Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Case-Control Study of HIV Seroconversion in Health Care Workers After Percutaneous Exposure

A BSTRACT Background The average risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection after percutaneous exposure to HIV-infected blood is 0.3 percent, but the factors that influence this risk are not well understood. Methods We conducted a case–control study of health care workers with occupational, percutaneous exposure to HIV-infected blood. The case patients were those who became seropositive after exposure to HIV, as reported by national surveillance systems in France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The controls were health care workers in a prospective surveillance project who were exposed to HIV but did not seroconvert. Results Logistic-regression analysis based on 33 case patients and 665 controls showed that significant risk factors for seroconversion were deep injury (odds ratio 15; 95 percent confidence interval, 6.0 to 41), injury with a device that was visibly contaminated with the source patient’s blood (odds ratio 6.2; 95 percent confidence interval, 2.2 to 21), a procedure involving a needle placed in the source patient’s artery or vein (odds ratio 4.3; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.7 to 12), and exposure to a source patient who died of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome within two months afterward (odds ratio 5.6; 95 percent confidence interval, 2.0 to 16). The case patients were significantly less likely than the controls to have taken zidovudine after the exposure (odds ratio 0.19; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.06 to 0.52). Conclusions The risk of HIV infection after percutaneous exposure increases with a larger volume of blood and, probably, a higher titer of HIV in the source patient’s blood. Postexposure prophylaxis with zidovudine appears to be protective. (N Engl J Med 1997;337:1485-90.)
Quality of Life in Adult Population with Flat Feet

Introduction: Flat foot is a common, yet neglected postural deformity. It is necessary to assess implications of flat feet on quality of life in the physically active age group of 20- 40 years. Aim: To determine the impact of flat foot on foot-related health and Quality of Life (QOL), among a population of 20-40 year-old individuals with bilateral flexible flat feet. Methodology: A cross-sectional study in a population sample of 100 individuals (43 males and 57 females), having bilateral flexible flat feet was performed. Subjects with an FPI score of +6 to +12 and a Navicular Drop Test result of 10mm or more were included. Participants completed the Revised Foot Function Questionnaire (FFI-R) to quantify foot-related health and quality of life across 4 domains (pain and stiffness, difficulty, activity limitation, social issues). Statistical analysis dispersion was then performed. Results: This study reveals that mean total disability percentage (+/-SD) of 100 individuals suffering from bilateral flexible flat feet and having mean (+/-SD) FPI score of 7.78 (+/-1.2) (right foot) and 7.79 (+/-1.2) (left foot), as measured by FFI-R scores, was 34% (+/-8.2). The total disability percentage ranged from 21-65%. The pain and stiffness, activity limitation and social domains were most affected with mean score percentages being 34%, 37% and 37% respectively. Conclusion: The present study shows that quality of life as measured on the FFI-R is affected in individuals with flat feet in the age group 20-40 years. The most reported affected domains were pain, activity limitation and social domain. Participants with flat feet complained of foot pain, difficulty walking on uneven ground, walking fast, running, maintaining balance, concern at the appearance of their feet and difficulty in finding suitable footwear. Hence, these factors demand appropriate intervention.
CHEMERIN IS AN INDISPENSABLE PRE-TREATMENT PREDICTOR OF SOFOSBUVIR, PEGYLATED INTERFERON-ALPHA AND RIBAVIRIN OUTCOMES IN CHRONIC HEPATITIS C EGYPTIAN PATIENTS

Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) treatment modalities dramatically evolve, however some patients still suffer treatment failure with sever aggressive side effects. Accordingly personalizing antiviral treatment becomes an urgent cornerstone in treatment path. Inflammation is one of the hallmarks of viral infection. Besides it is one of the main factors interfering with drug response. Accordingly, this study focused on studying some inflammatory markers interfering with antiviral response in different CHC patients. A cohort of 157 genotype 4 (G4) Egyptian CHC patients treated with sofosbuvir (SOF), pegylated interferon-alpha-2a (Peg-IFNα-2a) plus ribavirin (RBV) were enrolled. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) within chemerin gene (rs17173608) was analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Serum chemerin, serum IL-6 and serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) were analyzed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Fibrosis grade, serum AFP, serum IL-6 and serum chemerin levels were found to be significant univariant predictors of SOF, Peg- IFNα-2a and RBV response at (p<0.01). Moreover, G/G Chemerin (rs17173608) genotype was also proved to be associated with treatment failure (OR=17.067- 95% CI =6.684-43.575- p<0.001) in Egyptian CHC G4 patients. Combining all predictors in Multiple stepwise regression analysis concluded that higher serum chemerin levels and G/G Chemerin rs17173608 genotype formulated the strongest predictive model with a significant prediction capacity expressed by area under the receiving operating curve (AUROC) 0.881(95% CI = 0.832–0.931) with specificity of 77.1%, sensitivity of 80.2% and accuracy of 78.9%. Chemerin is a vital pretreatment predictor of anti-HCV drug response as it accurately predicts SOF, Peg- IFNα-2a and RBV different outcomes in naive Egyptian CHC G4 patients.
Enhanced Face-Based Adaptive Skin Color Model

Man machine interface by video analysis becomes popular recently. The most frequently adopted body parts for computer interaction are face and hands. Therefore, it is a very important topic to accurately extract face and hand regions from a sequence of images in real time. In this paper, we propose an adaptive skin color model which is based on face detection. Skin colors were sampled from extracted face region where non-skin color pixels like eyebrow or eyeglasses could be excluded. Gaussian distributions of normalized RGB were then used to define the skin color model for the detected person. To demonstrate the robustness of proposed model, experiments under diversified lighting and background were tested. Traditional methods based on RGB , Normalized RGB , and YC b C r were all implemented for comparison. From experimental results, skin color pixels could be detected for each person. The accuracy rate is 95.73% on average and is superior to previously mentioned methods.
The RHOSSA campaign: multi-resolution monitoring of the seasonal evolution of the structure and mechanical stability of an alpine snowpack

Abstract. The necessity of characterizing snow through objective, physically motivated parameters has led to new model formulations and new measurement techniques. Consequently, essential structural parameters such as density and specific surface area (for basic characterization) or mechanical parameters such as the critical crack length (for avalanche stability characterization) gradually replace the semiempirical indices acquired from traditional stratigraphy. These advances come along with new demands and potentials for validation. To this end, we conducted the RHOSSA field campaign, in reference to density (ρ) and specific surface area (SSA), at the Weissfluhjoch research site in the Swiss Alps to provide a multi-instrument, multi-resolution dataset of density, SSA and critical crack length over the complete winter season of 2015–2016. In this paper, we present the design of the campaign and a basic analysis of the measurements alongside predictions from the model SNOWPACK. To bridge between traditional and new methods, the campaign comprises traditional profiles, density cutter, IceCube, SnowMicroPen (SMP), micro-computed-tomography, propagation saw tests and compression tests. To bridge between different temporal resolutions, the traditional weekly to biweekly (every 2 weeks, used in this sense throughout the paper) snow pits were complemented by daily SMP measurements. From the latter, we derived a recalibration of the statistical retrieval of density and SSA for SMP version 4 that yields an unprecedented spatiotemporal picture of the seasonal evolution of density and SSA in a snowpack. Finally, we provide an intercomparison of measured and modeled estimates of density and SSA for four characteristic layers over the entire season to demonstrate the potential of high-temporal-resolution monitoring for snowpack model validation.
The Impact of Firm's Size, and Firm's Debts Level on the Debt and Profitability Relationship of the Industrial Listed Companies in the Palestine Exchange

