Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Municipal solid waste management at Chennai in southern India – an occupational health perspective

The reasonable concern of India is the health of municipal solid waste (MSW) workers (rag pickers in particular) who scavenge recyclables. A study was conducted among the conservancy staff and rag pickers to examine the occupational health of MSW workers in India. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to collect data on the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the rag pickers, conservancy staff and residents through a questionnaire survey. The health evaluation was performed using a combination of a detailed medical history, clinical examinations, blood investigations, pulmonary function tests, X-rays and serology on all associated workers. Pulmonary function test results were significantly lower than predicted for both male and female study groups, viz. residents, rag pickers and conservancy workers. Most significant among the findings were the high prevalence of eosinophilia and hepatitis B. Prevalence of 8% hepatitis B carriers among conservancy workers points to the imminent need for prophylactic immunizations within this group of conservancy workers. A high prevalence of eosinophilia is not surprising given the multitude of allergen exposures. As compared to permissible biological exposure indices (BEI) in blood (ACGIH 2005), levels of metals were higher than BEIs, viz. mercury in 10% of workers, lead in 15% of workers, chromium in 12% of workers and cadmium in 3% of workers. As a means of organizing MSW management, the role of informal sector in recycling resources was recognized in the latest Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011 in India.
EFFECTIVITY OF INJECTION SCLEROTHERAPY ON EARLY HAEMORRHOIDS REPORTED TO SURGICAL OUTPATIENT DEPARTMENT

This prospective study was carried out at a Military Hospital over a period of 10 months. Total 96 cases of first degree and early second degree haemorrhoid cases treated by injection sclerotherapy were included in this study. Among them, first degree haemorrhoids were 60% cases and early second degree haemorrhoids were 40% cases. The highest number of patients was in 3rd and 4th decade (81%). After adequate bowel preparation, under proctoscopy three positions of haemorrhoids were identified. By a Gabrial syringe 5% phenol in olive oil (3-5 ml) was injected in the submucosa of the pedicle of each haemorrhoid. The patients were followed up monthly for six months. All the patients were presented with painless per rectal bleeding. Constipation was present in 89% cases. Satisfactory result was observed in 60% cases and out of them 40 cases were having first degree haemorrhoids and rest of the cases were having early second degree haemorrhoids. Second dose of injection was required in 38 cases and third dose of injection was required in 32 cases. Out of 38 patients who received second dose of injection, only 6 patients had satisfactory outcome and almost all but one patient who received third dose of injection showed unsatisfactory result. Reported method is easy, convenient, cheap and effectively practicable at outdoor level. Key words: Haemorrhoid; sclerotherapy; satisfactory outcome DOI: 10.3329/jafmc.v6i2. 7270 JAFMC Bangladesh. Vol 6, No 2 (December) 2010 pp.25-27
A study of the prevalence of potentially inappropriate medication in elderly in a tertiary care teaching hospital in the state of Odisha

Introduction: Quality and safety of prescribing in older people remains a global healthcare concern. Inappropriate prescribing in the elderly population is now considered a major public health issue because of its direct association to morbidity, mortality and wastage of health resources. The study was initiated to study the prevalence of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) in elderly patients coming to seek health care in a tertiary care teaching hospital in Odisha. Materials and Methods: 2012 AGS Beers Criteria was used to analyse the inappropriateness of the prescriptions in 700 new as well as old patients of either sex who had completed 65 years of age as on 30th September 2013. Data obtained was analyzed with the help of SPSS version 20.0. Multivariate logistic regression was applied to find out the predictors of PIM. Results: 21.86% patients were prescribed at least one potentially inappropriate medication. Most of the drug use was seen in the age group of 65-74 years. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that increased number of concurrent medications use (OR: 1.95, CI: 1.19 - 3.01, P = Conclusion: Inappropriate prescribing to elderly patients is influenced by the total number of drugs prescribed to an elderly patient. There is a need to improve the prescribing pattern in elderly. This will reduce the occurrence of adverse drug reactions, cost of treatment, and increase compliance in elderly patients.
Impact of norm perceptions and guilt on audience response to anti-smoking norm PSAs: The case of Korean male smokers

