Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reading Mutant Narratives : The Bodily Experientiality of Contemporary Ecological Science Fiction

Reading Mutant Narratives explores how narratives of environmental and personal transformation in contemporary ecological science fiction can develop more-thanhuman modes of embodied experience. More specifically, it attends to the conflicted yet potentially transformative experientiality of mutant narratives. Mutant narratives are viewed as uneasy hybrids of human-centered and posthumanist science fiction that contain potential for ecological understanding. Drawing on narrative studies and empirical reading studies, the dissertation begins from the premise that in suitable conditions, reading fiction may give rise to experiential change. The study traces and describes experiential changes that take place while reading works of science fiction. The bodily, subjective and historical conditions of reading are considered alongside the generic contexts and narrative features of the fictional works studied. As exemplary cases of mutant narratives, the study foregrounds the work of three American science fiction authors known for their critiques of anthropocentrism and for their articulations of more-than-human ecologies: Greg Bear, Paolo Bacigalupi, and Jeff VanderMeer. While much of contemporary fiction naturalizes embodied experience and hides their own narrative strategies, mutant narratives have the potential to defamiliarize readers’ notions of bodies and environments while also estranging their embodied experience of reading fiction. As a theoretical contribution to science fiction studies, the study considers such a readerly dynamic in terms of embodied estrangement. Building on theoretical and practical work done in both embodied cognitive and posthumanist approaches to literature, the study shows how engagements with fictional narratives can, for their part, shape readers’ habitual patterns of feeling and perception. These approaches are synthesized into a method of close reading, performative enactivism, that helps to articulate bodily, environmental, and more-thanhuman aspects of readerly engagement. Attending to such experiential aspects integrates ecological science fiction more deeply into the contemporary experiential situation of living with radical environmental transformation.
Investigating business EFL postgraduate student writing in a UK university: a qualitative study

Abstract Student writing in university contexts, especially in the area of business, has relatively been under-researched in the English for academic purposes (EAP) literature. Many previous studies have only labelled the types of student writing in the academe. Although labeling is essential as a starting point to map out and understand student writing at university, we still need more research to move beyond labeling and further uncover the expectations and requirements underlying the production of these types of writing. This study duly attempts to fill this gap and it adopted a qualitative ethnographically oriented methodology combining both text and context analyses to explore the types, requirements and expectations of student writing in a business postgraduate programme in a UK tertiary context. Eight participants, students and lecturers took part in the study by allowing face-to-face tape-recorded interviews. In this paper, I will only report findings from the perspective of the lecturer participants. Results of data analysis showed that the type of writing lecturers required for their courses was library research paper. However, the requirements and expectations underlying the production of this paper significantly varied across the courses and among those lecturers. Pedagogical implications for EAP were presented and discussed.
Semi‐infinite moving crack in an orthotropic strip sandwiched between two identical half planes

The problem of semi‐infinite moving crack situated in a strip of a linear elastic orthotropic material sandwiched between two identical half planes has been considered. The assumed boundary value problem has been solved to convert it into the standard Wiener‐Hopf equation by using Fourier transform technique. Further the Wiener‐Hopf equation has been solved to obtain analytical expression for stress intensity factor and crack opening displacement at the tip of the crack for plane stress and plane strain cases. The effects of elastic material constants and propagation of the crack tip on stress intensity factor and crack opening displacement at the tip of crack have been displayed graphically for various particular cases for a combination of orthotropic materials.
Desarrollo del pacto social por la no discriminación y la igualdad de trato asociada al VIH

The Social Pact for the Non-discrimination and Equal Treatment Associated with HIV development Advances in treatment and care have improved the life expectancy and quality of life for people living with HIV. However, those infected with HIV remain exposed to the social stigma that continues to be associated with this condition and sometimes experience discriminatory treatment in areas such as health, education, the judiciary or the workplace, and in access to benefits and insurance. There is a lot of evidence that the discrimination and stigma associated with HIV alienate people from prevention, diagnosis, treatment and quality of life services. This situation is exacerbated by social, economic and cultural status, as social and structural inequity facilitates increased discrimination and unfair treatment in the daily lives of people living with HIV. In response to this situation arises the need to establish a Social Pact for Non-Discrimination and Equal Treatment Associated with HIV, agreed and signed by social and institutional agents key in the response to HIV. Its aim is to eliminate the stigma and discrimination associated with HIV and AIDS, ensuring equal treatment and opportunities, non-discrimination, respect for fundamental rights and diversity of those affected. Reducing discrimination against people living with HIV is one of the priority objectives of the Ministry of Health, Consumer Affairs and Social Welfare’s Strategic Plan for the Prevention and Control of HIV and other STIs, currently extended to 2020. It is aligned with the UNAIDS cross-cutting objective of zero discrimination and with the fourth objective of the 90-90-90-90 strategy, which should ensure that 90% of people with HIV and viral load suppression have a good health-related quality of life.
Protective Effects of Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles on Oxaliplatin induced Neurotoxicity in Adult Male Albino Rats

