Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Educating students with disabilities in Nigeria: Some challenges and policy implications

The Nigerian society, like every other one, is composed of individuals with and without one form of disabilities or the other. Those with disabilities deviate from average physical, sociopsychological and mental behaviours to such extent that they cannot profitably benefit from regular educational programmes. However, educating students with disabilities in Nigeria is not without some challenges. Thus, this paper examines challenges and policy implications for the education of students with disabilities. It first discusses the concept of special education, before focusing on the meaning and classifications of students with disabilities. Eight types of students with disabilities were identified in the paper, while two strategies for the education of students with disabilities, namely the inclusion and the exclusion, were brought to the fore. Some of the challenges highlighted are inadequacy of educational funding, high cost of educational materials and equipment, lack of specialists and para-professionals among others. Policy implications discussed include admission policy, employment policy, architectural design policy and so on. The paper finally recommends inter alia that the Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo be upgraded to a full-fledged University, the creation of more Departments of Special Education in the nation’s Universities, the creation of the Ministry of Disabled Affairs/National Commission for People with Disabilities, and the setting up of Special Students Bursary/Scholarship Awards
Environmental analysis as a competitive strategic imperative by Barclays Bank of Kenya

The banking sector in Kenya plays a pivotal role in the economy. The rapidly changing environment is especially pronounced in this sector. This state of affairs compelled the researcher to conduct this study on environmental analysis as a competitive strategic imperative by Barclays Bank of Kenya. The data was collected from senior staff of the Bank through personal interviews. These interviews were facilitated by an interview guide covering general information about Barclays Bank, strategic changes, challenges of strategic changes, responses to strategic challenges and respondent’s suggestions. The findings of the study are presented in tables containing frequencies, means and percentages. The findings of the study indicate the Bank has succeeded in adoption of its strategies by aligning strategies to the structure, adequate resource allocation to projects, ensuring of supportive policies and staff commitment. However, the shortcomings were identified as poor time management, poor communication of strategy to staff, responsibilities not being well defined. Based on the findings it may be recommended that Barclays Bank should not only concentrate on targeting new customers but also emphasize on developing extensive distribution channels in order to gain a competitive edge in the market. The study should also be of importance to other commercial banks and financial institutions whose responsibilities include strategic responses and adoption. Barclays Bank management should change their perception on cost leadership, market share leadership and technology leadership in order to take advantage of the industry growth.
Particulate matter concentration mapping from MODIS satellite data: a Vietnamese case study

Particulate Matter (PM) pollution is one of the most important air quality concerns in Vietnam. In this study, we integrate ground-based measurements, meteorological and satellite data to map temporal PM concentrations at a 10 × 10 km grid for the entire of Vietnam. We specifically used MODIS Aqua and Terra data and developed statistically-significant regression models to map and extend the ground-based PM concentrations. We validated our models over diverse geographic provinces i.e., North East, Red River Delta, North Central Coast and South Central Coast in Vietnam. Validation suggested good results for satellite-derived PM2.5 data compared to ground-based PM2.5 (n = 285, r2 = 0.411, RMSE = 20.299 μg m−3 and RE = 39.789%). Further, validation of satellite-derived PM2.5 on two independent datasets for North East and South Central Coast suggested similar results (n = 40, r2 = 0.455, RMSE = 21.512 μg m−3, RE = 45.236% and n = 45, r2 = 0.444, RMSE = 8.551 μg m−3, RE = 46.446% respectively). Also, our satellite-derived PM2.5 maps were able to replicate seasonal and spatial trends of ground-based measurements in four different regions. Our results highlight the potential use of MODIS datasets for PM estimation at a regional scale in Vietnam. However, model limitation in capturing maximal or minimal PM2.5 peaks needs further investigations on ground data, atmospheric conditions and physical aspects.
Reduction in the incidence of shivering with perioperative dexmedetomidine: A randomized prospective study

