Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Delicate dances: immigrant workers' experiences of injury reporting and claim filing

Introduction. Immigrants often come to Canada for the purpose of employment and make up a large proportion of our labour force. Yet, these workers' labour market experience may not always be positive – new immigrant workers can have difficulties finding a job in their field and may end up working in ‘survival jobs’ that expose them to workplace hazards. Workers who are new to Canada may not be familiar with legislation designed to protect them at work or with social programs that can help after a work-related injury. Methods. Through a series of in-depth interviews this study examined the experiences of new immigrants after they were injured on the job. Results. The analysis revealed that many workers were in manual, ‘survival jobs’ and had not received job or occupational health and safety training. Many did not speak the English language well and knew little about their rights. While workers often felt trepidation about reporting their injury, most told a health care provider or employer that they were injured or in pain. This, however, rarely led to timely or appropriate claim filing. Workers were often discouraged from filing a claim, misinformed about their rights or offered ‘time off work’ in lieu of reporting the injury to worker's compensation. In instances where a claim was filed, communication problems were common and led to mistakes being made on forms and misunderstandings with the adjudicator and employer. Interpretation services were not always offered consistently or at the correct time. Conclusion. Efforts must be made to systematically inform new immigrants of their health and safety rights, responsibilities and entitlements as they are entering the labour market. Systems must be put in place to ensure that immigrants can access the compensation system in the event of a work-related injury and that employers and healthcare providers fulfil their reporting responsibilities.
A comparison of decolorization methods performance for medical color images

In this paper we proposed the preliminary investigation of the performance of some available methods of decolorization applied to medical color images. The performance of the decolorization is objectively measured by the CCPR and CCFR values averaged for three image databases containing color images of skin burns, skin melanoma and eardrum membrane. The preliminary findings will be used for the multimodal image merging and analysis, such as visible and thermal infrared.
Aortic counterpulsation in cardiogenic shock during acute myocardial infarction

Intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation is the most widely used form of mechanical hemodynamic support in the setting of cardiogenic shock due to ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) is also strongly recommended (class 1b) in the current European guidelines for treatment of STEMI. The evidence of a possible benefit of IABP in this setting is based mainly on registry data and a few randomized trials. Cardiogenic shock and subsequent death due to STEMI result from three factors: hemodynamic deterioration, occurrence of multiorgan dysfunction and systemic inflammatory response. IABP does not cause an immediate improvement in blood pressure, but the recent SHOCK II trial shows positive effects on multiorgan dysfunction. Some experimental and clinical studies have indicated that IABP results in hemodynamic benefits as a result of afterload reduction and diastolic augmentation with improvement of coronary perfusion. However, the effect on cardiac output is modest and may not be sufficient to reduce mortality. Furthermore we can say that the use of IABP before coronary revascularization in the setting of STEMI complicated with cardiogenic shock may make the interventional procedure safer by improving left ventricular unloading. The purpose of the present review is to clarify the state of the art on this topic.
The Remaking of Social Contracts: Feminists in a Fierce New World

In The Remaking of Social Contracts: Feminists in a Fierce New World , editors Gita Sen and Marina Durano present fascinating new insights into the efforts made by women to challenge social issues facing women today. Written from a southern perspective, this book is based on the work of feminist organisation DAWN (Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era) and provides a platform for numerous voices to share their thoughts and experiences on global economic governance, militarism, ecological tipping points, the nation state, movementbuilding, sexuality and reproduction, and religious fundamentalism. The book’s main success is its ability to link the global and the local through an examination of the ways in which women challenge social norms at the local level and how women should be rewriting social contracts at the global scale of analysis. This book speaks to the audience by using real world experiences and a wide range of case studies to present exciting and diverse accounts of feminist action today.
Chondroblastoma of Bone*

Background: Chondroblastoma of bone is a rare lesion, and few large series have been reported. The purpose of this paper is to report forty-seven cases treated by one group of surgeons and to identify factors associated with more aggressive tumor behavior. Methods: Seventy-three patients with chondroblastoma of bone were treated between 1977 and 1998. We were able to obtain historical data, imaging studies, histological findings, and adequate personal or telephone follow-up to determine the outcome for forty-seven patients. Results: The lesions were distributed widely in the skeleton, but most were in the epiphyses or apophyses of the long bones, especially the proximal part of the tibia (eleven tumors) and the proximal part of the humerus (ten tumors). The principal presenting symptoms were pain and limitation of movement. The treatment consisted of a variety of procedures, but the majority of the patients had intralesional curettage and packing with allograft or autograft bone chips or polymethylmethacrylate. Most of the patients had an excellent functional result, although in three osteoarthritis developed in the adjacent joint. Seven patients (15 percent) had a local recurrence; three of them had a second recurrence and one, a third recurrence. One patient died of widespread metastases, and another who had metastases to multiple sites was alive and disease-free after aggressive treatment of the metastatic lesions. Conclusions: While the size of the lesion, the age and gender of the patient, the status of the growth plate, and an aneurysmal-bone-cyst component to the tumor had no significant effect on the recurrence rate, lesions around the hip (the proximal part of the femur, the greater trochanter, and the pelvis) accounted for the majority (five) of the seven recurrent tumors and one of the two metastatic lesions.
Callosally projecting neurons in the macaque monkey V1/V2 border are enriched in nonphosphorylated neurofilament protein