Background: Oxaliplatin is a chemotherapeutic agent used for treatment of colorectal cancer. Peripheral neuropathy is a dose limiting toxicity which may persist even after its termination. Oxidative stress may be a direct cause of this neurotoxicity. Cerium oxide nanoparticles (CONPs) are promising antioxidants for applications in medicine as they are well tolerated in biological models. Aim: The present work was designed to study the protective effect of CONPs on neurotoxicity induced by oxaliplatin in adult male albino rats. Materials and methods: 120 rats were divided into 4 groups: Control group, CONPs group (60mg/kg, 5 times/week), Oxaliplatin group (4mg/kg, twice/week) and Oxaliplatin&CONPs group, for 8 weeks. After 4 & 8 weeks, 10 rats from each group were used to measure myelin protein zero (MPZ), malondialdhyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and reduced glutathione (GSH) in the left sciatic nerves. The right sciatic nerves and lumbar spinal cord were used for histopathological study. Results: Oxaliplatin decreased MPZ and induced demyelination and degeneration of sciatic nerve fibers. Also, it increased MDA levels. SOD and GPx activity were increased then decreased. GSH levels were decreased. In the lumbar spinal cord sections, abnormal morphology were seen. CONPs administration increased MPZ and returned normal morphology of sciatic nerve fibers. They decreased MDA levels. SOD was increased after 8 weeks, GPx and GSH not changed. In the lumbar spinal cord sections normal morphology were seen with some hydropic degeneration. Conclusion Oxaliplatin treatment induced hypomyelination in sciatic nerves. CONPs have neuroprotective effect.
Advancements in latent space network modelling

The ubiquity of relational data has motivated an extensive literature on network analysis, and over the last two decades the latent space approach has become a popular network modelling framework. In this approach, the nodes of a network are represented in a low-dimensional latent space and the probability of interactions occurring are modelled as a function of the associated latent coordinates. This thesis focuses on computational and modelling aspects of the latent space approach, and we present two main contributions. First, we consider estimation of temporally evolving latent space networks in which interactions among a fixed population are observed through time. The latent coordinates of each node evolve other time and this presents a natural setting for the application of sequential monte carlo (SMC) methods. This facilitates online inference which allows estimation for dynamic networks in which the number of observations in time is large. Since the performance of SMC methods degrades as the dimension of the latent state space increases, we explore the high-dimensional SMC literature to allow estimation of networks with a larger number of nodes. Second, we develop a latent space model for network data in which the interactions occur between sets of the population and, as a motivating example, we consider a coauthorship network in which it is typical for more than two authors to contribute to an article. This type of data can be represented as a hypergraph, and we extend the latent space framework to this setting. Modelling the nodes in a latent space provides a convenient visualisation of the data and allows properties to be imposed on the hypergraph relationships. We develop a parsimonious model with a computationally convenient likelihood. Furthermore, we theoretically consider the properties of the degree distribution of our model and further explore its properties via simulation.
Quest Diagnostics Offers Insure™ Colorectal Cancer Screening Test to Help Physicians Identify Cancer at an Early Stage

My first impression after viewing this DVD was, “How long ago was this DVD made? ” I found parts of this DVD to be quite outdated such as the use of fiberoptic scopes, the cleansing techniques, and the old light sources. Were those latex gloves being used? In the section on training I was concerned to see the statement that a person can do these exams after only 1020 sessions. I was further concerned with Dr. Wa y e ’s listing of persons who could become qualified to perform this procedure. I was wondering what the difference was between an “adequately trained nurse” and a “nurse endoscopist? ” Who are the other “assistants who could be trained to perform flex sigs? ” Are these medical assistants, physician assistants or some other group? I was unclear who these trained nurses or assistants were, what training they would require, and what their titles would be. Another area of concern was when it was stated that all adenomas require a colonoscopy and that it would take 3–5 years for an adenoma to grow to 1.0 cm. Although the literature is conflicting there are some papers that suggest colonoscopy is not required if a single small adenoma is found on flex sig. One of the things I was surprised to see was that during one of the exams, an 88 year-old lady was found to have a polyp at approximately 25 cm (this was addressed by the physician) but the polyp was not removed. On a positive note: the sections on Techniques, Anatomy and Diagnosis, The Exam, Complications, and Pathology Atlas were very beneficial. The section on polyp variations and cancer/adenomas was especially well done. The pictures and explanations would be superb to the trainee just entering this field. In conclusion: The sections on introduction, preparation, equipment, endoscopy assistants, cleaning, and disinfection could be updated. The other sections are of great benefit to anyone wanting to learn flexible sigmoidoscopy. A. Lujan, RN Sacramento, CA
The influence of the active control of internal damping on the stability of a cantilever rotor with a disc

