Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The influence of variability on the optimal shape of an airway tree branching asymmetrically

The asymmetry of the bronchial tree has been reported on numerous occasions, and bronchi in the lung bifurcate most of the time into a major and a minor daughter. Asymmetry is most probably bound to play a role on the hydrodynamic resistance and volume occupation of the bronchial tree. Thus, in this work, we search for an optimal asymmetric airway tree crossed by Poiseuille flow that would be a good candidate to model the distal conductive part of the lung. The geometry is controlled by major and minor diameter reduction factors that depend on the generation. We show that the optimal asymmetric tree has diameter reduction factors that are adimensional from the second level of bifurcation and that they are highly dependent on the asymmetric ratio that defines the relative sizes of the major and minor branches in a bifurcation. This optimization also gives access to a cost function whose particularity is to be asymmetric around its minimum. Thus, the cliff-edge hypothesis predicts that if the system suffers variability, then the best tree is shifted from the optimal. We apply a recent theoretical model of cliff-edge in order to measure the role of variability on the determination of the best asymmetric tree. Then, we compare our results with lung data of the literature. In particular, we are able to quantify the variability needed to fit the data and to give hypothesis that could explain, at least partially, the shift found between the optimal tree and the measures in the case of asymmetric bronchial trees. Finally, our model predicts that, even if the population is adapted at best, there always exist individuals whose bronchial trees are associated with larger costs comparatively to the average and who ought to be more sensitive to geometrical remodeling.
Posterior urethral valve with unilateral vesicoureteral reflux and patent urachus: A rare combination of urinary tract anomaliess

Posterior urethral valve (PUV) is a common cause of lower urinary tract obstruction in male infants with an incidence of 1:5000-8000. PUV continues to be a significant cause of morbidity and ongoing renal damage in infants and children. It can coexist with vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) in about 50% of cases and also with patent urachus in about one-third of cases. It is a case of a 22-day-old full-term male child who presented with poor urinary stream and progressive abdominal distension of 5-day duration as well as leakage of clear fluid from umbilicus of 1-day duration. Abdominopelvic ultrasonography showed bilateral hydronephrosis. Micturating cystourethrogram also showed features of bladder outlet obstruction and PUV. In addition, a grade V left VUR and a fistulous tract between the dome of the urinary bladder and the umbilicus, which was consistent with a patent urachus was demonstrated. In conclusion, this case demonstrates a rare combination of congenital urinary tract anomalies involving PUV, left VUR and patent urachus.
Temperamental sensitivity moderates the effects of maternal love-withdrawal on perception of infant crying

Parenting has an impact on the offspring's social and behavioral outcomes. However, not all individuals are affected equally; according to the differential susceptibility hypothesis, temperamental traits may moderate the effects of early life experiences. We examined the association between young adults’ experiences of maternal love-withdrawal and their perception of infant crying, and the potentially moderating role of temperamental orienting sensitivity. In an ecologically valid but standardized setting, 132 female participants spent two consecutive evenings taking care of an infant simulator. Orienting sensitivity moderated the relation between experienced love-withdrawal and the perception of infant crying: Participants with high orienting sensitivity who experienced low levels of love-withdrawal perceived the crying bouts as less negative than others. We conclude that the long-term impact of early life experiences may be moderated by temperamental characteristics, with implications for individual differences in perceptual responses to infant stimuli in adulthood.
Conditions Fostering the Implementation of Large-Scale Innovation Programs in Schools: Teachers’ Perspectives

This research examines the conditions fostering the implementation of large-scale innovation programs through the eyes of teachers. The implementation of two innovation programs by teachers from two sectors of Dutch agricultural education was studied. Structural equation modeling was applied to the survey data of the two groups of teachers. Results show dimensions of transformational leadership and participation in decision making along with teachers’ feelings of uncertainty and professional development activities to influence the extent to which teachers change their practices according to the principles of the current innovation program and also the extent to which teachers agree with the principles. It is argued that school improvement research should pay more attention to the complex relationships between the conditions fostering innovation. The importance of analyzing conditions in the context of different innovation programs and the importance of recognizing feelings of uncertainty for school improvement research are discussed in greater detail.
Validation of the Behavioral Dyscontrol Scale-Electronic Version: Sensitivity to subtle sequelae of mild traumatic brain injury

Primary objective: To determine whether a new computer-administered battery (Behavioral Dyscontrol Scale-Electronic Version; BDS-EV) can detect subtle executive weaknesses among individuals with a self-reported history of mild head trauma (MHT), and to compare the utility of this battery to the original, non-electronic BDS and other traditional executive measures. Both BDS-EV and BDS are comprised of three factors (motor programming, environmental independence, and fluid intelligence). Method: Participants with (n = 19) and without (n = 24) MHT were compared on their performance on the BDS-EV, the non-electronic BDS, and three traditional measures of executive abilities. Results: Participants with MHT differed from those without MHT on the BDS-EV motor programming and environmental independence, but not on any other measures. Conclusion: The results show that electronic administration improved the sensitivity of the battery, and support prior findings that traditional executive measures are generally insensitive to subtle executive deficits associated with chronic MHT.
Fetal-maternal complications and their association with gestational thrombocytopenia.

