Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Long-Acting Reversible Contraception Uptake and Associated Factors among Women of Reproductive Age in Rural Kenya

In the last two decades, the use of short-acting methods of contraception has driven the increase of contraceptive use in Kenya. We assessed the factors associated with uptake of long-acting reversible contraception by women seeking family planning services in public health facilities in Kakamega County, Kenya. A mixed methods cross-sectional study through client exit surveys among 423 women seeking family planning services was done at 12 public health facilities in Kakamega County. Twelve in-depth interviews with health care providers from the study facilities further explored practices in provision of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC). Among women initiating contraceptive use, LARC method utilization was 20.6%. Women’s tertiary education level, Protestant Christian religion, age at first birth, and having no desire for more children were significantly associated with utilization of LARC. Structural factors including shortage of human resource, provider bias and lack of adequate skills on provision of services were identified as key barriers to uptake of long-acting reversible contraception services.
Design and Analysis of an APU for Exascale Computing

The challenges to push computing to exaflop levels are difficult given desired targets for memory capacity, memory bandwidth, power efficiency, reliability, and cost. This paper presents a vision for an architecture that can be used to construct exascale systems. We describe a conceptual Exascale Node Architecture (ENA), which is the computational building block for an exascale supercomputer. The ENA consists of an Exascale Heterogeneous Processor (EHP) coupled with an advanced memory system. The EHP provides a high-performance accelerated processing unit (CPU+GPU), in-package high-bandwidth 3D memory, and aggressive use of die-stacking and chiplet technologies to meet the requirements for exascale computing in a balanced manner. We present initial experimental analysis to demonstrate the promise of our approach, and we discuss remaining open research challenges for the community.
A Functional Wound Dressing as a Potential Treatment for Cutaneous Leishmaniasis

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is a parasitic disease characterized by progressive skin sores. Currently, treatments for CL are limited to parenteral administration of the drug, which presents severe adverse effects and low cure rates. Therefore, this study aimed to develop poly(vinyl-alcohol) (PVA) hydrogels containing Amphotericin B (AmB) intended for topical treatment of CL. Hydrogels were evaluated in vitro for their potential to eliminate promastigote forms of Leishmania spp. , to prevent secondary infections, to maintain appropriate healing conditions, and to offer suitable biocompatibility. AmB was incorporated into the system in its non-crystalline state, allowing it to swell more and faster than the system without the drug. Furthermore, the AmB release profile showed a continuous and controlled behavior following Higuchi´s kinetic model. AmB-loaded-PVA-hydrogels (PVA–AmB) also showed efficient antifungal and leishmanicidal activity, no cytotoxic potential for VERO cells, microbial impermeability and water vapor permeability compatible with the healthy skin’s physiological needs. Indeed, these results revealed the potential of PVA–AmB to prevent secondary infections and to maintain a favorable environment for the healing process. Hence, these results suggest that PVA–AmB could be a suitable and efficient new therapeutic approach for the topical treatment of CL.
Cancer Stem Cells in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Identification, Characterization and Clinical Implications

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is the sixth most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide. Despite advances in the treatment management, locally advanced disease has a poor prognosis, with a 5-year survival rate of approximately 50%. The growth of HNSCC is maintained by a population of cancer stem cells (CSCs) which possess unlimited self-renewal potential and induce tumor regrowth if not completely eliminated by therapy. The population of CSCs is not only a promising target for tumor treatment, but also an important biomarker to identify the patients at risk for therapeutic failure and disease progression. This review aims to provide an overview of the recent pre-clinical and clinical studies on the biology and potential therapeutic implications of HNSCC stem cells.
Phenotyping of Plant Biomass and Performance Traits Using Remote Sensing Techniques in Pea (Pisum sativum, L.)

