Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Improving CHW program functionality performance and engagement: operations research results from Zambia.

The CHW AIM operations research activity was designed as a field intervention study that applied the CHW AIM process twice over 13 months. It included a sample of six organizations (five intervention sites and one control site) and 156 CHWs. The CHW AIM process was applied at five organizations; engagement was assessed at all sites through an engagement survey which was complemented with an in-depth engagement interview; CHW performance (task completion) in two HIV/AIDS service delivery areas that CHWs commonly provide positive living and ART adherence counseling was also assessed at all sites through analysis of service delivery audio recordings. The study team collected additional data on program design results and costs. Costs related to training incentives and supervision were documented for a 25-month period 12 months prior to the study and the 13 months of the intervention. HCI covered the costs of the CHW AIM workshops and expenditures were closely tracked to document the cost of implementing the one-day workshops. Data were collected between October 2010 and November 2011. Ten data collection instruments were used to collect a variety of qualitative and quantitative data on CHW program functionality CHW program structures and experience CHW engagement CHW performance and program costs and clients served. The protocol and tools were approved by IRBs inside and outside of Zambia as well as the Zambia ministry of health. Participation in the operations research was entirely voluntary and confidential and no names or client specific information were documented. Data were entered into Microsoft Access and Excel databases and imported into SPSS for statistical analysis. Correlations between CHW AIM CHW performance and CHW engagement were analyzed using bivariate analysis (Pearson Correlation). Multivariate linear regression and two-step cluster analyses were conducted to identify the variables that most strongly influence performance and describe the characteristics of better performing CHWs. Qualitative analysis was used for CHW AIM workshop action plan program manager and CHW interview.
Student Clinical Performance in Acute Care Enhanced Through Simulation Training

Purpose:High-fidelity human simulation (HFHS) is implemented in physical therapy (PT) curricula to prepare students for acute care clinical experiences (CEs). Nursing and medical education literature supports HFHS in preparation for clinical practice, but there is limited evidence describing efficacy of HFHS in PT education. The purpose of this study was to compare clinical performance between PT students who did and did not participate in HFHS training before acute care CEs. Methodology:In this exploratory study, 16 PT students were randomly assigned to either the control or the experimental groups. The experimental group participated in 6 hours of HFHS before an acute care CE. Clinical performance was evaluated by quantitative and qualitative analysis of Clinical Performance Instrument (CPI) ratings during the CE. Baseline demographics and CPI ratings were compared using the Mann-Whitney U for continuous data and chi-square analysis for categorical data. Qualitative methods were used in analysis of CPI narrative comments. Results:No significant differences were found on CPI quantitative analysis, but qualitative analysis demonstrated different perceptions between groups. Students participating in HFHS were described to excel in safety and communication as well as overall preparation for acute care practice. Conclusion:High-fidelity human simulation in PT education may lead to improved performance during acute care CEs.
Zika Virus: A Review and Clinical Updates

Abstract Zika virus is a recent mosquito-borne threat, yet many providers have limited knowledge of the virus and its potential complications. Current research indicates that Zika infection is associated with severe neurological conditions such as Guillain-Barré syndrome and is causative of congenital microcephaly and other birth defects. Given increasing global travel, domestic endemic areas in Florida and Texas, and the virus' diverse transmission routes, medical providers across specialties need basic understanding of the disease and its potential complications, as well as understanding of current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
A Bar and Hinge Model for Simulating Bistability in Origami Structures With Compliant Creases

Active origami structures usually have creases made with soft and compliant plates because it is difficult to fabricate real hinges and actuate them. However, most conventional origami modeling techniques fail to capture these compliant creases and simplify them as concentrated rotational springs, which neglects torsional and extensional deformations of the creases. In this paper, an improved formulation of a bar and hinge model is proposed to explicitly capture the geometry and the flexibility of compliant creases with nonnegligible width in an origami, and the model is verified against finite element simulations. The verification shows that the model performs relatively well despite being simple and computationally inexpensive. Moreover, simulation examples demonstrate that the proposed model can capture the bistable behavior of the compliant crease origami with nonnegligible crease width because it explicitly includes the extensional stretching energy into the simulation framework and allows torsional crease deformations.
Three Essays on the Design, Pricing, and Hedging of Insurance Contracts

