Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Age, Sickness, and Longevity in the Late Nineteenth and the Early Twentieth Centuries

We examine the relationship between age, sickness, and longevity among men who were members of the Hampshire Friendly Society (HFS) in southern England during the late nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. The HFS insured its members against sickness, death, and old age, keeping detailed records of the claims for sick pay submitted by its members from 1868 onward. From 1892 onward these records included information about the cause of the sickness for which compensation was paid. We can therefore use this information to construct individual “sickness biographies” for men who joined the society during this period. This article uses these sickness histories to address two questions. The first concerns the relationship between the age of the society’s members and the nature of the claims they submitted. We find that both the incidence and the duration of periods of sickness increased with age. Older men experienced longer periods of sickness both because they experienced different types of sickness and because it took them longer to recover from the same illnesses as those suffered by younger men. The second question is whether sickness in early adulthood was associated with increased mortality. We find that repeated bouts of sickness, as revealed by the number of claims made for sick pay, at ages under 50 years were associated with an increased risk of death at ages over 50 years.
Anti-apoptotic agents for the treatment of vascular disease

Background: Recognition of the importance of apoptosis in atherosclerosis could lead to the development of new therapeutic strategies aimed at the reduction of apoptotic death. Many of the available therapeutic agents that have been shown to reduce the progression of the disease and the incidence or recurrence of acute coronary syndromes may have been active, at least in part, through reduction in apoptosis. Statins, antioxidants and thiazolidinediones are implicated in the amelioration of endothelial function, regulation of inflammatory status and downregulation of smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration. Objectives: To evaluate the anti-apoptotic properties of current atherosclerosis therapeutics. Methods: A thorough enquiry in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane and patent databases was carried out for important original and review articles in the field of vascular anti-apoptotic therapies. Results: Statins, antioxidants and other agents with nonspecific anti-apoptotic properties are effective in preventing adverse cardiovascular events. However, more research in the field of targeted anti-apoptotic therapies may revolutionize therapeutic strategies against atherosclerosis.
Design of PID controllers based on constrained optimization

This paper presents a new design method for PID controllers based on optimization of load disturbance rejection with constraints on robustness to model uncertainties. The design also delivers parameters to deal with measurement noise and set point response. Thus, the formulation of the design problem captures four essential aspects of industrial control problems, leading to a constrained optimization problem which can be solved iteratively.
Maternal near miss review from a tertiary care center in South India

Background: Maternal near miss review acts as complimentary for mortality audits. It indicates the quality of obstetric care and helps obstetricians to revise policies and practices. Methods: A retrospective observational study was carried out at institute of maternal and child health, Government Medical College Kozhikode from January to December 2014. Cases were defined based on WHO criteria 2009. Results: Total live births during the study period were 15604 and there were 24 maternal deaths. Near Miss cases were 267. Maternal mortality rate was 153.5/lakh live births and maternal near miss incidence ratio was 17.03/1000 live births. Maternal near miss to mortality ratio was 11.1 and mortality index was 8.2%. Hypertensive disorders comprised 46%, followed by haemorrhage 36%, sepsis 7% and other causes 10%. Conclusions: Even with improving care, maternal near miss incidence (17.03 per 1000 live births) is found to be higher in our institution compared to developed nations. However high maternal near miss to mortality ratio (11.1) and low mortality index (8.2%) shows good quality of obstetric care in our institution.
Severe Traumatic Brain Injury outcome assessed by a novel scale: a pilot study.

Background: Valid and reliable assessment of long term outcome in traumatic brain injury (TBI) survivors is a prerequisite for the evaluation of functional disability and appropriateness of healthcare provision and rehabilitation support. Aim: The aim of the present study was to design a new, time-sparring and relatively simple outcome measurement scale for the evaluation of severe TBI, on aspects of functionality, mobility, psychocognitive status as well as overall quality of life. Method and Material: The present is a retrospective study that was carried out from February to June 2010. The cohort consisted of 96 patients that were hospitalized due to severe TBI at the University Neurosurgery Clinic of β€œEvaggelismos Hospitalβ€œ, from February 1999 until June 2009. The proposed β€œAthens Disability Scaleβ€œ (ADS) - which combines selected elements of commonly used outcome scales β€“ allows, as a pilot research, the quick (5-7 minutes) assessment of TBI outcome on motor, psycho-cognitive and social aspects by evaluating ten elements. The scale was applied on the cohort by telephone interview. The statistical analysis of the data was accomplished with the SPSS 16.0 for Windows. Results: The study highlighted statistically significant associations between the total ADS score and the following parameters: GCS score, physiotherapy duration, physiotherapy treatment, presence of post-traumatic epileptic seizures and use of antiepileptic medication. No statistically significant relations between the total ADS score and gender, age, injury mechanism or the elapsed time between admission and interviews, were identified. Multivariate linear regression method showed that increased GCS score, decreased physiotherapy duration and absence of post-traumatic epileptic seizures were independently associated with increased total ADS score. A statistically significant association was found between the ability to work and verbal expression, verbal comprehension, mobility, physiotherapy as well as presence of epileptic seizures. Conclusion: The present findings indicate that ADS, as a pilot, represents a useful outcome measurement tool that allows for the rapid assessment of functional disability and quality of life in TBI survivors, in which nurses should also take part.
The national injury mortality surveillance system : a profile of fatal injuries in South Africa, 2000

