Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pets as a Source of Zoonotic Disease: an Investigation into Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Related to Pet Contact and Associated Zoonoses in Low and High Disease-risk Households

PETS AS A SOURCE OF ZOONOTIC DISEASE: AN INVESTIGATION INTO KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES AND PRACTICES RELATED TO PET CONTACT AND ASSOCIATED ZOONOSES IN LOW AND HIGH DISEASE-RISK HOUSEHOLDS Jason Ward Stull Advisor: University of Guelph, 2012 Dr. J. S. Weese The mental and physical benefits of pet ownership are well established; however, pets can also transmit pathogens to people, with children, elderly, pregnant and immunocompromised individuals at greatest risk of disease. Little is known about the public’s knowledge and practices related to petassociated disease. Questionnaires were distributed at two general practice physician clinics and to parents/guardians of children diagnosed with diabetes or cancer at specialty practice clinics. Pet ownership and contact were common, with 64-66% of participants having a pet in their household. Acquisition of a new pet, including high-risk pets, was common (20%) following a diagnosis of cancer in children. Pet exposure outside the home was frequently reported for individuals in pet and non-pet owning households (25-52%). Education of respondents about diseases was poor, as only approximately one-third recalled receiving pet-associated disease information. Parents of cancer patients were more likely than parents of diabetes patients to recall receiving this information, yet proportions were low in both groups (32% and 13%, respectively). Respondents’ knowledge of pet-associated pathogens was similar between the groups, with pet owners and parents of diabetic children having higher knowledge. Pet (30-36%) and non-pet (~10%) owning households reported dog/cat bites or scratches during the preceding year. Within the general practice respondents, lower-risk households did not differ from higher-risk households regarding perceived disease risk of pets, zoonotic disease knowledge, recall of being asked by their medical provider if they owned pets, or recall of having received information regarding pet-associated disease risks and preventive measures. Pet ownership, husbandry and infection control practices were similar between lowand high-risk households. Husbandry practices that increase zoonotic disease risk were frequently identified, including feeding high-risk diets, allowing children to clean up fecal material and allowing reptiles to roam through the kitchen. With few exceptions, practices were not associated with the presence of higher-risk members in the household or recall of having previously received zoonotic disease education. There is a need for improved education on zoonotic disease prevention practices for petand non pet-owning households, particularly those with individuals at higher risk of infection and those with high-risk species.
The Costs and Benefits of Correctional Interventions : Part II by Mark

Journal of Community Corrections is published quarterly by Civic Research Institute, Inc., 4478 U.S. Route 27, PO Box 585, Kingston, NJ 08528. ISSN 1546-7627. Periodical postage pending at Kingston, NJ and at additional mailing offices. Subscriptions: $169.95 per year in the United States, $179.95 per year in Canada; $199.95 outside North America. Vol. 14 No. 1 Fall 2004. Copyright © 2004 ICCA (International Community Corrections Association). All rights reserved. Unauthorized copying expressly prohibited. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Civic Research Institute, Inc., PO Box 585, Kingston NJ 08528.
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH PROFILE OF BEEDI WORKERS IN COASTAL KARNATAKA

Background: In India there are close to 5 million beedi workers. Beedi rolling mainly leads to two types of occupational diseases, long hours of continuous sitting in an improper working posture and injurious effect of inhaling tobacco fume. Objective was to study the socio-demographic profile and morbidity profile of beedi workers.
Characteristics of COPD tidal breathing patterns measured by structured light plethysmography (SLP): An age, gender, BMI matched study

It has been reported that tidal breathing measured with SLP could reflect differences between patients with COPD and in health (De Boer, W. et al. ERJ 2014; 44: 58 P1985). The data also suggested that there could be an influence of age. We therefore compared tidal breathing patterns in a cohort of 25 COPD and 25 healthy subjects matched for age, gender and BMI to examine how tidal breathing parameters and their variability differ between COPD and health. Five minutes of resting tidal breathing was acquired from each subject using a Thora-3Di ™ (PneumaCare, Cambridge, UK) SLP device. Median and interquartile range (IQR) of 12 breath-by-breath tidal breathing parameters were calculated for each subject. Parameters included timing indices, measures of thoraco-abdominal asynchrony (TAA), relative thoracic contribution and measures quantifying the shape of flow-volume loops. One way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test for differences between the two groups. Respiratory rate (RR) was found to be higher in COPD (p<0.05). Inspiratory time (Ti) and its variability were both significantly lower in COPD (p<0.01 and p<0.001 respectively). Parameters derived from Ti (e.g. duty cycle and Ti/Te) were also found to differ (lower in COPD). TAA and IE50 were higher in COPD (p<0.05 and p<0.01 respectively). Time to peak tidal expiratory flow over expiratory time (TPTEF/TE) was shorter (p<0.01) and considerably less variable (p<0.001) in COPD. Tidal breathing patterns in COPD patients are different from healthy subjects and this difference is reflected in SLP derived tidal breathing parameters and their variability.
Love styles of young adults in a metropolitan city of India

