Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
[Present situation of health education work in schistosomiasis control and evaluation on its effectiveness in Hubei Province].

OBJECTIVE To understand the present situation and requirements of health education in schistosomiasis control in Hubei Province, so as to improve the health education to the targeted people. METHODS Through the questionnaire survey and field investigation, the data of the present situation and requirements of health education in schistosomiasis control were collected in 24 counties (cities) of Hubei Province, and these data included the related institution structure of health education, basic information of personnel, equipment, funds, and health education working form. All the data collected were analyzed and evaluated. RESULTS Among the 24 counties, there were 12 independent departments of health education, accounting for 50%. In terms of the basic information of the health education staff, the youngest person was 34 years old and the eldest was 58 years old, and the mean age was 46.55± 6.9 years. For the formal school education of the staff, 5 had senior high school or below education (20.8%), 16 had college education (66.7%), 3 had bachelor degree or above (12.5%). There were 10 counties (41.70%) with the special funds for health education work but there were 3 counties (12.50%) without the special funds. CONCLUSIONS The effectiveness of health education work in schistosomiasis control is remarkable, but there are still deficiencies in professional staff and funds in Hubei Province.
Structure-Property Relationship of Dodecylbenzenesulfonic Acid Doped Polyaniline

Dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid (DBSA) doped polypanilines (PANIs) were chemically synthesized in different molar ratios of aniline (An) to ammonium persulfate (APS) and An to DBSA. The microstructures of these PANIs were investigated by means of scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR). UV-Vis spectrometer, semiconductor parameter analyzer, ubbelohde viscometer and electrospinning technique were used to characterize the optical, electrical properties, viscosity and solubility of these PANIs. The results show that the molar rations of An to APS and An to DBSA had strong effect on the microstructure, molecular weight, degree of crystallinity, optical property, solubility and conductivity of obtained DBSA doped PANI. With the increase of the molar ratios of An to APS and An to DBSA, the conductivities and molecular weight of DBSA doped PANIs decreased, while the degree of crystallinity and solubility of DBSA doped PANIs increased. The DBSA doped PANI could dissolve in dichloromethane or HFIP and could be fabricated short fibers by electrospinning. Moreover, the solution of DBSA doped PANIs in concentrated sulphuric acid showed liquid crystal property.
Epistemological perspectives on IS research: a framework for analysing and systematizing epistemological assumptions

Abstract. Over the last three decades, a methodological pluralism has developed within information systems (IS) research. Various disciplines and many research communities as well, contribute to this discussion. However, working on the same research topic or studying the same phenomenon does not necessarily ensure mutual understanding. Especially within this multidisciplinary and international context, the epistemological assumptions made by different researchers may vary fundamentally. These assumptions exert a substantial impact on how concepts like validity, reliability, quality and rigour of research are understood. Thus, the extensive publication of epistemological assumptions is, in effect, almost mandatory. Hence, the aim of this paper is to develop an epistemological framework which can be used for systematically analysing the epistemological assumptions in IS research. Rather than attempting to identify and classify IS research paradigms, this research aims at a comprehensive discussion of epistemology within the context of IS. It seeks to contribute to building the basis for identifying similarities as well as differences between distinct IS approaches and methods. In order to demonstrate the epistemological framework, the consensus‐oriented interpretivist approach to conceptual modelling is used as an example.
Watching behaviour: the role of context and learning

This paper describes the problems and issues involved in developing artificial visual agents that watch moving objects and their interactions in real world situations. One objective of this work is to form conceptual descriptions that capture the behaviours of objects. To do this we use the dynamic scene context but here we go further and incorporate task context and simple learning of behavioural cues. The computational approach uses results from the VIEWS project. The issues concerned with extending computational vision to learn behavioural models and use attention are described for a surveillance system with "task-level control". This means that the visual processing is guided by both the current scene knowledge and the current surveillance task control policy.
[Tracing patients with chronic viral hepatitis].

