Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Contributing Factors to Poor Adherence and Glycemic Control in Pediatric Type 1 Diabetes: Facilitating a Move Toward Telehealth

The study of family’s with children with T1D and their regimens has led to a burgeoning literature by psychologist’s with an interest in the relationship between adherence and glycemic control. Research in pediatric or child health psychology may be described as focusing on studying behavioral health, or psychological factors including learning, development, psychopathology, and culture as they interact with biological and physiological factors involved with illness, and in many cases, chronic illnesses. T1D is a chronic illness where an increasingly complex medical regimen for the child’s illness interacts with the child’s family, their school, their peers, and their culture. T1D is a chronic illness where the research of child health psychologists and other health care professionals can be seen as providing a prototype or model of other chronic illness of childhood that have a lower prevalence, and hence have a literature that is comparatively less developed than that of T1D.
Non-invasive Markers for Diagnosis of Liver Cirrhosis in Chronic Hepatitis B

Background: Indonesia is an endemic country for hepatitis B viral infection. Thus, early diagnosis of cirrhosis is important to be established with regard to prompt treatment and to determine the patients’ prognosis. Liver biopsy which is a gold standard in diagnosing liver cirrhosis has several limitations, such as expensive and invasive. The objective of this study was to identify the accuracy of non-invasive markers: aspartate/alanine transaminase ratio (AAR), age-platelet index (API), aspartate transaminase to platelet ratio index (APRI), spleen to platelet ratio index (SPRI), and age-spleen-platelet ratio index (ASPRI) in predicting cirrhosis in chronic hepatitis B patients. Methods: A diagnostic study was performed in Division of Hepatology and Hepatology Outpatient Clinic, Depatment of Internal Medicine, Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital between January 2009 and July 2010, with the participation of 71 chronic hepatitis B patients who had undergone liver biopsy consecutively. Stage of fibrosis was determined based on the METAVIR scoring system. Five non-invasive markers: AAR, API, APRI, SPRI, and ASPRI were compared with liver biopsy Results. Statistical analysis was performed by using T-test and Spearman correlation test using SPSS version 13. Results: API, APRI, SPRI, and ASPRI had significant correlation with the incidence of liver cirrhosis in hepatitis B infection (p < 0.05). However, AAR had no correlation with the incidence of cirrhosis. Using the cut-off point of 1.19, APRI was the best marker with area under curve (AUC) 0.91, sensitivity 83.3%, and specificity 89.2%. Conclusion: Non-invasive markers were suitable in predicting cirrhosis and have the potential to decrease the number of liver biopsy in chronic hepatitis B patients. Keywords: non-invasive markers, chronic hepatitis B, liver cirrhosis
Recognition of handwritten numerals using elastic matching

Recognition of Handwritten Numerals Using Elastic Matching Patrice Scattolin Elastic matching has been used for the recognition of handwritten characters for two decades. It is usually only used for writer-dependent systems with on-line data. We attempt to use this method in a multi-writer environment for both on-line and o -line recognition of handwritten numerals. By its nature, elastic matching is best suited to single writer on-line systems. Two challenges present themselves to attain reasonable results under these conditions. First, the algorithm must be modi ed to better generalize the models, to recognize a wider variety of patterns with a given number of models. Secondly the o -line data is not in a suitable format as the patterns are not represented by a sequence of ordered points. We will apply two modi cations to the typical elastic matching system to adapt it to the multi-writer environment and for the o -line data. To process the o -line data, we use a stroke reconnection heuristic to create data nearly identical to typical on-line data. To adapt to a multiwriter environment, we modify the elastic matching algorithm to add weights to each point of the models. These weights allow portions of the characters that better discriminate between confusing classes to take on more importance. In so doing confusing classes are better separated, increasing the recognition rate. iii Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Adam Krzyzak for his patience during all of the delays throughout this work and for showing con dence in me by giving me the latitude I enjoyed in this work. I am also grateful to Dr. C.Y. Suen for his support, guidance, and help throughout my studies, and for handling my thesis defense. My thanks to Dr. Louisa Lam for providing updated thinned patterns as well as all her help in dealing with them. Thanks also go to Raymond Legault for his exemplary patience in answering all my questions and putting up with me in the same o ce for so long; Steve Malowany for the on-line data, UNIX system programming tips, and allowing me the use of his countless hours of LaTEXprogramming; Dr. A.D. Preece for his knowledge of expert systems and good drinking habits; Christine Nadal for providing the original o -line thinned data as well as the original singular point marking program; Dr. Charles Tappert for the introduction to the method, as well as Tetsu Fujisaki and Hamed Hellozy for making my stay possible, and all the other members of the on-line writing recognition team at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Canter at the time of my stay; Didier Guillevic and Nick Strathy for being such good Tim Horton and Peel Pub buddies; also thanks to Mrs. Grace Williams and Carol Gordon for the proofreading. Finally Laurie, for the sacri ces, moral support and the patience to put up with my every whim during all this time. I am also grateful for the long hours she spent improving my writing abilities by a thorough reading of the work. iv
Diagnosis of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection

