Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Control of Interactive Robotic Interfaces: A Port-Hamiltonian Approach (Springer Tracts in Advanced Robotics)

When two physical systems (e.g. a robot and its environment) interact they exchange energy through localized ports and, in order to control their interaction, it is necessary to control the exchanged energy. The port-Hamiltonian formalism provides a general framework for modeling physical systems based on the concepts of energy, interconnection and power ports which describe the phenomena of energy storage, energy exchange and external interaction respectively. This monograph deals with energy based control of interactive robotic interfaces and the port-Hamiltonian framework is exploited both for modeling and controlling interactive robotic interfaces. Using the port-Hamiltonian framework, it is possible to identify the energetic properties that have to be controlled in order to achieve a desired interactive behavior and it is possible to build a port-Hamiltonian controller that properly regulates the robotic interface by shaping its energetic properties. Thanks to its generality, the port-Hamiltonian formalism allows to model and control also complex interactive robotic interfaces in a very natural way. In this book, a port-Hamiltonian approach for regulating the interaction between a robot and a local environment, a virtual environment (i.e. haptic interfaces) and a remote environment (i.e. bilateral telemanipulation systems) is developed.
Ohio Institutional Pharmacy Technicians' Demographics and Attitudes toward National Voluntary Pharmacy Technician Certification: An Exploratory Analysis

Objective: To collect demographic information from pharmacy technicians working in Ohio hospitals and to determine their attitudes toward national voluntary pharmacy technician certification. Methods: A survey was developed and sent to directors at 58 hospitals in Ohio for distribution to an exploratory sample of 735 technicians. Results: The response rate was 19.9%. Men comprised the majority of certified technicians and had been in their current job fewer years than the women surveyed. Technicians' attitudes toward certification differed depending on certification status. More certified technicians than uncertified technicians agreed with the beneficial aspects of certification. All technicians agreed that certification is not a substitute for on-the-job training and that certified technicians will not replace pharmacists. Technicians unsure of certification questioned its impact on improving qualifications, skills, likelihood of being hired, and opportunities for promotion. Conclusions: The use of technical personnel in pharmacies likely will increase because of pressures from the healthcare system to control costs. Future research should continue to document the characteristics of technicians and the benefits and costs of certification to technicians, employers, and pharmacists.
EDUCATIONAL FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE CAREER CHOICES OF UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST STUDENTS

This study focused on the educational factors that influence the career choices of University of Cape Coast students. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. Purposive, stratified, quota and simple random sampling techniques were used to sample 471 respondents for the study. One research questions were formulated to keep the study in focus. Three likert scale type of questionnaire was used in collecting responses from the students. Z for proportion test of significance was used to analyse the research question. It was found from the study that the educational factor that influence the career choice of the University of Cape Coast students is going back to school to upgrade him/herself. A recommendation for the study was that career choice be inculcated into the curriculum so that right from the start, students would know what should go into their choices of career.
Ergonomic factors and musculoskeletal pain in sonographers

