Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Meeting Community Health Worker Needs for Maternal Health Care Service Delivery Using Appropriate Mobile Technologies in Ethiopia

Background Mobile health applications are complex interventions that essentially require changes to the behavior of health care professionals who will use them and changes to systems or processes in delivery of care. Our aim has been to meet the technical needs of Health Extension Workers (HEWs) and midwives for maternal health using appropriate mobile technologies tools. Methods We have developed and evaluated a set of appropriate smartphone health applications using open source components, including a local language adapted data collection tool, health worker and manager user-friendly dashboard analytics and maternal-newborn protocols. This is an eighteen month follow-up of an ongoing observational research study in the northern of Ethiopia involving two districts, twenty HEWs, and twelve midwives. Results Most health workers rapidly learned how to use and became comfortable with the touch screen devices so only limited technical support was needed. Unrestricted use of smartphones generated a strong sense of ownership and empowerment among the health workers. Ownership of the phones was a strong motivator for the health workers, who recognised the value and usefulness of the devices, so took care to look after them. A low level of smartphones breakage (8.3%,3 from 36) and loss (2.7%) were reported. Each health worker made an average of 160 mins of voice calls and downloaded 27Mb of data per month, however, we found very low usage of short message service (less than 3 per month). Conclusions Although it is too early to show a direct link between mobile technologies and health outcomes, mobile technologies allow health managers to more quickly and reliably have access to data which can help identify where there issues in the service delivery. Achieving a strong sense of ownership and empowerment among health workers is a prerequisite for a successful introduction of any mobile health program.
A new method for stabilizing unstable periodic orbits of continuous-time systems. Application to control of chaos

This work presents a new method of stabilization for unstable periodic orbits of continuous-time dynamical systems. The principle of this method is to use feedback term based on the difference between the actual state value and the future state value computed along the trajectories of the uncontrolled system. To compute the value of the latter, an implicit Runge-Kutta ODE integration method is used, giving rise to a time-varying dynamical controller. The stability of the control method is defined in terms of the Floquet theory and the conditions for calculation of the monodromy matrix are presented. Numerical results are obtained using the forced Van der Pol oscillator as case study and the orthogonal collocation method as implicit Runge-Kutta method.
The psychology of feeling like a burden: A review of the literature

INTRODUCTION Media reports tell of the increasing global burden of an ageing population, both financially and in care provision (Conway, 2010). In the U.K. the debate on euthanasia and assisted suicide has become more prominent with some disabled, elderly and physically ill people making trips to the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland to end their lives. Baroness Warnock stated that frail elderly people should think about euthanasia so as not to financially burden their families (Templeton, 2004). This could suggest that to be dependent and in need of care is to be a burden. Those requiring help often say ‘I don’t want to be a burden’ and when receiving help some experience themselves as a burden (Angus & Reeve, 2006; Charmaz, 1991; Chochinov et al., 2007). This is of interest as most people will require help at some point in their lives and so potentially could feel this way. Groups such as the elderly, the disabled and the physically or mentally ill who may need help in order to survive could be especially vulnerable to experiencing this sense of being a burden to others. This review will ask what psychology has to say about feeling like a burden. It will examine the research available and explore the psychological and social consequences for individuals who feel this way. Psychology has been criticised in the past for individualising distress and for not exploring wider political and societal reasons for psychological problems (Hare-Mustin & Marecek, 1997); therefore, the review will also consider how a sense of burden is socially constructed and suggest ways of addressing the problem alongside areas for future study.
Competing for Land: The Relationship between Urban Development and Agriculture for Lancaster and Seward Counties

This study examined the development patterns in Lancaster and Seward Counties and their interaction with local agriculture. The Lincoln-Lancaster Planning Department approved a development plan through the year 2040, referred to as LPlan 2040. Data from the USDA Census and the Lincoln-Lancaster Planning Department was collected in Excel and used for multivariable regressions. Historical trends in development and factors of development were analyzed, and then compared to LPlan 2040. The factors of development include the value of farmland, the number of farms, and the population of Lincoln. The focus of the agricultural analysis was the change in farm size due to the connection between farm size and local food markets and environmental conditions. Factors of change in farm size that were examined include the value of farmland, the price of corn, and the cumulative area of Lincoln. Additionally, these trends in farm size were examined over time and projected to estimate the characteristics of agricultural production in 2040. The Lincoln-Lancaster Planning Department stated that the goal of LPlan 2040 was to reduce urban sprawl (2011). This is important because urban sprawl not only reduces natural spaces and agricultural land, but can generate hazardous environmental consequences. This study found that the planning department was successful at keeping the size of Lincoln in 2040 under the projected cumulative area based on the historical annual rate of development. Also, the size of farms in Lancaster and Seward Counties appears to be strongly bimodal by 2040. Moderately sized farms are projected to reach zero, while the majority of farms will be either under 140 acres or over 1,000 acres in 2040. This could have significant impacts for local food markets as well as environmental conditions in these counties.
Benefits of mineralized bone cortical allograft for immediate implant placement in extraction sites: an in vivo study in dogs