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of an intervention in which medical-microbiological laboratories alert general practitioners (GPs) in writing about patients with a chronic hepatitis B or C infection in their practice, urging them to bring these patients under medical surveillance again now that treatment options have improved and guidelines have been revised. DESIGN Descriptive, prospective. METHOD All patients who had been diagnosed with hepatitis B or C between 2003 and 2013 on the request of the GP, and for whom diagnostics by an internist, infectious diseases specialist or gastrointestinal/liver specialist had never been requested, were included. The requesting GP received a letter advising them to confirm the diagnosis, and if results were positive to refer the patient to a hepatitis centre. If the GP did not respond, or the healthcare practitioner involved was not the current GP, a written reminder was sent. RESULTS A total of 515 letters were sent initially; the final response following reminders was 362 (70%). Of these 362 patients, 69 (19%) still had an indication for referral and 45 (64%) were referred to a hepatitis centre. CONCLUSION The intervention was successful, feasible and relatively simple.
Fractographic evaluation of high cycle fatigue strength of a high V alloyed powder metallurgy tool steel

The high cycle fatigue strength and the fracture surface morphology of a high V alloyed powder metallurgy tool steel were investigated and connected with microstructure. The inclusion with size above 30 μm was demonstrated to be responsible for the reduction in fatigue strength. The shape and size of inclusion and the stress amplitude affected the position of crack origin in fish eye. Based on fractographic evaluation and statistical analysis, the most harmful inclusions with the largest size proportion for steel A are ∼30 μm, and that of B1, B2 and B3 is roughly 50, 60 and 60 μm respectively. A distinctive granular-like zone with specific morphology was found to be confined in a very small area, suggesting that the fatigue crack propagation was mainly controlled by Paris Law regime. A linear fracture mechanics approach was implemented to evaluate the effect of grain size, yield stress and inclusion size on fatigue strength.
Improved Hydrodynamics for USP Apparatus 2

In spite of irs grow ing importance in tbe modern dissolution InboraUJry, USP Apparatus 2 bas been plagued by many problems of reproducibility and accuracy wbicb lend to wasted time using calibrators even wiJe1J tbf1'e is nothing wrong with the calibrators or the instruments. Tbe primary source of variability bas been found to be ;71 the hydrodynamics of the convemional cylind11cnl (i.e. USP hemispherical) vessel especially untie. ,. the rotating paddle. A new vessel, called the PEAK
A vector quantization algorithm based on the nearest neighbor of the furthest color

In order to optimize the codebook used by the vector quantization compression scheme, we have developed a process based on the max-min algorithm. This process optimizes color space partitioning from vector blocks selected iteratively within the training set according to three algorithms. The partitioning algorithm is based on the nearest neighbor query. The selection algorithm searches the furthest color of the nearest vector block of the training set already computed. A centroid process generates the codebook in refining the vector block selection. In order to counterbalance cases of study for which the centroid process modifies the vector block selection, we have introduced three tests. These tests restrict the training set from which representative colors can be selected.
Word polarity detection using syllable features for manipuri language

Majority of the studies related to sentiment lex-icon generation exploit word-to-word relationship considering resources like dictionary such as Wordnet or an extensive collection of document corpus. Sentiment lexicon is regarded as a primary resource for sentiment analysis task. However, creating such resources is an expensive operation, and may not be feasible for resource-poor languages. For syllabic and agglutinative languages, a syllable may pose discriminating characteristics capable of detecting word polarity. An advantage of considering syllabic features is its ability to achieve reasonable detection accuracy even with a much smaller dataset. In this paper, we propose various syllabic features by exploiting syllable-to-syllable relationships and investigate its effect on word polarity detection over a limited word corpus for Manipuri language (a resource-poor language spoken in Manipur, a state in North Eastern part of India). The extracted features are subjected to various classification frameworks. From various experimental observations, it is evident that syllable-to-syllable relationship based features outperform its word-to-word relationship based counterparts.
Maximizing a Record’s Standing in a Relation

Given a database table with records that can be ranked, an interesting problem is to identify selection conditions for the table, which are qualified by an input record and render its ranking as high as possible among the qualifying tuples. In this paper, we study this standing maximization problem, which finds application in object promotion and characterization. After showing the hardness of the problem, we propose greedy methods, which are experimentally shown to achieve high accuracy compared to exhaustive enumeration, while scaling very well to the problem input size. Our contributions include a linear-time algorithm for determining the optimal selection range for an ordinal attribute and techniques for choosing and prioritizing the most promising selection predicates to apply. Experiments on real datasets confirm the effectiveness and efficiency of our techniques.
Automated hand registration for patented finger crease pattern based biometrie recognition

Biometrics has wide applications in fields of automated identity authentication for insuring security and privacy of individuals or resources. Hand Geometry, Face, Iris, Fingerprint etc. are well-known biometric modalities. The presented research work reports two novel developments achieved over Image Pattern Based Biometric Technique, already patented by our organization, that authenticates the identity of individuals through their finger-crease patterns. These developments are: (1) Automated Hand Registration (AHR) to eliminate operator's intervention and resulting subjectivity during hand registrations. (2) Crease Based Compaction (CBC) of image patterns to obtain compact, but at the same time feature rich, biometric templates. These enhancements have been tested successfully on 300 hand images of 21 individuals. The achieved success rate of AHR is over 99%. Also the templates achieved through CBC are 19.2 % more compact and 14.7% richer in the density of knuckle creases as computed during the performance evaluation.
Taking Chances: The Effect of Growing Up on Welfare on the Risky Behavior of Young People