Abstract The article presents the results of the analysis of the active control of Stodola-Green rotor, made of a cantilevered beam with a rigid disc attached to its free end. The rotor is of a smart type, with piezoelectric patch sensors and actuators glued to its surface. The aim of active control is to decrease the effective internal damping, thus increasing the range of stable operation. The simulation studies show that it is feasible to increase the range of stability of rotors by means of velocity feedback control. Unlike in most studies that utilize this control scheme, negative gains are used, which allows for the effective internal damping to be decreased.
Treatment of superficial second degree burn of face and neck with topical heparin: a comparative, prospective and randomized study Tratamento de queimadura de segundo grau superficial em face e pescoço com heparina tópica: estudo comparativo, prospectivo e randomizado

Background: New treatment options for thermal injuries are very desirable, especially if they reduce healing time and pain without increase of infection rates. Recent studies suggest that heparin topical use can achieve those goals. This study has the objective to evaluate healing time, pain and infection rate comparing topical use of heparin and collagenase in the treatment of superficial second degree burns of face and neck. Methods: Twenty patients were randomized into 2 groups: group treated with topical heparin and group treated with collagenase (control group). The exclusion criteria were: history of bleeding, blood discrasia, allergies to the product, active peptic ulcer and burns with more than 24 hours. Mann-Whitney test was applied to evaluate the results. The pain was measured by the use of opioid analgesics. Results: The heparin was not effective in decrease of healing time nor the use of opioids, and the infection rate didn’t present significant difference between the groups. Conclusions: The heparin can be used safely in treatment of superficial second degree burn of face and neck, but its beneficial effects need to be proven.
A Comparative Study Between the Oncological Results of Right and Left Colic Cancers

Introduction: There are embryonic, anatomical, and histological differences between right colon (RCC) and left colon (LCC) cancers. Many studies have sought to determine survival and prognosis based on the location of the tumor. The present study aims to compare the oncological results between RCC and LCC after curative resection. Materials and methods: It is about a bi-centric retrospective study. The data collection of patients undergoing curative resection for RCC and LCC was made over a period, from July 2004 to December 2015. Results: On 353 patients, 156 were operated for RCC or 44% and 197 were operated for LCC or 56%. No significant difference in age or sex or time to surgery. It is noted that LCCs were diagnosed at a later stage. RCCs had more carcinoma type poorly differentiated. The median follow-up is 96 months. The survival curves are practically superimposable over a 36-month follow-up, as well as for survival without recurrence. Beyond and up to 96 months, the recurrence-free survival following a LCC is 94.40 months, higher than the one of the RCC which is 89.04 months. Overall survival is almost identical. LCCs have better survival for stage I cancers (P = 0.01). Conclusion: On the basis of the current data, LCCs have a better survival result than RCC after curative resection (especially for stage I and SWR). Larger scale studies are needed. Determination of the impact on screening and appropriate specialized treatment related to the localization of 1 colon cancer is necessary.
Myelodysplastic syndromes: etiologies, evaluation, and therapy

DH I thought perhaps the best thing for our listeners and readers might be for you to rst dene myelodysplasia, or MDS. DS MDS are marrow failure syndromes in that they present with cytopenias due to the ineective production of blood cells by the marrow. ey are also neoplasms: they’re clonal disorders, they are unstable and tend to evolve over time toward worsening marrow failure and acute myeloid leukemia. ose two things together really encompass the essence of MDS. ere’s some quibbling around the edges about just what is and is not MDS, especially with respect to older people who have mild cytopenias and have clonal mutations, but may not have other evidence of MDS, such as extensive dysplasia or excess blasts. Do those patients have MDS or not? We’re still trying to sort that out, where the boundaries are, and we can talk about that more in a few moments. ose are really the essentials of MDS: cytopenias, a clonal disorder, and currently it’s diagnosed primarily by clinical picture and morphology – the nding of either extensive dysplasia or increased blasts in a patient with meaningful cytopenias.
Effects of Parasitic Resistances on Magnetically Coupled Impedance-Source Networks

