Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Epidemiology of Maternal Mortality in Southern Tanzania

With a view to strengthening systems for maternal health, this study presents a comprehensive analysis of determinants of uptake of care and pregnancy-related mortality, with the main emphasis on distance to care. Data on geographical positioning (GIS), socio-demographic information, birth histories and deaths in women of reproductive age were collected during a household census in five rural districts of Southern Tanzania in 2007. Deaths reported as pregnancy-related were followed up by verbal autopsies. Health facility census information collected in the same area in 2009 was used. Data limitations included 30% either missing or low quality GIS data and missing birth histories for 9% of women. The analysis included 507 pregnancy-related deaths and 64,098 live births. Major deficiencies in quality of care provided in health facilities were identified. Although 75% of women lived within a distance of 4.6km to a facility providing delivery care, overall institutional delivery was low with 29% of all births in hospital and 11% in first-line facilities. Seventy-two percent of women living <5km away delivered in hospital and levels declined rapidly thereafter with no evidence of confounding. In contrast, less than 30% of women delivered in a first-line facility even if they lived less than 1km away. Overall pregnancy-related mortality was high at 712 deaths per 100,000 livebirths (95% Confidence Interval 652-777), with 32% due to haemorrhage. There was weak evidence of higher mortality with increasing distance to hospital, which was accentuated if the analysis was restricted to direct maternal deaths. Sensitivity analysis restricting analysis to the 70% of households with good quality GIS data did not alter conclusions. There was no evidence that low uptake of care at first-line facilities was explained by distance or socio-demographic factors. Deficiencies in quality of care influence both care uptake and mortality suggesting that investments in quality should be prioritized.
Exploiting Arabic Diacritization for High Quality Automatic Annotation

We present a novel technique for Arabic morphological annotation. The technique utilizes diacritization to produce morphological annotations of quality comparable to human annotators. Although Arabic text is generally written without diacritics, diacritization is already available for large corpora of Arabic text in several genres. Furthermore, diacritization can be generated at a low cost for new text as it does not require specialized training beyond what educated Arabic typists know. The basic approach is to enrich the input to a state-of-the-art Arabic morphological analyzer with word diacritics (full or partial) to enhance its performance. When applied to fully diacritized text, our approach produces annotations with an accuracy of over 97% on lemma, part-of-speech, and tokenization combined.
Ubiquitous apps: politics of openness in global mobile cultures

Smartphones are a central element of mobile ubiquity, with mobile applications (‘apps’) becoming especially important. This article discusses the concept of iPhone apps, and other apps, as cultural platforms. Apps are highly significant for emerging cultures of mobile ubiquity, yet these platforms are constituted and controlled by major transnational global mobile media corporations. The article looks at the characteristics, constraints and limits of apps as they have emerged from 2008–2011, arguing that we need to carefully examine the terms of openness as they are constituted at the intersection of such mobile hardware, software and content. Finally, it offers a critique of apps, suggesting it is time to reconceive our ideas about apps and mobile Internet generally.
Studies on amino acid excretion in man; amino acids in urine.

Recent interest in the r81e of proteins in gastrointestinal disease has prompted an investigation of certain aspects of this problem. Studies by Cannon and coworkers suggested to us that measurements of the intake and excretion of individual amino acids might supply more complete and significant data than the conventional nitrogen balances alone (1). Hence, in addition to the nitrogen balance, measurements were made of the intake (in food), level in the blood, and excretion in urine of eight amino acids; namely, leucine, isoleucine, valine, threonine, arginine, histidine, lysine, and methionine. The purpose of this paper is to describe the results of typical studies in two healthy, adult men on normal diets and also the adaptation of the microbiological technique utilized in this investigation for the amino acid analysis of urine. Studies on the excretion of amino acids in feces will be reported in a subsequent paper. The data presented in this report indicate (a) that the subjects of this study excreted in the urine a quantity of microbiologically available amino acids equal to 2.46 per cent of the amount ingested, and (b) that the renal tubules selectively reabsorb amino acids.
Hammertoe Correction With K-Wire Fixation