We analyze the effect of growing up on welfare on young people's involvement in a variety of social and health risks. Young people in welfare families are much more likely to take both social and health risks. Much of the apparent link between family welfare history and risk taking disappears, however, once we account for family structure and mothers' decisions regarding their own risk taking and investment in their children. Interestingly, we find no significant effect of socio-economic status per se. Overall, we find no evidence that growing up on welfare causes young people to engage in risky behavior.
Rheo-Dielectrics : Its Applicability

For a wide variety of systems, structures under flow have been investigated with rheo-optical techniques. It is of particular interest and importance to examine the flow effects on structures and dynamics with different techniques. A rheo-dielectric technique, that detects dynamic dielectric responses under flow, is complementary to rheo-optical techniques and provides us with a very useful method of investigating these effects. This article gives a brief review of rheo-dielectric features of some model systems revealed in recent studies to demonstrate the applicability of the rheo-dielectric technique.
CrossTree: A new HTC architecture with high reliability and scalability

HTC (high throughput computing) is a environment that can provide large amounts of processing capacity over long periods of time. To HTC, users are more concerned about how many jobs can be completed in a long period, but not how fast can a single job be finished. Condor, an implementation of HTC, is constructed by commodity CPUs and memory. As long as the Condor nodes are controlled by the Central Management Node, its reliability and scalability had been restricted. Based on the concept of DHT (distributed hash table), this paper presents a new distributed HTC architecture, named CrossTree, which has no central parts, and its metadata is distributed across all nodes in the system. Theoretical analysis and the simulation results proved CrossTree to be an efficient architecture with high scalability and reliability.
Constraining decaying dark matter with Fermi LAT gamma-rays

High energy electrons and positrons from decaying dark matter can produce a significant flux of gamma rays by inverse Compton off low energy photons in the interstellar radiation field. This possibility is inevitably related with the dark matter interpretation of the observed PAMELA and FERMI excesses. The aim of this paper is providing a simple and universal method to constrain dark matter models which produce electrons and positrons in their decay by using the Fermi LAT gamma-ray observations in the energy range between 0.5 GeV and 300 GeV. We provide a set of universal response functions that, once convolved with a specific dark matter model produce the desired constraints. Our response functions contain all the astrophysical inputs such as the electron propagation in the galaxy, the dark matter profile, the gamma-ray fluxes of known origin, and the Fermi LAT data. We study the uncertainties in the determination of the response functions and apply them to place constraints on some specific dark matter decay models that can well fit the positron and electron fluxes observed by PAMELA and Fermi LAT. To this end we also take into account prompt radiation from the dark matter decay. We find that with the available data decaying dark matter cannot be excluded as source of the PAMELA positron excess.
Evaluating the efficacy and safety of intravesical chemotherapies for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer: a network meta-analysis

Various intravesical therapies have been introduced into clinical practices for controlling non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). However, evidence with respect to the efficacy and safety of those intravesical therapies is very limited. Hence, we present a network meta-analysis in order to address this limitation in the current literature. The primary outcomes were the risk of tumor recurrence (TR), tumor progression (TP) and disease-specific mortality (DM). Secondary outcomes included the risk of fever, cystitis and haematuria. Conventional pair-wise and network meta-analysis were both performed for each endpoint. The surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) was incorporated in our analysis for ranking the corresponding intravesical instillation interventions. In total, 23 randomized clinical trials (RCTs) were finally included in our study after irrelevant papers were screened out. Results of network meta-analysis suggested that Epirubicin (EPI) was less preferable than Bacille Calmette Guerin (BCG), BCG+EPI, BCG+ Isoniazid (INH), BCG+ Mytomicin C (MMC), Gemcitabine (GEM) and MMC with respect to TR. As suggested by the corresponding ranking probabilities and SUCRA, incorporating EPI or MMC into BCG may enhance the efficacy of BCG monotherapy.
The EPA-based Utrecht undergraduate clinical curriculum: Development and implementation