Background: Biological approaches tend to treat love as a brain generated physiological process like hunger or thirst. On the other hand, psychologists have created many descriptive theories of love in an effort to understand the full range of experience and behaviours associated with love. One of the most prominent and interesting models is the John Alan Lee’s theory called “love styles”. According to him, there are six love styles, named: eros, ludus, storge, pragmatic, maniac, and agape. Aims and objectives: This study aimed to assess the love styles of young adults and assess its relationship with their personality traits. Materials and methods: A total of 120 young adults were taken as the sample using purposive sampling technique. Socio-demographic profile, relationship status, and attitude towards sex were assessed through semi-structured questionnaire. Love Attitude Scale was applied and clinical assessment of personality traits was done using the text revision of the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) after taking their informed consent. Data was pooled and statistical analysis was done, using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and chi-square tests. Results: The most preferred love style in the study population was eros, while the least preferred was ludus. Extramarital relationship and premarital sex was positively associated with ludus love style. Subjects with borderline and narcissistic personality traits scored significantly high on the ludus love styles. Conclusion: Love styles differ between the two sexes and also changes with their age. Personality trait influences the love style of a person. Avinash PR, Kalra G, Subramanyam A, Shah H, Kamath R. Love styles of young adults in a metropolitan city of India. Open J Psychiatry Allied Sci. 2015;6:83-8.doi: 10.5958/2394-2061.2015. 00002.6
Fragile New Economy: The Rise of Intangible Capital and Financial Instability∗

This paper studies financial instability in an economy where growth is driven by intangible investment. Firms’ intangible investment creates new productive capital. Once created, capital can be sold to financial intermediaries. Since intangible investment is not pledgeable, firms carry cash, which is inside money issued by intermediaries (short-term safe debt). In good times, well capitalized intermediaries push up the price of capital. This motivates firms to create more capital, but to do so, they must build up cash holdings. As firms’ money demand expands, the yield on inside money (i.e., intermediaries’ debt cost) declines, so intermediaries increase leverage and push up capital price even further. This inside money channel generates several features shared with the U.S. economy before the Great Recession: rising corporate cash holdings, financial intermediaries growing through leverage, increasing asset prices, and declining interest rate. The model also generates endogenous risk accumulation: a longer period of boom and expansion of the financial sector predict a more severe crisis. In crises, the spiral flips, leading to sudden deleveraging of intermediaries, asset price collapse, and investment contraction. ∗I would like to thank my advisors at Columbia University, Patrick Bolton, Tano Santos, and José A. Scheinkman. I am grateful to helpful comments from Tobias Adrian, Patrick Bolton, Guojun Chen, Itay Goldstein, Gur Huberman, Christian Julliard, Siyuan Liu, Adriano Rampini, José A. Scheinkman, Suresh Sundaresan, and Neng Wang. I am also grateful to conference and seminar participants at Columbia Economics, Columbia Finance, Finance Theory Group, and LBS Trans-Atlantic Doctoral Conference. †The Ohio State University. E-mail: li.8935@osu.edu
DIRECTORS’ REMUNERATION AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE IN MALAYSIA

Using a cross-sectional analysis of 428 listed firm s on the Bursa Malaysia for the financial year ending 2008, this study examines the association between directors’ remuneration, firm performance, and corporate gover nance structures. The results show that directors’ remuneration is positively and sign ificantly related to firm performance, CEO tenure, board size, and the existence of remune ration committee. The study also finds that directors’ remuneration is negatively an d significantly related to board independence. Consistent with prior research, the s tudy finds a positive and significant association between directors’ remuneration and fir m size and a firm’s growth opportunity. The findings can be useful to regulato rs since the recent proposal by market regulators to limit director’s influence over remun eration packages and require disclosures of directors’ remuneration. The study a lso contributes to the growing literature on executive and directors’ remuneration and it provides international evidence on the effects of corporate governance reforms in r ecent years in influencing boardroom pay. Although the results of prior studies are larg ely supported, the period of analysis is short. The use of panel data allows us to assess ch anges in corporate governance and directors’ remuneration over time in a more meaning ful way. Further, the potential limitations of using total directors’ remuneration as the only dependent variable may not provide us a more meaningful insight of the impact of other components of total remunerations such as bonuses, salaries, and other ben fits have on firm performance.
Survival, cardiorespiratory fitness and quality of life after renal transplantation in childhood: Data from the HENT study

