Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pattern of default among tuberculosis patients on directly observed therapy in rural primary health care centres in Ogun State, Nigeria

This study was designed to identify risk factors associated with defaulting during TB treatment and indicate specific adjustments to be made. This study is a retrospective, cohort study. Information on all TB patients attending clinic for treatment from 1st April 2004 to 30th June 2007 was collected using a data collection form. A total sample of 938 patients was reviewed. The overall default rate among the TB patients was 14.4% and was about half (44.3%) of the entire negative outcome. 743 (79.2%) of cases were cured or completed treatment and 9 (1.0%) of cases were transferred out. Factors associated with default were return after default (p = 0.000), presentation with extra-pulmonary TB (p = 0.000) and defaulting in the first two months of treatment (p = 0.00). There was no statistically significant difference in the rate of default between HIV positive and HIV negative TB patients (22.8% vs 10.5%, X2 = 0.15, p = 0.699) and distance of domicile from PHC centres (p = 0.91). This study suggest that National TB control programmes should pay a closer attention to the issue of home visit and monitoring especially among patients with smear-negative PTB or EPTB and those returning after default in African population. Keywords: Tuberculosis,default rate,primary health care,directly observed theraphy.
DESCRIPTIVE VERSUS FUNCTIONAL ACCOUNTS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL EVENTS: CYBERRAT AS A CASE IN POINT

While the CyberRat simulation described by Ray (2011/2012) has considerable value as an educational tool, its value also lies in the validation of the descriptive interbehavioral systems analysis (IBSA) approach upon which it was developed. The descriptive IBSA approach differs in important ways from the predominantly functional approach typically adopted by researchers in the experimental analysis of behavior (TEAB), and while TEAB has been successful in identifying many important environment-behavior functional relations, a strictly functional approach to the study of behavior can lead to a tendency to overlook subtle but important aspects of the events under scientific investigation. As such, we propose that TEAB may benefit from and expand its scope by incorporating elements of a descriptive research approach.
The Effect of Manipulating a CRDI Dial on the Focus of Attention of Musicians/nonmusicians and Perceived Aesthetic Response

We investigated the perceived aesthetic responses of musicians and nonmusicians who simultaneously manipulated a Continuous Response Digital Interface (CRDI) dial while listening to a musical excerpt with subjects who just listened to the excerpt without any dial manipulation. All subjects listened to the same rendition of Puccini's La Boheme, Act I and completed a similar exit questionnaire that asked them to report their "aesthetic responsiveness. " In previous studies it was conjectured that an important variable relating to attentiveness and subsequent aesthetic response might be increased attention necessitated by having to manipulate a CRDI dial throughout this 20-minute excerpt. The present investigation attempted to answer this question by having different groups of subjects listen with and without CRDI dial manipulation. Results of the study indicated that there was a significant difference between the aesthetic responses of subjects who manipulated the dial versus those who did not; subjects who manipulated the dial evidencing higher perceived aesthetic response scores. Theoretical aspects concerning music listening are discussed.
Early Resolution of Acute Immune Activation and Induction of PD-1 in SIV-Infected Sooty Mangabeys Distinguishes Nonpathogenic from Pathogenic Infection in Rhesus Macaques12

Primate lentiviruses are typically apathogenic in their evolutionarily coadapted host species but can be lethal when transferred to new host species. Why such infections are pathogenic in humans and rhesus macaques (RMs) but not in sooty mangabeys (SMs), a natural host, remains unclear. Studies of chronically infected animals point to the importance of diminished immune activation in response to the infection in SMs. In this study, we sought the causes and timing of the differences in immune activation in a comparative study of acute SIV infection in RMs and SMs. Surprisingly, we show that in acute infection immune activation is comparable in SMs and RMs but thereafter, SMs quickly resolve immune activation, whereas RMs did not. Early resolution of immune activation in SMs correlated with increased expression of PD-1 and with preservation of CD4+ T cell counts and lymphatic tissue architecture. These findings point to early control of immune activation by host immunoregulatory mechanisms as a major determinant of the different disease outcomes in SIV infection of natural vs non-natural hosts.
The Associations Between Smoking Habits and Serum Triglyceride or Hemoglobin A1c Levels Differ According to Visceral Fat Accumulation.