HIV diagnostics have played a central role in the remarkable progress in identifying, staging, initiating, and monitoring infected individuals on life-saving antiretroviral therapy. They are also useful in surveillance and outbreak responses, allowing for assessment of disease burden and identification of vulnerable populations and transmission “hot spots,” thus enabling planning, appropriate interventions, and allocation of appropriate funding. SUMMARY HIV diagnostics have played a central role in the remarkable progress in identifying, staging, initiating, and monitoring infected individuals on life-saving antiretroviral therapy. They are also useful in surveillance and outbreak responses, allowing for assessment of disease burden and identification of vulnerable populations and transmission “hot spots,” thus enabling planning, appropriate interventions, and allocation of appropriate funding. HIV diagnostics are critical in achieving epidemic control and require a hybrid of conventional laboratory-based diagnostic tests and new technologies, including point-of-care (POC) testing, to expand coverage, increase access, and positively impact patient management. In this review, we provide (i) a historical perspective on the evolution of HIV diagnostics (serologic and molecular) and their interplay with WHO normative guidelines, (ii) a description of the role of conventional and POC testing within the tiered laboratory diagnostic network, (iii) information on the evaluations and selection of appropriate diagnostics, (iv) a description of the quality management systems needed to ensure reliability of testing, and (v) strategies to increase access while reducing the time to return results to patients. Maintaining the central role of HIV diagnostics in programs requires periodic monitoring and optimization with quality assurance in order to inform adjustments or alignment to achieve epidemic control.
The prevalence and determinants of female serodiscordance among HIV positive pregnant women attending PMTCT clinic in Owerri, Imo state, Nigeria

Background: Human Immunodeficiency Virus sero-discordance is high among heterosexual couples in Africa. However, only few studies have explored the factors that are associated with the prevalence in sub-Saharan Africa. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of female sero-discordance among HIV positive pregnant women in Owerri and to assess its possible associated factors.Methods: A cross sectional study of pregnant women (and their partners) who tested positive to HIV I and II at the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) clinic from December 2015 to May 2016 in Federal Medical Center Owerri, Imo state, Nigeria.Results: A total of 106 HIV positive pregnant women (and their partners) were studied. The prevalence of female serodiscordance was 63.2% (67/106). Pre-marital serodiscordance contributed about 52.2% (35/67) female serodiscordance among couples in the study. Sero-discordance rate for the lower, middle, and upper classes were 50% (28/56), 76.1% (35/46) and 100% (4/4) respectively and was statistically significant (p<0.01). Condom use was significantly associated with female serodiscondance (P<0.01). CD4+ count of the female partner at booking was also found statistically significantly associated with female serodiscordance (P<0.01). Conclusions: There is high prevalence of female serodiscordance among HIV positive pregnant women in Owerri. Pre-marital serodiscordance contributed significantly to high level of female serodiscordance among couples. Higher social class, condom use and high female- partner CD4+ count are significantly associated with female sero-discordance.
The Learning of Mathematics