Renal transplantation (tx) restores kidney function temporarily and improves the prospects of a normal life as compared to dialysis. During the last forty years great progress has been made in renal transplantation and its follow up treatment. However, preserving long-term graft function is still a major challenge. Therefore, it is crucial to review our practices in pediatric transplantation and to evaluate patient outcome as the first step in enhancing future prospects. Following renal tx a chronic multifactorial physical and mental condition persists both for the child and its caregivers. Life-long dependence on immunosuppressive treatment (IS) and concomitant comorbidities after tx (e.g. progressive decline in renal function, hypertension, hyperlipidemia and excessive weight gain) render these children at increased risk for future cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality. Based on structural and functional echocardiographic findings post-tx, these children have been forecast a rather gloomy CV prognosis including cardiomyopathy and heart failure in adult life. However, little attention has so far been paid to the levels of physical activity and cardiorespiratory fitness (CR fitness, V0 2peak ) as global markers of CV health and physical functioning in tx children and adult survivors. Furthermore, more knowledge is required of the impact of tx on health related quality of life (HRQOL) for the child and its caregivers following, predominantly, parental kidney donation.
New Artificial Neural Networks Model for Predicting Rate of Penetration in Deep Shale Formation

Rate of penetration (ROP) means how fast the drilling bit is drilling through the formations. It is known that in the petroleum industry, most of the well cost is taken by the drilling operations. Therefore, it is very crucial to drill carefully and improve drilling processes. Nevertheless, it is challenging to predict the influence of every single parameter because most of the drilling parameters depend on each other and altering an individual parameter will have an impact on the rest. Due to the complexity of the drilling operations, up to the present time, there is no reliable model that can adequately estimate the ROP. Artificial intelligence (AI) might be capable of building a predictive model from a number of input parameters that correlate to the output parameter. A real field dataset, of shale formation, that contains records of both drilling parameters such as, rotation per minute (RPM), weight on bit (WOB), drilling torque (τ), standpipe pressure (SPP) and flow pump (Q) and mud properties such as, mud weight (MW), funnel and plastic viscosities (FV) (PV), solid (%) and yield point (YP) were used to predict ROP using artificial neural network (ANN). A comparison between the developed ANN-ROP model and the number of selected published ROP models were performed. A novel empirical equation of ROP using the above-mentioned parameters was derived based on ANN technique which is able to estimate ROP with excellent precision (correlation coefficient (R) of 0.996 and average absolute percentage error (AAPE) of 5.776%). The novel ANN-based correlation outperformed three published empirical models and it can be used to predict the ROP without the need for artificial intelligence software.
The Development of Breeding Objectives for Holstein and Jersey Cattle in South Africa

A sound breeding objective is the basis for genetic improvement in overall economic merit of animals. Breeding objectives for Holstein and Jersey dairy cattle breeds in South Africa were developed in the current study, using a systematic approach. First, a logical framework with a profit focus was utilised to develop plausible selection goals for the pasture-based and concentrate-fed dairy production systems in South Africa, leading to an exhaustive list of objective traits influencing these goals and subsequently their possible selection criteria. Next, economic values were calculated for those objective traits for which there was adequate bio-economic data, viz.: milk volume, fat yield, protein yield, live weight, longevity, calving interval and somatic cell score. A bioeconomic model, simulating typical South African pasture-based and concentrate-fed herds, was used to calculate economic values by determining changes in profit arising from an independent unit increase in each trait. Alternative payment systems of four major milk buyers in South Africa were used. Relative economic values, standardised to the value of protein, were used to compare the relative importance of traits across breeds, production systems and payment systems. Protein yield, fat yield and longevity consistently had positive economic values and the converse was true for body weight and calving interval. Economic value for volume was positive or negative, depending on whether the payment system paid for it or did not. Economic values were reasonably robust to fluctuations in the cost of feed and price of beef; with the exception of fat, whose value became negative beyond the feed price of ZAR3.50. Protein was, overall, the most important trait, although volume, live weight, longevity and somatic cell score were more important in some situations. Calving interval was the least important trait, its value ranging from 4 to 22% compared to that of protein, probably because the model used underestimated its value. Sire rankings on aggregate EBVs based on these economic values did not differ much across breeds, production systems and payment systems, most rank correlations falling in the range 0.70-0.99. A single breeding objective may therefore be used for both the Holstein and Jersey breeds, across the different production and payment systems. The basis for multiple-trait selection in the major cattle breeds in South Africa has thus been developed. Considerable work, however, needs to be done to enhance this breeding objective as well as facilitate its wide adoption by industry.
Risk factors for intracranial hemorrhage in acute ischemic stroke patients treated with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) is an effective treatment for acute ischemic stroke but is associated with an increased risk of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH). This study is reviewing of the risk factors for ICH . METHODS: This study is reviewing the studies of rtPA-treated stroke patients that reported an association between a variable measured before rtPA infusion and clinically important ICH (parenchymal ICH or ICH associated with clinical deterioration). RESULTS: 55 studies were identified that measured 43 baseline variables in 65 264 acute ischemic stroke patients. Post-rtPA ICH was associated with higher age (odds ratio, 1.03 per year; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.04), higher stroke severity (odds ratio, 1.08 per National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale point; 95% confidence interval, 1.06-1.11), and higher glucose (odds ratio, 1.10 per mmol/L; 95% confidence interval, 1.05-1.14). There was approximately a doubling of the odds of ICH with the presence of atrial fibrillation, congestive heart failure, renal impairment, previous antiplatelet agents, leukoaraiosis, and a visible acute cerebral ischemic lesion on pretreatment brain imaging. Little of the variation in the sizes of the associations among different studies was explained by the source of the cohort, definition of ICH, or degree of adjustment for confounding variables. CONCLUSIONS: Individual baseline variables were modestly associated with post-rtPA ICH. Prediction of post-rtPA ICH therefore is likely to be difficult if based on single clinical or imaging factors alone. These observational data do not provide a reliable method for the individualization of treatment according to predicted ICH risk.
Studies on the effect of age and sex on carcass characteristics of various stains of Japanese quail

