Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Health Care Professionals towards Voluntary Counseling and Testing for HIV/AIDS in a Nigeria Tertiary Hospital

This descriptive cross sectional prospective study evaluated the attitude of health care workers toward voluntary counseling and testing of HIV/AIDS. A self -administered structured questionnaire was the tool used for the study, it contained sections on bio social variables and section aimed at fulfilling the objectives of the study; The participants were medical doctors, nurses, medical laboratory scientists, radiographers, social workers and pharmacists. Data were collated, inputted into a computer and statistical analysis performed using SPSS version 22 software. Descriptive variables were summarized using percentages and proportions for categorical variables. Bivariate analysis was done to test for association between categorical variables using the chi square test; p value of < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Multiple logistic regressions were performed to identify predictive variables appropriate for the association between socio-demographic and willingness to go for screening. Two hundred and thirty- eight questionnaires were administered and statistically analyzed; the group consists of workers mostly females, (55%) aged 21-30 years, (47.8%), married, (52.5%) Christians, (96.2%) medical doctors, (49.2%) of Esan extraction; marital status and occupation of the participants significantly influenced their attitude towards voluntary counseling and testing for HIV/AID. This study has shown that a good percentage of the respondents were knowledgeable, they have the right attitude towards VCT of HIV/AIDS while a lesser proportion had negative attitude, a substantial percentage were engaged in good practice. Key words : Professionals; Counseling; Testing; HIV/AIDS
Evaluation of Red Cell Membrane Fragility in Patients with Hepatitis B Virus Infection

Background: Hepatitis B virus infection is a major global health problem and of immense clinical importance. Hepatitis B virus infection can lead to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and is found to be associated with macrocytic anemia. The mechanism of anaemia largely depends on red cell membrane integrity. Osmotic fragility (OF) of red cells was therefore evaluated in patients with HBV infections to access the diagnostic/prognostic utility. Methods: A total of 1744 patients from surgical and medical wards/clinics of Alex Ekwueme University Teaching Hospital Abakiliki were screening serologically for HBV using immunochromatographic strip method and positive samples were confirmed by the use of One Step Hepatitis B Multi-5 Test. A total of 100 subjects (50 HBV positive and 50 HBV negative) were evaluated for osmotic fragility of red blood cells. Results: HBV prevalence rate of 3.5% was found among the patients. The osmotic fragility of red blood cells were significantly (p<0.05) decreased in Hepatitis B virus positive individuals compared to Hepatitis B virus negative individuals. Significant (p<0.05) differences were observed in the osmotic fragility of the two groups at 0.9%, 0.8%, 0.7%, 0.6%, 0.5%, 0.4%, 0.3%, 0.2% and 0.1% saline. The mean corpuscular fragility (MCF) which is the sodium chloride concentration causing 50% hemolysis for Hepatitis B positive individuals was 0.33% saline while that of Hepatitis B negative individuals was 0.41% saline. Conclusion: The HBV positive patients showed decreased OF compared with HBV negative control population. This study was on small population of HBV positive subjects without disease staging. Further studies using more sample size and clinical staging is recommended to clearly associate OF as a diagnostic or prognostic marker in HBV infection.
Testing the Weak Form of Efficient Market Hypothesis: Empirical Evidence from Equity Markets

The aim of this paper is to analyse integration and test the hypothesis of an efficient market, in its weak form, in sixteen international financial markets. The sample covers the period from January 2002 to July 2019 and is divided into three sub-periods. In order to achieve such an analysis, the aim is to provide answers to two questions. Has the global financial crisis intensified the financial integration of international markets? If there is a process of mean-reversion in the international stock markets, with arbitrage, the hypothesis of portfolio diversification will be feasible? The results suggest that the global financial crisis has intensified the integration level of international financial markets. Regarding random walk and market efficiency hypotheses, in its weak form, the results suggest the existence of a mean-reversion and the rejection of the hypothesis of information efficiency, in its weak form, in developed and emerging markets, European and non-European. In terms of portfolio diversification analysis, we see that levels of financial integration decreased significantly in the sub-period following the global financial crisis, namely with its respective benchmarks, such as the US market, Japan and Hong Kong. We can assess the existence of feasible diversification opportunities in the long term.
Impacts of aerosols produced by biomass burning on the stratocumulus‐to‐cumulus transition in the equatorial Atlantic