Field pea cultivars are constantly improved through breeding programs to enhance biotic and abiotic stress tolerance and increase seed yield potential. In pea breeding, the Above Ground Biomass (AGBM) is assessed due to its influence on seed yield, canopy closure, and weed suppression. It is also the primary yield component for peas used as a cover crop and/or grazing. Measuring AGBM is destructive and labor-intensive process. Sensor-based phenotyping of such traits can greatly enhance crop breeding efficiency. In this research, high resolution RGB and multispectral images acquired with unmanned aerial systems were used to assess phenotypes in spring and winter pea breeding plots. The Green Red Vegetation Index (GRVI), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalized Difference Red Edge Index (NDRE), plot volume, canopy height, and canopy coverage were extracted from RGB and multispectral information at five imaging times (between 365 to 1948 accumulated degree days/ADD after 1 May) in four winter field pea experiments and at three imaging times (between 1231 to 1648 ADD) in one spring field pea experiment. The image features were compared to ground-truth data including AGBM, lodging, leaf type, days to 50% flowering, days to physiological maturity, number of the first reproductive node, and seed yield. In two of the winter pea experiments, a strong correlation between image features and seed yield was observed at 1268 ADD (flowering). An increase in correlation between image features with the phenological traits such as days to 50% flowering and days to physiological maturity was observed at about 1725 ADD in these winter pea experiments. In the spring pea experiment, the plot volume estimated from images was highly correlated with ground truth canopy height (r = 0.83) at 1231 ADD. In two other winter pea experiments and the spring pea experiment, the GRVI and NDVI features were significantly correlated with AGBM at flowering. When selected image features were used to develop a least absolute shrinkage and selection operator model for AGBM estimation, the correlation coefficient between the actual and predicted AGBM was 0.60 and 0.84 in the winter and spring pea experiments, respectively. A SPOT-6 satellite image (1.5 m resolution) was also evaluated for its applicability to assess biomass and seed yield. The image features extracted from satellite imagery showed significant correlation with seed yield in two winter field pea experiments, however, the trend was not consistent. In summary, the study supports the potential of using unmanned aerial system-based imaging techniques to estimate biomass and crop performance in pea breeding programs.
An Oracle: Antituberculosis Pharmacokinetics-Pharmacodynamics, Clinical Correlation, and Clinical Trial Simulations To Predict the Future

ABSTRACT Antimicrobial pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) science and clinical trial simulations have not been adequately applied to the design of doses and dose schedules of antituberculosis regimens because many researchers are skeptical about their clinical applicability. We compared findings of preclinical PK/PD studies of current first-line antituberculosis drugs to findings from several clinical publications that included microbiologic outcome and pharmacokinetic data or had a dose-scheduling design. Without exception, the antimicrobial PK/PD parameters linked to optimal effect were similar in preclinical models and in tuberculosis patients. Thus, exposure-effect relationships derived in the preclinical models can be used in the design of optimal antituberculosis doses, by incorporating population pharmacokinetics of the drugs and MIC distributions in Monte Carlo simulations. When this has been performed, doses and dose schedules of rifampin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, and moxifloxacin with the potential to shorten antituberculosis therapy have been identified. In addition, different susceptibility breakpoints than those in current use have been identified. These steps outline a more rational approach than that of current methods for designing regimens and predicting outcome so that both new and older antituberculosis agents can shorten therapy duration.
PaGeO: Pareto-based Genetic Optimization for LTE radio-over-fiber cellular backhauling

Radio-over-Fiber (RoF) emerges as a promising solution to achieve cost-effective radio-antennas backhauling. The limited dynamic range of analog optical transmission is known as one of the most penalizing limitations of analog RoF links. Thus, without a special care to RoF signal impairments, the wireless system capacity may be seriously degraded. In this paper, we propose an impairment-aware RoF-based cellular backhauling system called GeRoFAN aiming to preserve the capacity of the radio system while using efficiently the optical capacity. Supported by an analytical modeling of RoF physical impairments, we develop an evolutionary multi-objective heuristic called PaGeO (Pareto-based Genetic Optimization) exploiting the concept of Pareto optimization to determine the best backhauling strategy for the GeRoFAN control plane. We outline through numerical results that our impairment-aware backhauling solution computed by PaGeO, applied to LTE radio cellular system, outperforms alternative backhauling policies. We also highlight the impact of RF cellular planning on the tradeoff optimization achieved by PaGeO.
Distribution of Polysulfide in Human Biological Fluids and Their Association with Amylase and Sperm Activities

Intracellular polysulfide could regulate the redox balance via its anti-oxidant activity. However, the existence of polysulfide in biological fluids still remains unknown. Recently, we developed a quantitative analytical method for polysulfide and discovered that polysulfide exists in plasma and responds to oxidative stress. In this study, we confirmed the presence of polysulfide in other biological fluids, such as semen and nasal discharge. The levels of polysulfide in these biological fluids from healthy volunteers (n = 9) with identical characteristics were compared. Additionally, the circadian rhythm of plasma polysulfide was also investigated. The polysulfide levels detected from nasal discharge and seminal fluid were approximately 400 and 600 μM, respectively. No correlation could be found between plasma polysulfide and the polysulfide levels of tear, saliva, and nasal discharge. On the other hand, seminal polysulfide was positively correlated with plasma polysulfide, and almost all polysulfide contained in semen was found in seminal fluid. Intriguingly, saliva and seminal polysulfide strongly correlated with salivary amylase and sperm activities, respectively. These results provide a foundation for scientific breakthroughs in various research areas like infertility and the digestive system process.
Cow's milk versus soy‐based formula in mild and moderate diarrhea: a randomized, controlled trial

