Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Disparities in parasitic infections, perceived ill health and access to health care among poorer and less poor schoolchildren of rural Côte d'Ivoire

Differences in the state of health between rural and urban populations living in Africa have been described, yet only few studies analysed inequities within poor rural communities. We investigated disparities in parasitic infections, perceived ill health and access to formal health services among more than 4000 schoolchildren from 57 primary schools in a rural area of western Côte d'Ivoire, as measured by their socioeconomic status. In a first step, we carried out a cross‐sectional parasitological survey. Stool specimens and finger prick blood samples were collected and processed with standardized, quality‐controlled methods, for diagnosis of Schistosoma mansoni, soil‐transmitted helminths, intestinal protozoa and Plasmodium. Then, a questionnaire survey was carried out for the appraisal of self‐reported morbidity indicators, as well as housing characteristics and household assets ownership. Mean travel distance from each village to the nearest health care delivery structure was provided by the regional health authorities. Poorer schoolchildren showed a significantly higher infection prevalence of hookworm than better‐off children. However, higher infection prevalences of intestinal protozoa (i.e. Blastocystis hominis, Endolimax nana and Iodamoeba bütschlii) were found with increasing socioeconomic status. Significant negative associations were observed between socioeconomic status and light infection intensities with hookworm and S. mansoni, as well as with several self‐reported morbidity indicators. The poorest school‐attending children lived significantly further away from formal health services than their richer counterparts. Our study provides evidence for inequities among schoolchildren's parasitic infection status, perceived ill health and access to health care in a large rural part of Côte d'Ivoire. These findings call for more equity‐balanced parasitic disease control interventions, which in turn might be an important strategy for poverty alleviation.
Reliability of a diagnosis of BSE made on the basis of clinical signs

surgical curettage of the bicipital tendon and abnormal bone in the intratubercular groove has produced good results, although only a few cases have been treated and the period of follow up has been short (Grant and others 1993). To the author's knowledge, there have been no reports of arthroscopic or 'bursoscopic' investigation or treatment ofthe condition reported in the literature. In this case the arthroscope was a useful diagnostic tool, but its use for applying treatment was limited by the severity of the condition.
Mononucleosis in the laboratory.

Laboratory investigation of infectious mononucleosis long preceded any knowledge of the etiologic virus [1]. The characteristic mononuclear leukocytosis associated with Pfeiffer glandular fever was reported in 1920. Heterophile antibodies were recognized 12 years later [2]. A specific viral link was established only after the serendipitous observation that a technician recovering from infectious mononucleosis had seroconverted to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) [3]. A series of studies shortly thereafter confirmed the association.
Evaluation of a D-band divide-by-3 injection-locked frequency divider in 65 nm CMOS process

In this paper, a D-band divider-by-3 injection-locked frequency divider is presented using 65 CMOS process. By using the technique of the second harmonic boosting, the input sensitivity and locking range can be enhanced in the millimeter-wave band without additional dc power consumption. As the input frequency is 134.6 GHz with a RF power of -8.5 dBm, the measured locking range is 0.4 GHz without varactor tuning, and the output power is high than -18 dBm. The core dc power consumption is 2.3 mW.
Planning Local E-Government

Abstract User requirements, organizational change, government regulations, and politics are all factors that any organization embarking on a systems development project must take into consideration. These factors, plus that of general societal trends, have an even greater significance for governmental IT organizations that are planning to implement new applications. IS managers in government, as well as those in industry, can use the planning framework presented in this article to manage these factors, as well as the overall requirements and systems planning process.
Adaptive Portals: Adapting and Recommending Content and Expertise

Today, Portals provide users with a central point of access to companywide information. Initially they focused on presenting the most valuable and widely used information to users providing them with quick and efficient information access. But the amount of information accessible quickly grew and finding the right information became more and more complex and time consuming. In this paper, we illustrate options for adapting and recommending content based on userand context models that reflect users’ interests and preferences and on annotations of resources provided by users. We additionally leverage the entire communitys’ interests, preferences and collective intelligence to perform group-based adaptation. We adapt a Portal’s structure (e.g. navigation) and provide recommendations to be able to reach content being of interest easier. We recommend background information, experts and users with similar interests. We finally construct a Portal’s navigation structure entirely based on the communitys’ behavior. Our main concepts have been prototypically embedded within IBM’s WebSphere Portal.
Elevated N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide levels predict an enhanced anti-hypertensive and anti-proteinuric benefit of dietary sodium restriction and diuretics, but not angiotensin receptor blockade, in proteinuric renal patients.

