Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Outage analysis of full duplex decode and forward relaying over Nakagami-m channels

In this paper we analyze the outage behavior of a dual hop cooperative system where the relay is equipped with full duplex relaying (FDR) capabilities that means a relay can simultaneously receive and transmit unlike half duplex relaying (HDR), where the relay cannot receive and transmit simultaneously. We consider, in this analysis, that the reception at destination via any channel other than source-relay-destination is an interference. The interference between the receiving and transmitting antennas at the relay is also taken into account. At relay, the signal received from source is first decoded and then forwarded to destination.We derive the closed form expressions for outage probability considering flat, non-identical and independent Nakagami-m fading channels for both FDR and HDR. The comparison of outage performances reveals that FDR stands better than HDR for lower values of signal-to-noise ratio(SNR).
The relation between leadership style and empowerment on job satisfaction of nurses.

OBJECTIVE The authors explore the relation between leadership style and empowerment and its effect on job satisfaction among the nursing staff of a regional medical center. BACKGROUND Several empirical studies on transformational leadership-found that transformational leadership behaviors were positively related to work team success and leadership effectiveness. Transformational leadership processes have also been suggested to enhance followers' work-oriented values and shape the self-efficacies of followers. Employee empowerment may be influenced by the perception that the organization cares about its employees' well-being and that their work is valued. Empowering nurses may increase job satisfaction and improve patient care. Leadership style and empowerment influence job satisfaction among workers. METHODS All nursing department staff were invited to complete a self-report questionnaire with no identifying information. Leadership style was measured using Bass's Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, empowerment was measured with items from Spreitzer's Psychological Empowerment instrument, and job satisfaction was measured by Warr, Cook, and Wall's job satisfaction questionnaire. RESULTS Both transformational and transactional leadership were positively related to job satisfaction, as was empowerment. Differences in the contributions of empowerment and leadership style in predicting job satisfaction for licensed and unlicensed workers was evident. CONCLUSION Designing interventions that allow for the relative influence of leadership style as well as empowerment on varying classifications of nursing personnel may be a more effective strategy and have a greater effect on staff attitudes and behaviors.
Colorectal Cancer Screening in First Nations People Living in Manitoba

Background: Because the burden of colorectal cancer (CRC) seems to be increasing in First Nations, it is important to better understand CRC screening utilization. The objective of this study was to describe CRC screening among First Nations living in Manitoba. Methods: The Federal Indian Register was linked to two provincial databases. A negative binomial model was used to compare the probability of First Nations having a fecal occult blood test (FOBT), colonoscopy, or flexible sigmoidoscopy (FS) with all other Manitobans. Results: First Nations who lived in Winnipeg were significantly less likely to have had a FOBT in the previous 2 years than all other Manitobans who lived in Winnipeg [rate ratio (RR) = 0.40; 95% confidence intervals (CI), 0.37–0.44]. There was no difference in the likelihood of having a colonoscopy or FS for First Nations individuals who resided in northern Manitoba compared with all other Manitobans (RR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.91–1.19). However, First Nations who lived in the rural south or urban areas were less likely than all other Manitobans to have had a colonoscopy or FS (RR, 0.81, 95% CI, 0.75–0.87, rural south; RR, 0.86, 95% CI, 0.81–0.92, urban). Conclusions: First Nations living in Winnipeg were significantly less likely to be screened for CRC using the FOBT. Colonoscopy and FS use depended on area of residence. Impact: First Nations experience barriers that impede the use of CRC screening. Further research is needed to understand these barriers to extend the benefit of CRC screening to this population. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 24(1); 241–8. ©2014 AACR.
Mutual influence of the maternal hen's food calling and feeding behavior on the behavior of her chicks.

