Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Environmental pesticide exposure in Honduras following hurricane Mitch.

OBJECTIVE To investigate whether environmental contamination occurred in the wake of hurricane Mitch (30-31 October 1998), we conducted a population-based cross-sectional household survey in the barrio of Istoca, Department of Choluteca, Honduras. The goals were to evaluate chemical contamination of potable water and the extent of human exposure to chemicals as a result of extensive flooding. METHODS The survey consisted of an environmental exposure assessment, which included assaying water and soil samples for contaminants, and taking blood and urine samples from 45 adolescents aged 15-18 years. We also made a subjective questionnaire assessment of 155 households. FINDINGS There was significant contamination of the soil in Istoca, but no water contamination in the aftermath of hurricane Mitch. The soil levels of chlopyrifos and parathion were 30- and 1000-times higher, respectively, than the Environmental Data Quality Level. However, the most striking finding was the detection of elevated levels of chlorinated and organophosphate pesticides in adolescents. Toxicological analyses of serum specimens showed that 51% of the samples had elevated levels of 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis-(p-chlorophenyl) ethylene (p,p-DDE) (range, 1.16-96.9 ng/ml) (US reference mean = 3.5 ng/ml) in adults). Dieldrin levels > 0.2 ng/ml were also present in 23% of the serum specimens (serum levels of this analyte in US adolescents are < 0.2 ng/ml). Of 43 urine samples analysed for organophosphate metabolites, 18.6% contained diethyl phosphate (DEP) at levels which were greater that the reference mean of 6.45 micrograms/g creatinine. We also detected elevated levels of p-nitrophenol (p-NP) and of 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (3,5,6-TCPY) in 91% and 42% of the samples, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The elevated levels of chlorinated pesticides were surprising, since although these substances were banned in Honduras 15 years ago it appears that they are still being used in the country. Moreover, elevated levels of organophosphates were detected in the study adolescents even three weeks after the hurricane. Since these chemicals are usually cleared from the body quickly, our data suggest that the adolescents face an ongoing threat from pesticide exposure.
Clinical and Molecular Characterization of Patients with Mucopolysaccharidosis Type I in an Algerian Series

Mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS’s) represent a subgroup of lysosomal storage diseases related to a deficiency of enzymes that catalyze glycosaminoglycans degradation. Mucopolysaccharidosis type I (MPS I) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder caused by a deficiency of α-l-iduronidase encoded by the IDUA gene. Partially degraded heparan sulfate and dermatan sulfate accumulate progressively and lead to multiorgan dysfunction and damage. The aim of this study is to describe the clinical, biochemical, and molecular characteristics of 13 Algerian patients from 11 distinct families. MPS I diagnosis was confirmed by molecular study of the patients’ IDUA gene. Clinical features at the diagnosis and during the follow-up are reported. Eighty-four percent of the studied patients presented with a mild clinical phenotype. Molecular study of the IDUA gene allowed the characterization of four pathological variations at the homozygous or compound heterozygote status: IDUA NM_00203. 4:c.1598C>G-p.(Pro533Arg) in 21/26 alleles, IDUA NM_00203. 4:c.532G>A-p.(Glu178Lys) in 2/26 alleles, IDUA NM_00203. 4:c.501C>G-p.(Tyr167*) in 2/26 alleles, and IDUA NM_00203. 4: c.1743C>G-p.(Tyr581*) in 1/26 alleles. This molecular study unveils the predominance of p.(Pro533Arg) variation in our MPS I patients. In this series, the occurrence of some clinical features linked to the Scheie syndrome is consistent with the literature, such as systematic valvulopathies, corneal opacity, and umbilical hernia; however, storage signs, facial dysmorphic features, and hepatomegaly were more frequent in our series. Screening measures for these debilitating diseases in highly consanguineous at-risk populations must be considered a priority health problem.
Symptomatic hepatic hydrothorax successfully treated with transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS)–role of titration of portosystemic gradient reduction to avoid post-TIPS encephalopathy

We describe a challenging case of hepatic hydrothorax secondary to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis cirrhosis. Our management involved successfully treating the hydrothorax with a transjugular intrahepatic porto‐systemic shunt but having to manage the subsequent complication of hepatic encephalopathy. We conclude with a review of the available literature.
Soccer injuries and their relation to physical maturity.

