Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Group update : incorporating research generated outside of the health sector

2008 has been a busy and exciting inaugural year for the Cochrane Public Health Review Group (PHRG). There are now three titles registered (protocol in-development) with this editorial group and several more close to registration. A need for collaborative action to ensure the production of systematic reviews of most relevance to decision-makers, researchers and communities has continued to be the catalyst for our work. In 2009, the work programme of the Cochrane PHRG will be guided in particular by the recommendations emerging from the World Health Organization’s Commission on the Social Determinants of Health. The three principles of action as described in the Commission’s final report include:
Electrically driven magnetic antenna based on multiferroic composites

We suggest and demonstrate via large scale numerical simulations an electrically operated spin-wave inducer based on composite multiferroic junctions. Specifically, we consider an interfacially coupled ferromagnetic/ferroelectric structure that emits controllably spin waves in the ferromagnets if the ferroelectric polarization is poled by an external electric field. The roles of geometry and material properties are discussed.
Aphelenchoides xylophilus n. sp., a nematode associated with blue-stain and other fungi in timber.

The first observation of Aphelenchoides xylophilus, n.sp. , the timber nema, dates back to 1929, when a small piece of wood that had been cut, in the process of roofing, from the top of a green pole of longleaf Louisiana pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) was received from Orange, Tex. ^ This piece of wood had streaks of a bluish color caused by blue-stain fungi. The nemas were found in these streaks and in bordering portions. Larval specimens, males and females, were observed. Although they were not numerous, a dozen or more specimens could be found in a small portion of wood when soaked and dissected properly. Soaking the wood in water activated the nematodes, whereas drying the wood induced dormancy. Some tests showed revival of the nematodes after a dormancy of 1 year but not after 2 years. Later, through the courtesy of Ross W. Davidson, of the Division of Forest Pathology, Bureau of Plant Industry, there were received four different plate cultures of wood fungi in which nematodes had developed. All of these nematodes proved to be Aphelenchoides xylophilus. Three of the cultures were from a sawmill in Bogalusa, La. , and were also obtained from blue-stained logs of Pinus palustris. These logs had previously been attacked by beetles of the genus Ips, which, according to Davidson, usually carry the blue-stain fungus Ceratostomella ips Rumbold, but which in these three cases contained a brown fungus belonging probably to the genus Trichosporium, of the *'Fungi Imperfecti. '' The fourth culture on which the same species of nematode developed was obtained from a pine tree {Pinus echinata Mill. ) that had been recently killed by an attack of the beetle, Dendroctonus frontalis Zimm. , near Fairfax, Va. In this case the nematodes originated in the interior of unstained wood, one-sixteenth to one-fourth of an inch below the insect galleries. The fungus here associated with this nematode is said by Davidson to be entirely hyaline and also to belong
Performance comparison of several techniques to detect keywords in audio streams and audio scene

This paper is focused on the task of detecting words of interest in an audio scene (a room, a lab or a workshop) or in a continually recorded stream of speech, music and other sounds. The solution of this task is important in many applications, e.g. for command control in houses for handicapped persons, for automating some manufacturing and logistical operations, or for information retrieval from large audio archives. We investigate the use of three keyword spotting techniques and compare them with a classic large vocabulary speech recognition system. To evaluate their performance, we specified and studied two model applications: 1) search in large audio broadcast archive; 2) voice control of an interactive system. The investigated techniques were evaluated from several points of view, namely their speed (real-time factor), accuracy (equal error rate, figure of merit, receiver operating characteristics), the demands for training data and the impact of different types of noise.
Long-term complications after total knee arthroplasty with or without resurfacing of the patella.

