Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Prevalence and reasons behind use of injectable contraceptive among the women of reproductive age group: A cross-sectional survey in rural areas of Nadia District, West Bengal

Context: Estimated 42 million reproductive age group women currently use injectable contraceptive, fourth most prevalent contraceptive worldwide. Aims: To find out the prevalence, reasons and the associated factors for using injectable contraceptive among the women of reproductive age group. Settings and Design: A sub-centre-based observational, cross sectional survey was conducted among 212 reproductive age group women living in the rural areas of a district, West Bengal. Methods and Material: A multi-stage cluster random sampling technique was done considering villages as the cluster to get the required sample. Totally, 212 reproductive age group women were chosen from a total of 16 villages, selected by simple random sampling. Information regarding study variables was collected by direct interview of the respondents by visiting individual houses with help of a pre-designed, semi-structured proforma. Strict confidentiality and anonimousity were maintained throughout the study. Statistical Analysis Used: Data were analysed with SPSS 22.0 (licensed). Mean, median, proportion were used for quantitative variables whereas qualitative attributes were presented by proportion. Associations between dependent and independent variables were tested by Chi-square test. Results: The proportion of teenage marriage was unexpectedly high. More than half mothers were unwilling to have babies in future. One-third of study population used injectable contraceptive, ASHA was the main suggestion provider in choosing the method. The major reasons of use were discomfort in previous method and suggestion of service provider. Irregular menstrual problem and easy maintenance was the commonest cause of dissatisfaction and satisfaction, respectively. Conclusions: Use of injectable contraceptive must be sincerely promoted through social marketing and the front line health workers should motivate the women to use it by providing correct information.
An observational study substantiating the statistical significance of cardiopulmonary exercise with laboratory tests during the acute and subacute phases of center and home-based cardiac rehabilitation

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text Abstract Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) can improve clinical indicators in patients with cardiovascular diseases. The literature reports a 20% reduction in all-cause mortality and a 27% reduction in heart-disease mortality following CR. Although its clinical efficacy has been established, there is uncertainty whether center-based (CBCR) is more effective than home-based (HBCR) programs in acute and subacute phases. We aimed to verify significant differences in their effectiveness for the improvement of cardiopulmonary function by analyzing cardiopulmonary exercise (CPX) with laboratory tests following both CR programs. A single-center cohort study of 37 patients, recently diagnosed with underlying cardiovascular diseases, underwent CBCR(18) and HBCR(19). CBCR group performed a supervised exercise regimen at the CR center, for 1 hour, 2 to 3 days a week, for a total of 12 to18 weeks. HBCR group completed a self-monitored exercise program at home under the same guidelines as CBCR. Participants were evaluated by CPX with laboratory tests at 1- and 6-month, following the respective programs. There was no statistical significance in clinical characteristics and laboratory findings. Pre–post treatment comparison showed significant improvement in VO2/kg, minute ventilation/carbon dioxide production slope, breathing reserve, tidal volume (VT), heart rate recovery, oxygen consumption per heart rate, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), LDL/HDL ratio, total cholesterol, ejection fraction (EF) (P < .05). CBCR approach showed greater improvement with significance in VO2/kg, metabolic equivalents, and EF on between groups analysis (P < .05). The time effect of CPX test and laboratory data showed improvement in cardiopulmonary function and serum indicators for both groups. VO2/kg, metabolic equivalents, and EF were among the variables that showed significant differences between groups. In the acute and subacute phases of 1 to 6 months, the CBCR group showed a greater cardiac output improvement than the HBCR group.
Medication take-back programs in Qatar: Parental perceptions