This thesis makes use of some theoretical tools in finance, decision theory, machine learning, to improve the design, pricing and hedging of insurance contracts. Chapter 3 develops closed-form pricing formulas for participating life insurance contracts, based on matrix Wiener-Hopf factorization, where multiple risk sources, such as credit, market, and economic risks, are considered. The pricing method proves to be accurate and efficient. The dynamic and semi-static hedging strategies are introduced to assist insurance company to reduce risk exposure arising from the issue of participating contracts. Chapter 4 discusses the optimal contract design when the insured is third degree risk averse. The results showthat dual limited stop-loss, change-loss, dual change-loss, and stop-loss can be optimal contracts favord by both of risk averters and risk lovers in different settings. Chapter 5 develops a stochastic gradient boosting frequency-severity model, which improves the important and popular GLM and GAM frequency-severity models. This model fully inherits advantages ofgradient boosting algorithm, overcoming the restrictive linear or additive forms of the GLM and GAM frequency-severity models, through learning the model structure from data. Further, our model can also capture the flexible nonlinear dependence between claim frequency and severity
Purchasing through Social Platforms with Buy Buttons: A Basic Hierarchical Sequence

ABSTRACT Buy buttons are a call-to-action feature directing viewers to a follow-up purchase page, which allows users to make direct and actual purchases through social platforms. This paper examines two different direct purchase behaviors (general purchase behavior and impulse purchase behavior) through a social platform with buy buttons, and, for the purposes of study, proposes a model based on the standard learning hierarchy sequence for users’ perceived ease of purchase from a social platform, their attitude toward shopping on it, and, finally, their general and impulse purchase responses toward a seller’s item through the platform. Our study used the Chinese survey platform, Wjx.cn, to recruit participants, who were users of the Chinese social platform, WeChat. The model was then tested by structural equation modeling with both an estimation sample and a validation sample. The result showed that ease of purchase positively affects attitude toward using the social platform for shopping, which in turn positively influences two purchase intentions. General purchase intention also positively affects impulse purchase intention. These findings can also offer useful and valuable implications for social platforms wanting to monetize via buy buttons and sellers wanting to use buy buttons to increase direct purchases via social platforms.
Trickle-down effect of CEO transformational leadership on employee’s innovative work behaviors

Despite the theoretical foundation that links Transformational leadership (TFL) with innovation behavior, previous studies have overlooked on Transformational leadership and innovation behavior at the individual level relationship but paid less attention to how transformational leadership qualities of top leaders would advance innovative work behavior within the organizational setting. To date, the impact of Transformational leadership at a top executive level on employee’s innovative work behavior (IWB) within an organizational setting has not been dealt with in-depth. However, using transformational leadership theory, this study uncovers the pivotal role of innovation culture (IC) and managerial innovation (MI) in the relationship between CEO transformational leadership and employee’s innovation behavior in SMEs. A cross-sectional design with a total of 434 employees from 24 SMEs operating from Rwanda was analyzed using structural equation modeling to evaluate the relationship between the variables developed in the study. The findings of this study support our hypothesized model.
ROTH SPOTS IN A CHILD WITH INTRACRANIAL HEMORRHAGE

Background: Infective endocarditis (IE) is uncommon in children. It may not be presented with classical signs and symptoms but late complications such as aneurysm, brain abscess and intracranial haemorrhage. Roth spots are classically associated with IE but it is rare to be seen in paediatric patients. Here we report a rare case of culture negative infective endocarditis with Roth spots in a child who presented with intracranial haemorrhage. Case Report: A 9-year-old girl with underlying uncorrected Tetralogy of Fallot presented with difficulty of breathing associated with fever, headache and vomiting for 2 days. Upon arrival to casualty, her Glasgow Coma Scale was 4 and she developed multiple episodes of convulsions. Urgent computed tomography (CT) of the brain showed right occipital haemorrhage with intraventricular haemorrhage. She was then proceeded for emergency craniectomy and external ventricular drainage. Postoperatively patient had persistent fever and infective endocarditis was suspected. Hence, bedside echocardiography (ECHO) was carried out and revealed vegetations of tricuspid valve. On ocular examination noted extensive Roth spots in bilateral eye. Blood cultures taken from multiple sites but negative finding. She was treated empirically with antibiotics but her condition continued to deteriorate and patient succumbed to her disease on day 16 of admission. Conclusion: High index of clinical suspicion of IE should be raised in children who presented with fever and underlying heart disease or new murmurs to prevent further complications and reduce the mortality rate. Ocular assessment can aid in early detection of IE for prompt multidisciplinary treatment. Keywords: Roth spots, Infective endocarditis, Tetralogy of Fallot, Intracranial Haemorrhage.
Seasonal Variation in Blood Pressure Control in Patients on Maintenance Haemodialysis in LASUTH