The long-term complications related to the patella were retrospectively evaluated for 891 knees (684 patients) that had had a total arthroplasty, with or without resurfacing of the patella, with use of an unconstrained, condylar, posterior-cruciate-preserving prosthesis. The study population comprised two groups of patients who were similar in size, age, sex distribution, and diagnosis. One group (396 knees [303 patients]) had had a total knee arthroplasty with patellar resurfacing and the other group (495 knees [381 patients]) had had the same procedure without resurfacing. The average duration of follow-up was six and one-half years (range, two to fifteen years). The decision to resurface the patella was based on subjective inspection of the articular surface and on assessment of patellar tracking at the time of the operation. Resurfacing was performed if there was loss of cartilage, exposed bone, gross surface irregularities, or tracking abnormalities. Complications occurred an average of three years (range, immediately postoperatively to nine years) after the operation in the group that had had resurfacing and an average of four years (range, immediately post-operatively to ten years) postoperatively in the group that had not had resurfacing. In the group that had had resurfacing, there was loosening of the patellar component in five knees, patellar subluxation in four knees, fracture of the patella in three knees, rupture of the patellar tendon in three knees, and chronic peripatellar pain in one knee. In the group that had not had resurfacing, the complications included patellar subluxation in five knees, rupture of the patellar tendon in two knees, and chronic peripatellar pain in fifty-one knees. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
AIS Electronic

Older adults increasingly use IT to maintain social relationships and pursue an active lifestyle. IT use can also impact older adults’ outdoor activities but has received less attention in the literature. Empirical research is inconclusive on whether IT use facilitates older adults’ outdoor activities. We propose a research model that contextualizes activity theory of aging within the outdoor environment to explain the role of IT use. We report on designing a questionnaire-based survey, which we validated in a pretest with four groups of participants. This study is expected to have implications for IS research and the design of IT services and community programs assisting older adults in outdoor activities.
Water vapor profiling over ocean surface from airborne 90 and 183 GHz radiometric measurements under clear and cloudy conditions

Radiometric measurements at 90 GHz and three sideband frequencies near the water vapor absorption line at 183.3 GHz were made with the Advanced Microwave Moisture Sounder (AMMS) aboard the NASA DC-8 aircraft over some regions of the Pacific Ocean during November 1989. These measurements were used to retrieve atmospheric water vapor profiles over ocean surface using the algorithm developed by T.T. Wilheit (1979). The algorithm incorporates a mechanism to estimate cloud liquid water when the estimated relative humidity is greater than 95%. The results are compared with the estimated values from the measurements of Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSMI) and TIROS Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS). The water vapor profiles estimated from AMMS are generally higher at low altitudes and lower at high altitudes compared to those from the TOVS measurements. Values of total precipitable water estimated from the AMMS and SSM/I are in general agreement. Cloud liquid water vapor profiles retrieved from the AMMS show more fluctuations than those from SSM/I. >
A Tool for Prediction of Satellite Future States

The prospect of multiple launches by National Institute for Space Research’s satellite program has motivated the development of an application using techniques based on artificial intelligence techniques for automatic generation of flight operation plans to control satellite activities. However, making a critical analysis of these plans before real-world implementation is not possible. We propose a different approach as part of a strategy to validate these plans. This will use a decision support tool based on machine learning concepts to generate prognosis of satellite states for assisting experts in evaluating the performance of the plan. To build the tool, a comparative study of performance between classic data mining classifiers is accomplished to determine the classification model that provides greater accuracy to predict satellite future states.
Early assessment of tunnel-FET for energy-efficient logic circuits

In this paper, we explore the potentialities of TFET-based circuits operating in the ultra-low voltage regime. We show that the problem of unidirectional transport in 6T SRAMs can be solved by employing outward-facing access-transistors and suitable voltage levels during the read. We propose the level shifter as a key application domain of the hybrid TFET-MOSFET deployment strategy. By using the full adder as a benchmark vehicle, we observe that III–V TFETs will allow for a much better energy efficiency than future 10 nm node CMOS FinFETs at low VDD.
The Relationship Between Mood State and Plasma Methadone Concentration in Maintenance Patients