The impact of aerosols produced by biomass burning on the stratocumulus‐to‐cumulus transition (SCT) in the equatorial Atlantic is studied using satellite‐based and reanalysis data for the month of June. The month of June is highlighted because it represents monsoon onset as well as the largest sea surface temperature gradient in the summer, which is the peak season of tropical African biomass burning. Boundary layer deepening and increasing temperatures put the location of the SCT within the Gulf of Guinea. Satellite retrievals indicate that the bulk of aerosols occur near 1,500 m in altitude, either above or below the boundary layer depending on latitudinal position. Changes in smoke loading over the Gulf of Guinea due to greater transport from southern Africa leads to increases in low‐level cloud cover above cloud decks and decreases when mixed within the boundary layer. Further south, we find significant changes to temperature, cloud top height, tropospheric stability and moisture availability near maximum aerosol loading. In addition, changes in vertical velocity during dirty conditions further reinforce changes in tropospheric stability. These effects combine to shorten the SCT in space during increased aerosol loading episodes.
Neuropsychiatric changes in Parkinson’s disease patients: A prospective observational two years study

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is clinically manifested by motor and non-motor symptoms, including neuropsychiatric changes, which can occur both in the early and advanced stages of PD. Objectives. The study evaluated cognitive and behavioral changes in patients with PD. Material and methods. Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and Hoehn and Yahr scale were used to assess the neurological status of 112 patients with PD. Clinical neuropsychological tests were applied to all patients. Outcomes. The longer the duration of the disease is, the more critical impulse-control disorders are, especially shopping, hobbyism, and punding. Hypersexual behavior appears to be age and gender-dependent. Depression and impulse-control disorders seem interconnected: subjects tested with severe depression on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale have more shopping compulsions. Antiparkinsonian treatment influences the Montreal Cognitive Assessment score. When specific cognitive domains are tested, subjects treated only with levodopa have lower scores at temporal and spatial orientation testing. Dopamine agonists appear to be associated with less cognitive dysfunctions. conclusions. Neuropsychiatric symptoms impact the quality of life in Parkinson’s disease patients and must be systematically assessed.
RAS/RAF mutations in tumor samples and cell-free DNA from plasma and bone marrow aspirates in multiple myeloma patients

Purpose: To evaluate the detection of gene mutations in bone marrow biopsy and circulating free DNA (cfDNA) from plasma in multiple myeloma (MM). Experimental design: We used cell-free DNA from plasma and bone marrow to test BRAF V600, KRAS G12/G13, NRAS G12/G13 and NRAS Q61 mutations using multiplex assays for droplet digital PCR (ddPCR), and evaluated results with clinical outcomes. Results: We found of 83 patients, the detectable mutation frequencies for the above four genes were 4 (5%), 13 (16%), 3 (4%) and 14 (17%) in bone marrow, respectively. The median variant allelic frequency (VAF) in most mutations were 1.595%. In 17 paired cfDNA samples, the detectable mutation frequencies for the above four genes were 5 (30%), 1 (6%), 0 (0%) and 3 (18%) respectively, and the median VAF rate was 2.9%. Agreement between bone marrow DNA and plasma cfDNA were 76%, 100%, 100% and 100% compared to the tissue detections, respectively. In 17 patients with paired bone marrow and plasma samples, the above four mutations were 3 (18%), 1 (6%), 0 (0%) and 2 (12%) respectively, with the agreement rates of 88%, 88%, 100% and 100% compared to tissue detections. Of 57 patients with available outcome data, high mutation VAF had a shorter median survival than patients with low mutation VAF (P=0.0322). Conclusions: Oncogenic mutations in BRAF, KRAS and NRAS genes can be detected in the bone marrow and plasma cfDNA with ddPCR in patients with MM patients and high VAF is associated with short survival.
The Universal Breakthroughs of Big History: Developing a Unified Theory

