Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Estimating the extra cost of living with disability in Vietnam

Disability is shown to be both a cause and a consequence of poverty. However, relatively little research has investigated the economic cost of living with a disability. This study reports the results of a study on the extra cost of living with disability in Vietnam in 2011. The study was carried out in eight cities/provinces in Vietnam, including Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh cities (two major metropolitan in Vietnam) and six provinces from each of the six socio-economic regions in Vietnam. Costs are estimated using the standard of living approach whereby the difference in incomes between people with disability and those without disability for a given standard of living serves as a proxy for the cost of living with disability. The extra cost of living with disability in Vietnam accounted for about 8.8–9.5% of annual household income, or valued about US$200–218. Communication difficulty was shown to result in highest additional cost of living with disability and self-care difficulty was shown to lead to the lowest levels of extra of living cost. The extra cost of living with disability increased as people had more severe impairment. Interventions to promote the economic security of livelihood for people with disabilities are needed.
Theoretical deviation and ray tracing analysis of optical rotary encoder

Servomotor system is widely used in industry for precise positioning system. In this paper, a method of numerical integration solution based on radiometry theory was proposed. The non-sequential ray tracing simulations analyzed the optical distribution of Optical Rotary Encoder. The numerical integration solution and ray tracing simulations had been verified. The method of numerical integration solution apply in the pattern design of Code Mask and Code Disk on both Incremental Encoder and Absolute Encoder.
Cryptococcal meningitis in Lubumbashi, DR Congo: Clinical Expressions and Diagnostic Procedures

Copyright: © 2016 Lukasu M, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. *Corresponding Author: Mbayo Lukasu, Center of Excellence in HIV/Care, Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa, E-mail: xaviermulamba@gmail.com
Wave Buoy and Translator Motions—On-Site Measurements and Simulations

For a complete understanding of a wave energy conversion device, it is important to know how the proposed device moves in the water, how this motion can be measured, and to what extent the motion can be predicted or simulated. The magnitude and character of the motion has impacts on engineering issues and optimization of control parameters, as well as the theoretical understanding of the system. This paper presents real sea measurements of buoy motion and translator motion for a wave energy system using a linear generator. Buoy motion has been measured using two different systems: a land-based optical system and a buoy-based accelerometer system. The data have been compared to simulations from a Simulink model for the entire system. The two real sea measurements of buoy motion have been found to correlate well in the vertical direction, where the measured range of motion and the standard deviation of the position distributions differed with 3 and 4 cm, respectively. The difference in the horizontal direction is more substantial. The main reason for this is that the buoy rotation about its axis of symmetry was not measured. However, used together the two systems give a good understanding of buoy motion. In a first comparison, the simulations show good agreement with the measured motion for both translator and buoy.
A Novel Serum Assay for Pancreatic Cellular Damage. II. High Tissue Specificity of a Pancreatic Protein

A previously unknown major protein in human pancreatic cytosol has been purified and partly characterized. The protein, designated pancreas specific protein (PASP), has a molecular weight of 44,500 and a PI of 6.9. A two-dimensional gel separation technique revealed the protein to be specific for normal pancreatic tissue. Antibodies against PASP were raised in rabbits and a radioimmunoassay was developed for the quantitation of this protein. The following concentrations of PASP (mg/kg wet weight) were found in human tissues: normal pancreas 100–1 1,000; pancreatic carcinoma 0.1–20; prostate 0.5–5; and 13 other tissues <0.5. The levels of PASP in peripheral serum were <0.1 mg/L in normal subjects, 0.7–3 mg/L in cases of acute pancreatitis, and <0. 1 mg/L in cases of pancreatic carcinoma, prostatic diseases, and other abdominal diseases investigated. The high tissue specificity and the specific elevation of serum PASP levels in acute pancreatitis may indicate a use of this protein as a marker of this pancreatic condition.
Treatment with siRNA and antisense oligonucleotides targeted to HIF‐1α induced apoptosis in human tongue squamous cell carcinomas