Background: Kirschner wire (K-wire) fixation for correction of hammertoe deformity is a common, low-cost method for fixation of hammertoes after proximal interphalangeal (PIP) arthroplasty or fusion. Complications of this procedure include pin-tract infection, pin migration, pin bending or breakage, and recurrence of deformity. The investigators reviewed a large experience using K-wire stabilization for hammertoe correction. Methods: All hammertoe corrections performed by a single surgeon from 1999 to 2013 were retrospectively reviewed. A resection arthroplasty of the PIP joint or PIP fusion was performed and fixed with a K-wire. Follow-up duration, preoperative diagnosis, pin duration, concomitant procedures, recurrence rates, and complications were reviewed and analyzed. A total of 1,115 operations were performed on 876 patients, with correction of 2,698 hammertoes. There were 709 female and 167 male patients, with an average age of 57.5 years (range, 14-88 years), followed for an average of 20.8 months (range, 27 days to 12.7 years). Results: Complications included 94 pin migrations (3.5%), 9 pin-tract infections (0.3%), and 2 pin breakages (0.1%). There were 150 recurrent deformities (5.6%) and 94 toes (3.5%) required revision hammertoe surgery. Malalignment was noted in 55 toes (2.1%). Vascular compromise occurred in 16 toes (0.6%), with 10 (0.4%) requiring amputation. Ninety-four toes (3.5%) required revision surgery because of symptomatic recurrence of deformity. The expected rates and rate ratios (RRs) of patients requiring revision hammertoe correction, compared with the study population as a whole, were statistically significantly higher in patients who underwent an metatarsophalangeal joint capsulotomy (3.10 vs 0.97; RR, 3.20) and those who experienced K-wire-related complications (5.10 vs 1.80, RR, 2.84). Conclusions: K-wire fixation for the treatment of hammertoe deformities led to good maintenance of correction with a relatively low complication rate, and we believe that it remains an effective, low-cost method of fixation for hammertoe correction. Level of Evidence: Level IV, retrospective case series.
Synthesis of methylprednisolone loaded ibuprofen modified dextran based nanoparticles and their application for drug delivery in acute spinal cord injury

To improve the therapeutic efficacy of spinal cord injury (SCI), the methylprednisolone was incorporated into nanoparticles based on the ibuprofen modified dextran. The ibuprofen modified dextran was synthesized using a direct esterification linkage between the carboxylic acids of hydrophobic drug and the hydroxyl groups of the polymer backbone. The morphology of methylprednisolone loaded nanoparticles was evaluated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The therapeutic efficacy of the prepared nanoparticles on the acute SCI model rats was assessed. It is demonstrated that methylprednisolone loaded ibuprofen modified dextran based nanoparticles (MP-loaded NPs) could promote the recovery of neurological deficits, enhance growth of neurons, decrease degeneration of injuried neurons and reduce the tissue tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) levels significantly in the SCI rats. Subsequently, the study indicates that synthesis of methylprednisolone loaded ibuprofen modified dextran based nanoparticles has a great potential in the synergetic effect treatment for spinal cord injury and nanoparticles based drug delivery system will become a powerful weapon of human conquest of disease.
Running head : COMPARING COLOURS 2 Comparing colours using visual models

