Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cancer Mortality among Workers with Benzene Exposure

We updated a cohort mortality study of 4,172 workers at a chemical plant to examine cancer mortality among workers exposed to low levels of benzene. Overall mortality [standardized mortality ratio (SMR) = 1.0; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.9–1.1] and cancer mortality (SMR = 1.0; 95% CI = 0.8–1.3) rates were at expected levels for production workers with benzene exposure. We observed elevated, albeit imprecise, rates of leukemia (SMR = 2.3; 95% CI = 0.7–5.3) and multiple myeloma (SMR = 2.3; 95% CI = 0.7–9.4) in this group of workers. The leukemias and multiple myelomas occurred predominantly among workers 20 or more years after first exposure. The leukemias were not restricted to acute myelogenous subtypes, and they occurred predominantly among workers hired before 1950 at exposure levels lower than previously reported. Leukemia (SMR = 1.3; 95% CI = 0.6–2.4) and multiple myeloma (SMR = 1.2; 95% CI = 0.3–2.9) rates were at expected levels among maintenance workers with intermittent high exposure to benzene. These findings provide evidence on both sides of the debate about whether low benzene exposure increases the risk of multiple myeloma and all types of leukemia.
Dieting among adolescent females – some emerging trends

Young people, particularly adolescent females, are very conscious of their body image, hence dieting to lose weight is not uncommon. The study, part of a much larger ongoing project, aims to determine the level of body image satisfaction and dieting practices among adolescent females in the Republic of Ireland, with a view to investigating whether these factors ultimately influence food choices and eating patterns. Data collection for this research is at an early stage with preliminary investigations of a qualitative nature having taken place. Sixteen interviews with home economics teachers and 16 focus groups comprising females (n = 124) aged 15–16 years were executed. The results, which are a summation of the emerging trends to date, indicate that female adolescents are very conscious of their body image and are strongly influenced by the appearance of many high profile celebrities. It would appear that gaining the attention of boys, approval from girlfriends and self-confidence are the main motivations for wanting to be slim. Hence short-term dieting was an observed behaviour. These initial findings imply a need for more effective health promotion interventions to educate young people on the importance of healthy eating during adolescence. Furthermore, strategies for the development of a healthy body image and positive self-esteem also need to be implemented as a matter of urgency among this age group. Home economics would be a suitable subject area to deliver this within the school curriculum.
“Rejected Bits of Program Code”: Why Notions of “Politics 2.0” Remain (Mostly) Unfulfilled

ABSTRACT Recent conceptualizations of a “Web 2.0” focusing on enabling user-generated content has grown increasingly common in public discourse and among researchers. While hopes have generally been high regarding political use of online interactivity, most research projects on the topic have produced results contrary to these hopes. Most citizens seem to be content with staying consumers, not assuming more active roles. Similarly, most political actors have assumed a somewhat conservative stance to the Internet medium. This article presents a review of research done regarding online political communication and provides further theoretical insights into these patterns of “non-use” by employing structuration theory as developed by Anthony Giddens and Wanda J. Orlikowski.
High Dose Rate and External Beam Radiotherapy in Locally Advanced Prostate Cancer

