Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Control of neglected tropical diseases.

More than one billion people – mostly in the developing world – suffer from one or more neglected tropical disease. While relatively unheard of in developed countries, diseases like lymphatic filariasis, schistosomiasis, trachoma, onchocerciasis and soil-transmitted helminthes, cause disability, reduce mobility, contribute to childhood malnutrition and can lead to blindness and severe disfigurement. Neglected tropical diseases typically affect rural and marginal populations, who tend to be poor and lacking access to safe water, basic health services and essential medicines. Affected individuals often face stigmatization and abuse, further contributing to social and economic marginalization. To reduce the impact of neglected diseases in developing nations, in September 2006, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded RTI International the $100 million Neglected Tropical Diseases Control Project, with the goal of delivering treatment to 40 million people over five years.
Deterministic Approximations to Stochastic Production Problems

In this paper we consider deterministic approximations to a nonsequential stochastic production problem with setup costs. We show that, for the most commonly used probability distributions of the demands, the relative error bounds tend to be very small. We also consider a sequential stochastic problem, without setup costs, and discuss its relationship to the nonsequential case. Throughout the paper, we present limited computational results and indicate topics for further research.
The affordability of a nutritious diet for households on welfare in Toronto.

OBJECTIVES This study assesses the affordability of a nutritious diet for households in Toronto that are supported by welfare. METHODS For three hypothetical households, welfare incomes were compared to the monthly costs for food, shelter, and other essential expenditures in Toronto. RESULTS If households lived in market rental accommodation, average monthly incomes were insufficient to cover expenses for the single-person household and two-parent family, and barely adequate for the single-parent family considered in this study. However, the single-parent family's actual income fell below expenses for six months of the year. For households with children, the relative inadequacy of welfare increased as children grew older. Living in rent-geared-to-income housing afforded substantial financial advantage, but the welfare income of single-person households was still insufficient to meet basic needs. INTERPRETATION These findings indicate discrepancies between welfare incomes and costs of basic needs, which may explain the vulnerability of welfare recipients to food insecurity.
Comparison of Human Papillomavirus Detection by Aptima HPV and cobas HPV Tests in a Population of Women Referred for Colposcopy following Detection of Atypical Squamous Cells of Undetermined Significance by Pap Cytology

ABSTRACT Few studies have compared the cobas HPV test to the Aptima HPV assay (AHPV) and the Aptima HPV 16 18/45 genotype assay (AHPV GT) for high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) detection, clinical performance in detecting cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 (CIN2) or more severe (CIN2+) diagnoses, and risk stratification by partial HPV genotyping. The cobas HPV test is a DNA test that separately and concurrently detects HPV16, HPV18, and a pool of 12 other hrHPV types. AHPV is an RNA test for a pool of 14 hrHPV genotypes, and AHPV GT is an RNA test run on AHPV-positive results to detect HPV16 separately from HPV18 and HPV45, which are detected together. In a population of patients (n = 988) referred for colposcopy because of a cervical Pap cytology result of atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC-US), a cervical scrape specimen was taken, placed into a ThinPrep Pap test vial containing PreservCyt liquid cytology medium, and tested in a blinded fashion with cobas and AHPV and with AHPV GT for AHPV-positive results. The final diagnoses were based on a consensus panel review of the biopsy specimen histology. AHPV and cobas were equally sensitive for CIN2+ diagnoses (89.4% each; P = 1.000), and AHPV was more specific than cobas (63.1% versus 59.3%; P ≤ 0.001). The percent total agreement, percent positive agreement, and kappa value were 90.9%, 81.1%, and 0.815, respectively. Risk stratification using partial HPV genotyping was similar for the two assays. AHPV and AHPV GT had similar sensitivity and risk stratification to cobas HPV, but they were more specific than cobas HPV.
Dual Source Dual Energy MDCT: Comparison of 80 kVp and Weighted Average 120 kVp Data for Conspicuity of Hypo-Vascular Liver Metastases

