Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Networks of Contention: The Shape of Online Transnationalism in Early Twenty-First Century Social Movement Coalitions

The study of new media use by transnational social movements is central to contemporary investigations of social contention. In order to shed light on the terrain in which the most recent examples of online mobilization have grown and developed, this paper combines the interest in the transnational dynamics of social contention and the exploration of the use of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) for protest action. In specific terms, the study investigates how early twenty-first century social movement coalitions used Internet tools to build symbolically transnational collective identities. By applying a hyperlink network analysis approach, the study focuses on a website network generated by local chapters of the World Social Forum (WSF), one of the earliest social movement coalitions for global justice. The sample network, selected through snowball sampling, is composed of 222 social forum websites from around the world. The study specifically looks at hyperlinks among social forum websites as signs of belonging and potential means of alliance. The analysis uses network measures, namely of cohesion, centrality, structural equivalence and homophily, to test dynamics of symbolic collective identification underlying the WSF coalition. The findings show that in early twenty-first century transnational contention, culture and place still played a central role in the emergence of transnational movement networks.
‘If you are circumcised, you are the best’: understandings and perceptions of voluntary medical male circumcision among men from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

While the uptake of voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) is increasing, South Africa has only attained 20% of its target to circumcise 80% of adult men by 2015. Understanding the factors influencing uptake is essential to meeting these targets. This qualitative study reports on findings from focus-group discussions with men in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, about what factors influence their perceptions of VMMC. The study found that VMMC is linked to perceptions of masculinity and male gender identity including sexual health, sexual performance and pleasure, possible risk compensation and self-identity. Findings highlight the need to understand how these perceptions of sexual health and performance affect men's decisions to undergo circumcision and the implications for uptake of VMMC. The study also highlights the need for individualised and contextualised information and counselling that can identify, understand and address the perceptions men have of VMMC, and the impacts they believe it will have on them.
Common‐sense beliefs about cancer and health practices among women completing treatment for breast cancer

Objective: Following the end of adjuvant treatment, breast cancer survivors must cope with uncertainty related to the possibility of recurrence and the loss of the ‘safety net’ treatment provides. This study examined breast cancer survivors' efforts to manage uncertainty by making lifestyle changes, such as improvement in diet and exercise. We further investigated the role of women's common‐sense beliefs about their cancer, as described by Leventhal's self‐regulation theory, in explaining post‐treatment changes.
Gamification of e-Government Services: A Discussion of Potential Transformation

Gamification has shown to be a valuable approach that enhances participants’ engagement. In education, enhanced student engagement has proven to increase their learning effectiveness. In business, gamification permits employee innovations and helps organizations achieve various business objectives. However, the application of gamification in public services is rather limited. While public service technologies have matured from being informational in nature towards being interactional and transactional, the last maturity stage of e-Government services has not been clearly defined. Accordingly, in this paper we call for “gamifying” public sector technologies such as e-Government systems. We argue that gamification might well be the last transformational stage in the maturity of those technologies. Gamification can play a key role in increasing citizens’ use of public service technologies and, at the same time, make them feel empowered as active participants in their societies.
Comparison of Arthroscopic Assisted Reduction and Internal Fixation Versus Open Reduction and Internal Fixation in Tibia Plateau Fracture Treatment: A Prospective Cohort Study With Historical Controls

1Department of Orthopedic and Trauma Surgery, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran 2Department of Orthopedic and Trauma Surgery, Akhtar Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran 3Joint Reconstruction Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran 4Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, IR Iran *Corresponding author: Mohammad Naghi Tahmasebi, Department of Orthopedic and Trauma Surgery, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, P. O. Box: 1411713135, Tehran, IR Iran. Tel: +98-9121260278, E-mail: mntahmasebi@gmail.com
Study of LER/LWR induced VT variability of an EδDC n-channel MOS transistor

In this paper we present a simple model to study the threshold voltage variability due to line edge roughness (LER) for an n-channel EδDC MOS transistor. The concept of propagation of variance is utilized here. Impact of variation in rms amplitude and correlation length of edge fluctuation on threshold voltage variability is studied. The model is verified with calibrated technology computer aided design (TCAD) simulation results. Impact of channel engineering for reduction of LER induced threshold voltage variability is studied in detail.
A DC-connectable multi-channel biomedical data acquisition ASIC with mains frequency cancellation