13 1. Colour in nature presents a striking dimension of variation, though under14 standing its function and evolution largely depends on our ability to capture 15 the perspective of relevant viewers. This goal has been radically advanced 16 by the development and widespread adoption of perceptual colour spaces, 17 which allow for the viewer-subjective estimation of colour appearance. Most 18 studies of colour in camouflage, aposematism, sexual selection, and other 19 signalling contexts draw on these colour spaces, with the shared analytical 20 objective of estimating how similar (or dissimilar) colour samples are to a 21 given viewer. 22 2. We summarise popular approaches for estimating the separation of samples 23 in colour space, and use a simulation-based approach to test their efficacy 24 with common data structures. We show that these methods largely fail to 25 estimate the separation of colour samples by neglecting (i) the statistical dis26 tribution and within-group variation of the data, and/or (ii) the perceptual 27 separation of groups relative to the observer’s visual capabilities. 28 3. Instead, we formalize the two questions that must be answered to establish 29 both the statistical presence and perceptual magnitude of colour differences, 30 and propose a two-step, permutation-based approach that achieves this goal. 31 Unlike previous methods, our suggested approach accounts for the mul32 tidimensional nature of visual model data, and is robust against common 33 colour-data features such as heterogeneity and outliers. 34 4. We demonstrate the pitfalls of current methods and the flexibility of our 35 suggested framework using a example from the literature, with recommen36 dations for future inquiry. 37 2 not peer-reviewed) is the author/funder. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was . http://dx.doi. org/10.1101/175992 doi: bioRxiv preprint first posted online Aug. 18, 2017;
Phylogenetic probes for analyzing abundance and spatial organization of nitrifying bacteria

A hierarchical set of five 16S rRNA-targeted oligonucleotide DNA probes for phylogenetically defined groups of autotrophic ammonia- and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria was developed for environmental and determinative studies. Hybridization conditions were established for each probe by using temperature dissociation profiles of target and closely related nontarget organisms to document specificity. Environmental application was demonstrated by quantitative slot blot hybridization and whole-cell hybridization of nitrifying activated sludge and biofilm samples. Results obtained with both techniques suggested the occurrence of novel populations of ammonia oxidizers. In situ hybridization experiments revealed that Nitrobacter and Nitrosomonas species occurred in clusters and frequently were in contact with each other within sludge flocs.
K-Nearest Neighbor Search in Peer-to-Peer Systems

— Data classification in large scale systems, such as peer-to-peer networks, can be very communication-expensive and impractical due to the huge amount of available data and lack of central control. Frequent data updates pose even more difficulties when applying existing classification techniques in peer-to-peer networks. We propose a distributed, scalable and robust classification algorithm based on k-nearest neighbor estimation. Our algorithm is asynchronous, considers data updates and imposes low communication overhead. The proposed method uses a content based overlay structure to organize data and moderate the number of query messages propagated in the network. Simulation results show that our algorithm performs efficiently in large scale networks.
Estudo radiográfico da cronologia de mineralização dentária, em portadores de fendas labiais e/ou palatinas - análise comparativa com a tabela da cronologia de mineralização dentária de Nicodemo, Moraes e Medici Filho

Este trabalho teve como objetivo estudar a cronologia de mineralizacao dentaria entre individuos portadores de fendas labiais e/ou palatinas (FL/P), e analise comparativa com os dados de Nicodemo et al. 12 (1974). A amostra constou de radiografias panorâmicas de 363 pacientes, sendo 187 do sexo masculino e 176 do sexo feminino, brasileiros, leucodermas, pertencentes a faixa etaria de sessenta a 179 meses de idade. A metodologia de Nicodemo et al. 12 (1974) foi empregada para a analise dos seguintes dentes: canino, primeiro e segundo pre-molares e primeiro e segundo molares inferiores. Verificou-se retardo estatisticamente significante na cronologia da mineralizacao dentaria. Esse atraso variou de 3,2 a 32,6 meses, quando comparadas as medias das idades dentarias desta pesquisa com os dados da tabela citada, com excecao dos estadios 6 do primeiro premolar, 5 do segundo pre-molar e 3 e 5 do segundo molar, onde as medias das idades dentarias foram semelhantes, e do estadio 3 do segundo molar, onde observou-se um adiantamento de 1,7 meses.
The Garbage Collection Handbook: The art of automatic memory management