Overexpression of hypoxia inducible factor‐1α (HIF‐1α) in cancers has been correlated to a more aggressive tumor phenotype. We investigated the effect of HIF‐1α knockout on the in vitro survival and death of human tongue squamous cell carcinomas (SCC‐4 and SCC‐9). Under normoxic condition, a basal level of HIF‐1α protein was constitutively expressed in SCC‐9 cells, albeit an undetectable level of HIF‐1α messages. Exposure to hypoxia induced only a transient increase in mRNA transcript but a prolonged elevation of HIF‐1α protein and its immediate downstream target gene product, VEGF. Under normoxic or hypoxic conditions, treatment of SCC‐9 cells with AS‐HIF‐1α ODN suppressed both constitutive and hypoxia‐induced HIF‐1α expression at both mRNA and protein levels. Knockout of HIF‐1α gene expression via either AS‐HIF‐1α ODN or siRNA (siRNAHIF‐1α) treatment resulted in inhibition of cell proliferation and induced apoptosis in SCC‐4 and SCC‐9 cells. We also demonstrated that exposure of SCC‐9 cells to hypoxia led to a time‐dependent increase in the expression of bcl‐2 and IAP‐2, but not p53. The attenuated levels of bcl‐2 and IAP‐2, and the enhanced activity of caspase‐3 after treatment with AS‐HIF‐1α ODN may contribute partly to the effects of HIF‐1α blockade on SCC‐9 cell death. Collectively, our data suggest that a constitutive or hypoxia‐induced expression of HIF‐1α in SCC‐9 and SCC‐4 cells is sufficient to confer target genes expression essential for tumor proliferation and survival. As a result, interfering with HIF‐1α pathways by antisense or siRNA strategy may provide a therapeutic target for human tongue squamous cell carcinomas. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
An economic evaluation of laparoscopic ovarian diathermy versus gonadotrophin therapy for women with clomiphene citrate resistant polycystic ovary syndrome.

BACKGROUND Laparoscopic ovarian diathermy and gonadotrophin ovulation induction for women with clomiphene citrate resistant polycystic ovary syndrome have been shown to result in similar pregnancy rates, but their relative cost-effectiveness has not been evaluated. METHODS A cost-minimization study was undertaken alongside a randomized controlled trial in women with anovulatory infertility secondary to clomiphene resistant polycystic ovary syndrome. Inclusion criteria were age less than 39 years, body mass index less than 35 kg/m(2), failure to ovulate with 150 mg of clomiphene citrate for 5 days in the early follicular phase, more than 12 months of infertility and no other causes of infertility. Laparoscopic ovarian diathermy was compared with three cycles of urinary or recombinant gonadotrophins. Direct and indirect costs were based on the results of a randomized trial. RESULTS The cost of a live birth was one third lower in the group that underwent laparoscopic ovarian diathermy compared to those women who received gonadotrophins (19 640 New Zealand dollars and 29 836 New Zealand dollars, respectively). CONCLUSIONS This economic evaluation shows that treating women with clomiphene-resistant polycystic ovarian syndrome with laparoscopic ovarian diathermy results in a significant reduction in both direct and indirect costs.
EXPERIENCE WITH HUMAN GROWTH HORMONE IN GREAT BRITAIN: THE REPORT OF THE MRC WORKING PARTY

The Working Party on human growth hormone (hGH) has during the past decade developed a system for the evaluation and treatment of patients suffering from hGH lack. Today there are nineteen measurement centres in the United Kingdom at which patients are assessed and where the effects of therapy are monitored. The current supply of hGH, which is prepared from pituitary glands collected by path‐ologists in the National Health Service, is just enought to meet demand, but research conducted on behalf of the Working Party suggests that hCH deficiency is more common than has been thought and that the prevalence may be as high as one in 10000. If, as is hoped, patients are diagnosed younger and more patients with partial deficiency are recognized, demand may soon outstrip supply.
and Mikael Associated With Congestive Heart Failure Firing Properties of Single Muscle Vasoconstrictor Neurons in the Sympathoexcitation