BACKGROUND Whether smokers and former smokers have worse lipid profiles or glucose levels than non-smokers remains unclear. METHODS The subjects were 1152 Japanese males aged 42 to 81 years. The subjects were divided according to their smoking habits (nonsmokers, former smokers, and current smokers) and their visceral fat area (VFA) (<100 cm(2) and ≥100 cm(2)). RESULTS The serum triglyceride (TG) levels of 835 males were assessed. In the VFA ≥100 cm(2) group, a significantly greater proportion of current smokers (47.3%) exhibited TG levels of ≥150 mg/dL compared with former smokers (36.4%) and non-smokers (18.8%). The difference in TG level distribution between former smokers and non-smokers was also significant. However, among the subjects with VFA of <100 cm(2), the TG levels of the three smoking habit groups did not differ. The serum hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels of 877 males were also assessed. In the VFA <100 cm(2) group, significantly higher proportions of current smokers (17.9%) and former smokers (14.9%) demonstrated HbA1c levels of ≥5.6% compared with non-smokers (6.3%). In contrast, in the VFA ≥100 cm(2) group, significantly fewer former smokers displayed HbA1c levels of ≥5.6% compared with non-smokers and current smokers. Furthermore, the interaction between smoking habits and VFA was associated with the subjects' TG and HbA1c concentrations, and the associations of TG and HbA1c concentrations and smoking habits varied according to VFA. CONCLUSIONS Both smoking habits and VFA exhibited associations with TG and HbA1c concentrations. The associations between smoking habits and these parameters differed according to VFA.
Arabidopsis Nitrate Transporter NRT1.9 Is Important in Phloem Nitrate Transport[W][OA]

The nitrate transporter NRT1.9 is expressed in root companion cells and has an important role in the transport of nitrate in plant phloem tissue. Mutants of NRT1.9 show reduced downward nitrate transport in phloem and increased root-to-shoot nitrate transport in xylem. This suggests that phloem transport serves as fine-tuning for nitrate redistribution. This study of the Arabidopsis thaliana nitrate transporter NRT1.9 reveals an important function for a NRT1 family member in phloem nitrate transport. Functional analysis in Xenopus laevis oocytes showed that NRT1.9 is a low-affinity nitrate transporter. Green fluorescent protein and β-glucuronidase reporter analyses indicated that NRT1.9 is a plasma membrane transporter expressed in the companion cells of root phloem. In nrt1.9 mutants, nitrate content in root phloem exudates was decreased, and downward nitrate transport was reduced, suggesting that NRT1.9 may facilitate loading of nitrate into the root phloem and enhance downward nitrate transport in roots. Under high nitrate conditions, the nrt1.9 mutant showed enhanced root-to-shoot nitrate transport and plant growth. We conclude that phloem nitrate transport is facilitated by expression of NRT1.9 in root companion cells. In addition, enhanced root-to-shoot xylem transport of nitrate in nrt1.9 mutants points to a negative correlation between xylem and phloem nitrate transport.
The Teenage Brain

Adolescence is characterized by heightened reward sensitivity. Accumulating evidence suggests that this behavior is associated with neurodevelopmental changes in reward-related neural circuitry. In this article, I review recent studies in animal models and humans that highlight the unique adolescent response to reward in the striatum, a reward-sensitive brain region. This work helps the field understand characteristic adolescent behavior and will be important in addressing policy questions related to this period of development.
The virtual Haken conjecture

We prove that cubulated hyperbolic groups are virtually special. The proof relies on results of Haglund and Wise which also imply that they are linear groups, and quasi-convex subgroups are separable. A consequence is that closed hyperbolic 3-manifolds have finite-sheeted Haken covers, which resolves the virtual Haken question of Waldhausen and Thurston's virtual fibering question. An appendix to this paper by Agol, Groves, and Manning proves a generalization of the main result of "Residual finiteness, QCERF and fillings of hyperbolic groups".
Une étude économétrique de la dépense publique locale: Le cas des départements français