A prospective study of injuries encountered during participation in a summer soccer camp for youths aged 6 through 17 years revealed an injury incidence of 10.6 per 1000 hours for girls (107 injuries in 458 girls) and 7.3 per 1000 hours for boys (109 injuries in 681 boys). For both sexes, the incidence of injury increased at age 14 years. One certified athletic trainer (W.D.C.) assessed and documented all injuries during the course of the study. Seventy percent of injuries involved the lower extremities. Contusions represented 35.2%, strains 27.8%, sprains 19.4%, and fractures and dislocations 2% of all reported injuries. The ankle was the most frequent site of injury in both sexes. Quadriceps strain was a common injury in boys. The boys with the highest incidence of injury were tall (greater than 165 cm) and had a weak grip (less than 25 kg), suggesting that skeletally mature but muscularly weak boys may be more susceptible to injury while playing soccer with peers of the same chronological age.
Field E+A Galaxies at Intermediate Redshifts (0.3 < z < 1)

We select E+A candidates from a spectroscopic data set of ~800 field galaxies and measure the E+A fraction at 0.3 < z < 1 to be 2.7% ± 1.1%, a value lower than that in galaxy clusters at comparable redshifts (11% ± 3%). HST WFPC2 imaging for five of our six E+A's shows that they have a heterogeneous parent population: these E+A's span a range in half-light radius (0.8 h-1 kpc < r1/2 < 8 h-1 kpc) and estimated internal velocity dispersion (50 km s-1 ≲ σest ≲ 220 km s-1), and they include luminous systems (-21.6 ≤ M - 5 log h ≤ -19.2). Despite their diversity in some aspects, the E+A's share several common characteristics that indicate that the E+A phase is an important link in the evolution of star-forming galaxies into passive systems: the E+A's are uniformly redder than the blue, star-forming galaxies that make up the majority of the field, they are more likely to be bulge-dominated than the average field galaxy, and they tend to be morphologically irregular. We find that E+A's make up ~9% of the absorption-line systems in this redshift range and estimate that ≳25% of passive galaxies in the local field had an E+A phase at z ≲ 1.
Family Adult Awareness of Adolescents’ Premarital Romantic and Sexual Relationships in Ghana

This study examined the circumstances under which family adults in Ghana were aware of their adolescent children’s involvement in premarital relationships. It was hypothesized that factors related to the seriousness and social acceptability of the relationship would influence the likelihood of family adults’ awareness in gender-specific ways. Data were derived for 606 premarital relationships reported by 423 adolescents (62% female) aged 14 to 21 years in southeastern Ghana. Family adults were more likely to know about adolescents’ premarital relationships when those relationships were longer lasting, emotionally closer, and involved marital intentions; when they involved out-of-school, employed partners; and when youth perceived that family adults were less disapproving of adolescent sexual activity. Adolescent girls were more likely than boys to report relationships with older, out-of-school, employed partners from financially better-off families. The seriousness and social acceptability of adolescents’ premarital relationships influence the likelihood of family adult awareness of such relationships.
Educational reforms and marketization in Norway – A challenge to the tradition of the social democratic, inclusive school?

A social democratic, egalitarian public sector and a corporatist political economy have been strong, distinctive and enduring characteristics of Norwegian education. However, this article demonstrates that the education sector has experienced a period of rapid and extensive implementation of New Public Management (NPM) reforms and post-NPM reforms the past 15 years. In contrast to other scholars, who claim that NPM is not contested but rather consistently promoted and maintained by centre-left governments, we argue that from 2005 such governments have added new ideas of government and implemented new methods of steering education in line with post-NPM reforms. To regain central capacity and control and to compensate for the negative effects of NPM on social inclusion and equality, new measures for input control were adopted, and the negative effects of marketization were to some degree moderated by later educational reforms.
Female control of paternity in the sexually cannibalistic spider Argiope keyserlingi

