Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Administering Medical Procedures to Patients Living With AIDS: How Comfortable Are Physicians?

Background: Feeling of comfort is important for efficient and compassionate care. This study aimed to determine physicians’ level of comfort in administering common medical procedures to patients living with AIDS and to identify the demographic variables that may influence level of comfort. Methods: Residents and house officers (n = 211) in 2 Nigerian teaching hospitals were surveyed by a questionnaire that elicited demographic information and information on physicians’ level of comfort in administering medical procedures. Results: Overall, physicians were very uncomfortable with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Invasive procedures evoked a lower level of comfort than noninvasive procedures. Knowing a person living with AIDS influenced the comfort level. Older age and professed willingness to treat persons with AIDS were associated with a higher comfort level. Conclusions: This study reinforced the need to address idiosyncrasies as they relate to the AIDS epidemic and to emphasize ethics and altruistic feelings of responsibility to care for those in need.
Fast Analytic Shading and Shadowing for Area Light Sources

This paper describes a fast analytic algorithm that generates exact highlights and soft shadows from area light sources. In order to realize fast shadowing, we propose the ray‐oriented buffer which segments 3D space by following light rays from polygonal sources. Each cell of the buffer stores objects that intersect a related subspace. Candidate objects which may cast shadows onto a point are selected by referring to the buffer. The candidates are then tested with their shadow bounding volumes to suppress objects that never occlude light sources.
Contingency Planning: Preparation of Contingency Plans

Outbreaks of infectious animal diseases such as foot‐and‐mouth disease, classical swine fever, Newcastle disease and avian influenza may have a devastating impact, not only on the livestock sector and the rural community in the directly affected areas, but also beyond agriculture and nation wide. The risk of introducing disease pathogens into a country and the spread of the agent within a country depends on a number of factors including import controls, movement of animals and animal products and the biosecurity applied by livestock producers. An adequate contingency plan is an important instrument in the preparation for and the handling of an epidemic. The legislation of the European Union requires that all Member States draw up a contingency plan which specifies the national measures required to maintain a high level of awareness and preparedness and is to be implemented in the event of disease outbreak. This paper describes the main elements to be included in the contingency plans submitted by Member States to the European Commission for approval.
The Dynamics of Efficiency Improving Input Allocation and Reorganization Costs

The theory of production addresses rational producers seeking to minimize production costs given their target outputs. Achieving allocative efficiency requires input reallocation and neoclassical theory assumes there are no transition costs associated with this reallocation. This paper relaxes the assumption that decision-making units have the ability to reorganize their activities instantaneously and costlessly to arrive at an efficient input allocation. A dynamic cost minimization problem is presented to identify the dynamics of input transitions. The theory of gradual transition toward efficient input allocation which we develop is applied to agricultural banking institutions in the United States (US).
Emotional feature selection of speaker-independent speech based on correlation analysis and Fisher

Feature selection is a crucial step in the development of a system for identifying emotions in speech. Recently the interaction between features generated from the same audio source was rarely considered, which may produce redundant features and increase the computational costs. To solve this problem, emotional feature selection of speaker-independent speech based on correlation analysis and Fisher is proposed, which can remove the redundant features that have high correlations with each other. Experiment on the speech emotion recognition based on Support Vector Machines (SVM) is performed, where the speaker-independent features selected by the proposal and the features selected without correlation analysis are used for emotion recognition respectively, and the experimental results show that the proposal achieved 70.2% recognition rate on average. Using speaker-independent features, it would be fast and efficient to discriminate emotional states of different speakers from speech, and it would make it possible to realize the interaction between speaker-independent and computer/robot in the future.
Complement‐Derived Anaphylatoxin C3a Regulates In Vitro Differentiation and Migration of Neural Progenitor Cells

