Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Establishing Reference Ranges of Hematological Parameters from Malian Healthy Adults

Introduction Measurement of immuno-hematological parameters has been historically helpful in the diagnosis and treatment monitoring of many infectious diseases and cancers. However, these parameters have not yet been established in many developing countries where patient care strongly relies on such low-cost tests. This study describes the immuno-hematological parameter ranges for Malian healthy adults. Methods A cross sectional study was conducted from August 2004 to May 2013. We included 213 healthy volunteers (173 male and 40 female), aged between 18–59 years. Median, 2.5 and 97.5 percentile ranges for each immuno-hematological parameter are presented. Results In our study population, the hematological parameters’ ranges were mostly different to the universal established ranges. We found in our population a Median white blood cell (WBC) count of 5200 cells/μL [3237.5–11900], Red Blood Cell (RBC) count of 4.94 10^6 [3.56–6.17], hemoglobin (Hb) of 14.2 g/dL [12.2–17.38], platelet count (Plt) of 275 10^3/μL [145.4–614.4], lymphocytes 2050/μL [1200–3800], neutrophils 2200/μL [1040–6220]; monocytes 200/μL [100–660]; eosinophils 131/μL [0–1026]; CD4 902 cells/μL [444–1669] and CD8 485 cells/μL [0–1272]. We found significant gender differences in RBC, Hb level and MPV. However, RBC and Hb were higher in males median values compared to females (median values) (p<0.001), whereas the Mean platelet volume lower values (MPV) in males than females (P<0.047). The hemoglobin level for some West African countries (Mali, Burkina Faso, Togo, and Nigeria) ranged from 13.5 to 15.1 g/dL for males and 12 to 13 g/dL for females. However in East and Southern Africa, the values were anywhere from 14.1 to 16.1 for males and 11.2 to 14.4 for females. Conclusion Our data may help physicians to better define hematological abnormalities in patients. They may also be used to define new “normal hematological values” in Malian population or in the whole West African population.
Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and Cognitive Decline: A Longitudinal Study among Non-Demented Older Adults

Background/Aims: Very few studies have investigated the longitudinal association between serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] and cognitive impairment not due to dementia. This longitudinal study analysed 25(OH)D and the risk of cognitive decline among non-demented older adults. Methods: A subsample of the ESTHER cohort study, aged ≥70 years, was assessed with the Cognitive Telephone Screening Instrument (COGTEL) and underwent 25(OH)D measurements standardized with a reference method (n = 1,302). After an average follow-up of 4.6 years, 527 participants had repeated COGTEL testing and were eligible for analysis. Linear regression models were used to assess longitudinal associations between 25(OH)D levels and cognitive function. Possible practice effects of repeated cognitive testing were addressed with the reliable change index. Results: A trend of a more pronounced cognitive decline with lower vitamin D levels was observed among both women and men, with a statistically significant difference in COGTEL scores in the lowest vitamin D quintile of the total sample. Conclusions: This study indicates that low levels of vitamin D might be associated with cognitive decline among non-demented elderly individuals and highlights the need for further large-scale prospective studies to clarify the potential role of vitamin D in cognitive function at an old age.
Stock Price Predictability of Financial Ratios and Macroeconomic Variables: A Regulatory Perspective

The present study examines a set of financial ratios in predicting the up or down movements of stock prices in the context of a securities law, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOA), controlling for macroeconomic variables. Using the logistic regression with proxy betas to alleviate the incompatibility problem between the firm-specific financial ratios and macroeconomic indicators, we report evidence that financial ratios are meaningful predictors of stock price changes, which subdue the influence of macroeconomic indicators on stock returns, and more importantly that the SOA truly improves the stock price predictability of financial ratios for the markup sample. The empirical results further suggest that industry and time effects exist and that for the markdown sample the SOA actually deteriorates the predictive power of financial ratios.
An area-efficient, standard-cell based on-chip NMOS and PMOS performance monitor for process variability compensation