The currently unfolding panoramic view of the eons, which the modern scientific and historical disciplines present, reveals an outstanding series of critical and transformative universal breakthroughs running throughout the history of the cosmos, life, and man. This paper begins to explore and develop an orderly framework for Big History based on this remarkable overall pattern of similarly sudden and rapid outbursts of expansive creative power marking the entire course of evolutionary manifestation. On this basis I consider and propose: (1) ‘A Great Story of Origins’ with sixteen ‘Origin Events’, each of which in turn dramatically establishes and defines a new ‘Regime’ and subsequent ‘Evolutionary Era’ with emergent qualities; (2) a reconsideration of current issues at the cutting edge of evolutionary theory including ‘punctuated equilibrium’; (3) a recognition of the essential ‘twofold’ or ‘biphasic’ nature of developmental change in time; (4) an expansion of evolutionary thought in the context of Big History; and (5) approaches towards developing a Unified Theory.
Internship Report – M2 MPRI Gradual Set-Theoretic Types

Set-theoretic types. In programming languages, static type systems are powerful tools that help programmers to ensure that a program is correct, relatively to some specification. The point of a type system is to assign types to every part of a program, using predefined typing rules. Types can be seen as denoting sets of values; for example, a possible interpretation of the type int of the language OCaml is that it denotes the set of all integers. Set-theoretic type systems make use of this fact to apply the results of set theory to type theory. In such type systems, one can define, e.g., the intersection of the union of two types using their set-theoretic denotations and applying the corresponding set-theoretic operations to them. Set-theoretic types usually restrict themselves to sets where these operations can be implemented efficiently, e.g. regular words or trees (simple types can often be considered as trees). Most programming languages also support some form of subtyping. This provides some flexibility to the type system, and promotes code reusability. In most type systems, subtyping is defined as a binary relation on types using several simple inference rules. However, in set-theoretic type systems, it is possible to define subtyping as a simple set-containment relationship. That is, a type s is a subtype of t if and only if the set of values denoted by s is contained in the set denoted by t [7]. Set-theoretic types are also more powerful than simple types. As it is possible to give “multiple types” to a function (by the means of intersection types), it is possible to type more programs. Specifically, overloading is natively supported by set-theoretic types. However, this increase in power comes at a cost: type reconstruction in set-theoretic type systems is usually undecidable. Therefore, the programmer is forced to annotate every part of his code for the type system to check it or to give-up overloading (and impose further restrictions) for the sake of type reconstruction.
Safety and Efficacy of New Oral Anticoagulants in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation: A Literature Review

Background: TraditionallyVitamin K antagonists (VKAs), such as warfarin, have been used to reduce the risks of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). However, they are associated with increased risk of haemorrhage. Thus, there is a need for new oral anticoagulant agents that are effective, safe, and convenient to use. Recent, observational and randomized controlled clinical trials, have examined the long-term use and efficacy of new oral anticoagulants. However, their results pertaining to important secondary efi¬cacy end points as well as safety outcomes were inconclusive. Aim: We, therefore, performed a systematic review to examine the long-term efi¬cacy and safety of the new oral anticoagulants namely; dabigatran, rivaroxaban and apixaban in patients with AF. Methods: In total 286 abstracts have been screened and 21 articles have been selected and considered as relevant for this epidemiological review. The primary efi¬cacy endpoint was the incidence of stroke or systemic embolism. The primary safety endpoint was the incidence of major bleeding. Results: We observed that dabigatran and rivaroxaban are more efi¬cacious than warfarin for the prevention of stroke, death and systemic embolism. Also, they decrease the risk for intracranial bleeding and appear to have a favorable safety proi¬le, making them promising alternatives to warfarin. Conclusions: Overall, our results support the use of the new oral anticoagulants as alternatives to warfarin for long-term anticoagulation therapy in patients with AF.
Assessment of physicochemical and sensory characteristics of foam-mat dried papaya fruit powder

