Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Functional anatomy of stereoscopic visual process assessed using functional magnetic resonance imaging and structural equation modelling.

The purpose of this thesis is to study the functional anatomy of stereoscopic vision. Although many studies have investigated the physiological mechanisms by which the brain transforms the retinal disparities into three-dimensional representations, the invasive nature of the techniques available have restricted them to studies in non-human primates, whilst the research on humans has been limited to psychophysical studies. Modem non-invasive neuroimaging techniques now allow the investigation of the functional organisation of the human brain. Although PET and fMRI studies have been widely used, few researchers have explored the functional anatomy of stereoscopic vision. Most of these studies appear to be pilot work, showing inconsistency, not only in the areas sensitive to stereo disparities, but also in the specific role that each of these possesses in the perception of depth. In order to investigate the cortical regions involved in stereoscopic vision, four fMRI studies were performed using anaglyph random dot stereo grams. Our results suggest that the stereo disparity processing is widespread over a network of cortical regions which include VI, V3A, V3B and B7. Functionally, the V3A region seems to be the main processing centre of pure stereo disparities and the V3B region to be engaged in motion defined purely by spatio-temporal changes of local horizontal disparities (stereoscopic -cyclopeanmotion). Interregional connectivity was investigated with two approaches. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), as the classical technique for the analysis of effective connectivity, was used to assess one connectivity model proposed to· explain the cortical interaction observed in the first experiment. The implementation and application of this technique permitted us to identify some of its weaknesses in representing fMRI data. An extension of the SEM technique was introduced as a Non-linear Auto-Regressive Moving Average with eXogenous variables (NARMAX) approach. This can be thought of as an attempt to bring SEM towards a non-linear dynamic system modelling technique which permits a more appropriate representation of effective connectiyity models using fMRI time series. -
Accessibility to primary health care and emergency department visits

Background: It is widely acknowledged in many countries that the delivery of accessible primary health care (PHC) is one of the most important national priorities. On the other hand, frequent complaints relating to longer waits to access hospital care and overutilization of emergency services are still common. Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine patients' accessibility to PHC nonurgent emergency department (ED) and its influence factors to improve primary care quality and reduce ED crowding. Subjects and Methods: This was an observational cross-sectional study. Convenience sample of ED patients was chosen from the Prince Sultan Military Medical City hospital ED in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. An interview questionnaire was designed to collect the data. The data were analyzed using SPSS software, version 24. Results: A total of 89 nonurgent ED patients participated in this study and their mean age was 36.45 (standard deviation = 14.8). Most of the participants (70.8%) were male and half of them (51.7%) had “secondary or diploma” degree. Most of the participants (85.4%) mentioned that they never visited PHCs. Almost half of the participants (51.7%) mentioned that they visited ED only one time in the last 12 months. About fifth (20.2%) of the patients mentioned that they did not access to PHC due to long waiting in the doctor's office. Patients' education status and duration of presenting complaint were significantly associated with their trying to go to PHC and visiting ED in the last year. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, it is necessary to develop strategies to implement policies aimed at reducing nonurgent ER use as well as make health-care services more available to the population.
Impact of Antibiotic Resistance on Treatment of Pneumococcal Disease in Ethiopia: An Agent-Based Modeling Simulation.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing threat to global health. Although AMR endangers continued effectiveness of antibiotics, the impact of AMR has been poorly estimated in low-income countries. This study sought to quantify the effect of AMR on treatments for pediatric pneumococcal disease in Ethiopia. We developed the DREAMR (Dynamic Representation of the Economics of AMR) model that simulated children younger than 5 years who acquire pneumococcal disease (pneumonia, meningitis, and acute otitis media) and seek treatment from various health facilities in Ethiopia over a year. We examined the AMR levels of three antibiotics (penicillin, amoxicillin, and ceftriaxone), treatment failures, and attributable deaths. We used a cost-of-illness method to assess the resulting economic impact of AMR from a societal perspective by estimating the direct and indirect treatment costs and productivity losses. Findings showed that AMR against antibiotics that were used to treat pneumococcal disease led to 195,763 treatment failures, which contributed to 2,925 child deaths annually in Ethiopia. Antimicrobial resistance resulted in a first-line treatment failure rate of 29.4%. In 1 year, the proportion of nonsusceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria increased by 2.1% and 0.5% for amoxicillin and penicillin and reduced by 0.3% for less commonly used ceftriaxone. Annual costs of AMR to treat pneumococcal disease were around US$15.8 million, including US$3.3 million for ineffective first-line treatments, US$3.7 million for second-line treatments, and US$8.9 million for long-term productivity losses. Antibiotic stewardship to reduce misuse and overuse of antibiotics is essential to maintain the effectiveness of antibiotics and lessen the health and economic burden of AMR.
Insulin attenuates 6-hydroxydopamine induced cell death in human neuroblastoma cells and restores p-Akt/t-Akt level

