Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Transcutaneous Electrical Stimulation Increased Nitric Oxide-Cyclic GMP Release Biocaptured Over Skin Surface of Pericardium Meridian and Acupuncture Points in Humans.

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to consecutively capture and quantify nitric oxide (NO) and cGMP, the second messenger of NO, over the skin surface of acupuncture points (acupoints), meridian line without acupoint, and non-meridian control regions of the Pericardium meridian (PC) in humans, and investigate their response to transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) . DESIGN, SETTING, AND MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Adhesive biocapture tubes were attached to the skin surface along PC regions and injected with 2-Phenyl-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-3-oxide-1-oxyl solution, an NO-scavenging compound, contacting the skin surface for 20 minutes each during 4 consecutive biocapture intervals. TENS (1.0 mA, 6 Hz, 1.0 msec duration) was applied over acupoints PC 8 and PC 3 during the 2nd biocapture for 20 min. Total nitrite and nitrate (NO(x)-), the stable metabolic products of NO, and cGMP in biocaptured samples were quantified using chemiluminescence and ELISA. RESULTS NO(x)- levels in the 1st biocapture over PC regions are almost two fold higher compared to subsequent biocaptures and are higher over PC acupoints versus non-meridian control region. Following TENS, NO(x)- concentrations over PC regions were significantly increased, and cGMP is predominantly released from the skin surface of PC acupoints. CONCLUSIONS TENS induces elevations of NO-cGMP concentrations over local skin region with a high level at acupoints. The enhanced signal molecules improve local circulation, which contributes to beneficial effects of the therapy.
International Portfolio Allocation Under Model Uncertainty

This paper revisits an old argument, hedging real exchange rate risk, as an explanation of the international home bias in equity. In a dynamic model, the relevant risk to be hedged is the long-run risk as opposed to the short-run risk. Domestic equity is indeed a good hedge with respect to long-run real-exchange-rate risk. Two new frameworks are able to explain a large share of the observed US home bias: a model with Hansen-Sargent preferences in which agents fear model misspecification and a model with Epstein-Zin preferences. These two models are also immune to the risk-free rate puzzle. (JEL C58, F31, G11, G15)
Student perception about efficacy of preclinical fixed prosthodontic training to facilitate smooth transition to clinical context

Background: Studies indicate that the initial transition period between preclinical and clinical phases are the most stressful. The students have experienced the difficulty in performing clinical procedures due to the vast difference in the clinical and preclinical setup. It is better to identify the particular skill found poorly correlated, enabling educators to address the concerns. We sought the opinion and suggestion from the beneficiary student on fixed prosthodontics steps difficult to practice in clinical setup at the initial stage, their suggestion to overcome these shortcomings was also sought. Aims: To determine the fixed prosthodontics skills difficult to perform in a transition period due to poor correlation between preclinical and clinical training from our focus group study on the student's perception, and their suggestion regarding alternative methods to improve the preclinical training. Materials and Methods: Focus groups in the study were the students involved in clinical practice of fixed partial denture procedure. A well-constructed Questionnaire, designed to evaluate the difficult clinical steps in a transitional period and suggestion to improve the existing preclinical training was distributed to all focus group students. The response to the questionnaire was based on the five-point Likert scale. Statistical Analysis Used: Medians, frequencies were used to assess their perception on preclinical training and suggestion. Results: A total of 97 students participated in the study, 88% response received during the survey. The clinical steps student felt difficult during a transition period from preclinical to clinical phase were positional variations of teeth (52.6%-63.9%), fluid control (48.5-67.1%), shade selection procedure (29.9%-50.5%), subgingival cervical finish line preparation (38.1-51.5%), and gingival retraction procedure. The students felt that the inclusion of problem-based learning, preclinical patient exposure, and better simulation will alleviate the stress during the transition period. Conclusions: This study highlighted the tooth preparation steps found difficult to practice in a transition period between preclinical and clinical phases. This study also obtained suggestions from the students for innovative upgradation of the course curricula.
Personality and Classroom Seating