Purpose:To report the outcomes and toxicity of high dose rate brachytherapy as a boost for localized prostate cancer. Materials and Methods:Between 1997 and 2000, the medical records of 131 patients with prostate adenocarcinoma who were treated with external beam radiation therapy and high dose rate brachytherapy, were retrospectively analyzed. Furthermore, 55% of the patients received neoadjuvant/concurrent or adjuvant androgen deprivation therapy. Patients were stratified into 2 groups. Group 1 included 65 patients with Gleason score 7, pretreatment prostate specific antigen (PSA) between 10 and 20 ng/mL, and clinical stage T2b. Group 2 included 66 patients with Gleason score between 8 and 10, PSA greater than 20 ng/mL, and clinical stage greater than T2b. Results:At a median follow-up of 62.8 months, the 5-year biochemical control (BC) rate, as defined by the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology Phoenix Consensus panel statement, was 81% and overall survival was 91%. BC in Groups 1 and 2 were 87% and 71%, respectively. On univariate analysis risk group, pretreatment PSA and age were significant predictors of BC. However, on multivariate analysis only pretreatment PSA was significant. Using the Radiation therapist oncology group criteria, there were 2 (1.5%) cases of grade 3 acute urinary toxicity. Regarding late side effects (n = 5), 4% of patients had grade 3 genitourinary toxicity and no grade 4 complication was observed. Conclusions:External beam radiation therapy and high dose rate brachytherapy for prostate cancer resulted in excellent BC, and overall survival with minimal severe, acute, or late complications.
Inhibition of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) release from P3HR-1 and B95-8 cell lines by monoclonal antibodies to EBV membrane antigen gp350/220

Antibody-mediated inhibition of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) release from the EBV-productive cell lines P3HR-1 and B95-8 was probed with two monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), 72A1 and 2L10, which immunoprecipitated the same EBV membrane antigen (MA) gp350/220 found with the 1B6 MAb with which inhibition of EBV release from P3HR-1 cells was first described. These three MAbs were not equivalent in either MA reactivities or functional effects, reflecting the variable expression of different epitopes of gp350/220. 1B6 recognized MA on P3HR-1 cells, which expressed predominately the gp220 form of MA. 1B6 did not recognize (or barely recognized) a determinant on B95-8 cells. MAbs 2L10 and 72A1 reacted as well with B95-8 cells as they did with P3HR-1 cells. MAbs 1B6 and 2L10 neutralized neither P3HR-1 nor B95-8 virus, but 72A1 neutralized both viruses. MAbs 1B6 and 72A1 inhibited P3HR-1 virus release, as measured by the assay for infectious virus and by DNA hybridization analysis of released virus, but 2L10 had no such activity. 72A1 (but not 1B6) inhibited release of EBV from B95-8 cells. These experiments pointed to the presence of three different epitopes on gp350/220, identified with the respective MAbs and having varying involvement in virus neutralization and virus release inhibition.
The development of speech production abilities in children with Down syndrome

Since impairments in articulation are common in the population with Down syndrome, it was hypothesized that deficits in speech timing would also occur. Acoustic analysis was used to investigate speech timing in two groups of children with Down syndrome (DS), with mean ages of 7;0 and 12;0 years, and two control groups of age-matched normal (N) children. Acoustic measurements were made of 12 CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) syllables to determine initial consonant closure duration, voice onset time, and vowel and word duration. Maximum syllable repetition rates were also determined via acoustic analysis. Temporal variability for each of the segments and maximum syllable repetition rates were calculated. Substitution analyses of single-word articulation testing provided general information about articulatory accuracy. Statistically significant differences between DS and N groups were evident for temporal variability, articulatory accuracy and syllable repetition rate, but not for segment duration. Selected s.
Time-frequency plane Wiener filtering of the high-resolution ECG: background and time-frequency representations

This paper introduces the concept of a posteriori Wiener filtering (APWF), performed in the time-frequency plane. The objective is to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the ensemble-averaged high-resolution electrocardiogram (HRECG). APWF was developed to address the problem of a limited ensemble size for estimating ensemble-averaged evoked potentials. For the HRECG, the authors identify the major challenge as adapting the time-frequency structure of the filter to that of low-level cardiac signals. Technical limitations and the characteristics of HRECG signals make time-frequency analysis of the ensemble average problematic. Normal and abnormal signal components are difficult to distinguish due to low time-frequency energy concentration and limited spectrotemporal resolution. However, considering the entire ensemble of repetitive ECG records, signal and noise components are separable in the time-frequency plane. This forms the basis of the new time-frequency plane Wiener (TFPW) filter, applicable to any ensemble averaging problem involving repetitive deterministic signals mixed with uncorrelated noise.
WHY BOTHER ABOUT HISTORICAL REGIONS?: DEBATES OVER CENTRAL EUROPE IN HUNGARY, POLAND AND ROMANIA

