Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ustekinumab in the therapy of chronic plaque psoriasis

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disorder characterized by T cell dysregulation and a chronic inflammatory infiltrate within the epidermis. Several cytokines play an important role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis, including interleukin-12 (IL-12) and IL-23. These cytokines act via induction of pro-inflammatory cytokines which promote chronic inflammation and auto-reactivity. Ustekinumab is a fully human monoclonal antibody against the common p40 subunit of IL-12 and IL-23. Two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials of ustekinumab have demonstrated significant and prolonged efficacy in the treatment of plaque psoriasis. Adverse events were generally similar across treatment and control groups. Studies are ongoing to assess the long term safety and efficacy profiles of ustekinumab.
Does choice of sales control conceptualization matter? An empirical comparison of existing conceptualizations and directions for future research

Sales controls represent an important area of sales research. Unfortunately, knowledge to date tends to be fragmented in that prior work has followed one of the two notable conceptualizations which, however, take a different route to studying sales controls: the Oliver and Anderson (O&A) index and the Jaworski and Colleagues (J&C) measures. Consequently, important questions remain unaddressed: Does choice of sales control conceptualization matter to sales research? What is the degree of similarity between the two conceptualizations and how do they compare against measurement qualities and effects on performance? Drawing on a unique dataset that matches survey data to objective, time-lagged, firm financial performance data, we reveal that choice of sales control conceptualization matters. Surprisingly, unlike current assumptions, the O&A index, is equally related to J&C's output and process controls whereas it reflects both formal and informal types of control. Analyses show that at least some components of the O&A index are not identical to J&C's process or output controls and thus measures from each conceptualization cannot be substituted. Moreover, the size and nature of sales controls’ effects on sales force performance differ depending on the conceptualization employed, thus strengthening the view that the two conceptualizations should not be used interchangeably. Finally, results reveal an intriguing pattern of nonlinear effects such as that – beyond a certain point – process (but not behavioral) control may be detrimental to customer relationship performance. We conclude by contributing ideas on how to move forward with the development of a new, modern measure of sales control.
Parallel Multiobjective Metaheuristics for Inferring Phylogenies on Multicore Clusters

The development of efficient parallel algorithms based on mixed mode programming represents one of the most popular lines of research in current bioinformatics. By exploiting hardware resources at inter-node/intra-node level, we can address grand computational challenges which involve the optimization of multiple objective functions simultaneously. In this sense, the inference of evolutionary trees represents one of the most difficult NP-hard problems in the field. Tackling such a problem requires efficient parallel designs to take advantage of the characteristics of modern multicore clusters. In this paper, we aim to solve the phylogenetic inference problem by applying MPI/OpenMP schemes to two multiobjective metaheuristics: fast non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm and multiobjective firefly algorithm. In order to assess the performance achieved by these proposals under different system and problem sizes, we have conducted experiments on six real nucleotide data sets according to a statistical methodology. Our parallel and multiobjective metrics point out the relevance of combining hybrid programming and novel bioinspired designs with regard to other parallel and biological approaches from the literature.
Exploring the Potential Benefits of Using Social Media in Education

The objective of this work is to investigate the potential benefits of using social media in education. A thorough examination of a large set of these online tools has revealed that social media have many educational advantages. In fact, it has been found out that these web-based applications can improve communication among students and between teachers and students. Thanks to these technologies, both teachers and students can interact with each other in a matter of seconds. Social media can also be used to promote studentsâ? engagement. Students who often complain of being intimidated or bored in the classroom may feel comfortable to express their creativity and voice their opinion on a social network website. Another finding of this study is that social media applications foster collaboration as they allow students to work together to achieve a common goal. Given these educational benefits, we recommend that these online social tools should be used in learning environments.
Adaptive Array Antenna Control Methods on Delay Tolerant Networks for Road Surveillance Systems

The road conditions during the winter especially in mountain areas are one of the significant safety subjects for the residences and the tourists. However, there are still many places where the wireless networks such as 3G and LTE are hard to connect in the mountain areas, and it is also difficult to keep continuous data transmissions during the nodes are moving. Therefore, this paper proposes the Delay Tolerant Networks (DTN) with Adaptive Array Antenna (AAA) Control systems for the V2V networks. In the proposed systems, the vehicles equip the AAA control systems with IEEE802.11a/b/g in the proposed system, and the radio direction is controlled by the pattern recognitions from camera images with Kalman filter algorithm. The prototype system and the experiments are introduced in the paper, and the results are discussed for the effectiveness of the proposed systems and the future studies.
Maternal Depressive Symptomatology, Social Support, and Language Development of Bilingual Preschoolers From Low-Income Households.