Background: Sonographers have a high risk of musculoskeletal disorders. Sonography involves strenuous postures in the neck and upper limbs, and is visually demanding. Echocardiography is especially challenging, with static postures and monotonous movements. Aim: The overall aim of this thesis was to identify ergonomic risk factors for pain in sonographers, and to propose actions for sustainable work conditions. Method: At baseline a questionnaire on occupational factors and perceived pain was distributed to all female sonographers in Sweden (N=291). A qualitative interview was performed in a subgroup (N=22). The physical workload was assessed by technical measurements of postures, movements and muscular load in another subgroup (N=33), comparing different tasks and different techniques for echocardiography. A follow up questionnaire concerning pain was distributed about 2.5 years after baseline. Results: At baseline neck/shoulder as well as elbow/hand pain were associated with computer related eye complaints, high mechanical exposure index (MEI) and high job demands. To perform echocardiography was associated with elbow/hand pain while transducer handling with a two-handed/alternating grip and straight wrist was associated with a low prevalence of elbow/hand pain. The patient´s comfort was often prioritised to the disadvantage of working posture. Suggested improvements included reducing the manual handling of the transducer and to alternate hands. Echocardiography was static with awkward wrist postures and a lack of forearm muscular rest. In comparison, none of the techniques explored was optimal. The prevalence of neck/shoulder pain increased during the follow up period. Computer related eye problems, high MEI, high job demands and pain at baseline predicted neck/shoulder pain at follow up in both regions. Full time work and high job demands were associated with a high incidence of pain during the follow up period, whereas full time work was associated with a low recovery of neck/shoulder pain. For elbows hands, high sensory demands and pain at baseline were predictors for pain at follow/up and high sensory demands were associated with a high incidence of pain during the follow up period. Conclusions: We recommend improved visual ergonomics and optimal adjustability of the equipment. For echocardiography, we recommend that the equipment should be arranged so that a variation in work postures is enabled, as none of the techniques was optimal. (Less)
Comparative study of diagnostic accuracy of mini-invasive pathological techniques with clinical and radiological examination in the diagnosis of suspicious breast masses

Introduction Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) and core needle biopsy (CNB) of the breast are minimally invasive diagnostic techniques. However, their clinical use has been questioned. The purpose of our study was to establish the overall value of FNAC and CNB separately or combined with clinical and radiological assessment in the diagnosis of breast masses. Study design Prospective study. Patients and methods This study was carried out in collaboration between Department of Pathology, Mansoura Faculty of Medicine, and Departments of Surgery and Radiology, Al-Azhar Faculty of Medicine (Damietta Hospital). A total of 110 female patients were enrolled; 104 patients presented with hard breast lumps and six patients presented with nipple retractions during the period from October 2007 to December 2010. FNAC was performed in 74 cases and six of these were performed under ultrasonographic guidance. CNBs were performed in 44 cases; four of these were performed under ultrasonographic guidance in the contralateral breast lesions. The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of these tools were re-evaluated after excision biopsy or mastectomy. Results A total of 69% of patients were older than 45 years of age, 22% were between 36 and 45 years of age, and only 9% were younger than 35 years of age. Clinical breast examination indicated eight contralateral palpable masses in the 110 patients. Digital mammography indicated contralateral lesions in four other patients in addition to six small masses in the patients with nipple retractions. Sensitivity and specificity were 88.1%, 76.5% versus 90.7%, 87.5% versus 95.1%, 88.9%, respectively, for clinical, radiological, and mini-invasive techniques. The accuracy of the clinical diagnosis was 84.7% and that of the radiological diagnosis was 89.8%, whereas the accuracy of the mini-invasive techniques was 93.2%. Conclusion FNAC is a very useful test, relatively rapid and inexpensive, and less invasive owing to a finer needle size, and it is easier/safer to use in certain lesions, such as very small lesions and lesions just under the skin or very close to the chest wall compared with CNB. In addition, CNB is not used widely because of its complications, interpretation, and time-consuming results; therefore, palpable breast lesions can be diagnosed accurately only by a triple test (FNAC, physical examination, and mammography).
The Twentieth Eosinophil

Eosinophilic esophagitis has acquired the status of an independent adult condition only in the last few years, and criteria have been proposed to differentiate it from the eosinophilic infiltrates seen in a portion of patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Recent data, including the article summarized above, suggest that the interaction between GERD and eosinophilic esophagitis can be complex, and that the notion of establishing a clear distinction between the 2 disorders may be simplistic. Furthermore, the high frequency of GERD in adult patients with eosinophilic esophagitis suggests that there may be more than a chance association. This report discusses the possible relationship between these 2 conditions, including the hypothesis that GERD may contribute to or cause eosinophilic esophagitis. We also suggest that the differential diagnosis of eosinophilic and peptic esophagitis should not be based exclusively on arbitrary counts of eosinophils per high-power field; rather, there should always be a thoughtful consideration of histopathologic and clinical data.
An Evaluation of Peer Teaching Across the Curriculum: Student Perspectives -

