Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prevalence of specific types of human papillomavirus and cervical squamous intraepithelial lesions in consecutive, previously unscreened, West‐African women over 35 years of age

Previous studies among women worldwide have demonstrated that infection with specific types of human papillomaviruses (HPV) is central to the pathogenesis of cervical neoplasia. There is little data, however, concerning the prevalence of specific HPV types and the association of each type with cervical neoplasia among women in sub‐Saharan Africa, who remain at very high risk of cervical cancer. We studied 2,065 consecutive patients aged 35 years or older, presenting to community health clinics in Dakar and Pikine, West Africa, who had not been screened previously for cytologic abnormalities or HPV. Cytologic diagnosis and HPV detection were accomplished using a ThinPrep Pap and a polymerase chain reaction‐based reverse‐line strip assay, respectively. Odds ratios (OR) and associated 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using polynomial logistic regression. Cytologic abnormalities were found in 426 women (20%), including 254 (12%) with atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance, 86 (4%) with low‐grade squamous intraepithelial lesions, 66 (3%) with high‐grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) and 20 (1%) with invasive cancer. HPV infection was detected in 18%. Among women with negative cytologic findings, the prevalence of high risk but not low risk HPV types increased with age. HPV16 (2.4%) and HPV58 (1.6%) were the most frequently detected HPV types in this population, as well as being the most strongly associated with risk of HSIL/cancer (HPV16: OR = 88, 95% CI = 39–200; HPV58: OR = 51, 95% CI = 16–161). These data suggest that in addition to HPV16, HPV58 should be considered in the strategic planning of vaccination against cervical cancer in this geographic region. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
EFFECT OF CENTRAL BANK OF KENYA REGULATIONS ON THE FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF MICROFINANCE BANKS

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of Central Bank of Kenya regulations on the financial performance of Microfinance banks. The study employed a descriptive design. The target population of this study was the 13 Microfinance banks licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya as at 31 st December 2016. A census study was conducted where all the 82 staff working in the Risk, Compliance and Finance departments of all Microfinance banks in Kenya were included in the sample. The study relied on both primary and secondary data. Data was analyzed by aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The study revealed that capital adequacy affects the financial performance of Microfinance banks greatly and deduced that the core capital/ total risk weighted assets (TRWA) ratio of 10% and total capital/ total risk weighted assets (TRWA) ratio of 12% are high and the capital requirement of Kshs. 60 million for nationwide Microfinance banks was high and Kshs. 20 million for community Microfinance banks was moderate. The study also found that statutory requirements affect the financial performance of Microfinance banks greatly where it deduced that liquidity ratio of 20% is high for Microfinance banks in Kenya and led to reduced financial performance. The study further showed that operational requirements affect the financial performance of the Microfinance banks greatly. The study finally indicated that financial reporting requirements affect the financial performance of Microfinance banks greatly. The study concluded that statutory requirements had the greatest effect on the financial performance of Microfinance banks in Kenya, followed by capital adequacy , then operational requirements while financial reporting requirements had the least effect on the financial performance of Microfinance banks in Kenya. The study recommended that in order to facilitate favorable financial performance of MFBs, the institutions should prudently manage their liquidity, minimum capital requirements should be set based on the institutions risk appetite and the institutions should explore strategies to improve their operational efficiency. Key Words: Capital Adequacy Requirements, Statutory Requirements, Operational Requirements, Financial Reporting, Financial Performance of Micro Finance Banks
Use of a new cross-linked collagen membrane for the treatment of dehiscence-type defects at titanium implants: a prospective, randomized-controlled double-blinded clinical multicenter study.