Abstract Aim: As reports of the application of entrustable professional activities (EPAs) increase, not only for postgraduate but also for undergraduate medical education, there is a need for descriptions of what a UME curriculum with EPAs could look like. We provide such a description based on the experiences at University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands, which can be used as an example by other curriculum developers. Methods: In a three-year process, the UMC Utrecht Curriculum Committee developed a clinical workplace curriculum with an EPA structure, taking into account examples, such as the US Core EPAs for Entering Residency, and recommendations to integrate and increase the length of clerkships. Results: In the resulting curriculum, operational from 2016, students train to be trusted with indirect supervision before graduation in five broad EPAs: the clinical consultation; general medical procedures; informing, advising and guiding patients and families; communicating and collaborating with colleagues; and extraordinary patient care. Each of these integrates smaller (nested) EPAs that receive focused training attention in integrated clerkships at various moments and must be signed off for entrustment with indirect supervision to complete the clerkship. Discussion: The framework of EPAs went through many iterations before it was consolidated. Among the issues that required special attention was the application of a supervision levels scale for sign-off, the necessity to cover all relevant clinical content while not labeling too many small tasks each as a separate EPA, methods of EPA-focused assessment in the workplace and the creation of an e-portfolio model to serve assessment and entrustment.
The effects of exercise on muscle strength, body composition, physical functioning and the inflammatory profile of older adults: a systematic review

Purpose of review This systematic review reports the most recent literature regarding the effects of physical exercise on muscle strength, body composition, physical functioning and inflammation in older adults. All articles were assessed for methodological quality and where possible effect size was calculated. Recent findings Thirty-four articles were included – four involving frail, 24 healthy and five older adults with a specific disease. One reported on both frail and nonfrail patients. Several types of exercise were used: resistance training, aerobic training, combined resistance training and aerobic training and others. In frail older persons, moderate-to-large beneficial exercise effects were noted on inflammation, muscle strength and physical functioning. In healthy older persons, effects of resistance training (most frequently investigated) on inflammation or muscle strength can be influenced by the exercise modalities (intensity and rest interval between sets). Muscle strength seemed the most frequently used outcome measure, with moderate-to-large effects obtained regardless the exercise intervention studied. Similar effects were found in patients with specific diseases. Summary Exercise has moderate-to-large effects on muscle strength, body composition, physical functioning and inflammation in older adults. Future studies should focus on the influence of specific exercise modalities and target the frail population more.
T he Influence of Serotonergic Modulation on Auditory Evoked Potentials ; M ismatch Negativity a Potential Translational Assay in Schizophrenia Master Thesis

Schizophrenia is a serious mental condition affecting 0.7% of the world’s population. Schizophrenia leads to great disability and distress and is characterized by the presence of positive and negative symptoms, as well as cognitive deficits, which all affects the global functioning of the schizophrenic patient. The heterogeneity of the symptoms in schizophrenia and the complex pathophysiology hampers development of valid animal models and assays that address all the symptom clusters seen in schizophrenia. Recent translational research has focused on the advantages of using mismatch negativity (MMN), a translational neurophysiological endophenotype, in relation to schizophrenia. MMN may represent a unique tool in pharmacological testing since it is an objective parameter, more closely linked to neurobiological foundations of disease processes rather than symptomatology. MMN deficits have been reported to be relatively selective for schizophrenia compared to other neuropsychiatric disorders. Furthermore, in chronically ill schizophrenic patients the severity of MMN deficits correlates with the severity of negative symptoms. Deficits in MMN generation in schizophrenia persist following treatment with both typical and atypical antipsychotics. Interestingly, the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) escitalopram, which is frequently used in schizophrenia to treat depressive, cognitive or negative symptoms, significantly increases the MMN generation in healthy volunteers. The objective of the present thesis was to back-translate the interesting finding that increased serotonergic signaling mediated by escitalopram increases MMN amplitude in healthy volunteers. This was performed by investigating the effect of increased serotonergic activity by dosing escitalopram alone or in combination with 5-HT3 antagonist ondansetron in an auditory oddball paradigm in rats. Secondarily, a validation of loudness dependence of auditory evoked potentials (LDAEP), as marker of serotonergic activity in rats, was performed. Auditory evoked potentials (AEP) were recorded in hippocampus and parietal cortex of freely moving rats, when deviant tones were presented in a homogenous series of standard tones, to elicit a MMN-like response. Results showed that 3mg/kg escitalopram significantly increased the MMN-like response in rat hippocampus. However, no synergistic effect on MMN was obtained when dosing escitalopram in combination with ondansetron. In order to validate LDAEP as a marker of serotonergic activity, AEPs were recorded from hippocampus in freely moving rats, when presented to auditory stimuli with increasing intensity. Results indicated that it was not possible to use LDAEP as a valid marker of serotonergic activity in the hippocampus.