Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Paying for assistive technology: a study of Hispanics

Purpose. The purpose of this study is to learn about the methods that Hispanics utilise to pay for assistive technology (AT) and how these compare with a National sample of non-Hispanic participants who answered the same survey in a previous project. Method. This secondary analysis combined two studies – a National Study and a targeted study of Hispanics – a follow-up study that purposively sought out Hispanics, due to their lower representation in the national sample. Results. This study found that Hispanics pay for AT out of their own pocket or relied on extended family rather than government programmes. The study also found that Hispanics utilised private insurance less than their counterparts in the National study. Conclusions. This study raises questions about the reach of government programmes, meant to enhance the access of underrepresented groups to AT, established by the AT legislation. Further studies are needed to explore whether participants are not accessing this programmes or are failing to identify them as resources.
Sonographic development of the normal foetal thorax and abdomen across gestation

In the following review, the development of the thorax and abdomen, as described by embryologists and anatomists in modern embryological text books, is compared with sonoanatomic descriptions from 2D and 3D ultrasound studies, week by week in the first trimester. The anatomic descriptions are limited to details that are of interest for the understanding of ultrasound examinations. For the second and third trimester, the description of the sonographic development of the thorax and abdomen is divided into thoracic skeleton, diaphragm, lungs, oesophagus, stomach, liver, spleen, bowel and gall bladder. The review is restricted to the normal development, appearance and biometric assessment of these organs; and discusses topical literature. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
An interactive approach for teaching information sonification

Teaching sonification is interdisciplinary and multifaceted. It includes areas such as information graphing, auditory parameters for representation, psychoacoustics affected by the context and combination of parameters, auditory cognition, programming and foundational synthesis or sound production. The interactive pedagogical method presented here fuses these elements in a real-time interactive environment for learning and experimentation in order to familiarise students with basic concepts and develop an understanding of the interdependencies. It allows the student to listen and interact with instructive examples, quickly evaluate the efficacy of different display possibilities, move through the material at their own pace, investigate further online reading lists, and eventually helps them build their own sonifications. This paper describes pedagogical software that integrates these disciplines.
Analysis of musical expression in audio signals

In western art music, composers communicate their work to performers via a standard notation which specificies the musical pitches and relative timings of notes. This notation may also include some higher level information such as variations in the dynamics, tempo and timing. Famous performers are characterised by their expressive interpretation, the ability to convey structural and emotive information within the given framework. The majority of work on audio content analysis focusses on retrieving score-level information; this paper reports on the extraction of parameters describing the performance, a task which requires a much higher degree of accuracy. Two systems are presented: BeatRoot, an off-line beat tracking system which finds the times of musical beats and tracks changes in tempo throughout a performance, and the Performance Worm, a system which provides a real-time visualisation of the two most important expressive dimensions, tempo and dynamics. Both of these systems are being used to process data for a large-scale study of musical expression in classical and romantic piano performance, which uses artificial intelligence (machine learning) techniques to discover fundamental patterns or principles governing expressive performance.
DWroidDump: Executable Code Extraction from Android Applications for Malware Analysis

We suggest an idea to dump executable code from memory for malicious application analysis on Android platform. Malicious applications are getting enhanced in terms of antianalysis techniques. Recently, sophisticated malicious applications have been found, which are not decompiled and debugged by existing analysis tools. It becomes serious threat to services related to embedded devices based on Android. Thus, we have implemented the idea to obtain main code from the memory by modifying a part of Dalvik Virtual Machine of Android. As a result, we have confirmed that the executable code is completely obtainable. In this paper, we introduce the existing analysis techniques for Android application, and antianalysis techniques. We then describe the proposed method with a sample malicious application which has strong antianalysis techniques.
Expert opinion on the treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis C

Summary. The current preferred treatment for patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is combination therapy consisting of pegylated interferon alfa and ribavirin (RBV) for 24–48 weeks. Although this approach appears to be highly effective for patients with HCV genotypes 2 or 3, who have a sustained virological response (SVR) of approximately 80%, the treatment algorithm is less effective for patients with HCV genotype 1, as these patients have SVR rates of just 40–50%. In order to improve treatment outcomes, this article explores potential approaches for the optimization of treatment for patients with HCV genotype 1: considering shorter treatment periods for patients with a rapid virological response (RVR), increasing treatment periods for slow responders, and increasing RBV dose are all suggestions. Results from clinical trials suggest that approximately 20% of the HCV genotype 1‐infected population are slow responders, and around 15% of all HCV genotype‐1 infected patients could benefit from a shorter treatment duration without compromising the SVR rate. Interest has also focused on whether treatment duration could be individualized in some patients with genotype 2 and 3 infection. Here all the findings from recent studies are translated into practical advice, to help practitioners make evidence‐based treatment decisions in everyday clinical practice. Although there are areas where currently available data do not provide conclusive evidence to suggest amending treatment approaches, there is clearly potential for individualized treatment in all aspects of hepatitis treatment in the future.
Protein turnover regulated by cholesterol.