OBJECTIVES The aim of the present randomized-controlled double-blinded clinical multicenter study was to assess the use of either a new cross-linked (VN) or a native collagen membrane (BG) for the treatment of dehiscence-type defects at titanium implants. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of n=54 patients were recruited in four German university clinics. According to a parallel-groups design, dehiscence-type defects at titanium implants were filled with a natural bone mineral and randomly assigned to either VN or BG. Submerged sites were allowed to heal for 4 months. Primary (e.g., changes in defect length - DeltaDL, quality of newly formed tissue [0-4] - TQ) and secondary parameters (e.g., membrane exposure, tissue conditions at dehisced sites) were consecutively recorded. RESULTS Four patients were excluded due to an early wound infection (VN:3; BG:1), and one patient was lost during follow-up (VN). The mean DeltaDL was 3.0 +/- 2.5 mm in the VN, and 1.94 +/- 2.13 mm in the BG group. The assessment of TQ revealed comparable mean values in both groups (VN: 3.05 +/- 1.66, BG: 3.46 +/- 1.48). A significant correlation between membrane exposure and inflammation of the adjacent soft tissue was observed in the VN group. In both groups, the mean DL and TQ values were not significantly different at either non-exposed or exposed implant sites. CONCLUSION The results of the present study have indicated that VN supported bone regeneration on a level non-inferior to BG. However, in case of a premature membrane exposure, cross-linking might impair soft-tissue healing or may even cause wound infections.
California Winter Precipitation Change under Global Warming in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 Ensemble

AbstractProjections of possible precipitation change in California under global warming have been subject to considerable uncertainty because California lies between the region anticipated to undergo increases in precipitation at mid-to-high latitudes and regions of anticipated decrease in the subtropics. Evaluation of the large-scale model experiments for phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) suggests a greater degree of agreement on the sign of the winter (December–February) precipitation change than in the previous such intercomparison, indicating a greater portion of California falling within the increased precipitation zone. While the resolution of global models should not be relied on for accurate depiction of topographic rainfall distribution within California, the precipitation changes depend substantially on large-scale shifts in the storm tracks arriving at the coast. Significant precipitation increases in the region arriving at the California coast are associated with an .
The impact of tourism foreign direct investment on economic development : an illustration by development of a tourism satellite account for Wales

The impact of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on economic development has been examined extensively in the academic literature. The positive effects of FDI generally hold if the host economies have sufficient level of development to absorb the benefits of FDI. However, the contribution of tourism FDI to economic development is largely unknown because of measurement difficulties in tourism FDI, data paucity and the relatively small scale of tourism FDI compared to total FDI flows. Host countries where tourism is one of the main or the only main income generating sector(s) often have a low level of development and rely heavily on tourism FDI. The low level of development in tourism intensive destinations makes the measurement of tourism impacts more difficult because there is often a high level of leakages from the tourism FDI in such economies. Therefore, then development of a clear and robust way of measuring the tourism FDI impact at such destinations has become important and necessary. This thesis uses the example of Wales, a relatively less developed region of the UK, to illustrate how the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) can be altered in form to reveal the contribution of tourism FDI on economic development in terms of output,gross value added (overall and per worker) and employment. The non-regionally owned tourism businesses supply over half of tourism products/services and create more GVA in total than regionally owned businesses. Employees in the non-regionally owned businesses also have much higher productivity. This study additionally shows the factors (such as quality of labour, household income level, leakages) that are considered important for economic development can be better accounted and understood by appending a Tourism Social Accounting Matrix (TSAM) to a TSA, with additional benefits for more comprehensive economic development impact analysis and further modelling.
Randomized controlled trial of a pictogram-based intervention to reduce liquid medication dosing errors and improve adherence among caregivers of young children.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy of a pictogram-based health literacy intervention to decrease liquid medication administration errors by caregivers of young children. DESIGN Randomized controlled trial. SETTING Urban public hospital pediatric emergency department. PARTICIPANTS Parents and caregivers (N = 245) of children aged 30 days to 8 years who were prescribed liquid medications (daily dose or "as needed"). INTERVENTION Medication counseling using plain language, pictogram-based medication instruction sheets. Control subjects received standard medication counseling. OUTCOME MEASURES Medication knowledge and practice, dosing accuracy, and adherence. RESULTS Of 245 randomized caregivers, 227 underwent follow-up assessments (intervention group, 113; control group, 114). Of these, 99 were prescribed a daily dose medication, and 158 were prescribed medication taken as needed. Intervention caregivers had fewer errors in observed dosing accuracy (>20% deviation from prescribed dose) compared with caregivers who received routine counseling (daily dose: 5.4% vs 47.8%; absolute risk reduction [ARR], 42.4% [95% confidence interval, 24.0%-57.0%]; number needed to treat [NNT], 2 [2-4]; as needed: 15.6% vs 40.0%; ARR, 24.4% (8.7%-38.8%); NNT, 4 [3-12]). Of intervention caregivers, 9.3% were nonadherent (ie, did not give within 20% of the total prescribed doses) compared with 38.0% of controls (ARR, 28.7% [11.4%-43.7%]; NNT, 3 [2-9]). Improvements were also seen for knowledge of appropriate preparation for both medication types, as well as knowledge of frequency for those prescribed daily dose medications. CONCLUSION A plain language, pictogram-based intervention used as part of medication counseling resulted in decreased medication dosing errors and improved adherence among multiethnic, low socioeconomic status caregivers whose children were treated at an urban pediatric emergency department. TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00537433.
Bowel Habits and Behaviors Related to Defecation in 10- to 16-year-olds: Impact of Socioeconomic Characteristics and Emotional Stress