Abstract Previous immunohistochemical studies combined with retrograde tracing in macaque monkeys have demonstrated that corticocortical projections can be differentiated by their content of neurofilament protein. The present study analyzed the distribution of nonphosphorylated neurofilament protein in callosally projecting neurons located at the V1/V2 border. All of the retrogradely labeled neurons were located in layer III at the V1/V2 border and at an immediately adjacent zone of area V2. A quantitative analysis showed that the vast majority (almost 95%) of these interhemispheric projection neurons contain neurofilament protein immunoreactivity. This observation differs from data obtained in other sets of callosal connections, including homotypical interhemispheric projections in the prefrontal, temporal, and parietal association cortices, that were found to contain uniformly low proportions of neurofilament protein-immunoreactive neurons. Comparably, highly variable proportions of neurofilament protein-containing neurons have been reported in intrahemispheric corticocortical pathways, including feedforward and feedback visual connections. These results indicate that neurofilament protein is a prominent neurochemical feature that identifies a particular population of interhemispheric projection neurons at the V1/V2 border, and suggest that this biochemical attribute may be critical for the function of this subset of callosal neurons.
Biotechnological Approaches for the Control of Insect Pests in Crop Plants

Each year billions of dollars are spent worldwide on insect control in agriculture [1]. Despite this expenditure, up to 40% of a crop can be lost to insect damage, particularly in developing countries [2]. Some of the most damaging insect species belong to the Lepidoptera, the second largest insect order comprised of moths and butterflies. The larval stage of moths cause major damage to an array of economically valuable crops including cotton, tobacco, tomato, corn, sorghum, lucerne, sunflower, pulses, and wheat [3]. Until recently, broad spectrum chemical insecticides have been the primary control agent for agricultural pests, with about 40% targeted to the control of lepidopteran insects [4]. Over the years the widespread use of pesticides has led to pesticide resistant insects, a reduction in beneficial insect populations and harmful effects to humans and the environment [5-8]. These problems have led researchers to develop different insect control strategies using both synthetic and natural molecules that are more environmentally friendly.
Targeted Deletion of Autophagy Genes Atg5 or Atg7 in the Chondrocytes Promotes Caspase‐Dependent Cell Death and Leads to Mild Growth Retardation

Longitudinal bone growth takes place in epiphyseal growth plates located in the ends of long bones. The growth plate consists of chondrocytes traversing from the undifferentiated (resting zone) to the terminally differentiated (hypertrophic zone) stage. Autophagy is an intracellular catabolic process of lysosome‐dependent recycling of intracellular organelles and protein complexes. Autophagy is activated during nutritionally depleted or hypoxic conditions in order to facilitate cell survival. Chondrocytes in the middle of the growth plate are hypoxic and nutritionally depleted owing to the avascular nature of the growth plate. Accordingly, autophagy may facilitate their survival. To explore the role of autophagy in chondrocyte survival and constitutional bone growth, we generated mice with cartilage‐specific ablation of either Atg5 (Atg5cKO) or Atg7 (Atg7cKO) by crossing Atg5 or Atg7 floxed mice with cartilage‐specific collagen type 2 promoter–driven Cre. Both Atg5cKO and Atg7cKO mice showed growth retardation associated with enhanced chondrocyte cell death and decreased cell proliferation. Similarly, inhibition of autophagy by Bafilomycin A1 (Baf) or 3‐methyladenine (3MA) promoted cell death in cultured slices of human growth plate tissue. To delineate the underlying mechanisms we employed ex vivo cultures of mouse metatarsal bones and RCJ3.IC5. 18 rat chondrogenic cell line. Baf or 3MA impaired metatarsal bone growth associated with processing of caspase‐3 and massive cell death. Similarly, treatment of RCJ3.IC5. 18 chondrogenic cells by Baf also showed massive cell death and caspase‐3 cleavage. This was associated with activation of caspase‐9 and cytochrome C release. Altogether, our data suggest that autophagy is important for chondrocyte survival, and inhibition of this process leads to stunted growth and caspase‐dependent death of chondrocytes. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR).
LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE O-ANTIGEN PROMOTES PERSISTENT MURINE BACTEREMIA