Although methadone maintenance is designed to stabilize opioid-dependent patients, some experience significant withdrawal in the latter part of the 24-hour interdosing interval. This study was designed to determine the mood changes that maybe associated with such withdrawal. Eighteen methadone patients, nine of whom experienced significant withdrawal, were tested over a single interdosing interval. During this time, 13 blood samples were collected to measure plasma racemic methadone concentrations, and the Profile of Mood States (POMS) was administered on 11 of these occasions. The POMS was also administered on 11 occasions over 24 hours to 10 drug-free healthy controls. In comparison with controls, methadone patients showed increased anger, depression, tension, confusion, and fatigue, as well as decreased vigor. For all scales, maximal differences from controls occurred at times of trough methadone concentration and minimal differences around the time of peak concentration. Changes in mood over the interdosing interval were more exaggerated in the nine patients who experienced significant withdrawal compared with those who did not. The composite Total Mood Disturbance (TMD) scores were calculated for each subject at each time point. The sigmoid Emax model was used to relate plasma concentrations to these data and to calculate the slope factor (N). This model could be fitted for 14 of the 18 patients with a mean ± SEM slope factor of 2.2 ± 0.5. TMD score was also shown to be inversely related to the rate of decline in methadone concentration from peak to trough. These results show that significant mood changes occur in response to changes in methadone concentration, and these are more pronounced in those who experience withdrawal. The concentration-effect relationships suggest that relatively small changes in plasma concentration will result in significant mood change. Differences in the degree of mood change between those who do and do not experience significant withdrawal may be explained by variation in the rate of decline in plasma concentration from peak to trough.
ass Screening With CT Colonography : Should the Radiation xposure Be of Concern ?

c ackground & Aims: Computed tomography colonograhy (CTC), particularly using noncathartic techniques, as the clear potential to increase compliance for coloectal cancer screening. Because the geometry for CTC s highly advantageous, it can be performed with lower adiation doses than almost any other CT examination. If TC were to become a standard screening tool for the opulation age 50 years and older, the potential market n the United States would soon be over 100 million eople. Therefore, it is pertinent to consider the radiaion exposure and any potential radiation risk to the opulation from such a mass CTC screening program. ethods: Organ doses from CTC examinations can be stimated with standard techniques. These doses can e applied to organand dose-specific radiation cancer isk estimates to estimate the excess cancer risk resultng from the radiation from a paired (supine and prone) TC examination. Results: The cancer risks associated ith the radiation exposure from CTC are unlikely to be ero, but they are small. A best estimate for the absolute ifetime cancer risk associated with the radiation expoure using typical current scanner techniques is about . 14% for paired CTC scans for a 50-year-old, and about alf that for a 70-year-old. These values probably could e reduced by factors of 5 or 10 with optimized CTC rotocols. Conclusions: In terms of the radiation expoure, the benefit-risk ratio potentially is large for CTC.
Mouse mutants with neural tube closure defects and their role in understanding human neural tube defects.

BACKGROUND The number of mouse mutants and strains with neural tube closure defects (NTDs) now exceeds 190, including 155 involving known genes, 33 with unidentified genes, and eight "multifactorial" strains. METHODS The emerging patterns of mouse NTDs are considered in relation to the unknown genetics of the common human NTDs, anencephaly, and spina bifida aperta. RESULTS Of the 150 mouse mutants that survive past midgestation, 20% have risk of either exencephaly and spina bifida aperta or both, parallel to the majority of human NTDs, whereas 70% have only exencephaly, 5% have only spina bifida, and 5% have craniorachischisis. The primary defect in most mouse NTDs is failure of neural fold elevation. Most null mutations (>90%) produce syndromes of multiple affected structures with high penetrance in homozygotes, whereas the "multifactorial" strains and several null-mutant heterozygotes and mutants with partial gene function (hypomorphs) have low-penetrance nonsyndromic NTDs, like the majority of human NTDs. The normal functions of the mutated genes are diverse, with clusters in pathways of actin function, apoptosis, and chromatin methylation and structure. The female excess observed in human anencephaly is found in all mouse exencephaly mutants for which gender has been studied. Maternal agents, including folate, methionine, inositol, or alternative commercial diets, have specific preventative effects in eight mutants and strains. CONCLUSIONS If the human homologs of the mouse NTD mutants contribute to risk of common human NTDs, it seems likely to be in multifactorial combinations of hypomorphs and low-penetrance heterozygotes, as exemplified by mouse digenic mutants and the oligogenic SELH/Bc strain.
On Securing Multi-Clouds : Survey on Advances and Current Challenges

