Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
3D convolutional neural networks for Alzheimer's disease diagnosis

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an incurable neurodegenerative disease. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is used to assess the damage caused by the disease and to capture complex changes on the brain. In this work, we study how 3D Convolutional Neural Networks exploit the 3D nature of the MRI volume and how they can predict AD diagnosis. The neural network has been trained and evaluated in two different scenarios: a two way classification between AD and cognitive normal (CN), and a three way classification between CN, AD and an initial stage of the disease called Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Results classifying CN vs AD show a great performance using two different image subsets and results for CN vs MCI vs AD show a nice performance considering the lack of data and some data augmentation techniques that affect negatively to the model performance. La enfermedad de Alzheimer (EA) es una enfermedad neurodegenerativa incurable. Las imágenes por resonancia magnética (IRM) se utilizan para evaluar el daño causado por la enfermedad y capturar cambios complejos en el cerebro. En este trabajo, estudiamos cómo las redes neuronales convolucionales 3D explotan la naturaleza 3D del volumen de MRI y cómo pueden predecir el diagnóstico de EA. La red neuronal ha sido entrenada y evaluada en dos escenarios diferentes: una clasificación de dos vías entre la EA y la cognitiva normal (CN), como una clasificación de tres vías entre la CN, la EA y una etapa inicial de la enfermedad llamada deterioro cognitivo leve (DCL). Los resultados de clasificar CN vs AD muestran un gran rendimiento para ambos sets de imágenes y los resultados referentes a la clasificación de CN vs MCI vs AD muestran un rendimiento bueno considerando el tamaño y escasez de imágenes y que algunas técnicas de aumento de datos han afectado negativamente al rendimiento del modelo.
Measuring the Effectiveness of Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning Strategy of L’oreal Products in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The study aims to assess the effectiveness of STP (Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning) of L’Oreal products in Saudi Arabia in terms of the effectiveness of the Market Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning applied by L’Oreal and the most influencing factor among STP strategies of L’Oreal Products. In this research, to adequately address the research questions a variety of data collection methods and instruments were used. The purpose of the study was to Effectiveness of Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning Strategy of L’Oreal Products in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The effectiveness of the STP strategy was undertaken using a survey. The research was conducted through a survey, using the questionnaire as the research instrument. The respondents of the study are saloon employees in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia. The used research instrument uses the five-points Likert scale. The statistical tools used in the study are multiple regression analysis and weighted mean. From the study, the researcher concluded that there STP marketing strategy of L’Oreal is effective. The study provides recommendations by the researcher in assessing those questions around effectiveness of the STP Strategy of L’Oreal in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
EFFECT OF WORKPLACE INFORMAL GROUP SOCIAL NETWORKS ON EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE AT THE KAKAMEGA COUNTY GENERAL TEACHING AND REFERRAL HOSPITAL, KENYA

The purpose of this study was to establish the effect of informal work groups’ characteristics on employee performance at the Kakamega County General Teaching and Referral Hospital. Specific objective was to establish the effect of group networks on employee performance. Descriptive research design was adopted by the study. Target population comprised of 602 employees in the hospital. Yamane’s formula was used to obtain a sample of 240 respondents who were selected through stratified random technique. Questionnaires were used for data collection. Validity and reliability was attained through expert consultation and test retest respectively during a pilot study on randomly selected 24 respondents from the hospital that was not part of the final study. Descriptive statistics was used to analyze background information of the respondents, demographic variables, and level of interaction, group networks and creativity of group members. The effect of the coefficients of informal groups’ networks on employee performance was analysed using regression analysis. Findings revealed that social networks affects employee performance to great extent. It was concluded that the management of Kakamega County General Teaching and Referral Hospital had not created a suitable environment for informal team variables like social networks to thrive. The study recommended that the hospital should identify and strengthen workable informal networks through which work performance would be enhanced . Key words : Employee Performance; Informal Workplace Groups; Social Networks; Kakamega County General Hospital CITATION: Vigatsi, H. K. , & Amuhaya, J. (2019). Effect of workplace informal group social networks on employee performance at the Kakamega County General Teaching and Referral Hospital, Kenya. The Strategic Journal of Business & Change Management, 6 (4), 678 – 687
Severe acute malnutrition in a tertiary hospital in north-central Nigeria, A review of hospitalized cases