It is widely accepted that brooding hens attract their chicks to food by food calling, but until now, the concurrent behavior of hens and chicks has never been investigated in depth. This study provides a detailed analysis of both the behavior of brooded chicks and the distance to their mother in relation to her feeding sequences, and whether they contained food calling. Our results revealed that brooding hens utter food calls while pecking, especially when their chicks are not feeding and/or have been at some distance for several seconds. Chicks' response to their mother's feeding activities was more pronounced in the presence than in the absence of food call. Chicks responded to this call by approaching their mother and increasing their pecking; their response became more efficient as they grew older. We thus consider food calls as an arousal vocalization that directs the chicks' attention to a food item chosen by a hen.
Synchronous duodenal neuroendocrine tumours in von Recklinghausen's disease—a case report of co‐existing gangliocytic paraganglioma and somatostatin‐rich glandular carcinoid

The co‐existence of a gangliocytic paraganglioma and a glandular psammomatous carcinoid in the duodenum of a patient with von Recklinghausen's disease and bilateral phaeochromocytomas is reported. The two lesions were considered to be distinctive by light microscopy, electron microscopy and immunocytochemistry. The cells of the glandular carcinoid showed strong cytoplasmic immunoreactivity for somatostatin and contained only scanty intracytoplasmic microfilaments on electron microscopy. In contrast, the endocrine cells of the gangliocytic paraganglioma were positive for pancreatic polypeptide and serotonin, were negative for somatostatin, and contained conspicuous intracytoplasmic aggregates of filaments. The histogenic relationship between the two tumours is discussed. This case strengthens the known association of glandular duodenal somatostatinoma with von Recklinghausen's disease and phaeochromocytoma and, in the light of a previous case report, suggests that von Recklinghausen's disease and gangliocytic paraganglioma may co‐exist more commonly than expected.
Enzymatic Assay of Histamine by Amperometric Detection of H2O2 with a Peroxidase-based Sensor

A method for an enzymatic assay of histamine by using histamine oxidase from Arthrobacter globiformis in combination with amperometric determination of H2O2 is described. Histamine could be quantified at a level as low as 10-7 M. The assay is adaptable to determine histamine in food samples including tuna fish with good sensitivity and selectivity.
Use of SPARK to promote after-school physical activity.

BACKGROUND The after-school period is potentially an important venue for increasing physical activity for youth. We sought to assess the effectiveness of the Sports, Play, and Recreation for Youth (SPARK) program to increase physical activity and improve cardiorespiratory fitness and weight status among elementary students after school. METHODS This quasi-experimental controlled study compared change in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), body mass index (BMI) z-score, and cardiorespiratory fitness (VO(2) ) over 5 months between students in after-school programs exposed to SPARK versus controls. Participants were fifth grade students at 3 intervention schools (N = 48) and 3 control schools (N = 52). RESULTS There was no difference between groups in mean change in MVPA, BMI z-score, or cardiorespiratory fitness. After-school time dedicated to physical activity did not increase with the implementation of SPARK. Intervention students' self-assessment of their activity levels relative to their peers significantly increased compared to control students (p = .011). CONCLUSIONS In this 5-month study, the SPARK program did not increase MVPA in the after-school setting. Increasing the amount of time dedicated to physical activity may be as important as the curriculum used to effectively increase physical activity after school.
Corticotropin-releasing factor receptor 1 in mouse spleen: expression after immune stimulation and identification of receptor-bearing cells.

A specific polyclonal Ab against the N-terminal domain of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) receptor, type 1 (CRF-R1), was employed to an immunohistochemical analysis of the spleen from naive mice and mice exposed to an immune challenge. Cell types stained with anti-CRF-R1 Ab were identified by their nuclear shapes and colocalization with the cell type-specific markers ER-MP58, ER-MP20, Moma-1, Moma 2, anti-CD3e mAbs, and anti-Ig Ab. Only a few clusters of CRF-R1+ cells were found in spleen sections of naive mice at sites typical for granulopoietic islands. However, a 17-fold increase in the mean number of CRF-R1+ cells was noted within hours following a challenge of acute systemic inflammation induced by i.p. administration of LPS. The majority of these cells were identified as mature neutrophils. CRF-R1 was shown to mediate suppression of the IL-1beta secretion by these cells. However, at later time points a large number of granulocyte-macrophage precursors was strongly labeled with anti-CRF-R1 Ab. Western blot analysis of splenic membranes from animals treated with LPS revealed a m.w. of approximately 70,000 for CRF-R1. Subcellular staining patterns were suggestive for the predominant localization of CRF-R1 on granule membranes. CRF-R1 mRNA was detected in spleen but not in bone marrow and peripheral blood leukocytes from naive mice. Thus, it was indicated that CRF-R1 was not produced constitutively by mature or immature neutrophils. Its production was rather triggered by inflammatory stimuli.
Incidence and Predictors of Anal Incontinence After Obstetric Anal Sphincter Injury in Primiparous Women

