Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An effective approach using Eco-feedback to motivate energy conservation behaviors

In recent years, there are increasingly practitioners and researchers conducting human-computer interaction (HCI) projects that focused on sustainability. In particular, the art of visualization in HCI has been radically utilized to represent statistical numbers or figures of energy consumption, e.g. electricity, to create energy awareness and thus foster positive attitudes towards sustainable practices. However, it seems to be a major issue when users with different concerns and motivations to conserve energy provide a variety of feedback for generic information in research prototypes. To address this issue, several researches and critical surveys have been aiming to explore which factors influence most to users' energy conservation reactions. Based on those surveys, this paper attempts to provide a conclusion of most effective factors and then take advantage of those factors to design a prototype combining Eco-feedback and social media to motivate energy conservation behaviors.
Management of the Acute Exacerbation of Asthma

All patients with asthma are at risk of having asthma exacerbations characterized by worsening symptoms, airflow obstruction, and an increased requirement for rescue bronchodilators. The goals of managing an asthma exacerbation are prompt recognition and rapid reversal of airflow obstruction to avert relapses and future episodes. Short-acting beta-agonists, oxygen, and corticosteroids form the basis of management of acute asthma exacerbation, but a role is emerging for anticholinergics and newer agents such as levalbuterol and formoterol. Initiation or intensification of long-term controller therapy, treatment of comorbid conditions, avoidance of likely triggers, and timely follow-up care prevent setbacks. Acceptance of current treatment guidelines by physicians and adherence to the recommended clinical regimens by patients are essential for effective management of asthma. The physician should strive to establish a constructive relationship with the patient by addressing the patient's concerns, reaching agreement on the goals of therapy, and developing a written action plan for patient self-management.
Cytopathological findings on vaginal Papanicolaou smears after hysterectomy for benign gynecologic disease.

BACKGROUND Periodic, routine Papanicolaou smears of cells from the vagina are commonly examined in women who have undergone a hysterectomy for benign gynecologic disease. The benefits of this method of screening are not known. METHODS We analyzed Papanicolaou smears obtained from the vaginal apex (cuff) in 6265 women at Charity Hospital in New Orleans between January 1, 1992, and December 31, 1994. Of the 10,595 vaginal smears, an estimated 9610 were obtained during follow-up examinations of 5682 women who had undergone hysterectomy for benign gynecologic disease. RESULTS Among these 9610 vaginal smears, 104, from 79 women, were abnormal. The abnormal smears were categorized according to the findings, as follows: atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance, 52 (0.5 percent of all smears); low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion, 44 (0.5 percent); high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion, 6 (0.1 percent); and squamous-cell carcinoma, 2 (0.02 percent). In five women, biopsies revealed vaginal intraepithelial neoplasia type I or II; there were no biopsy-proved cases of vaginal cancer. The probability of an abnormal Papanicolaou smear in this group of women was 1.1 percent, and the positive predictive value of the Papanicolaou test for detecting vaginal cancer was 0 percent (95 percent confidence interval, 0 to 33 percent). CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of abnormal findings on cytopathological examination of vaginal Papanicolaou smears after hysterectomy for benign gynecologic disease is extremely low.
Coffee Production a Golden Opportunity for Rural Youth Employment

This brief provides evidence on the status-quo in the coffee value chain and reveals that over 68 percent of profit margins along the international raw coffee value chain are retained at the farm level – and therefore opportunities for youth employment in the coffee value chain lies at the production level. Nevertheless the challenge remains the limited ability for the youth to actively participate in the primary coffee production. The upstream coffee production is a domain of households headed by the persons in the prime aged 31 years and above, seemingly with secure access to land a key prerequisite given that coffee is a perennial crop. Therefore the concept of a new generation of young coffee farmers becomes more distant if issues regarding to access to land are not addressed. EPRC POLICY BRIEF
A Mixture-of-Normal Distribution Modeling Approach in Financial Econometrics: A Selected Review