Purpose:To determine whether liver metastases conspicuity is improved at 80 kVp when compared with weighted average (WA) simulated 120 kVp data using dual source dual energy CT. Methods:A total of 11 patients with 44 hypo-vascular liver metastases underwent contrast enhanced Dual Energy CT (DECT). In all cases the subject's abdominal diameter measured ≤35 cm. Data were reconstructed as a WA of the 140 kVp and 80 kVp acquisitions (simulating 120 kVp) and as a pure 80 kVp data set. A region of interest cursor was placed within the metastasis and adjacent normal parenchyma and attenuation differences and contrast to noise ratios (CNR) were calculated for the metastases at 80 kVp and on the WA acquisition. A mixed model 2-way analysis of variance was used to test whether the attenuation difference between metastases and normal liver was higher at 80 kVp than 120 kVp. An exact Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed rank test was used to test whether CNR was higher at 80 kVp. Cases were retrospectively reviewed to determine whether lesions could be seen on only one or both data sets. As the 80 kVp tube has a smaller detector than the 140 kVp tube, we also noted whether any of the liver lesions were not included on the 80 kVp dataset. Two radiologists in consensus evaluated the 80 kVp data and WA data and subjectively rated hepatic metastases conspicuity on a 4 point scale; with 1 being excellent, 2 good, 3 poor, and 4 not seen. Results:The mean size of the metastases was 2.6 cm. The mean ± SD of the attenuation difference between the metastases and the normal liver was 78.37 ± 24.6 at 80 kVp and 56.89 ± 17.9 at 120 kVp. The mean difference in attenuation was significantly higher at 80 kVp (P < 0.001). In 2 cases, a metastases was only seen at 80 kVp. The difference between 80 and 120 kVp in terms of CNR was statistically significant (P = 0.042). In one patient, 11 lesions were not included in the smaller field of view of the 80 kVp detector. The conspicuity scores were rated as significantly better at 80 kv than at 120 kVp (P < 0.0001). Conclusion:When compared with 120 kVp data, pure 80 kVp data acquired from a dual source dual energy MDCT scanner demonstrates greater attenuation differences and improved contrast to noise between metastatic disease and normal liver.
anyOCR: A sequence learning based OCR system for unlabeled historical documents

Institutes and libraries around the globe are preserving the literary heritage by digitizing historical documents. However, to make this data easily accessible the scanned documents need to be transformed into search-able text. State of the art OCR systems using Long-Short-Term-Memory networks (LSTM) have been applied successfully to recognize text in both printed and handwritten form. Besides the general challenges with historical documents, e.g. poor image quality, damaged characters, etc., especially unknown scripts and old fonds make it difficult to provide the large amount of transcribed training data required for these methods to perform well. Transcribing the documents manually is very costly in terms of man-hours and require language specific expertise. The unknown fonds and requirement for meaningful context also make the use of synthetic data unfeasible. We therefore propose an end-to-end framework anyOCR that cuts the required input from language experts to a minimum and is therefore easily extendable to other documents. Our approach combines the strengths of segmentation-based OCR methods utilizing clustering on individual characters and segmentation-free OCR methods utilizing a LSTM architecture. The proposed approach is applied to a collection of 15th century Latin documents. Combining the initial clustering with segmentation-free OCR was able to reduce the initial error of about 16% to less than 8%.
Advances in Human Palaeopathology

Preface (Simon Mays and Ron Pinhasi). Contributors. Part 1: Analytical Approaches in Palaeopathology. 1. The Chemical and Microbial Degradation of Bones and Teeth (Gordon Turner-Walker). 2. How Representative Are Human Skeletal Assemblages for Population Analysis? (Ron Pinhasi and Chryssi Bourbou). 3. Epidemiological Approaches in Palaeopathology (Ron Pinhasi and Katy Turner). 4. Macroscopic Analysis and Data Collection in Palaeopathology (Anne L. Grauer). 5. Radiography and Allied Techniques in the Palaeopathology of Skeletal Remains (Simon Mays). 6. Computed Tomography Scanning and Three-Dimensional Visualization of Mummies and Bog Bodies (Niels Lynnerup). 7. Histological Studies on Ancient Bone (Gordon Turner-Walker and Simon Mays). 8. Molecular Palaeopathology of Human Infectious Disease (Helen D. Donoghue). 9. Databases (William White). Part 2: Diagnosis and Interpretation of Disease in Human Remains. 10. Differential Diagnosis of Skeletal Lesions in Infectious Disease (Donald J. Ortner). 11. Metabolic Bone Disease (Simon Mays). 12. Tumours and Tumour-like Processes (Don Brothwell). 13. Advances in the Palaeopathology of Teeth and Jaws (Alan Ogden). 14. Trauma (Pia Bennike). 15. Congenital Anomalies (Ethne Barnes). 16. Growth in Archaeological Populations (Ron Pinhasi). Index.
A measurement of galaxy halo mass from the surrounding H i Lyα absorption