This paper aims to examine the impact of the debts on the accounting performance of the listed industrial companies in the Palestine Exchange; PEX and this is the first objective. The second objective aims to examine the influence of the firm's contextual factors (firm's size and firm's debts level) on the debt-performance relationship. The influence of the contextual factors is examined by classifying the data into two portfolios according to the firm's size and firm's debts level. In order to achieve the previous objectives, this paper has a sample of the accounting information that is taken from the industrial listed firms in the PEX for the period 2005-2012. This study employs a number of statistical tests (descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation, the ordinary least squares, and pairwise Granger causality tests). Besides, 11 industrial listed Palestinian corporations were selected to examine the hypotheses [88 firm-year]. The findings of this paper state that the industrial listed corporations in the PEX rely on the equity financing where 75% represents equity financing. Furthermore, the debts financing enhances the profitability of the industrial listed firms in the PEX where there is a positive impact of debts on the performance. The second result shows that there is a positive impact of the debts on the profitability for both low size firms and high size firms while high size firms can exploit their debts in a feasible way better than the low size firms. The third conclusion shows that the debts have no role in explaining the profitability for the low debts level firms. Additionally, there is a positive influence of the debts on the financial performance for high debts level firms. The aforementioned result comes with a rule. The rule states that the high debts level firms have opportunity to maximize the wealth more than the low debts level firms. At last but not least, this paper recommends the stakeholders in Palestine to consider the debts for interpreting the profitability. It highly recommends the PEX to allow the listed corporations to issue restricted number of bonds.
Factores de riesgo para la reducción de la tasa de filtración glomerular en una comunidad nicaragüense afectada por la nefropatía mesoamericana

INTRODUCTION Mesoamerican nephropathy, also known as chronic kidney disease of unknown etiology, is widespread in Pacifi c coastal Central America. The cause of the epidemic is unknown, but the disease may be linked to multiple factors, including diet as well as environmental and occupational exposures. As many as 50% of men in some communities have Mesoamerican nephropathy. OBJECTIVE Describe prevalence of reduced glomerular fi ltration rate in a region of Nicaragua suspected to harbor high rates of Mesoamerican nephropathy; and investigate potential risk factors for such reduction associated with agricultural work (such as pesticide exposure and specifi c agricultural tasks associated with increased heat stress); sugar consumption; and traditional factors such as age, sex, diabetes, hypertension and nephrotoxic medication use. METHODS This study uses a cross-sectional design with nested case-control analysis. Cases were individuals with estimated glomerular fi ltration rates of <60 mL/min/1.73 m2 and controls were individuals with those >90mL/min/1.73 m2, estimated using serum creatinine. Data on nutrition, past medical history, medication and substance use, and agricultural behaviors and exposures were collected using medical questionnaires from June through August, 2012. Venous blood and urine samples were collected to assess hemoglobin A1c, and dipstick proteinuria, respectively; anthropometry and blood pressure measurements were made using standard techniques. Analyses were conducted using chi square, and univariate and multiple logistic regression. RESULTS Of 424 individuals in the study, 151 had an occupational history in agriculture. Prevalence of glomerular fi ltration rate <60 mL/ min/1.73 m2 was 9.8% among women and 41.9% among men (male to female ratio = 4.3, p<0.0001). Proteinuria ≥300 mg/dL was observed in <10% of participants with decreased glomerular fi ltration rate. Hemoglobin A1c and use of NSAIDs were not associated with decreased glomerular fi ltration rate. Although systolic and diastolic blood pressure was higher among participants with decreased glomerular fi ltration rate (p <0.001), hypertension was uncommon. Signifi cant agricultural risk factors for reduced glomerular fi ltration rate included increased lifetime days cutting sugarcane during the dry season (OR 5.86, 95% CI 2.45–14.01), nondeliberate pesticide inhalation (OR 3.31, 95% CI 1.32–8.31), and sugarcane chewing (OR 3.24, 95% CI 1.39–7.58). CONCLUSIONS Our fi ndings demonstrate a high prevalence of chronic kidney disease not linked to traditional risk factors, and suggest it may be associated instead with occupational exposure to heat stress in conjunction with pesticide inhalation, sugarcane chewing and sugar intake during the workday.
LAPPEENRANTA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY School of Business and Management Master’s Degree Program in Supply Management