Anaphylatoxin C3a is a third complement component (C3)‐derived peptide, the multiple functions of which range from stimulation of inflammation to neuroprotection. In a previous study, we have shown that signaling through C3a receptor positively regulates in vivo neurogenesis in adult mouse brain. Here, we studied the direct effects of C3a on adult mouse whole brain‐derived neural progenitor cells (NPCs) in vitro. Our results demonstrate that NPCs bind C3a in a specific and reversible manner and that C3a stimulates neuronal differentiation of NPCs. Furthermore, C3a stimulated the migration of NPCs induced by low concentrations of stromal cell‐derived factor (SDF)‐1α, whereas it inhibited NPC migration at high concentration of SDF‐1α. In the same manner, C3a modulated SDF‐1α‐induced extracellular‐signal‐regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2) phosphorylation in these cells. In addition, C3a had inhibitory effect on SDF‐1α‐induced neuronal differentiation of NPCs. These data show that C3a modulates SDF‐1α‐induced differentiation and migration of these cells, conceivably through the regulation of ERK1/2 phosphorylation. Our results provide the first evidence that C3a regulates neurogenesis by directly affecting the fate and properties of NPCs. STEM CELLS 2009;27:2824–2832
Bioaccumulation dynamics and exposure routes of Cd and Cu among species of aquatic mayflies

Consumption of periphyton is a potentially important route of metal exposure to benthic invertebrate grazers. The present study examined the bioaccumulation kinetics of dissolved and dietary Cd and Cu in five species of mayflies (class Insecta). Artificial stream water and benthic diatoms were separately labeled with enriched stable metal isotopes to determine physiological rate constants used by a biokinetic bioaccumulation model. The model was employed to simulate the effects of metal partitioning between water and food, expressed as the bioconcentration factor (BCF), as well as ingestion rate (IR) and metal assimilation efficiency of food (AE), on the relative importance of water and food to metal bioaccumulation. For all test species, the contribution of dietary uptake of Cd and Cu increased with BCF. For a given BCF, the contribution of food to the body burden increased with kuf, the metal uptake rate constant from food that combined variation in IR and AE. To explore the relative importance of water and diet exposure routes under field conditions, we used estimated site‐specific aqueous free‐ion concentrations to model Cd and Cu accumulation from aqueous exposure, exclusively. The predicted concentrations accounted for less than 5% of the observed concentrations, implying that most bioaccumulated metal was acquired from food. At least for the taxa considered in this study, we conclude that consumption of metal‐contaminated periphyton can result in elevated metal body burdens and potentially increase the risk of metal toxicity. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2011;30:2532–2541. © 2011 SETAC
A woman with amenorrhoea

A 26-year-old woman was referred by her general practitioner with primary amenorrhoea. She denied galactorrhoea or headaches. She had undergone ligation of a patent ductus arteriosus at 2 years of age and was noted in childhood to have a partial hearing defect in her right ear. On examination she was a phenotypically normal female with a BMI of 23.2 kg/m2. She had Tanner stage II breast and pubic hair development. Investigations revealed a normal full blood count, urea and electrolytes, with a glucose of 5 mmol/l, prolactin of 100 mU/l (normal 130), luteinising hormone (LH) < 0.5 U/l and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) < 0.5 U/l. She had impaired responses to LHRH stimulation of …
CULTURAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND DEMOGRAPHIC CORRELATES OF WILLINGNESS TO USE PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES AMONG EAST ASIAN IMMIGRANTS

To assess East Asian immigrants’ willingness to use psychological services if depressed and willingness to recommend psychological services to distressed friends, and to examine their cultural (acculturation status, self-construal, ethnic identity), psychological, and demographic correlates, 170 East Asian immigrants (88 male, 82 female) were administered a battery of psychometrically established measures. Approximately 50% of participants expressed strong unwillingness to seek psychological treatments, and approximately 30% expressed strong unwillingness to recommend such treatments to distressed friends. Personal willingness to use psychological services was positively associated with assimilation, being female, age, and English fluency, but was negatively associated with interpersonal distance and number of years in the United States. In contrast, willingness to recommend psychological services to friends was positively associated with independent self-construal, overall ethnic identity, interpersonal sensitivity, being female, and number of years in the United States but was negatively associated with interpersonal distance and reported obsessive-compulsive symptoms. A minority of East Asian immigrants report being willing to seek or to recommend psychological services. Psychological distress, and cultural and demographic features were differentially associated with willingness to seek versus willingness to recommend psychological services.
Autism Spectrum Disorder and Co-occurring Developmental, Psychiatric, and Medical Conditions Among Children in Multiple Populations of the United States