PURPOSE This study examined the impact of maternal depressive symptomatology and social support on the English and Spanish language growth of young bilingual children from low-income backgrounds. It was hypothesized that maternal depression would slow children's development in both languages but that social support would buffer the negative effect. METHOD Longitudinal data were collected from 83 mothers of Puerto Rican descent and their children who were attending Head Start preschool for 2 years. The effects of maternal depressive symptomatology and social support from family and friends on receptive vocabulary and oral comprehension development in both languages were examined. RESULTS Growth curve modeling revealed that maternal depressive symptomatology negatively affected Spanish receptive vocabulary development only. Maternal depression did not affect children's English receptive vocabulary or their oral comprehension in either language. Social support was not related to maternal depressive symptomatology or child language. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that maternal depression is 1 risk factor that contributes to less robust primary language development of bilingual children from low-income households. Speech-language pathologists must (a) increase their awareness of maternal depression in order to provide families with appropriate mental health referrals and (b) consider their roles as supportive adults for children whose mothers may be depressed.
A nonlinear approach to modeling of electrically stimulated skeletal muscle

This paper is concerned with the development and analysis of a nonlinear approach to modeling of the contraction of electrically stimulated skeletal muscle. The model structure is based on a network of locally valid linear models which are blended together by a scheduler. Data are from experiments with rabbit tibialis anterior muscles in which the muscles contracted isometrically while being stimulated by supramaximal impulses with randomly varying inter-pulse intervals. The model accounts for nonlinear effects due to variations of the stimulation frequency, such as the "catch-like" effect. It is shown that this modeling technique is suitable fur modeling the contraction of muscles with very different characteristics, such as muscle with a majority of fast motor units and muscle with mainly slow motor units. The approach is also suitable as a basis for the design of muscle stimulation controllers.
Enhancing Readiness for Change by Enhancing Mindfulness

It is argued that mindfulness enhances readiness for change. Based on a review of the literature on readiness for change and mindfulness, the article delineates propositions that specify the relationships between these notions. Thereby, mindfulness is conceptualized on the individual as well as collective or organizational level. On the individual level, mindfulness depicts a cognitive style that enhances readiness by making employees' attitudes and perceived experience more flexible and by improving perceived control and change self-efficacy. On the collective level, mindfulness is the result of processes of organizing that establish readiness-increasing organizational cultures which are characterized by learning, open communication, supportive working relationships and participative decision-making. The article contributes to the literature in three ways: (1) although readiness and mindfulness emphasize cognitive processes and positive factors while coping with change, this article points out that mindfulness has been neglected as a factor nurturing readiness; (2) this article highlights that by considering mindfulness, enhancing readiness for change can be explored on the individual as well as collective level which adds to previous research that mostly addresses only one level; (3) new theoretical and managerial implications can be drawn from taking mindfulness into account, and this article outlines practices that help to establish mindfulness and thus to develop readiness for change.
Late-Twentieth-Century Fertility Decline in Moldova: Interplay of Female Autonomy, Wealth, and Education

The aim of this article is to empirically assess the impact of female decision-making autonomy, educational attainment, and wealth on risks of having low-parity births and fertility preferences in the Republic of Moldova. The empirical analysis uses data from the 2005 Moldova Demographic and Health Survey. Hazard modeling is applied to study the transition to first, second, and third birth, while logistic regression is used to model desire for children. Considered for the first time are female decision-making autonomy measures, indicators that are essential in evaluating premises of gender equity theory. The main focus of the analysis is to assess the relative importance of female decision-making autonomy, education, and wealth for the timing of fertility, odds of having low-parity births, and desired fertility in Moldova.
The Short Stay Unit as a new option for hospitals: A review of the scientific literature

Summary Background The short stay unit (SSU) is a ward providing targeted care for patients requiring brief hospitalization and dischargeable as soon as clinical conditions are resolved. Therefore, SSU is an alternative to the ordinary ward (OW) for the treatment of selected patients. The SSU model has been tested in only a few hospitals, and the literature lacks systematic evaluation of the impact of SSU use. The aim of our study was to evaluate the use of SSUs in terms of length of hospital stay, mortality and readmission rate. Material/Methods A random effect meta-analysis was carried out by consulting electronic databases. Studies were selected that focused on comparison between use of SSUs and OWs. Mean difference of length of stay was calculated within 95% confidence intervals. Results Six articles were selected, for a total of 21 264 patients. The estimated mean difference was −3.06 days (95% CI −4.71, −1.40) in favor of the SSU. The selected articles did not show any differences in terms of mortality and readmission rate. Conclusions Use of SSUs could reduce patient length of stay in hospital, representing an alternative to the ordinary ward for selected patients. A shorter period of hospitalization could reduce the risk of hospital-acquired infections, increase patient satisfaction and yield more efficient use of hospital beds. Findings of this study are useful for institutional, managerial and clinical decision-makers regarding the implementation of the SSU in a hospital setting, and for better management of continuity of care.
Estimation and Tests of Haplotype-Environment Interaction when Linkage Phase Is Ambiguous