BACKGROUND Renin-angiotensin aldosterone system (RAAS) blockade only partly reduces blood pressure, proteinuria and renal and cardiovascular risk in chronic kidney disease (CKD) but often requires sodium targeting [i.e. low sodium diet (LS) and/or diuretics] for optimal efficacy. However, both under- and overtitration of sodium targeting can easily occur. We evaluated whether N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), a biomarker of volume expansion, predicts the benefits of sodium targeting in CKD patients. METHODS In a cross-over randomized controlled trial, 33 non-diabetic CKD patients (proteinuria 3.8 ± 0.4 g/24 h, blood pressure 143/86 ± 3/2 mmHg, creatinine clearance 89 ± 5 mL/min) were treated during 6-week periods with placebo, angiotensin receptor blockade (ARB; losartan 100 mg/day) and ARB plus diuretics (losartan 100 mg/day plus hydrochlorothiazide 25 mg/day), combined with LS (93 ± 52 mmol Na(+)/24 h) and regular sodium diet (RS; 193 ± 62 mmol Na(+)/24 h, P < 0.001 versus LS), in random order. As controls, 27 healthy volunteers were studied. RESULTS NT-proBNP was elevated in patients during placebo + RS [90 (60-137) versus 35 (27-45) pg/mL in healthy controls, P = 0.001]. NT-proBNP was lowered by LS, ARB and diuretics and was normalized by ARB + diuretic + LS [39 (26-59) pg/mL, P = 0.65 versus controls]. NT-proBNP levels above the upper limit of normal (>125 pg/mL) predicted a larger reduction of blood pressure and proteinuria by LS and diuretics but not by ARB, during all steps of the titration regimen. CONCLUSIONS Elevated NT-proBNP levels predict an enhanced anti-hypertensive and anti-proteinuric benefit of sodium targeting, but not RAAS blockade, in proteinuric CKD patients. Importantly, this applies to the untreated condition, as well as to the subsequent treatment steps, consisting of RAAS blockade and even RAAS blockade combined with diuretics. NT-proBNP can be a useful tool to identify CKD patients in whom sodium targeting can improve blood pressure and proteinuria.
The effect of single screw conveyor stabilization on free fatty acids , α-tocoferol , and γ-oryzanol content of rice bran

The benefit of rice bran to human health is already wellknown. It is a rich source of fiber, vitamin B1, tocoferol and γ-oryzanol. Unfortunately, freshly milled rice bran has a short shelf life because of its high triaclyglycerol content, which tends to decompose into free fatty acids (FFA). The last are responsible for off flavor development during rice bran storage. In this research, hot screw conveyor was used to stabilize fresh rice bran. The effects of several stabilization parameters, those are conveyor temperature and conveyor rotation speed to the content of FFA, α-tocopherol, and γ-oryzanol of rice bran stored at 37°C for two weeks were observed. The results showed that after two weeks of storage, an increase of total FFA in unstabilized rice bran (39.91%) was significantly higher as compared to the stabilized one (6.75%). Overall, it was concluded that the best treatment for rice bran stabilization was obtained at 120°C with a screw speed of 15 Hz. The treatment was chosen because it gave minimum loss of tocopherol and oryzanol (4.74% and 22.28%) and FFA content less than 10%.
Immune complexes from vasculitis patients bind to endothelial Fc receptors independent of the allelic polymorphism of FcgammaRIIa.