The article analyzes the ways in which the concept of Central Europe and related regional classifications were instrumentalized in historical research in Hungary, Poland and Romania. While Hungarian and Polish historians employed the discourse of Central Europe as a central means to contextualize and often relativize established national historical narratives, their geographical frameworks of comparison were nevertheless fairly divergent. the Hungarian one relating to the former Habsburg and Austro-Hungarian lands while the Polish one revolving around the tradition of the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth. Romanian historians approached the issue from the perspective of local history, debating two alternative regional frameworks: the Old Kingdom, treated as part ofthe Byzantine and Ottoman legacies, and Transylvania, Bukovina and the Banat that were shaped by the Habsburg project of modemity. In the Romanian context the debate on Central Europe reached its peak at a time when it lost re1evance in the Polish and Hungarian contexts. While conceding to recent critiques on the constructed and often exclusivist nature of symbolic geographical catcgories, the authors maintain the heuristic valuc of regional frameworks of interpretation as models of historical explanation transcending the nation-state at sub-national or trans-national level.
Clinicopathological Features and Prognosis of Metaplastic Breast Carcinoma: Experience of a Major Chinese Cancer Center

Metaplastic breast carcinoma (MBC) is a rare heterogeneous group of primary breast malignancies, with low hormone receptor expression and poor outcomes. To date, no prognostic markers for this tumor have been validated. The current study was undertaken to evaluate the clinicopathologic characteristics, the response to various therapeutic regimens and the prognosis of MBCs in a large cohort of patients from Tianjin Medical University Cancer Hospital in China. Ninety cases of MBCs diagnosed in our hospital between January 2000 and September 2014 were retrieved from the archives. In general, MBCs presented with larger size, a lower rate of lymph node metastasis, and demonstrated more frequent local recurrence/distant metastasis than 1,090 stage-matched cases of invasive carcinoma of no specific type (IDC-NST), independent of the status of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 expressions. The five-year disease-free survival (DFS) of MBC was significantly worse than IDC-NST. Using univariate analysis, lymph node metastasis, advanced clinical stage at diagnosis, high tumor proliferation rate assessed by Ki-67 labeling, and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) overexpression/gene amplification were associated significantly with reduced DFS, while decreased OS was associated significantly with lymph node metastasis and EGFR overexpression/gene amplification. With multivariate analysis, lymph node status was an independent predictor for DFS, and lymph node status and EGFR overexpression/gene amplification were independent predictors for OS. Histologic subtyping and molecular subgrouping of MBCs were not significant factors in prognosis. We also found that MBCs were insensitive to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, routine chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. This study indicates that MBC is an aggressive type of breast cancer with poor prognosis, and that identification and optimization of an effective comprehensive therapeutic regimen is needed.
ZINC: A Free Tool to Discover Chemistry for Biology

ZINC is a free public resource for ligand discovery. The database contains over twenty million commercially available molecules in biologically relevant representations that may be downloaded in popular ready-to-dock formats and subsets. The Web site also enables searches by structure, biological activity, physical property, vendor, catalog number, name, and CAS number. Small custom subsets may be created, edited, shared, docked, downloaded, and conveyed to a vendor for purchase. The database is maintained and curated for a high purchasing success rate and is freely available at zinc.docking. org.
Impact of Laboratory-Based Instructional Intervention on the Learning Outcomes of Low Performing Senior Secondary Students in Physics

This study investigated the impact of laboratory-based instructional intervention on the learning outcomes of low performing senior secondary students in Physics. The study adopted the pre-test and post-test control group quasi-experimental design. The treatments were at two levels (LBII and CTM). A total number of 194 SSS II students participated in the study. Physics Achievement Test (PAT) was the main instrument used to collect data from students. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics and t-test, using SPSS 15.00 statistical packages at 0.05 level of significance. The results of this study indicated that there was significant difference in the achievement in Physics of low performing students exposed to laboratory-based instructional intervention (LBII) and those exposed to conventional teaching method (CTM). This study concludes that the use of laboratory based instructional intervention method of teaching should be embraced as a good asset to Physics Students and teachers in the senior secondary schools.
Assessment of Wife Assault with the Conflict Tactics Scale: Using Couple Data to Quantify the Differential Reporting Effect.