Objectives:Bowel habits vary depending on food consumption and genetic factors. The knowledge regarding this physiological phenomenon is limited. Thorough understanding of normal bowel habits is essential for correct diagnosis of defecation disorders. This study evaluated the normal bowel habits of Sri Lankan children. Patients and Methods:Children ages 10 to 16 years were randomly selected from 5 schools in 4 districts. Those without defecation disorders were recruited. Details regarding their bowel habits during previous 2 months were collected using a validated, self-administered questionnaire. Results:A total of 2273 children were enrolled (mean age 13.2 years, SD 1.7 years, boys 49.7%). Of them, 1748 (76.9%) opened bowels once daily, whereas 149 (6.6%) and 11 (0.5%) had <3/week and >3/day defecations, respectively. Stool consistency was normal in 1997 (87.9%), hard in 86 (3.8%), and changing consistency in 163 (7.1%). Straining was present in 639 (28.1%), painful defecation in 241 (10.6%), and bleeding in 49 (2.2%). One hundred six (4.7%) children reported stool withholding. Bulky stool was present in 158 (7.0%). Straining, bulky stools, and withholding posture were more common in boys, whereas painful defecation and bleeding were reported more often in girls (P<0.05). Defecation frequency was lower in those from a poor socioeconomic background and war-affected areas (P < 0.05). Bowel frequency < 3/week, bulky stools, painful defecation, straining, and withholding posture were more common in those exposed to stressful life events (P < 0.05). Conclusions:The present study provides data on normal bowel habits of Sri Lankan schoolchildren and provides a firm platform to evaluate defecation disorders in them.
FDG-PET in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease: Analysis of clinical-PET correlation