A completely-digital, on-chip performance monitor circuit is newly proposed. In addition to a traditional ring-oscillator, the circuit has a special buffer-line whose output duty ratio is emphasized by the difference in performance between NMOS and PMOS transistor. Thus the performance of NMOS and PMOS transistor can be estimated independently. As the monitor is designed with area-efficient by standard-cells only, it can be used widely. To demonstrate the accuracy of performance estimation and the usability of the monitor, we have fabricated the monitor in 90nm CMOS process. The estimation errors of the drain saturation current of NMOS and PMOS transistors are 2.0% and 3.4%, respectively. We also successfully reduced the output amplitude variation of D/A converter to 50% by the calibration with the estimated results by using the monitor.
Care pathways in US healthcare settings: current successes and limitations, and future challenges.

OBJECTIVES Care pathways are used widely in US healthcare settings and are expected to have greater influence on quality of care and patient outcomes in the future. We conducted qualitative research to evaluate the state of care pathways and their impact in the United States. STUDY DESIGN Targeted literature review followed by an online survey and in-person interviews. METHODS The PubMed and Cochrane databases were searched for publications on care pathways (January 1, 2005, to July 21, 2014) to inform the subsequent surveys and interviews with payers, providers, and pathway vendors regarding care pathway design, development, and management. A targeted hand search was completed in May 2015 to supplement the earlier review. RESULTS Twenty-nine publications, posters, or abstracts on specific care pathways were identified; the online survey and follow-up interviews included 26 and 18 respondents, respectively. Positive trends in current care pathways development and implementation include prioritization of high-quality evidence, enhancing the role of providers in development and implementation, and flexibility for providers to tailor treatment decisions to patients' needs. Nevertheless, there are some limitations in methodology for development and implementation, in criteria for evaluation, and in the degree of transparency surrounding these activities. CONCLUSIONS Our research confirms that high-quality evidence of efficacy and safety are expected to be central to future pathway development, and that physicians play a major role in development and implementation. To achieve the goals of improving quality of care while managing costs, further efforts are required regarding systematic development and evaluation, consistent implementation and compliance metrics, and transparency in implementation outcomes and financial motivators.
The Australian Government’s “White Paper on Reform of the Federation” and the Future of Australian Local Government

ABSTRACT The Abbott Government announced its White Paper review of the Australian Federation on June 28, 2014. Set against this backdrop, discussions of the future of Australian local government may provoke an assumption that its role will be cruelled. However, reflection suggests that such an assumption is misplaced. In particular, when the complexities of regionalism in Australia are considered, the potential role of local government begs revisiting. We argue that local government ought to adopt a forthright position in the current debate, particularly with respect to financial reform.
Affordances of Input Modalities for Visual Data Exploration in Immersive Environments

— There has been a consistent push towards exploring novel input, display, and feedback technologies for sensemaking from data. However, most visual analytical systems in the wild that go beyond a traditional desktop utilize commercial large displays with direct touch, since they require the least effort to adapt from the desktop/mouse setting. There is a plethora of device technologies that are yet to be tapped. Through this paper, we want to bring attention to available modalities for input for visual exploration within immersive display environments. These can be environments that contain multiple wall and ﬂoor displays, or projections to create immersion. We ﬁrst isolate the low-level interaction tasks performed by a user based on a usage scenario for visual exploration. We focus on egocentric visual exploration in the immersive environments, and introduce input modalities that enable interactions directly between a human body and objects of interest on the interface without a mediator in the middle (e.g., a handheld smartphone). Based on this, we identify affordances of different input modalities—touch, speech, proxemics, gestures, gaze, and wearable—in terms of the interaction tasks from the envisioned scenario. Finally, we discuss how modalities can be combined to complement each other and leverage their advantages in the immersive environment. By doing so, this paper provides guidelines for new system developers to ﬁgure out the best input technologies for their immersive analytics applications.
Breast cancer among young U.S. women in relation to oral contraceptive use.