Nowadays, storing and accessing data in multi-cloud infrastructure is being a common solution adopted by large organizations. Such adaptation would make organizations store their large amount of data in an efficient way without worrying about acceding their storage limits. It provides them with a flexible and dynamic storage that can grow and shrink based on the current need for data storage, and they pay based that. Besides, it provide them with the gain of multiple services from different clouds. Hence, it is been a cost-effective solution especially when organizational data storage needs change dynamically through different time of the year. However, that solution comes with some challenges such as the lack of management and security issues. Security is one of the biggest challenges that face such platforms and it is defined in terms of data privacy, availability, confidentiality and access control enforcements. In this paper, we discuss some of the recent advances to provide multi-cloud security and highlight their challenges and future research directions. This aims to understand the current trend in terms of complexity and strength of a secured solution and provide some insights of what is still left in such area of research.
A 24-kHz third-order continuous-time delta-sigma modulator using passive LPF

A continuous-time Delta-Sigma modulator (CTDSM) using passive low pass-filter (LPF) in the feedback DAC is proposed. The LPF helps to reduce the signal swing and slew-rate requirements of the first amplifier in CTDSM and also contributes one-order noise shaping. A modulator synthesis is analyzed. The performance of the modulator has been verified through simulations using a standard 0.18-μm CMOS process. It achieves 77.48-dB SNDR at 6.144-MS/s sampling rate and consumes 32.4-μW power.
Sexual Dysfunction and Unprotected Anal Intercourse Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in Two Chinese Cities

This study investigated the associations between sexual dysfunction and unprotected anal intercourse among adult Chinese men who have sex with men; 519 participants who had had anal sex (past 12 months) were recruited from gay venues (Hong Kong and Shenzhen) and from the Internet (Hong Kong). Respectively, 48.9% and 59.6% (p< .05) of the Hong Kong and Shenzhen participants had had at least one type of sexual dysfunction for 3 consecutive months (past 12 months); the difference may be explained by differential income levels or other factors. After adjustment for significant background variables, three variables related to sexual dysfunction (premature ejaculation, erectile dysfunction, and experienced at least one sexual dysfunction) were significantly associated with unprotected anal intercourse in the Hong Kong (adjusted odds ratio = 1.65–2.80) and Shenzhen samples (adjusted odds ratio = 5.46–6.41). Anxiety about sex was significant only in the Shenzhen sample (adjusted odds ratio = 8.67). The associations may be results of coping toward sexual dysfunction. Sexual dysfunction is prevalent and may contribute to unprotected anal intercourse among men who have sex with men in China. Physiological damages of receptive anal sex may contribute to some types of sexual dysfunction. However, one limitation is that participants were not asked about insertion/receptive anal sex. HIV interventions targeting men who have sex with men in China need to take counseling related to sexual dysfunction into account.
IBM’s strategic direction as global player

This paper aims to identify the internal and external factors driving industry changes worldwide that would impact IBMpsilas strategic direction and strategy making. Purpose of this paper is to explain the companypsilas vision, objectives, and strategy to change from producer of products and services to provider of consulting services that deliver business solutions. The approach in this paper is to describe the corporate level strategy used to establish a business position in the market or industry. Findings in this paper are the strategy and tactics created from the corporate strategy for the functional departments within the business level function. Implications are that management must recognize and respond to changes in the macro-environment to sustain competitive advantage. The paper benefits practitioners to understand the markets, industry, competitors, and customers in the quest for competitive advantage, profitability, and market leadership.
BURKITT’S LYMPHOMA SHORTLY AFTER AN ACUTE HIV INFECTION, TREATED WITH HIGHLY ACTIVE RETROVIRAL TREATMENT