Near peer teaching is a model of instruction that has been shown to be an effective approach to learning. It is a teaching exchange whereby students of similar backgrounds, separated by one to two years, teach each other. Students agreed that near peer teaching is a valuable component of the University of the Sciences Doctor of Physical Therapy program as it helps prepare them for their future roles as health care professionals. While this study focused on physical therapy education, it is believed that the use of near peer teaching is an important component of higher education curricula.
UAV-relay Placement with Unknown User Locations and Channel Parameters

This work investigates the problem of optimal placement of an UAV that provides communication services by acting as a flying wireless relay between a fixed base station (BS) and ground users. The proposed approach builds on the knowledge of the terrain topology where the network is deployed and aims at finding the optimal position of the UAV that maximizes the throughput in the max-min sense. Different from prior works, we do not assume any prior knowledge on user locations and the underlying wireless channel pathloss parameters. We first jointly estimate the user location and the pathloss parameters from the measurements collected by the UAV, and then use them to find the optimal relay position. When it comes to the optimal placement, an iterative algorithm is provided which iterates between the planar UAV placement and altitude optimization by exploiting the 3D city map information.
Image Authentication and Rightful Ownership Watermarking Method for the Cloud Environment

Cloud computing has evolved in the last five years from being an abstract idea and proposal, and into services that people use every day. In particular services that relate to mobile phone technologies have expanded in proportion to the number of users, so that for example the use of cloud drop boxes for photos, videos, and audio recordings is done on a daily basis. In the bigger picture businesses have found it economical to exploit the new opportunities and to migrate much of their previous business computing capability and storage facilities into the cloud. With opportunity there always comes the positive and negative aspects of risk. With cloud computing the economic advantages and the ease of access have outweighed the risk of unplanned information disclosure. Cloud computing spans a multitude of technologies, is multi-layered, and crosses the boundaries of different legal jurisdictions. As a consequence it is possible for an end user to commit their information and/or the information processing into cloud services with a trusted supplier. However, the cloud service supplier interacts with many other service suppliers who may not share the same legal compliance or understanding of the service level agreements. The complication of service agreements also extends to the ability of anyone service level agreement to adequately protect digital property rights. In this thesis the problem of rightful ownership is raised and research questions developed to explore the potential positive and negative risks around property ownership in the cloud. The three research questions are asked:  What preparation methods improve ownership protection in cloud environments?  What could be a suitable management framework to increase ownership protection in a cloud environment?  What tests show the reliability of a proposed method in a cloud environment? The literature analysis identified both watermarking and watermarking technologies as being relevant to the key issue of privacy protection. Consequently the researcher chose to build a watermarking application and to introduce unique security features and implementation schema as a working solution to the problem.
Carcinome hepatocellulaire : Aspects epidemiologiques, cliniques et evolutifs

Le but de cette etude etait d'apprecier les caracteristiques epidemiologiques et evolutives du carcinome hepato-cellulaire au Mali. Cette etude prospective a ete menee de septembre 2000 a septembre 2001 dans le service d'hepato-gastro-enterologie de l'hopital Gabriel Toure (Bamako-Mali). Les criteres d'inclusion ont ete, un frottis de stade III ou IV d'une cytoponction du foie ou l'association d'un gros foie dur avec un taux d'alphafoetoproteine > 400Ul/ml et un foie nodulaire a l'echographie. Dans cette etude, les malades ont ete inclus avec un sex-ratio de 3,5 en faveur des hommes et un âge moyen de 52,17 ± 14,96 ans (extremes = 14-90 ans). L'asthenie et la douleur abdominale ont ete les principaux motifs de consultation, rencontrees dans respectivement 85,9 % et 50,6 % des cas. A l'examen physique le gros foie dur, douloureux, a bord inferieur mousse a ete constamment observe. L'elevation du taux d'alphafoeto-proteine a ete superieure a 400Ul/ml dans 68 % des cas. Le syndrome paraneoplasique biologique n'a pas ete rare. A l'echographie un aspect nodulaire a ete retrouve dans tous les cas. La mortalite a 1 an a ete de 98,5 %. Le CHC est une affection grave dans nos contrees en raison du diagnostic tardif.
PEMURNIAN GENETIK EMPAT VARIETAS KACANG PANJANG (Vigna sesquipedalis (L.) Fruwirth) BERPOLONG UNGU