Introduction: Human neuroblastoma cell line is used in studying Parkinson’s disease (PD) due to its similarities to dopaminergic neurons. 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA), a catecholaminergic neurotoxin, has been widely used to induce cell death in cellular models of PD. Although the brain glucose entry is not dependent on insulin, this peptide has been reported to have a role in PD, in which insulin signaling disruption is reported. This study aimed to evaluate, if insulin is efficient in preventing 6-OHDA induced cell death in human neuroblastoma cells as well as its effect on phoshorylated Akt (p-Akt)/total Akt (t-Akt) ratio. Methods: The cells -grown in DMEM/F12 media supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serumwere exposed to 6-OHDA with/without insulin for 24h, and then MTT assay was done to examine their viability. A pilot study was performed to assess the protective doses of insulin and accordingly the doses 0.9 and 1mM were selected. Western blot assay was done to evaluate the effect of 6-OHDA or insulin on p-Akt and t-Akt level. Results: The results indicated that insulin has potency to prevent SH-SY5Y cell death, and p-Akt/t-Akt decline induced by 6-OHDA. Conclusion: The results suggested insulin as a protective agent in dopaminergic
Association of CAPN10 SNP-19 (rs3842570) Polymorphism on Fasting Plasma Glucose, Blood Pressure and Body Mass Index of Javanese Type-2 Diabetes Patients

Polymorphism of CAPN10 has been reported to be responsible for risk of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM), and CAPN 10 SNP-19 (rs3842570) is associated with elevation of blood glucose, obesity, and metabolic syndrome. Aims of this study are to analyze the association between polymorphism CAPN10 SNP-19 (rs3842570) on fasting plasma glucose (FPG), blood pressure (BP) and body mass index (BMI) of Javanese T2DM patients. The study sample comprised 107 T2DM subjects as well as 107 healthy subjects of Javanese origin. T2DM subjects were obtained from several Primary Public Health Centers in Semarang. The polymorphism of CAPN10 SNP19 was examined using PCR. FPG, BP, and BMI also were examined. The association between FPG, BP, and BMI in each genotype class was analyzed using Kruskal Wallis test. In the T2DM group, the 2R/3R genotype had the highest mean of FPG (138,42±6,77mg/dl), BMI (26,49±0,41). However, the highest mean of blood pressure was 2R/2R genotype with systolic 142,00±7,27mmHg and diastolic 83,11± 3, 17mmHg.There was no significant association between polymorphism in T2DM group with FPG, systolic BP, diastolic BP and BMI with p-value 0,563; 0,734; 0,939; 0,087, respectively. In conclusion, CAPN10 SNP-19 (rs3842570) polymorphism does not contribute to elevating FPG, BP, and BMI of Javanese T2DM patients.
Endoscopic management of 345 small rectal neuroendocrine tumours: A national study from the French group of endocrine tumours (GTE)