BACKGROUND While most studies have found no association between oral contraceptive use and breast cancer, several studies of younger women have reported an association with long-term oral contraceptive use. PURPOSE. We studied the relationship of patterns of oral contraceptive use to breast cancer risk among younger women. These women have had oral contraceptives available their entire reproductive lives and are now entering the breast cancer-prone years. METHODS A population-based, case-control study of breast cancer was conducted in three counties in western Washington State among women born in 1945 or later, ages 21-45. Case patients were 747 women with breast cancer diagnosed in 1983-1990 and identified through the Seattle-Puget Sound Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results cancer registry. Control subjects were 961 women identified by random-digit telephone dialing. Subjects were interviewed in person, using pictures of brands of oral contraceptives and calendars of life events as recall aids. RESULTS There was no increased incidence of breast cancer associated with ever having used oral contraceptives. Because only 8% of this cohort had never used oral contraceptives, short-term users (< 1 year) were combined with never users as the reference group for further analyses. A small increased risk of breast cancer was associated with long duration of oral contraceptive use (odds ratio for > or = 10 years = 1.3; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.9-1.9; P for trend = .03), particularly among women aged 35 years or younger (odds ratio for > or = 10 years = 1.7; 95% CI = 0.9-3.1). Breast cancer was also modestly related to oral contraceptive use early in reproductive life (odds ratio for use within 5 years of menarche = 1.3; 95% CI = 1.0-1.8; P for trend = .04) and to use of high-progestin-potency oral contraceptives for at least 1 year (odds ratio = 1.5; 95% CI = 1.1-2.1). These associations were adjusted for age, age at menarche, term pregnancy, induced abortion, and family history of breast cancer. The associations were not further confounded by case-control differences in education, religion, breast feeding of offspring, or infertility; in oral contraceptive contraindications, indications, or complications; or in measures of breast cancer detection such as mammography or breast biopsy. CONCLUSIONS Long-term oral contraceptive use among young women or use beginning near menarche may be associated with a small excess breast cancer risk, possibly due to susceptibility to genetic damage in breast epithelial cells at ages of high breast cell proliferative activity. IMPLICATIONS Future studies should investigate whether the patterns of risk we reported are present as this cohort ages.
Selecting Appropriate Forms of Nitrogen Fertilizer to Enhance Soil Arsenic Removal by Pteris Vittata: A New Approach in Phytoremediation

Certain plant species have been shown to vigorously accumulate some metals from soil, and thus represent promising and effective remediation alternatives. In order to select the optimum forms of nitrogen (N) fertilizers for the arsenic (As) hyperaccumulator, Pteris vittata L. , to maximize As extraction, five forms of N were added individually to different treatments to study the effect of N forms on As uptake of the plants under soil culture in a greenhouse. Although shoot As concentration tended to decrease and As translocation from root to shoot was inhibited, overall As accumulation was greater due to higher biomass when N fertilizer was added. Arsenic accumulation in plants with N fertilization was 100∼300% more than in the plants without N fertilization. There were obvious differences in plant biomass and As accumulation among the N forms, i.e., NH4HCO3, (NH4)2SO4, Ca(NO3)2, KNO3, urea. The total As accumulation in the plants grown in As-supplied soil, under different forms of N fertilizer, decreased as NH4HCO3>(NH4)2SO4 > urea > Ca(NO3)2 >KNO3>CK. The plants treated with N and As accumulated up to 5.3∼7.97 mg As/pot and removed 3.7∼5.5% As from the soils, compared to approximately 2.3% of As removal in the control. NH4 +-N was apparently more effective than other N fertilizers in stimulating As removal when soil was supplied with As at initiation. No significant differences in available As were found among different forms of N fertilizer after phytoremediation. It is concluded that NH4 +-N was the preferable fertilizer for P. vittata to maximize As removal.
Statistical techniques for predicting system-level failure using stress-test data