DOI:10.1097/MOL.0b013e32834f42b3 Cholesterol is essential for mammalian cell function but is toxic in excess. Disruption in cholesterol homeostasis can lead to pathologies such as atherosclerosis, cancer and diabetes. Control of cell cholesterol levels normally involves a finely regulated balance among its synthesis, uptake and export. Expression of the proteins involved in these processes is closely regulated to maintain tight control of cholesterol homeostasis. It is well established that transcriptional regulation involves sterol-sensitive transcription factors such as sterol-regulatory-element-binding protein2 (SREBP-2) and liver X receptor (LXR). In general, SREBP-2 is active in cholesterol-depleted cells and upregulates genes involved in cholesterol biosynthesis and uptake, whereas LXR is activated in cholesterol-loaded cells and upregulates genes involved in cholesterol export, although there is also significant cross-talk between these pathways (e.g. [1]). Post-translational control of protein expression is now increasingly recognized as a significant additional level of control. Proteins are targeted for proteasomal degradation by covalent addition of ubiquitin, mediated by a ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme (E2) and a ubiquitin ligase (E3). An increasing number of proteins are being recognized as targets of sterol-sensitive ubiquitination. Interestingly, there appear to be multiple mechanisms for triggering cholesterol-dependent protein ubiquitination and subsequent degradation. The best-characterized of these is control of HMG-CoA reductase (HMR) degradation [2]. In sterol-replete conditions, HMR in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) binds Insig, which in turn triggers the recruitment of a complex containing the E3 ligase gp78 and its cognate ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme Ubc7, leading to ubiquitination of HMR and its accelerated degradation. HMR ubiquitination depends on 24,25-dihydrolanosterol (an intermediate in the cholesterol synthesis pathway)-mediated binding of Insig to its sterol-sensing domain (SSD). Ubiquitination and degradation of ApoB-100 are also mediated by gp78 [3] and a recent study suggests a regulatory role for this process in VLDL assembly in liver [4 & ]. SPFH2 and TMUB1 have now been identified as gp78-associated proteins involved
Usefulness of pharmacist‐assisted screening and psychiatric referral program for outpatients with cancer undergoing chemotherapy

Objective: Major depressive disorder (MDD) and adjustment disorder (AD) are common psychiatric disorders in cancer patients but are often overlooked in clinical oncology settings. We introduced a clinical screening program utilizing the Distress and Impact Thermometer (DIT) to identify MDD and AD in cancer outpatients receiving chemotherapy. This study assessed the usefulness of the screening program.
On plan recognition and parsing

Probabilistic plan recognition systems based on weighted model counting all work roughly the same way: ﬁrst they compute the exclusive and exhaustive set of models that explain a given set of observations; next they assign a probability to each model; ﬁnally they compute the likelihood of a particular goal by summing the probability of the explanatory models 1 in which that goal occurs. In this paper we discuss an optimization for the model-building ﬁrst step: rather than retain the full tree-like structure of goals which have been partially observed, we can keep only the frontier of as-yet unobserved actions and unachieved subgoals. The system Yappr which we present here uses techniques familiar from parsing algorithms. We give an informal introduction to Yappr in Section 1, a more formal presentation in Section 2, and an analysis of Yappr’s complexity in Section 3. In Section 4 we present experimental result showing the improvement realized from this technique, and then conclude with discussions of the algorithm’s limitations, and future work.
Breast cancer characteristics in very young Egyptian women ≤35 years

Background Breast cancer in very young patients represents a unique issue that needs more attention as the number of cases is increasing and it has special characteristics at presentation, diagnosis, and biologic behaviors which reflect on both treatment strategies and survival. The aim of the current study was to analyze and report the clinico-pathological characteristics and treatment procedures used for breast cancer in very young patients over the last decade in a single Egyptian cancer center. Patients and methods A retrospective study was conducted in the Oncology Center – Mansoura University, where the data of all breast cancer patients, between September 2006 and August 2015, were reviewed. Among 4,628 patients who were diagnosed with breast cancer during this period, only 300 patients aged ≤35 years had complete registry data. Clinico-pathological characteristics, therapeutic procedures, and survival outcome were reported. Results Three hundred and seventy-nine patients (8.19%) were aged ≤35 years at the time of presentation. The age ranged between 21 and 35 years, and the mean age was 31 years (±3 standard deviation). Positive family history of breast cancer was found in 12.3%, and metastatic presentation was seen in 4.7%. The rate of axillary lymph nodes involvement was 75.7%. The estrogen receptor-negative disease was found in 51%, and among 217 patients who did HER2 test, 82 patients (37.8%) were HER2 positive, while triple-negative subtype was found in 57 patients (26.4%). Ki 67 percentage ranged between 3% and 66% (median was 35%). The median disease-free survival was 61 months (95% confidence interval 44–78 months); the 3-year and 5-year disease-free survival were 58% and 50%, respectively. The 3-year and 5-year overall survival were 88% and 68%, respectively. Conclusion Very young Egyptian patients with breast cancer should be given focus and specially studied as the presentation has more aggressive biologic behavior at advanced stages, so the treatment strategies have to be tailored in a very precise manner.
Gender and Time Differences in the Associations Between Sexual Violence Victimization, Health Outcomes, and Risk Behaviors