Magnetically coupled impedance-source networks can achieve a higher voltage gain with smaller shoot-through duty ratio in comparison with the conventional impedance-source networks without coupled inductors. However, the practical voltage gain is seriously affected by the parasitic resistances in passive components and power devices, which is necessary to be investigated. This article derives and analyzes the effects of parasitic resistances on the voltage gain of magnetically coupled impedance-source networks under three different scenarios: first, different resistance ratio between parasitic resistances and output equivalent resistance, second, different shoot-through duty ratio, and third, different winding ratio. First of all, a generalized equivalent circuit model considering parasitic resistances for the three typical magnetically coupled impedance-source networks—Trans-Z-source, Г-source, and Y-source networks are proposed. Based on it, the effects of parasitic resistances on the voltage gain is mathematically derived and discussed under the aforementioned three different scenarios. And the maximum voltage gain under the consideration of the three resistance ratios simultaneously is also derived. Finally, representative simulation and experimental results are provided to verify the proposed generalized equivalent circuit models, the corresponding mathematical derivations, and the effects of the parasitic resistances on the magnetically coupled impedance-source networks.
Secure data dissemination techniques for IoT applications: Research challenges and opportunities

Internet of Things (IoT) connects different objects in the physical world to the Internet, and various Internet protocols are used to provide communication services to a large number of these embedded devices termed as smart devices. But, these devices are resource‐constrained, low configured, and have very low power storage capacity, which depends on the services offered by the protocols. For the exchange of information to the end‐users, smart devices communicate through an open channel, such as the Internet, which is not secure enough. Moreover, efficient delivery ratio, secure data forwarding are not achieved because of the enormous amount of data produced by these smart devices and the possibility of security threats. So there is a need to devise a secure and reliable data dissemination scheme for the IoT environment. Motivated from the these facts, this paper presents a systematic review and propose a solution taxonomy for secure data dissemination techniques for various smart IoT‐based applications. This paper also includes a comparison of the state‐of‐the‐art data dissemination techniques used for the Internet of Vehicles (IoVs), Internet of Drones (IoDs), and Internet of Battlefield Things (IoBTs) applications along with their merits and demerits. Finally, the research challenges and possible countermeasures are also discussed in detail, which gives insights to the beginners who want to start work in this emerging area.
Consciousness, Mind and Spirit

The explosion of interest in consciousness among scientists in recent decades has led to a revival of interest in the work of Whitehead. This has been associated with the challenge of biophysics to molecular biology in efforts to understand the nature of life. Some claim that it is only through quantum field theory that consciousness will be made intelligible. Most, although not all work in this area, focusses on the brain and how it could give rise to consciousness. In this paper, I will support this challenge, but I will suggest that the focus of work in this area reflects the failure to fully overcome the assumptions of Cartesian thought, associated above all with a defective understanding of consciousness as a ‘thinking substance'. Firstly, as Bergson, Whitehead and Merleau-Ponty argued, consciousness is embodied. Secondly, as Jacob von Uexkull argued, consciousness is only comprehensible in relation to the organism's world defined as such by the organism. Thirdly, in the case of humans, this is a ‘with-world', a world shared with others. The consequent social nature of human consciousness is better captured by the German word for mind: Geist , which also translates as ‘Spirit'. And as Hegel argued, along with Subjective Spirit, there is also Objective Spirit, the realm of institutions, and Absolute Spirit, the realm of culture, with Subjective, Objective and Absolute Spirit being conditions, and even components, of each other. My argument is that this broader notion of mind as Spirit should be embraced, but without abandoning the work in biophysics. What is required is a further expansion of the notion of mind and Spirit as humanity comes to appreciate that it is part of nature and that it is through the development of institutions and culture that nature, through human subjects, is becoming conscious of itself and its significance. The development of process philosophy inspired by Whitehead, associated with the development of the concepts of field and ecology, should be seen as a development of the semiosphere and the advance of the Spirit of Gaia, essential for the creation of a global civilization able to augment the life of the current regime of the global ecosystem of which we are part. It is to orient humanity to create an ecologically sustainable civilization; an ecological civilization. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:. 0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language:EN-US; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}
Does dependent positioning during CT-guided lung biopsy reduce the rate of procedure-associated complications?

Poster: "2014 CSM / R-0113 / Does dependent positioning during CT-guided lung biopsy reduce the rate of procedure-associated complications? " by: "P. Vivian1, J. Challen2; 1BRISBANE/AU, 2NAMBOUR/AU"