Purpose: To identify parental perception of a take-back program for medications. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study using a questionnaire was conducted at Hamad Medical Corporation, the only tertiary pediatric hospital in the State of Qatar at the time of the study. Qatar is a rapidly developing country with limited national data on the awareness of medication misuse among adults living with children at home and on the safety practices regarding medication disposal. Results: 305 questionnaires were completed (response rate = 90%). More than 80% of parents were in between 20 and 39 years of age, 70% of them were females, and 80% were college graduates. Approximately 90% of participants have immediate relatives who were taking medications for chronic diseases. Almost 60% of parents stated that they keep unused medications at home, whereas 10% were not aware of the fate of the left over medications. Approximately 95% of the parents dispose the expired medications. In terms of the mode of disposing the medications, 66% of caregivers dispose the medication bottle or package in the trash can, whereas 14% remove the medications from the bottles or packages and throw them in the trash, and 15% put them through the drain. When asked if participants read disposal measures in the medication pamphlet, only 10% answered “always,” whereas 26% answered “sometimes. ” Participants were asked if they have heard of any medications take-back programs, 75% answered no, whereas 14% were not sure. However, almost 60% of them will use the take-back program if available and 18% were not sure. Conclusion: Parents residing in the State of Qatar have deficiencies in knowledge about medication disposal. Parent's attitudes and perceptions are considered indispensable targets for community health intervention. Our next step is to share our data with the ministry of health to spread awareness about the proper disposal of medicines and take-back programs in Qatar.
Decline in serum albumin concentration is a predictor of serious events in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text Abstract Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is associated with metabolic syndrome, which includes diabetes mellitus and hyperlipidemia. A fraction of NAFLD patients develop nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, leading to cirrhosis associated with various serious complications, including hepatocellular carcinoma, gastroesophageal varices, cardiovascular events, and other organ malignancy. Although the incidence of chronic viral hepatitis with associated complications has gradually decreased as highly effective antiviral therapies have been established, the number of patients with steatohepatitis has been increasing. This retrospective study examined data of 229 patients from 22 hospitals in our region. We examined 155 cases of chronological data and assessed the development of liver fibrosis and evaluated hepatic reserve-related markers such as platelet count, FIB-4 index, prothrombin time, and serum albumin concentration. We analyzed the relationship of these chronological changes and the incidence of NAFLD related serious complications. Data related to liver fibrosis progression, albumin, and prothrombin time were significantly associated with the occurrence of serious complications associated with cirrhosis. We compared 22 event and 133 nonevent cases of chronological changes in the data per year and found that serum albumin concentration was significantly lower in the group that developed serious complications (event cases: -0.21 g/dL/year, nonevent cases: –0.04 g/dL/year (P < .001)). This albumin decline was only the associated factor with the event incidence by multivariate analysis (P < .01). Annual decline in serum albumin concentration in patients with NAFLD is associated with serious events from the outcome of multicenter retrospective study. This highlights its potential utility as a surrogate marker to assess the efficacy of prediction of NAFLD related serious events.
Utility of Panfungal PCR in the diagnosis of invasive fungal infections in febrile neutropenia

Background: The prevalence of invasive fungal infections (IFIs) is increasing due to the increasing population of immunocompromised patients. Fungal culture is the gold standard for diagnosis but not sensitive and the turnaround time is long. Samples for histopathology are difficult to obtain because of profound cytopenias. We conducted this study with the aim to evaluate panfungal PCR for the diagnosis of IFIs in patients of febrile neutropenia. Methods: This was a single-centre, cross-sectional observational study. Patients of febrile neutropenia suspected of having IFI were included in the study. Panfungal PCR was performed on the blood of included patients along with other investigations for diagnosis of IFI. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of panfungal PCR were calculated using EORTC/MSG 2008 criteria as the gold standard. Results: Fifty patients of febrile neutropenia were included in the study, of which 52% were diagnosed positive by panfungal PCR assay. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of panfungal PCR assay was found to be 82.76%, 90.48%, 92.31% and 79.17% respectively. Conclusion: Panfungal PCR is a promising and highly sensitive diagnostic test for screening at-risk patients suspected to have IFIs. The use of panfungal PCR assay in combination with other diagnostic modalities and clinical judgment can be very helpful in the early diagnosis of IFI.
Prevalence and predictors of prehypertension and hypertension in adult population of rural Southern India—An epidemiological study

Introduction: Hypertension is considered as one of the major health problem worldwide and the most important risk factor for non-communicable diseases. Aims: To estimate the prevalence and the risk factors of prehypertension and hypertension. Methods and Material: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among adult population of rural area of Chittoor District. WHO STEPS was applied for data collection from 1,742 study participants aged 18 years and above. Chi-square test, Fisher exact, and ANOVA test applied to find out the intragroup and intergroup variable association with raised blood pressure. Results: The overall prevalence of hypertension and prehypertension in our study was 21.5% [95% CI: (19.6–23.5)] and 42.8% [95% CI: (39.5–46.3)], respectively. Males had higher prevalence when compared to females. The mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure was 118.7 ± 17.6 mmHg and 77.1 ± 9.7 mmHg, respectively. The odds of being hypertensive was higher among older age group (OR: 3.83), male study participants (OR: 1.83), either widowed or separated (OR: 2.03), unemployed (OR: 1.51), and those who belonged to upper socioeconomic status (OR: 2.01). Those who were overweight (OR: 3.15), obese (OR: 2.55) and having central obesity (OR: 1.74), and also tobacco smokers (OR: 1.53) were having higher odds of hypertension. Significant association was found between hypertension and age, gender, marital status, body mass index, abdominal obesity, tobacco smoking, and physical inactivity. Conclusion: The prevalence of prehypertension and hypertension in this study was found to be high in rural area of Andhra Pradesh. There is a need to develop a community-based program, which would aim at minimizing the risk factors of hypertension.
Fast Extended Inductive Robust Principal Component Analysis With Optimal Mean

