Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impact of spider nevus and subcutaneous collateral vessel of chest/abdominal wall on outcomes of liver cirrhosis

Introduction Spider nevus and subcutaneous collateral vessel of the chest/abdominal wall are common in liver cirrhosis. This prospective study aimed to evaluate the impact of spider nevus and subcutaneous collateral vessel of the chest/abdominal wall on the outcomes of cirrhotic patients. Material and methods We prospectively enrolled patients with a diagnosis of liver cirrhosis consecutively admitted to our department. We recorded the number and location of spider nevi and subcutaneous collateral vessels of the chest/abdominal wall. Clinical profiles and survival were compared according to the presence of spider nevus and subcutaneous collateral vessel of the chest/abdominal wall. The study was registered (NCT02468479). Results Overall, 198 patients were enrolled between June 2015 and May 2016. The median follow-up duration was 350 days. The prevalence of spider nevus and subcutaneous collateral vessel of the chest/abdominal wall was 47% and 29.8%, respectively. Patients with spider nevi had a significantly higher proportion of alcohol abuse (54.84% vs. 26.67%, p < 0.001). Both spider nevus and subcutaneous collateral vessel of the chest/abdominal wall were significantly associated with higher Child-Pugh (8.35 ±2.19 vs. 7.47 ±1.91, p = 0.005; 8.57 ±2.20 vs. 7.60 ±1.98, p = 0.002) and MELD scores (9.91 ±6.41 vs. 7.43 ±5.40, p = 0.008; 10.77 ±6.76 vs. 7.68 ±5.42, p = 0.003). The cumulative survival was not significantly different between patients with and without spider nevi of the chest/abdominal wall (p = 0.951). Patients with subcutaneous collateral vessels of the chest/abdominal wall had significantly worse cumulative survival (p = 0.018). Conclusions Presence of spider nevus and subcutaneous collateral vessel of the chest/abdominal wall indicated more severe liver dysfunction. Subcutaneous collateral vessel of the chest/abdominal wall should be a simple and important predictor for the overall survival of cirrhotic patients.
Medical Students’ Perceptions of E-assessment: Multiple Choice Questions used as a Tool of Assessment for Preclinical Years

Background: Assessments and examinations judge the learning capabilities and test the knowledge and skills that students have acquired during their academic courses. The general paper-pen exams are now slowly being replaced by online testing system. This online assessment is now widely used in medical colleges in western countries and is slowly being introduced in Middle East countries as well. The objectives of the present study were to assess medical student’s perceptions on multiple choice questions (MCQs) based E-assessment and to analyze the strength and weakness of the online assessment method. Methods: The study was done on 280 year 2, 3, and 5 students of Oman Medical College (OMC). A 23-item questionnaire that addressed different variables associated with attitudes, perceptions, user comfort factors and type of questions used for assessment about using online examinations was employed. Data were analyzed using the SPSS software. Results: We included 125 (44.6%) students from 2nd year, 110 (39.3%) from 3rd year, and 45(16.1%) students from 5th year. The survey looked upon the four main domains about the use of online exams using multiple choice questions (MCQs): 1. Affective factors, 2. Validity factors, 3. Practicality, and 4. Reliability and Security. Most medical students were comfortable with the online assessment mode. They perceived that the use of MCQs was sufficient to test knowledge during their course. A major theme of concern was technical problems and security issues. Conclusion: Our survey indicated that most students preferred MCQs based E-assessment. However it is evident that the exam system needs to be improved in areas of preparation of well-constructed MCQs, its reliability and validity, practical and technical problems and also regarding the security of the exam system to prepare medical students global competent. Keywords: E-ASSESSMENT, UNDERGRADUATE MEDICAL COURSE, WELL-CONSTRUCTED MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
UAV-Aided Air-to-Ground Cooperative Nonorthogonal Multiple Access