Foam-mat drying is an alternative for the preservation of papaya in the form of powder. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the physicochemical characteristics of foammat dried papaya powder. Papaya pulp with 9oBrix concentration was foamed using methyl cellulose, glycerol monostearate and egg albumin. The foam slurries were dried at 60, 65 and 70°C with foam thicknesses of 2, 4, 6 and 8 mm and then powdered. The physicochemical characteristics such as bulk density and water solubility index decreased with increasing foam thickness and increased with increasing temperature. Moisture content and water absorption index decreased with increasing temperature and increased with increasing foam thickness. Vitamin C, β-carotene, total sugars and TSS showed significant reduction at higher temperature and foam thickness. However, there were no changes in acidity and pH. Egg albumin treated papaya pulp dried at 60oC with 2 and 4 mm foam thicknesses showed better physicochemical quality whereas glycerol monostearate treated papaya powder had better sensory ratings on colour, flavour, taste, and overall acceptability.
How Does Corruption Drive Deforestation in the Tropics?

Introduction One definition for corruption reads as "unlawful use of public office by politicians or civil servants for private gain" (Contreras-Hermosilla, 2001, p. 78). The same author gives a good overall introduction in this phenomenon in his section of "Illegal activities and corruption in the forest sector" in the "State of the world`s forests 2001" by FAO. It is reflecting a new era in FAO`s forest policies because corruption "was considered a taboo subject until recently" according to Dr M. Hosney El-Lakany, the present Head of FAO Forestry Department (in the Foreword of this report).
ORGANIZATIONAL RETENTION STRATEGIES: A REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Employee turnover is a much studied phenomenon. There is a vast literature on the causes of voluntary employee turnover dating back to the 1950s. By developing multivariate models that combine a number of factors contributing to turnover and empirically testing the models researchers have sought to predict why individuals leave organisations. Many studies are based on only a small number of variables which often only explain a small amount of variability in turnover. Another criticism of turnover studies is that they do not adequately capture the complex psychological processes involved in individual turnover decisions. A recent study of turnover by Boxall et al (2003) in New Zealand confirmed the view that motivation for job change is multidimensional and that no one factor will explain it. However, over time there have been a number of factors that appear to be consistently linked to turnover. An early review article of studies on turnover by Mobley et al (1979) revealed that age, tenure, overall satisfaction, job content, intentions to remain on the job, and commitment were all negatively related to turnover (i.e. the higher the variable, the lower the turnover). In 1995, a meta-analysis of some 800 turnover studies was conducted by Hom and Griffeth, which was recently updated (Griffeth et al, 2000). Their analysis confirmed some well-established findings on the causes of turnover. These include: job satisfaction, organisational commitment, comparison of alternatives and intention to quit. These variables are examined in more detail below, as are a number of other factors where the evidence on the link to turnover is less conclusive.
Advances on discrete parameter synthesis in continuous-time formalisms

—Cyber-physical systems involve both discrete actions and real-time that elapses depending on timing constants. In this paper, we introduce a formalism for such systems containing both real-time parameters in linear timing constraints and switchable (Boolean) actions. We deﬁne a new approach for synthesizing combinations of parameter valuations and allowed actions, under which the system correctness is ensured when expressed in the form of a safety property. We apply our approach to a railway crossing system example with a malicious intruder potentially threatening the system safety.
Short Reviews on Liver Transplantation Liver transplantation in patients with HIV infection