An estimated 1 out of 6 women and 1 out of 33 men has been a victim of sexual assault at some point in their lifetime. The objective of this study was to quantify the associations between sexual assault and negative health outcomes among males and females who reported being sexually assaulted in the past 12 months or at some point before the past 12 months. Data were obtained from the 2005 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System core and sexual violence modules. A series of logistic regression models, including all respondents and stratified by gender, was used to identify differences associated with victimization. Among women, victimization before the past 12 months was significantly associated with poor health status, poor mental health, lower life satisfaction, activity limitations, smoking, and binge drinking. Women who reported victimization in the past 12 months were also significantly more likely to report poor mental health, lower life satisfaction, activity limitations, and binge drinking. Among males, significant associations were found with smoking (past 12 months), poor life satisfaction (before the past 12 months) and activity limitations (before the past 12 months). Results of this study suggest that poor mental and physical health associated with victimization are more prevalent in women and that these relationships persist over time. The broad range of outcomes associated with victimization suggests that further research is needed to better understand the consequences associated with sexual violence across the lifespan.
Urinary Tract Symptoms (LUTS) Secondary to Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) and LUTS/BPH with Erectile Dysfunction in Asian Men: A Systematic Review Focusing on Tadalafil

This review assesses lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) due to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) with or without erectile dysfunction (ED) and related therapies focusing on tadalafil. A literature search was obtained and reviewed for the epidemiology, treatment therapies, pathophysiology, and efficacy and safety of phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor (PDE5i) tadalafil in patients with LUTS/BPH. Approximately 42% of men aged 51 to 60 years have BPH. Approximately 90% of men aged 45 to 80 years have LUTS. Occurrence of LUTS increases with age for almost all racial/ethnic groups (range, 32% to 56%) with prevalence of LUTS highest among Hispanic men, then Blacks, Caucasians, and Asians. There is an independent relationship with LUTS/BPH and ED, with approximately 70% of men with LUTS/BPH having ED with severity of one disease often correlating with the other. The European Urological Association guidelines include the use of the PDE5i tadalafil. Tadalafil is the only therapy recommended for treatment of co-existing BPH and ED, while other therapies have unwanted ED side effects. The mode of action of tadalafil may involve different areas of the lower urinary tract such as smooth muscle cell relaxation in the bladder neck, prostate, and urethra, but there may also be resulting modulation of the afferent nerve activity. Tadalafil (5 mg) in Asian men with LUTS/BPH, similar to global studies, is efficacious and safe. Tadalafil (5 mg) improves co-existing LUTS/BPH and ED, independently. Men with LUTS/BPH likely also have ED. Asian men with LUTS/BPH have similar incidence rates, co-existing ED, comorbid diseases, and risks as non-Asian men. Tadalafil can improve co-existing LUTS/BPH and ED.
Assessing Software Designs Using Capture-Recapture Methods

The number of faults not discovered by the design review can be estimated by using capture-recapture methods. Since these methods were developed for wildlife population estimation, the assumptions used to derive them do not match design review applications. The authors report on a Monte Carlo simulation to study the effects of broken assumptions on maximum likelihood estimators (MLEs) and jackknife estimators (JEs) of faults remaining. It is found that the MLE performs satisfactorily if faults are classified into a small number of homogeneous groups. Without grouping, the MLE can perform poorly, but it generally does better than the JE. >
Preparation and characterization of nanocarbons from Nicotiana tabacum stems