Background—Congestive heart failure (CHF) in humans is associated with a marked sympathoexcitation, including an augmented muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) in intraneural multiunit recordings. In the present study, single-unit recording was used to evaluate whether the firing properties of individual muscle vasoconstrictor neurons can reveal underlying mechanisms for this increase in MSNA. Methods and Results —Eight patients with CHF (NYHA class II to IV; left ventricular ejection fraction, 29 65%, mean6SEM) were studied. In standard multiunit recordings, MSNA burst incidence (bursts/100 heartbeats) ranged from 65% to 100% (88 65%). Using selective tungsten microelectrodes, we made recordings from 16 single muscle vasoconstrictor axons. Mean unit firing probability (ie, the percentage of cardiac intervals in which a single axon fired) was 54.565. 2% (range, 21 to 89%), and mean firing frequency was 0.98 6 . 22 Hz (0.14 to 3.86 Hz), both of which were higher than seen previously in healthy subjects ( P,0.001). Although single neurons occasionally generated multiple spikes per sympathetic burst, such multiple firing was rare and was not different from that seen in healthy subjects. Conclusions—An increased firing frequency of individual vasoconstrictor neurons is one mechanism for the increased number of multiunit MSNA bursts at rest in CHF. The neurons discharge in more diastoles than in healthy subjects (ie, firing probability is increased), but the likelihood of discharging . 1 impulse per sympathetic burst is not increased. Despite the intense multiunit activity at rest, the firing characteristics of individual vasoconstrictor axons indicate a remaining capacity for transient increases of MSNA in CHF. (Circulation. 1999;100:1708-1713.)
Mutation of either G box or I box sequences profoundly affects expression from the Arabidopsis rbcS‐1A promoter.

A deletion analysis of the Arabidopsis thaliana rbcS‐1A promoter defined a 196 bp region (‐320 to ‐125) sufficient to confer light‐regulated expression on a heterologous Arabidopsis alcohol dehydrogenase (Adh) reporter gene in transgenic Nicotiana tabacum (tobacco) leaves. This region, which contains DNA sequences I, G and GT boxes, with homology to other ribulose‐1,5‐bisphosphate carboxylase small subunit (RBCS) gene promoter sequences, directed expression independent of orientation and relative position in the Adh promoter. Site‐specific mutagenesis of these conserved sequences and subsequent expression analysis in transgenic tobacco showed that both G box and I box mutations in the context of the full (‐1700 to +21) rbcS‐1A promoter substantially reduced the expression of Adh and beta‐glucuronidase (GUS) reporter genes. The G box has previously been shown to specifically bind in vitro a factor isolated from nuclear extracts of tomato and Arabidopsis. This factor (GBF) is distinct from the factor GT‐1 which binds to adjacent GT boxes in the pea rbcS‐3A promoter. Multiple mutations in putative Arabidopsis rbcS‐1A promoter GT boxes had no pronounced affect on expression, possibly due to a redundancy of these sites. Experiments in which rbcS‐1A promoter fragments were fused to truncated 35S CaMV (cauliflower mosaic virus) promoter‐‐GUS reporter constructs showed that cis‐acting CaMV promoter elements could partially restore expression to G‐box‐mutated rbcS‐1A sequences.
Primary headaches and trigeminal neuralgia: neuropathic pain yes or not? Evidences from neurophysiological procedures

Despite the fact that neurophysiological evaluation is not useful for primary headache diagnosis, the nociceptive system exploration through reflexes and evoked potentials procedures may give an aid in understanding the pathophysiological mechanism subtending pain. Neuropathic pain is caused by a lesion or disease of the somatosensory nervous system, which is supported by clinical evaluation and instrumental assessment by trigeminal and nociceptive reflexes and laser evoked potentials. The same methods, applied to migraine and cluster headache, together with evidences coming from structural and functional neuroimaging, excluded the neuropathic origin of pain, which is attaining to symptomatic and idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia, but confirmed a complex dysfunction of pain processing. Tension-type headache fits with a model of non-nociceptive and non-neuropathic pain, subtended by a complex interaction of peripheral muscular and central neuronal factors. The presence of altered modulation of pain concurs with migraine and tension-type headache, and should be taken into account for the choice of the best therapeutic approach.
Class-Distance-Based Discriminant Analysis and Its Application to Supervised Automatic Age Estimation