The Straus Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) has been used frequently in past research to assess incidents of assault between spouses. The majority of these studies have relied on CTS scores from only one member of a couple. Szinovacz (1983) corrected this shortcoming by administering the CTS to 103 nonassaultive couples. In the current study the CTS was administered to 30 assaultive couples where the husband was undergoing treatment for wife assault. Differential reporting was found whereby husbands tend to view their marital relationship as mutually violent, while wives view it as husband-violent. Except when weapons were implicated, the husband-wife correlation on specific items of the CTS ranged from +. 32 to +. 57, indicating considerable disparity in recall for violence. The methodological and clinical implications of these findings are discussed. (Abstract Adapted from Source: Journal of Marriage and the Family, 1986. Copyright © 1986 by the National Council on Family Relations) Domestic Violence Victim Domestic Violence Offender Domestic Violence Perceptions Spouse Abuse Offender Spouse Abuse Victim Spouse Abuse Perceptions Adult Female Adult Male Adult Offender Adult Victim Adult Violence Adult Perceptions Male Offender Male Violence Male Perceptions Husband Offender Wife Victim Female Perceptions Female Victim Victim Perceptions Offender Perceptions Violence Against Women Partner Violence Self Report Statistics Domestic Violence Incidence and Prevalence Spouse Abuse Incidence and Prevalence 06-01
Mobile learning: a new paradigm in electronic learning

As mobile phones become popular, with many people being able to afford them, the demand for mobility is extended to teaching and learning purposes. One recent and significant change in learning environments is the demand for mobility. We introduce a proposed framework of mobile learning. It consists of four functional levels: (1) mobile learning applications, (2) mobile user infrastructure, (3) mobile protocol and (4) mobile network infrastructure. The framework can simplify the design and development so that different parties (e.g. vendors, service providers, designers, developers) can address individual levels. A single party can build on functionalities provided by others. The functions of these four levels are described with some examples. Moreover, practical knowledge management and learning community are two major issues in mobile learning.
A Ca2+ influx associated with exocytosis is specifically abolished in a Paramecium exocytotic mutant

A Paramecium possesses secretory organelles called trichocysts which are docked beneath the plasma membrane awaiting an external stimulus that triggers their exocytosis. Membrane fusion is the sole event provoked by the stimulation and can therefore be studied per se. Using 3 microM aminoethyl dextran (AED; Plattner, H., H. Matt, H.Kersken, B. Haake, and R. Sturz, 1984. Exp. Cell Res. 151:6-13) as a vital secretagogue, we analyzed the movements of calcium (Ca2+) during the discharge of trichocysts. We showed that (a) external Ca2+, at least at 3 X 10(-7) M, is necessary for AED to induce exocytosis; (b) a dramatic and transient influx of Ca2+ as measured from 45Ca uptake is induced by AED; (c) this influx is independent of the well-characterized voltage- operated Ca2+ channels of the ciliary membranes since it persists in a mutant devoid of these channels; and (d) this influx is specifically abolished in one of the mutants unable to undergo exocytosis, nd12. We propose that the Ca2+ influx induced by AED reflects an increase in membrane permeability through the opening of novel Ca2+ channel or the activation of other Ca2+ transport mechanism in the plasma membrane. The resulting rise in cytosolic Ca2+ concentration would in turn induce membrane fusion. The mutation nd12 would affect a gene product involved in the control of plasma membrane permeability to Ca2+, specifically related to membrane fusion.
A Comparison of Taped-Problem Interventions to Increase Math Fact Fluency: Does the Length of Time Delay Affect Student Learning Rates?