Learning mathematics is the central goal of mathematics education, yet it is the least frequently addressed of NCTM's Principles and Standards. With an increasing population of English language learners and the inclusion of students with learning disabilities into the regular mathematics classroom, how can all the differentiated needs be met in one classroom? What is the balance between focusing on developing concepts and memorisation of certain facts and rules? The Learning of Mathematics, NCTM's sixty-ninth yearbook, furthers the discourse on learning with five main areas: how students learn, students' learning in school contexts, measuring and interpreting students' learning, teachers' learning of mathematics and reflections on mathematics teaching and learning.
Interindexer consistency tests: a literature review and report of a test of consistency in indexing visual materials

Vingt-cinq etudes, difficiles a apprecier tant les instruments de mesure sont variables, ont ete realisees dans ce domaine nouvellement exploree de la coherence de l'indexation de documents visuels. Comme pour les documents imprimes, on peut regrouper les facteurs d'influence sur la coherence d'une indexation, realisee par deux indexeurs d'une meme section, autour de trois poles; la presence ou l'absence de plan de classement ou d'un vocabulaire controle et la qualification de l'indexeur. La plus grande coherence est obtenue dans le cadre ou l'indexeur est un specialiste du domaine indexe, son vocabulaire est controle et il utilise un plan de classement. Une comparaison est esquissee sur l'influence de la nature (imprimee, visuelle) du document indexe sur la coherence
Overview of Bile Acids Signaling and Perspective on the Signal of Ursodeoxycholic Acid, the Most Hydrophilic Bile Acid, in the Heart

Bile acids (BA) are classically known as an important agent in lipid absorption and cholesterol metabolism. Nowadays, their role in glucose regulation and energy homeostasis are widely reported. BAs are involved in various cellular signaling pathways, such as protein kinase cascades, cyclic AMP (cAMP) synthesis, and calcium mobilization. They are ligands for several nuclear hormone receptors, including farnesoid X-receptor (FXR). Recently, BAs have been shown to bind to muscarinic receptor and Takeda G-protein-coupled receptor 5 (TGR5), both G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), independent of the nuclear hormone receptors. Moreover, BA signals have also been elucidated in other nonclassical BA pathways, such as sphingosine-1-posphate and BK (large conductance calcium- and voltage activated potassium) channels. Hydrophobic BAs have been proven to affect heart rate and its contraction. Elevated BAs are associated with arrhythmias in adults and fetal heart, and altered ratios of primary and secondary bile acid are reported in chronic heart failure patients. Meanwhile, in patients with liver cirrhosis, cardiac dysfunction has been strongly linked to the increase in serum bile acid concentrations. In contrast, the most hydrophilic BA, known as ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), has been found to be beneficial in improving peripheral blood flow in chronic heart failure patients and in protecting the heart against reperfusion injury. This review provides an overview of BA signaling, with the main emphasis on past and present perspectives on UDCA signals in the heart.
Fungal diversity regulates plant-soil feedbacks in temperate grassland

Plant growth dynamics are shaped by the diversity of associating pathogenic, saprotrophic, and mutualistic soil fungi. Feedbacks between plants and soil microbial communities play an important role in vegetation dynamics, but the underlying mechanisms remain unresolved. Here, we show that the diversity of putative pathogenic, mycorrhizal, and saprotrophic fungi is a primary regulator of plant-soil feedbacks across a broad range of temperate grassland plant species. We show that plant species with resource-acquisitive traits, such as high shoot nitrogen concentrations and thin roots, attract diverse communities of putative fungal pathogens and specialist saprotrophs, and a lower diversity of mycorrhizal fungi, resulting in strong plant growth suppression on soil occupied by the same species. Moreover, soil properties modulate feedbacks with fertile soils, promoting antagonistic relationships between soil fungi and plants. This study advances our capacity to predict plant-soil feedbacks and vegetation dynamics by revealing fundamental links between soil properties, plant resource acquisition strategies, and the diversity of fungal guilds in soil.
Formal Aspects of Human-computer Interaction