Objective This study aimed to describe the incidence of fecal incontinence (FI) at 6, 12, and 24 weeks postpartum; anal incontinence (AI) and fecal urgency at 24 weeks; and identify predictors of AI in women with obstetric anal sphincter injury (OASI). Methods Primiparous women sustaining OASIs were identified at 8 clinical sites. Third-degree OASIs were characterized using World Health Organization criteria, 3a (<50%) or 3b (>50%) tear through the sphincter. Fecal incontinence was defined as leakage of liquid/solid stool and/or mucus in the past month; AI was defined as leakage of liquid/solid stool and/or mucus and/or gas in the past month and was assessed at 6, 12, and 24 weeks postpartum using the Fecal Incontinence Severity Index. Logistic regression identified variables associated with AI. Results Three hundred forty-three women participated: 297 subjects sustained a third-degree OASI, 168 type 3a, 98 type 3b and 31 indeterminant; 45 had a fourth-degree OASI. Overall FI incidence at 6, 12, and 24 weeks was 7% [23/326; 95% confidence interval (CI), 4%–10%], 4% (6/145; 95% CI, 2%–9%), and 9% (13/138; 95% CI, 5%–16%), respectively. At 24 weeks, AI incidence was 24% (95% CI, 17%–32%) and fecal urgency 21% (95% CI, 15%–29%). No significant differences in FI and AI rates were noted by third-degree type or between groups with third and fourth OASI. Flatal incontinence was greater in women sustaining a fourth-degree tear (35% vs 16%, P = 0.04). White race (adjusted odds ratio, 4.64; 95% CI, 1.35–16.02) and shorter duration of second stage (adjusted odds ratio, 1.47 per 30 minute decrease; 95% CI, 1.12–1.92) were associated with AI at 24 weeks. Conclusions Overall 24-week incidence of FI is 9% (95% CI, 5%–16%) and AI is 24% (95% CI, 17%–32%). In women with OASI, white race and shorter second-stage labor were associated with postpartum AI. Clinical Trial Registration: NCT01166399 (http://clinicaltrials.gov)
Meta-Regression Analysis: A Quantitative Method of Literature Surveys

Pedagogically, literature reviews are instrumental. They summarize the large literature written on a particular topic, give coherence to the complex, often disparate, views expressed about an issue, and serve as a springboard for new ideas. However, literature surveys rarely establish anything approximating unanimous consensus. Ironically, this is just as true for the empirical economic literature. To harmonize this dissonance, we offer a quantitative methodology for reviewing the empirical economic literature. Meta-regression analysis (MRA) is the regression analysis of regression analyses. MRA tends to objectify the review process. It studies the processes that produce empirical economic results as though they were any other social scientific phenomenon. MRA provides a framework for replication and offers a sensitivity analysis for model specification. In this brief essay, we propose an new method of reviewing economic literature, MRA, and discuss its potential. Copyright 1989 by Blackwell Publishers Ltd
What do mothers of young children think of community pharmacists? A descriptive survey.