Background: Seasonal variation in blood pressure control has been reported in both normotensive and hypertensive patients, this is of particular importance in patients with chronic kidney disease in whom cardiovascular events are the most important cause of morbidity and mortality. Studies on the impact of seasonal variation on blood pressure control in our environment are scarce.Objective: To relate blood pressure control changes in patients on maintenance haemodialysis in LASUTH with seasonal changes.Methodology: Retrospective Cohort study involving all patients on maintenance dialysis who were dialysed between the months of November 2012 and October 2013. Data were obtained from the dialysis record charts of the patients. The predialysis systolic, diastolic and mean arterial blood pressure readings were obtained, as well as the intradialysis readings during each hour of the dialysis session. Dry season was taken as the period between November and March, while rainy season was taken as period between April and October. Statistical evaluation was done using the students’ T test.Results: There was significant increment in all blood pressure readings obtained during rainy compared to dry season. Mean Systolic blood pressure being 154.08 +29.26 mmHg in the rainy season compared to 141.36 + 24.68 mmHg in the dry season (p < 0.05). These pattern was observed also in the intradialysis blood pressure readings.Conclusion: It was concluded that seasonal variation in blood pressure of patients on haemodialysis exists in our environment with higher values during the rainy season. The impact of this observation on morbidity and mortality of our dialysis population needs to be evaluated.
Changes in serum lipid profile of castrated dogs

The present study was to evaluate possible changes in serum lipid profile of castrated dogs, weight gain, body fat percentage and IMCC, and possible correlations of these changes with the time of castration. We also evaluated the influence of variations of sex, age, size, type of nutrition and physical inactivity on the serum levels of cholesterol, triglycerides and glucose, weight gain, percentage of body fat and IMCC. We evaluated 44 dogs, seven entire and 37 castrated, without distinction of race and gender, aged one to 13 years, healthy. The dogs were divided into six groups according to the length of castration and a control group. Morphometric measurements were used to calculate the percentage of body fat, and IMCC calculation was also performed. In addition, animals were weighed and sorted in body condition scores. Serum levels of cholesterol, triglycerides, and glucose were measured for verification of probable alteration. Regarding the results, there was influence of sex and size (P≤0,05) on cholesterol levels, the size also influenced (P≤0,05) the percentage of body fat and the IMCC. Age influenced (P≤0,05), triglyceride levels. The type of feeding had effect (P≤0,05) in the IMCC and physical inactivity affected (P≤0,05) the percentage of body fat. It was also verified that there is correlation between time since castration and serum cholesterol, triglycerides and glucose, as well as weight gain, fat percentage and IMCC.
Response of intestinal signaling communication between the nucleus and peroxisome to nanopolystyrene at a predicted environmental concentration

The molecular responses of organisms to environmental toxicants at environmentally relevant concentrations are still largely unknown. Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is a sensitive animal model used for environmental exposure assessment. We here determined the role of canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling, a conserved molecular signaling among different organisms, in regulating the response of nematodes to nanopolystyrene (100 nm) at a predicted environmental concentration (1 μg L−1) and the underlying mechanism. Among the components of the canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, nanopolystyrene (1 μg L−1) only decreased GSK-3 expression and increased β-catenin BAR-1 expression. GSK-3 acted upstream of BAR-1 to regulate the response to nanopolystyrene, and the intestine-specific activity of the GSK-3-BAR-1 signaling cascade in regulating the response to nanopolystyrene was observed. Transcriptional factor DAF-16 and peroxisomal protein PRX-5 were identified as downstream targets of both BAR-1 and Wnt effector POP-1 in regulating the response to nanopolystyrene. During the control of the response to nanopolystyrene, DAF-16 and PRX-5 functioned synergistically, suggesting that the intestinal canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling mediates two different molecular signals to regulate the response to nanopolystyrene. In the peroxisome, KAT-1 and ACOX-1.6 were further identified as downstream targets of PRX-5 to regulate the response to nanopolystyrene. Therefore, exposure to nanopolystyrene could activate the canonical Wnt/β-catenin-mediated signaling communication between the nucleus and peroxisome. Our results suggest the crucial function of intestinal canonical Wnt/β-catenin-mediated nucleus–peroxisome signaling communication in response to nanopolystyrene exposure at a predicted environmental concentration.
SOCIALIZATION AND SENSE OF BELONGING IN AN ONLINE NURSE PRACTITIONER PROGRAM: A CASE STUDY

The purpose of this study was to examine the socialization experience of students who were enrolled in an online master’s level nurse practitioner program. The focus of this study was on the experience of students in the Duquesne University School of Nursing (DUSON) online Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) program. Despite extensive growth in online education and nurse practitioner programs nationwide, little research had been done to examine the online graduate programs, specifically the FNP program, and/or gain insight into the student experience (AANP, 2015; Lehman & Conceicao, 2010, 2013). Studies have found that socialization is critical in student development and building sense of belonging among students, particularly among students in online programs (Hart, 2012; Holley & Taylor, 2009; Ivankova & Stick, 2007; Strayhorn, 2012). This study used the Weidman, Twale and Stein (2001) theory of Graduate and Professional Student Socialization and Goodenow’s (1993) theory of Sense of Belonging as the conceptual frameworks. This study also employed a single case study methodological approach and utilized a three-pronged data collection plan that included a document review, survey, and interviews. Fourteen students completed a modified version of the Weidman, Twale and Stein’s (2003) Doctoral Student Socialization Questionnaire. Fifteen students completed individual interviews. Results indicated that students’ experiences were positive and that they were able to experience socialization in the graduate student and professional roles. Furthermore, many participants indicated that they had felt a strong sense of belonging to their cohort, despite being enrolled in an online program. Implications for practice are presented for higher education professionals that include: campus residencies to strengthen cohort bonding, a peer mentoring program, and the establishment of a supportive environment in which students feel comfortable communicating with faculty and peers and developing their own support systems for success.
EFFECT OF DIFFERENT DOSES OF ALOE VERA VERSUS INDOMETHACIN ON SODIUM AND WATER RETENTION IN HEALTHY RATS

