Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Survey of Speech-Language Pathologists' Use and Understanding of Evidence-Based Practice

Problem Statement: Prior research on evidence-based practice (EBP) in speech-language pathology is both limited and inconsistent regarding the frequency in which SLPs engage in EBP, their understanding of EBP, and the emphasis that their employers place on EBP. Purpose: The purpose of the present study was to assess SLPs’ understanding and use of EBP. In addition, this study investigated the potential barriers SLPs face when attempting to engage in EBP including employer emphasis and opinions toward EBP. Methods: SLPs (n=176) from across the United States participated in an online survey designed to assess their understanding and use of EBP. Participants were recruited via each state’s speech-language-hearing association’s listserv database. Results: Only a small percentage of SLPs were able to accurately identify the complete, three-part definition of EBP or identify strong levels of evidence. Similarly, only a small percentage were able to rank meta-analysis as the strongest level of evidence but the majority of participants were able to rank meta-analysis among the strongest levels of evidence. SLPs self-reported a high level of knowledge for accessing a wide range of resources, but reported the least amount of knowledge for accessing college, university, public, and medical libraries, including online databases of these libraries. ASHA resources were reported as the most frequently accessed source. When asked about the importance of EBP, a majority of respondents reported that EBP is beneficial and important, but difficult to engage in. Although the majority of SLPs reported a lack of employer-led training in EBP, the majority of SLPs reported that they feel their employer values EBP in the workplace. Discussion: The results of the present study will encourage SLPs to improve their treatment processes to align with the guidelines of EBP. The use of EBP will allow SLPs to improve their clinical practices and provide higher quality treatment to their clients.
Microvascular dysfunction and the development of muscle insulin resistance

Defects in microvascular perfusion, which is important for nutrient exchange in skeletal muscle, contribute to insulin resistance associated with obesity and hypertension. One factor that may link this microvascular dysfunction in these conditions is the renin angiotensin system (RAS). The primary objective of this thesis was to address these issues using rat models of obesity and altered RAS activity. Two different models of insulin resistance were analysed for the involvement of microvascular dysfunction. Rats were fed either a high fat or a high salt diet for 4 weeks to develop insulin resistance. The hyperinsulinaemic, euglycaemic clamp and 1-methyl xanthine techniques were used to investigate insulin sensitivity and microvascular recruitment, respectively. Despite different origins of insulin resistance, both animal models had markedly impaired insulin-mediated microvascular recruitment in muscle. The contribution of increased angiotensin II (AngII) activity to microvascular dysfunction in both animal models was examined. Hindleg vascular AngII sensitivity (assessed using both the perfused rat hindlimb technique and locally infused AngII in vivo) was enhanced in the high salt but not the high fat-fed rat. Thus, although both models developed microvascular insulin resistance, only the high salt-fed rats exhibited increased vascular AngII activity. There is conflicting evidence as to whether RAS dysregulation also contributes to insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes associated with obesity. The obese Zucker rat (a model of type 2 diabetes) has impaired insulin-mediated microvascular recruitment, and has been reported to have a dysregulated RAS, but represents a later stage of insulin resistance than the high fat-fed rat. To determine whether RAS inhibition enhances insulin sensitivity, high salt-fed and obese Zucker rats were treated with an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (quinapril) for 4 weeks. Inhibition of ACE significantly improved insulin sensitivity and augmented insulin-stimulated microvascular perfusion in high salt-fed rats, but not in obese Zucker rats. The data from this thesis demonstrate that the origin of microvascular insulin resistance is multifactorial. Dysregulation of the RAS is important in some but not all forms of microvascular insulin resistance. Therefore inhibition of RAS may not always be effective at treating insulin resistance and may only be beneficial during earlier stages of insulin resistance rather than later stages such as type 2 diabetes.
Molecular identification of Tick-Borne zoonotic bacteria in one humped camel (Camelus dromedarius)