ABSTRACT Objective: To assess the relationship between clinical pattern and cerebral glucose metabolism on [18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). Methods: Predefined clinical signs (ataxia, visual, pyramidal, myoclonus, limb apraxia, limb dystonia, sensory, parkinsonism, and corticobasal syndrome [CBS]) and FDG-PET data were assessed in consecutive CJD patients. Two types of statistical parametric mapping (SPM) analyses, using stringent level of significance p < 0.001 and extent threshold of 100 voxels, were performed: one comparing CJD patients presenting specific sign against CJD patients without this specific sign (inter-CJD analysis), and one comparing CJD patients with specific sign against 18 healthy controls (CJD-control analysis). Results: Fifteen CJD patients (11 probable and two histologically proven sporadic and two genetic CJD) were analyzed. CJD-control analysis of the entire CJD group showed lateralized frontal and parietal hypometabolism. When analyzing clinical CJD subgroups, inter-CJD analyses showed hypometabolism in more restricted areas than on CJD-control analyses. For CJD patients presenting with ataxia, visual signs and CBS (and CBS-associated signs), additional hypometabolic areas probably related to the specific signs were identified: pons and middle cerebellar peduncles in patients with ataxia; occipital cortex in patients with visual signs; and prerolandic and lateral parietal cortex in patients with CBS. For pyramidal signs, sensory loss, and parkinsonism, no abnormalities in brain areas typically involved in these signs were observed. Conclusion: In addition to lateralized frontal and parietal hypometabolism previously reported in CJD and observed here, hypometabolism in brain areas related to some specific signs (i.e. ataxia, visual signs, and CBS) is also seen.
AIDS-related and non-AIDS-related mortality in the Asia-Pacific region in the era of combination antiretroviral treatment

Objective:Although studies have shown reductions in mortality from AIDS after the introduction of combination antiretroviral treatment (cART), little is known about cause-specific mortality in low-income settings in the cART era. We explored predictors of AIDS and non-AIDS mortality and compared cause-specific mortality across high-income and low-income settings in the Asia-Pacific region. Methods:We followed patients in the Asia Pacific HIV Observational Database from the date they started cART (or cohort enrolment if cART initiation was identified retrospectively), until the date of death or last follow-up visit. Competing risks methods were used to estimate the cumulative incidence, and to investigate predictors, of AIDS and non-AIDS mortality. Results:Of 4252 patients, 215 died; 89 from AIDS, 97 from non-AIDS causes and 29 from unknown causes. Age more than 50 years [hazard ratio 4.29; 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.10–8.79] and CD4 cell counts less than or equal to 100 cells/μl (hazard ratio 8.59; 95% CI 5.66–13.03) were associated with an increased risk of non-AIDS mortality. Risk factors for AIDS mortality included CD4 cell counts less than or equal to 100 cells/μl (hazard ratio 34.97; 95% CI 18.01–67.90) and HIV RNA 10 001 or more (hazard ratio 4.21; 95% CI 2.07–8.55). There was some indication of a lower risk of non-AIDS mortality in Asian high-income, and possibly low-income, countries compared to Australia. Conclusion:Immune deficiency is associated with an increased risk of AIDS and non-AIDS mortality. Older age predicts non-AIDS mortality in the cART era. Less conclusive was the association between country-income level and cause-specific mortality because of the relatively high proportion of unknown causes of death in low-income settings.
Clinical heterogeneity of type 1 diabetes (T1D) found in Asia

Diabetes mellitus among young patients in Asia is caused by a complex set of factors. Although type 1 diabetes (T1D) remains the most common form of diabetes in children, the recent unabated increase in obesity has resulted in the emergence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) as a new type of diabetes among adolescents and young adults. In addition to the typical autoimmune type 1 diabetes (T1aD) and T2D patients, there is a variable incidence of cases of non‐autoimmune types of T1D associated with insulin deficiency (T1bD). Additional forms have been described, including fulminant T1D (FT1D). Although most diagnoses of T1D are classified as T1aD, fulminant T1D exists as a hyper‐acute subtype of T1D that affects older children, without associated autoimmunity. Patient with this rare aetiology of diabetes showed a complete loss of β‐cell secretory capacity without evidence of recovery, necessitating long‐term treatment with insulin. In addition, latent autoimmune diabetes in adults is a form of autoimmune‐mediated diabetes, usually diagnosed during the insulin‐dependent stage that follows a non‐insulin requiring phase, which can be diagnosed earlier based on anti‐islet autoantibody positivity. Some reports discuss T1bD. Others are elaborating on the presence of “atypical T1b diabetes,” such as Flatbush diabetes. The prevalence of diabetes mellitus in young adults continues to rise in Asian populations as T2D increases. With improved characterization of patients with diabetes, the range of diabetic subgroups will become even more diverse in the future. Distinguishing T1D, T2D, and other forms of diabetes in young patients is challenging in Asian populations, as the correct diagnosis is clinically important and has implications for prognosis and management. Despite aetiological heterogeneity in the usual clinical setting, early diagnosis and classification of patients with diabetes relying on clinical grounds as well as measuring islet autoantibodies and fasting plasma C‐peptide could provide a possible viable method to minimize complications.
Mutations in TGFBR2 gene cause spontaneous cervical artery dissection