Background: Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) often co-occur with other developmental, psychiatric, neurologic, or medical diagnoses. Objective: This study examined co-occurring non-ASD diagnoses and symptoms in a population-based cohort of 8 year olds identified with ASD. Method: Data on 2,568 children meeting surveillance case definition for ASD were collected by a multi-site surveillance program. Information was systematically abstracted and reviewed from existing health and education source records and systematically entered into a summary record in a secure database. Results: Eighty-one percent of study children were male; 63% white, 23% black, 14% Hispanic, Asian, or not stated. When age of ASD classification was available, 20% were classified before age 3 years, 36% between ages 3 and 5 years, and 44% after age 5 years. The co-occurrence of ≥1 non-ASD developmental diagnoses was 83%, ≥1 psychiatric diagnoses was 10%, ≥1 neurologic diagnoses was 16%, and at least one possibly causative genetic or neurologic diagnosis was 4%. Children with a previous ASD classification and co-occurring psychiatric or neurologic conditions were more likely to be diagnosed or classified at a later age. Each category of co-occurring non-ASD diagnosis was significantly increased in children whose records did not include an ASD diagnosis or educational classification but who met surveillance criteria for ASD. Conclusions: These data highlight the need for clinicians to keep in mind the high prevalence of associated diagnoses with an ASD diagnosis, and the possibility that in younger children other symptoms or disorders may be masking or obscuring core symptoms of ASD, which would lead to a diagnosis.
Acute continuous hemofiltration with dialysis: Effect on insulin concentrations and glycemic control in critically ill patients

ObjectivesTo quantitate insulin losses and glucose absorption during acute continuous hemofiltration with dialysis and to assess the clinical importance of these changes. DesignProspective collection of serum and ultradiafiltrate fluid in patients receiving acute continuous hemofiltration with dialysis. Measurements of serum and ultradiafiltrate insulin and glucose concentrations. Calculations of insulin excretion and glucose absorption. Correlation of findings with patient outcome. SettingUniversity medical center. PatientsSixteen ICU patients with acute renal failure. Measurements and Main ResultsThe mean serum glucose concentration before acute continuous hemofiltration with dialysis was 178 mg/ dL (9.9 mmol/L) (95% confidence interval 112 to 244 mg/dL [6.2 to 13.6 mmol/L]), increasing to 257 mg/dL (14.3 mmol/L) (95% confidence interval 167 to 347 mg/dL [9.3 to 19.3 mmol/L]) after 4 hrs of acute continuous hemofiltration with dialysis, and stabilizing at 207 mg/dL (11.5 mmol/L) (95% confidence interval 160 to 254 mg/dL [8.9 to 14.1 mmol/L]) at 24 hrs. Mean plasma insulin concentration before acute continuous hemofiltration with dialysis was 34.4 mU/L (95% confidence interval 8.6 to 60.2 mU/L), increasing to 54.4 mU/L at 4 hrs (95% confidence interval 25 to 83.8 mU/L; NS). There was no significant decrease in mean insulin concentration across the filter (51.8 mU/L before filtration vs. 51.9 mU/L after filtration). Insulin was detected in the ultradiafiltrate but its overall mean clearance rate was only 6.2 mL/min, with mean daily losses of 689 mU/day (95% confidence interval 325 to 1053 mU/day). During acute continuous hemofiltration with dialysis, glucose absorption through the filter averaged 134 g/day (95% confidence interval 96.2 to 171.8 g/day). Plasma insulin concentrations were significantly (p < .05) lower in survivors than nonsurvivors (51.7 vs. 123.6 mU/L). ConclusionsSignificant glucose absorption occurs during acute continuous hemofiltration with dialysis and is coupled with minor insulin losses (<1 U/day) through the filter. These events do not appear to have major clinical impact. A low plasma insulin concentration is associated with diminished mortality rates in this group of patients.
The Academies Programme: an education revolution?