Published in 1996, Richard Joness Garbage Collection was a milestone in the area of automatic memory management. The field has grown considerably since then, sparking a need for an updated look at the latest state-of-the-art developments. The Garbage Collection Handbook: The Art of Automatic Memory Management brings together a wealth of knowledge gathered by automatic memory management researchers and developers over the past fifty years. The authors compare the most important approaches and state-of-the-art techniques in a single, accessible framework. The book addresses new challenges to garbage collection made by recent advances in hardware and software. It explores the consequences of these changes for designers and implementers of high performance garbage collectors. Along with simple and traditional algorithms, the book covers parallel, incremental, concurrent, and real-time garbage collection. Algorithms and concepts are often described with pseudocode and illustrations. The nearly universal adoption of garbage collection by modern programming languages makes a thorough understanding of this topic essential for any programmer. This authoritative handbook gives expert insight on how different collectors work as well as the various issues currently facing garbage collectors. Armed with this knowledge, programmers can confidently select and configure the many choices of garbage collectors. Web ResourceThe books online bibliographic database at www.gchandbook. org includes over 2,500 garbage collection-related publications. Continually updated, it contains abstracts for some entries and URLs or DOIs for most of the electronically available ones. The database can be searched online or downloaded as BibTeX, PostScript, or PDF.
Development of 3D reconstruction system

Real-time 3D imagery has gained special attention in many Champaign such as computer vision, virtual reality. The third dimension plays a decisive role in the analysis of dynamic or static environments. Therefore, developing a reliable real-time depth imaging system is very challenging. The depth information allows a much better analysis of the environment. This proposed system is a 3D scanner system used to obtain 3D using structured light from sequence of 2D images. This paper describes different stages of development of 3D scanner prototype, both from hardware and software point of view. Aspects such as extracting ROI, edge detection, distance transformation, and plotting the element on 3D platform are considered towards an optimal implementation of this 3D scanner. The 3D scanner composed of simple hardware such as stepper motor with rotating platform, motor driver, Arduino, an uvc camera, and proper lighting system. On software part Linux operating system is used along with python as programming language. The libraries such as Open CV, numpy, matplotlib, tkinter are used for development.
New human-centered kinetostatic criteria for tele-operated robots, validation with medical tele-sonography robots

This paper revisits global kinematical performance indexes within the scope of manually teleoperated serial robots in accounting for the human operator. The proposed theory is grounded on the knowledge of a human-centered coordinate system to parameterize the task space. Perceptual parameters are also introduced in the Man-system interaction effort. The resulting expression is used to derive a local kinematical index and a probability density. The global index is computed by integration over the whole robot's jointspace. The proposed index is proved to be relevant by outperforming classical indexes in predicting the end-user satisfaction of medical tele-sonography robots. Therefore this index could be considered as a criterion design to optimize the kinematics of homogenous non-redundant serial telerobots.
Gab2 Phosphorylation by RSK Inhibits Shp2 Recruitment and Cell Motility

ABSTRACT The scaffolding adapter protein Gab2 (Grb2-associated binder) participates in the signaling response evoked by various growth factors and cytokines. Gab2 is overexpressed in several human malignancies, including breast cancer, and was shown to promote mammary epithelial cell migration. The role of Gab2 in the activation of different signaling pathways is well documented, but less is known regarding the feedback mechanisms responsible for its inactivation. We now demonstrate that activation of the Ras/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway promotes Gab2 phosphorylation on basic consensus motifs. More specifically, we show that RSK (p90 ribosomal S6 kinase) phosphorylates Gab2 on three conserved residues, both in vivo and in vitro. Mutation of these phosphorylation sites does not alter Gab2 binding to Grb2, but instead, we show that Gab2 phosphorylation inhibits the recruitment of the tyrosine phosphatase Shp2 in response to growth factors. Expression of an unphosphorylatable Gab2 mutant in mammary epithelial cells promotes an invasion-like phenotype and increases cell motility. Taken together, these results suggest that RSK is part of a negative-feedback loop that restricts Gab2-dependent epithelial cell motility. On the basis of the widespread role of Gab2 in receptor signaling, these findings also suggest that RSK plays a regulatory function in diverse receptor systems.
CHRONIC SUBDURAL HEMATOMAS TREATED BY BURR HOLE TREPANATION AND A SUBPERIOSTAL DRAINAGE SYSTEM