Bacteremia is a common complication of pneumonia with Klebsiella pneumoniae. In the previous work, we have shown that the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) O-antigen in K. pneumoniae O1:K2 contributes to lethality during pneumonia in part by promoting bacteremia. In the current work, we studied an O-antigen-deficient K. pneumoniae strain to further evaluate this polysaccharide's role in bloodstream infection. Cultured macrophage and murine bacteremia models were studied. In vitro, O-antigen-deficient bacteria, compared with wild-type organisms, were stronger activators of the murine alveolar macrophage cell line MH-S as assessed by nuclear localization of RelA/p65 and by secretion of cytokines and chemokines. O-antigen-deficient Klebsiellae were also more susceptible to killing by murine neutrophils. In vivo, the absence of O-antigen allowed more rapid and complete clearance of bacteria from the bloodstream, liver, and spleen after intravenous injection in mice. Survival was also greater among animals infected with bacteria missing the O-antigen. Gene expression profiling (via reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction of 84 inflammatory mediator complementary DNA) revealed that by 24 h postinfection, the livers and spleens of animals infected with O-antigen-deficient organisms had significantly downregulated cytokine and chemokine expression compared with wild-type infected animals. The O-antigen surface carbohydrate of O1:K2 serotype K. pneumoniae appears to contribute to bacterial virulence by lessening the activation of macrophages, conveying resistance to killing by neutrophils, and by promoting persistent infection in the blood, liver, and spleen after the onset of bacteremia.
Isolation and characterization of eight microsatellite loci for white hake (Urophycis tenuis)

Eight tetranucleotide microsatellite loci were characterized for white hake, Urophycis tenuis , a commercially exploited demersal gadoid fish distributed in the Northwest Atlantic. The eight loci are polymorphic with number of alleles and observed heterozygosities ranging from seven to 40 and from 0.544 to 0.978, respectively, in samples of between 39 and 47 individuals collected from throughout the species range. These loci were developed for population genetic studies.
Improving screening for vascular cognitive impairment at three to six months after mild ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack

ABSTRACT Background: The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) were compared with and without the addition of a brief processing speed test, the symbol digit modalities test (SDMT), for vascular cognitive impairment (VCI) screening at three to six months after stroke. Methods: Patients with ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack were assessed with MoCA and MMSE, as well as a formal neuropsychological battery three to six months after stroke. VCI was defined by impairment in any cognitive domain on neuropsychological testing. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was used to compare test discriminatory ability. Results: One hundred and eighty-nine patients out of 327 (58%) had VCI, of whom 180 (95%) had vascular mild cognitive impairment (VaMCI), and nine (5%) had dementia. The overall AUCs of the MoCA and MMSE scores and performance at their respective cut-off points were equivalent in detecting VCI (AUCs: 0.87 (95% CI 0.83–0.91) vs. 0.84 (95% CI 0.80–0.88), p = 0.13; cut-offs: MoCA (≤23) vs. MMSE (≤26), sensitivity: 0.78 vs. 0.71; specificity: 0.80 vs. 0.82; positive predictive value: 0.84 vs. 0.84; negative predictive value: 0.72 vs. 0.67; and correctly classified 78.6% vs. 75.5%; p = 0.42). The AUCs of MMSE and MoCA were improved significantly by the SDMT (AUCs: MMSE+SDMT 0.90 (95% CI 0.87–0.93), p <0.001; MoCA+SDMT 0.91 (95% CI 0.88–0.94), p < 0.02). Conclusions: The MoCA and MMSE are equivalent and moderately sensitive, and can be supplemented with the SDMT to improve their accuracy in VCI screening.
Predicting rankings of software verification tools

Today, software verification tools have reached the maturity to be used for large scale programs. Different tools perform differently well on varying code. A software developer is hence faced with the problem of choosing a tool appropriate for her program at hand. A ranking of tools on programs could facilitate the choice. Such rankings can, however, so far only be obtained by running all considered tools on the program. In this paper, we present a machine learning approach to predicting rankings of tools on programs. The method builds upon so-called label ranking algorithms, which we complement with appropriate kernels providing a similarity measure for programs. Our kernels employ a graph representation for software source code that mixes elements of control flow and program dependence graphs with abstract syntax trees. Using data sets from the software verification competition SV-COMP, we demonstrate our rank prediction technique to generalize well and achieve a rather high predictive accuracy (rank correlation > 0.6).
Culture's role in public diplomacy: predicting and preventing crises