Sexual conflict theory predicts an antagonistic coevolution, with each sex evolving adaptations and counter–adaptations to overcome a temporary dominance of the other sex over the control of paternity. Polyandry allows sexual selection to operate after mating has commenced, with male and female interests competing for control of fertilization. There are numerous examples of male control of paternity, but few studies have unambiguously revealed female control. Attributing variance in paternity to females is often difficult since male and female influences cannot be separated unambiguously. However, we show that polyandrous female orb–web spiders Argiope keyserlingi (Araneidae) control the paternity of their offspring by adjusting the timing of sexual cannibalism. Our experiments reveal that females copulating with relatively smaller males delay sexual cannibalism, thereby prolonging the duration of copulation, and that these males consequently fertilize relatively more eggs.
Joint Spectral Radius and Path-Complete Graph Lyapunov Functions

We introduce the framework of path-complete graph Lyapunov functions for ap- proximation of the joint spectral radius. The approach is based on the analysis of the underlying switched system via inequalities imposed among multiple Lyapunov functions associated to a labeled directed graph. Inspired by concepts in automata theory and symbolic dynamics, we define a class of graphs called path-complete graphs, and show that any such graph gives rise to a method for proving stability of the switched system. This enables us to derive several asymptotically tight hierarchies of semidefinite programming relaxations that unify and generalize many existing techniques such as common quadratic, common sum of squares, path-dependent quadratic, and maximum/minimum- of-quadratics Lyapunov functions. We compare the quality of approximation obtained by certain classes of path-complete graphs including a family of dual graphs and all path-complete graphs with two nodes on an alphabet of two matrices. We derive approximation guarantees for several families of path-complete graphs, such as the De Bruijn graphs. This provides worst-case performance bounds for path-dependent quadratic Lyapunov functions and a constructive converse Lyapunov theorem for maximum/minimum-of-quadratics Lyapunov functions.
Employment in a time of high growth in India

This paper attempts to do precisely that. It does so by first setting up the analytical foundations of a dual economy framework that is applicable to India; and then developing appropriate indicators out of national survey data to examine this change. In the course of discussion we get a clear economy wide picture of relevant employment categories with which to assess changes, including formal and regular employment, underemployment and informality.
Autoeficacia y apoyo social en la intención emprendedora

The term self-efficacy refers to the belief that someone has about possess the capabilities to perform the necessary actions to enable it to obtain the desired results. In the study of the entrepreneurial process is proposed that a strong entrepreneurial self-efficacy in these individuals helps the development of intentions. There were no significant differences in self-efficacy in relation to sex. Howewer, microsocial environment analysis revealed that there was significant difference according to the support received by the level of self-efficacy. We obtained a positive relationship between entrepreneurial self-efficacy and intention, this being not equal in magnitude and significance for different types of self-efficacy defined theoretically and empirically.
Evolving a Learning Machine by Genetic Programming

We describe a novel technique for evolving a machine that can learn. The machine is evolved using a Genetic Programming (GP) algorithm that incorporates in its function set what we have called a "learning node". Such a node is tuned by a second optimization algorithm (in this case Simulated Annealing), mimicking a natural learning process and providing the GP tree with added flexibility and adaptability. The result of the evolution is a system with a fixed structure but with some variable parameters. The system can then learn new tasks in new environments without undergoing further evolution.
Molecular Epidemiology of Astrovirus Infection in Barcelona, Spain