Introduction Small rectal neuroendocrine tumours are good candidates for endoscopic resection provided that complete pathological resection (R0) is obtained and their risk of metastatic progression is low. We conducted a large multicentre nationwide study to evaluate the outcomes of the management of non-metastatic rectal neuroendocrine tumours ≤2 cm diagnosed endoscopically. Patients and methods The medical records, the endoscopic and pathological findings of patients with non-metastatic rectal neuroendocrine tumours ≤2 cm managed from January 2000–June 2018 in 16 French hospitals, were retrospectively analysed. The primary objective was to describe the proportion of R0 endoscopic resections. Results A total of 329 patients with 345 rectal neuroendocrine tumours were included, 330 (96%) tumours were managed by local treatments: 287 by endoscopy only and 43 by endoscopy followed by transanal endoscopic microsurgery. The final endoscopic R0 rate was 134/345 (39%), which improved from the first endoscopy (54/225, 24%), to the second (60/100, 60%) and the third endoscopy (20/26, 77%). R0 was associated with endoscopic technique (90% for advanced techniques, 40% for mucosectomy and 17% for polypectomy), but not with tumour or patient characteristics. Twenty patients had metastatic disease, which was associated with tumour size ≥10 mm (odds ratio: 9.1, 95% confidence interval (3.5–23.5)), tumour grade G2–G3 (odds ratio: 4.2, (1.5–11.7)), the presence of muscular (odds ratio: ∞, (11.9–∞)) and lymphovascular invasion (odds ratio: 57.2, (5.6–578.9)). Conclusions The resection of small rectal neuroendocrine tumours often requires multiple procedures. Training of endoscopists is necessary in order to better recognise these tumours and to perform the appropriate resection technique.
Usability evaluation techniques in mobile commerce applications: A systematic review

Obviously, there are a number of literatures concerning the usability of mobile commerce (m-commerce) applications and related areas, but they do not adequately provide knowledge about usability techniques used in most of the empirical usability evaluation for m-commerce application. Therefore, this paper is aimed at producing the usability techniques frequently used in the aspect of usability evaluation for m-commerce applications. To achieve the stated objective, systematic literature review was employed. Sixty seven papers were downloaded in usability evaluation for m-commerce and related areas; twenty one most relevant studies were selected for review in order to extract the appropriate information. The results from the review shows that heuristic evaluation, formal test and think aloud methods are the most commonly used methods in m-commerce application in comparison to cognitive walkthrough and the informal test methods. Moreover, most of the studies applied control experiment (33.3% of the total studies); other studies that applied case study for usability evaluation are 14.28%. The results from this paper provide additional knowledge to the usability practitioners and research community for the current state and use of usability techniques in m-commerce application.
Risk of stroke after emergency department visits for neurologic complaints.

Objective To assess the risk of subsequent stroke among older patients discharged from an emergency department (ED) without a diagnosis of TIA or stroke. Methods Using electronic health record data from a large urban, university hospital and a community-based hospital, we analyzed patients aged 60-89 years discharged to home from the ED without an International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 9th or 10th Revision diagnosis of TIA or stroke. Based on the presence/absence of a head CT and the presence/absence of a chief complaint suggestive of TIA or stroke ("symptoms") during the index ED visit, we created 4 mutually exclusive groups (group 1, reference: head CT no, symptoms no; group 2: head CT no, symptoms yes; group 3: head CT yes, symptoms no; and group 4: head CT yes, symptoms yes). We calculated rates of stroke in the 30, 90, and 365 days after the index visit and used multivariable logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (ORs) for subsequent stroke. Results Among 35,622 patients (mean age 70 years, 59% women, and 16% African American), unadjusted rates of stroke in 365 days were as follows: group 4: 2.5%; group 3: 1.1%; group 2: 0.69%; and group 1: 0.54%. The adjusted OR for stroke was 3.30 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.61-6.76) in group 4, 1.56 (95% CI, 1.16-2.09) in group 3, and 0.61 (95% CI, 0.22-1.67) in group 2. Conclusions Among patients discharged from the ED without a diagnosis of TIA or stroke, the occurrence of a head CT and/or specific neurologic symptoms established a clinically meaningful risk gradient for subsequent stroke.
Writing with others in wiki: an investigation of student collaborative writing in English among Chinese secondary students