Purpose The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of using a mineralized bone cortical allograft (MBCA), with or without a resorbable collagenous membrane derived from bovine pericardium, on alveolar bone remodeling after immediate implant placement in a dog model. Methods Six mongrel dogs were included. The test and control sites were randomly selected. Four biradicular premolars were extracted from the mandible. In control sites, implants without an allograft or membrane were placed immediately in the fresh extraction sockets. In the test sites, an MBCA was placed to fill the gap between the bone socket wall and implant, with or without a resorbable collagenous membrane. Specimens were collected after 1 and 3 months. The amount of residual particles and new bone quality were evaluated by histomorphometry. Results Few residual graft particles were observed to be closely embedded in the new bone without any contact with the implant surface. The allograft combined with a resorbable collagen membrane limited the resorption of the buccal wall in height and width. The histological quality of the new bone was equivalent to that of the original bone. The MBCA improved the quality of new bone formation, with few residual particles observed at 3 months. Conclusions The preliminary results of this animal study indicate a real benefit in obtaining new bone as well as in enhancing osseointegration due to the high resorbability of cortical allograft particles, in comparison to the results of xenografts or other biomaterials (mineralized or demineralized cancellous allografts) that have been presented in the literature. Furthermore, the use of an MBCA combined with a collagen membrane in extraction and immediate implant placement limited the extent of post-extraction resorption.
Serum Cathepsin S Is Associated With Decreased Insulin Sensitivity and the Development of Type 2 Diabetes in a Community-Based Cohort of Elderly Men

OBJECTIVE To investigate associations between serum cathepsin S, impaired insulin sensitivity, defective insulin secretion, and diabetes risk in a community-based sample of elderly men without diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Serum cathepsin S, insulin sensitivity (euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp), and insulin secretion (early insulin response during an oral glucose tolerance test) were measured in 905 participants of the Uppsala Longitudinal Study of Adult Men (mean age, 71 years). Thirty participants developed diabetes during 6 years of follow-up. RESULTS After adjustment for age, anthropometric variables, and inflammatory markers, higher cathepsin S was associated with decreased insulin sensitivity (regression coefficient per SD increase −0.09 [95% CI −0.14 to −0.04], P = 0.001), but no association with early insulin response was found. Moreover, higher cathepsin S was associated with a higher risk for developing diabetes (odds ratio per SD increase 1.48 [1.08–2.01], P = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS Cathepsin S activity appears to be involved in the early dysregulation of glucose and insulin metabolism.
Beyond market liberalization: welfare, income generation and environmental sustainability in rural Madagascar.

Market liberalization and the agricultural marketing system conceptual framework, survey design, and sampling frame for household and community level analyses brief description of socioeconomic situation and changes in indicators of welfare modern input use in agriculture factor use and agricultural productivity marketed agricultural surplus nonagricultural and total incomes consumption expenditures nutritional status and caloric and protein consumption the critical triangle between environmental sustainability, economic growth and poverty alleviation summary.
An integrated, multistudy analysis of the safety of Ann Arbor strain live attenuated influenza vaccine in children aged 2–17 years

Please cite this paper as: Ambrose et al. (2011) An integrated, multistudy analysis of the safety of Ann Arbor strain live attenuated influenza vaccine in children aged 2–17 years. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses 5(6), 389–397.
Storage Infrastructure Behind Facebook Messages: Using HBase at Scale

Facebook Messages, which combines messages, chat and email into a real-time conversation, is the first application in Facebook to use HBase in production. In this article, we will discuss why we chose HBase for this use case, the early improvements we did to make HBase production ready, engineering and operational challenges encountered along the way, and the continued work we have had to do once in production, to improve HBase’s efficiency and reliability. We will also describe some of the other use cases of HBase at Facebook.
Modeling and performance analysis of ultra narrow band system for M2M

Ultra Narrow Band (UNB) has been shown to be one of the best candidate technologies for Machine-To-Machine and Low Power Wide Area communications. Its properties - long range with small RF power - make it naturally attractive for satellite communications, but also draw new challenges compared to terrestrial systems where this technology is already deployed. In this paper we propose a general semi-analytical model to evaluate the performance of a terrestrial or satellite system using UNB technology, taking into account the multiuser interference. This model is then used to assess the packet loss ratio and the throughput of a representative LEO satellite system for which Doppler effect introduces a frequency drift that has a significant impact on the UNB performances. With our model, we analyze the effect of frequency drift on the system performance.
Design space analysis as “training wheels” in a framework for learning user interface design