Inspired by the mean calculation of RPCA_OM and inductiveness of IRPCA, we first propose an inductive robust principal component analysis method with removing the optimal mean automatically, which is shorted as IRPCA_OM. Furthermore, IRPCA_OM is extended to Schatten-<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$p$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:mi>p</mml:mi></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="yi-ieq1-3047405.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula> norm and a more general framework (i.e., EIRPCA_OM) is presented. The objective function of EIRPCA_OM includes two terms, the first term is a robust reconstruction error term constrained by an <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\ell _{2,1}$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:msub><mml:mi>ℓ</mml:mi><mml:mrow><mml:mn>2</mml:mn><mml:mo>,</mml:mo><mml:mn>1</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:msub></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="yi-ieq2-3047405.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>-norm and the second term is a regularization term constrained by a Schatten-<inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$p$</tex-math><alternatives><mml:math><mml:mi>p</mml:mi></mml:math><inline-graphic xlink:href="yi-ieq3-3047405.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula> norm. The proposed EIRPCA_OM method is robust, inductive and accurate. However, on the high-dimensional data, it would spend a large computation cost in training stage. To this end, a fast version of EIRPCA_OM called as FEIRPCA_OM is proposed, and its basic idea is to eliminate the zero eigenvalues of data matrix. More importantly, an effective theoretical proof is presented to ensure that FEIRPCA_OM has faster processing speed than EIRPCA_OM when processing high-dimensional data, but without any performance loss. Based on it, we also can exchange the less performance loss for the higher computation efficiency by removing the small eigenvalues of data matrix. Experimental results on the public datasets demonstrate that FEIRPCA_OM works efficiently on the high-dimensional data.
Lactobacillus casei starter culture improves vitamin content, increases acidity and decreases nitrite concentration during sauerkraut fermentation

To investigate the effects of Lactobacillus casei on Chinese sauerkraut fermentation, L. casei 11MZ-5-1 was inoculated into Chinese sauerkraut. Physicochemical indexes were measured, and the microbial dynamics during the fermentation were analysed by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE). The result showed that inoculation with L. casei 11MZ-5-1 lowered the pH of the fermentation system more rapidly than in the control model (CK). The content of vitamin C (VC) (44.64 2.12 mg kg ) was higher and nitrite (under 0.76 mg kg ) was lower than CK (P < 0.05). The numbers of 16S rRNA gene copies in the experimental model (BA) were lower than in CK at the end fermentation time. According to the PCR-DGGE analyses, 22 and 17 specific bands were detected in CK and BA, respectively. L. paracasei and L. casei were predominant during the fermentation in BA. The relative abundance and diversity indices of bacteria in BA were 8.23 0.25 and 2.01 0.06, respectively, lower than in the CK (P < 0.05). So, the L. casei 11MZ5-1 inoculations could effectively inhibit the microbial diversity in the fermentation system. The fermented cabbage with L. casei 11MZ-5-1 was more favourably estimated by consumers in terms of colour, crispness, sourness, aroma, bitterness, stink, stale flavour and overall acceptability.
Mind your own customers and ignore the others: Asymptotic optimality of a local policy in multi-class queueing systems with customer feedback

Abstract This work contributes to the investigation of optimal routing and scheduling policies in multi-class multi-server queueing systems with customer feedback. We propose a new policy, dubbed local policy that requires access to only local queue information. Our new local policy specifies how an idle server chooses the next customer by using the queue length information of not all queues, but only those this server is eligible to serve. To gain useful insights and mathematical tractability, we consider a simple W model with customer feedback, and we establish limit theorems to show that our local policy is asymptotically optimal among all policies that may use the global system information, with the objective of minimizing the cumulative queueing costs measured by convex functions of the queue lengths. Numerical experiments provide convincing engineering confirmations of the effectiveness of our local policy for both W model and a more general non-W model.
Evidences of ultraviolet visible spectra of hydrogen sulfide scavenging trans-crotonaldehyde induced by hydrogen peroxide through mitochondria of rat heart

ABSTRACT Evidences of ultraviolet visible spectra of hydrogen sulfide scavenging trans-crotonaldehyde (TCA) induced by hydrogen peroxide through mitochondria were probed for the first time. TCA was induced by hydrogen peroxide through mitochondria. When sodium hydrosulfide as hydrogen sulfide donor, comparison with control, ultraviolet visible spectra of TCA decrease were clear. Hydrogen sulfide released by garlic was detected by ultraviolet visible spectroscopy. When garlic as hydrogen sulfide donors, the ultraviolet visible spectra of TCA decrease were very obvious. The findings are strongly recommended that garlic as safe, stable, and controllable hydrogen sulfide donor become a promising drug which is worthy of further study.
The Relationship between Employee Advocacy and Psychological Well-Being: Mediating Role of Perceived Insider Status and Moderating Role of Power Distance