In this study, the presence of tick-borne zoonotic bacteria (Borrelia spp., Coxiella burnetii and Rickettsiae spp.) in camel blood samples were examined using by PCR. A total of 50 blood samples were collected from one humped dromedary camels found in western side of Aegean region which had tick infestation in their anamnesis. Three pathogens, viz Borrelia burgdorferi, C. burnetii and Rickettsiae spp. were detected in camel blood samples. A single PCR was performed for the C. burnetii and multiplex PCR for the Rickettsiae spp. and Borrelia burgdorferi. At the end of PCR study, C. burnetii was identified at the rate of 4% out of 50 blood samples. Borrelia burgdorferi and Rickettsiae spp. were not detected from all blood samples. The results showed that tick-borne zoonotic pathogens may come up with risk factors for Camelus dromedarius population. For this reason, it is important to increase microbiological studies for Camelus dromedarius populations.
A preliminary study of bryophytes and invertebrates of soil crusts in the Little Desert National Park and surrounds

This study is preliminary to ongoing investigations of soil crusts and associated invertebrates in north-west Victoria, focusing on the Little Desert National Park. Ninety quadrats from nine sites were sampled. Eighteen bryophyte species (nine mosses, nine liverworts) were identified within the quadrats. All invertebrates were from the Phylum Arthropoda. Overall abundance and diversity of invertebrates was low. While sampling in the drier months is valuable for observing the dynamics of soil crusts in this region, a more comprehensive assessment of species diversity is gained by sampling during wetter periods.
Indoors Traversability Estimation with Less Labels for Mobile Robots

We present a method for binary (go/no-go) indoors traversability estimation from 2D images. Our method exploits the power of a pre-trained Vision Transformer (ViT) which we fine-tune on our own dataset. We conduct experiments using a mobile robotic platform to gather image data. Our fine-tuning approach includes the use of a pre-trained Vision Transformer (ViT) en route towards developing a semi-supervised deep learning technique to enhance indoor traversability estimation for scenarios where only a small amount of data is available. We evaluate the accuracy and generalization power of our method against well-established state-of-the-art deep architectures for image classification such as ResNet, and show improved performance.
Dynamic Neighborhood Adjustment Strategy for Multi-Objective Evolutionary Algorithm Based on Decomposition

Multi-objective evolutionary algorithm based on decomposition (MOEA/D) has achieved great success in the field of evolutionary multi-objective optimization. It decomposes a multi-objective optimization problem into a number of scalar optimization sub-problems. Each sub-problem is optimized by using information from its neighboring sub-problems. Therefore, the neighborhood size of each sub-problem plays an important role in MOEA/D. Different neighborhood sizes are tested in this paper. Experimental results demonstrate that larger neighborhood size helps achieve better convergence and diversity with more CPU time and vice versa. MOEA/D uses constant neighborhood size during the whole process, and it is difficult to balance the convergence, diversity and running time. Therefore, this paper propose an algorithm based on MOEA/D. The algorithm adjusts the neighborhood size dynamically in different generations and different sub-problems to reduce the running time while the convergence and diversity of this algorithm are similar or better than other state-of-the-art algorithms. Compared to the original MOEA/D, experimental results show that adjusting the neighborhood size dynamically is a good way to reduce the running time significantly while maintaining the convergence and diversity. Furthermore, the algorithm proposed in this paper is compared with five state-of-the-art algorithms based on MOEA/D. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms the others in efficiency while performs similarly in convergence and diversity.
Signatures of mutational processes and response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer: A genome-based investigation in the neoadjuvant GeparSepto trial.