We propose a novel method of supervised feature projection called class-distance-based discriminant analysis (CDDA), which is suitable for automatic age estimation (AAE) from facial images. Most methods of supervised feature projection, e.g., Fisher discriminant analysis (FDA) and local Fisher discriminant analysis (LFDA), focus on determining whether two samples belong to the same class (i.e., the same age in AAE) or not. Even if an estimated age is not consistent with the correct age in AAE systems, i.e., the AAE system induces error, smaller errors are better. To treat such characteristics in AAE, CDDA determines between-class separability according to the class distance (i.e., difference in ages); two samples with similar ages are imposed to be close and those with spaced ages are imposed to be far apart. Furthermore, we propose an extension of CDDA called local CDDA (LCDDA), which aims at handling multimodality in samples. Experimental results revealed that CDDA and LCDDA could extract more discriminative features than FDA and LFDA.
The competitive food conundrum: can government regulations improve school food?

Increasing concerns over children's health have focused the nation's attention on what children are eating, especially in school. Lawmakers and advocates have cause to be optimistic that the intense focus on children's health and school nutrition will create of wave of competitive food reforms; previous determined efforts met with a modicum of success. Essentially, regulation of competitive foods was rolled back to its 1970 status, with the addition of a new narrow category of Foods of Minimal Nutritional Value (FMNV). The burgeoning junk food and soda sales that followed inexorably led to worsening student health. Soda-ban organizers, aware of the financial arguments that ultimately jettisoned previous competitive food restrictions, insisted this time that health issues be paramount and considered apart from financial ones and described the need to break the pernicious link between unhealthy products and supplemental funding for schools. Studies have increasingly connected competitive foods in general, and soft drink consumption in particular, to weight gain and nutritional deficits. There must be a national conversation about how best to ensure children's health, a conversation that embraces not only the radical improvement of school food, but includes all unhealthy societal influences that have proven detrimental to children's nutritional and developmental well-being.
New circuit model for investigating plasma damage in FDSOI devices

In this work we propose a circuit model to investigate the plasma induced damage on the FDSOI technology. The charging damages are simulated on nMOS and pMOS devices as a function of the plasma parameters and antenna characteristics. We demonstrate that model simulations reproduce the electrical measurements and the FDSOI device behavior for each test structures where different configuration of diode protection and several gate oxide thicknesses are proposed.
[Construction of a low-pH-sensing system in Streptococcus mutans].

OBJECTIVE To construct a low-pH-sensing system in Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans) and to visually detect the pH in situ. METHODS Promoter of ureaseⅠ(PureⅠ) and green fluorescence protein (gfp) DNA fragments were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from the genome of Streptococcus salivarius 57.I and S. mutans containing the gfp fragment. The two amplified DNA fragments were ligated together and further integrated into pDL278 to construct the recombinant plasmid pDL278-pureⅠ-gfp. This recombinant plasmid was then transformed into S. mutans UA159 cells. Subsequently, the intensity of the optical density per unit area of the low-pH-sensing system was measured and compared under different pH conditions and different processing times. RESULTS PureⅠ and gfp DNA fragments were amplified successfully with the correct molecule sizes (450 and 717 bp, respectively). The recombinant plasmid pDL278-pureⅠ-gfp was constructed and further verified by PCR and sequencing. The intensity of the optical density per unit area of the low-pH-sensing system increased with decreasing pH and increasing processing time. CONCLUSIONS A low-pH-sensing system was constructed successfully in S. mutans. Our research verified that pureⅠ of Streptococcus salivarius can function well in S. mutans as an acid induced promoter, and provided a new method of detecting the pH of plaque biofilms in situ.
Managing community acquired pneumonia in the elderly – the next generation of pharmacotherapy on the horizon