This thesis lJrovides a constructive application of formal methods to the study of human-computer interaction. Specifically, we are interested in promoting a prin­ cipled approach to tlJP analysi~ and design of interactive systems that will aCCom_ pany existing henristic ted.miqtl€s. Previous formal approaches have concentrated on general and abstract mathematical models of interactive systems, proving that psychologically valid principles of interaction can be expressed in a language suit ­ able for comput.ation. These abstract models, however, are too far removed [rom an aetnal design practice which is strongly influenced by common sense and liable to break down in the face of complexity. Our efforts are focussed toward retaining the mat.hematical grounding of previous formalisms while providing additional insight and direction for design practice. We int.roduce a unifying framework for the informal description of a user, a system and the interface that sits between them. This interaction framework provides the context for our research and motivates the properties of interaction that we wish to formalize. We adopt the view of an interactive system as a collection of agents based 011 the stimulus-response modeL We provide a mathematical model of the agent capable of expressing interactive properties relating the goals of interaction with the visible consequences of that interaction. We also provide a language for agents which allows a natural expression of an agent's internal state-based bebaviollr and its external event-based behaviour. We contribute further to practical design issues by introducing templates to relate a task analysis to a specification of a system to support t.he tasks and an interface to adequately portray that functionality to the user. Finally, we initiate the formal investigation of multiagent architectures. This concludes the mapping of properties on abstract models of interactive systems down to properties on more implementation-based models.
The Multilingual Internet: Language, Culture, and Communication Online

Two thirds of global internet users are non-English speakers. Despite this, most scholarly literature on the internet and computer-mediated-communication (CMC) focuses exclusively on English. This is the first book devoted to analyzing internet related CMC in languages other than English. The volume collects 18 new articles on facets of language and internet use, all of which revolve around several central topics: writing systems, the structure and features of local languages and how they affect internet use, code switching between multiple languages, gender issues, public policy issues, and so on.
Multimodal Parent Behaviors Within Joint Attention Support Sustained Attention in Infants

Parents support and scaffold more mature behaviors in their infants. Recent research suggests that parent–infant joint visual attention may scaffold the development of sustained attention by extending the duration of an infant’s attention to an object. The open question concerns the parent behaviors that occur within joint-attention episodes and support infant sustained attention to an object. In the study, parent–infant dyads played with objects on a tabletop while their eye-gaze was recorded with head-mounted eye-trackers. Parent hand contact with the objects as well as speech were coded and analyzed to identify the presence of parent touch and talk during bouts of infant visual attention. This study, consistent with prior research, showed that joint attention is associated with longer infant visual attention. The relevant parent behaviors considered, parent talk and touch, not only were highly likely to occur when both the parent and infant visually attended to the same object, but were also associated with infant attention to an object that was longer than infant attention that did not include these parent behaviors. Parent talk was the most potent behavior that coincided with longer infant looks. In sum, joint attention extends infant attention and joint attention involves more than mutual coordination of eye-gaze, it involves multimodal parent behaviors coordinated with the infant’s visual attention.
Hierarchical Simulation to Assess Hardware and Software Dependability