The election of the Conservative-led Coalition government in England in 2010 brought with it the promise of an ‘education revolution’, central to which is the Academies Act (2010). Via a vast expansion of the academies programme introduced by Labour, the Academies act aims to raise standards for all children and to reduce the achievement gap between most and least disadvantaged children. In this paper we explore the original notion of academies as invented by Labour and consider how the Coalition’s ideas differ from this. Drawing on interviews conducted with professionals involved in the implementation and operation of academies, we consider issues concerned with their conceptualisation and implementation and evaluate their success so far. We argue that, aside from the scale of their ambition, the nature of academies and the direction of education in England under the Coalition’s academies programme is not as innovative as it may first appear. We propose that despite differences in rhetoric, the policies of the conservative-led coalition and the predecessor Labour government are remarkably similar and, contrary to their stated goal of narrowing the achievement gap, the academies programme poses a risk of further disadvantaging already challenged children and increasing the gap in achievement between disadvantaged pupils and their less disadvantaged peers.
Diagnosis of new variant Creutzfeldt‐Jakob disease

As of December 31, 1998, 35 deaths had been attributed to new variant Creutzfeldt‐Jakob disease (nvCJD) in the United Kingdom, of which 33 cases had been neuropathologically confirmed and 2 classified as probable nvCJD. Fifteen cases were male and 20 female. The median illness duration was 14 months (range, 8–38 months) and the median age at death was 29 years (range, 18–53 years). The clinical features were consistent with previous descriptions. In nearly all cases, there were early psychiatric symptoms after a median period of 6 months ataxia developed, followed by involuntary movements and cognitive impairment. Electroencephalograms did not show the “typical” appearances found in sporadic CJD, about half the cases tested had a positive 14‐3‐3 immunoassay, and over 70% of cases had bilateral pulvinar high signal on magnetic resonance brain scanning. Prion protein gene analysis showed that all cases were homozygous for methionine at codon 129. Diagnostic criteria for nvCJD have been formulated, which have a high sensitivity and specificity. Ann Neurol 2000;47:575–582
Effect of exogenous salicylic acid on some physiological parameters and alleviation of drought stress in Nigella sativa plant under hydroponic culture

Kabiri R. , Nasibi F. , Farahbakhsh H. (2014): Effect of exogenous salicylic acid on some physiological parameters and alleviation of drought stress in Nigella sativa plant under hydroponic culture. Plant Protect. Sci., 50: 43–51. To study the effect of salicylic acid on photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll a, b, total chlorophyll, and carotenoids), polyphenol compounds, anthocyanin, flavonoids, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity, malondialdehyde, lipoxygenase activ ity, electrolyte leakage, relative water content, soluble sugar contents, and protein content of black cumin ( Nigella sativa ) under drought stress in hydroponic culture, an experiment was conducted as a completely randomised design in a factorial arrangement with three replicates. Experimental treatments included salicylic acid at three levels (0, 5, and 10µM) and drought stress (induced by polyethylene glycol 6000) at four levels (0, –0.2, –0.4, and –0.6 MPa). Results showed that salicylic acid application through the root medium increased drought tolerance of black cumin seedlings. Plants pre-treated with salicylic acid exhibited slight injury symptoms whereas those not pre-treated with salicylic acid had moderate damage and lost considerable portions of their foliage. In conclusion, salicylic acid could protect the Nigella plant against drought stress through increasing of all the mentioned traits, and 10µM salicylic acid was the most effective level under both conditions.
Expression and Subcellular Localization of Retinoic Acid Receptor-&agr; (RAR&agr;) in Healthy and Varicocele Human Spermatozoa: Its Possible Regulatory Role in Capacitation and Survival