National vital statistics last reported an analysis of non-natural deaths by manner of death and external cause in 1991, and there are no indications that such reporting will be reinstated in the near future. In 2000, the National Injury Mortality Surveillance System (NIMSS) Annual Report for 1999 was released, which provided the first semi-national profile describing the epidemiology of non-natural deaths since 1991. The NIMSS database provides information about the external causes of fatal injuries (e.g. gunshots, sharp instruments, pedestrian motor vehicle accidents) by victim age, sex, population group, spatial and temporal characteristics of the events, and alcohol involvement. The information is critical for monitoring demographic, seasonal and socio-economically related trends in such major causes of death as homicide, motor vehicle accidents, burns, falls and drowning.
Where has all the education gone in sub-Saharan Africa? employment and other outcomes among secondary school and university leavers

Abstract Anecdotal evidence and generalisations abound concerning the employment outcomes of secondary school and university leavers, but there is very little solid, accurate information on what these groups in African countries do after they have completed their education. Using tracer surveys, this paper presents comprehensive time-series information on the activity profiles of representative samples of secondary school leavers and university graduates in Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. The paper shows that much of the anecdotal evidence surrounding the labour market outcomes of these groups is spurious. While employment outcomes are generally much better than expected, the tracer surveys highlight the enormous challenges of educating and subsequently utilising secondary school leavers and university graduates in an efficient and effective manner in low-income African countries. In particular, given the paucity of new employment opportunities in the formal sector, much more needs to be done in order to ensure that both these groups are better prepared for productive self-employment, especially in high growth and higher skill activities.
Enhancing Citation Context based Information Services through Sentence Context Identification

Over the years, scientific articles have played a vital role in disseminating scientific knowledge. Typically, the published scientific information builds upon the previous or existing scientific knowledge and citations play a key role in presenting the argument of the article and defining inter-article relationships across articles. Understanding the use of citations within articles and citation relationships across articles is essential for conducting good research. However, the search and browsing capabilities to trace these relationships are currently limited to finding documents citing a given document and providing links to citing documents, and do not provide insights about the reasons for citations either within an article or across articles. Development of information systems capable of identifying these reasons can be helpful in providing useful services for the research community. Against this background, we investigate in this thesis the possibility of identifying contexts associated with sentences in scientific articles and use this information to provide useful citation context based information services. To achieve this objective, we developed an annotation scheme that defines context types for sentences in scientific articles. An inter-rater reliability study was carried out to examine the reliability of our scheme. We achieved an overall agreement of 89.93% among annotators, indicating the acceptability of our scheme. In order to develop a contextual model of sentence context types in scientific article, we developed the Sentence Context Ontology for generating semantic contextual data that was used for developing applications that provide contextual information services. We also developed a text extraction and preparation system for processing scientific documents. Another key aspect of citation context based information services is the ability to automatically identify contexts of sentences. We achieved this by using Conditional Random Fields (CRFs), a sequential probabilistic classifier. We trained the CRF classifier using a training dataset of 1000 paragraphs extracted from 71 research articles and achieved an accuracy of 91% in classifying the sentences according to our proposed scheme. Finally, using the results obtained from the tasks described above, we developed various applications for providing citation context based information services. These included a standalone system and applications using linked data principles and Web APIs.
The Effects of Ziziphora Clinopodioides Lam. Extract o n Rat's Gastric Motility at Basal and Vagal Stimulated Conditions