Cet article etudie les depenses des departements francais en distinguant le budget social du budget non social. Les demandes de biens publics locaux, sociaux et non sociaux, emanent d’un electeur contribuable decisif. Ces demandes dependent des prix fiscaux des biens publics et du revenu de l’electeur decisif. Les tests econometriques realises sur la periode 1996-2006 donnent les estimations des differentes elasticites prix et revenu des demandes de biens publics sociaux et non sociaux des departements.
Tone recognition of Vietnamese continuous speech using hidden Markov model

This paper presents our study on context independent tone recognition of Vietnamese continuous speech. Each of the six Vietnamese tones is represented by a hidden Markov model (HMM for short) and we used VNSPEECHCORPUS to learn these models in terms of fundamental frequency, F0, and short-time energy. We focus on evaluating the influence of different factors on the tone recognition. The experimental results show that the best method to learn F0 and energy is to use a logarithmic transformation function and then normalization with mean and mean deviation. In addition, we show that using 8 forms of tones and the discrimination between male and female speakers increase the accuracy of the Vietnamese tone recognition system.
Creativity in the Classroom: A Multilevel Analysis Investigating the Impact of Creativity and Reasoning Ability on GPA

Compared to other psychological constructs, such as intelligence, creativity usually is a less valid predictor for scholastic achievement. The majority of the studies from which these results are derived apply Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) methods that assume random sampling of respondents and, hence, do not take into account the possibility of between-classroom variance that is due to clustered data structures. In this study, data from the standardization sample of the Berlin Structure of Intelligence Test for Youth: Assessment of Talent and Giftedness (BIS-HB) were analyzed using multilevel modelling techniques. To test the hypothesis that the impact of creativity on GPA may vary between different classrooms, a multilevel model incorporating explanatory variables on two levels (level 1: students and level 2: classrooms) was specified. The role of reasoning ability was also investigated. The results allow for a more detailed interpretation of the role of different variables in the context of predicting scholastic achievement. More specifically, it could be shown that especially the predictive power of creativity changes across classrooms, indicating that some teachers value creativity in their students more than others.
Homozygous Inactivation of Sox9 Causes Complete XY Sex Reversal in Mice1

Abstract In the presence of the Y-chromosomal gene Sry, the bipotential mouse gonads develop as testes rather than as ovaries. The autosomal gene Sox9, a likely and possibly direct Sry target, can induce testis development in the absence of Sry. Sox9 is thus sufficient but not necessarily essential for testis induction. Mutational inactivation of one allele of SOX9/Sox9 causes sex reversal in humans but not in mice. Because Sox9–/– embryos die around Embryonic Day 11.5 (E11.5) at the onset of testicular morphogenesis, differentiation of the mutant XY gonad can be analyzed only ex vivo in organ culture. We have therefore conditionally inactivated both Sox9 alleles in the gonadal anlagen using the CRE/loxP recombination system, whereby CRE recombinase is under control of the cytokeratin 19 promoter. Analysis of resulting Sox9–/– XY gonads up to E15.5 reveals immediate, complete sex reversal, as shown by expression of the early ovary-specific markers Wnt4 and Foxl2 and by lack of testis cord and Leydig cell formation. Sry expression in mutant XY gonads indicates that downregulation of Wnt4 and Foxl2 is dependent on Sox9 rather than on Sry. Our results provide in vivo proof that, in contrast to the situation in humans, complete XY sex reversal in mice requires inactivation of both Sox9 alleles and that Sox9 is essential for testogenesis in mice.
Aspectual Caml: an aspect-oriented functional language