Varicocele, an abnormal tortuosity and dilation of veins of the pampiniform plexus, is the most common identifiable and correctable cause of male infertility. It is now becoming apparent that signaling through vitamin A metabolites, such as all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), is indispensable for spermatogenesis and disruption of retinoic acid receptor-&agr; (RAR&agr;) function may result in male sterility and aberrant spermatogenesis. Herein, we investigated by Western blot and immunogold electron microscopy the expression profiles and subcellular localization of RAR&agr; in healthy and varicocele human sperm; in addition, we analyzed the effects of ATRA on cholesterol efflux and sperm survival utilizing enzymatic colorimetric CHOD-PAP method and Eosin Y technique, respectively. In varicocele samples, a strong reduction of RAR&agr; expression was observed. Immunogold labeling evidenced cellular location of RAR&agr; also confirming its reduced expression in “varicocele” samples. Sperm responsiveness to ATRA treatment was reduced in varicocele sperm. Our study showed that RAR&agr; is expressed in human sperm probably with a dual role in promoting both cholesterol efflux and survival. RAR&agr; might be involved in the pathogenesis of varicocele as its expression is reduced in pathologic samples. Thus, ATRA administration in procedures for artificial insemination or dietary vitamin A supplementation might represent a promising therapeutic approach for the management of male infertility.
Prevalence of Cognitive Impairment, Depression, and Anxiety Symptoms Among Older Adults With Glaucoma

PurposeTwo factors which may disrupt the ability to adhere to the treatment for glaucoma are cognitive impairment and mental health complications. Poor adherence to treatment may lead to preventable vision loss. Past research in this area has been limited by little focus on older patients with glaucoma, and the use of brief measures of cognition that may not detect subtle deficits related to Alzheimer disease. Patients and MethodsThis study examined the prevalence of cognitive impairment, depression, and anxiety in a sample of 41 glaucoma patients at a tertiary care glaucoma clinic. They had a mean age of 70.0 years (SD=9.2 y; range: 51 to 86 y) and 70% (n=30) were female. Two cognitive measures commonly used in detecting dementia were used to measure cognitive functioning. ResultsControlling for age, memory impairment was found in approximately 20% of the sample, and impaired executive functioning was found in approximately 22% of the sample. Forty-four percent of the sample scored in the impaired range on one or more measures. Mild-to-moderate depressive symptoms were found in 12.2% of participants, and 1 person reported clinically significant anxiety. ConclusionsThe results from this study indicate that cognitive impairment may be common in older patients with glaucoma. This has implications for treatment adherence, as difficulties in remembering information may significantly impede the ability to follow instructions from a physician. It is imperative that physicians and caregivers are aware of the prevalence of such conditions, as they are among the first to interact with such individuals. Given the high prevalence of cognitive impairment and depressive symptoms, future research should examine the impact of such factors on glaucoma treatment adherence.
Determining the Proper Scope of Climate Change Policy Benefits in U.S. Regulatory Analyses: Domestic versus Global Approaches

Although benefit assessment principles are well established for specific populations, very little attention has been paid to how to define the scope of the pertinent population for such assessments. Whose social welfare matters and whose benefits should be included in the assessment? Should there be any linkage between the benefits and the political jurisdiction of the citizens paying for the policy? In the case of U.S. regulatory policies, the norm has been to assess the benefits to U.S. citizens. However, in 2010, the Obama administration’s Interagency Working Group on Social Cost of Carbon adopted a global perspective on assessing the benefits associated with reductions in carbon dioxide emissions. This article examines whether U.S. policymakers should assess the benefits of climate change policies from a domestic or a global perspective. Drawing from executive orders and the laws governing risk and environmental regulations, we review the norms used for the scope of benefit assessments. Then we examine specific examples of the use of the global approach to benefit assessments of carbon dioxide reductions for energy efficiency regulations. We also compare the U.S. approach to that of other developed countries. Finally, we discuss how reciprocity should be incorporated into global benefits within a benefit–cost framework, and the role of altruism in considering the proper scope of benefits.