Learning about design is a central component in education for human-computer interaction. We have foimd Design Space Analysis to be a useful technique for students learning user interface design skills. In the FLUID tool described here, we have combined explicit instruction on design, worked case studies, and problem exercises for learners, yielding an interactive multimedia system to be incorporated into an HCI design course. FLUID is intended as a "training wheels" for learning user interface design. In this paper, we address the question of how this form of teaching might mediate and extend the learning process and we present our observations on Design Space Aniysis as a training wheels aid for learning user interface design.
PERSONALITY PROCESSES AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES Understanding and Assessing the Motivations of Volunteers: A Functional Approach

The authors applied functionalist theory to the question of the motivations underlying volunteerism, hypothesized 6 functions potentially served by volunteerism, and designed an instrument to assess these functions (Volunteer Functions Inventory; VFI). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses on diverse samples yielded factor solutions consistent with functionalist theorizing; each VFI motivation, loaded on a single factor, possessed substantial internal consistency and temporal stability and correlated only modestly with other VFI motivations (Studies 1, 2, and 3). Evidence for predictive validity is provided by a laboratory study in which VFI motivations predicted the persuasive appeal of messages better when message and motivation were matched than mismatched (Study 4), and by field studies in which the extent to which volunteers' experiences matched their motivations predicted satisfaction (Study 5) and future intentions (Study 6). Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Ceaser: Exploring the Monitoring Rules in the Time Dimension

In cloud environment, most failures would not strike at a sudden moment but evolve from a minor anomaly. During the evolving procedure, it may generate a series of events. But users can't specify exactly the event sequences of all the failures due the lack of time or knowledge. Automatically exploring the monitoring rules in time dimension can help users refine their rules and timely discover the failure. Based on these facts, we introduce our prototype: Ceaser. It analyzes the raw rules that user specified based on history event sequence, and try to refine them in the time dimension. Unlike pattern mining or event summarization, the rule refinement process is handled by a rule generator Ceaser-S and an extensible CEP engine Ceaser-E. The cooperation of these two can not only discover the event sequence pattern which one event happens after another, they can also explore the monitoring rules including the negative pattern or Kleeneclosure pattern and other user defined pattern.
Accurate Regression-based 4D Mitral Valve Segmentation from 2D MRI Slices

Cardiac MR (CMR) imaging is increasingly accepted as the gold standard for the evaluation of cardiac anatomy, function and mass. The multi-plan ability of CMR makes it a well suited modality for evaluation of the complex anatomy of the mitral valve (MV). However, the 2D slice-based acquisition paradigm of CMR limits the 4D capabilities for precise and accurate morphological and pathological analysis due to long through-put times and protracted study. In this paper we propose a new CMR protocol for acquiring MR images for 4D MV analysis. The proposed protocol is optimized regarding the number and spatial configuration of the 2D CMR slices. Furthermore, we present a learningbased framework for patient-specific 4D MV segmentation from 2D CMR slices (sparse data). The key idea with our Regression-based Surface Reconstruction (RSR) algorithm is the use of available MV models from other imaging modalities (CT, US) to train a dynamic regression model which will then be able to infer the incomplete information pertinent to CMR. Extensive experiments on 200 transesophageal echochardiographic (TEE) US and 20 cardiac CT sequences are performed to train the regression model and to define the CMR acquisition protocol. With the proposed acquisition protocol, stack of 6 parallel long-axis (LA) planes, we acquired CMR patient images and regressed 4D patient-specific MV model with an accuracy of 1.5 ± 0.2 mm and average speed of 1 sec per volume.
Models for Feature Descriptions and Interactions

The problem of feature interactions in telephone-and other software systems ((13]) has been identiied as being of great importance, but its solution remains elusive. In recent years, amongst others, several formal approaches have been tried, but the use of formal methods has met with limitations and even criticism. This criticism is discussed in more detail, and two modelling approaches, viz. Interworkings and Timed Frames are proposed that (partially) meet the objections. The models are illustrated with examples. The paper concludes with directions for future work.
Category Theory Approach to Fusion of Wavelet-Based Features

This paper discusses the application of category theory as a unifying concept for formally developed information fusion systems. Category theory is a mathematically sound technique used to capture the commonalties and relationships between objects. This feature makes category theory a very elegant language for describing information fusion systems and the information fusion process itself. After an initial overview of category theory, the paper investigates the application of category theory to a wavelet based multisensor target recognition system, the Automatic Multisensor Feature-based Recognition System (AMFRS), which was originally developed using formal methods.
A novel design of active cannula for MicroSurgery