Nanocarbon materials can improve adsoption capacity if the nano size range is optimized during production. In this study, nanocarbons were prepared from green recyclable waste N. tabacum stem using carbonization process and KOH as the activating agent, thus potentially unclocking value in the otherwise waste material. The formation of nanocarbons was investigated at different KOH concentration, activation temperature and carbonization time. Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) techniques were used to characterise the nanocarbon material. The results showed that nanocarbons with high specific surface areas in excess of 950 m2/g and nanostructured morphologies characterized by pore width averages ranging from 3.33–8.87 nm, pore diameter 10.59–45.30 nm and particle size 25.34–54.88 nm could be formed. Optimum nanocarbon production was achieved when the precursor was activated using 10% KOH and carbonized at a temperature of 400 ℃ for 4 h. Characteristic FT-IR absorption bands were observed in all carbonized samples. SEM images revealed a dense irregular material with cavities and protuberances. XRD patterns showed that crystallinity of the nanocarbons decreased with increase in carbonization time. The properties reported for the nanocarbons are ideal for adsoption of analytes from complex matrices, hence presenting N. tabacum as a promising low-cost and green alternative precursor for nanocarbon production targeting analytical fields such as solid-phase extraction and solid phase microextraction. The produced nanocarbons appear to be carbon nanoparticles comprising nearly spherical particles.
Development of Virtual Laboratory Inorganic Chemistry of Main Elements Based on Blended Learning Using Pogil Strategy

This research has the objective to determine the feasibility of virtual laboratory-based blended learning developed in the materials of inorganic chemistry of main group elements in terms of the validity of the quality of the content and purpose, construct, instructional, and technical. The type of research used is a research development with research procedures based on the Borg and Gall Model. The target of this research is students of the Department of Chemistry, Surabaya State University. The results of this study can be concluded that the virtual laboratory feasibility is based on blended learning developed in the inorganic chemical material, the main group elements in terms of validity by using the instrument of validation sheet on the media in the form of laboratory virtual media on inorganic chemical material, the main group elements where the overall aspects of quality and purpose, construct, instructional, and technical aspects get the percentage overall of 85% and elearning website as a support for blended learning learning activities obtained an overall percentage of 81% with very valid / feasible criteria as a blended learning based learning media using POGIL strategies. Keywords—Virtual laboratories, Blended Learning, POGIL strategies, inorganic chemistry main group elements
The Presence of Alpha Interferon at the Time of Infection Alters the Innate and Adaptive Immune Responses to Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus

ABSTRACT Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is one of the most devastating and costly diseases to the swine industry worldwide. Overall, the adaptive immune response to PRRS virus (PRRSV) is weak, which results in delayed elimination of virus from the host and inferior vaccine protection. PRRSV has been shown to induce a meager alpha interferon (IFN-α) response, and we hypothesized that elevated IFN-α levels early in infection would shorten the induction time and increase elements of the adaptive immune response. To test this, we measured both antibody and cell-mediated immunity in pigs after the administration of a nonreplicating human adenovirus type 5 vector expressing porcine IFN-α (Ad5–pIFN-α) at the time of PRRSV infection and compared the results to those for pigs infected with PRRSV alone. Viremia was delayed, and there was a decrease in viral load in the sera of pigs administered the Ad5–pIFN-α. Although seroconversion was slightly delayed in pigs receiving Ad5–pIFN-α, probably due to the early reduction in viral replication, little difference in the overall or neutralizing antibody response was seen. However, there was an increase in the number of virus-specific IFN-γ-secreting cells detected in the pigs receiving Ad5–pIFN-α, as well as an altered cytokine profile in the lung at 14 days postinfection, indicating that the presence of IFN-α at the time of infection can alter innate and adaptive immune responses to PRRSV.
Microwave Sintering of Ti6Al4V: Optimization of Processing Parameters for Maximal Tensile Strength and Minimal Pore Size

Pressureless sintering is a powder metallurgical process wherein the powder particles are sintered without the aid of any compressive force. Though this additive manufacturing process is economical, the strength of the component is undermined due to the presence of pores; the elimination of which is a challenge. In this work, the optimal process parameters for the pressureless microwave sintering of a grade 5 titanium alloy that yields higher tensile strength and minimum sizes of pores were obtained. The three process parameters (sintering temperature, heating rate, and holding time) were experimented at five different levels using the design of experiments (DOE). Post sintering, the tensile strength was assessed as per ASTM standard B925-15, while the pore size was evaluated, non-destructively, using micro-computed tomography (μ-CT). The optimal process parameters that yielded minimum size pores were: sintering temperature—1293 °C, heating rate— 6.65 C/minute; and holding time—72 min.
Performance Enhancement using MIMO techniques for UMTS

In this paper Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) techniques for Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) analysis is presented. To simulate the radio channel the COST 259 directional channel model (DCM) is used for macro and microcell scenarios, as defined by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Values of capacity and Bit Error Rate (BER) are obtained for different MIMO configurations. A capacity enhancement is achieved using MIMO with UMTS but different results for the BER metric were observed when a uniform power distribution is used through the antenna element array (AEA).