This article aims to improve spectrum efficiency (SE) for the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-relayed cellular uplinks, through distinguishing both line-of-sight (LoS) and non-LoS (NLoS) links. Meanwhile, aiming to accommodate the air-to-ground (A2G) cooperative nonorthogonal multiple access (NOMA)-based cellular users (CUs) with a high energy efficiency (EE), a joint resource allocation (RA) problem is further considered for the UAV and the CUs. To solve the problem, first, an access-priority-based receiver determination (RD) method is derived. According to the RD result, the heuristic user association (UA) strategies are given. Then, based on the UA result, transmission powers of the CUs and the UAV are initialized based on their quality-of-service (QoS) demands. Furthermore, the subchannels are assigned to the associated CUs and the UAV with the reweighted message-passing algorithm. Finally, the transmission power of the CUs and the UAV is jointly fine-tuned with the proposed access control schemes. Compared with the traditional orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) scheme and the traditional ground-to-ground (G2G) NOMA scheme, simulation results confirm that the UAV-aided NOMA with the proposed joint RA scheme yields better performances in terms of the SE, the EE, and the access ratio of the CUs.
Human Rights Violations and Foreign Direct Investment Inflows in Southeast Asia

Foreign direct investment (FDI) is an essential factor for the development of countries, especially for developing countries. These developing countries aim to attract FDI, as much as possible. Therefore, it is interesting to look at which factors determine an increase or decrease in FDI inflows. The primary independent variable in this research is human rights violations. The main question asked is whether human rights violations affect FDI inflows in Southeast Asian countries. Especially in Southeast Asia, human rights are interesting because of the relatively poor record of countries there in this regard. If it is true that human rights do have an impact on FDI inflows, then there are incentives for local governments to improve their human rights record. This research compares the influence of the political determinant human rights with two other political/institutional determinants, the rule of law and democracy. It tests which political/institutional determinant has the most influence on FDI inflows. In order to investigate these relationships, quantitative research is used to analyse 15 Southeast Asian countries over the course of 15 years, from 2003 to 2017. This research uses a panel data analysis in STATA to answer the research question. This paper aims to test the relationship of these three independent variables on the dependent variable with the help of five control variables: market size, economic growth, inflation, trade openness and balance of payments. The results of this paper show that the expectations are not verified. According to this research, human rights do not affect foreign direct investment inflows. In addition, the other independent variables of this research, the rule of law and democracy, do not have a significant impact on foreign direct investment inflows in Southeast Asia either.
Facial soft tissue profile after Orthognatic Surgery at a Referral Hospital in Tehran, Iran

Introduction: Recently, orthognathic surgery is widely used in reconstruction and aesthetics over the world and has found its place in plastic surgery, especially in moderate to severe skeletal deformities. The relationship between facial hard and soft tissues consequently has been raised in planning the surgery and assessment of postoperative changes. Photogrammetry is the reasonable and simple technique to assess the surgeries in this regard which was applied through the current research to evaluate pre-and postoperative facial parameters. Methods: Between 2012 and 2014, 29 patients including 13 females and 16 males enrolled the study. The mean±SD of age was 27.3 ± 4.65 years in men and 25.71 ± 2.41 years in women. Patients who referred to a hospital in Tehran, Iran, were reviewed using their charts and enrolled the study regarding inclusion and exclusion criteria before being invited to get postoperative 6-24 months after their surgery for photogrammetry in this cross-sectional performance. Results: 29 patients including 13 females and 16 males enrolled the study. The mean±SD of age was 27.3±4.65 years in men and 25.71±2.41 years in women. The facial convexity and the total facial contour had the most changes after the cervicomental and mentolabial angles which was about 5 degrees. In terms of longitudinal parameters, the bigonial breadth showed the most changes followed by the lower lip height and the central lower lip height. The surgery was effective to change physiognomic and morphologic face parameters with much more changes in women (P<0.001). Conclusion: It seems that orthognatic surgery, disregarding the standards of the face, and the criteria of beauty between men and women in different races, help people to have better face besides malocclusion correction. The present study showed that the facial parameters changed towards more normal measures following the surgeries done in the surveyed referral center in Iran.
METEOR DETECTION USING DEEP CONVOLUTIONAL NEURAL NETWORKS