The prediction of actual selected seating location in a classroom from some personality characteristics of students was examined. 34 women and 16 men, enrolled in an undergraduate psychology class, were studied. Seat location in a traditional rectangular classroom was designated by depth as front, middle, and back. Personality traits were measured by the 18 scales of the California Psychological Inventory. A discriminant function analysis was used to identify personality variables related to classroom seat selection. Two discriminant functions were identified which led to 88% correct classification. The first one (discriminated between those sitting in the middle and the front) showed that those sitting in the middle exhibited adaptive personal and social behaviors, personal intellectual achievement, and responsiveness to the inner states of others. The second function (discriminated between front and back) suggested that students at the front tended to be externally oriented, controlling of self and others, accepting of self and others, and relatively intelligent.
Complications of endoscopic variceal therapy.

Bleeding from oesophageal varices is the most serious complication of portal hypertension and is the leading cause of cirrhosis-related deaths.1-3 One-quarter of cirrhotic patients who present with a first major variceal bleed die as a consequence of the bleed.3 After control of the index bleed, there is a 70% chance of rebleeding with a similar mortality. 4-6 Survival after variceal bleeding depends largely on the rapidity and efficacy of control of the initial bleed, the presence and severity of underlying liver disease, and hepatic functional reserve. South African Journal of Surgery Vol. 43 (4) 2005: pp. 176-194
Pengaruh tahap stres terhadap kepuasan kerja dalam kalangan pengajar kolej vokasional di Negeri Pahang

Kajian ini dijalankan bertujuan untuk mengkaji mengenai pengaruh stres terhadap kepuasan kerja dalam kalangan pengajar KV di negeri Pahang dengan memberikan tumpuan kepada tiga aspek iaitu aspek beban kerja, aspek karenah pelajar serta aspek penghargaan dan sokongan. Seramai 240 orang responden yang terdiri daripada kalangan pengajar di lapan buah KV di negeri Pahang telah dipilih secara rawak mudah. Nilai kebolehpercayaan Alpha Cronbach bagi keseluruhan soal selidik ini ialah 0.898. Soal selidik berkaitan pengaruh stres terhadap kepuasan kerja dibina sendiri dan selebihnya diubahsuai berpandukan instrumen yang digunakan oleh penyelidik terdahulu bagi menyediakan pelbagai jenis soalan berdasarkan objektif kajian. Kajian sebenar dijalankan dengan mengedarkan borang soal selidik mengandungi 58 item soalan kepada 240 responden. Data yang diperolehi dianalisis menggunakan Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) versi 22. Analisis statistik deskriptif iaitu skor min dan sisihan piawai digunakan bagi mengenal pasti tahap stres bagi aspek beban tugas, karenah pelajar serta penghargaan dan sokongan dalam kalangan pengajar. Manakala analisis ujian regrasi pelbagai digunakan bagi mengesan pengaruh stres terhadap kepuasan kerja. Dapatan kajian mendapati min keseluruhan tahap stres bagi aspek beban tugas dan karenah pelajar adalah sederhana dengan nilai skor min 3.49. Manakala hasil dapatan keseluruhan nilai min bagi konstruk tahap stres aspek penghargaan dan sokongan berada pada tahap yang tinggi iaitu 3.81. Dapatan analisis ujian regrasi pelbagai pula menunjukkan tahap stres bagi aspek beban tugas, aspek karenah pelajar dan aspek penghargaan dan sokongan mempengaruhi kepuasan kerja. Oleh itu, beberapa cadangan telah dikemukakan dalam kajian ini dalam usaha menangani stres yang berterusan serta boleh mempengaruhi tahap kepuasan kerja. Antara cadangan pengkaji adalah tenaga pengajar diberi lebih banyak pendedahan berkaitan perubahan sistem pendidikan vokasional yang dialami sekarang agar mereka lebih bersedia dalam menggalas tugas yang baharu seterusmya akan memberi kepuasan kerja dalam kalangan pengajar KV.
Microarray Based Gene Expression Analysis of Murine Brown and Subcutaneous Adipose Tissue: Significance with Human