Objective: To examine how norm appeals and guilt influence smokers’ behavioural intention. Design: Quasi-experimental design. Setting: South Korea. Method: Two hundred and fifty-five male smokers were randomly assigned to descriptive, injunctive, or subjective anti-smoking norm messages. After they viewed the norm messages, their norm perceptions, guilt and behavioural intention were measured. Results: The study revealed several findings: (1) injunctive norm perceptions significantly affected behavioural intention; (2) descriptive norm perceptions had a non-significant impact; (3) subjective norm perceptions had an unexpected impact on behavioural intention; (4) guilt arousal strongly and directly affected behavioural intention in all three conditions; and (5) guilt arousal did not mediate the relationship between norm perceptions and guilt. Conclusion: Injunctive norms messages that smoking in the presence of others is an unacceptable behaviour in society could persuade smokers to alter their behaviours. In addition, our study suggests substantial potentials of guilt in smokers’ behaviour change.
Vector graphics animation with time-varying topology

We introduce the Vector Animation Complex (VAC), a novel data structure for vector graphics animation, designed to support the modeling of time-continuous topological events. This allows features of a connected drawing to merge, split, appear, or disappear at desired times via keyframes that introduce the desired topological change. Because the resulting space-time complex directly captures the time-varying topological structure, features are readily edited in both space and time in a way that reflects the intent of the drawing. A formal description of the data structure is provided, along with topological and geometric invariants. We illustrate our modeling paradigm with experimental results on various examples.
Prevalence of overweight and obesity and its association with Hypertension and Diabetes: A study among Manakkarambai population of Thanjavur district. -

Background: Obesity is a well-known risk factor of hypertension and diabetes. Aims & Objective: This study was aimed to investigate the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Manakkarambai population and to evaluate its relationship with hypertension and diabetes. Material and Methods: This Cross sectional study comprises of 163 subjects attending a local medical camp between 25- 70 years of age. Height, weight, BMI, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, fasting blood sugar and post prandial blood sugar were determined using standard methods. Results: Prevalence of overweight and obesity was 15% and 34% respectively and it was predominant among women than men. Systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and post prandial blood sugar were significantly elevated in obese subjects than in normal BMI subjects (control). Conclusion: The results showed a higher trend of hypertension and diabetes with increase in BMI.
Matching Supply and Demand: Delayed Two-Phase Distribution at Yedioth Group - Models, Algorithms, and Information Technology

This paper details collaboration between the distribution organization within the Yedioth Group, the largest media group in Israel, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This collaboration has led to fundamental changes in how Yedioth distributes print magazines and newspapers. In our work, we developed and implemented decision support tools that are based on new models and algorithms, which were enabled through an electronic data interchange system, and in the future will be enabled with a specialized radio-frequency identification technological solution. The underlying concept is to use real-time information about the sales at the retail outlets to enable pooling of inventory in the network. In particular, we leverage this information to implement an additional redistribution period during the week, delaying the distribution of some magazines until after we receive partial sales data. We model the system as a two-stage stochastic optimization problem. Moreover, we show that the resulting cost is jointly convex in the decision variables. This approach gives rise to a multidimensional dynamic program. By formulating the second-stage subproblem as a linear program, we develop an innovative stochastic gradient-based optimization algorithm that finds the optimal solution in a matter of seconds. The changes resulting from this collaboration generated substantial cost savings at Yedioth-from both a reduction in magazine production levels and a reduction in the return levels. These savings were achieved while maintaining the same sales levels.
Selling social work by the pound? The pros and cons of agency care management