Author: Joosua Jääskeläinen Title: Developing Global Sourcing Faculty: School of Business and Management Major: Supply Management Year: 2016 Master’s Thesis: Lappeenranta University of Technology 88 pages, 10 figures, 1 table Examiners: Professor, Veli Matti Virolainen Associate Professor, Katrina Lintukangas
Investigation of the Usability of Perlite Waste for Dyestuff Removal from Aqueous Solution

In this study, unexpended perlite waste obtained from a factory producing expanded perlite was used as adsorbent. Malachite green (MY), which is a cationic dyestuff, was used as adsorbed material. The pore properties including the BET surface area, pore volume and average pore diameter were characterized. The chemical composition of the perlite was analysed by XRF. The effects of initial pH, the amount of adsorbent, contact time and initial dyestuff concentration were examined. The adsorption kinetics of dyestuff obeys the pseudo second-order kinetic model. The experimental data indicated that the adsorption isotherms are well described by the Langmuir isotherm equation. 99% dyestuff removal was obtained under optimum conditions. As a result, it was found that perlite waste was a suitable adsorbent for malachite green dyestuff.
Effects of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors on Arterial Stiffness: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

To determine the effects of ACEIs on arterial stiffness, a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials was conducted. Relevant articles that investigated the effects of ACEIs on arterial stiffness from PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane library from inception to September 2018 were systematically retrieved. The investigated outcomes included brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (ba-PWV) and carotid-femoral PWV (cf-PWV) by using weighted mean differences (WMDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) with the random-effects model. A total of 17 RCTs including 1,458 individuals were included. The summary results indicated no significant differences between ACEIs and control for ba-PWV and cf-PWV. Also, no significant differences between ACEI and control for ba-PWV and cf-PWV were observed in hypertensive patients, while the therapeutic effects of ACEI versus placebo showed statistically significant difference. Moreover, subgroup analysis indicated that the levels of ba-PWV were significantly associated if the study was conducted in Western countries, mean age <60.0 years, percentage male ≥60.0%, compared with ARBs, baseline PWV <10.0, and high-quality study. Furthermore, the significant levels of cf-PWV in patients who received ACEIs were observed when percentage male was ≥60.0% and the studies were of high-quality. Finally, no significant differences were observed between ACEIs and other antihypertensive drugs regarding the changes of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). The overall analysis suggested no significant differences between ACEIs and other antihypertensive drugs for ba-PWV and cf-PWV levels, whereas ACEIs versus placebo showed lower levels of ba-PWV and cf-PWV.
Screening psychischer Störungen mit dem "Gesundheitsfragebogen für Patienten (PHQ-D)" Ergebnisse der deutschen Validierungsstudie

Zusammenfassung. Ziel dieser Studie ist die Validierung der deutschen Version des „Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-D)“. Der PHQ wurde zum praktikablen Screening psychischer Storungen fur die Primarmedizin entwickelt und erfasst direkt die diagnostischen Kriterien des DSM-IV. N = 357 allgemeinmedizinische/internistische Patienten und N = 171 psychosomatische Patienten wurden mit dem PHQ-D und dem Strukturierten Klinischen Interview fur DSM-IV (SKID-I) untersucht, wobei das SKID-I als diagnostischer Goldstandard diente. Arzte und Patienten wurden zur Akzeptanz des PHQ-D befragt. Eine ausgezeichnete Kriteriumsvaliditat des PHQ-D zeigte sich insbesondere bei der Diagnose der Major Depression, wo die Sensitivitat fur die medizinische Stichprobe bei 95 % und die Spezifitat bei 86 % lag. Gute teststatistische Werte ergaben sich u. a. auch fur die Panikstorung. Die Anwendung des PHQ-D wurde von jeweils mehr als 90 % der Patienten und Arzte gut akzeptiert. Mit dem PHQ-D liegt ein praktikables, valides und gut akzeptiertes Instrument zur Anwendung in Forschung und klinischer Praxis vor. Sein Einsatz kann zur verbesserten Versorgung psychischer Storungen beitragen. Schlusselworter: Screening-Fragebogen, Validitat, psychische Storungen, medizinische Grundversorgung, psychosomatische Medizin Screening for psychiatric disorders with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ). Results from the German validation study
Nudging for Tax Compliance: A Meta-Analysis