We propose an aspect-oriented programming (AOP) language called Aspectual Caml based on a strongly-typed functional language Objective Caml with two AOP mechanisms similar to those in AspectJ language. This paper describes the design and implementation issues of those AOP mechanisms that give us insights into the interaction between AOP features and common features in strongly-typed functional languages such as type inference, polymorphic types and curried functions. We implemented a prototype compiler of the language and used the language for separating crosscutting concerns in application programs, including for separating descriptions of a type system from compiler descriptions.
Theories of Pay and Unemployment: Survey Evidence from Swedish Manufacturing Firms

An interview survey was designed to explore how personnel managers and senior wage negotiators respond to popular models of the labor market. As in A. S. Blinder and D. H. Choi (1990), the authors' results indicate that relative wages and notions of fairness are important, and that this may explain nominal wage rigidity. The authors find much evidence of efficiency wage mechanisms. The reactions to some questions also point to theories based on rent-sharing. Moreover, while underbidding is not that uncommon, firms seem quite unwilling to hire underbidders. The authors also obtain indications of adverse selection problems. Copyright 1995 by The editors of the Scandinavian Journal of Economics.
Deep convolutional and recurrent writer

This paper proposes a new architecture Deep Convolutional and Recurrent writer (DCRW) for image generation by adapting the deep Recurrent attentive writer (DRAW) architecture which is a sequential variational auto-encoder with a sequential attention mechanism for image generation. The main difference between DRAW and DCRW is that in DCRW we have replaced RNN in encoder with CNN and after replacement attention mechanism have been used for CNN. The reason behind this modification is that CNNs are the state of the art for image processing in deep learning and their basic architecture is inspired from the visual cortex. Further, for the testing of proposed architecture experiments are performed on MNIST handwritten digits data set for generation of images and results are analyzed.
Transient Modeling Synthesis: a flexible analysis/synthesis tool for transient signals

An overview of a flexible analysis/synthesis tool for transient signals that effectively extends the spectral modeling synthesis (SMS) parametrization of signals from sinusoids+noise to sinusoids+transients+noise is given. The extended model, by explicitly handling transients, provides a more realistic and robust signal analysis/transformation/synthesis tool. Although others have pointed out the need for partitioning SMS into sinusoids+transients+noise, they have not provided a flexible model for transients. The need for an explicit transient model arises because SMS analyzes a signal by first modeling the sinusoidal components of the signal. SMS then subtracts these sinusoidal components from the original signal leaving a residual signal that contains transients+noise. One drawback of SMS is it models this transient+noise residual solely as filtered noise. Our transient model, when used on this residual, first detects where possible transients occur, models the transients, then removes transients from th.
Multiple mating in wild Drosophila melanogaster revisited by microsatellite analysis

The occurrence of multiple mating in Drosophila melanogaster is of particular interest to evolutionary biologists, as seminal fluid has some toxic effects for females. Thus, it has been predicted that the number of matings per females should be low. We have tested this prediction with seven highly polymorphic microsatellite loci in inseminated females from a Viennese D. melanogaster population. In contrast to the predicted low number of matings and previous studies in natural populations, we identified the genotypes of four to six different males fertilizing the offspring of each female tested. Potential causes and consequences are discussed.
Epidemiology of heavy alcohol use in Ukraine: findings from the world mental health survey.

AIMS To describe the epidemiology of heavy alcohol use in Ukraine, using data from the world mental health (WMH) survey in Ukraine. METHODS The WMH composite international diagnostic interview was administered in 2002 to a national probability sample of Ukrainian adults (n=4725). An algorithm for classifying heavy use in the past year was developed from self-reports about the quantity and frequency of drinking, and its convergent validity was demonstrated. Prevalence rates and socio-demographic risk factors were examined separately for men and women. RESULTS The 12-month rates of heavy alcohol use were 38.7% in men and 8.5% in women (22.0% overall). Among heavy alcohol users, 92% of men and 52% of women consumed at least 80 g of ethanol in a typical drinking day on a monthly basis in the year before the interview. The most significant risk factors in men and women were age (26-54 years for men; 18-25 years for women), living in the Southeast region, being in the labour force whether employed or unemployed, and for men, low education and being the father of a young child. A highly significant linear relationship of number of risk factors with heavy alcohol use was found for both sexes. CONCLUSIONS The rates for men were similar to those reported in a Russian national survey with the exception of Southeast Ukraine where the rate was >10% higher. The highest rates were among men who were middle-aged, fathers and unemployed. Future prospective studies are needed to assess the impact of heavy alcohol use on Ukrainian health, mental health and occupational and social functioning.
Multiple model adaptive visual tracking with correlation filters