: This paper describes an application of a pre-trained Deep Convolutional Neural Network to detect meteors from night sky images. The dataset is relatively small, composed of labeled images of meteors and non-meteors from the night sky. Techniques like data augmentation were used to create data artiﬁcially, and a dropout layer was introduced to prevent overﬁtting at the training augmented dataset. The performance obtained by the methods using traditional ﬁve-fold cross-validation along with changing of the images for black and white, compared with the ones obtained using only the training and validation partitions and RGB colors, achieved a higher mean accuracy of 84.35%. Resumo : Este artigo descreve a aplica¸c˜ao de uma rede neural convolucional profunda pr´e-treinada para detectar meteoros a partir de imagens do c´eu noturno.
Osteoarthritis of the knee refractory to standard care: comparison of intraarticular hylan G-F 20 with triamcinolone acetonide. A real life study in a developing country

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of intraarticular Hylan G-F 20 and triamcinolone acetonide 80 mg (TA) in primary knee osteoarthritis (OA) refractory to standard care in a developing country. Methods: After injection of either Hylan or TA, patients were seen at 12 and 26 wk. Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) score, pain, stiffness (100 mm visual analogue score), and European Quality of Life (EQ) score were measured as well as radiographic joint space change and joint severity grade. Results: The 26-week study was completed by 24 patients receiving Hylan (45 knees) and 21 receiving TA (38 knees). The primary outcome (improvement ≥40% of total WOMAC scores) at 12 wk in the Hylan group was 30 (66.7%) and in the TA group 5 (13.2%) (P<0.00) and at 26 wk, 35 (77.8%) and 10 (26.3%), respectively, (P<0.001). All secondary end points (pain, stiffness quality of life) improved significantly after 12 and 26 wk in both groups) but more in the Hylan group. The Kellgren-Lawrence radiographic grade improved more in the Hylan group than the TA group. The joint space improved at 12 wk in the Hylan and TA groups (0.4±0.8 and 0.1±0.5, respectively, P=0.044), and at 26 wk (0.6±1.1 and 0.0±0.5, respectively, P=0.003). No remarkable side effects were observed. Conclusions: In primary knee OA refractory to standard care, pain improved significantly more with Hylan G-F 20 than with TA after 12 and 26 wk as regards function and quality of life. Further studies are needed to assess longer time effects.
Assessing the Role of Ethnic Enclaves and Neighborhood Conditions in Volunteering Among Latinos in Chicago

Neighborhoods may be important for formal volunteering because they vary in the extent to which they have institutions that support participation and problems that motivate participation. According to social heterogeneity and ethnic community theories, we should expect that living in ethnic enclaves, neighborhoods where residents are predominantly of the same ethnic group, would promote formal volunteering. Latino ethnic enclaves may also have more institutions and problems. However, no studies have examined neighborhood effects on formal volunteering among U.S.- and foreign-born Latinos. We investigated neighborhood-level predictors of formal volunteering among Latinos, and Mexican descent residents more specifically, using secondary data from Chicago, a Latino immigrant destination. We tested the effects of ethnic enclaves, neighborhood organizational resources, and neighborhood needs on formal volunteering. We found that Latinos in Chicago were less likely to participate in formal volunteering in ethnic enclaves when controlling for enclaves’ greater neighborhood needs, which positively influenced formal volunteering.
Being Below the Horizon: The Dwelling Place of the Nurse Aide

Nurse aides are the unregulated caregivers who perform the bulk of the physical and emotional care-giving work for residents in long-term care facilities. Hierarchies of nursing work in some long-term care institutions and the marginalization of some nurse aides in these institutions are revealed through quotes retrieved from existing literature. These quotes illustrate the ways in which these nurse aides are on earth – their ways of “dwelling. ” The author calls for support and empathy from registered nurses for struggling nurse aides by integrating Martin Heidegger’s philosophies of space and dwelling with the ways in which nurse aides “dwell” in their places of work.
A Comparison of the Performance of Irradiated and Non-Irradiated Bone Graft in Hip Surgery