OBJECTIVES Thrombocytopenia is defined as a platelet count of < 150 × 10⁹/L. It is a common hematologic abnormality during pregnancy. Evaluation and treatment of gestational thrombocytopenia can be both, expensive and invasive, and may result in an adverse outcome. The aim of our study was to investigate the incidence of perinatal complications in pregnancies complicated with gestational thrombocytopenia and to determine if the severity of maternal gestational thrombocytopenia implicates unfavorable perinatal outcome. MATERIAL AND METHODS Over a period of three years, we identified 50 patients with gestational thrombocytopenia: 38 with platelet count between 50-100 × 10⁹/L - classified as moderate thrombocytopenia, and 12 with platelet count of < 50 × 10⁹/L - classified as severe thrombocytopenia. Fifty women with normal platelet count constituted the control group. Maternal complications and neonatal outcomes were compared. RESULTS Neonatal thrombocytopenia occurred more often in pregnancies complicated with gestational thrombocytopenia (p = 0.041). Thrombocytopenia in previous pregnancy seems to be an important predicting factor for disease severity in the current pregnancy (p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS Gestational thrombocytopenia, even if severe, is not associated with adverse maternal or neonatal outcome. Moderate neonatal thrombocytopenia is more common in pregnancies complicated with severe gestational thrombocytopenia. The incidence of severe gestational thrombocytopenia is higher in patients with thrombocytopenia in previous pregnancy.
DIE GEMEENSKAPSWERKDIENSTE VAN DIE PRIVATE WELSYNSEKTOR: ’N PROFIEL MET IMPLIKASIES

The practical implications of the significant changes in social and welfare policy that occurred from 1994 to 1999, are as yet unknown. This is mainly due to the lack of empirical research data on this issue. This deficiency was partly addressed in a study on the nature of the private welfare sector’s community work services in the North West Province during 2000. The aim of the study was to compile a profile of the Province’s community work services and to utilise this profile in the formulation of guidelines for improved future service delivery. In the study, both community work theory and the South African social and welfare policies were used in the development of a classification framework for community work services. This framework formed the basis of a questionnaire that was sent to all private welfare organisations in the Province. The collected data was analysed and, together with policy dictates, used for the development of guidelines. It was firstly found that there was a discernable move towards targeting policy designated client systems. However, the services did still not fully comply with policy requirements or South Africa’s considerable development needs. Certain deficiencies in the service delivery process were also identified. Therefore, guidelines for addressing both these imbalances and deficiencies were formulated. It was thirdly found that the new classification framework could be constructively used in both further research and in practice.
A Methodological Framework for Optimizing Bus Transit Service Coverage

A methodological framework is presented for determining the optimal length of transit routes that extend radially from the central business district (CBD) into low density suburbs. The problem of optimal route length may not be considered independently of route location and service scheduling. Therefore, the problem considered in this paper is finding an optimal combination of route length, route spacing, headway and fare which maximize either operator profit or social welfare for an urban corridor with elastic demand. The social welfare objective is optimized with both unconstrained subsidy and break-even constraints. The equations for the optimal design variables which maximize operator profit and social welfare are derived analytically for many-to-one travel patterns. The equations provide considerable insight into the optimality conditions and interrelations among variables. These equations are also incorporated within an efficient algorithm which computes the optimal values of decision variables for a more realistic model with vehicle capacity constraints. The algorithm is applied to a rectangular urban corridor with uniform passenger travel density. The numerical results show that at the optimum, the total operator profit and welfare functions are rather shallow, thus facilitating the tailoring of design variables to the actual street network and particular operating schedule without substantial decreases in profit and/or welfare. The social welfare function is relatively flat near the optimum for a relatively large range of subsidies. This result implies that for a given set of input data the break-even constraint may be an economically and politically preferable objective because it eliminates subsidy, while it reduces social welfare only marginally . The sensitivity of design variables to some important exogenous factors is also presented. The methodology presented in the paper is also applicable to the problem of optimal service coverage of feeder bus systems serving rapid rail line stations. 1 Assistant Professor, School of Industrial Management, and National Center for Transportation and Industrial Productivity, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ 07102. Phone (201) 596-6420, Fax (201) 596-3074. 2 Research Fellow, Transportation Program, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ 07102. Phone (201) 596-6079, Fax (201) 596-6454. 3Associate Professor, Division of Industrial Management and Engineering, and National Center for Transportation and Industrial Productivity, New Jersey Institute of Technology , Newark, NJ 07102. (201) 596-3649, Fax. (201) 596-6454. Spasovic, Boile, Bladikas
Individual Investor Trading and Stock Returns