In the study of complex traits, the utility of linkage analysis and single marker association tests can be limited for researchers attempting to elucidate the complex interplay between a gene and environmental covariates. For these purposes, tests of gene-environment interactions are needed. In addition, recent studies have indicated that haplotypes, which are specific combinations of nucleotides on the same chromosome, may be more suitable as the unit of analysis for statistical tests than single genetic markers. The difficulty with this approach is that, in standard laboratory genotyping, haplotypes are often not directly observable. Instead, unphased marker phenotypes are collected. In this article, we present a method for estimating and testing haplotype-environment interactions when linkage phase is potentially ambiguous. The method builds on the work of Schaid et al. [2002] and is applicable to any trait that can be placed in the generalized linear model framework. Simulations were run to illustrate the salient features of the method. In addition, the method was used to test for haplotype-smoking exposure interaction with data from the Childhood Asthma Management Program.
The Prognostic Role of the Platelet-Lymphocytes Ratio in Gastric Cancer: A Meta-Analysis

Background Systemic inflammatory parameters, such as the elevator PLR (platelet-lymphocyte ratio), the NLR (neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio) and the platelet count (PLT), have been found to be associated with the prognosis in gastric cancer; however, these results, especially those relating to the PLR, remain inconsistent. So we aimed to evaluate the prognostic role of the PLR in gastric cancer by conducting and presenting the findings of this meta-analysis. Methods We conducted a systematic literature search in PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane Library to evaluate the prognostic value of the PLR in gastric cancer. The quality of the included studies was evaluated using the Newcastle Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale (NOS). The hazard ratio (HR) /Odds Ratio (OR) and its 95% confidence were pooled using a random effects model. A funnel plot based on overall survival was used to evaluate the publication bias. Results It total, 8 studies comprising 4513 patients with gastric cancer met the pre-setting inclusion criteria. In comparison to the normal PLR, an elevated PLR was correlated with a higher risk of lymph node metastasis with an OR of 1.50 (95% Cl:1.24–1.82; I2 = 17%) and serosal invasion (T3 +T4) risk with an OR of 2.01 (95% Cl: 1.49–2.73; I2 = 55%), and an elevated PLR also increased the advanced stage (III +IV) risk with an OR of 1.99 (95% Cl: 1.60–2.46; I2 = 28%). An elevated PLR was not a reliable predictor for OS with an HR of 0.99 (95% CI: 0.9–1.1; I2 = 12%). Conclusions An elevated PLR was correlated with a higher risk of lymph node metastasis, serosal invasion and advanced stage (III +IV) risk in gastric cancer; however, the PLR may not act as a negative predictor for the overall survival of gastric cancer.
Emails as graph: relation discovery in email archive

In this paper, we present an approach for representing an email archive in the form of a network, capturing the communication among users and relations among the entities extracted from the textual part of the email messages. We showcase the method on the Enron email corpus, from which we extract various entities and a social network. The extracted named entities (NE), such as people, email addresses and telephone numbers, are organized in a graph along with the emails in which they were found. The edges in the graph indicate relations between NEs and represent a co-occurrence in the same email part, paragraph, sentence or a composite NE. We study mathematical properties of the graphs so created and describe our hands-on experience with the processing of such structures. Enron Graph corpus contains a few million nodes and is large enough for experimenting with various graph-querying techniques, e.g. graph traversal or spread of activation. Due to its size, the exploitation of traditional graph processing libraries might be problematic as they keep the whole structure in the memory. We describe our experience with the management of such data and with the relation discovery among the extracted entities. The described experience might be valuable for practitioners and highlights several research challenges.
The education exodus: The flight from township schools

Abstract The dismantling of apartheid education was applauded when South African schools opened up their doors to learners from different racial backgrounds. There were hopes that the quality of education would improve, since the markets were now going to exercise their power as choosers. There was also the belief that, with apartheid outlawed, all schools would be able to match world standards. Furthermore, the South African Schools Act, 1996 (Act 84 of 1996) gives more powers to parents to have a say in the education of their children. However, what has been happening since the early 1990s is that the increasing number of black parents is avoiding the historically black schools by enrolling their children in historically white schools. As a result of this, many educators contend that the quality of education offered in historically black schools is deteriorating. This article focuses on the effects of the movement away from historically black schools, the reasons why some parents still send their children to historically black schools despite the quality problem, the benefits of moving away from historically black schools, and the impact of different schools on the future of the learners themselves.
Lattice Sums for the Helmholtz Equation