We measure the dark matter halo masses of 〈z〉 ≈ 2.36 UV colour-selected star-forming galaxies by matching the observed median H I Lyα absorption around them, as observed in the spectra of background QSOs, to the absorption around haloes above a given mass in cosmological simulations. Focusing on transverse separations 0–2 proper Mpc (pMpc) and line-of-sight separations 154–616 km s^(−1), we find a minimum halo mass of log_(10)M_(min)/M⊙ = 11.6 ± 0.2, which is in good agreement with published halo mass estimates from clustering analyses. We verified that the measured halo mass is insensitive to a change in the cosmological parameters (Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe 1 versus Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe 3) and to the inclusion of strong AGN feedback. One unique strength of this method is that it can be used in narrow field galaxy–QSO surveys, i.e. ≈30 × 30 arcsec. In addition, we find that the observed anisotropy in the 2D H I Lyα absorption distribution on scales of 1.5–2 pMpc is consistent with being a consequence of large-scale gas infall into the potential wells occupied by galaxies.
Salivary uric acid and C‐reactive protein associations with hypertension in Midwestern Latino preadolescents and their parents

Latino families face increased risk for hypertension. Serum-based uric acid and C-reactive protein have been linked to hypertension. However, a paucity of salivary biomarker data exists in this area for Latino families. Using salivary biomarkers enables less invasive options for biomedical and biosocial research, which is especially important among vulnerable populations facing increased health disparities. This study examined the associations between salivary uric (sUA) acid, salivary C-reactive protein (sCRP), and hypertension among 151 participants (57 children, 57 mothers, 37 fathers) from 57 Midwestern Latino families. Participants self-administered the salivary samples, and blood pressure was measured by researchers. Results showed sUA was associated across family members, and child hypertension was related to parents' hypertension. sCRP was only related to sUA in fathers. Findings highlight the family-level health connections, along with the importance for further investigations using salivary biomarkers with Latinos, and the need for a robust sUA cut-off for hyperuricemia.
Neurocognitive profiles of preterm infants randomly assigned to lower or higher hematocrit thresholds for transfusion

Objective: Preterm infants are frequently transfused with red blood cells based on standardized guidelines or clinical concerns that anemia taxes infants' physiological compensatory mechanisms and thereby threatens their health and well-being. The impact of various transfusion guidelines on long-term neurocognitive outcome is not known. The purpose of this study is to evaluate long-term neurocognitive outcome on children born prematurely and treated at birth with different transfusion guidelines. Methods: Neurocognitive outcomes were examined at school age for 56 preterm infants randomly assigned to a liberal (n = 33) or restrictive (n = 23) transfusion strategy. Tests of intelligence, achievement, language, visual-spatial/motor, and memory skills were administered. Between-group differences were assessed. Results: Those in the liberal transfusion group performed more poorly than those in the restrictive group on measures of associative verbal fluency, visual memory, and reading. Conclusions: Findings highlight possible long-term neurodevelopmental consequences of maintaining higher hematocrit levels.
Estimation of Humerus Length from Its Segments in Telangana State

Introduction: The aim of the study was to estimate the length of humerus from the measurements of proximal and distal segments in Telangana State population using regression equation. Helps archaeologists, anthropologists and forensic investigators,to estimate the stature &identity when a fragment of bone is available. In current studymeasurments of proximal and distal segments of humerus was dervied and the length of the humerus was estimated. Methods: A total of 30 humeri, 15 right and 15 left were used for this study. Maximum length of humerus, vertical and transverse diameter of proximal segment, transverse diameter and biepicondylar width of distal segment were measured using osteometric board & Vernier calipers. Results: With the obtained measurements descriptive statistics, linear regressions and regression equations for both sides are done. In the right humeri, multiple linear regression of vertical diameter of superior articular surface alone showed significant changes in maximum humeral length contributing up to 85%. In the left humeri, multiple linear regressions of vertical diameter of superior articular surface as well as transverse diameter of inferior articular surface showed significant changes in maximum humeral length ( P<0.001). Conclusion: The result of our study concludes that the length of the humerus can be estimated from the measures of proximal and distal segments of humerus of both sides.
miR-200b and miR-200c as Prognostic Factors and Mediators of Gastric Cancer Cell Progression