An alternating treatments design with a control condition was used to evaluate and compare the effects of two taped-problem interventions on addition fact fluency. Both taped-problem interventions were identical with the exception of the time delay between the auditory cue of the problem and the answer. One condition used a 2-s delay and the other condition used no delay. Results showed that both taped-problem conditions showed growth in student digits correct per minute scores and that the no-delay condition was slightly more efficient as the taped-problem no-delay procedure took approximately 33% less time. Discussion focuses on using comparative intervention designs to detect nuances in procedures to improve our understanding of math fact interventions that result in the highest learning rates.
Perceptions of family functioning among chinese parents and their adolescent children

Over two consecutive years, parents and their adolescent children from 378 families in Hong Kong responded to the Chinese version of the Self-Report Family Inventory. Results showed that adolescent boys and girls perceived lower levels of family functioning than did their parents, and family functioning at Time 2 was perceived to be lower than that of Time 1. While adolescents' perceptions of family functioning were associated equally strong with the perceptions of either parent, correlations between fathers' and mothers' perceptions of family functioning were generally higher than the correlations between adolescents' perceptions with either parent, particularly for adolescent boys.
Receptor-activated Ca Influx via Human Trp3 Stably Expressed in Human Embryonic Kidney (HEK)293 Cells

Ca release from its internal stores as a result of activation of phospholipase C is accompanied by Ca influx from the extracellular space. Ca influx channels may be formed of proteins homologous to Drosophila Trp. At least six non-allelic Trp genes are present in the mouse genome. Full-length human, bovine, mouse, and rat cDNAs for Trp1, 3, 4, 6 have been cloned. Expression of these genes in various mammalian cells has provided evidence that Trp proteins form plasma membrane Ca-permeant channels that can be activated by an agonist that activates phospholipase C, by inositol 1,4,5trisphosphate, and/or store depletion. We have stably expressed human Trp3 (hTrp3) in human embryonic kidney (HEK)293 cells. Measurement of intracellular Ca concentrations in Fura2-loaded cells showed that cell lines expressing hTrp3 have significantly higher basal and agonist-stimulated influxes of Ca, Mn, Ba, and Sr than control cells. The increase in Ca entry attributable to the expression of hTrp3 obtained upon store depletion by thapsigargin was much lower than that obtained by stimulation with agonists acting via a Gq-coupled receptor. Addition of agonists to thapsigargin-treated Trp3 cells resulted in a further increase in the entry of divalent cations. The increased cation entry in Trp3 cells was blocked by high concentrations of SKF 96365, verapamil, La, Ni, and Gd. The Trp3mediated Ca influx activated by agonists was inhibited by a phospholipase C inhibitor, U73122. We propose that expression of hTrp3 in these cells forms a nonselective cation channel that opens after the activation of phospholipase C but not after store depletion. In addition, a subpopulation of the expressed hTrp3 may form heteromultimeric channels with endogenous proteins that are sensitive to store depletion.
Human Behavior in the Social Environment.

A. COURSE DESCRIPTION Credits: 3 Lecture Hours/Week: *. * Lab Hours/Week: *. * OJT Hours/Week: *. * Prerequisites: None Corequisites: None MnTC Goals: None Designed to enable students to explain and assess individual, family, and group system behavior as generalist social work practitioners, utilizing the cultural competence continuum and a strengths perspective within an ecosystems approach across the following dimensions: biological, spiritual, psychological, cognitive, socioeconomic, cultural, aesthetic, and gender. Examines traditional and alternate theories of development across the life span of individual, family, and group systems. Attention is given to the influence of paradigms on shaping human behavior. This is the first course in a two-course combination in HBSE, providing the foundation for HBSE II. Prerequisites: BIOL 1110, PSY 1100, and admission to the Social Work program.