We determined the efficacy of a soy‐based formula compared with a cow's milk formula in infant re‐feeding after acute diarrhea in a randomized controlled double‐blind clinical trial. Infants 2–12 months of age with diarrhea of less than one week's duration and mild or moderate dehydration admitted to a pediatric hospital or in the practice of a participating primary care pediatrician were investigated. Seventy‐six patients were enrolled and 73 completed the study; 39 infants received a soy‐based formula (Isomil) and 34 received a cow's milk formula (SMA). Hospitalized patients were rehydrated with an oral glucose‐electrolyte solution or an iv dextrose‐sodium solution. Outpatients received oral glucose‐electrolyte solution. In all patients, the study formula was commenced ad libitum during the first 24 h as determined by the attending pediatrician. The primary outcome measure was duration of diarrhea, defined as time to first normal stool, when subsequent stools were normal for a 24‐h period. In addition, a predetermined secondary outcome was proportion of treatment failures, defined as the need to reinstitute clear fluids because of emesis, refusal to accept study formula, need for iv fluids due to negative fluid balance or diarrhea persisting beyond 7 days after enrollment. Total duration of diarrhea was significantly longer (p= 0.03) in those receiving cow's milk (mean±SD 6.6 ± 4.2 days) than in those receiving soy‐based formula (4.5 ± 3.6 days). Volume of formula intake and weight gain at 14 days were not different in the two groups. There were 18 treatment failures in the cow's milk formula recipients and 13 failures in the soy formula recipients (p= 0.08). Soy‐based formula significantly shortened the duaration of acute diarrhea in well nourished infants compared with cow's milk formula.
Modifications of Polymeric Membranes Used in Guided Tissue and Bone Regeneration

Guided tissue/bone regeneration (GTR/GBR) is a widely used procedure in contemporary dentistry. To achieve the required results of tissue regeneration, soft tissues that reproduce quickly are separated from the slow-growing bone tissue by membranes. Many types of membranes are currently in use, but none of them fulfil all of the desired features. To address this issue, further research on developing new membranes with better separation characteristics, such as membrane modification, is needed. Many of the current innovative modified materials are still in the phase of in vitro and experimental studies. A collective review on new trends in membrane modification to GTR/GBR is needed due to the widespread use of polymeric membranes and the constant development in the field of dentistry. Therefore, the aim of this review was to present an overview of polymeric membrane modifications to the GTR/GBR reported in the literature. The authors searched databases, including PubMed, SCOPUS, Web of Science, and OVID, for relevant studies that were published during 1999–2019. The following keywords were used: guided tissue regeneration, membranes, coating, and modification. A total of 17 papers were included in this review. Furthermore, the articles were divided into three groups that were based on the type of membrane modification: antibiotic coating, ion-use modifications, and others modifications, thus providing an overview of current existing knowledge in the field and encouraging further research. The results of included studies on modified barrier membranes seem to be promising, both in terms of safety and benefits for patients. However, modifications result in a large spectrum of effects. Further clinical studies are needed on a large group of patients to clearly confirm the effects that were observed in animal and in vitro studies.
MicroRNA Dysregulation in Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) is the second most frequent cancer in humans and it can be locally invasive and metastatic to distant sites. MicroRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) are endogenous, small, non-coding RNAs of 19–25 nucleotides in length, that are involved in regulating gene expression at a post-transcriptional level. MicroRNAs have been implicated in diverse biological functions and diseases. In cancer, miRNAs can proceed either as oncogenic miRNAs (onco-miRs) or as tumor suppressor miRNAs (oncosuppressor-miRs), depending on the pathway in which they are involved. Dysregulation of miRNA expression has been shown in most of the tumors evaluated. MiRNA dysregulation is known to be involved in the development of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC). In this review, we focus on the recent evidence about the role of miRNAs in the development of CSCC and in the prognosis of this form of skin cancer.
Cytolytic Perforin as an Adjuvant to Enhance the Immunogenicity of DNA Vaccines