Background: Malnutrition is a major public-health problem throughout the developing world and is an underlying factor in over 50% of the 10-11 million children dying before 5 years of age The objective of this article was to document the outcome of treatment of Severe Acute Malnutrition using F75 and F100 milk based nutritional packs. Methodology: All consecutively admitted patients with diagnosis of Severe Acute Malnutrition were recruited into the study. Data retrieved and reviewed were weight, height, presence or absence of oedema, clinical diagnosis, and admission outcomes, discharged or otherwise. All the subjects had received F75 and F100 milk based nutrition formula, amongst other treatment administered. Results: Total of 135 (10.6%) patients were seen, females 56 (41.5%) and males 79 (58.5%). Mean age was 18.8±14months, females 20±16.7months and males 17.9+11.94months, (p=0.38); 36 (26.7%) had oedema. Mean admission weight was 5.87±1.8kg. Mean admission weight, non-oedema cases, 5.5+1.6kg and 6.76±2.1kg in oedematous patients, p=0.0006. Overall mean discharge weight 6.4±1.8kgp=0.0144; mean discharge weight non-oedematous patient 6.2±1.8kg, and 6.9±1.8kg oedematous patients, p=0.057. Septicemia was reported in 71.8%, Pulmonary Tb in 10.3% and severe anemia was found 12%. In all 21.5% were HIV cases. Diarrhea was a feature in 60% of the SAM cases, 6% had eye-signs suggestive of Vitamin A deficiency. Overall 62.6% were discharged, 16.8% absconded, 7.6% left against advice while 13% died (10.1% of unit deaths). Death was higher in HIV cases 17.2%, than in the others. Mean duration of hospital stay was 13±7days. Conclusion: While significant improvement in weight and clinical condition occurred using the feeds, many absconded or left against advice. Further evaluation of impact is still needed. We encourage the use of F75 and F100 in management.
Randomness versus nonlocality in the Mermin-Bell ewline experiment with three parties

The detection of nonlocal correlations in a Bell experiment implies almost by definition some intrinsic randomness in the measurement outcomes. For given correlations, or for a given Bell violation, the amount of randomness predicted by quantum physics, quantified by the guessing probability, can generally be bounded numerically. However, currently only a few exact analytic solutions are known for violations of the bipartite Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt Bell inequality. Here, we study the randomness in a Bell experiment where three parties test the tripartite Mermin-Bell inequality. We give tight upper bounds on the guessing probabilities associated with one and two of the parties’ measurement outcomes as a function of the Mermin inequality violation. Finally, we discuss the possibility of device-independent secret sharing based on the Mermin inequality and argue that the idea seems unlikely to work.
Effect of High Dose of Soybean Meal on the Histology and Function of the Thyroid Gland in Albino Rat at Pre- and Postpuberty

The study aimed to determine the effect of soybean meal on the histological structure and some functional parameters of the thyroid gland was investigated in this study. For this purpose, 24 white male rats were divided into four groups each of six rats, as following (G1): normal control rats, at the prepubertal life stage, were dissected after 40 days from the weaning (i.e., from Postnatal Day "PND" 21), (G2): prepubertal rats, were treated with high dose of soybean meal "40% of daily diet" for 40 days after the weaning, (G3): normal control rats, at the postpubertal stage, were dissected after 40 days from the puberty (i.e., from PND 60), (G4): postpubertal rats, were treated with high dose of soybean meal (40%) for 40 days after the puberty. Phenotypic, histological and physiological changes were examined. The results reported that, consumption of soybean at prepuberty decreased the thyroid activity by the increasing of the cold "inactive" follicles, while at postpuberty, soybean caused hyperactivity of the thyroid which led to the hyperplasia and hypertrophy, then to the goiter,significant increase in the ratio of cold follicles in the (G2) and significant decrease in the (G4), significant decrease in the height of follicular cell in the (G2) and significant increase in the (G4), significant increase in the diameter of follicular lumen in the (G2) and significant decrease in the (G4). Also, soybean meal caused significant increase in the body weight and significant decline in (T3 and T4) hormones levels.From the results of the present study, it is concluded that the high doses of the soybean affect adversely the function and tissue of the thyroid at both life stages, pre and postpuberty.
Theory and data-driven computation of effective dynamics

We consider complex dynamical systems showing metastable behavior but no local separation of fast and slow time scales. The article raises the question of whether such systems exhibit a low-dimensional manifold supporting its effective dynamics. For answering this question, we aim at finding nonlinear coordinates, called reaction coordinates, such that the projection of the dynamics onto these coordinates preserves the dominant time scales of the dynamics. We show that, based on a specific reducibility property, the existence of good low-dimensional reaction coordinates preserving the dominant time scales is guaranteed. Based on this theoretical framework, we develop and test a novel numerical approach for computing good reaction coordinates. The proposed algorithmic approach is fully local and thus not prone to the curse of dimension with respect to the state space of the dynamics. Hence, it is a promising method for data-based model reduction of complex dynamical systems such as molecular dynamics.
Describing medicine therapy management of type 2 diabetes mellitus at primary health care facilities in Cape Town