UNLABELLED Cutaneous leukocytoclastic vasculitis is characterized by the deposition of circulating immune complexes, neutrophil extravasation, and vessel destruction, but mechanisms of circulating immune complexes capture within postcapillary venules are unknown. We demonstrate that circulating immune complexes from sera of vasculitis patients bind to cultured endothelium in an Fc gamma receptor IIa-dependent fashion. In lesional skin, endothelial cells bind immunoglobulin G2 > immunoglobulin G3 and immunoglobulin G4, but not immunoglobulin G1, even before obvious neutrophil transmigration and vessel damage. As the human Fc gamma receptor IIa proteins exist in two allotypes (one with a histidine at position 131, which binds immunoglobulin G1, 2, 3 and the other with an arginine at position 131, which binds immunoglobulin G1, and 3, but is unable to bind immunoglobulin G2), we expected an altered prevalence of histidine 131 forms in vasculitis patients. Sequence analysis, however, revealed an equal distribution of allotypes in patients and controls. In conclusion, circulating immune complex binding to endothelial Fc gamma receptor IIa is among the initial steps in the development of vasculitis. Although immunoglobulin G2 is the predominant subtype precipitated at endothelial surfaces, it is not required for fixing circulating immune complexes to endothelium, because patients homozygote for Fc gamma receptor IIa-arginine 131 equally develop leukocytoclastic vasculitis as those bearing the Fc gamma receptor IIa-histidine 131 allele. As immunoglobulin G1 is virtually absent in leukocytoclastic vasculitis lesions and immunoglobulin G4 does not bind to both Fc gamma receptor IIa alleles, these complexes, in addition to immunoglobulin G2, should contain immunoglobulin G3 in order to fix to vascular Fc gamma receptor IIa, at least in persons homozygous for Fc gamma receptor IIa-arginine 131. KEYWORDS CD32/immunoglobulin G subtypes/leukocytoclastic vasculitis/microvessels.
Broadband Packaging of Photodetectors for 100 Gb/s Ethernet Applications

The packing structure of functional modules is a major limitation in achieving a desired performance for 100 Gb/s ethernet applications. This paper presents a methodology of developing advanced packaging of photodetectors (PDs) for highspeed data transmission applications by using 3-D electromagnetic (EM) simulations. A simplified model of the PD module is first used to analyze and optimize packaging structures and propose an optimal packaging design based on the simplified model. Although a PD module with improved performance proved the success of the optimal packaging design, the simplified model could not identify other important bandwidth limitation effects. Therefore, a full 3-D EM model of PD modules is developed to predict the optical-to-electrical response of the module, and with this model, it is possible to identify a critical mode mismatch effect as another important factor of limiting the bandwidth of PD modules. After eliminating the mode mismatch effect by improving the chip-conductor-backed coplanar waveguide transition, a final optimal packaging structure is implemented for the PD module with reduced attenuation up to 100 GHz and a broader 3-dB bandwidth of more than 90 GHz. Furthermore, the PD module exhibits excellent performance under the high-speed data-transmission experiment with 107 Gb/s data rate.
13.56 MHz 1.3 kW resonant converter with GaN FET for wireless power transfer

This paper presents a 1.3 kW resonant power amplifier using a Gallium Nitride (GaN) device at 13.56 MHz for wireless power transfer (WPT). The power amplifier driving the power transmitting coils is based on a Class Φ2 inverter, a single switch topology with low switch voltage stress and fast transient response. This implementation utilizes a recently available GaN device in a low inductance package that is compatible with operation in the 10's of MHz switching frequency. These power GaN switching devices have low gate resistance RG and low capacitance CGS which greatly reduces the power requirements of the gate drive circuitry. This paper shows experimental measurements of the inverter in a WPT application and characterization of the system performance over various distances and operating conditions.
Late Stage Cancers in a Medicaid-insured Population