Mutations in the genes encoding transforming growth factor β receptors 1 and 2 (TGFBR1 and TGFBR2) have recently been associated with hereditary connective tissue disorders with widespread vascular involvement, including arterial dissection. To determine whether mutations in these genes cause spontaneous cervical artery dissection (sCAD), all coding exons of TGFBR1 and TGFBR2 were sequenced in 56 consecutive patients with sCAD. Novel TGFBR2 disease causing mutations were found in two patients. The two mutations were the pK327R substitution affecting the kinase domain of TGFBR2 and the pC138R substitution falling in the extracellular domain of the protein, involved in TGFβ binding and signalling. No TGFBR1 mutation was found. The findings indicate that TGFBR2 gene mutations are responsible for sCAD in 3.6% (95% CI 0.0 to 8.4) of cases, have implications in understanding the role of TGFβ signalling in the pathogenesis of sCAD and emphasise the importance of considering molecular characterisation of the TGFBR2 gene in these patients, regardless of the presence of clinical features suggestive of hereditary connective tissue disorders.
Structure of Sorting Nexin 11 (SNX11) Reveals a Novel Extended Phox Homology (PX) Domain Critical for Inhibition of SNX10-induced Vacuolation*

Background: SNX10 and SNX11 exhibit antagonistic activity in regulating endosome vacuolation. Results: Two additional α-helices downstream of the conventional PX domain were identified in the SNX11 crystal structure. Conclusion: SNX11 contains an extended PX (PXe) domain critical for the inhibition of vacuolation induced by SNX10. Significance: This study reports a novel PXe domain that may represent a new subgroup of the PX domain. Sorting nexins are phox homology (PX) domain-containing proteins involved in diverse intracellular endosomal trafficking pathways. The PX domain binds to certain phosphatidylinositols and is recruited to vesicles rich in these lipids. The structure of the PX domain is highly conserved, containing a three-stranded β-sheet, followed by three α-helices. Here, we report the crystal structures of truncated human SNX11 (sorting nexin 11). The structures reveal that SNX11 contains a novel PX domain, hereby named the extended PX (PXe) domain, with two additional α-helices at the C terminus. We demonstrate that these α-helices are indispensible for the in vitro functions of SNX11. We propose that this PXe domain is present in SNX10 and is responsible for the vacuolation activity of SNX10. Thus, this novel PXe domain constitutes a structurally and functionally important PX domain subfamily.
A Theory of Mind Perspective on Cognitive, Affective, and Intimacy Deficits in Child Sexual Offenders

Previous work in the area of sexual offending has suggested that factors such as intimacy deficits, problems empathizing with victims, and cognitive distortions have all been associated with the genesis and maintenance of sexual abuse. While researchers have constructed theories to account for the role of these variables in sexual offending, a framework that unites their study is lacking. Recently Ward, Keenan, and Hudson have proposed that sexual offenders may suffer from a deficit in their ability to understand and attribute mental states to others. Their review of the literature on the etiology of sexual offending suggested that intimacy deficits, empathy deficits, and cognitive distortions all point to a lack of awareness of other peoples' beliefs, desires, perspectives, and needs, what is commonly referred to in the developmental literature as a theory of mind. In this paper, we expand on this argument, illustrating some of the developmental pathways by which deficits in one's theory of mind can explain the pattern of deficits exhibited by many sexual offenders.