Background Two types of adipose tissues, white (WAT) and brown (BAT) are found in mammals. Increasingly novel strategies are being proposed for the treatment of obesity and its associated complications by altering amount and/or activity of BAT using mouse models. Methodology/Principle Findings The present study was designed to: (a) investigate the differential expression of genes in LACA mice subcutaneous WAT (sWAT) and BAT using mouse DNA microarray, (b) to compare mouse differential gene expression with previously published human data; to understand any inter- species differences between the two and (c) to make a comparative assessment with C57BL/6 mouse strain. In mouse microarray studies, over 7003, 1176 and 401 probe sets showed more than two-fold, five-fold and ten-fold change respectively in differential expression between murine BAT and WAT. Microarray data was validated using quantitative RT-PCR of key genes showing high expression in BAT (Fabp3, Ucp1, Slc27a1) and sWAT (Ms4a1, H2-Ob, Bank1) or showing relatively low expression in BAT (Pgk1, Cox6b1) and sWAT (Slc20a1, Cd74). Multi-omic pathway analysis was employed to understand possible links between the organisms. When murine two fold data was compared with published human BAT and sWAT data, 90 genes showed parallel differential expression in both mouse and human. Out of these 90 genes, 46 showed same pattern of differential expression whereas the pattern was opposite for the remaining 44 genes. Based on our microarray results and its comparison with human data, we were able to identify genes (targets) (a) which can be studied in mouse model systems to extrapolate results to human (b) where caution should be exercised before extrapolation of murine data to human. Conclusion Our study provides evidence for inter species (mouse vs human) differences in differential gene expression between sWAT and BAT. Critical understanding of this data may help in development of novel ways to engineer one form of adipose tissue to another using murine model with focus on human.
Changes in Epipelic Diatom Diversity from the Savannah River Estuary

Littoral zones can be characterized with temporal exposure of algae to diurnal desiccation at low tides. Combinations of diverse freshwater, marine, and brackish diatoms dominate exposed mud samples. With enlargement of the delta of the Savannah River, Georgia and other anthropogenic influences, changes in the rich epipelic community will not be estimated accurately without baseline data. In the current study, mud samples were taken from the Savannah River estuary along with physicochemical characteristics every two months throughout 2011. Live algal communities were assessed in every sample and live to dead diatom proportions in the communities were calculated. Cleaned diatoms were analyzed following standard protocols. Community indices were compared between sampling events and with literature reports from similar habitats in the Southeastern USA diverse diatom community of 241 species was documented and 39 of those species should be described as new to science. Decrease in species richness and diversity was due to dominance of representatives of the genera Cymatosira and Minidiscus during the summer months.
Motivation and Affective Outcomes of Physical Education: Implications for Heath Education.

Enjoyment and mood affection are considered to be main targets of intervention to promote physical activity (PA). Health education based on PA is seeking to explore the factors that affect children to foster and retain healthy habits. This study recognizes that the teaching methodology is crucial and attempts to investigate the effect two different teaching approaches on affective variables, such as, enjoy- ment, mood and intention. The indirect method ("The Guided Discovery Style") and the direct one ("The Command Style") were implemented. A two way repeated measures ANOVA indicated that there is sta- tistically significant interaction between the enjoyment and the indirect method, while the impact on mood was insignificant but noticeable. Intention to participate in similar lessons after school curricu- lum found to be independent of the methods. Thus, the direct method seems to have the potential of a powerful tool to promote PA. Implications for health education are also discussed.
Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes and Cancer Mortality in the 2002-2009 Cohort of 39 811 French Dialyzed Patients