In the present study, carcass characteristics of black spotted, white and brown strains of both male and female Japanese quails were studied at 5, 6, 7 and 8 weeks of age. Overall pre-slaughter weight and carcass weight of Japanese quails belonging to black spotted strain were significantly higher. Female birds had significantly heavier pre-slaughter weight and carcass weight while males had higher dressing percentage. The mean pre-slaughter weight, carcass weight and dressing percentage ranged from 106.20 to 214.27 g, 64.92 to 136.52 g and 60.58 to 64.34 per cent, respectively. Most of the offal was significantly higher in black spotted strain. The overall mean per cent blood yield, per cent feet yield, per cent feather yield, per cent head yield, per cent lung yield, per cent intestines, per cent spleen, per cent separable fat yield ranged from 3.11 to 5.14; 1.83 to 2.37; 6.52 to 10.02; 4.29 to 6.67; 0.87 to 1.31; 6.37 to 11.33; 0.12 to 0.26; 0.74 to 3.08, respectively. The per cent giblet yield of Japanese quails belonging to white (9.28) and brown (9.66) were significantly higher over black spotted strain (8.99). Male birds recorded higher per cent giblet yield (9.51) than female (9.11) birds. The mean per cent neck yield was 5.78. The corresponding means were 10.79, 38.32, 19.52 and 25.07 for wing, breast, back and leg yield, respectively. Thus, breast is the heaviest cut in the carcass of Japanese quail. Black spotted strain recorded higher overall meat to bone ratio while the sexes did not differ for this trait. The overall mean bone: meat ratio was 2.45, 2.52, 2.60 and 2.66 at 5, 6, 7 and 8 weeks of age, respectively and exhibited significant increase in mean bone: meat ratio as age advances. The results concluding that black spotted strain has higher carcass characteristics in respect to preslaughter weight, carcass yield, dressing per centage and breast yield than the white and brown strains.
The Relationship Between Biofilm Production and Human Respiratory Cell Attachment and Invasion by Acinetobacter Baumannii

Acinetobacter baumannii is an opportunistic gram-negative bacterial pathogen that causes many nosocomial infections in immunocompromised individuals. Common infections include catheter-associated urinary tract infections, ventilator-associated pneumonia, skin and soft tissue infections, and bloodstream infections that often lead to septicemia. Increasing multidrug resistance (MDR) in A. baumannii warrants new approaches to understanding its virulence mechanisms and pathogenicity. As a first step in infection, A. baumannii can attach to host cells, providing a surface for the bacteria to grow and perhaps facilitating biofilm formation and subsequent tissue invasion. In this study, we evaluated antibiotic resistance and characterized biofilm formation, attachment, invasion, and surface protein RNA transcription profiles of A. baumannii clinical isolates. Some isolates were resistant to commonly prescribed antibiotics, with six of the seventeen showing MDR. We found that 16 of the 17 strains produce biofilms in varying amounts; all strains were able to adhere to and invade A549 pulmonary cells in high levels; and some of the strains exhibited genes associated with biofilm formation, attachment, and invasion. Levels of biofilm formation, attachment to A549 cells, and invasion of A549 were not associated with the presence or absence of target genes ompA, abaI, pga operon, bap, csuE, or blaPER-1. Virulence of A. baumannii clinical isolates increases due to their ability to produce biofilms and to attach to and invade host cells. It is important to elucidate further mechanisms of virulence in order to better treat A. baumannii infections and to prevent transmission and future outbreaks. We aimed to elucidate new information on the pathogenicity of A. baumannii that could lead to new therapeutic treatments for these infections. INDEX WORDS: Acinetobacter baumannii, biofilm formation, attachment, invasion, ompA, abaI, pga operon, bap, csuE, blaPER-1