Wikis have become popular in the educational setting due to their potential to facilitate learning. It has increasingly been used in collaborative writing contexts; although in-depth explorations of the processes and interactions among students using wiki for collaborative writing projects is still lacking. This study aims to investigate how secondary school students in a Hong Kong school used wiki for collaborative writing. Data were obtained from analyzing the revision histories and the contents of the wiki pages. Results indicated that there was a tendency among students to add or edit the page contents rather than delete or organize them. Second, the use of wikis does not automatically guarantee the participation of all students in the writing process. Third, work is unevenly distributed among the group members. Fourth, evidence of collaboration was found in the comments and replies to the comments section. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. (character count with spaces excluding references and appendices: 31,862)
Predictive Factors Associated With In-Hospital Mortality for Patients Across the Sepsis Spectrum

Introduction: Sepsis poses a large burden for hospitals across the world owing to its high resource utilization and poor patient outcomes. This project aimed to assess and quantify the importance of sepsis-specific predictors for in-hospital mortality. Several studies have identified comorbidities and clinical laboratory variables associated with mortality among the severe sepsis population, but few have combined the 2 in making a model specific for all sepsis patients. Methods: We used clinical and laboratory variables seen at the time of first lactic acid measurement and patient characteristics upon admission to develop a logistic regression model to predict mortality in a sepsis population at 2 area hospitals in Omaha, Nebraska. Results: Overall, sepsis-related mortality was 12.9%. Advanced age, a higher number of comorbidities, and leucopenia were positively associated with mortality, whereas preexisting diabetes was negatively associatedwith mortality. Each 1 mmol/L difference in lactic acid levels was positively associated with 1.38 times higher adjusted odds (95% confidence interval, 1.30–1.48) of mortality after adjustment for other covariates. For every 1% decrease in hematocrit, the adjusted odds of mortality were 1.04 times higher (95% confidence interval, 1.02–1.06). Conclusions:We identified a number of sepsis mortality predictors. The negative association between preexisting diabetes mellitus and sepsis mortality requires further investigation.
INADECUACIÓN DE LA URGENCIA PEDIÁTRICA HOSPITALARIA Y SUS FACTORES ASOCIADOS

Este estudio se halla motivado por el uso inadecuado de las urgencias pediatricas. Como objetivo se propone identificar los factores asociados a la demanda asistencial pediatrica hospitalaria urgente inadecuada. Para alcanzarlo se disena un estudio descriptivo transversal en el Servicio de Urgencias del Hospital Universitario NS Candelaria de Tenerife con datos extraidos de las historias del servicio y entrevista a los acompanantes del menor. La definicion de inadecuacion empleada es contrastadacon los motivos de consulta y diagnosticos definitivos, pruebas diagnosticas realizadas, control de constantes vitales, y tratamientos y sus vias de administracion. Los factores considerados son socio-demograficos, percepcion de gravedad, conocimiento del servicio, apreciacion de disponibilidad tecnologica, sensacion de capacidad resolutiva, creencia sobre cualificacion y estimacion de rapidez en la atencion, cercania y horarios. Como conclusion es necesario mejorar la confianza de los usuarios en la atencion urgente a ninos mediante programas de educacion e informacion sanitaria enfocados hacia un uso mas racional de los servicios de urgencias hospitalarios.
Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2B gene is associated with the sensitivity of hepatoma cells to Sorafenib