574Background: Different mutational processes act over the evolutionary history of a malignant tumor, driven by e.g. abnormal DNA editing, mutagens or age-related DNA alterations. Many of these processes generate defined combinations of mutation types, which have been described as mutational signatures. The clinical relevance of mutational signatures has not been studied to a great extent. We investigate the hypothesis that the individual patterns of mutational signatures determine the clinical behavior of breast cancer (BC) , in particular response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Methods: In the GeparSepto study (NCT01583426) women with primary invasive BC were randomized to either nab-paclitaxel or solvent-based paclitaxel followed by EC. Pretherapeutic FFPE core biopsies of HER2-neg BC were used for whole genome/exome sequencing (n = 405). Mutational signatures were identified as described by Alexandrov et al. (Cell Rep. 3, 2013). Results: 24 of the the 30 mutational signatures were present in at least 10.
Pain in reptiles: a review for veterinary nurses

Abstract Reptiles are very likely to have the same pain experience as mammals, as the structures involved with nociception and processing are homologous. However, there is a big difference in expressive behaviours of pain between reptiles and mammals. This makes pain assessment challenging. Difficulty in pain assessment, along with other factors, makes poor pain management a welfare issue in the veterinary and the wider reptile - keeping context. Research in reptile pain is very limited so far; this article aims to provide some basic information on assessing pain in reptiles.
Vertical stratification of insectivorous bats (Microchiroptera) in harvested forests: assessing the role of structural clutter in shaping patterns of flight activity

xv Acknowledgements . xiii Chapter 1. General Introduction . 1 1.1 Overview of the management of native vegetation . 1 1.2 Impacts of logging on forest structure and wildlife habitat . 3 1.3 Wildlife management practices in logged forests in New South Wales . 5 1.4 Potential impacts of logging on forest bats . 7 1.5 Methods of assessing structural clutter effects for bats: benefits and drawbacks . 10 1.5. 1 Acoustic sampling and trapping . 10 1.5. 2 Tracking bats . 11 1.5. 3 Experiments . 13 1.5. 4 Multiple approaches to bat-clutter assessment and justification for my methods . 13 1.6 Some other methodological issues in bat research . 14 1.7 Project aims . 15 1.8 Outline of chapters . 16 1.9 How to read this thesis . 17 Chapter 2. Vegetation structure influences the vertical stratification of openand edge-space aerial foraging bats in harvested forests . 19 2.
A comparison between motor point and transcranial magnetic stimulation for estimatingvoluntary activation prior to, during and following fatiguing elbow flexor contractions

The objective of this thesis was to compare changes in voluntary activation (VA) with two different stimulation techniques in non-fatigued and fatigued elbow flexors. Participants completed a single experimental session in which they preformed four sequences of three consecutive fatiguing contractions (fatigue block). Submaximal muscle contractions were performed in sets of four between fatigue blocks. The contractions began with a 100% effort followed by a 25%, 50% and 75% of MVC contraction in random order (VA block). All VA block contractions were sustained for 5 seconds. VA block was completed prior to the first fatigue block, post 5 and 10 minutes. Stimulations were delivered during the final of three successive fatiguing contractions in the fatigue block and during all VA block contractions. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), Erb’s point stimulation, and motor point stimulation were delivered to induce motor evoked potentials (MEP), maximal muscle compound action potential (Mmax), and potentiated twitch, respectively. VA decreased throughout the fatigue protocol with motor point stimulation and TMS but TMS was significantly underestimated because of lower estimated resting twitch forces than motor point stimulation. There was no change in triceps/biceps brachii electromyography, biceps/triceps motor evoked potential (MEP) amplitudes or bicep MEP amplitudes throughout the fatigue protocol. In conclusion motor point stimulation as opposed to TMS led to a higher estimation of VA in non-fatigued elbow flexors, therefore stimulation type has substantial effect on predictive equation validity when fatigue is incorporated. Additionally, as fatigue increased, potentiated twitch, EMG amplitude and force production progressively reduced.
Agrobacterium-mediated Genetic Transformation of Peanut