This article considers the experiences of a small group of agency care managers (n = 23) working in London and the north of England. It was discovered that employment for occupationally migrant care managers can provide access to a potentially rich source of knowledge and skills, as well as a diverse and sometimes stimulating form of irregular employment. However, it was also discovered that work intensification, job insecurity and limited time spent with users and carers were common, and this further intensified the deskilling and lack of discretion which is common for many care managers. It is concluded that the increase in agencies that supply care managers to social services departments (among other sectors of social care) is further evidence of the ongoing privatisation of state social work and there are important implications for social workers, users and their informal carers.
Feasibility of real time PCR over cell culture in diagnosis of influenza virus infection: an experience of rade I viral diagnostic laboratory of developing country

Introduction: In spite of the discovery of viral culture technology about a century ago, its application in diagnostic labs is being used since 1970s. It served as the "gold standard" for virus detection for long. In recent years, rapid, technically less challenging, sensitive and highly specific viral identification is possible by molecular tools. Hence, the purpose of this study was to analyze the importance of real time PCR over virus culture in diagnosis of Influenza virus infections, the biggest viral challenge of present India, a developing country, so that prompt and correct diagnosis can help physicians as well as the policy makers to control the virus spread. Objective: To study the feasibility of real time PCR vis a vis viral culture technique and evaluate the utility of these methods for laboratory diagnosis of Influenza virus infections. Methodology: The study was conducted in Grade I Virology Diagnostic laboratory, Dept of Microbiology, KGMU, Lucknow. We used both real time RT-PCR and viral culture methods (on MDCK cell lines) for detection of Influenza virus infection and compared the effect of transport time, cost per sample and turnaround time on both the techniques. Results & Conclusion: Real time PCR is more practical, more sensitive, quicker and cost effective. It needs less expertise and availability of reagents is better. Though viral culture proved to be highly specific and useful for wide application but the use should currently be limited to mostly research facilities. Therefore for epidemiological diagnosis purposes real time PCR detection of Influenza virus is advised. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.3126/ijasbt.v2i1. 9860 Int J Appl Sci Biotechnol, Vol 2(1): 97-102
Use of antimicrobials and resistance in bacteria isolated from blood cultures in a Danish county from 1992 to 1995

Objective To compare the usage of antibiotics and the resistance frequencies in blood culture isolates in a low-consumption area (Roskilde County, Denmark) in the period 1992-1995. Methods Data from relevant institutions were collected and processed. Results In 1995 the total use of antibiotics was 16.7 defined daily doses (DDD) 1000 inhabitants per day, 95% of this being in the primary healthcare sector. In primary health care, only 0.1% of the total use was cephalosporins, 2% fluoroquinolones, 11% tetracyclines, 29% macrolides and 59% penicillins. In hospitals, 7% were cephalosporins, 3% fluoroquinolones, 0.7% tetracyclines, 10% macrolides and 59% penicillins. The total use in hospitals was 37 DDD/100 bed-days. Resistance frequencies did not change in the period. Resistance against penicillin and erythromycin in Streptococcus pneumoniae was 0.6% and 1.8% respectively. Resistance against methicillin in Staphylococcus aureus was 0.8%, and resistance against ampicillin, cefuroxime, gentamicin and fluoroquinolones in Escherichia coli was 31%, 0.5%, 0.8% and 0.8%, respectively. The frequencies of multiresistant coagulase-negative staphylococci correlated with the use of antibiotics in different ward groups according to the use of antibiotics. Conclusions In this 4-year study period, the changes in the use of antibiotics were negligible and were not reflected as alterations in the resistance frequencies in single species. In an area with a low use of antibiotics, like Roskilde County, the frequency of multiresistant coagulase-negative staphylococci may reflect the use of antibiotics in different wards. For comparison, it is of great importance to report resistance frequencies and the consumption of antibiotics in different regions in a uniform manner, preferably by DDD/1000 inhabitants per day in the primary healthcare sector and as DDD/100 bed-days in hospitals.
Real-time high-fidelity facial performance capture