Background. Medicaid insurance promotes screening for early stage cancers. However, previous research suggests that Medicaid recipients are at risk for late stage disease. Objective. To identify differences in stage of diagnosis between cancer patients enrolled in Medicaid before versus after their disease was identified, as well as differences in diagnostic stage between Medicaid enrollees and other patients. Design. Analyses of a linked database including information from the 1996 and 1997 Michigan Cancer Registry and Medicaid enrollment files. Patients. All persons ages 25 to 64 diagnosed with incident cases of breast, cervical, colorectal, or lung cancer (n = 5852). Patients enrolled in Medicaid before their cancer diagnosis and those enrolled in the same month or after their diagnosis were identified. Main Outcome Measure. Early (in situ, local) versus late (regional, distant, invasive/unknown) cancer stage at diagnosis was modeled using multivariate logistic regression. Results. In each site of disease with the exception of breast, persons who enrolled in Medicaid after a cancer diagnosis were approximately 2 to 3 times more likely to have late stage disease compared with persons who were enrolled in Medicaid before the month of diagnosis. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (C.I.) were: 1.28 (95% C.I. = 0.95, 1.67) for breast cancer, 2.96 (95% C.I. = 1.85, 4.75) for cervical cancer, 2.08 (95% C.I. = 1.30, 3.33) for colorectal cancer, and 3.40 (95% C.I. = 2.13, 5.43) for lung cancer. Relative to non-Medicaid enrollees, Medicaid enrollees were 2 to 5 times more likely to be diagnosed with late stage disease. Conclusions. Cancer patients enrolled in Medicaid after their diagnosis were disproportionately likely to have late stage disease relative to patients previously enrolled in Medicaid or non-Medicaid enrollees.
A comparative study of the in vitro permeation characteristic of sulphadiazine across synthetic membranes and eschar tissue

Infections of burn wounds are the source of significant problems in burn patients. Early excision of eschar tissue is an ideal solution to avoid sepsis. When early excision is not feasible, the application of topical antimicrobial formulations may be used to control burn wound sepsis. An understanding of the barrier properties of eschar tissue is essential for optimal design of topical antimicrobial formulations. To date, little research has been conducted on the permeability of eschar. Silver sulphadiazine (SSD) is the most frequently used topical agent in burn management. In this study, the permeation of sulphadiazine from aqueous saturated solutions of SSD through human full‐thickness burn eschar tissue was studied and compared with permeability through silicone and Carbosil as model membranes. The permeation of sulphadiazine through eschar tissue was significantly higher than that through silicone and Carbosil membranes (P < 0·05). Deconvolution of the data showed that the apparent sulphadiazine diffusion coefficient was much higher in eschar tissue and was comparable to transport through an aqueous protein gel. Further studies on a greater number of compounds are suggested to elucidate the utility of such membranes as predictive models of drug permeability through eschar tissue.
Epigallocatechin‐3‐Gallate suppresses early stage, but not late stage prostate cancer in TRAMP mice: Mechanisms of action

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second leading cause of cancer‐related death in men in the United States. Many men have implemented purported chemopreventive agents into their daily diet in an attempt to delay the early onset of a PCa. Green tea polyphenols, one such agent, has been shown to be chemopreventive in skin, breast, and prostate cancers. We hypothesized that Epigallocatechin‐3‐Gallate (EGCG), the major polyphenol found in green tea, will exert its chemopreventive effect in the prostate via regulation of sex steroid receptor, growth factor‐signaling, and inflammatory pathways.
PARA-AMINOSALICYLIC ACID - BIOPHARMACEUTICAL, PHARMACO- LOGICAL, AND CLINICAL FEATURES AND RESURGENCE AS AN ANTI- TUBERCULOUS AGENT

Summary: Para-aminosalicylic acid (INN aminosalicylic acid; PAS) is a bacteriostatic chemotherapeutic agent used in the therapy of all forms of tuberculosis, both pulmonary and extrapulmonary, caused by sensitive strains of the mycobacteria resistant to other antituberculotics or if the patient is intolerant towards other drugs. Since its clinical introduction in the late 1940s aminosalicylic acid (PAS) has been a mainstay in the treatment of TB into the 1960s. Along with isoniazid and streptomycin, it was a ‘first-line’ agent for tuberculosis. However, it was plagued by poor gastro-intestinal tolerance and rare but severe allergic reactions. Ethambutol was later shown to be approximately equivalent to PAS in potency, and generally better tolerated than PAS when ethambutol was used at dosages of 25 mg/kg/day or less. Therefore, PAS was replaced by ethambutol as a primary TB drug. However, because of the relative lack of use of PAS over the past 3 decades, most isolates of TB remain susceptible to it. Thus, PAS has experienced a renaissance in the management of patients with multi-drug resistant tuberculosis.
AMUSE: Empowering Users for Cost-Aware Offloading with Throughput-Delay Tradeoffs