This paper investigates the dynamic relation between net individual investor trading and short-horizon returns for a large cross-section of NYSE stocks. The evidence indicates that individuals tend to buy stocks following declines in the previous month and sell following price increases. We document positive excess returns in the month following intense buying by individuals and negative excess returns after individuals sell, which we show is distinct from the previously shown past return or volume effects. The patterns we document are consistent with the notion that risk-averse individuals provide liquidity to meet institutional demand for immediacy. FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS, financial economists tend to view individuals and institutions differently. In particular, while institutions are viewed as informed investors, individuals are believed to have psychological biases and are often thought of as the proverbial noise traders in the sense of Kyle (1985) or Black (1986). One of the questions of interest to researchers in finance is how the behavior of different investor clienteles or their interaction in the market affects returns. In this paper we focus on the interaction between individual investors and stock returns. Specifically, we examine the short-horizon dynamic relation between the buying and selling by individuals and both previous and subsequent returns using a unique data set provided to us by the NYSE. The data set was constructed from the NYSE’s Consolidated Equity Audit Trail Data (CAUD) files that contain detailed information on all orders that execute on the exchange. For each stock on each day we have the aggregated volume of executed buy and sell orders of individuals. This information enables us to create a measure of net individual investor trading. We examine the extent to which intense net buying or selling by individuals in a stock is related to the stock’s past returns and the extent to which such intense net trading by individuals predicts future returns. Consistent with earlier
Beyond the Role of Dietary Protein and Amino Acids in the Prevention of Diet-Induced Obesity

High-protein diets have been shown to prevent the development of diet-induced obesity and can improve associated metabolic disorders in mice. Dietary leucine supplementation can partially mimic this effect. However, the molecular mechanisms triggering these preventive effects remain to be satisfactorily explained. Here we review studies showing a connection between high protein or total amino nitrogen intake and obligatory water intake. High amino nitrogen intake may possibly lower lipid storage, and prevent insulin resistance. Suggestions are made for further systematical studies to explore the relationship between water consumption, satiety, and energy expenditure. Moreover, these examinations should better distinguish between leucine-specific and unspecific effects. Research in this field can provide important information to justify dietary recommendations and strategies in promoting long-term weight loss and may help to reduce health problems associated with the comorbidities of obesity.
O estímulo à criatividade em programas de pós-graduação segundo seus estudantes

The study investigated the degree to which graduate professors implement instructional activities that foster creativity, according to graduate students, as well as these students' evaluation of their own level of creativity, their teachers' and their colleagues' level of creativity, comparing the results with others obtained with undergraduate students. Ninety-two graduate students answered an inventory of incentive to creativity and evaluated their own level of creativity, their teachers' and colleagues' level of creativity. More incentive to different factors which associate with creativity was pointed by the graduate students, comparing to the undergraduate ones. Graduate students judged themselves as more creative than their professors and colleagues. Moreover, they evaluate themselves and their professors as more creative than did the undergraduate students. The conditions more favorable to creativity in the graduate courses are due possibly to the goals of the graduate courses related to the production of knowledge.
Sport players detection and tracking with a mixed network of planar and omnidirectional cameras

A generic approach is presented to detect and track people with a network of fixed and omnidirectional cameras given severely degraded foreground silhouettes. The problem is formulated as a sparsity constrained inverse problem. A dictionary made of atoms representing the silhouettes of a person at a given location is used within the problem formulation. A reweighted scheme is considered to better approximate the sparsity prior. Although the framework is generic to any scene, the focus of this paper is to evaluate the performance of the proposed approach on a basketball game. The main challenges come from the players' behavior, their similar appearance, and the mutual occlusions present in the views. In addition, the extracted foreground silhouettes are severely degraded due to the polished floor reflecting the players, and the strong shadow present in the scene. We present qualitative and quantitative results with the APIDIS dataset as part of the ICDSC sport challenge. 1
Caregivers’ Beliefs Associated With Medication Adherence Among Children and Adolescents With Epilepsy