We present the first real-time high-fidelity facial capture method. The core idea is to enhance a global real-time face tracker, which provides a low-resolution face mesh, with local regressors that add in medium-scale details, such as expression wrinkles. Our main observation is that although wrinkles appear in different scales and at different locations on the face, they are locally very self-similar and their visual appearance is a direct consequence of their local shape. We therefore train local regressors from high-resolution capture data in order to predict the local geometry from local appearance at runtime. We propose an automatic way to detect and align the local patches required to train the regressors and run them efficiently in real-time. Our formulation is particularly designed to enhance the low-resolution global tracker with exactly the missing expression frequencies, avoiding superimposing spatial frequencies in the result. Our system is generic and can be applied to any real-time tracker that uses a global prior, e.g. blend-shapes. Once trained, our online capture approach can be applied to any new user without additional training, resulting in high-fidelity facial performance reconstruction with person-specific wrinkle details from a monocular video camera in real-time.
Prevalence and public health significance of bovine cysticercosis at Elfora Abattoir, Bishoftu, Ethiopia

A cross sectional study was conducted from November 2013 to April 2014 to determine the prevalence of bovine cysticercosis, assess the associated risk factors and public health importance of Taeniasis at Elfora abattoir, Bishoftu town. Active abattoir survey from local zebu cattle presented to Elfora Abattoir and questionnaire survey data collected were analyzed using STATA version 11. From the total 430 carcasses examined, 24 (5.6%) were found to be infected with Cysticercus bovis. Cyst prevalence per organs were tongue, 14 (3.2%), triceps muscle 9 (2.1%), masseter muscle 7 (1.6%), heart 4 (0.9%) and diaphragm 1 (0.2%). From a total of 54 C. bovis cysts collected, 36 (66.6%) and 18 (33.3%) were live and degenerated cysts, respectively. 64% human Taeniasis was recorded with a statistically significant differences (P 0.05) in the prevalence of taeniasis among various religions of the interviewee. The study revealed the presence of bovine cysticercosis and its public health hazards in the area, which needs increasing awareness about the health impact of taeniasis to safeguard the public. Key words: Abattoir, Cysticercus bovis, prevalence, public health, Taenia saginata
Caractéristiques sociodémographiques, cliniques, biologiques, thérapeutiques et déterminants de la réponse immuno virologique chez les adultes infectés par le VIH, sous traitement antirétroviral à l’hôpital De jour de Bobo-Dioulasso (Burkina Faso

Objectif : Decrire les caracteristiques sociodemogra - phiques, cli-niques, biologiques, therapeutiques et les determinants de reponse immuno virologique des adultes infectes par le VIH, sous traitement antiretro - viral a l’Hopital De Jour (HDJ) de Bobo-Dioulasso. Patients et methodes : Il s’est agi d’une etude retros - pective a visee descriptive et analytique de janvier 2008 a decembre 2012, ayant porte sur les patients suivis en consultation ambulatoire a HDJ du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sanou Souro de Bobo-Diou - lasso. Etaient inclus dans l’etude tous les patients seropositifs pour le VIH-1 sous TARV depuis au moins douze mois et ayant realise un dosage de TCD4 et une charge virale dans le bilan systematique de suivi de l’infection VIH a 12 mois. Les differents profils de reponse immuno virologique suivaient les definitions de l’OMS. Resultats : Il s’agissait de 300 femmes (72,8%) et de 112 hommes (27,2%). L’age median etait de 37,5 ans. La classe d’age predomi-nante etait de 36-45 ans (46,2%). La majorite (55,6%) etait sans emploi. Les motifs de decouverte de la serologie VIH etaient domines par les infections opportunistes (57,6%). Pres de la moitie (42,2%) des patients etaient a un stade 3 OMS. Le nombre median lymphocytes T CD4 etait de 179 cellules/μl a l’initiation du TARV. La prevalence des echecs immunologiques (EI) etait de 11,9%. Les patients en echec virologique representaient 8%. La discordan - ce immuno virologique (DIV) etait de 9,5%. L’EI etait plus frequent chez les patients d’age avance (55,1% ; p=0,009) ayant un nombre de CD4 initial ≤ 100 cellules/mm3 (p=0,007). A l’analyse multi variee l’age superieur a 35 ans et le nombre de CD4 < 200 cellules/ mm a l’initiation du traitement etaient associes a la DIV. Conclusion : Une meilleure reponse immuno virologique necessi-terait une initiation precoce du traitement ARV selon les recommandations OMS 2013.
Chattels of Society