Liver transplantation in patients with HIV infection Didier Samuel*, Jean-Charles Duclos Vallee, Elina Teicher, Daniel Vittecoq Centre Hepatobiliaire, UPRES 3541, Formation Associee de Recherche Association Claude Bernard ‘Virus et Transplantation’, Universite Paris-Sud, Hopital Paul Brousse, Assistance Publique-Hopitaux de Paris, 14 avenue Paul Vaillant Couturier, 94800 Villejuif, France Unite des Maladies Infectieuses, Hopital Paul Brousse, Villejuif. France
Teacher ‟ s Career Performance In Secondary Education ; Case Study Of Teacher ' s Psychology , Ethics , Moral And Values In Dodoma ( M ) , Tanzania

Every University in Tanzania has its own teachers ' training program curriculum, and the way teachers are educated to meet challenges but still upholding the teaching professional is also questionable. The present study assesses teachers„moral, value, ethics, psychology and working morale in secondary education. The study involved structured questionnaire interview, focus group discussion and key informants study design. The study found that student behavior is influenced by both teacher's behavior and student's characteristic, teacher's moral, ethics, values and psychology is influenced by teacher's foundation from the training programs where as working morale is much affected with school climate and prevailing relationship between employers and employees. Problems of teachers ' salaries, job promotion, unsatisfactory teaching environment and lack of teachers' in-service training programs affect teacher's performance. The study further found that; teacher's organization and preparedness for class sessions, commitment to employer's goals, teacher-students counseling service or activities as well as teacher and student interactions depend on type of school ownership (government or private school). The study contributes significantly to the understanding of the contemporary state of teaching career and teachers' performance and challenges in secondary education in Tanzania. Key words; In-service Teacher's Training; Principal component; Teacher's psychology, Moral, Values, Ethics; Teacher's working morale
So-called delusions in daily life can be broken down and described more accurately with the help of a 7x4-field

It was not until the end of the 20th century that a phenomenon known as delusiveness in the daily actions of people attracted significant scientific interest. It is difficult to classify as a mental illness. Nevertheless, it is a collection of skews, and a burden, hindrance, peeve, etc. A tool called 7x4-field has been developed in order to break down the causes of disturbance in mental wellbeing (e.g. divorce), mental disturbance (e.g. obsession), and deviant behavior (e.g. cheating). It contains seven factors: lonelinesses, models, stresses, punishment experiences, losses, avoidances, and life changes, which affect the cornerstones of a good life: social relations, physical exercise, rational functions and irrational functions. This study examined 136 studies, the results of which were placed into the 7x4-field, which in turn confirmed the thesis that the 7x4-field is an effective tool in preemptive mental health work.
Low Thermal Sensitivity Hollow Core Fiber for Optically-Switched Data Centers

Optical switches offer several benefits over electronic switches, including better scalability, lower power consumption, and lower latency. The end-to-end switching latency in optical switching systems is the sum of the optical switching time and the clock and data recovery (CDR) locking time. In short packet dominated data center networks, the CDR locking time limits the end-to-end switching latency. It has been shown that sub-nanosecond CDR locking time is required to achieve high network throughput. Recent research shows that scalable and sub-nanosecond CDR can be achieved by synchronizing the clock frequency and phase of all end-points connected to an optical switch. In such a system, the clock phases must be tracked because of the thermally-induced change of propagation time through standard single mode fiber (SMF-28). Hollow core fiber has been shown to have a 20 times smaller thermal coefficient of delay than SMF-28, offering the potential to simplify clock phase tracking. In this article, we investigate the benefits of the low thermal coefficient of delay of hollow core fiber for clock-synchronized data center networks, showing under 625 ps CDR locking time in both a point-to-point and a 2-to-1 optically switched system, using real-time 60-ns packets operating at 25.6 Gb/s. Based on our results, we estimate that sub-nanosecond CDR locking time can be achieved for a 100 m size data center cluster interconnected by an optical switch using hollow core fiber, without active tracking of clock phase.