Background and Aims: Shivering is distressing to the patient and discomforting to the attending anesthesiologist, with a varying degree of success. Various drugs and regimens have been employed to abolish the occurrence of shivering. The present study aims to explore the effectiveness of dexmedetomidine in suppressing the postanesthetic shivering in patients undergoing general anesthesia. Materials and Methods: The present study was carried out on 80 patients, in American Society of Anesthesiologists I and II, aged 22–59 years, who underwent general anesthesia for laparoscopic surgical procedures. Patients were allocated randomly into two groups: group N (n = 40) and group D (n = 40). Group D were administered 1 μg/kg of dexmedetomidine intravenously, while group N received similar volume of saline during peri-op period. Cardiorespiratory parameters were observed and recorded during the preop, intraop, and postop periods. Any incidence of postop shivering was observed and recorded as per 4 point scale. Side effects were also observed, recorded, and treated symptomatically. Statistical analysis was carried out using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 15.0 for windows and employing ANOVA and chi-square test with post-hoc comparisons with Bonferroni's correction. Results: The two groups were comparable regarding demographic profile (P > 0.05). Incidence of shivering in group N was 42.5%, which was statistically highly significant (P = 0.014). Heart rate and mean arterial pressure also showed significant variation clinically and statistically in group D patients during the postop period (P = 0.008 and 0.012). A high incidence of sedation (P = 0.000) and dry mouth (P = 0.000) was observed in group D, whereas the incidence of nausea and vomiting was higher in group N (P = 0.011 and 0.034). Conclusions: Dexmedetomidine seems to possess antishivering properties and was found to reduce the occurrence of shivering in patients undergoing general anesthesia.
MRI assessment of pacing induced ventricular dyssynchrony in an isolated human heart

This study demonstrates the capabilities of MRI in the assessment of cardiac pacing induced ventricular dyssynchrony, and the findings support the need for employing more physiological pacing. A human donor heart deemed non‐viable for transplantation, was reanimated using an MR compatible, four‐chamber working perfusion system. The heart was imaged using a 1.5T MR scanner while being paced from the right ventricular apex (RVA) via an epicardial placed lead. Four‐chamber, short‐axis, and tagged short‐axis cines were acquired in order to track wall motion and intramyocardial strain during pacing. The results of this study revealed that the activation patterns of the left ventricle (LV) during RVA pacing demonstrated intraventricular dyssynchrony; as the left ventricular mechanical activation proceeded from the septum and anterior wall to the lateral wall, with the posterior wall being activated last. As such, the time difference to peak contraction between the septum and lateral wall was ∼125 msec. Likewise, interventricular dyssynchrony was demonstrated from the four‐chamber cine as the time difference between the peak LV and RV free wall motion was 180 msec. With the ongoing development of MR safe and MR compatible pacing systems, we can expect MRI to be added to the list of imaging modalities used to optimize cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) and/or alternate site pacing. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2010; 31: 466–469. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
International trial of the Edmonton protocol for islet transplantation.

BACKGROUND Islet transplantation offers the potential to improve glycemic control in a subgroup of patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus who are disabled by refractory hypoglycemia. We conducted an international, multicenter trial to explore the feasibility and reproducibility of islet transplantation with the use of a single common protocol (the Edmonton protocol). METHODS We enrolled 36 subjects with type 1 diabetes mellitus, who underwent islet transplantation at nine international sites. Islets were prepared from pancreases of deceased donors and were transplanted within 2 hours after purification, without culture. The primary end point was defined as insulin independence with adequate glycemic control 1 year after the final transplantation. RESULTS Of the 36 subjects, 16 (44%) met the primary end point, 10 (28%) had partial function, and 10 (28%) had complete graft loss 1 year after the final transplantation. A total of 21 subjects (58%) attained insulin independence with good glycemic control at any point throughout the trial. Of these subjects, 16 (76%) required insulin again at 2 years; 5 of the 16 subjects who reached the primary end point (31%) remained insulin-independent at 2 years. CONCLUSIONS Islet transplantation with the use of the Edmonton protocol can successfully restore long-term endogenous insulin production and glycemic stability in subjects with type 1 diabetes mellitus and unstable control, but insulin independence is usually not sustainable. Persistent islet function even without insulin independence provides both protection from severe hypoglycemia and improved levels of glycated hemoglobin. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00014911 [ClinicalTrials.gov].).
The need for Shariah harmonization in financial reporting standardization: The case of Indonesia

Purpose - – This study aims to analyze IFIs’ stakeholders’ perception on Shariah harmonization for financial reporting standards inIndonesia as a part of the development effort of linking the emerging global Islamic banking to Indonesian financial and industrial markets. Design/methodology/approach - – A sample of 160 respondents, who were stakeholders of Islamic banks, was taken from Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia and its surrounding major districts to examine the stakeholders’ perception on Shariah harmonization effort toward the implementation of a uniformed financial reporting standard for Islamic financial institutions. Data for this study were collected using a structured questionnaire. Findings - – Through this study, the authors found several measures to be taken to ensure Shariah harmonization efforts in Indonesia such as deep understanding on the Research limitations/implications - – The study is only looking at one case study, which is Indonesia. Therefore, future studies should consider more countries and significant number of respondents. Different research instruments to measure the perception can also be an interesting research exploration. In addition, adopting deep Islamic political economy of accounting theory may support better analysis on the issue of financial reporting standardization for Islamic financial institutions. Originality/value - – This paper has practical significance for financial reporting standard setters for Islamic banks and policy-makers to understand the key behavioral and demographical dimensions of their stakeholders and using these dimensions to effectively position important aspects in financial reporting standards setting.
Reducing Fragmentation via Exploiting Backup History and Cache Knowledge Granting Security