This paper provides a selected review of the recent developments and applications of mixture-of-normal (MN) distribution models in financial econometrics. One noted feature of the MN model is its flexibility in accommodating various shapes of continuous distributions, and its ability in capturing leptokurtic, skewed and multimodal characteristics of financial time-series data. The survey is conducted under two broad themes: (i) estimation methods and (ii) applications to financial econometrics.
Enhance the Robustness to Time Dependent Variability of ReRAM-Based Neuromorphic Computing Systems with Regularization and 2R Synapse

Time Dependent Variability (TDV) is one of the major concerns in implementing a Neuromorphic Computing System (NCS) with Resistive Random Access Memory (ReRAM). In this work, we propose a variation-distribution aware training algorithm to enhance the robustness of NCS to TDV without incurring extra hardware overhead by leveraging algorithm-level regularization and hardware-level 2R synapse structure. Simulation results on image recognition tasks show that our method improves the system accuracy by up to ∼4% and ∼10% under the worst-case TDV condition for MNIST and CIFAR-10, respectively. Detailed analysis also shows that our method allows the NCS to use synapses with higher resistance than conventional design for the same accuracy requirement, introducing potential energy saving.
Rangeland management and animal production sustainability under arid and semi arid conditions : Egypt overview

Livestock fodder needs in nearly all developing countries now exceed the sustainable yield of rangelands and other forage resources. In Africa, overgrazing has reduced range productivity virtually everywhere. It is important to provide animals with adequate nutrition to ensure the high productive and reproductive performance. Meanwhile, it is necessary to avoid the deterioration of the pastureland from the grazing pressure; some procedures should be carried out to ensure the integration and balancing of the biosystem elements such as determining the suitable carrying capacity and stocking rate of the rangeland, use of suitable grazing system, multi species grazing, optimizing pasture utilization and supplemental feeding.
Clinical Applications of Transcranial Color‐Coded Duplex Sonography

Transcranial color‐coded duplex sonography (TCCS), in contrast to “blind” conventional transcranial Doppler sonography (TCD), enables a sonographer to outline the intracranial bony and parenchymal structures, visualize the basal cerebral arteries in color, and measure angle‐corrected blood flow velocities in a specific site of the artery in question. This makes measurements of flow velocity more valid than those obtained with conventional TCD. TCCS is becoming a reliable tool for detecting the occlusion and narrowing of major intracranial arterial trunks. TCCS can image the collateral flow through the anterior and posterior communicating arteries in patients with unilateral, high‐grade stenosis or occlusion of the extracranial internal carotid artery, without using potentially dangerous compression tests. Large and medium‐sized arteriovenous malformations can also be detected with TCCS. The rapid sonographic assessment of cerebral hemodynamics in a neurosurgical patient with increased intracranial pressure can guide further management. The use of sonographic contrast agents can increase the number of conclusive TCCS studies in patients with insufficient acoustic windows.
Neural drive to human genioglossus in obstructive sleep apnoea

One postulated mechanism for obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is insufficient drive to the upper‐airway musculature during sleep, with increased (compensatory) drive during wakefulness. This generates more electromyographic activity in upper airway muscles including genioglossus. To understand drives to upper airway muscles, we recorded single motor unit activity from genioglossus in male groups of control (n= 7, 7 ± 2 events h−1) and severe OSA (n= 9, 54 ± 4 events h−1) subjects. One hundred and seventy‐eight genioglossus units were recorded using monopolar electrodes. Subjects were awake, supine and breathing through a nasal mask. The distribution of the six types of motor unit activity in genioglossus (Inspiratory Phasic, Inspiratory Tonic, Expiratory Phasic, Expiratory Tonic, Tonic and Tonic Other) was identical in both groups. Single unit action potentials in OSA were larger in area (by 34%, P < 0.05) and longer in duration (by 23%, P < 0.05). Inspiratory units were recruited earlier in OSA than control subjects. In control subjects, Inspiratory Tonic units peaked earlier than Inspiratory Phasic units, while in OSA subjects, Inspiratory Tonic and Phasic units peaked simultaneously. Onset frequencies did not differ between groups, but the peak discharge frequency for Inspiratory Phasic units was higher in OSA (22 ± 1 Hz) than control subjects (19 ± 1 Hz, P= 0.003), but conversely, the peak discharge frequency of Inspiratory Tonic units was higher in control subjects (28 ± 1 Hz versus 25 ± 1 Hz, P < 0.05). Increased motor unit action potential area indicates that neurogenic changes have occurred in OSA. In addition, the differences in the timing and firing frequency of the inspiratory classes of genioglossus motor units indicate that the output of the hypoglossal nucleus may have changed.
Calcined Chitosan-Supported Layered Double Hydroxides: An Efficient and Recyclable Adsorbent for the Removal of Fluoride from an Aqueous Solution