This paper presents an 8-channel biomedical data acquisition ASIC achieving 108dB of dynamic range (DR). Each channel includes a 13bit DAC to compensate differential input offset of up to ±300mV, preventing saturation of the high-gain instrumentation amplifier. Chopper stabilization and DAC-noise low-pass filtering lead to an input-referred noise of 0. 8μVRMS. Data processing algorithms, implemented on an FPGA, are employed to remove artefacts due to sudden DAC-switching and to cancel 50/60Hz mains interference including its harmonics. The chip is fabricated in 130nm CMOS, occupying an active area of 2.2mm2 and consuming 15mW from 1.2V and 3.3V supplies.
Neurologic improvement in pure motor hemiparesis

Knowledge of the natural history of certain stroke subtypes is essential for the proper analysis and interpretation of clinical trials of stroke therapy. We evaluated the degree of weakness on admission and again 7 to 10 days later in 62 patients with pure motor hemiparesis (PMH) and 280 patients with motor deficits from other stroke syndromes (OSS). During the 7-to-10-day study interval, we found that the OSS group worsened slightly in motor function, whereas the PMH group improved (p = 0.01). Among those who improved in both groups, those in the PMH group improved to a greater extent than did those in the OSS group (p = 0.02). This occurred despite a greater frequency of worsening during the first 12 hours after stroke onset in the PMH group. By the fourth day following PMH onset, a majority of patients had improved, and this improvement was sustained until day 10. The two groups did not differ significantly in age, race, sex, history of cardiac disease, hematocrit, anticoagulation treatment, blood glucose, or medical complications in hospital. Lacunar infarcts occurred in 84% of PMH and 23% of OSS. Patients with PMH show significant spontaneous improvement in weakness within 7 to 10 days of admission, compared with patients with OSS. Stratification by admission stroke syndrome in clinical trials may be necessary before judging the efficacy, or lack thereof, of a therapeutic agent.
The Effects of Practice on Speed of Information Processing Using the Adjusting-Paced Serial Addition Test (Adjusting-PSAT) and the Computerized Tests of Information Processing (CTIP)

Three experiments were conducted to determine the effects of practice on the Adjusting-Paced Serial Addition Task (Adjusting-PSAT) (Tombaugh, 1999) and the Computerized Tests of Information Processing (CTIP) (Tombaugh & Rees, 2000). The Adjusting-PSAT is a computerized modification of the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT) (Gronwall, 1977) that makes the interval between digits contingent on the correctness of the response. This titration procedure permits a threshold value to be derived that represents the shortest presentation interval in which a person can process the digits to produce the correct sum. The CTIP consists of three reaction time tests that are progressively more difficult. Results showed that robust practice effects occurred with the Adjusting-PSAT, with the greatest increase in performance occurring on the first retest trial. Practice effects were equally prominent regardless of whether the first retest trial occurred 20 min, 1 week, or 3 months after the first administration. These gains were maintained for periods up to 6 months and were independent of modality of presentation (visual or auditory) and type of number list (easy or hard). In contrast to the findings with the Adjusting-PSAT, only minimal practice effects were observed with the CTIP. The major clinical implication of the study is that the high reliability coefficients for the CTIP, the lack of anxiety associated with its administration, and its insensitivity to variables such as numerical and verbal ability make the CTIP ideally suited for the serial evaluation of cognitive status. These characteristics also make the CTIP a viable alternative to the Adjusting-PSAT or PASAT for measuring speed of information processing. If the Adjusting-PSAT is administered repeatedly in clinical evaluations, a “dual baseline” or “run in” procedure should be used, with the second administration serving as the baseline measurement.
Factor Graph-based Multipath-assisted Indoor Passive Localization with Inaccurate Receiver

Passive wireless devices have increasing civilian and military applications, especially in the scenario with wearable devices and Internet of Things. In this paper, we study indoor localization of a target equipped with radio-frequency identification (RFID) device in ultra-wideband (UWB) wireless networks. With known room layout, deterministic multipath components, including the line-of-sight (LOS) signal and the reflected signals via multipath propagation, are employed to locate the target with one transmitter and a single inaccurate receiver. A factor graph corresponding to the joint posterior position distribution of target and receiver is constructed. However, due to the mixed distribution in the factor node of likelihood function, the expressions of messages are intractable by directly applying belief propagation on factor graph. To this end, we approximate the messages by Gaussian distribution via minimizing the Kullback-Leibler divergence (KLD) between them. Accordingly, a parametric message passing algorithm for indoor passive localization is derived, in which only the means and variances of Gaussian distributions have to be updated. Performance of the proposed algorithm and the impact of critical parameters are evaluated by Monte Carlo simulations, which demonstrate the superior performance in localization accuracy and the robustness to the statistics of multipath channels.
Beyond Volume: Does Hospital Complexity Matter? An Analysis of Inpatient Surgical Mortality in the United States