Duplicate chunks are eliminated between multiple backups, the chunks of a backup unfortunately become physically scattered in different containers, which is known as fragmentation in backup systems. We observe that the fragmentation comes in two categories of containers: sparse containers and out-of-order containers, which have different negative impacts and require dedicated solutions. During a restore, a majority of chunks in a sparse container are never accessed, and the chunks in an out-of-order container are accessed intermittently. Both of them hurt the restore performance. Increasing the restore cache size alleviates the negative impacts of out-of-order containers, but it is ineffective for sparse containers because they directly amplify read operations. Additionally, the merging operation is required to reclaim sparse containers in the garbage collection after users delete backups. In order to reduce the fragmentation, we propose History-Aware Rewriting algorithm (HAR) and Cache-Aware Filter (CAF). HAR exploits historical information in backup systems to accurately identify and reduce sparse containers, and CAF exploits restore cache knowledge to identify the out-of-order containers that hurt restore performance. To reduce the metadata overhead of the garbage collection, we further propose a Container-Marker Algorithm (CMA) to identify valid containers instead of valid chunks. Although data deduplication brings a lot of benefits, security and privacy concerns arise as users’ sensitive data are susceptible to both insider and outsider attacks.
Modulatory effects of several herbal extracts on avian peripheral blood cell immune responses

Standardized ethanol extracts of Allium sativum (garlic), Glycyrrhiza glabra (licorice), Plantago major (plantain) and Hippophae rhamnoides (sea buckthorn) were assessed for their effects on cellular immunity in laying hens. Birds (n = 25) had blood samples taken and both specific and non‐specific immune cell responsiveness were evaluated by a leukocyte proliferation assay, carbon clearance test and SRBC phagocytosis in monocyte‐derived macrophage cultures. Licorice and sea buckthorn (50 µg/mL) clearly enhanced the macrophage membrane function (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively). Dual effects on circulating phagocytes were revealed for plantain and sea buckthorn, while garlic at 200 µg/mL impaired the phagocytic capacity of blood cells. None of the tested extracts showed mitogenic properties, but high concentrations of sea buckthorn (400 µg/mL) inhibited leukocyte proliferation. Small concentrations (20 µg/mL) of licorice proved the co‐mitogenic potential for both T and B avian lymphocytes (p < 0.05). Certain extracts definitely enhanced the fowl innate and/or specific cell immunity and may therefore improve host resistance in poultry. Considering the chicken as an important non‐mammalian model that also serves as an available laboratory approach for some human diseases, herbs exerting immunomodulatory properties may find relevant clinical applications. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Epidemiology of human sapporo‐like caliciviruses in the South West of England: Molecular characterisation of a genetically distinct isolate *

Human enteric caliciviruses have been assigned to two distinct genera: the Norwalk‐like viruses (NLVs) and the Sapporo‐like viruses (SLVs). During a 3‐year surveillance of gastroenteritis in the South West of England during November 1997–2000, a total of 27 clinical samples containing SLVs were collected. PCR amplicons covering a region of the RNA polymerase gene were obtained from 18 of the SLV samples. Sequence analysis of the PCR products indicated that the SLV isolates could be assigned to one of the two major genetic groups represented by Sapporo and London/92 caliciviruses. One of these isolates belonging to the London/92 group (Bristol/98) was subjected to a complete genome sequence analysis. The full genomic sequence of the Bristol/98 isolate was determined from RNA extracted from a single stool sample and consists of 7490 nucleotides, excluding the poly(A) tail. The genome is organised into two open reading frames (ORFs), similar to that of Manchester SLV although the small ORF overlapping the region encoding the capsid protein observed in Manchester SLV is absent in Bristol/98 SLV. The polyprotein (ORF1) of Bristol/98 SLV consists of 2,280 amino acids and, as observed in all SLVs, the structural protein is encoded in frame and contiguous with the 3′ terminus of the ORF1. Phylogenetic studies based on complete capsid sequences and genome arrangements within the SLVs indicate that the human enteric viruses within the “Sapporo‐like” virus clade should be divided into two distinct genetic groups analogous to the assignment of the Norwalk‐like viruses. J. Med. Virol. 67:282–288, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Analysis of Retinal Vasculature Using a Multiresolution Hermite Model