DNA vaccines present one of the most cost-effective platforms to develop global vaccines, which have been tested for nearly three decades in preclinical and clinical settings with some success in the clinic. However, one of the major challenges for the development of DNA vaccines is their poor immunogenicity in humans, which has led to refinements in DNA delivery, dosage in prime/boost regimens and the inclusion of adjuvants to enhance their immunogenicity. In this review, we focus on adjuvants that can enhance the immunogenicity of DNA encoded antigens and highlight the development of a novel cytolytic DNA platform encoding a truncated mouse perforin. The application of this innovative DNA technology has considerable potential in the development of effective vaccines.
Two Is Better than One: Dual SEC11 Binding Sites Regulate SYP121–Mediated Vesicle Trafficking

Vesicle trafficking is indispensable, playing critical roles in plant growth, development, and stress responses, and trafficking to the plasma membrane is an important contributor to cell expansion and cell wall remodeling (for review, see [Lipka et al., 2007][1]; [Grefen and Blatt, 2008][2]).
Human (Homo sapiens) and baboon (Papio papio) chimeric face processing: right-hemisphere involvement.

[Correction Notice: An Erratum for this article was reported in Vol 127(3) of Journal of Comparative Psychology (see record 2013-30238-001). In the article, the link to the supplemental material was not included. Supplemental material for this article is available at: http://dx.doi. org/10.1037/a0031494.supp. ] The perception and production of facial expressions have traditionally been used to infer hemispheric specialization for emotions in both human and nonhuman primates. The authors examined orofacial asymmetries in Olive baboons using 2 methodologies. First, objective measures were used to assess hemimouth length and area for screeching and eyebrow-raising. Right-hemisphere specialization was found only for screeching. Second, subjective measures were acquired via a human judgment of the emotional intensity of baboons' chimeric faces for the 2 previous emotional behaviors plus a neutral expression. They also addressed the question of hemispheric lateralization for emotions in human judges by using a chimeric task with human faces. The left-composite chimeric faces of baboons and the human chimeric faces were judged to be emotionally stronger than the right ones for the emotional behaviors, and no preference was found for the neutral non emotional category. Human participants, especially those who displayed a left-hemisphere specialization for processing emotions, demonstrated higher ability to distinguish the most emotionally communicative signals in baboons' facial expressions than right-hemispheric dominant participants. These results are discussed within the theoretical framework of the human and the nonhuman primate literature on hemispheric specialization for perception and production of facial expressions of emotions.
Ultramicroscopic changes of rats parathyroid glands and thymus after single administration of cyclophosphamide at the different periods of observation.

OBJECTIVE Introduction: Cyclophosphamide has wide spectrum usage as first-line drug in cancer chemotherapy that is why a detailed study of its effect on individual cell populations is of great interest for science and practice. The interaction of the nervous, immune and endocrine systems plays essential role in the homeostasis maintaining. The aim: This study aimed to investigate the ultramicroscopic changes that occur in the parathyroid glands and thymus of male rats after cyclophosphamide administration. PATIENTS AND METHODS Materials and methods: Twenty-four WAG matured male rats were divided randomly into two groups. The first group served as control and was provided 0.9% soluble sodium chloride. The second group received cyclophosphamide in a dosage 200 mg/kg of body weight of animal by intramuscular single injection. All animals were sacrificed on the 7th and 30th day after injection. Parathyroid gland and thymus specimens were dissected out and processed for electron microscopy. RESULTS Results: The results showed that cyclophosphamide exposure caused marked ultramicroscopic changes in rats parathyroid glands and thymus. On the 7th day after immunosuppression, the nuclei of parathyrocytes have deep wavy invaginations, amount of the organelles that participate in the protein synthesis is reduced to a minimum in the cytoplasm of the chief cells. Characteristic feature is the appearance of numerous plasma cells and active macrophages in thymus. There is a tendency to normalization of the parathyroid structure on the 30th day after administration of cyclophosphamide and reduction of mitotic activity of lymphocytes in thymus, which points to the development of involution process. CONCLUSION Conclusions: This data can be successfully extrapolated from experimental animals to humans.
Knowledge-Based Adaptive Assessment in a Web-Based Intelligent Educational System

In this paper, we present an adaptive and intelligent Web-based educational system that uses AI techniques for personalized assessment of the learners. More specifically, we focus on a mechanism for on-line creation of a user-adapted test, which can be used alongside the predetermined test. The user can ask for such a test any time he/she is willing to do so, even if he/she has not studied all predetermined concepts of a learning goal. A small rule base is used by an expert system inference engine for making decisions on the difficulty level of the exercises to be included in the test. This is based on the evaluation of the learner during concept studying. Adaptive assessment of the learner can be repeatedly used until there is no further need. Another small rule-base is used for deciding on whether a new test is suggested or not. This is based on the learner's previous test assessment results. Preliminary experimental results show that the users need less time to study a learning goal when using the adaptive assessment capability of the system