Summary Ziziphora clinopodioides Lam . is a plant widely used in traditional medicine especially in Iran. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of aqueous1ethanol extract of Z. clinopodioides on rat’s gastric motility in basal and vagal stimulated conditions. Twenty four Wistar rats were randomly divided into two groups: test and control. The extract was prepared by maceration and three doses (0.5, 1 and 2 mg/kg) were used in test group. The same volume of saline was used in the control group. Gastric motility was measured by inserted a small balloon in the stomach through a cut in duodenum. The balloon was connected to a pressure transducer by a 10 cm silicon tube. The data were recorded for 25 minutes duration after each doses and these data were analyzed for 3 intermittent five minute intervals (015, 10115 and 20125 min). At basal condition the extract increased significantly intragastric pressure (IGP) in the first 5 minutes of recording, but an inhibitory effect was revealed at vagal stimulated condition. The extract showed an inhibitory effect on gastric contraction amplitude in both basal and vagal stimulated conditions but had no effect on gastric contraction frequency in these conditions. The extract exerted an inhibitory effect on gastric motility mainly in vagal stimulated condition. This inhibitory effect could be exerted via gastric vagal parasympathetic nerve.
Variability Mechanisms for Process Models

This report describes the representation of variant rich process models and the derivation of concrete process models using variability mechanisms. Therefore based on a study of existing variability mechanisms, architecturally relevant variability mechanisms are identified and their transfer first onto generic processes and then onto UML Activity Diagrams, UML State Machines, BPMN, and Matlab/Simulink is described. A number of practical examples demonstrates the application of the approach. III PESOA is a cooperative project supported by the federal ministry of education and research (BMBF). Its aim is the design and prototypical implementation of a process family engineering platform and its application in the areas of e-business and telematics. The project partners are: · DaimlerChrysler AG · Delta Software Technology GmbH · ehotel AG · Fraunhofer IESE · Hasso-Plattner-Institute · University of Leipzig PESOA is coordinated by Prof. Dr. Mathias Weske Prof.-Dr.-Helmert-Str. 2-3 D-14482 Potsdam www.pesoa. org
Risk Factors for Fatal Hemoptysis after Concurrent Chemoradiation Therapy in Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma

Received: March 8, 2010, Accepted for Publication: March 18, 2010 *Corresponding author: In-Jae Oh, 519-809, Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Lung and Esophageal Cancer Clinic, Chonnam National University Hwasun Hospital, Phone: +82-61-379-7617, FAX: +82-61-3797619, E-mail: droij@chonnam.ac. kr 전남의대학술지 제46권 제1호 Chonnam Medical Journal Vol. 46, No. 1, pp. 19∼24 DOI: 10.4068/cmj.2010. 46.1. 19
Novel Tissue Types for the Development of Genomic Biomarkers

Imagine a simple clinical test that can not only diagnose a disease, but that can also identify the exact, personal therapeutic regime to cure it. Not only that, imagine tests that can accurately predict the potential of developing a disease and provide an individualized roadmap on how it will progress. Now imagine that all you had to do was to spit in a vial, or have a few hairs plucked for the analysis. While the promise of “personalized medicine” is technologically a reality, it relies on the development of disease and progression biomarkers.
Therapeutic Penetrating Keratoplasty A Retrospective Analysis in Rural Population of Central India

Purpose:To evaluate indications and outcome of Therapeutic Penetrating Keratoplasty(TPK) in rural population of central India. Method:A retrospective review of 26 eyes of 26 patients who underwent TPK between January 2010 & March 2011 was done. The patients were reviewed for age, sex, indication of surgery, details of surgery, post-operative complications, anatomical integrity, visual outcome and graft clarity. Result:Out of 26 patients, 22 were males and 4 were females, age range was between 16 -70 years and mean follow up period was 6 months. The most common indication for TPK was perforated corneal ulcer of fungal origin. Pre-operative visual acuity ranged from perception of light (PL+) to 3/60. Post-operative visual acuity remained same in 6 eyes (23.1%), improved to 6/60 in 13 eyes (50.0%), of which between 6/36 to 6/9 in 3 eyes. Anatomical integrity was achieved in all eyes (100%). Graft was clear in 13 (50%) eyes on last follow-up. Primary graft failure occurred in 3(11.5%) eyes, graft infection in 4 (15.3%) eyes and acute graft rejection in 2 (7.7%) eyes. One patient had graft dehiscence and 1 had wound leak, both required re-suturing. In 1 case re-graft was done and 1 case required Amniotic membrane transplant. Conclusion:Therapeutic Penetrating Keratoplasty goes a long way by not only salvaging the eye and achieving anatomical integrity but also improves the patient’s vision. Del J Ophthalmol 2012;23(1):23-26.
On the statistics of spoken English