Purpose: The sensitivity of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) to Sorafenib is low. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2B (CDKN2B) gene on the prognosis of HCC and the sensitivity of HCC cells to Sorafenib. Patients and methods: Streptavidin-perosidase (SP) staining was performed to determine the expression of CDKN2B in HCC tissues and adjacent tissues. The cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay was carried out to determine cell viability. CDKN2B mRNA and protein were tested by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and Western blot, respectively. CDKN2B gene was silenced or over-expressed in the cells by plasmid transfection technique. Flow cytometry was carried out to detect cell cycle and apoptosis. Results: SP staining results showed that CDKN2B was positive in adjacent tissues and in HCC tissues from partial response (PR) patients, CDKN2B was slightly positive in stable disease (SD) patients, but negative in progression disease (PD) patients. The survival rate of patients with low expression of CDKN2B was low. Up-regulation of CDKN2B expression could promote the pro-apoptotic effect of Sorafenib and cell arrest in G1 phase. When the CDKN2B gene expression was down-regulated, the cell apoptosis rate and the proportion of cells treated with Sorafenib in G1 phase decreased. Silencing CDKN2B reversed CDKN2B overexpression caused by Sorafenib. Conclusion: CDKN2B genes were lowly expressed in tumor tissues from HCC patients who were treated with Sorafenib and had a poor prognosis. Up-regulation of CDKN2B promoted sensitivity of HCC to Sorafenib, and similarly down-regulation of CDKN2B reduced the sensitivity.
Anatomy and physiology of saccadic burst neurons in the alert squirrel monkey. II. Inhibitory burst neurons

Electrophysiological and intracellular labelling studies in the cat have identified a population of saccadic burst neurons in the medullary reticular formation that have an inhibitory, monosynaptic projection to the contralateral abducens nucleus. In the present study, intraaxonal recording and injection of horseradish peroxidase were used to identify and characterize the corresponding population of inhibitory burst neurons (IBNs) in the alert squirrel monkey. Squirrel monkey IBNs are located in the reticular formation ventral and caudal to the abducens nucleus and project contralaterally to the abducens. Additional contralateral projections are present to the vestibular nuclei, the nucleus prepositus, and the pontine and medullary reticular formation rostral and caudal to the abducens. All neurons fire a burst of spikes during saccades and are silent during fixation. In most neurons the burst begins 5‐15 msec before saccade onset. The number of spikes in the saccadic burst is linearly related to the amplitude of the component of the saccade in the neuron's on‐direction. Linear relationships also exist between burst duration and saccade duration and between firing frequency and instantaneous eye velocity. For all neurons, the on‐direction is in the ipsilateral hemifield, with a vertical component that may be either upward or downward. Neurons with projections to the vertically related descending and superior vestibular nuclei tend to have on‐directions with larger vertical components than neurons that lack these projections. These results, together with those on excitatory burst neurons reported in the preceding paper, demonstrate a reciprocal organization of burst neuron input to the abducens in the monkey similar to that found in the cat and indicate a major role for these neurons in generating the oculomotor activity in motoneurons as well as in other classes of premotor neurons.
Performance of community health workers and associated factors in a rural community in Wakiso district, Uganda

Background Community health workers (CHWs) continue to play a crucial role in supporting health service delivery globally. Several CHW programmes around the world face vast challenges which affect their performance. Objectives This study assessed the performance of CHWs and associated factors in a rural community in Wakiso district, Uganda. Methods This was a cross-sectional study that employed a structured questionnaire to collect quantitative data from 201 CHWs in Wakiso district. The main study variable was CHW performance based on various roles carried out by CHWs. Multivariable logistic regression in STATA was used to establish the predictors of CHW performance. Results Only 40 (19.9%) of the CHWs had a high performance which was associated with having attended additional / refresher trainings [AOR=12.79 (95% CI: 1.02–159.26)], and having attained secondary level education and above [AOR=3.93 (95% CI: 1.17–13.24)]. CHWs who were married [AOR=0.29 (95% CI: 0.09–0.94)] were less likely to perform highly. Among CHWs who had received essential medicines for treatment of childhood illnesses, the majority 90.3% (112/124) had experienced stock-outs in the 6 months preceding the study. Despite the majority of CHWs, 198 (98.5%), stating that being motivated was very important in their work, only 91 (45%) said that they were motivated. Conclusion Additional / refresher trainings are necessary to enhance performance of CHWs. In addition, level of education should be considered while selecting CHWs. The health system challenges of low motivation of CHWs as well as stock-out of medicines need to be addressed to support their work.