End-stage renal disease is a chronic and progressive pathology associated with several comorbidities, particularly diabetes. Indeed, diabetes is the first cause of end-stage renal disease and, in France, 42% of incident patients had diabetes in 2012. In the general population, diabetes is associated with increased cancer risk. The aim of this study was to examine the association between risk of cancer death and diabetes in a large French cohort of patients with end-stage renal disease. Data on all patients with end-stage renal disease who initiated dialysis in France between 2002 and 2009 were extracted from the Renal Epidemiology Information Network registry. The risk of dying by cancer was studied using the Fine and Gray model to take into account the competing risk of death by other causes. We analyzed 39 811 patients with end-stage renal disease. Their mean age was 67.7±15 years, 39.4% had diabetes and 55.3% at least one cardiovascular disease. Compared with the non-diabetic group, patients with diabetes were older and had more cardiovascular and respiratory comorbidities when they started dialysis. Conversely, fewer diabetic patients had also a tumor at the beginning of the renal replacement therapy. Cancer was indicated as the cause of death for 6.7% of diabetic and 13.4% of non-diabetic patients. The Fine and Gray multivariate analyses indicated that diabetes (HR=0.72 95% CI: [0.68-0.95], p<0.001) and also female gender, peritoneal dialysis, cardio-vascular disease and kidney transplantation were associated with decreased risk of death by cancer. In this French cohort of patients with end-stage renal disease, diabetes was not associated with a significant increased risk of dying from cancer. Studies on the incidence of cancer in patients with ESRD are now needed to evaluate the potential association between diabetes and specific malignancies in this population.
Sepulveda Epilepsy Education: The Efficacy of a Psychoeducational Treatment Program in Treating Medical and Psychosocial Aspects of Epilepsy

Summary: The present study evaluated the efficacy of the Sepulveda Epilepsy Education program (SEE), using a controlled outcome design. SEE is a 2‐day psychoeducational treatment program designed to provide medical education and psychosocial therapy. Thirty‐eight outpatients, matched according to seizure type and frequency, were randomly assigned to treatment (n = 20) or waiting‐list control (n = 18) groups. The major outcome measures used were a 50‐item true‐false test specifically designed to evaluate the SEE program, the Washington Psychosocial Seizure Inventory, the Beck Depression Inventory, Lu‐bin's Depression Adjective Checklist, the State‐Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Acceptance of Disability Scale, and Sherer's Self‐Efficacy Scale. Significant differences between the two groups were found on the three major subscales of the 50‐item true‐false test. The treatment group demonstrated a significant increase in overall understanding of epilepsy, a significant decrease in fear of seizures, and a significant decrease in hazardous medical self‐management practices. In addition, an objective measure of blood levels of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) showed the treatment group to have a significant increase in medication compliance.
Management of schizophrenia in conditions of high security

There are four high-security hospitals in the UK: Broadmoor Hospital in Berkshire (founded in 1863), Rampton Hospital in Nottinghamshire (1914), Ashworth Hospital in Merseyside (1990), which opened following the amalgamation of Park Lane (1974) and Mosside Hospitals (1913), and the State Hospital at
A Computational Model for Situated Task Learning with Interactive Instruction

Learning novel tasks is a complex cognitive activity requiring the learner to acquire diverse declarative and procedural knowledge. Prior ACT-R models of acquiring task knowledge from instruction focused on learning procedural knowledge from declarative instructions encoded in semantic memory. In this paper, we identify the requirements for designing compu- tational models that learn task knowledge from situated task- oriented interactions with an expert and then describe and evaluate a model of learning from situated interactive instruc- tion that is implemented in the Soar cognitive architecture.
胸腺恶性肿瘤化疗的相关定义和策略

Thymic malignancies are rare epithelial tumors that may be aggressive and difficult to treat.1 Thymomas are usually localized to the anterior mediastinum and are frequently eligible for upfront surgical resection, which is the mainstay of the curative-intent treatment.1 However, approximately 30% of patients present with an advanced tumor at the time of diagnosis, with invasion of neighboring organs, dissemination to the pleura, the pericardium, or less frequently extrathoracic organs. In such cases, chemotherapy has been used both to reduce the tumor burden—possibly allowing subsequent surgery or radiotherapy—and to achieve prolonged disease control. Recurrence after resection may be similarly treated with chemotherapy. Thymic carcinomas, although rare, are usually already advanced at the time of presentation, and systemic therapy is important for almost all of these patients. Knowledge regarding chemotherapy for thymic tumors has mainly been based on retrospective series,2–9 although several prospective trials have also been conducted.10–21 These studies have clearly demonstrated the chemosensitivity of thymoma, and to a lesser extent thymic carcinoma, to various cytotoxic agents and combinations. However, details of patient selection are often lacking (either disease extent or general condition), and the intent of the treatment sequence is often vague. Adoption of a common language and definition of terms is crucial for the International Thymic Malignancies Interest Group (ITMIG) effort to develop a international prospective database of thymic tumors. The article by Huang et al.22 provides definitions for survival and endpoints for recurrences assessment and discusses how to measure response to treatment. Herein, we discuss additional points with regard to chemotherapy, including treatment sequence, general modalities, and impact of corticosteroids.
Exploiting the Functional and Taxonomic Structure of Genomic Data by Probabilistic Topic Modeling