This paper presents a vascular representation and segmentation algorithm based on a multiresolution Hermite model (MHM). A two-dimensional Hermite function intensity model is developed which models blood vessel profiles in a quad-tree structure over a range of spatial resolutions. The use of a multiresolution representation simplifies the image modeling and allows for a robust analysis by combining information across scales. Estimation over scale also reduces the overall computational complexity. As well as using MHM for vessel labelling, the local image modeling can accurately represent vessel directions, widths, amplitudes, and branch points which readily enable the global topology to be inferred. An expectation-maximization (EM) type of optimization scheme is used to estimate local model parameters and an information theoretic test is then applied to select the most appropriate scale/feature model for each region of the image. In the final stage, Bayesian stochastic inference is employed for linking the local features to obtain a description of the global vascular structure. After a detailed description and analysis of MHM, experimental results on two standard retinal databases are given that demonstrate its comparative performance. These show MHM to perform comparably with other retinal vessel labelling methods
Soil ecotoxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in relation to soil sorption, lipophilicity, and water solubility.

A data set was generated aiming to predict the toxicity of PAHs to soil organisms. Toxicity data include the effects of 16 PAHs on the survival and reproduction of the soil-dwelling springtail Folsomia fimetaria. The results show that only PAHs with reported log Kow values < or = 5.2 (i.e., naphthalene, acenaphthene, acenaphthylene, anthracene, phenanthrene, fluorene, pyrene, and fluoranthene) significantly affected the survival or reproduction of the test organisms. Threshold values for the toxicity of the individual PAHs could be expressed as pore-water concentrations by the use of reported organic carbon-normalized soil-pore-water partitioning coefficients (Koc values). For the PAHs with a log Kow < or = 5.2, toxicity significantly increased with increasing lipophilicity of the substances (r2 = 0.67; p = 0.012; n = 8), suggesting a narcotic mode of toxic action for most substances. However, the position of anthracene in the regression plot indicated a more specific mode of toxic action than narcosis, and removing this data point yielded the following regression equation: log EC10 (micromol/L) = -0.97 log Kow + 4.0 (r2 = 0.80; p = 0.006; n = 7). Using this quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) to calculate threshold values for the toxicity of the remaining nontoxic substances (benz[a]anthracene, chrysene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, dibenz[a,h]anthracene, benzo[a]pyrene, perylene, and indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene), the absence of toxicity could, in most cases, be explained by a limited water solubility, indicating that these substances do act by narcosis as the mode of toxic action and that their toxicity is governed by concentrations in the pore-water. The results provide important input to future model predictions of the ecological risk posed by PAH contaminated sites.
Predicting Student Blood Pressure by Support Vector Machine Using Facebook

Predicting human blood pressure (B.P) is an important aspect of primary emotion using Facebook has not yet been investigated. Primary emotions help a person to express her/his feelings, thoughts and understanding the importance of social connections using Facebook. Facebook contribute rich environment of primary emotion and famous social site having collection of information that concerned with primary emotions. The well-known machine learning approaches have known as novel methods for doing prediction using SNS. Support Vector Machine (SVM) has recently been a strong machine learning and data mining tool. Our article, it is used to predict human BP. The dataset contain primary emotion and blood pressure that are collected using Facebook post that consists of formal text from come forward of hanyang university student. Current human B.P and those belonging up to six previous primary emotions and B.P values with respect to human emotion are given as input variables, while the blood pressure used as output parameter. The outcome shows that SVM can be prosperously applied for prediction of B.P through primary emotion. On the contrary, validations signify that the error statistics of SVM model marginally outperforms.
TLR and RLR Signaling Are Reprogrammed in Opposite Directions after Detection of Viral Infection

Innate immune recognition of RNA is key for the initiation of immunity in response to viral infection. Although the factors controlling the detection of viral RNA by innate immune receptors in host cells are increasingly well understood, little is known about the dynamic changes in signaling after the initial triggering of these receptors. In this study, we report that preconditioning with the synthetic dsRNA polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid [poly(I:C)], a mimetic of viral RNA, rapidly reprograms murine APCs by simultaneously augmenting sensitivity of endosomal TLRs and inhibiting activation of RIG-I–like receptors (RLRs) in an IFN-β–dependent manner. These changes in receptor sensitivity were also seen in vivo after treatment of mice with poly(I:C). Mechanistically, the increased sensitivity of the TLR pathway was associated with elevated MAPK and NF-κB activity. The RLR response was inhibited downstream of TANK-binding kinase-1, resulting in decreased IFN regulatory factor 3 phosphorylation. Reprogramming of pattern-recognition receptor signaling also occurred after viral infection, because infection of host cells with Sendai virus or their exposure to supernatant from virus-infected cells induced the same changes in TLR and RLR sensitivity as poly(I:C). Thus, innate recognition of viral infection critically modifies responses to pattern-recognition receptor stimulation. These dynamic adaptations to infection may reinforce antiviral immunity and at the same time serve to limit pathological inflammation.