Visual target tracking has many challenges such as robustness to occlusion, noise, drifts. Although robust algorithms have been proposed to solve these problems, the solutions are not appropriate for real time implementations. On the other hand, tracking methods based on correlations filters can be efficiently designed. To achieve robust tracking, the present work presents a multiple model visual tracking method to adapt to changes in the target appearance using a correlation filters based tracker. Moreover, an algorithm for managing update rates of the filters has been proposed. By using a tracker with multiple models, both infinitesimally small movements and abrupt changes can be handled simultaneously. Our experiments have demonstrated that the proposed strategy improves the tracking maintenance and accuracy significantly in benchmark datasets compared to its single model counterpart.
Marco teórico para el análisis de la empresa industrial de Ibagué frente a la responsabilidad social empresarial

Los Grupos de investigacion GIDEUT y ECO de la Universidad del Tolima han venido desarrollando el proyecto de investigacion “La empresa industrial de Ibague frente a la Responsabilidad social empresarial”, financiado por el Comite Central de Investigaciones de la misma universidad. El proyecto tiene como fin conocer la realidad de la aplicacion de la Responsabilidad social empresarial en la industria ibaguerena, mediante la realizacion de un analisis critico al respecto.
A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Classroom Management Strategies and Classroom Management Programs on Students' Academic, Behavioral, Emotional, and Motivational Outcomes

This meta-analysis examined which classroom management strategies and programs enhanced students’ academic, behavioral, social-emotional, and motivational outcomes in primary education. The analysis included 54 random and nonrandom controlled intervention studies published in the past decade (2003–2013). Results showed small but significant effects (average g = 0.22) on all outcomes, except for motivational outcomes. Programs were coded for the presence/absence of four categories of strategies: focusing on the teacher, on student behavior, on students’ social-emotional development, and on teacher–student relationships. Focusing on the students’ social-emotional development appeared to have the largest contribution to the interven-tions’ effectiveness, in particular on the social-emotional outcomes. Moreover, we found a tentative result that students’ academic outcomes benefitted from teacher-focused programs.
PERTURBATIONS AND THE PREDICTABILITY OF ECOLOGICAL INTERACTIONS IN A FOOD WEB

Press perturbations, in which one or more species densities are experimentally altered and held at higher or lower levels, are common field approaches used to understand community dynamics. The outcomes of such experiments are often difficult to anticipate solely on the basis of intuition. This is because the effects of a perturbation may pass through a complex network of direct and indirect pathways in a food web, and the outcome may be highly sensitive to the strength of interactions among species. One solution to understanding outcomes of press experiments is to quantify first the community matrix, the matrix of measured direct interactions between all species in a food web, and then obtain the inverse of this matrix. The inverse of the community matrix predicts the effect of all species presses on all other species. I evaluated the utility of the inverse community matrix in predicting the outcomes of press experiments in an old-field food web. I used data from field and laboratory experiments to quantify the interaction strengths between grasshoppers, four old-field plants, and nitrogen supply. These values were used to parameterize the community matrix and obtain its inverse in a Monte Carlo simulation. The simulation was used to predict the mean and standard error in the outcome of a simultaneous nitrogen and herbivore press on food-web structure and dynamics. The predictions were compared with data from an enclosure experiment in the field in which I manipulated nitrogen supply and herbivore abundance. There was a high degree of uncertainty predicted and observed in the study system. Despite this, I show that the degree and the sources of uncertainty were predictable for each species. This suggests that the inverse community matrix offers a useful theoretical benchmark for understanding the outcome of field press experiments.