Objective: To compare the dose dependent effect of chloroform extract of aloe vera gel on sodium and water retention in rats with indomethacin and control. Methodology: This randomized controlled trial was conducted at Post Graduate Medical Institute, Lahore in which thirty male Sprague Dawley rats were divided in to five groups. First group was control (CTL), second was given indomethacin 3 mg/kg (INDO) while groups AVL, AVM, and AVH were given 200, 400 and 800 mg/kg doses of Aloe vera gel extract orally for a period of 28 days. Body weight, blood haematocrit level, total sodium excretion and serum sodium and potassium concentrations were measured. SPSS version 17 was used for data analysis. Results: Comparison of treatment groups with control at end of study showed significant weight gain in group INDO and AVH (p value <0.001). INDO and AVH groups also showed a significant decrease in total sodium excretion (p value 0.001 and 0.015). The mean haematocrit decreased insignificantly in groups INDO and AVH, while serum sodium level increased insignificantly in group INDO. Highest serum potassium level was observed in group INDO (p value 0.001) and the lowest was found in group AVH but difference was not significant as compared to control. Conclusion: High dose of aloe vera gel extract causes significant sodium and water retention in healthy rats, which was still less than that of indomethacin.
Smart Crawler Frame Work for Effective and Efficiently Harvesting Deep Web Interface

:- As deep web grows at a very fast pace, there has been increased interest in techniques that help efficiently locate deep-web interfaces. However, due to the large volume of web resources and the dynamic nature of deep web, achieving wide coverage and high efficiency is a challenging issue. We propose a two-stage framework, namely Smart Crawler, for efficient harvesting deep web interfaces. In the first stage, Smart Crawler performs site-based searching for center pages with the help of search engines, avoiding visiting a large number of pages. To achieve more accurate results for a focused crawl, Smart Crawler ranks websites to prioritize highly relevant ones for a given topic. In the second stage, Smart Crawler achieves fast in-site searching by excavating most relevant links with an adaptive link-ranking. To eliminate bias on visiting some highly relevant links in hidden web directories, we design a link tree data structure to achieve wider coverage for a website. Our experimental results on a set of representative domains show the agility and accuracy of our proposed crawler framework, which efficiently retrieves deep-web interfaces from large-scale sites and achieves higher harvest rates than other crawlers.
Crosskingdom growth benefits of fungus-derived phytohormones in Choy Sum

Soil-borne beneficial microbes establish symbioses with plant hosts, and play key roles during growth and development therein. In this study, fungal strains FLP7 and B9 were isolated from the rhizosphere microbiome associated with Choy Sum (Brassica rapa var. parachinen-sis) and barley (Hordeum vulgare), respectively. Sequence analyses of the internal transcribed spacer and 18S ribosomal RNA genes combined with colony and conidial morphology identified FLP7 and B9 to be isolates of Penicillium citrinum. Plant-fungus interaction assays revealed that B9, but not FLP7, showed significant growth promotion effect in Choy Sum cultivated in normal soil, whereas FLP7 enhanced Choy Sum growth under phosphate-limiting condition. In comparison to the mock control, B9-inoculated plants showed a 34% increase in growth in aerial parts, and an 85% upsurge in the fresh weight of roots when cultivated in sterilized soil. The dry biomass of inoculated Choy Sum increased by 39% and 74% for the shoots and roots, respectively. Root colonization assays showed that P. citrinum associates directly with the root surface but does not enter/invade the roots of inoculated Choy Sum plants. Preliminary results also indicated that P. citrinum can promote growth in Choy Sum via volatile metabolites too. Interestingly, we detected relatively higher amounts of indole acetic acid and cytokinins in axenic P. citrinum culture filtrate through liquid-chromatography mass-spectrometry analyses. This could plausibly explain the overall growth promotion in Choy Sum. Furthermore, the phenotypic growth defects associated with the Arabidopsis ga1 mutant could be chemically complemented by the exogenous application of P. citrinum culture filtrate, which also showed accumulation of fungus-derived active gibberellins. Our study underscores the importance of trans-kingdom beneficial effects of such mycobiome-derived phytohormone-like metabolites in host plant growth.