ABSTRACT A 3-year study involving 2,347 gastroenteritis samples was conducted to determine the prevalence, time distribution, and medical significance of human astrovirus infection in Barcelona, Spain. The overall incidence of astrovirus was found to be 4.9%. Mixed infections with other enteric agents were detected in 17.2% of all astrovirus-positive samples. During the 3-year period, the highest astrovirus incidence was reported in the winter months, although infections also occurred in summer. The peak detection rate was observed in children between 2 and 4 years of age. Overall, HAstV-1 was the most prevalent type, followed by HAstV-4, HAstV-3, HAstV-8, and HAstV-2. HAstV-5, HAstV-6, and HAstV-7 were not detected during these 3 years. From our serotype data for each age group, we observed that HAstV-1, HAstV-2, and HAstV-3 affected mostly children younger than 3 years of age, while HAstV-4 and HAstV-8 had a greater impact in older children. Genetic variability was analyzed between astroviruses isolated in Barcelona and strains isolated in other parts of the world. A fourth lineage was described for HAstV-1, most likely due to the large number of assayed samples, which may also explain the high level of genetic variability observed in the astrovirus isolates.
DATA COLLECTION AND DISSEMINATION IN DISTRIBUTED ENVIRONMENTS BASED ON ROBUST SPANNING TREE APPROACH

Large-scale distributed applications are subject to frequent disruptions due to resource contention and failure. Such disruptions are inherently unpredictable and therefore robustness is a desirable property. This work consists of description and evaluation of a robust topology for applications that operate on a spanning tree overlay network. Unlike a conventional adaptive or reactive technique, a proactive approach to robustness is attempted. This would be followed by a demonstration of its effectiveness through simulation and analysis. Spanning trees are widely used in communication networks as a means to disseminate information from one node to all other nodes and/or to collect information at a single designated node. The robust topology itself is able to simultaneously withstand disturbances and exhibit good performance. We demonstrated its effectiveness by simulation and comparing expected data loss and power consumption in the robust approach as opposed to existing approaches.
A −131-dBc/Hz, 20-MHz MEMS oscillator with a 6.9-mW, 69-kΩ, gain-tunable CMOS TIA

We present the analysis, design, and measurement results of a low-noise, low-power MEMS oscillator at 20 MHz. The oscillator consists of a high-Q differential resonator, which is wire-bonded to a high-gain CMOS transimpedance amplifier (TIA). Measurement results show that the TIA achieves a tunable gain from 12 kΩ to 69 kΩ. The phase noise floor of the oscillator's output voltage is at -131 dBc/Hz, while the differential peak-to-peak swing can be varied between 160 mV and 1700 mV by an on-chip automatic level control (ALC) loop. The TIA, fabricated in a 0.35-μm CMOS process, occupies an area of 0.15 mm2 and dissipates 6.9 mW from a 2.5 V supply.
Carotenoid availability does not limit the capability of nestling kestrels (Falco tinnunculus) to cope with oxidative stress

It is recognized that carotenoids are useful anti-oxidants in embryo and hatchling avian models. However, recent evidence suggests that the anti-oxidant role of carotenoids in nestling or adult birds may not be as important as previously thought. The aim of the present work was to investigate if supplemental carotenoids decreased the level of oxidative damage (by reactive oxygen metabolites, ROMs) and increased the serum anti-oxidant capacity (OXY) in nestling Eurasian kestrels Falco tinnunculus. Circulating carotenoids in supplemented nestlings increased about 1.5-fold compared to the control and pre-treatment levels at the end of the supplementation period. There was no effect on ROMs, OXY or the level of oxidative stress (ratio between ROMs and OXY), however, or on body mass or body condition of nestlings. ROMs and OXY decreased with age, but this pattern varied across the nests. Our results show that (i) in general, younger nestlings actually have to cope with a high free radical production, and (ii) the ability of wild nestling kestrels to cope with oxidative stress is not affected by carotenoid availability.
Comparative structural study of N-linked oligosaccharides of urinary and recombinant erythropoietins.

The structures of the N-linked oligosaccharides of the urinary erythropoietin (u-EPO) purified from urine of aplastic anemic patients were analyzed and compared with those for recombinant erythropoietin (r-EPO) prepared with baby hamster kidney (BHK) cells. Asparagine-linked neutral oligosaccharides were released from each EPO protein by N-oligosaccharide glycopeptidase (almond) digestion. The reducing ends of the oligosaccharide chains thus obtained were aminated with a fluorescent reagent, 2-aminopyridine, and the mixture of pyridylamino derivatives of the oligosaccharides was separated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) on an ODS silica column. More than 8 and 13 kinds of oligosaccharide fractions for u-EPO and r-EPO (BHK), respectively, were completely separated by the one-step HPLC procedure. The structure of each oligosaccharide thus isolated was analyzed by a combination of sequential exoglycosidase digestion and another kind of HPLC with an amide-silica column. Furthermore, high-resolution proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy and methylation analyses were carried out in the case of r-EPO (BHK). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Simple Form Recognition Using Bayesian Programming