Background:Hospitals show wide variation in outcomes and systems of care. It is unclear whether hospital complexity—the range of services and technologies provided—affects outcomes and in what direction. We sought to determine whether complexity was associated with inpatient surgical mortality. Methods:Using national Medicare data, we identified all fee-for-service inpatients who underwent 1 of 5 common high-risk surgical procedures in 2008–2009 and measured complexity by the number of unique primary diagnoses admitted to each hospital over the 2-year period. We calculated 30-day postoperative mortality rates, adjusting for patient and hospital characteristics, and used multivariable Poisson regression models to test for an association between hospital complexity and mortality rates. We then used this model to generate predicted mortality rates for low-volume and high-volume hospitals across the spectrum of hospital complexity. Results:A total of 2691 hospitals were analyzed, representing a total of 382,372 admissions. After adjusting for hospital characteristics, including hospital volume, increasing hospital complexity was associated with lower surgical mortality rates. Patients receiving care at the hospitals in the lowest quintile of unique diagnoses had a 27% higher risk of death than those at the highest quintile. The effect of complexity was largest for low-volume hospitals, which were capable of achieving mortality rates similar to high-volume hospitals when in the most complex quintile. Conclusions:Hospital complexity matters and is associated with lower surgical mortality rates, independent of hospital volume. The effect of complexity on outcomes for nonsurgical services warrants investigation.
Mantram Repetition With Homeless Women: A Pilot Study

Women and families are the fastest growing segment of the homeless population. Negative attitudes of nurses toward homeless women are a major barrier to homeless women seeking health care. This cross-sectional, mixed-methods pilot study, conducted primarily by nurses, tested the Mantram Repetition Program for the first time with 29 homeless women. The Mantram Repetition Program is a spiritually based skills training that teaches mantram (sacred word) repetition as a cost-effective, personalized, portable, and focused strategy for reducing stress and improving well-being. For the cross-sectional, pretest-posttest design portion of the study, the hypothesis that at least half of the homeless women would repeat their mantram at least once a day was supported with 88% of the women repeating their mantram 1 week later. The qualitative portion of this study using phenomenology explored the women's thoughts on mantram week 2. Themes of mantram repetition, mantram benefits, and being cared for emerged. This groundbreaking, interventional, mixed-methods pilot study fills a gap in interventional homeless research.
Structure and ultrastructure of muscle systems within Grillotia erinaceus metacestodes (Cestoda: Trypanorhyncha)

SUMMARY Three distinct muscle types have been identified within the metacestode of Grillotia erinaceus. These consist of peripheral somatic myofibres plus two muscle systems directly involved in parasite attachment to the host, i.e. the tentacular bulb and its antagonistic retractor muscle. In common with other cestodes the somatic muscle consists of smooth-type fibres running longitudinally and obliquely to the main body axis. The retractor muscle consists of myofibres with centrally displaced nuclei. Upon contraction these latter fibres become spirally orientated causing the muscle to coil and lateral membranes to become elevated as spikes. Definitive nerve processes have not been identified within somatic or retractor muscle. Individual tentacular bulbs form the proximal terminus for a closed hydraulic system. Each bulb consists of overlapping, contrarotating myofibres which display obvious striations; the striations appear in alternate fibres to be in transverse and oblique planes. Adjacent myofibres are separated by approximately 0·5 μm, possess abundant mitochondria and have shallow t-tubules plus associated vesicles of sarcoplasmic reticulum at each Z line. Thick myofilaments are surrounded by 13, shared, thin myofilaments. Close neuronal control for the bulb muscle is suggested by the presence of obvious motor end-plates which contain both lucent and dense neurovesicles.
Undergraduate teaching in gerodontology in Leipzig and Zürich--a comparison of different approaches.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate undergraduate students' attitude towards the clinical components of the Leipzig (LPEG) and Zürich (ZPEG) Programmes of Education in Gerodontology. BACKGROUND Undergraduate student education is the seedbed for conscientious professionals. Extramural clinical education contributes to the formation of positive attitudes. Students in Zürich participate in three clinical activities (in-house gerodontology clinic, extramural acute geriatrics ward, mobile dental service), in Leipzig they visit a long-term care facility on six occasions within 4 years. METHODS A structured questionnaire with 10 items was administered to students in Leipzig [n = 34, 70.6% female, mean age 25.8 (SD 3.04) years] at the beginning and after completion of gerodontology training and to students in Zürich [n = 33, 48.5% female, mean age 27.0 (SD 3.28) years] on three occasions after clinical training. Students indicated the degree of their agreement with seven statements presented using a 5-point scale. A choice of responses which characterised the course was offered for assessment. RESULTS Close collaboration with dental tutors, while self-treating patients in the mobile dental service (mobiDent) attracted the most positive responses. Ratings from students completing their training in Leipzig were less favourable than their initial responses. CONCLUSION The lack of a dental service and Leipzig students' inability to offer treatment in the presence of disease was associated with frustrations. Practical training should go beyond dental examinations at a long-term care facility and include the opportunity for dental treatment. Personnel and equipment required for mobile treatment exceed resources available at most German dental schools.
Hemocytic rickettsia-like organisms in ticks: serologic reactivity with antisera to Ehrlichiae and detection of DNA of agent of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis by PCR