In this work, calcined chitosan-supported layered double hydroxides (CSLDO) were synthesized through a co-precipitation method that restrained the particles’ aggregation of LDHs and exhibited huge specific surface areas, which can enhance the fluoride adsorption capacity. CSLDOs were characterized by physical and chemical methods and used for fluoride adsorption in an aqueous solution. The results indicated that the nanoparticles were constructed first and then assembled to form a porous and layered structure, and chitosan-supported layered double hydroxides (CSLDHs) calcined at 400 °C (CSLDO400) showed the highest specific surface area of 116.98 m2·g−1 and the largest pore volume of 0.411 cm3·g−1. CSLDO400 exhibited excellent adsorption performance at a wide pH range from 5 to 9 for fluoride. The adsorption kinetics indicated that the adsorption reached equilibrium after 120 min, and followed a pseudo-first-order model. It agreed well with the Langmuir isotherm with maximum adsorption amounts of 27.56 mg·g−1. The adsorption of fluoride ions was spontaneous and endothermic. Furthermore, CSLDO400 showed a high stability for fluoride removal; it could still achieve 68% removal for fluoride after repeating five times of adsorption–desorption cycles. This study demonstrated that CSLDO400 is a promising functional material to remove fluoride from surface/ground water.
Fully CMOS compatible 3D vertical RRAM with self-aligned self-selective cell enabling sub-5nm scaling

In low cost vertical resistive switching memory (VRRAM), the inter-layer leakage becomes a serious problem, primarily resulting from the ultimate scaling in the vertical dimension. In this work, for the first time, we present a novel approach of fabricating 3D VRRAM using self-aligned self-selective RRAM to effectively address such challenge. By successfully suppressing the inter-layer leakage, the scaling limit of VRRAM could be extended beyond 5 nm. Other benefits, such as high nonlinearity (>103), low power consumption (sub-μA), robust endurance and excellent disturbance immunity, were also demonstrated.
Thiopurine methyltransferase (TPMT) genotype and early treatment response to mercaptopurine in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

CONTEXT Early response to multiagent chemotherapy, including mercaptopurine, as measured by minimal residual disease is an important prognostic factor for children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Thiopurine methyltransferase (TPMT) is involved in the metabolism of mercaptopurine and subject to genetic polymorphism, with heterozygous individuals having intermediate and homozygous mutant individuals having very low TPMT activity. OBJECTIVE To assess the association of TPMT genotype with minimal residual disease load before and after treatment with mercaptopurine in the early treatment course of childhood ALL. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS TPMT genotyping of childhood ALL patients (n = 814) in Germany consecutively enrolled in the ALL-BFM (Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster) 2000 study from October 1999 to September 2002. Minimal residual disease was analyzed on treatment days 33 and 78 for risk-adapted treatment stratification. A 4-week cycle of mercaptopurine was administered between these 2 minimal residual disease measurements. Patients (n = 4) homozygous for a mutant TPMT allele, and consequently deficient in TPMT activity, were treated with reduced doses of mercaptopurine and, therefore, not included in the analyses. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Minimal residual disease load before (day 33) and after (day 78) mercaptopurine treatment. Loads smaller than 10(-4) were defined as negative. RESULTS Patients (n = 55) heterozygous for allelic variants of TPMT conferring lower enzyme activity had a significantly lower rate of minimal residual disease positivity (9.1%) compared with patients (n = 755) with homozygous wild-type alleles (22.8%) on day 78 (P = .02). This translated into a 2.9-fold reduction in risk for patients with wild-type heterozygous alleles (relative risk, 0.34; 95% confidence interval, 0.13-0.86). CONCLUSIONS TPMT genotype has a substantial impact on minimal residual disease after administration of mercaptopurine in the early course of childhood ALL, most likely through modulation of mercaptopurine dose intensity. Our findings support a role for minimal residual disease analyses in the assessment of genotype-phenotype associations in multiagent chemotherapeutic trials.
Effect of reciprocating agitation thermal processing (RA-TP) on quality of canned tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) puree.