This thesis presents a method for conducting hierarchical simulations to assess system hardware and software dependability. The method is intended to model embedded microprocessor systems. A key contribution of the thesis is the idea of using fault dictionaries to propagate fault effects upward from the level of abstraction where a fault model is assumed to the system level where the ultimate impact of the fault is observed. A second important contribution is the analysis of the software behavior under faults as well as the hardware behavior. The simulation method is demonstrated and validated in four case studies analyzing Myrinet, a commercial, high-speed networking system. One key result from the case studies shows that the simulation method predicts the same fault impact 87.5% of the time as is obtained by similar fault injections into a real Myrinet system. Reasons for the remaining discrepancy are examined in the thesis. A second key result shows the reduction in the number of simulations needed due to the fault dictionary method. In one case study, 500 faults were injected at the chip level, but only 255 propagated to the system level. Of these 255 faults, 110 shared identical fault dictionary entries at the system level and so did not need to be resimulated. The necessary number of system-level simulations was therefore reduced from 500 to 145. Finally, the case studies show how the simulation method can be used to improve the dependability of the target system. The simulation analysis was used to add recovery to the target software for the most common fault propagation mechanisms that would cause the software to hang. After the modification, the number of hangs was reduced by 60% for fault injections into the real system.
Comparing the Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL) Method to an Independently Developed Guided Inquiry Method (InDGIM) in a High School Academic Chemistry Course.

A nonequivalent, control group, pretest-posttest design was used to investigate student achievement in secondary chemistry. This study investigated the effects of process oriented guided inquiry learning (POGIL) pedagogy in high school chemistry classes compared to that of an independently designed guided inquiry method (InDGIM). Data were collected from chemistry students from four college-prep chemistry classes in the same high school, over the course of the academic year, using the Particulate Nature of Matter (ParNoMA2) test, the Group Assessment of Logical Thinking (GALT), unit tests, and the final exam. Data were analyzed using a 2 x 2 Factorial Analysis of Covariance. This ANCOVA examined the main effects of group and gender on test results. The results show that there are no statistical differences in outcomes between the POGIL and the InDGIM group, nor are there statistical differences in performance between males and females with either approach, although females perform better than males overall. There are no interaction effects between group and gender. Students in the lowest quartiles, as per their Keystone Algebra scores (an end-of-course assessment designed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to assess proficiency in multiple subjects) show no differences in performance with either methodology, whereas students in the upper quartile in the InDGIM group perform better than those in the POGIL group. Students perform better on almost all of the unit tests and the final exam when taught with the InDGIM rather than the POGIL approach. The results of the Keystone Biology test is a better indicator of student success in chemistry compared to the results on the Keystone Algebra test. Regression analysis indicates that students with higher Keystone Biology scores are 34.8% more likely to earn a higher score 3 THE COMPARISON OF TWO DIFFERENT GUIDED INQUIRY METHODS IN HIGH SCHOOL CHEMISTRY CLASSES on the chemistry final exam and are 20% more likely to earn a higher final grade in the chemistry course.
The impact of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs on endocrine therapy outcomes in breast cancer patients

Obesity is a known risk factor for postmenopausal breast cancer, and is associated with worse disease prognosis in pre- and postmenopausal women. Adjuvant hormonal therapies improve disease prognosis in obese women, but many still recur. Given that obesity induces inflammation and increases levels of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) enzyme, resulting in tumor proliferation, this retrospective study investigated if women on anti-inflammatory drugs would have improved disease outcomes by reduced production of prostaglandins by COX-2 pathway. Four hundred and forty women treated for invasive breast cancer in San Antonio clinics were included . Cases were classified as
Family Time : The Social Organization of Care

Introduction Part 1: The Big Picture 1. The Misallocation of Time 2. Time Use and Public Policy Part 2: Using the Yardstick of Time to Capture Care 3. Proximity, or Responsibility? : Measuring Parental Child Care Time 4. Making the Invisible Visible: The Life and Time(s) of Informal Caregivers Part 3: Valuing Child Care and Elder Care 5. Bringing Up Bobby and Betty: The Inputs and Outputs of Child Care Time 6. Valuing Informal Elder Care Part 4: Parenting, Employment and the Pressures of Care 7. Packaging Care: What Happens When Children Receive Non-Parental Care? 8. Parenting and Employment: What Time-Use Surveys Show 9. The Rush Hour: The Quality of Time and Gender Equity Part 5: International Comparisons 10. Dual Earner Families in Four Countries 11. Parenthood Without Penalty