In this paper we describe a novel scheme for collecting and analyzing a chip's failure signature. Incorrect outputs of digital chips are forced by applying scan patterns under non-destructive stress conditions. From binary mismatch responses collected in continue-on-fail mode, numeric data features are formed by grouping and counting mismatches in each group, thus defining a chip's “analog” failure signature. We use machine learning to explore prediction models of system-level test (SLT) failures by comparing signatures of chip samples from known SLT pass/fail bins. Important features that clearly separate the SLT pass/fail chips are identified. Experimental results are presented for a 28-nm 1.2-GHz quad-core low-power processor.
Instantaneous Within-Patient Diversity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Quorum-Sensing Populations from Cystic Fibrosis Lung Infections

ABSTRACT In the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, acyl-homoserine lactone (acyl-HSL) quorum sensing (QS) regulates biofilm formation and expression of many extracellular virulence factors. Curiously, QS-deficient variants, often carrying mutations in the central QS regulator LasR, are frequently isolated from infections, particularly from cystic fibrosis (CF) lung infections. Very little is known about the proportion and diversity of these QS variants in individual infections. Such information is desirable to better understand the selective forces that drive the evolution of QS phenotypes, including social cheating and innate (nonsocial) benefits. To obtain insight into the instantaneous within-patient diversity of QS, we assayed a panel of 135 concurrent P. aeruginosa isolates from eight different adult CF patients (9 to 20 isolates per patient) for various QS-controlled phenotypes. Most patients contained complex mixtures of QS-proficient and -deficient isolates. Among all patients, deficiency in individual phenotypes ranged from 0 to about 90%. Acyl-HSL, sequencing, and complementation analyses of variants with global loss-of-function phenotypes revealed dependency upon the central QS circuitry genes lasR, lasI, and rhlI. Deficient and proficient isolates were clonally related, implying evolution from a common ancestor in vivo. Our results show that the diversity of QS types is high within and among patients, suggesting diverse selection pressures in the CF lung. A single selective mechanism, be it of a social or nonsocial nature, is unlikely to account for such heterogeneity. The observed diversity also shows that conclusions about the properties of P. aeruginosa QS populations in individual CF infections cannot be drawn from the characterization of one or a few selected isolates.
Multifunctional Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Gag-Specific CD8+ T-Cell Responses in Rectal Mucosa and Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells during Chronic HIV Type 1 Infection

ABSTRACT The intestinal tract is a lymphocyte-rich site that undergoes severe depletion of memory CD4+ T cells within days of simian immunodeficiency virus or human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection. An ensuing influx of virus-specific CD8+ T cells, which persist throughout the chronic phase of infection, has also been documented in the gastrointestinal tract. However, little is known of the functionality of these effector cells or their relationship to the disease course. In this study, we measured CD8+ T-cell responses to HIV-1 peptides in paired rectal and blood samples from chronically infected patients. In both blood and rectum, there was an immunodominant CD8+ T-cell response to HIV Gag compared to Pol and Env (P < 0.01). In contrast, cytomegalovirus pp65 peptides elicited gamma interferon (IFN-γ) secretion strongly in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) but weakly in rectal CD8+ T cells (P = 0.015). Upon stimulation with HIV peptides, CD8+ T cells from both sites were capable of mounting complex responses including degranulation (CD107 expression) and IFN-γ and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) production. In rectal tissue, CD107 release was frequently coupled with production of IFN-γ or TNF-α. In patients not on antiretroviral therapy, the magnitude of Gag-specific responses, as a percentage of CD8+ T cells, was greater in the rectal mucosa than in PBMC (P = 0.054); however, the breakdown of responding cells into specific functional categories was similar in both sites. These findings demonstrate that rectal CD8+ T cells are capable of robust and varied HIV-1-specific responses and therefore likely play an active role in eliminating infected cells during chronic infection.
Cognition and speech-in-noise recognition: the role of proactive interference.