A retrospective review of notes and radiographs to assess the clinical outcome for two groups of patients undergoing acetabular revision with impacted morsellised allograft bone, was carried out. One group received fresh frozen allograft bone (20 patients, 22 joints), and the other fresh frozen irradiated allograft bone (18 patients, 20 joints). The extent and type of graft used was recorded. Graft performance was assessed radiologically by observing evidence of collapse, incorporation, lucent lines at the site of grafting and component migration. This assessment was repeated by an independent observer. The average follow-up was thirty months for the non-irradiated grafts and fifteen months for the irradiated grafts at the time of this review. The average time taken for the grafts to show signs of incorporation was seven months for non-irradiated grafts and six months for irradiated grafts. The average time for the grafts to show physiological remodelling was similar between groups at sixteen and thirteen months respectively. There was one case of infection after a direct cup exchange with irradiated bone graft. This analysis demonstrated no obvious difference in the clinical performance of irradiated and non-irradiated morsellised bone grafts.
STABILIZATION VERSUS MCKENZIE EXERCISES IN PATIENTS WITH MECHANICAL NECK DYSFUNCTION

Materials and Methods: Twenty-seven participants were randomly allocated to the stabilization group (n=14) and the McKenzie group (n=13). Each group received treatment twice a week over a 6-week period. Outcome included pain intensity measured on a visual analogue scale, disability measured with the neck disability index, pain threshold measured with the pressure algometer and cervical range of motion measured with an electronic goniometer at baseline and after six weeks of treatment.
GC-MS Analysis and Attenuation of Bleomycin-Induced Lung Fibrosis by Fractionated Methanolic Extract of Cissampelos Owariensis in Wistar Rats

ABSTRACT Crude methanolic leaf extract of Cissampelos owariensis was fractionated using vacuum liquid chromatography and analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Male Wistar rats were induced pulmonary fibrosis (PF) by a single intraperitoneal administration of 0.75 U 100 g−1 bleomycin (BLM), divided equally into four groups and given orally fresh water (control), 10 mg kg−1 quercetin, 200, or 400 mg kg−1 crude methanol leaf extract (crudemet) of C. owariensis daily for 28 d. Plasmatic enzymes, antioxidants, and lipid peroxidation (LPO) were determined spectrophotometrically, and the histology of lung section was done microscopically. GC-MS revealed the presence of hexadecanoic, phytol, 9,12-octadecadienoic acid (z,z)-methyl ester. Lung fibrosis increased the plasmatic total protein and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activities. The BLM-administered rats showed decreased sodium dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH) activity, and alveolar hyperplasia. Oral administration of crudemet of C. owariensis ameliorated total protein, ALP activity, and LPO levels. The bioactive agents present in the C. owariensis extract may have the potential of reducing pathophysiology through increased antioxidants, thereby reducing BLM-induced lung hyperplasia.
Role of BIRC5 Gene as a Prognostic Marker in Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Background and objectives: Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is the most common malignancy diagnosed in children. Survivin, a small inhibitor-of-apoptosis protein (IAP) encoded by the baculoviral inhibitor of apoptosis repeat-Containing 5 (BIRC5) gene, plays critical roles in malignancy by preventing apoptosis through blocking caspase activity. The aim of this study was to assess the prognostic role of BIRC5 gene in paediatric ALL. Subjects and methods: The present study was carried out on 42 children with the’ novo ALL who were followed up for two years and 10 apparently healthy children of matched age and sex (controls). Each child was subjected to complete history taking, clinical examination, laboratory investigations the form of CBC, Leishman-stained peripheral blood smears, Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), Bone marrow (BM) aspiration and examination of Leishman-stained smears, Immunophenotyping on BM samples for routine panel of ALL determined by flow cytometer and quantitative determination of survivin gene expression by real time PCR on BM samples. Results: Patients with ALL had a significantly higher BIRC5 expression than did the control group (P=0.0004). There was a significant increase in survivin gene expression level in T-ALL when compared to common BALL and pre B-ALL (P=0.001). A significant positive correlation was found between survivin expression and LDH, uric acid and white blood cells (WBCs) (r=0.47, P=0.002; r=0.31, P=0.05, r=0.62, P=0.001), respectively. A significant higher survivin expression levels, LDH and WBCs was found in children with unfavorable outcome. 94.5% of ALL patients with high survivin expression had an unfavorable outcome while, in ALL children with low survivin expression, only 25% had an unfavorable outcome (P=0.001). Conclusion: BIRC5 gene expression was correlated with unfavorable outcome of childhood ALL. So, its measurement at diagnosis may detect a high risk ALL subgroup.
Knowledge and attitude of caregivers of cerebral palsy children in Riyadh city