The environment that surrounds us is very complex. Understanding and interpreting it is a very hard task. This paper proposes an approach allowing simple form recognition with a camera by using a probabilistic approach called Bayesian Programming. The main goal is to recognize several type of elemental features composing an image, such as local orientation of a contour, or corners. The Bayesian Program for feature recognition is presented and the learning stage explained. One approach has been validated through experiments.
Security Assurance with Metamorphic Testing and Genetic Algorithm

The correctness of mission-critical software is an important part of information security, but oracle problem and test data generation are constraints for some programs. Although metamorphic testing (MT) is practical for programs with oracle problem and evolutionary testing (ET) is a good application of genetic algorithm (GA) for automatic test data generation, fitness functions used in ET are not always effective at target search. This article provides a method for improving ET’s efficiency by considering metamorphic relation (MR) when fitness function is constructed, and finally some conclusions are presented.
Optimal Strategy for Competence Differentiation in Bacteria

A phylogenetically diverse subset of bacterial species are naturally competent for transformation by DNA. Transformation entails recombination of genes between different lineages, representing a form of bacterial sex that increases standing genetic variation. We first assess whether homologous recombination by transformation is favored by evolution. Using stochastic population genetic computer simulations in which beneficial and deleterious mutations occur at many loci throughout the whole genome, we find that transformation can increase both the rate of adaptive evolution and the equilibrium level of fitness. Secondly, motivated by experimental observations of Bacillus subtilis, we assume that competence additionally entails a weak persister phenotype, i.e., the rates of birth and death are reduced for these cells. Consequently, persisters evolve more slowly than non-persisters. We show via simulation that strains which stochastically switch into and out of the competent phenotype are evolutionarily favored over strains that express only a single phenotype. Our model's simplicity enables us to derive and numerically solve a system of finite- deterministic equations that describe the evolutionary dynamics. The observed tradeoff between the benefit of recombination and the cost of persistence may explain the previously mysterious observation that only a fractional subpopulation of B. subtilis cells express competence. More generally, this work demonstrates that population genetic forces can give rise to phenotypic diversity even in an unchanging and homogeneous environment.
Variations of Cytokine Levels and Production in CAPD Patients

Macrophages, predominant cells in dialysates of patients on CAPD without peritonitis, produce a wide variety of substances including cytokines. The aim of this study was to examine the cytokine production in five uninfected patients. This work investigated the presence in dialysates of interleukin-1ß, interleukin-6, interleukin-8, tumor necrosis factor α and the ability of peritoneal macrophages to produce these cytokines. These results were compared with values obtained from control group in non-uremic conditions (peritoneal lavage with isotonic saline or dialysis fluid). All cytokines were detectable in dialysates. Interindividual variations in cytokine concentration in dialysates were wider than variations of production of cytokines ex vivo by stimulated and unstimulated cells. In control group, dialysis fluid inhibited the cytokine production and with isotonic saline, cells produced less cytokines than dialysis patients'cells. The highest levels of interleukin-1 and tumor necrosis factor in dialysates and the highest capacity to respond to LPS were observed in patients having the shortest duration of dialysis. The variability observed did not seem to be due to cells themselves but to their environment.
An Enhanced Queries Scheduler for query processing over a cloud environment

Due to the existence of the “database as a service” (DaaS) model on a cloud computing environment, several challenges have been made, such as query scheduling. Using an efficient query scheduler can improve the queries response time submitted from various clients in a DaaS model. Scheduling the queries in a cost aware way has an economic impact on the service provider by meeting the clients' service level agreements (SLAs). In this paper, we proposed an enhanced scheduler technique in order to schedule the queries effectively to minimize the overall query response time. The experimental results show that using our enhanced scheduler improves significantly the query response time.