This article discusses the issue of domestic violence in India. It highlights how patriarchy, in the name of “family values” and “tradition,” is reflected in the recent parliamentary act and the legal system pertaining to domestic violence. Male privilege as a cause in the perpetuation of domestic violence is discussed through both men’s and women’s life cycles. The article highlights possible solutions to the crisis of domestic violence with reference to men’s organizations in some countries that are trying innovative approaches to counter the crisis, and where India can culturally create the space for sensitizing men to the current crisis
Drug and Alcohol-Related Knowledge, Attitudes And Behaviour A Study of Early School Leavers in the West of Ireland

Substance use can lead to a variety of negative impacts on society and individuals. Early school leaving places a person at increased risk of substance use and potential dependence. This research aims to explore the drug and alcohol related attitudes, knowledge and behaviours of early school leavers (aged 15–20) in the West of Ireland. The findings suggest that use of all substances, except solvents, is high by comparison with school-going counterparts. Alcohol use is widespread and accepted, with knowledge of the harms from alcohol coming from lived experience. Parental influence emerges as important in shaping a young person’s attitudes towards alcohol. A lack of understanding of the link between drugs – mainly cocaine – and addiction was evident. Dissatisfaction with current drugs education was apparent and knowledge level varied considerably within the group studied.
An overview of plant extracts as potential therapeutics

There is increasing interest in plant extracts as potential therapeutic agents and the use of a mixture of natural products to treat disease has a number of interesting outcomes, most notably their synergistic effects and polypharmacological action. This report gives a brief overview of patent literature concerning the activities and constituents of plant extracts from commonly cited therapeutic areas, notably anti-infectives, immune-inflammation, cardiovascular and anticancer fields. These agents provide a formidable phytochemical challenge in terms of quality control and the need to ensure batch to batch conformity. Additionally, thorough biological evaluation of extracts is vital to ensure safety and efficacy. These factors are of paramount importance if plant extracts are to be accepted as valid medicinal agents by the healthcare community and to have a future as therapeutic agents.
Serologic profile of myasthenia gravis and distinction from the Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome

Article abstract-Autoimmune serologic testing is indicated in the initial investigation of a patient believed to have myasthenia gravis (MG) or the Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LES). Serologic confirmation of mild, ocular, or recent-onset MG is ensured by a panel of antibody tests more than by any single test, and by testing before commencing immunosuppressant therapy. A positive result for the acetylcholine receptor (AChR)-binding antibody test is characteristic but not diagnostic of MG. AChR-binding or striational autoantibodies are found in 13% of patients with LES, a disorder that tends to be mistaken for MG when the presenting symptoms include ocular or bulbar muscle weakness. Seropositivity for P/Q-type calcium channel-binding antibodies distinguishes these disorders (LES 95%; MG <or=to5%). The AChR-blocking antibody assay is not recommended as a screening test for MG, but if the assay for AChR-modulating antibodies is positive, a positive result for AChR-blocking antibodies provides an additional quantitative baseline for future comparisons in monitoring an individual patient's immune response in relation to the clinical course and treatment. Seropositivity for striational antibodies is most predictive of thymoma when coupled with an AChR modulating antibody value of >90% AChR loss. Results of all serologic tests must be interpreted by a physician in the context of a patient's history, physical and electromyographic findings, response to Tensilon, chest imaging, and other serological findings (e.g., striational antibodies, thyroid and gastric autoantibodies, and P/Q-type calcium channel-binding antibodies). NEUROLOGY 1997;48(Suppl 5): S23-S27