BACKGROUND Reciprocating agitation thermal processing (RA-TP) is a recent innovation in the field of canning for obtaining high-quality canned food. The objective of this study was to compare RA-TP processing with conventional non-agitated (still) processing with respect to the impact on quality (color, antioxidant capacity, total phenols, carotenoid and lycopene contents) of canned tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) puree. RESULTS Owing to a 63-81% reduction in process times as compared with still processing, tomato puree with a brighter red color (closer to fresh) was obtained during RA-TP. At 3 Hz reciprocation frequency, the loss of antioxidant, lycopene and carotenoid contents could be reduced to 34, 8 and 8% respectively as compared with 96, 41 and 52% respectively during still processing. In fact, the phenolic content for RA-TP at 3 Hz was 5% higher than in fresh puree. Quality retention generally increased with an increase in frequency, although the differences were less significant at higher reciprocation frequencies (between 2 and 3 Hz). CONCLUSION Research findings indicate that RA-TP can be effective to obtain thermally processed foods with high-quality attribute retention. It can also be concluded that a very high reciprocation frequency (>3 Hz) is not necessarily needed and significant quality improvement can be obtained at lower frequencies (∼2 Hz). © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.
Changes in alcohol consumption: An analysis of self-reported use of alcohol in a Swedish national sample 1988—89 and 1996—97

Aim: To analyse factors associated with alcohol consumption, and how these changed over the period 1988—97, a period during which Sweden entered the European Union. Methods: Data were used from two waves (1988—89 and 1996—97) of the representative longitudinal micro-level ULF survey in Sweden to estimate a two-part model of consumption. Results: Experiencing financial stress, monthly salary, and not being married were all correlated with alcohol consumption, especially for males in 1988—89. In 1996—97 these correlations were much weaker, revealing a levelling-out trend towards conformity. The pattern was less clear for females. Further, the youngest age group (16—29 years) increased its consumption significantly more than the older age groups. Conclusion: There were significant changes in alcohol behaviour, especially for males, coinciding with Sweden joining the EU and preceding the very substantial general increase in consumption levels since 1998. This underlying process should be kept in mind when analysing the more recent trends. The results support the contention that alcohol policy should be a combination of measures targeting the whole population (e.g. via public health campaigns) with specific measures directed towards more vulnerable groups (e.g. young people).
Use of mental health and primary care services by caregivers of patients with bipolar disorder: a preliminary study.

OBJECTIVES Caring for a relative with schizophrenia or dementia has been associated with reports of caregiver burden, symptoms of anxiety, depression, poor self-rated health, and elevated health service use; however, comparable data for caregivers of relatives with bipolar disorder are lacking. This study reports preliminary data on the health, psychological distress and health service use of caregivers of patients with bipolar disorder. It additionally evaluates the relationship of the level of burden caregivers report experiencing to their use of health services, controlling for level of psychological distress and health status. METHODS Subjects were primary caregivers of 264 patients with Research Diagnostic Criteria-diagnosed bipolar disorder and their bipolar relatives. Caregiver mental health and primary care service use were assessed retrospectively for the 7-month period prior to inpatient or outpatient admission of the bipolar patient. Caregiver depression, anxiety, medical conditions and patient symptomatology were assessed as well. RESULTS Hierarchical logistic regression analysis demonstrated that caregiver burden significantly increased the likelihood of mental health service use (OR = 13.53, p < 0.001) even after controlling for caregiver psychological distress and medical conditions, while anxiety and depression level, but not burden, significantly increased the likelihood of primary care service use, controlling for other variables (OR = 1.72, p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS Burdens experienced by family caregivers appear to increase use of health services, and presumably cost, and may be reduced by psychosocial intervention.
[Antigen analysis of Toxoplasma gondii lysate and excretory-secretory materials by enzyme-linked immunoelectrotransfer blot (EITB)].