A survey of different representations for lattice sums for the Helmholtz equation is made. These sums arise naturally when dealing with wave scattering by periodic structures. One of the main objectives is to show how the various forms depend on the dimension $d$ of the underlying space and the lattice dimension $d_\Lambda$. Lattice sums are related to, and can be calculated from, the quasi-periodic Green's function and this object serves as the starting point of the analysis.
Cooperative Interference Management With MISO Beamforming

In this correspondence, we study the downlink transmission in a multi-cell system, where multiple base stations (BSs) each with multiple antennas cooperatively design their respective transmit beamforming vectors to optimize the overall system performance. For simplicity, it is assumed that all mobile stations (MSs) are equipped with a single antenna each, and there is one active MS in each cell at one time. Accordingly, the system of interests can be modeled by a multiple-input single-output (MISO) Gaussian interference channel (IC), termed as MISO-IC, with interference treated as noise. We propose a new method to characterize different rate-tuples for active MSs on the Pareto boundary of the achievable rate region for the MISO-IC, by exploring the relationship between the MISO-IC and the cognitive radio (CR) MISO channel. We show that each Pareto-boundary rate-tuple of the MISO-IC can be achieved in a decentralized manner when each of the BSs attains its own channel capacity subject to a certain set of interference-power constraints (also known as interference-temperature constraints in the CR system) at the other MS receivers. Furthermore, we show that this result leads to a new decentralized algorithm for implementing the multi-cell cooperative downlink beamforming.
MeSH Up: effective MeSH text classification for improved document retrieval

Motivation: Controlled vocabularies such as the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) thesaurus and the Gene Ontology (GO) provide an efficient way of accessing and organizing biomedical information by reducing the ambiguity inherent to free-text data. Different methods of automating the assignment of MeSH concepts have been proposed to replace manual annotation, but they are either limited to a small subset of MeSH or have only been compared with a limited number of other systems. Results: We compare the performance of six MeSH classification systems [MetaMap, EAGL, a language and a vector space model-based approach, a K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) approach and MTI] in terms of reproducing and complementing manual MeSH annotations. A KNN system clearly outperforms the other published approaches and scales well with large amounts of text using the full MeSH thesaurus. Our measurements demonstrate to what extent manual MeSH annotations can be reproduced and how they can be complemented by automatic annotations. We also show that a statistically significant improvement can be obtained in information retrieval (IR) when the text of a user's query is automatically annotated with MeSH concepts, compared to using the original textual query alone. Conclusions: The annotation of biomedical texts using controlled vocabularies such as MeSH can be automated to improve text-only IR. Furthermore, the automatic MeSH annotation system we propose is highly scalable and it generates improvements in IR comparable with those observed for manual annotations. Contact: trieschn@ewi.utwente. nl Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Phospholipase C/Protein Kinase C Pathway Mediates Angiotensin II-Dependent Apoptosis in Neonatal Rat Cardiac Fibroblasts Expressing AT1 Receptor

Cardiac fibroblasts are the major non-myocyte cell constituent in the myocardium, and they are involved in heart remodeling. Angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1R) mediates the established actions of angiotensin II (Ang II), and changes in its expression have been reported in cardiac fibroblasts after myocardial infarction. However, the AT1R-dependent signaling pathways involved in cardiac fibroblast death remain unknown. Using adenovirus, we ectopically expressed AT1R in cultured neonatal rat cardiac fibroblasts and investigated the role of the phospholipase (PLC)/protein kinase C (PKC) pathway on Ang II-dependent death. Ang II induced cardiac fibroblast death characterized by an early loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, increased Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, caspase-3 activation, and DNA fragmentation. All these effects were prevented by the AT1R antagonist losartan, PLC inhibitor U73122, and PKC inhibitor Gö6976. We conclude that Ang II stimulates the intrinsic apoptotic pathway in cultured cardiac fibroblasts by the AT1R/PLC/PKC signaling pathway.
Learning to play in a goal-directed practice

This study concerns the relationship between learning and play. On the basis of sociocultural theory, some ideas are put forward about how this relationship can be conceptualised in the context of goal-directed practice. Empirical data from primary school with children 6–8 years old are used to illustrate and discuss this conceptualisation. It is suggested that learning and play need to be seen as intrinsically interwoven, and that children’s play is contingent on their learning, more particularly the cultural tools they have appropriated or are in the midst of appropriating.