Tax compliance nudges are used increasingly by governments because of their perceived cost-effectiveness in raising tax revenue. We collect about a thousand treatment effect estimates from 45 randomized controlled trials, and synthesize this rapidly growing literature using meta-analytical methods. We show that interventions pointing to elements of individual tax morale are on average ineffective in curbing tax evasion (when evaluated against a control group of taxpayers receiving neutral communication). In contrast, deterrence nudges - interventions emphasizing traditional determinants of compliance such as audit probabilities and penalty rates - increase compliance. However, their effects are modest in magnitude increasing the probability of compliance by 1.5-2.5 percentage points more than non-deterrence nudges. Our additional results suggest that nudges i) work better on sub-samples of late payers and when delivered in-person, ii) are less effective in the long-run and in lower-income countries, and iii) are somewhat inflated by selective reporting of results.
Possible involvement of the opioidergic system in the modulation of body temperature, jumping behavior and memory process in cholestatic and addicted mice

Cholestasis is related to an increased plasma level of endogenous opioid levels. Naloxone-induced withdrawal syndrome has been reported in a mouse model of cholestasis. Moreover, studies revealed that the memory process is affected by cholestasis. Thus, we aimed at determining whether pharmacological manipulation of the opioidergic system is involved in signs of cholestasis disease such as hypothermia and withdrawal behaviors such as jumping behavior as well as memory process in mice. Cholestasis was induced by bile duct resection in mice and physical dependence was induced by administration of morphine and/or tramadol three times daily (8, 12 and 16 h) at the doses of 25, 50 and 75 mg/kg during three consecutive days. The memory process was assessed by a step-down passive avoidance test. Our results indicated that cholestatic mice showed hypothermia whereas cholestatic- and drug dependent mice indicated hyperthermia. Moreover, administration of morphine (50 mg/kg) and/or tramadol (50 mg/kg) on the 4th day, 2 h before naloxone injection significantly decreased latency to first jumping but increased the number of jumping and rearing behavior as well as locomotor activity in BDL-vs. sham-operated mice. In addition, the latency time of the step-down test decreased in BDL-vs. sham-operated group, showing impairment of memory in BDL mice. The results of this study support the evidence that (1) the opioidergic system involved in thermoregulation of cholestasis mice, (2) μ-opioid receptors play an important role in withdrawal behaviors, and (3) memory process is affected by cholestasis and addiction in mice.
Reproductive biology of striped snakehead, Channa striata (Bloch, 1793) in Lake Rawa Pening, Central Java

The striped snakehead (Channa striata Bloch, 1793) is the top predator fish found in Lake Rawa Pening and other freshwaters. Its population was declining due to very high fishing pressures, habitat quality decreases, and other fac-tors. The aim of this study was to examine the condition factor and fecundity of snakehead in Lake Rawa Pening. Fish sampling was carried out monthly from October 2017 to August 2018, using fish fence made from bamboo blinds operated by local fishermen. Total length, individual body weight, stage of gonadal maturity (MS), gonadal weight, and oocytes diameter of fish samples were measured. Fish condition factor, gonado somatic index (GSI), oocyte diameter, fecundity, and the size of first maturity of fish were determined. There were 409 individuals snakehead fish collected consisting of 138 females and 271 males. Fish length ranged from 234-646 mm (males) and 242-648 mm (females). The average of the condition factor (K) of male ranged from 0.778 to 0.923, while in female ranged from 0.826 to 0.929. The relationship between the length-weight of male and female was isometric. The percentage of female snakehead that reached MS I; II; III; IV was 15.6; 27.0; 37.4; 20.0%, respectively. The GSI ranged from 1.52 to 3.54. Oocyte diameter ranged from 0.5 to 1.7 mm with an average of 1.2 mm. Fecundity ranged from 2,843-23,230 eggs with an average of 9,167 eggs. The female snakehead was predicted to reach the first sexual maturity at a total length of 315 mm.