ABSTRACT Introduction: Community acquired pneumonia (CAP) is associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality, especially among the elderly. Antibiotic treatment for CAP in the elderly is particularly challenging for many reasons, including compliance issues, immunosuppression, polypharmacy and antimicrobial resistance. There are few available antibiotics that are able to address these concerns. Areas covered: After a systematic review of the current literature, we describe seven novel antibiotics that are currently in advanced stages of development (phase 3 and beyond) and show promise for the treatment of CAP in those over the age of 65. These antibiotics are: Solithromycin, Pristinamycin, Nemonaxacin, Lefamulin, Omadacycline, Ceftobiprole and Delafloxacin. Using a novel conceptual framework designed by the present authors, known as the ‘San Antonio NIPS model’, we evaluate their strengths and weaknesses based on their ability to address the unique challenges that face the elderly. Expert opinion: All seven antibiotics have potential value for effective utilization in the elderly, but to varying degrees based on their NIPS model score. The goal of this model is to reorganize a clinician’s focus on antibiotic choices in the elderly and bring attention to a seldom discussed topic that may potentially become a health-care crisis in the next decade.
Controlled ultrasound tissue erosion: the effects of tissue type, exposure parameters and the role of dynamic microbubble activity

Previous studies have shown that ultrasound can mechanically remove tissue in a highly controlled, localized manner. The dependence of the erosion process on tissue type and exposure parameters was investigated. In particular, the effects of tissue elasticity, gas saturation and pulse intensity were explored. Moreover, an enhanced and rapidly changing backscatter was highly correlated with the erosion process. A statistical method was developed to detect "initiation" and "extinction" of the highly backscattering environment. The relationship between initiation and erosion, and the effects of pulse intensity and gas saturation on time to initiation (initiation delay time) were investigated. Results show the following: (1) erosion is faster with softer tissue; (2) erosion rate does not change significantly for increasing gas saturation, but becomes more consistent with increased gas saturation; (3) erosion rate does not change significantly for increasing intensity; (4) the presence or absence of initiation of enhanced backscatter successfully predicted erosion or lack of erosion at a rate of 98.9%; (5) initiation delay time is shorter with higher intensity and higher gas saturation; and (6) once initiated by high intensity pulses, the highly backscattering environment and erosion can be sustained using a significantly lower intensity than that required to initiate the process.
High-Frequency Cranial Electrostimulation (CES) in Patients with Probable Alzheimer’s Disease

Scherder EJA, van Tol MJ, Swaab DF: High-frequency cranial electrostimulation (CES) in patients with probable Alzheimer’s disease. Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2006;85:614–618. In a previous study, low-frequency cranial electrostimulation did not improve cognition and (affective) behavior in patients with probable Alzheimer’s disease. In the present study, 21 Alzheimer’s disease patients, divided into an experimental (n = 11) and a control group (n = 10), were treated for 30 mins/day, 5 days/wk, for 6 wks with high-frequency cranial electrostimulation. Similar to the previous study, no improvements on cognition and (affective) behavior were found.
Optic neuritis

We investigated the paraclinical profile of monosymptomatic optic neuritis(ON) and its prognosis for multiple sclerosis (MS). The correct identification of patients with very early MS carrying a high risk for conversion to clinically definite MS is important when new treatments are emerging that hopefully will prevent or at least delay future MS. We conducted a prospective single observer and population-based study of 147 consecutive patients (118 women, 80%) with acute monosymptomatic ON referred from a catchment area of 1.6 million inhabitants between January 1, 1990 and December 31, 1995. Of 116 patients examined with brain MRI, 64 (55%) had three or more high signal lesions, 11 (9%) had one to two high signal lesions, and 41 (35%) had a normal brain MRI. Among 143 patients examined, oligoclonal IgG (OB) bands in CSF only were demonstrated in 103 patients (72%). Of 146 patients analyzed, 68 (47%) carried the DR15,DQ6,Dw2 haplotype. During the study period, 53 patients (36%) developed clinically definite MS. The presence of three or more MS-like MRI lesions as well as the presence of OB were strongly associated with the development of MS (p < 0.001). Also, Dw2 phenotype was related to the development of MS (p = 0.046). MRI and CSF studies in patients with ON give clinically important information regarding the risk for future MS.