Background Rational medicine use aims to optimise chronic disease management and prevent episodes of hospitalisation that economically burden the health care system. Diabetes mellitus is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases globally, yet more than 60% of patients with diabetes are not optimally managed according to their therapeutic glycaemic targets. Aim To describe the use of glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and fasting plasma glucose results in guiding treatment changes in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Setting Public sector primary health care facilities in the Cape Town Metropolitan Region in South Africa. Method Retrospective, descriptive study design was employed. Data for an 18-month period were collected during 2014 and 2015. Data were collected from patient medical records and included baseline demographics, laboratory monitoring tests and the patients’ last three prescriptions. Results The study consisted of 575 participants (64% female) with an average age of 57 (± 11.38) years. The average baseline HbA1c for 493 participants with at least one result was 8.78% (± 1.63), and only 28% of these participants reached the glycaemic target at consequent consultations. HbA1c levels were available to guide 245 prescription changes, of which 181 of these results were outside of the target range. Of these, 15.5% had appropriate therapy adjustments, 78.4% had no change or a lateral change in their follow-up prescriptions, and 6.1% had therapy adjustments opposite to what guidelines suggest. Conclusion Glycaemic monitoring indicated consistent suboptimal glycaemic control in more than 60% of participants. Medicine prescribing patterns did not align with the prescribed local guidelines, Society for Metabolism, Endocrinology and Diabetes of South Africa (SEMDSA). The appropriate use and interpretation of HbA1c at a clinic level should be emphasised to promote rational use of medicines that minimise acute hospitalisation episodes and optimise patients’ long-term health outcomes.
Generating Sentential Arguments from Diverse Perspectives on Controversial Topic

Considering diverse aspects of an argumentative issue is an essential step for mitigating a biased opinion and making reasonable decisions. A related generation model can produce flexible results that cover a wide range of topics, compared to the retrieval-based method that may show unstable performance for unseen data. In this paper, we study the problem of generating sentential arguments from multiple perspectives, and propose a neural method to address this problem. Our model, ArgDiver (Argument generation model from diverse perspectives), in a way a conversational system, successfully generates high-quality sentential arguments. At the same time, the automatically generated arguments by our model show a higher diversity than those generated by any other baseline models. We believe that our work provides evidence for the potential of a good generation model in providing diverse perspectives on a controversial topic.
Dietary Status of Children of Udaipur District

Abstract The present study was undertaken with the objective to assess dietary status of 571 children of 1-12 yrs of age, selected from twelve villages of three blocks (Sarada, Badgaon and Jhadol) of Udaipur district. Findings of the dietary survey conducted using 24 hours recall method reveals variable inadequacies of dietary essentials with situation being more critical in case of β Carotene intake which was not even one fifth of the day’s requirement. Intake of almost all other nutrients was less than 73% of their respective RDAs.
Evidence for ca. 2046 Ma high-grade metamorphism in Paleoproterozoic metasedimentary rocks of the northern Borborema Province, NE Brazil: constraints from U-Pb (LA-ICP-MS) zircon ages

This study presents LA-ICP-MS U-Pb detrital zircon ages on a migmatitic paragneiss of the Jaguaretama Complex, northern Borborema Province, NE-Brazil. This metasedimentary rock comprises a stromatic migmatite with alternating layers of metapelite, metapsammite, and garnet-tourmaline-bearing leucosome. The paleosome displays a well-developed schistosity, with fine to medium-grained textures, and locally garnet porphyroblasts. Backscattered electron images show that many of the zircon grains display metamorphic overgrowths (recrystallization) and cores with igneous oscillatory zoning. The detrital zircon grains show 207Pb/206Pb ages clustering from 2.51 to 2.12 Ga (with 90% conc.), evidencing that the igneous sources were generated mostly during the Transamazonian/Eburnean orogeny. The age of 2137±9 Ma of the youngest and most concordant detrital zircon (core) is interpreted as the maximum depositional age of the protolith. The youngest and most concordant (conc. 99%) 207Pb/206Pb apparent age obtained in a metamorphic zircon overgrowth was 2046±6 Ma, which is interpreted as the age of high-grade metamorphism. This age of metamorphism is similar to other records of Paleoproterozoic high-grade metamorphic events in the Borborema Province and other cratonic domains (e.g. Sao Francisco and West Africa cratons). This age also represents the minimum depositional age of the protolith. Therefore, the depositional age of the studied supracrustal rock may be bracketed between ca. 2.14 and 2.05 Ga.
S100A8 facilitates cholangiocarcinoma metastasis via upregulation of VEGF through TLR4/NF-κB pathway activation