AIM To discover the attitudes of mothers of young children towards community pharmacists, and mothers' use of community pharmacies for childhood illnesses OBJECTIVES To discover how frequently mothers visit pharmacies; for which childhood complaints they tend to consult a pharmacist first, rather than other health professionals; to identify how helpful mothers feel their pharmacists are; and to identify whether mothers prefer pharmacists with particular demographic characteristics, eg having children of their own. METHODS A questionnaire survey based on the results of four focus groups conducted with mothers of children aged under five years. 117 questionnaires were distributed by five pharmacies in Northern England to a convenience sample between July and September 2000, with one written reminder to non-respondents one month later. A total of 85 (73%) were returned and the anonymised data were entered into SPSS for Windows for analysis. RESULTS 61% of mothers claimed to visit the pharmacy once a month or more but only 22% of mothers claimed to have had advice from the pharmacist once a month or more. 57% of the mothers are loyal customers to one pharmacy. 87% of the mothers reported that pharmacist's advice was helpful or very helpful. Mothers sought advice from pharmacists for minor childhood ailments but not always in the first instance. Mothers did not feel that the demographic characteristics of the pharmacists affected the advice given but they expressed a personal preference for receiving advice from female pharmacists with children. LIMITATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: This was an exploratory study with a small sample so the results cannot be generalised. Also, convenience sampling is prone to bias. However, this qualitative study presents some preliminary indications about mothers' use of pharmacies for advice on young children's ailments, and suggests aspects that warrant further investigation. CONCLUSION In this study, mothers of children under five years of age rated pharmacist's advice as helpful. They did not consider that the demographics of the pharmacist would affect the advice they received, but preferred to consult a pharmacist with children.
Comparative assessment of outcome in osteoarthritis of the knee: the utility of knee scores.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY The utility of scoring systems, which are used to determine health status or treatment benefit in patients with knee osteoarthritis is under discussion. Therefore it was the purpose of our investigation to evaluate the reliability and the concordance of two established knee scoring systems. METHODS Thirty-eight patients with unilateral knee osteoarthritis were scored by the Hospital for Special Surgery score and the Knee Society score. Two blinded observers rated the patients independently in order to determine the concordance of the scores, the correlation between the overall scores and their subscales such as "pain", "function" and "range of motion" and the inter-observer and intra-observer reliability. RESULTS There was a high correlation between the overall scores (r= 0.80) and between the scores and their subscales "range of motion" (r=0.89) and "function" (r=0.74). The correlation of scores for "pain" was slightly less (r=0.61). Mean inter-observer reliability ranged between r=0.58 and r=0.61. Mean intra-observer reliability was high for the overall scores as well as for the subscales of both scoring systems (r=0.64 to r=0.93 and r=0.73 to r=0.92). CONCLUSION We have found that the assessment of overall scores as well as of their main subscales is concordant and reliable in our patient sample. The application of these scoring systems in measuring health status in patients with knee osteoarthritis appears to be an acceptable method of audit. However, we feel that presentation of the results of knee scoring systems should include detailed information on the main subscales, since this allows for a better understanding of results.
Secretory IgA-Mediated Neutralization of Shigella flexneri Prevents Intestinal Tissue Destruction by Down-Regulating Inflammatory Circuits1

Shigella, a Gram-negative invasive enteropathogenic bacterium responsible for bacillary dysentery, causes the rupture, invasion, and inflammatory destruction of the human colonic mucosa. We explored the mechanisms of protection mediated by Shigella LPS-specific secretory IgA (SIgA), the major mucosal Ab induced upon natural infection. Bacteria, SIgA, or SIgA-S. flexneri immune complexes were administered into rabbit ligated intestinal loops containing a Peyer’s patch. After 8 h, localizations of bacteria, SIgA, and SIgA-S. flexneri immune complexes were examined by immunohistochemistry and confocal microscopy imaging. We found that anti-Shigella LPS SIgA, mainly via immune exclusion, prevented Shigella-induced inflammation responsible for the destruction of the intestinal barrier. Besides this luminal trapping, a small proportion of SIgA-S. flexneri immune complexes were shown to enter the rabbit Peyer’s patch and were internalized by dendritic cells of the subepithelial dome region. Local inflammatory status was analyzed by quantitative RT-PCR using newly designed primers for rabbit pro- and anti-inflammatory mediator genes. In Peyer’s patches exposed to immune complexes, limited up-regulation of the expression of proinflammatory genes, including TNF-α, IL-6, Cox-2, and IFN-γ, was observed, consistent with preserved morphology. In contrast, in Peyer’s patches exposed to Shigella alone, high expression of the same mediators was measured, indicating that neutralizing SIgA dampens the proinflammatory properties of Shigella. These results show that in the form of immune complexes, SIgA guarantees both immune exclusion and neutralization of translocated bacteria, thus preserving the intestinal barrier integrity by preventing bacterial-induced inflammation. These findings add to the multiple facets of the noninflammatory properties of SIgA.
De-Anonymizing Social Networks With Overlapping Community Structure