Legumes are important sources of dietary proteins and fats in developing countries of the semiarid tropics where peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is one of the important food legume crops. It is a rich source of protein (23 per- cent) and edible oil (43 percent; Norden, 1980) and is considered one of the principal economic crops of the world. The genus Arachis belongs to the subfamily Papilionaceae of the family Fabaceae. It is native to South Amer- ica and comprises diploid (2n = 20), tetraploid (2n = 40) and octaploid (2n = 80) species
EFFECT OF ELECTRONIC CIGARETTE SMOKING ON BLOOD PRESSURE IN HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS. EVALUATION BY NON-INVASIVE CONTINUOUS AMBULATORY BLOOD PRESSURE MEASUREMENT

Objective: The electronic cigarettes (EC) is a device that heats a liquid containing nicotine and flavors into an aerosol for inhalation. There is some evidence from controlled trials that electronic cigarette (EC) may help to stop smoking long-term. However, a large proportion of smokers who successfully quit cigarette smoking continue to use EC for unlimited time, switching from an addiction to another. There is a clear similarity between the detrimental vascular effects of EC and conventional cigarette. Little is known about the acute influence on blood pressure (BP) of nicotine inhalation by EC and it's duration of action in hypertensive subjects. Aim of this study was to evaluate the magnitude and time-course of BP changes during EC smoking. Design and method: This is a randomized, cross-over and placebo controlled study. We evaluated 30 mild-to-moderate hypertensive patients on pharmacological treatment and adequate BP control (< 140/90 mmHg). Patients (22 males, mean age 54 ± 21 years) were former smokers, who quitted tobacco cigarette in favor of EC at least 6 months before. BP and heart rate (HR) were measured by continuous non-invasive ambulatory BP and ECG monitoring (SOMNOtouch NIBP). BP and HR were monitored during a 30 minute rest in the sitting position; during other 30 minutes after smoking EC (inhalation equivalent to 0.8 mg of nicotine of a regular cigarette) or placebo EC (same device, same flavor but no nicotine in the solution). Results: EC vaping was accompanied by significant increase blood pressure, which lasted about 30 minutes (average 28 ± 11 minutes). Compared to placebo the EC smoking increased systolic BP by 9,6 ± 4,1 mmHg, diastolic BP by 7.1 ± 3.9 mmHg and heart rate by 16,4 ± 13 beat per minute. All the differences resulted statistically significant (Student's t test P < 0.05). Conclusions: Under these experimental conditions, EC smoking caused a statistically significant increase in BP and HR in hypertensive patients. This effect seems also clinically relevant since the duration of BP increase was relatively long (28 minutes) and the daily number of inhalations, in EC smokers, is usually high (> 20).
Perspectives of Clinical Staff about Patient Safety Culture in Imam Hussein Hospital of Hashtroud, East Azerbaijan, Iran

Patient safety is one of the main part of quality of services provided by healthcare systems. It is necessary to evaluate patient safety culture among medical staff in a constant manner. This study was aimed to evaluate patient safety culture among medical working staff of Imam Hussein Hospital of Hashtroud, East Azerbaijan, Iran. The present cross-sectional study was carried out in 2017. Ninety eight staff was recruited through census sampling. Data collection tool was Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC) questionnaire including 42 questions and 12 dimensions. Data were analysed using SPSS software (ver.16), descriptive data; t-test, and ANOVA tests. The results showed that patient safety culture was at its average level and the highest and lowest means were for “teamwork within units” with 72.14±91.30 and “staffing” with 43.13±62.99, respectively. Based on obtained results, it is suggested that managers should identify effective factors on patient safety culture and promote patients’ health by implementing and following safety norms and designing efficient programs.
Seroprevalence and molecular epidemiology of Toxoplasma gondii in the Western Cape of South Africa