Background: The diagnosis of a child with a life-long disability, such as cerebral palsy (CP), can be catastrophic to parents. The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of Saudi caregivers’ knowledge about cerebral palsy and the possible association to socioeconomic status or educational status of the parents. Methodology: This cross-sectional survey included 30 caregivers of children with cerebral palsy who attended the neuropediatric clinic, King Saud Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The knowledge of cerebral palsy questionnaire was administered to assess the caregivers’ knowledge about cerebral palsy. Results: This study explored inadequate Saudi caregivers’ level of knowledge and awareness about CP. There was substantial lack of knowledge about the etiology and the prognosis of CP. The total knowledge score of the study participants was calculated, it ranged from 8.0-19.0 with a median score of 15.50. According to this score, 50% of the studied caregivers had good level of knowledge about CP. Moreover, there was no statistically significant association between level of the guardian’s knowledge and their educational or financial level. Conclusion: Based on the findings, the parental knowledge of CP is substantially lacking. There is an urgent need to conduct a prospective research project to better assess the level of awareness and develop actions that contribute to parents being better informed and more secure about their children's health care.
Financial Development and Income Inequality in the Selected Southern African Development Community Countries

: Financial development is widely regarded as another conduit through which income inequality can be reduced. The study empirically examines the relationship between financial development and income inequality in selected Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries, employing the Generalised Method of Moments technique for the period 1980 to 2016. Based on the inequality-decreasing hypothesis, a model which links financial sector development and inequality was estimated. Empirical results revealed that financial sector development overall does have an impact on income inequality in the selected SADC countries. An interesting observation from the empirical results is that the actual dimension of financial development plays a significant role in determining the relationship between financial development and income inequality in the SADC region. The impact of financial depth on income inequality is not obvious in the study, depending on the variable used. On the relationship between financial system stability and income inequality, results reveal that a stable financial system is beneficial to the poor. Financial efficiency does not appear to have a significant role in reducing income inequality in the selected SADC countries. The findings imply that a specific approach to financial sector development rather than a blanket approach is desirable.
Efektivitas Pendidikan Gizi dengan Media Kartu Edukasi Gizi terhadap Peningkatan Pengetahuan, Sikap dan Perilaku Makanan Jajanan Anak Sekolah Dasar

The safety of snack food for elementary school children is a major problem that becomes public attention. Nutrition education using attractive media such as nutrition cards is needed to improve children's knowledge and behavior on consuming a healthy snack. The purpose of this study was to identify the effectiveness of nutrition education using nutrition cards on increasing knowledge, attitudes, and behavior of Elementary School Children. A quasi-experimental of two groups with pretest and posttest study was conducted among 66 elementary school children in Elementary School 154 Citepus Bandung. The intervention was carried out for 3 weeks. The treatment group was given nutrition education using nutrition cards, meanwhile, the control group was given a lecture using powerpoint. Data analysis used in this study was the Wilcoxon test. To identify the effectiveness of increasing knowledge, attitudes, and behavior between the two groups, the Mann Whitney test was used. The results showed an increase in the score of students' knowledge, attitudes, and behavior after intervention among the treatment and control group (p-value 0,05). Nutrition cards can be used as attractive media to increase children's knowledge and attitude toward choosing healthy snacks.