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this study was to determine the association between adherence to prescribed antiepileptic medication in a convenience sample of caregivers (n = 100) of children diagnosed with epilepsy, ages 2–14 years, and caregivers’ beliefs about the medication. Using the Beliefs about Medication Questionnaire and Medication Adherence Report Scale, caregivers were questioned about beliefs of necessity and concerns associated with medication adherence. Using bivariate linear regression, no significant correlation was found between necessity for antiepileptic drug treatment or caregiver’s concerns and medication adherence. Nevertheless, although only 28% of the respondents reported complete adherence, the majority of caregivers perceived their child’s medication was necessary to maintain good health. Educational aspects and social desirability in this setting may have contributed to the discordance between adherence and caregivers’ beliefs.
The Role of Uncertainty, Awareness, and Trust in Visual Analytics

Visual analytics supports humans in generating knowledge from large and often complex datasets. Evidence is collected, collated and cross-linked with our existing knowledge. In the process, a myriad of analytical and visualisation techniques are employed to generate a visual representation of the data. These often introduce their own uncertainties, in addition to the ones inherent in the data, and these propagated and compounded uncertainties can result in impaired decision making. The user's confidence or trust in the results depends on the extent of user's awareness of the underlying uncertainties generated on the system side. This paper unpacks the uncertainties that propagate through visual analytics systems, illustrates how human's perceptual and cognitive biases influence the user's awareness of such uncertainties, and how this affects the user's trust building. The knowledge generation model for visual analytics is used to provide a terminology and framework to discuss the consequences of these aspects in knowledge construction and though examples, machine uncertainty is compared to human trust measures with provenance. Furthermore, guidelines for the design of uncertainty-aware systems are presented that can aid the user in better decision making.
A historical review of the South African social welfare system and social work practitioners’ views on its current status

English The article addresses the plight of South Africa's poorest Black majority and the government's efforts to alleviate poverty. Qualitative findings associated with social work practitioners' perspectives on the success of the efforts and the use of a developmental practice approach for the reduction of poverty are discussed. French L'article s'intéresse au triste sort de la majorité noire la plus pauvre en Afrique du sud et aux efforts gouvernementaux en vue d'enrayer cette pauvreté. Il discute des résultats qualitatifs associés aux perspectives des praticiens en travail social sur le succès des efforts entrepris pour réduire la pauvreté et pour utiliser une approche développementale en pratique sociale. Spanish El artículo señala la difícil situación de los pobres en Sud Africa y los esfuerzos del gobierno para aliviar la pobreza. En él se discuten los hallazgos cualitativos, asociados con la perspectiva de los practicantes del trabajo social, sobre el desarrollo de los esfuerzos para aliviar la pobreza y la utilización de una práctica de desarrollo para aproximarse a la reducción e la pobreza.
Contrasting effects of mitogenic growth factors on myelination in neuron–oligodendrocyte co‐cultures

Mitogenic growth factors play an important role in the initial stages of oligodendrocyte development, but their roles in the process of myelination itself remain less well defined. In order to study directly the effects of different growth factors on myelination, we used a purified in vitro co‐culture system with dorsal root ganglion neurons and oligodendrocytes. Extensive myelination had occurred in these cultures 14 days after oligodendrocyte precursors (OPCs) were added, with the relationship between neurite density and the percentage of oligodendrocytes forming myelin sheaths providing a robust and straightforward means of quantifying myelination. Addition of soluble neuregulin (Nrg1), a mitogen for oligodendroglial cells that also provides an axonal signal implicated in oligodendrocyte survival, increased myelination. Conversely, the OPC mitogens FGF‐2 and PDGF inhibited myelination. The inhibitory effect of these mitogens was reversible, as inhibition of PDGF allowed myelination to proceed. Taken together, these data indicate that different mitogenic growth factors can regulate myelination by oligodendrocytes in addition to their well‐described effects on earlier stages of oligodendroglial development. Moreover, the results highlight important differences between the growth factors. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Synergistic effect of two oxidative stress‐related genes (heme oxygenase‐1 and GSK3β) on the risk of Parkinson’s disease

Background: Oxidative stress is a central factor in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Heme oxygenase‐1 (HO‐1) is an antioxidant protein expressed in response to oxidative challenge, and its expression levels are inversely correlated with glycogen synthase kinase‐3β (GSK3β) activity. Underexpression of HO‐1 in concert with an upregulation of GSK3β would result in a less effective antioxidant response and might increase the risk of PD.