Pemurnian genetik perlu dilakukan untuk mengetahui apakah dalam suatu populasi sudah seragam penampilannya, baik secara kualitatif maupun kuantitatif. Upaya peningkatan kemurnian genetik pada varietas-varietas kacang panjang perlu dilakukan kembali, selain itu juga harus dilakukan seleksi polong kacang panjang yang sudah berwarna ungu untuk menghasilkan kacang panjang berpolong ungu yang seragam. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah mendapatkan empat varietas kacang panjang berpolong ungu yang murni secara kualitatif dan kuantitatif. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan pada bulan Januari sampai April 2016 di Kebun Percobaan Fakultas Pertanian Universitas Brawijaya yang terletak di desa Jatikerto, Malang. Pengamatan dilakukan secara single plant . Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa terdapat 1 varietas yang secara kualitatif dan kuantitatif sudah seragam, yaitu varietas BU 1. Terdapat 2 varietas yang secara kualitatif sudah seragam, namun secara kuantitatif belum seragam yaitu varietas BU 4 dan BU 5. Nilai KK varietas BU 4 pada variabel pengamatan jumlah biji per polong menunjukkan nilai sedang, yaitu 25,1%-50%. Nilai KK varietas BU 5 pada variabel pengamatan jumlah polong per tanaman dan jumlah biji per polong menunjukkan nilai sedang, yaitu 25,1%-50%. Varietas BU 6 secara kualitatif belum seragam karena masih ditemukan polong berwarna hijau, kelopak bunga berwarna hijau, dan batang berwarna hijau sebesar 30,43%.
Computer Music Playback Quality: Digital Audio Reproduction Versus Synthesized Sound

The music we hear played back via computer controlled media is generated by one of two technologies: digital audio, which is a waveform reproduction of the original sound source recorded and played back through digital means, and musical instrument digital interface or MIDI, which communicates a set of performance instructions to a synthesiser chip which generates playback in real-time. The ability to distinguish synthesized sound from digital reproductions of original sound sources is tested through a set of listening tests conducted on music technology undergraduate students. Research findings indicate that certain synthesizers and soundcards are able to produce high quality synthesized sound that is perceived to be as good as the original instrument timbres.
Early goal directed therapy for adult meningitis in Malawi

