct upper confidence bound algorithms and epsilon-greedy algorithms for optimizing these models with strong theoretical guarantees. The authors conclude with a simulation study to show that these algorithms perform better than current nonstationary bandit algorithms in terms of both cumulative regret and average reward.
First OpenFlow-based software-defined λ-flow architecture for flex-grid OFDMA mobile backhaul over passive optical networks with filterless direct detection ONUs

We demonstrate the first software-defined OpenFlow1.0-based flex-grid λ-flow architecture enabling 150Mb/s per-cell OFDMA MBH overlays onto bidirectional 10Gb/s PON, without any ONU-side optical filtering, amplification, or coherent detection over 20km SSMF and 1:64 passive split.
Cost Analysis in a Population Based Screening Programme for Colorectal Cancer: Comparison of Immunochemical and Guaiac Faecal Occult Blood Testing

Objective— To compare the costs of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening by two faecal occult blood tests (FOBT)—namely, Hemoccult (guaiac based) and reversed passive haemagglutination (RPHA) tests. RPHA was interpreted according to two positivity thresholds (+ or +/-). Methods— Attenders performed both tests. Subjects with a positive FOBT test were invited to have a complete exploration of the colon. The total costs for every 10 000 screened subjects and costs for each unit of result (screened subject, or patient with adenoma/s or cancer detected) were calculated for both tests. Results— 8353 subjects were enrolled. A total of 2109 repeated screening after two years. RPHA(+ and +/-) showed the highest and RPHA(+) the lowest positivity rate at first screening. The Hemoccult positivity rate was highest at repeat screening. Total costs of screening by RPHA(+ and +/-) were highest as this method had the highest recall rate. Screening by RPHA(+) was the least costly. Costs for each screened subject were highest for RPHA(+ and +/-) and lowest for RPHA(+). Costs for each cancer detected were lowest for RPHA(+) and highest for Hemoccult or RPHA(+ and +/-) in subjects aged > 49 or < 50, respectively. Costs for subjects with detected adenoma/s of > 9 mm were lowest for RPHA(+ and +/-) and highest for Hemoccult. At repeat screening total costs of RPHA(+ and +/-) were lower than at first screening, whereas for each subject with cancer or adenoma/s costs were increased. Conclusions— Our data confirm that screening by RPHA is more cost effective than by Hemoccult.
To rent or not to rent? Investigating consumers’ willingness to rent casual wear by analysing its drivers

Motivated by an ambition to contribute to the understanding of apparel consumer behaviour in an access economy, this paper aims at investigating consumers’ willingness to rent casual wear by analyzing its drivers. A research model was created, compounded of seven underlying factors which were hypothesized to have an impact on consumers’ willingness to rent casual wear; namely identity-signalling behaviour, environmental advantages, economic advantages, word of mouth, e-word of mouth, product criteria and service criteria. Through survey data from 278 clothing consumers, the model was empirically assessed and structural equations modelling was used to test the hypotheses. The result gave insights into which factors that contributed to explaining consumers’ willingness to rent casual wear, where identity-signalling was the strongest predictor. Environmental advantages, product criteria, service criteria and eWoM also contributed to predicting consumers’ willingness to rent casual wear. Contrarily, economic advantages and WoM did however not significantly influence consumers’ willingness to rent casual wear. A modified model was discovered, were identity-signalling behaviour was found as a mediator of environmental advantages and consumers’ willingness to rent casual wear. The insights contribute to managerial implications with an apprehension of how to create price-, market-, and operational strategies for organisations involved with access economy business models.
Long-term visual acuity and its predictors after surgery for congenital cataract: findings of the British congenital cataract study.

PURPOSE To report long-term postoperative visual acuity in a nationally representative group of children with congenital/infantile cataract and to investigate the factors associated with poor vision. METHODS All children aged less than 16 years in the United Kingdom who had newly diagnosed congenital/infantile cataract in a 12-month period during 1995-1996 (the British Congenital/infantile Cataract Study) were traced through their managing ophthalmologists. Outcome data were collected at least 6 years after diagnosis, by using specifically designed questionnaires. Ordinal regression analysis identified factors associated with postoperative acuity. RESULTS Of 153 children who had surgery, complete data were available in 122 (85%). Median age at follow-up was 7 and 6.91 years, respectively, for bilateral and unilateral disease. Median age at surgery was 4.57 months in bilateral and 2.99 months in unilateral cases, with 40% and 45%, respectively, of children operated on by 3 months. Median (range) postoperative acuity was 6/18 (6/5, no perception of light) in bilateral and 6/60 (6/5, no perception of light) in unilateral disease. Poor compliance with occlusion was the factor most strongly associated with poorer acuity in both unilateral and bilateral disease: the odds of worse vision in unilateral cataract were 7.92 times greater with <50% versus 100% compliance (95% CI 1.68-37.26). In bilateral disease, odds of worse vision were reduced with each month of decreasing age at surgery (0.98, 95% CI 0.94-0.99), but increased by the presence of additional medical conditions (3.53, 95% CI 1.08-11.44) and the presence of postoperative ocular complications (2.94, 95% CI 1.38-6.51). CONCLUSIONS These findings support a secular improvement in postoperative acuity in bilateral, and to a lesser extent, unilateral disease. Nevertheless early detection of congenital cataract through effective newborn screening and improving concordance with occlusion both remain priorities. Further improvements in outcomes in unilateral disease are necessary before parents can be advised universally that treatment will achieve a functionally useful "spare" eye.
MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS AND BANKS' INTERMEDIATION PROCESS IN NIGERIA: A TIME LAG ANALYSIS PERSPECTIVE

Although the majority of studies have found that mergers and acquisitions result to enhanced efficiency of financial intermediation in the Nigerian banking system, none of these studies considered the time lag for anomalies warranting further mergers and acquisitions `among banks in Nigeria. The objective of this study is to ascertain if mergers and acquisitions enhance banks intermediation process and to consider the time lag for banks to remain profitable after mergers and acquisitions. This objective is timely given the acquisitions and re-acquisitions, mergers and re-mergers of banks and financial distress in banks few years after the 2004 consolidation programme that witnessed many mergers and acquisitions in the Nigerian banking industry. The population of the study consists of the entire twenty one deposit money banks in Nigeria and a sample of six banks was selected. The source of data is secondary and data was extracted from the annual reports and accounts of these banks for a period of sixteen years (2000 to 2015). The parametric inferential statistics of simple regression and sequence charts were employed to analyze and to present the results respectively. Our findings show that mergers and acquisitions enhance banks intermediation process and that the time lag for profit resulting from mergers and acquisitions is four (4) years after mergers and acquisitions. Among other recommendations, banks are urged to tighten controls in their operations as well as to grant credit to viable channels in order to sustain profit performance benefits arising from mergers and acquisitions.
Effects of GSM electromagnetic field on the MEG during an encoding-retrieval task

Potential effects of GSM 1800 electromagnetic fields (EMF) on verbal memory encoding were investigated by recording event-related magnetic fields (ERMF) from the brain during subsequent memory retrieval. Twelve normal subjects participated in the study. After encoding words from a study list presented in the first phase they had to discriminate old from new words mixed together in a test list presented during the second phase. All subjects performed two experimental sessions, one with exposure to EMF during the study phase, and one without. Exposure to EMF changed an early (350–400 ms) task-specific component of the ERMF indicating an interference of EMF and item encoding. Behavioural measures were not significantly affected. Adverse health effects cannot be derived from these data.