Recently, the importance of toxoplasmosis is raised as a complication in immunosuppressed or AIDS patients. Our study focused on the identification of a variety of Toxoplasma antigens by immunoblotting. Rabbits and BALB/c mice were immunized with Toxoplasma lysate (RH strain), frozen tachyzoites (RH strain) or cysts (Beverly and Fukaya strain). Blood were collected from ear vein, heart or orbital plexus for detecting the serum antibody levels. For excretory-secretory (E.S) antigens, T. gondii (RH) tachyzoite were cultured in CHL (Chinese hamster lung) cells with MEM containing of 5% FCS. After 72 hrs, culture supernatant was collected. BALB/c mice were inoculated with RH tachyzoite intraperitoneally and peritoneal fluids were extracted three days later. E.S antigens were detected in culture supernatant and infected mouse peritoneal fluid by EITB. Serum IgG levels in rabbit were 1:512 of 10 days after primary immunization, 1:2,048 of 10 days after secondary immunization, 1:1,024 of 20 days after secondary immunization by IFAT, respectively. Serum IgG levels of immunized mice were 1:128 after 7 weeks. Tachyzoite antigens of the RH strain were detected 25 protein bands ranging 10 kDa-220 kDa of molecular weights with Coomassie blue stain. Toxoplasma major antigens corresponding to MW of 24 kDa, 27 kDa, 30 kDa, 35 kDa, 38 kDa were recognized by IgG and IgM antibodies. Excretory-secretory antigens present in culture supernatant with M. W. of 20, 30 kDa and in infected mouse peritoneal fluid with M.W. of 33 (P30), 45 kDa. When RH tachyzoite antigen was probed with different mice sera immunized with 2 strains of T. gondii, the IgG antibody band of Fukaya and Beverly strain (8 week-serum) is identical to those of RH strain. It is considered that the 30 kDa polypeptide detected in excretory-secretory materials and lysate was important major antigen of T. gondii (RH).
Pancreatic pleural fistula due to a pancreatic cyst in a child: A case report

Pancreatic Pleural Fistula (PPF) is a rare complication of acute pancreatitis, chronic pancreatitis or pancreatic pseudocyst in adults. Pancreatic cysts have not been reported to cause PPF. PPF is excessively rare in children and the diagnosis is often delayed as a result of the misleading clinical presentation. We report a toddler suffering from recurrent bloody pleural effusion caused by PPF with a pancreatic cyst. Symptoms recurred frequently when he was given conservative therapy. He was finally cured by cyst jejunum Roux-y anastomosis because the cyst was intimately adherent to the surrounding structures. We recommend that pediatricians should not disregard PPF in patients with bloody pleural effusion even if there are no abdominal symptoms. Early surgical treatment should be considered when conservative treatment fails.
Vagus nerve stimulation for intractable seizures in children: the University of Puerto Rico experience.

OBJECTIVE Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is considered an alternative treatment for patients with medically refractory epilepsy who are not candidates for resective surgery. It consists of intermittent electrical stimulation of the left vagus nerve in the neck. Such stimulation has been demonstrated to be efficacious, safe, and well tolerated, offering these patients another option for seizure control. The aim of this study was to evaluate the experience of VNS at the University of Puerto Rico, and to examine demographic data, types of seizures, and seizure-control outcomes among treated subjects. This study is the first account of VNS in a pediatric population living in the Caribbean area. METHODS A retrospective analysis of 13 patients treated at the University Pediatric Hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico, was undertaken. Different types of seizures were identified and managed. RESULTS The mean age at implantation was 12 years; 77% of patients were female. The most common type of seizure treated was generalized tonic-clonic (24%), followed by complex partial (23%). Sixty-nine percent of patients demonstrated a reduction in monthly seizure frequency. Ninety-three percent of caregivers reported improvements in alertness and communication. CONCLUSION Vagus nerve stimulation is a safe and effective way to treat medically refractory epilepsy and should be considered as a non-pharmacological treatment for select patients with medically refractory epilepsy.