In this paper, we present a method that enable both homology-based approach and composition-based approach to further study the functional core (i.e., microbial core and gene core, correspondingly). In the proposed method, the identification of major functionality groups is achieved by generative topic modeling, which is able to extract useful information from unlabeled data. We first show that generative topic model can be used to model the taxon abundance information obtained by homology-based approach and study the microbial core. The model considers each sample as a "document,” which has a mixture of functional groups, while each functional group (also known as a "latent topic”) is a weight mixture of species. Therefore, estimating the generative topic model for taxon abundance data will uncover the distribution over latent functions (latent topic) in each sample. Second, we show that, generative topic model can also be used to study the genome-level composition of "N-mer” features (DNA subreads obtained by composition-based approaches). The model consider each genome as a mixture of latten genetic patterns (latent topics), while each functional pattern is a weighted mixture of the "N-mer” features, thus the existence of core genomes can be indicated by a set of common N-mer features. After studying the mutual information between latent topics and gene regions, we provide an explanation of the functional roles of uncovered latten genetic patterns. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of proposed method.
Aurora: Adaptive Block Replication in Distributed File Systems

Distributed file systems such as Google File System and Hadoop Distributed File System have been used to store large volumes of data in Cloud data centers. These systems divide data sets in blocks of fixed size and replicate them over multiple machines to achieve both reliability and efficiency. Recent studies have shown that data blocks tend to have a wide disparity in data popularity. In this context, the naive block replication schemes used by these systems often cause an uneven load distribution across machines, which reduces the overall I/O throughput of the system. While many replication algorithms have been proposed, existing solutions have not carefully studied the placement of data blocks that balances the load across machines, while ensuring node and rack-level reliability requirements are satisfied. In this paper, we study the dynamic data replication problem with the goal of balancing machine load while ensuring machine and rack-level reliability requirements are met. We propose several local search algorithms that provide constant approximation guarantees, yet simple and practical for implementation. We further present Aurora, a dynamic block placement mechanism that implements these algorithms in the Hadoop Distributed File System with minimal overhead. Through experiments using workload traces from Yahoo! and Facebook, we show Aurora reduces machine load imbalance by up to 26.9% compared to existing solutions, while satisfying node and rack-level reliability requirements.
Understanding dynamic risk factors for violence

ABSTRACT Recent years have seen a consensus emerge regarding the dynamic risk factors that are associated with future violence. These risk factors are now routinely assessed in structured violence risk assessment instruments. They provide a focus for treatment in structured group programmes. However, relatively little attention has been paid to risk-related theoretical issues, whether these dynamic risk factors are causally related or simply correlates of violent offending, or the extent to which they change as a consequence of treatment. More challenging is the lack of evidence to suggest that changes in these dynamic risk factors actually result in reductions in violent offending. In this paper we consider the meaning of the term dynamic risk, arguing that only those factors that, when changed, reduce the likelihood of violent recidivism, can be considered to be truly dynamic. We conclude that few of the violence risk factors commonly regarded as dynamic fulfil this requirement. There is a need to think more critically about assessment findings and treatment recommendations relating to dynamic risk, and conduct research that establishes, rather than assumes, that certain dynamic risk factors are directly related to violence. Some suggestions for advancing knowledge and practice are provided.