Background: Toxoplasmosis is a disease caused by Toxoplasma gondii, which can infect nearly all mammalian and avian species. Approximately 25% of the global human population is thought to be infected. Interest in Toxoplasmosis has surged since it was discovered that with the onset of AIDS, acute toxoplasmosis can induce cranial calcification and the ensuing encephalitis can be fatal. The African HIV epidemic, increasing levels of other immunosuppressive infections such as tuberculosis, poor sanitation practices, and lack of any monitoring of at risk populations points to a problem that maybe under-rated. Stellenbosch University https://scholar.sun.ac.za
Aprepitant prophylaxis effectively reduces preventing postoperative nausea and vomiting in patients receiving opioid based intravenous patient-controlled analgesia

Background: Aprepitant is effective in prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, when administrated with other antiemetics. We compared the effectiveness of aprepitant to ondansetron for prevention of post-operative nausea and vomiting (PONV) in patients who received a patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) containing opioids. Methods: 198 patients were randomized into two groups. The treatment group was received an aprepitant, 80 mg, and the control group received a placebo. General anesthesia with inhalational anesthetics–N 2 O was performed, and PCA was supplied, which contained opioids-NSAIDs-ondansetron. The primary end-point was the incidence of PONV for postoperative 48 hours, and the secondary end-point was the changes in the relationship between PONV incidence and risk factors. Results: PONV incidence in the treatment group was lower than in the control group (18.6% [95% CI: 10.8–26.3], 33.3% [95% CI: 23.6–43.1], respectively, P = 0.021). Relative risk of PONV in the control group was 1.80 (95% CI: 1.08–3.00, P = 0.010). PONV scores peaked at around postoperative 6 hours, then gradually decreased in the control group but not in the treatment group, which showed lower values than the control group (P = 0.001), and no changing patterns were observed (P < 0.001). Risk factors analyzed were sex, surgery type, history of motion sickness or PONV, and smoking habits. Their effects of all risk factors except sex were abolished in the treatment group. Conclusions: Prophylactic aprepitant with ondansetron was more effective than ondan-setron-only regimen in preventing PONV after volatile anesthesia with opioid-containing PCA. Aprepitant abolished the effects of most of risk factors, so it could be efficacious in a high-risk PONV group.
Comparison of indices of insulin resistance and islet beta-cell dysfunction across rat models of diabetes mellitus induced by modified diets or streptozotocin

Background: Induction of insulin resistance in rodents involves the use of Streptozotocin (STZ) or diets high in sucrose, fat or fructose; but the relative degrees of insulin resistance induced by each of these approaches are unclear. Aim and Objectives: We therefore compared the degree to which intraperitoneal STZ with or without high-fat or high-fructose diet would induce insulin resistance, glucose intolerance and islet β-cell dysfunction in Wistar rats. Materials and Methods: Subsets of STZ-injected rats administered streptozotocin at 30 mg/kg body weight for five successive days were fed normal diet (STZ), or diets high in fat or fructose for 30 or 60 days. Normoglycaemic rats on normal rodent chow, High Fat Diet (HFD) or High Fructose Drink (HFrD) constituted the Control (CTR), HFD or HFrD groups, respectively. Rats were anaesthetized and sacrificed at 30 or 60 days of high fat or fructose feeding followed by measurement of fasting plasma glucose and insulin; and calculation of the HOMA-IR and HOMA-%β. Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) was done 48 hours prior to killing the animals. Results: Glucose tolerance and islet β-cell function were most severely perturbed in the STZ-injected hyperglycaemic rats fed diets high in fructose or fat, as indicated by the significantly increased (p<0.05) HOMA-IR or decreased HOMA%β (p<0.05) at 30 or 60 days compared with the CTR, STZ or diet-only groups. Weekly blood glucose was most markedly and significantly (p<0.05) elevated in these same (STZ+diet) groups, with impaired OGTT. Conclusion: The profound impairment of glucose tolerance and β-cell function in the STZ-induced hyperglycaemic rats fed high-fat or high-fructose diet support the continued use of such models in the characterization of the molecular events associated with insulin resistance, and the testing of novel therapeutic interventions.