ABSTRACT Diplomatic negotiations between countries involve complex multi-dimensional processes. Negotiators are often locked into bargaining mode by strictly adhering to their list of demands. Often times, these demands involve mutually exclusive positions and pit countries in a win–lose contest. It is however important to keep in mind that policies and priorities for a nation, even in diplomatic stand-off situations, are often reflections of its societal culture. To illustrate this point, the case of an Indian diplomat's prosecution by the US government for visa fraud was analysed and the arguments and the counter-arguments of each side were examined to understand the underlying cultural concerns. The study found that differences in value dimensions such as individualism–collectivism and power distance influenced expectations of the negotiating nations and explained the stands taken by India and the USA. This study demonstrates the need to and value in understanding the underlying value orientations that inform the demands made by negotiating countries. This approach can potentially help predict the position of nations on different issues and can prevent isolated incidents from developing into crises. Implications for international diplomatic negotiations are discussed.
ATP‐evoked increases in [Ca2+]i and peptide release from rat isolated neurohypophysial terminals via a P2X2 purinoceptor

1 The effect of externally applied ATP on cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) was tested in single isolated rat neurohypophysial nerve terminals by fura‐2 imaging. The release of vasopressin (AVP) and oxytocin (OT) upon ATP stimulation was also studied from a population of terminals using specific radioimmunoassays. 2 ATP evoked a sustained [Ca2+]i increase, which was dose dependent in the 1‐100 μM range (EC50= 4·8 μM). This effect was observed in only ≈40 % of the terminals. 3 Interestingly, ATP, in the same range (EC50= 8·6 μM), evoked AVP, but no significant OT, release from these terminals. 4 Both the [Ca2+]i increase and AVP release induced by ATP were highly and reversibly inhibited by suramin, suggesting the involvement of a P2 purinergic receptor in the ATP‐induced responses. Pyridoxal‐5‐phosphate‐6‐azophenyl‐2′,4′‐disulphonic acid (PPADS), another P2 purinergic receptor antagonist, strongly reduced the ATP‐induced [Ca2+]i response. 5 To further characterize the receptor, different agonists were tested, with the following efficacy: ATP = 2‐methylthio‐ATP > ATP‐γ‐S > α,β‐methylene‐ATP > ADP. The compounds adenosine, AMP, β,γ‐methylene‐ATP and UTP were ineffective. 6 The ATP‐dependent [Ca2+]i increase was dependent on extracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]o). Fluorescence‐quenching experiments with Mn2+ showed that externally applied ATP triggered a Mn2+ influx. The ATP‐induced [Ca2+]i increase and AVP release were independent of and additive to a K+‐induced response, in addition to being insensitive to Cd2+. The ATP‐induced [Ca2+]i increase was strongly reduced in the presence of Gd3+. These results suggest that the observed [Ca2+]i increases were elicited by Ca2+ entry through a P2X channel receptor rather than via a voltage‐dependent Ca2+ channel. 7 We propose that ATP, co‐released with neuropeptides, could act as a paracrine‐autocrine messenger, stimulating, via Ca2+ entry through a P2X2 receptor, the secretion of AVP, in particular, from neurohypophysial nerve terminals.
Engineering design guide for etch holes to compensate spring width loss for reliable resonant frequencies

This paper describes design guidance for a compensation method of spring width loss during silicon deep RIE (reactive ion etch) process. We found that a compensation factor (CF), defined by circumference (C) of unit etch hole divided by its area (A), is directly related to the variation of resonant frequencies of silicon MEMS resonators. We proposed 5 models with different etch hole shapes and investigated the effect of etch holes on resonant frequencies. The model with proposed etch holes showed three fold smaller variation of resonant frequencies than other models with conventional etch holes.
End to End testing - What should you know?

This paper discusses the increasing interest in performing End to End testing on modern protection systems. There are many and varied approaches to this test method, from simplistic to overly complex. What is really required and what really makes this test method valuable? What are the technical challenges and how to resolve them? These and other questions are answered. This paper makes a comparison of the test tools/approaches that are commonly used. It discusses the payback levels of investing in proper preperation and the information required for each type of test method. It presents real case studies of various techniques used on Step Distance / POTT / Current Differential and issues associated with time sync that can make or break the test.
Public sentiment of emergent events based on model integration and its trend prediction

In recent years,after the occurrence of emergent events,the event evolution is affected by network public sentiment seriously.Analysis and prediction of network public sentiment can provide effective support for the government's emergency management and strategy design,which can win precious time for the government.In this paper,a model is proposed for microblog sentiment analysis and forecast model based on model integration,which can offer emotion classification and trend prediction for microblog public sentiment of emergent events.In order to analyse microblog sentiment and its future trend accurately,firstly,multi model integrated strategy was used to analyse a single microblog sentiment related to emergent events.Secondly,these single microblog sentiment were integrated to form microblog emotional time series.Thirdly,the future trend of the microblog emotion was predicted with integrated modeling method.Finally,validity of method was proposed through the example verification.The empirical results show that comparing with traditional classification method,the integrated model has its advantage in microblog emotion analysis.And the obvious advantages of the integrated model also showed in trend prediction for microblog public sentiment of emergent events,which showed a high prediction accuracy.