To cope with recent exponential increases in demand for mobile data, wireless Internet service providers (ISPs) are increasingly changing their pricing plans and deploying Wi-Fi hotspots to offload their mobile traffic. However, these ISP-centric approaches for traffic management do not always match the interests of mobile users. Users face a complex, multi-dimensional tradeoff between cost, throughput, and delay in making their offloading decisions: while they may save money and receive a higher throughput by waiting for Wi-Fi access, they may not wait for Wi-Fi if they are sensitive to delay. To navigate this tradeoff, we develop Adaptive bandwidth Management through USer-Empowerment (AMUSE), a functional prototype of a practical, cost-aware Wi-Fi offloading system that takes into account a user's throughput-delay tradeoffs and cellular budget constraint. Based on predicted future usage and Wi-Fi availability, AMUSE decides which applications to offload to what times of the day. Since nearly all traffic flows from mobile devices are TCP flows, we introduce a new receiver-side bandwidth allocation mechanism to practically enforce the assigned rate of each TCP application. Thus, AMUSE users can optimize their bandwidth rates according to their own cost-throughput-delay tradeoff without relying on support from different apps' content servers. Through a measurement study of 20 smartphone users' traffic usage traces, we observe that though users already offload a large amount of some application types, our framework can offload a significant additional portion of users' cellular traffic. We implement AMUSE on Windows 7 tablets and evaluate its effectiveness with 3G and Wi-Fi usage data obtained from a trial with 37 mobile users. Our results show that AMUSE improves user utility; when compared with AMUSE, other offloading algorithms yield 14 and 27 percent lower user utilities for light and heavy users, respectively. Intelligently managing users' competing interests for cost, throughput, and delay can therefore improve their offloading decisions.
Depressed mood and executive dysfunction in early Parkinson's disease

Objectives – Studies on neuropsychological functions in early Parkinson's disease (PD) have reported changes with respect to memory and executive control related to dysfunction of fronto‐striatal circuitry. The question has been raised, however, whether these findings are at least partly influenced by depression, which as such can also lead to cognitive impairments that depend on the functional integrity of the prefrontal cortex.
Update on Understanding and Manipulating Rubisco Biogenesis Advancing Our Understanding and Capacity to Engineer Nature ’ s CO 2-Sequestering Enzyme , Rubisco 1 [ W ]

There is a growing impetus in developing novel strategies to address global concerns regarding food security. As crop productivity gains through traditional breeding begin to lag and arable land becomes scarcer, it seems that we are heading for unsustainable global populations. It has been foreshadowed that global food production will need to rise more than 50% before 2050 to meet the ever-increasing demand. Compounding the problem are the uncertainties of climate change and its impact on agriculture. Strategies to improve crop yield potential have begun to examine aspects of supercharging photosynthesis to drive a new “green revolution. ” Central to many of these strategies is addressing the limitation of nature’s CO2-fixing enzyme, Rubisco. The catalytic incorporation of CO2 into ribulose 1,5bisphosphate (RuBP) by Rubisco is the first step in the production of carbohydrates by plants, which are used to build biomass and produce energy during growth and development. Despite the pivotal role of Rubisco in linking the inorganic (CO2) and the organic (biomass) phases of the global carbon cycle, it is a slow and confused catalyst, limiting productivity and resource (e.g. water and nutrients) use efficiency in many plants (Long et al., 2006). Understandably, Rubisco has been studied intensively and is a prime target for genetic engineering to improve photosynthetic efficiency (Raines, 2006; Parry et al., 2007). Although the challenge of making a “better Rubisco” has exceeded the grasp and career of many scientists, recent advances indicate that it is not insurmountable. Here, we examine conceptual and technological breakthroughs over the last decade that have identified new and unconventional members of the Rubisco family, revealed molecular aspects of Rubisco biogenesis in plastids and cyanobacteria, advanced our understanding of its catalytic chemistry, and widened our appreciation of the challenges we face to improve Rubisco activity and plant productivity.