The advent of social networks poses severe threats on user privacy as adversaries can de-anonymize users’ identities by mapping them to correlated cross-domain networks. Without ground-truth mapping, prior literature proposes various cost functions in hope of measuring the quality of mappings. However, their cost functions, whose minimizers may remain algorithmically unknown, usually bring imponderable mapping errors when the true mapping cannot minimize these cost functions. We jointly tackle above concerns under a more practical social network model parameterized by overlapping communities, which, neglected by prior art, can serve as side information for de-anonymization. Regarding the unavailability of ground-truth mapping to adversaries, by virtue of the Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE), our first contribution is a well-justified cost function minimizing the expected number of mismatched users over all possible true mappings. While proving the NP-hardness of minimizing MMSE, we validly transform it into the weighted-edge matching problem (WEMP), which, as disclosed theoretically, resolves the tension between optimality and complexity: 1) WEMP asymptotically returns a negligible mapping error in large network size under mild conditions facilitated by higher overlapping strength; 2) WEMP can be algorithmically characterized via the convex-concave based de-anonymization algorithm (CBDA), effectively finding the optimum of WEMP. Extensive experiments further confirm the effectiveness of CBDA under overlapping communities: 90% users are re-identified averagely in a series of networks when communities overlap densely, and the re-identification ratio is enhanced about 70% compared to non-overlapping cases.
Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 Shiga-like toxin 1 is required for full pathogenicity and activation of the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) causes life-threatening infections in humans as a consequence of the production of Shiga-like toxins. Lack of a good animal model system currently hinders in vivo study of EHEC virulence by systematic genetic methods. Here we applied the genetically tractable animal, Caenorhabditis elegans, as a surrogate host to study the virulence of EHEC as well as the host immunity to this human pathogen. Our results show that E. coli O157:H7, a serotype of EHEC, infects and kills C. elegans. Bacterial colonization and induction of the characteristic attaching and effacing (A/E) lesions in the intact intestinal epithelium of C. elegans by E. coli O157:H7 were concomitantly demonstrated in vivo. Genetic analysis indicated that the Shiga-like toxin 1 (Stx1) of E. coli O157:H7 is a virulence factor in C. elegans and is required for full toxicity. Moreover, the C. elegans p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, an evolutionarily conserved innate immune and stress response signalling pathway, is activated in the regulation of host susceptibility to EHEC infection in a Stx1-dependent manner. Our results validate the EHEC-C. elegans interaction as suitable for future comprehensive genetic screens for both novel bacterial and host factors involved in the pathogenesis of EHEC infection.
Does prematurity affect thrombocytopoiesis?

Data concerning thrombocytopoiesis in newborns are poorly recognized. Platelets have a crucial role in hemostatic physiology, which is deficient in newborns, especially in preterm newborns. A total of 51 preterm newborns (PTN), 25 girls and 26 boys, were recruited for the study. The control group consisted of 25 female and 30 male healthy term newborns (HTN). Plasma thrombopoietin (TPO) was measured using Quantikine human TPO system. Reticulated platelets (PLRET) was estimated by means of Retic-Count Kit. Platelet count (PLT) was determined using AdviaTU 120 Hematology System. TPO was evidently higher in PTN (110.9 pg/ml) than in HTN (71.5 pg/ml), (p < 0.001). The percentage of reticulated platelets (PLRET) was also twice as high in PTN (3.49%) in comparison to HTN (1.7%), (p < 0.001). The PLT count was lower in PTN (246.7 × 103 µL) than in HTN (287.2 × 103 µL), (p < 0.01). Increased TPO levels and the percentage of PLRET indicate that thrombocytopoiesis is more active in prematurity. Our finding may be useful in therapeutic strategies.