Address for correspondence : Prof. dr. R. Colebunders Instituut voor Tropische Geneeskunde Nationalestraat 155 B – 2000 Antwerpen Belgie Tel. + 32 3 247 64 26 Fax + 32 3 247 64 32 E-mail : bcoleb@itg.be Since the introduction of highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART) the incidence of opportunistic infections in persons with HIV infection has remarkable decreased [1]. HAART also reduced the incidence of Kaposi’s sarcoma and primary central nervous system lymphoma but the incidence of systemic non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma remained relatively stable [2].
Brief, Irregular Oscillations of Basal Plasma Insulin and Glucose Concentrations in Diabetic Man

The basal plasma insulin and glucose concentrations of 12 diet-treated maturity-onset diabetics were measured at minute intervals for 2 h. Brief, irregular oscillations (mean period 8.8 min) in plasma insulin were superimposed on longer term fluctuations (> 30 min). Time series analysis demonstrated a synchronous plasma glucose oscillation (mean amplitude 0.03 mmol/L) associated with short insulin cycles. The glucose changes seen in diabetic subjects were similar to the short plasma insulin cycles (< 10 min) observed in normal subjects. In contrast, the longer plasma insulin cycles (> 10 min) of normal subjects were associated with a plasma glucose oscillation that rose before the end of the cycle. The demonstration of insulin oscillations independent of preceding plasma glucose changes in both normal and diabetic subjects suggests a pancreatic oscillating mechanism or “pacemaker. ” The associated glucose changes may reflect the entrainment, by the insulin cycles, of glucose production or utilization.
Passage Retrieval Evaluation Based on Intended Reading Order

A mobile lift comprises an undercarriage structure having a tow bar (1), a towing extension (9) and road wheels (7) supporting a main swivel bearing (6) for a lift boom (5) with a basket or platform (4). The lift has a first supporting beam (1) formed integrally with the tow bar, a second supporting beam (2) extending therefrom on the other side of the main swivel bearing (6) and two further supporting beams (3). All supporting beams are arranged in such a manner that the longitudinal axes thereof in supporting position meet in the main bearing (6). There is thus obtained a personnel lift where the undercarriage structure is very simple and consequently very cheap without reducing the strength, the reach or the carrying capacity of the lift.
Surgical Wound Infections: Prospective Study of 4,468 Clean Wounds

Abstract A prospective four-year study on the infection rate of clean operative wounds is presented. From January 1982 to June 1985, a nurse epidemiologist and a medical team assessed 4,468 operative procedures, from the day of surgery to the patients' discharge from the hospital. The infection rate was 3.2%. A higher incidence of wound infection was detected in patients requiring emergency operations (5.1%), in drained wounds (5.4%), and in patients with conditions thought to predispose to infection, such as advanced cancer, hepatic cirrhosis, diabetes, nephrotic syndrome, previous splenectomy, and treatment with immunosuppressive drugs (7.8%). Age over 65 did not influence infection rates. There were up to tenfold differences in infection indices between surgeons performing the same clean procedures. The continued monitoring of clean wound infection rates allowed the early detection and control of infection outbreaks. Providing periodic information on infection rates to the different surgical services was associated with decreasing infection rates over time.
Targeting plasma cells: are we any closer to a panacea for diseases of antibody‐secreting cells?

Antibody‐secreting cells (ASCs) are critical for a functional and effective adaptive immune system. In a number of illnesses, however, these same cells contribute to the underlying disease state leading to significant morbidity and mortality. While therapeutic targeting of antibody‐secreting cells has progressed significantly over the last two decades, many of these conditions remain major health problems. In this review, we will discuss current and potential therapeutic targeting of ASCs in the context of the known biology of these cells.