The importance of using linguistic information for automatic speech recognition and speech synthesis is becoming more and more apparent as our knowledge of speech increases. Among the different kinds of linguistic rules that could be used in this connection are the statistical relationships between the various units of the language. This paper describes the statistical analysis of a considerable body of English speech, using a digital computer. The principles for selecting suitable texts are considered. The speech material used for the present study was obtained from several “Phonetic Readers” compiled for the teaching of English; these phonetic transcriptions were punched on IBM cards to make them suitable for computer processing. Counts were obtained for phoneme monogram and digram frequencies, for word length in terms of phonemes and of syllables, etc. Stress was taken into consideration, and many of the statistics were obtained separately for stressed and unstressed cases. Particular attention has bee.
Prevalence of ameloblastoma: A three-year retrospective study

Context: This study intends to assess the data on the prevalence and types of ameloblastoma reported in the Outpatient Department retrospectively, so that the distribution of ameloblastomas among this geographic area can be reported. Aims: To retrospectively analyze and evaluate the distribution and frequency of ameloblastoma cases based on the gender and histopathological types. Settings and Design: Retrospective study. Materials and Methods: Radiographs and biopsy records of all histologically diagnosed cases of ameloblastoma archived from January 2010 to December 2012 were retrieved from the Outpatient Department. Statistical Analysis: Descriptive statistics were performed to calculate the frequency and percentages of these variables. Age was stratified into various groups at 15-year intervals. The chi-square test for differences between two groups and the analysis of variance (ANOVA) test for differences among three or more groups were used. The level of statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: From the data of ameloblastoma patients, about 30 cases were short-listed and their data was analyzed. It was found that the 15-30 year old age group had the highest percentage of occurrence (about 46.6%) among all cases. Frequently the posterior segment and vertical ramus of the mandible was involved. Radiographically, unilocular appearance was noted in 50% of the cases and unicystic ameloblastoma was the most frequently encountered histological subtype (49.9%). Conclusion: Studies on the incidence of ameloblastoma among the Indian population is rare. By performing a meta-analysis at the level of societies and geographic places, we can identify the demographic distribution of common odontogenic lesions like ameloblastoma among the various populations.
IMPROVING PROCESS EFFICIENCY THROUGH APPLIED PROCESS SCHEDULING AND PRODUCTION PLANNING OPTIMIZATION

The industrial application of production planning and process scheduling optimization is addressed in this thesis. The first part of the thesis addresses the research into process scheduling application. Several scheduling models are developed based on both discrete and continuous time modelling frameworks. Extensions to both frameworks are presented to address unique production policies and maintenance activities. The potential benefits of schedule optimization is determined through several comparative industrial case studies. The weekly production schedules of the actual plant are compared against the schedules generated by optimization. The historical plant performance is ascertained and areas where efficiency gains are possible are highlighted. In addition, the scheduling model is used to investigate potential changes to production policies. The second part of the thesis addresses the research conducted in production planning application. The main goal of production planning is the efficient generation of a plan that specifies production targets for products over a medium term horizon. Direct application of previously proposed planning models fails to model several unique and key processing features of the production facility. A production planning model is presented that relaxes the detailed scheduling model structure and exploits the use of traveling salesman type constraints to accurately model sequence dependent changeovers. Two case studies are presented to investigate the benefits of optimization in production planning. The first case study investigates the lowest cost planning solution over a three month planning horizon. The second case study investigates the effects of a key production parameter on the optimality of solution. The results highlight the potential benefit of optimization application in increasing plant processing efficiency and reducing unnecessary production downtime. Finally, a modelling framework is presented that allows for the combined scheduling of production and maintenance. The framework allows for maintenance with various timing requirements and extends the capabilities of current frameworks.
Mortality among Danish drug users released from prison

To determine the mortality of drug users after release from prison in Denmark, a cohort of drug users was identified from two national registers during 1996‐2001: the drug treatment register (T) and the register of viral hepatitis (H). Incarcerations were extracted from the national penal register, vital status from the civil register, and causes of death from the death certificate register and the police register of drug‐related deaths. We identified 15,885 drug users (T: 15,735, H: 896), 62% of the estimated drug‐using population in Denmark. There were 1000 observed deaths, of which 51% were classified as overdose deaths. Mortality in the treatment cohort was 2.4/100 person years (py) (95% C.I. 2.2‐2.5/100 py) compared to the general population expectation of 0.2/100 py. Within the first 2 weeks after release from prison, 26 deaths were observed among 6019 released drug users corresponding to 13/100 py (95% CI 8‐19/100 py). Overdose deaths accounted for 24/26 deaths (92%) in the first two weeks compared to 121/179 (68%) hereafter (p <0.001). We conclude that drug users released from prison are at high risk of overdose death. We suggest that methadone treatment should be evaluated as a way to decrease mortality after release from prison.