A growing body of evidence indicates that S100 calcium-binding protein A8 (S100A8) is frequently overexpressed in malignant tumor tissues and regulates tumor progression; however, the role of S100A8 in cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) remains unclear. The present study demonstrated that the protein expression of S100A8 was significantly higher in pathological tissues compared with adjacent normal tissues from patients with CCA. In addition, S100A8 expression was significantly associated with differentiation, lymph node metastasis and poor prognosis in patients following surgical resection of CCA. Furthermore, both in vitro and in vivo experiments revealed that overexpression of S100A6 promoted, while S100A8 knockdown attenuated, the migration and metastasis of CCA cells. Of note, the present results indicated that S100A8 promoted the CCA tumor cell-induced migration of vascular endothelial cells. Finally, S100A8 was demonstrated to positively regulate the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in CCA cells, which was mediated by activation of the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/NF-κB pathway. In conclusion, the present study demonstrated that S100A8 had an important role in facilitating CCA cell migration and metastasis via upregulation of VEGF expression by activating the TLR4/NF-κB pathway. These findings may provide a novel target for CCA treatment.
Developing gerontological nursing in British Columbia : an oral history study

The population of older adults has grown rapidly in recent years and is expected to continue to grow into the middle of this century. The aging of the population means that nurses need to have specialized gerontological knowledge in order to properly care for older adults. In spite of the current need for specialists in this field, gerontological nursing is not a popular choice and nurses often lack adequate preparation to care for older adults. The complex reasons behind these issues are rooted in the history of the development of this
Testing a theoretical model for severe medication errors

YUNKYUNG CHANG: Testing a Theoretical Model for Severe Medication Errors (Under the direction of Barbara Mark) There were three purposes of this dissertation. The first was to develop a theoretical framework for severe medication errors in acute care hospitals by integrating the human error model and the organizational learning model. The second purpose was to examine direct effects between nursing units’ error-producing conditions and severe medication errors. The third purpose was to test the moderating role of learning climate in the relationships between error-producing conditions and severe medication errors in acute care hospitals. The human error model guided the identification of error-producing conditions, which included work environment factors, team factors, person factors, patient factors and medication-related support services. The organizational learning model was used to introduce the concept of learning climate and hypothesize its moderating role between error-producing conditions and medication errors. It was hypothesized that when learning climate was positive, the relationship between error-producing conditions and medication errors would be weaker, and when learning climate was negative the relationship between error-producing conditions and medication errors would be stronger. Using data derived from the Outcomes Research in Nursing Administration II study, which included 286 nursing units at 146 hospitals across the U.S., results supported a positive relationship between RN hours and medication error rates and an asymptotic relationship between nursing education levels and medication error rates such that nursing
Towards a new taxonomy of primate vocal production learning

The extent to which vocal learning can be found in nonhuman primates is key to reconstructing the evolution of speech. Regarding the adjustment of vocal output in relation to auditory experience (vocal production learning in the narrow sense), effects on the ontogenetic trajectory of vocal development as well as adjustment to group-specific call features have been found. Yet, a comparison of the vocalizations of different primate genera revealed striking similarities in the structure of calls and repertoires in different species of the same genus, indicating that the structure of nonhuman primate vocalizations is highly conserved. Thus, modifications in relation to experience only appear to be possible within relatively tight species-specific constraints. By contrast, comprehension learning may be extremely rapid and open-ended. In conjunction, these findings corroborate the idea of an ancestral independence of vocal production and auditory comprehension learning. To overcome the futile debate about whether or not vocal production learning can be found in nonhuman primates, we suggest putting the focus on the different mechanisms that may mediate the adjustment of vocal output in response to experience; these mechanisms may include auditory facilitation and learning from success. This article is part of the theme issue ‘What can animal communication teach us about human language? ’
Evaluation of healing after periapical surgery using platelet-rich fibrin and nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite with collagen in combination with platelet-rich fibrin

Aims: This study aims to demonstrate the bone regeneration in the periapical region using platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) and nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite (NcHA) with collagen in combination with PRF and their effects on healing in periapical tissues. Subjects and Methods: Fourteen patients (15 surgical sites) were selected and distributed into three groups: Group I – Replacement with PRF, Group II – Replacement with PRF and NcHA with collagen bone graft (SYBO GRAF – C, Eucare pharmaceuticals ltd., Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India), and Group III – Control group. In all the three groups, patient recall visits were scheduled after 1-, 3-, and 6-month time interval for clinical and radiological examination. Radiovisiography image was analyzed using RADIANT Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine VIEWER. Results: A significantly higher rate of healing was observed after 6 months in Group II (100%) followed by Group I (92%) and Group III (86%). Conclusion: It was concluded that combination of PRF and nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite with collagen produced a significantly faster bone regeneration. The conventional technique and PRF were less predictable with its healing response.