BACKGROUND Complex working memory (WM) span tasks have been shown to predict speech-in-noise (SIN) recognition. Studies of complex WM span tasks suggest that, rather than indexing a single cognitive process, performance on such tasks may be governed by separate cognitive subprocesses embedded within WM. Previous research has suggested that one such subprocess indexed by WM tasks is proactive interference (PI), which refers to difficulties memorizing current information because of interference from previously stored long-term memory representations for similar information. PURPOSE The aim of the present study was to investigate phonological PI and to examine the relationship between PI (semantic and phonological) and SIN perception. RESEARCH DESIGN A within-subjects experimental design was used. STUDY SAMPLE An opportunity sample of 24 young listeners with normal hearing was recruited. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS Measures of resistance to, and release from, semantic and phonological PI were calculated alongside the signal-to-noise ratio required to identify 50% of keywords correctly in a SIN recognition task. The data were analyzed using t-tests and correlations. RESULTS Evidence of release from and resistance to semantic interference was observed. These measures correlated significantly with SIN recognition. Limited evidence of phonological PI was observed. CONCLUSIONS The results show that capacity to resist semantic PI can be used to predict SIN recognition scores in young listeners with normal hearing. On the basis of these findings, future research will focus on investigating whether tests of PI can be used in the treatment and/or rehabilitation of hearing loss.
Histopathologic and Immunocytochemical Studies of Distemper in Seals

Thousands of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) died in European seas during 1988. Respiratory distress and oculonasal discharge were common clinical signs. We necropsied 76 affected seals. The main necropsy finding was severe pneumonia. Microscopic lung changes were characterized by proliferation of type II pneumocytes, filling of alveolar lumina with serofibrinous exudate, leukocytes, and macrophages, and necrosis of bronchial and bronchiolar epithelium. Intracytoplasmic and intranuclear acidophilic inclusion bodies characteristic of morbillivirus infection were seen in bronchial and bronchiolar epithelial cells. Microscopic lesions of non-suppurative demyelinating encephalitis were seen in the brain. There was degeneration and necrosis of neurons, focal gliosis, perivascular cuffing, and patchy demyelination. Many neurons and astrocytes contained intracytoplasmic and intranuclear inclusions. Using an immunoperoxidase technique, we detected morbillivirus antigen in many tissues including lung, brain, spleen, and urinary bladder. The origin of the seal morbillivirus is unknown.
Lysostaphin as a treatment for systemic Staphylococcus aureus infection in a mouse model.

OBJECTIVES With the isolation of clinical strains of Staphylococcus aureus carrying the gene that confers vancomycin resistance, the need for novel antistaphylococcals has become more urgent. Lysostaphin, an example of such a novel therapeutic, is an endopeptidase that rapidly lyses S. aureus through proteolysis of the staphylococcal cell wall. We evaluated its efficacy as a therapeutic agent for treatment of systemic S. aureus infection in a mouse model. METHODS Mice (5-10 per group) challenged with methicillin-susceptible S. aureus developed bacteraemia and organ infections while mice challenged with methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) developed organ infections. The challenged mice received various intravenous doses of recombinant lysostaphin, administered once a day for 1-3 days when compared with treatment with oxacillin or vancomycin. Some mice also received treatment of lysostaphin combined with oxacillin or vancomycin. Following treatment, bacteraemia was determined, and mice were sacrificed and organ infection was determined. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS Lysostaphin administered at 5 mg/kg once a day for 3 days consistently cleared S. aureus from the blood and the organs of infected mice. Furthermore, the combination of lysostaphin and oxacillin or vancomycin demonstrated increased efficacy against MRSA over lysostaphin alone allowing the therapeutic dose of lysostaphin to be reduced to 1 mg/kg. These results demonstrate that lysostaphin is an effective treatment for eradicating S. aureus from the blood and from the organs of infected mice.
Conceptualizing and Measuring Service Quality: Towards Consistency and Clarity in its Application to Travel Agencies in China

ABSTRACT This article assembles research published in Chinese-language journals and the more mainstream English-language journals to present a critical review of the literature on service quality of travel agencies in China. A brief background to travel agencies in China and a bibliometric analysis of the literature is followed by a thematic analysis of conceptual articles. Combining this with a critical analysis of empirical studies allows for identification of theoretical and practical issues, notably the ambiguity and inconsistency that is pervasive in the conceptualization, operationalization and measurement of service quality. Recommendations for future research regarding service quality of Chinese travel agencies are provided.