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinicopathologic significance and potential role of miR-200b and miR-200c in the development and progression of gastric cancer. Experimental Design: We examined miR-200b and miR-200c expression in 36 paired normal and stomach tumor specimens, as well as gastric cancer cell lines, by quantitative real-time PCR. In addition, miR-200b and miR-200c were detected by ISH using gastric cancer tissue microarrays, and the association between miR-200b and miR-200c levels and clinicopathologic factors and prognosis were analyzed. A luciferase assay was conducted for target evaluation. The functional effects of miR-200b and miR-200c on gastric cancer cells were validated by a cell proliferation assay and cell invasion and migration assays. Results: miR-200b and miR-200c were downregulated in the gastric cancer specimens and cell lines tested. miR-200b and miR-200c levels were significantly correlated with the clinical stage, T stage, lymph node metastasis, and survival of patients. Ectopic expression of miR-200b and miR-200c impaired cell growth and invasion. In addition, when overexpressed, miR-200b and miR-200c commonly directly targeted DNMT3A, DNMT3B, and SP1 (a transactivator of the DNMT1 gene), which resulted in marked reduction of the expression of DNA methyltransferases DNMT1, DNMT3A, and DNMT3B at the protein level. This effect, in turn, led to a decrease in global DNA methylation and reexpression of p16, RASS1A1, and E-cadherin via promoter DNA hypomethylation. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that miR-200b and miR-200c, as valuable markers of gastric cancer prognosis, may be a promising approach to human gastric cancer treatment. Clin Cancer Res; 19(20); 5602–12. ©2013 AACR.
Rhinophototherapy: gimmick or an emerging treatment option for allergic rhinitis?

Photodynamic therapy has been used in treating immune-mediated dermatological conditions such as psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. There are emerging reports on the efficacy of intranasal phototherapy in allergic rhinitis. The aim of this review was to assess intranasal phototherapy in the treatment of allergic rhinitis, with particular emphasis on clinical efficacy, scientific basis and safety. A structured search of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (PubMed), the Cochrane Collaboration library, Google Scholar and ISI Web of Knowledge database was undertaken using MeSH terms `phototherapy` and `rhinitis. ` Fourteen full-text articles were available for review. Three different phototherapy medical devices were assessed: (1) Bionase(TM), (2) Allergy Reliever SN206 and (3) Rhinolight(®). Light wavelength used in these devices ranged from red light to ultraviolet. Clinical use of intranasal phototherapy appears to be safe and well tolerated. Most studies demonstrated symptomatic improvement and quality of life scores. No improvement in objective measures of nasal airflow was demonstrated. Beneficial effects of phototherapy on inflammatory markers remain equivocal. Phototherapy treatment results in DNA damage but does not appear to predispose to carcinogenesis. However, long-term prospective studies are required to verify this. The quality of published studies was variable and thus the current strength of recommending intranasal phototherapy is currently weak.
Changing industrial relations in Europe