Introduction: Mortality from acute bacterial meningitis (ABM) in sub-Saharan adults is 50-60%, twice that in well-resourced settings. To date, interventions designed to impact on outcome have been ineffective in this setting. This thesis addressed the hypothesis that high mortality is due in part to delayed or inappropriate care, and that this may be improved by goal directed resuscitation. Methods: Clinical and laboratory surveillance data from a large central hospital in Malawi were analysed. Clinical predictors of poor outcome were synthesised into the Malawi Adult Meningitis Score (MAMS). To assess feasibility and outcome, patients with suspected ABM were recruited in the emergency department and observed in year one under routine clinical care (Phase 1), and then managed with a meningitis-specific EGDT clinical care bundle in year two (Phase 2). Laboratory data were tested for outcome associations. Results: A significant decline in the total number of CSF isolates over 12 years was noted, entirely in children under 5 years of age coinciding with Hib vaccination. Adult meningitis incidence remained unchanged, despite significant ART provision. Analysis of 715 historical meningitis episodes showed that the mortality rate was 54% at day 40; HIV seroprevalence was 87% and treatment delays were marked. Coma, seizures, tachycardia and anaemia but not HIV were significantly associated with mortality. The MAMS predicted outcome with good agreement, estimated sensitivity was 74%, specificity was 55%. EGDT was found to be feasible, more clinical targets were met using EGDT including reduced time to antibiotics, iv fluids, blood transfusion and airway placement. There was no significant difference in outcome at 40 days between the two cohorts. Neither high pneumococcal load nor the presence of EBV co-infection in the CSF were associated with poor outcome. CSF white cell counts were lower in non-survivors, other markers of inflammation were not associated with outcome. Conclusion: The incidence of bacterial meningitis is not falling in adults in Malawi. Important clinical predictors were identified and synthesised into a prediction tool. EGDT for meningitis is feasible in adult patients in Malawi; a larger trial is required to test the impact on outcome. Further work to improve pre-hospital care and identify novel adjunctive treatments is necessary.
Clinical Therapeutic Strategies to Ameliorate the Mitochondrial ETC Complexes Dysfunctions in Autism: First Time from India

Autism is a prototypical form of pervasive developmental disorder (PDD), characterized by complex behavioural impairments detectable as early as 18-36 months of age with severe abnormalities in communications, social awareness and skills, and the presence of restrictive and stereotyped patterns of behaviors, interests, and activities. In addition to these core symptoms, there are few other behavior disturbances which are commonly seen in the autistic individuals, such as anxiety, depression, sleeping and eating disturbances, attention issues, temper tantrums, motor disabilities and aggression or self-injury. Propionic acid (PPA) on oral and intraventricular injection of PPA in rodents mimics the behavioural and biochemical abnormalities observed in autism patients. Increased PPA levels may interfere with overall cellular metabolism in tricarboxylic acid cycle where it interferes with the conversion of succinyl co-A to succinate for generation of FADH2 in electron transport chain complex II further impairs the ATP synthesis. Extracellular signals regulate various intracellular neuroprotective functions through secondary messenger’s cyclic AMP (cAMP) that subsequently activate target enzymes Protein kinase A (PKA) & activate cyclic AMP responsive element binding protein (CREB) which regulate and protects various toxic damage in brain. Forskolin (FSK) (also called Coleonol) Coleus forskohlii Briq. (Lamiaceae), major pharmacological mechanism of action is linked to its direct action on adenyl cyclase (AC) enzyme which results in the increase intracellular cAMP/PKA/CREB pathway further responsible for various neuroprotective mechanisms. It is first time designed to investigate the protective and therapeutic potency of FSK in AC/cAMP/PKA mediated CREB activation in intraventricular PPA induced autism in rats.
The clinical effect of ~(125)I radioactive particles in the transplantation within lungers of advanced non-small cell lung cancer in combination with gemcitabine and cisplatin bronchial arterial infusion

Objective To investigate the effect of 125I radioactive particles in the Transplantation within lungers of advanced non-small cell lung cancer in combination with gemcitabine and cisplatin,bronchial arterial infusion.Methods 206 cases of advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients were randomly divided into a treatment group and the control group,treatment group were treated with 125I radioactive particles in the Transplantation within lungers combination with gemcitabine and cisplatin,treatment control group were given gemcitabine plus cisplatin bronchial arterial infusion therapy,the median survival time and the adverse reaction rate was observed.Results The clinical efficiency and the median survival time were significantly higher in the treatment group than that in control group(P 0.05). The incidence of adverse reactions in treatment group compared with control group was no statistically significant.Conclusion 125I radioactive particles in the Transplantation within lungers of advanced non-small cell lung cancer in combination with gemcitabine and cisplatin bronchial arterial infusion has a good clinical efficacy and less adverse reaction adverse reactions,it can significantly prolong the median survival time of the patients.