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between employee advocacy and psychological well-being (PWB), and to test the mediating effect of perceived insider status (PIS), and moderating effect of power distance on that relationship within the framework of social exchange theory. Data were collected using a questionnaire survey method from 293 full-time employees working in an organization operating in the aviation industry in Turkey. The data obtained were analyzed according to the moderated mediation (alternatively known as condational indirect effect) framework improved by Preacher et al. (2007). Research findings are demonstrated that the relationship between employee advocacy and PWB is more complex than was prior researchers’ findings. As a result of analyzes, it was determined that PIS has a partial mediation effect on the relationship between employee advocacy and PWB. Also the results supported the moderated mediation and showed that the positive indirect effect of employee advocacy on PWB through PIS was stronger for employees with low power distance perception. The theoretical and practical implications of findings are discussed.
The Liquidity Effects of Offcial Bond Market Intervention

To "ensure depth and liquidity," the European Central Bank intervened in sovereign debt markets through its Securities Markets Programme (SMP), providing a unique opportunity to estimate the effects of large-scale asset purchases on sovereign bond liquidity premia. From reduced-form estimates, we find robust, economically significant impact and lasting reductions in sovereign bonds' liquidity premia in response to official purchases. We develop a search-based asset-pricing model to understand our empirical results. The theory implies that bond liquidity premia fall in response to both official purchases and rising sovereign default probabilities, as seen in the data.
Serum Adiponectin Level in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and its Correlation with Disease Activity

Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic, multisystem, autoimmune disorder characterised by widespread inflammation of connective tissues affecting the skin, joints, kidneys, heart, lungs, and nervous system. SLE is associated with significant morbidity, thus requiring prompt evaluation, appropriate therapy and long-term follow-up. Objective: This study was performed to measure serum adiponectin in SLE patients and to correlate it with SLEDAI and to evaluate its role as a biomarker of activity in SLE patients specially renal in the hope of preventing or at least postponing renal damage. Patients and methods: This study included 72 subjects, 36 patients and 36 volunteers. The patients were divided into three groups. Group I (active renal) 12 patients having renal disease activity, group II (active non-renal) 12 patients having non-renal disease activity and group III (inactive SLE). 36 apparently healthy volunteers were included (group IV) as a control group. Results: A highly significant difference in serum adiponectin between SLE groups and control group. A highly significant positive correlation between serum adiponectin and 24 h protein in urine. Negative correlation between serum adiponectin and C3 & C4. A significant difference between SLE groups as regards serum anti-double stranded DNA titres, which were higher in renal group patients, also C3 & C4 levels which were lower in the renal group. Serum adiponectin level was not correlated with SLE Disease Activity Index (DAI). Conclusion: Adiponectin level was strongly associated with active SLE with renal disease. Adiponectin level in SLE patients was not correlated with SLEDAI. It may be a promising biomarker for prediction of renal activity of SLE.
Nonlinear spatial evolution of an externally excited instability wave in a free shear layer

We consider a disturbance that evolves from a strictly linear finite-growth-rate instability wave, with nonlinear effects first becoming important in the critical layer. The local Reynolds number is assumed to be just small enough so that the spatial-evolution, nonlinear-convection, and viscous-diffusion terms are of the same order of magnitude in the interactive critical-layer vorticity equation. The numerical results show that viscous effects eventually become important even when the viscosity is very small due to continually decreasing scales generated by the nonlinear effects. The vorticity distribution diffuses into a more regular pattern vis-a-vis the inviscid case, and the instability-wave growth ultimately becomes algebraic. This leads to a new dominant balance between linear- and nonlinear-convection terms and an equilibrium critical layer of the Benney & Bergeron (1969) type begins to emerge, but the detailed flow field, which has variable vorticity within the cat's-eye boundary, turns out to be somewhat different from theirs. The solution to this rescaled problem is compared with the numerical results and is then used to infer the scaling for the next stage of evolution of the flow. The instability-wave growth is simultaneously affected by mean-flow divergence and nonlinear critical-layer effects in this latter stage of development and is eventually converted to decay. The neutral stability point is the same as in the corresponding linear case, however.
The politics of public sector change: trends in health and education sector change in South Australia

BACKGROUND: As the changes underpinning the Coordinated Care Trials in South Australia have become more apparent, similarities have emerged between the rationalisation of public schooling in the mid 1980s and the transformation of public health in the 1990s. OBJECTIVE: This article aims to discuss the evolution of health services in South Australia and help us answer the question of how best to manage our public and private health infrastructure in a changing economic and social context. DISCUSSION: Both strategies in education and health share common elements of cost cutting, attempts at improving efficiencies, a flirting with the private sector and the attendant risk of reduced quality of services to the public. This situation in both sectors is indicative of a shift in public policy and a growth in the belief that private management of public sector infrastructure can help resolve the funding crises around our education and health systems. (author abstract)