This paper proposes a novel model of Active Cannula for Endonasal Surgery. Unlike conventional Active Cannula using concentric-tubes with pre-curvature and torsion in curved section, the novel model is likely the standard robot manipulator possessing rigid links and discrete joints. However, these tube-like links are inserted inside each other. With above characteristics, the proposed model allows the Active Cannula be easily controlled as the typical robot manipulator and well suit to minimally invasive surgery. The good results from analysis of the kinematics and working space of the proposed Active Cannula showed that this novel model is the promising design with significant advantages in contrast to typical concentric tube robots.
A Superconductive High-Resolution Time-to-Digital Converter

We are developing an ultra-high resolution time- to-digital converter (TDC) based on a novel scheme combining a digital "coarse" TDC and analog "fine" TDC. The coarse TDC is derived from a previously reported RSFQ time digitizer based on binary counters. The fine TDC is based on an analog prescaler. A 31 GHz counter defines the coarse (~32 ps) time resolution, while the prescaler provides a fine time resolution by measuring time within a clock period with 4 ps resolution.
How Economics Shapes Science

The beauty of science may be pure and eternal, but the practice of science costs money. And scientists, being human, respond to incentives and costs, in money and glory. Choosing a research topic, deciding what papers to write and where to publish them, sticking with a familiar area or going into something new--the payoff may be tenure or a job at a highly ranked university or a prestigious award or a bump in salary. The risk may be not getting any of that. At a time when science is seen as an engine of economic growth, Paula Stephan brings a keen understanding of the ongoing cost-benefit calculations made by individuals and institutions as they compete for resources and reputation. She shows how universities offload risks by increasing the percentage of non-tenure-track faculty, requiring tenured faculty to pay salaries from outside grants, and staffing labs with foreign workers on temporary visas. With funding tight, investigators pursue safe projects rather than less fundable ones with uncertain but potentially path-breaking outcomes. Career prospects in science are increasingly dismal for the young because of ever-lengthening apprenticeships, scarcity of permanent academic positions, and the difficulty of getting funded. Vivid, thorough, and bold, How Economics Shapes Science highlights the growing gap between the haves and have-nots--especially the vast imbalance between the biomedical sciences and physics/engineering--and offers a persuasive vision of a more productive, more creative research system that would lead and benefit the world.
Optimal Expediting Policies for a Serial Inventory System with Stochastic Lead Time and Visibility of Orders in Transit

Recent supply chains face higher volatility due to increased length and complexity. Cost pressure from severe competition drives industries to outsource its production to Asia, which in turn makes the supply chains long and complex. As a result, it is increasingly critical to manage supply chains actively to reduce uncertainty in delivery lead time and increase service rates. Often operating multiple delivery modes such as standard freight shipping and air is an effective way of addressing both delivery lead time uncertainty and service rates. We propose a model on how to operate multiple delivery modes in an optimal way and discuss a necessary order tracking system such as radio frequency identification as a prerequisite for expediting in a stochastic delivery lead time environment. We consider a serial supply chain and an expediting option from intermediate installations to the very downstream of the chain. The goods move stochastically among the installations and the system faces a stochastic demand. We identify systems that yield simple and tractable optimal policies, in which both regular ordering and expediting follow a variant of the base stock policy. We show that optimal expediting results in a significant reduction in the total logistics cost and the reduction increases as variability in delivery lead time increases. Furthermore, we show that expediting allows the system to be operated in a leaner way due to the reduced regular order amount and provide various managerial insights linking expediting, base stock levels, and expediting costs based on analytical and numerical analyses.
Biogenic Synthesis of AGNP's Using Pomelo Fruit - Characterization and Antimicrobial Activity against Gram +Ve and Gram -Ve Bacteria

In the last decade synthesis of silver nanoparticles has been a subject of a lot of study and numerous methods are being developed for synthesis of nanoparticles of various shapes and sizes. Various biosynthetic strategies are being developed to employ biological sources such as fungi, bacteria, viruses, actinomycetes, algae and plant extracts to catalyze specific reactions. The use of citrus fruit extract to synthesize silver nanoparticles is an exciting possibility that relatively unexplored and under exploited. In the present study, the cost effective and ecofriendly technique of green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using Pomelo fruit (Citrus maxima) extract was demonstrated. The reduction process was simple, rapid and convenient to handle. Primary detection (color change of solution) indicated the formation of silver nanoparticles and was monitored by UV –Vis Absorption Spectroscopy. Characterization of silver nanoparticles was analyzed with X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) and Particle Size Analysis (PSA). The antimicrobial activity of synthesized silver nanoparticles showed effective inhibitory activity against different multi-drug resistant human pathogens.