Ixodid ticks were collected from Connecticut, Massachusetts, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and British Columbia (Canada) during 1991 to 1994 to determine the prevalence of infection with hemocytic (blood cell), rickettsia-like organisms. Hemolymph obtained from these ticks was analyzed by direct and indirect fluorescent antibody (FA) staining methods with dog, horse, or human sera containing antibodies to Ehrlichia canis, Ehrlichia equi, or Rickettsia rickettsii. Of the 693 nymphal and adult Amblyomma americanum, Dermacentor variabilis, Ixodes scapularis, and Ixodes pacificus ticks tested with dog anti-E. canis antiserum, 209 (32.5%) contained hemocytic bacteria. The prevalence of infected ticks varied greatly with species and locale. In parallel tests of duplicate hemolymph preparations from adult I. scapularis ticks, the hemocytic organisms reacted positively with E. canis and/or E. equi antisera, including sera from persons who had granulocytic ehrlichiosis. In separate PCR analyses, DNA of the agent of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis was detected in 59 (50.0%) of 118 adult and in 1 of 2 nymphal I. scapularis ticks tested from Connecticut. There was no evidence of Ehrlichia chaffeensis DNA in these ticks. In indirect FA tests of hemolymph for spotted fever group rickettsiae, the overall prevalence of infection was less than 4%. Specificity tests of antigens and antisera used in these studies revealed no cross-reactivity between E. canis and E. equi or between any of the ehrlichial reagents and those of R. rickettsii. The geographic distribution of hemocytic microorganisms with shared antigens to Ehrlichia species or spotted fever group rickettsiae is widespread.
Haematopoietic progenitor cells transfected with a differentiation antigen show cellular transformation and tumour growt in mice

A stromal cell line, D064, derived from canine bone marrow stroma, was established and differentiates into haematopoietic progenitors under the influence of growth factor signalling. While differentiating, these cells start to express MHC class II molecules (HLA‐DR homologues) on their surface. The transfection of these fibroblast‐like cells with retroviral constructs containing the canine MHC class II DR‐genes (DRA and DRB) induces a change in morphology, alteration of cell cycle progression and tumour formation in nude mice. Transfected cells are smaller than untransfected parental cells and do not require adherence (anchorage dependent growth). The doubling time of untransfected cells was reduced by more than half, as a sign of accelerated cell cycle progression. Injected subcutaneously into nude mice the DR+ transfected cells formed solid tumours, while untransfected cells showed no sign of tumour formation. The transfection‐induced changes were seen only with constructs carrying the open reading frame of DRA plus DRB in the correct orientation and expressing the complete DR‐dimer on the cell surface. Constructs with DRA and DRB in reverse orientation or vectors without any insert did not differ from the parental cells. These observations suggest that mechanisms normally controlling cell cycle and differentiation can be disrupted by the constitutive transcription and expression of differentiation antigens.
A Model of OFDM System in the Frequency Domain Based on Network Calculus

In this article, a novel model of OFDM system in the frequency domain based on network calculus is introduced. The proposed model employs modular concatenation of selected network calculus components to represent the effect of subcarriers of OFDM system on the QoS performance. By the formulas of the proposed model, the minimum transmit power and the total number of error bits can be calculated and the maximum transmit rate on each subcarrier can also be evaluated. With a practical example, the effectiveness of the proposed model is demonstrated. It can be seen that our model offers an efficient way of deriving minimum transmit power and evaluating QoS performance of OFDM system owing to the powerful analytical strength of network calculus.