OBJECTIVEMost symptomatic chronic subdural hematomas are treated by subdural drainage. However, a subperiostal (i.e., extracranial) passive closed-drainage system in combination with double burr hole trepanation is used at our institution. Therefore, we wanted to analyze our results and compare them with the alternate treatment strategies reported in the current literature. METHODSIn a retrospective single-center study, we analyzed the data of all patients undergoing double burr hole trepanation with a subperiostal passive closed-drainage system. Data analysis included general patient data, complications, postoperative seizure rate, and outcome. RESULTSOne hundred forty-seven patients underwent surgery for 183 symptomatic chronic subdural hematomas. The perioperative mortality rate was 3.4%. Hematoma persistence or recurrence occurred in 13.1% of the cases. The postoperative seizure rate was 6.6%, and the infection rate was 1.6%, including 3 cases of superficial wound infection and 1 case with deep infection. The reintervention rate was 9.3%, including trepanation in 8.2% of the patients and craniotomy in 1.1%. The overall complication rate was 10.9%. CONCLUSIONDouble burr hole trepanation combined with a subperiostal passive closed-drainage system is a technically easy, highly effective, safe, and cost-efficient treatment strategy for symptomatic chronic subdural hematomas. The absence of a drain in direct contact with the hematoma capsule may moderate the risk of postoperative seizure and limit the secondary spread of infection to intracranial compartments.
An Application of Software Fault Injection for Assessment of Quality of Test Sets for Business Processes Orchestrating Web-Services

The paper presents an experiment of the application of software fault injection to assess quality of test sets for business processes orchestrating web-services. The mutation testing, usually used to this end, suffers from high computational costs of generating and running mutants. In contrast to mutation testing, faults injection can be performed at a run-time. Run-time changes are introduced by a Software Fault Injector for BPEL Processes (SFIBP). SFIBP is implemented as a special service that manipulates invocations of webservices and values of their internal variables. As for time requirements, the experiment proved high superiority of the application of the SFIBP over the mutation testing.
The Human Host Defense Peptide LL-37 Induces Apoptosis in a Calpain- and Apoptosis-Inducing Factor–Dependent Manner Involving Bax Activity

LL-37 is a human cationic host defense peptide (antimicrobial peptide) belonging to the cathelicidin family of peptides. In this study, LL-37 was shown to kill Jurkat T leukemia cells via apoptosis. A loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, DNA fragmentation, and phosphatidylserine externalization were detected following LL-37 exposure, whereas apoptosis was independent of caspase family members. The specific apoptotic pathway induced by LL-37 was defined through the utilization of Jurkat cells modified to express antiapoptotic proteins, as well as cells deficient in various proteins associated with apoptosis. Of interest, both Bcl-2–overexpressing cells and cells deficient in Bax and Bak proteins displayed a significant reduction in LL-37–induced apoptosis. In addition, Jurkat cells modified in the Fas receptor–associated pathway showed no reduction in apoptosis when exposed to LL-37. Analysis of the involvement of apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) in LL-37–mediated apoptosis revealed that AIF transferred from the mitochondria to the nucleus of cells exposed to LL-37, where it may lead to large-scale DNA fragmentation and chromatin condensation. AIF knockdown analysis resulted in LL-37–resistant cells. This suggests that AIF is mandatory in LL-37–mediated killing. Lastly, chelation or inhibition of Ca2+ or calpains inhibited LL-37–mediated killing. Further analysis revealed that calpains were required for LL-37–mediated Bax translocation to mitochondria. Together, these data show that LL-37–induced apoptosis is mediated via the mitochondria-associated pathway in a caspase-independent and calpain- and AIF-dependent manner that involves Bax activation and translocation to mitochondria. (Mol Cancer Res 2009;7(5):689–702)