List of Contributors. Preface. Introduction: Towards European Industrial Relations? 1. Great Britain: From Partial Collectivism to Neo--liberalism to Where? : Paul Edwards (University of Warwick), Mark Hall (University of Warwick), Richard Hyman (University of Warwick), Paul Marginson (University of Leeds), Keith Sisson (University of Warwick), Jeremy Waddington (University of Warwick), and David Winchester (University of Warwick). 2. Ireland: Corporation Revived: Ferdinand von Prondzynski (University of Hull). 3. Sweden: Restoring the Model? : Anders Kjellberg (University of Lund). 4. Norway: The Revival of Centralised Concertation: Jon Erik Dolvik and Torgeir Aarvaag Stokke (Both Institute for Applied Social Science, Oslo). 5. Denmark: A Less Regulated Model: Steen Scheuer (Copenhagen Business School). 6. Finland: Continuity and Modest Moves Towards Company--Level Corporatism: Kari Lilja (Helsinki School of Economics and Business Administration). 7. Germany: Facing New Challenges: Otto Jacobi (Laboratorium Europa), Berndt Keller (University of Konstanz), and Walther Muller--Jentsch (Ruhr University of Bochum). 8. Austria: Still the Country of Corporatism: Franz Traxler (University of Vienna). 9. Switzerland: Still as Smooth as Clockwork? : Robert Flunder and Beat Hotz--Hart (Both University of Zurich). 10. The Netherlands: The Return of Responsive Corporatism: Jelle Visser (University of Amsterdam and Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, Cologne). 11. Belgium: The Great Transformation: Jacques Vilrokx and Jim Van Leemput (Both Vrije Universiteit Brussel). 12. Luxembourg: A Small Success Story: Gary Tunsch (Ministry of Labour and National Conciliation Office, Luxembourg). 13. France: The Limits of Reform: Janine Goetschy (Universite de Paris--Nanterre). 14. Portugal: Industrial Relations under Democracy: Jose Barreto (University of Lisbon) and Reinhard Naumann (freelance researcher). 15. Spain: Regulating Employment and Social Fragmentation: Miguel Martinez Lucio (University of Leeds). 16. Italy: The Dual Character of Industrial Relations: Ida Regalia (University of Turin) and Marino Regini (University of Milan). 17. Greece: The Maturing of the System: Nicos Kritsantonis. Index.
Dental and cranial adaptations in Eocene Adapidae.

There is no animal living today that makes an ideal model for what an Eocene adapid was like in terms of its behavior and adaptations. Nor can one living model adequately represent a group as diverse as the Adapidae. Adapids possessed a mosaic of anatomical features, some primitive and some relatively advanced for their time. They share a few specializations (chiefly postcranial) with lemuroids, and at the same time share a number of advanced specializations with anthropoids. Most adapids weighed between 0.6 and 8.0 kg, they had relatively small brains by modern standards, their dentition indicates a range in dietary adaptations from frugivory to folivory for most species, and at least one genus (Adapts) was sexually dimorphic. Considering all of these features, an average adapid may have resembled the hypothetical combination of a gentle lemur and a squirrel monkey.
Practical Guidelines for Expert-Judgment-Based Software Effort Estimation

This article presents seven guidelines for producing realistic software development effort estimates. The guidelines derive from industrial experience and empirical studies. While many other guidelines exist for software effort estimation, these guidelines differ from them in three ways: 1) They base estimates on expert judgments rather than models. 2) They are easy to implement. 3) They use the most recent findings regarding judgment-based effort estimation. Estimating effort on the basis of expert judgment is the most common approach today, and the decision to use such processes instead of formal estimation models shouldn't be surprising. Simple process changes such as reframing questions can lead to more realistic estimates of software development efforts.
Differential expression of HLA‐DQ alleles in peripheral blood mononuclear cells: alleles associated with susceptibility to and protection from autoimmune type 1 diabetes

Differential expression of human leucocyte antigen (HLA) class II genes has been postulated to influence the risk of developing autoimmune disease. In this study, we investigated the relationship between the level of mRNA expression of DQA1 and DQB1 alleles in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and the influence of the alleles on susceptibility to type 1 diabetes (T1D). Transcripts from pairs of DQA1 and DQB1 alleles were quantified in 59 DQ‐heterozygous individuals (29 patients with T1D and 30 healthy control subjects). Luciferase reporter gene assays were used to investigate the relative promoter activities of the alleles associated with high and low risk of disease. DQA1*0301 and the DQB1*06 group of alleles (*0601, *0602, *0603 and *0604) were generally overexpressed in comparison to other alleles. In contrast, mRNA for DQB1*0201/*0202 was generally less abundant than other DQB1 transcripts. These data correlated well with the relative promoter activities observed for the diabetes‐associated alleles; the strongest promoters were those derived from DQA1*0301 and DQB1*0602, while a 700‐bp fragment derived from the DQB1*0201 promoter showed the lowest activity of the DQB1 constructs. There was no simple correlation between the level of expression of specific DQ alleles and their influence on the risk of diabetes. The functional relevance of our findings and their implications for the pathogenesis of autoimmunity remain to be determined.