Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Association of clinical features with HLA in chronic pulmonary thromboembolism

The aetiology of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is largely unknown and may be heterogeneous, because there are several ethnic differences in the clinical characteristics of CTEPH. Female predominance and a higher ratio of chronic to acute pulmonary thromboembolism have been reported in Japan as compared with the USA. Because such ethnic differences may be controlled by genetic factors, the current study investigated HLA polymorphisms in Japanese patients with CTEPH. HLA typing by serological and/or DNA typing methods was performed (for HLA-A, B, DPB1, DRB1) in 80 patients and 678 controls, and the association of clinical characteristics with HLA alleles was studied. The frequencies of HLA-B*5201 (40 versus 24%) and DPB1*0202 (19 versus 6%) were significantly higher in the patients. HLA-B*5201 positive patients showed a significant female predominance. Total pulmonary vascular resistance and mixed venous oxygen tension were better in the HLA-B*5201 positive patients. In contrast, cardiac index and gas exchange parameters were worse in the HLA-DPB1*0202 positive patients. In the patients carrying HLA-B*5201 and/or -DPB1*0202, the frequency of deep vein thrombosis was significantly lower than the other patients. These observations suggested that both the susceptibility and clinical characteristics of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension were controlled in part by the HLA-B and -DPB1 loci.
Heteronormativity in First Encounters: An Interactional Analysis

Conversations between people who meet for the first time follow specific constraints. For instance, speakers are constrained as to what topics they can talk about, and how. Analysing recordings of non-institutional informal conversations in Norwegian between previously unacquainted speakers, this paper argues that conversationally appropriate displays of heterosexuality are a way of fulfilling constraints on friendly encounters in such settings. In the conversations this is done through references to former and present (heterosexual) partners, through talk about marriage and attraction, and through the construction of homosexuality as “the other” and as having negative connotations.
Neurodevelopmental disorders and genetic testing: Current approaches and future advances

Genetic testing for intellectual disability, global developmental delay and other neurodevelopmental disorders has advanced considerably in the last five to ten years and can be an important diagnostic tool for clinicians. This article provides a clinical and ethical framework for understanding these advances, future directions and the current limitations of these approaches. Ann Neurol 2013;74:164–170
School Management and Contingency Theory: An Emerging Perspective

Contingency theory is perhaps the most powerful current sweeping over the public and private sectors of management. An understanding of the "situational" characteristics of the organizational forces that influence the relationships between environmental, management, and performance variables is now coming to be seen as a key to under standing the management process itself. Unfortunately, the field of educational administration has yet to become extensively involved. Focus in this paper is given to an identification and analysis of (1) the basic assumptions underpinning contingency theory, and (2) the contin gent nature of organizational structure, leadership, and planning variables. The objective is to build a conceptual framework that will be a useful tool in providing greater facility for description, analysis, and prediction in educational organizations. The paper concludes with a series of research questions intended to establish lines of investigation for the field of school organization and administration.
‘Plugging the Gap’: Shared Education and the promotion of community relations through schools in Northern Ireland

Although there is no consensus among educationalists as to the role schools play as drivers of hostilities in divided societies, there is broad agreement that they can facilitate more positive intergroup relations. In Northern Ireland the promotion of school based intergroup contact has been offered as a means through which this can happen. Until 2007, the approach was twofold, reflected on the one hand in short-term contact opportunities for pupils in predominantly Catholic and Protestant schools, and on the other, in support for integrated schools that educate Catholics and Protestants together. In 2007 the Shared Education Programme was introduced to ‘bridge the gap’ between short-term opportunities for contact, and ‘full immersion’ integrated schools. Informed by contact theory, shared education offers curriculum-based interaction between pupils attending all school types, aimed at promoting the type of contact likely to reduce negative social attitudes and ultimately contribute to social harmony. In this paper, we examine the impact of shared education thus far. Our analysis suggests that while shared education is generally effective in promoting positive assessments of other group members, there is a danger that programme impact may be inhibited by the foregrounding of educational over reconciliation priorities. Appreciating that the downplaying reconciliation objectives may have been necessary when the programme was established in order to maximise recruitment to it, we argue that if the full potential of shared education is to be realised, moving forward, it is important for schools to engage with issues of group differences.
Reconciliation of Expectancy-Valence and Expectation- Disconfirmation Paradigms in Investment Decisions: Case of Turkish Equity Investors

Human expectations are believed to play a key role in setting the direction of actual behavior. Although having its influence in a number of sectors and product types, the concept of expectations deserves special attention in the financial investment decisions, which is mostly up to the prospective beliefs about the major economic indicators and interrelationship among them. There exist numerous paradigms covering the concept with varying antecedents and consequences with a lacking coherence. Besides, the existing literature tends to take a finance-viewpoint in covering the investment decisions rather than a consumer behavior stance. The aim of this study is to demonstrate that the process of the first arousal of human need into the actual behavior might be analyzed in a coherent combination of Expectancy-Valence and Expectation-Disconfirmation Theories. The suggested approach is applied in the area of financial services, specifically in the determination of the motivational force to invest in the Turkey Equity Market by the Turkish investors. The findings indicate that the investorsâ€™ motivational force is a function of the sum of expectations for the expected outcome and their valences. Their motivational force has an impact on their state of disconfirmation and its direction which, in turn influences their state of satisfaction. Past experience also emerges both as an outcome of the satisfaction process and as an antecedent of the motivational force for the following investment decision, in the periods covered.
Fecal microbiota in early rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE To compare the composition of intestinal microbiota of patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or fibromyalgia (FM), fecal samples were collected from 51 patients with RA and 50 with FM. METHODS RA patients fulfilled the RA criteria of the American College of Rheumatology, and duration of their disease was < or = 6 months. Only nonhospitalized patients from outpatient care were included. Patients having extreme diets or previous disease modifying antirheumatic drug or glucocorticoid medication were excluded, as were those taking antibiotics or having gastroenteritis for at least 2 months prior to sampling. Fecal bacterial composition was analyzed with a method based on flow cytometry, 16S rRNA hybridization, and DNA-staining. A set of 8 oligonucleotide probes was used. RESULTS In comparison to patients with FM, the RA patients had significantly less bifidobacteria and bacteria of the Bacteroides-Porphyromonas-Prevotella group, Bacteroides fragilis subgroup, and Eubacterium rectale--Clostridium coccoides group. Results from the 8 probes showed a significant overall difference between the 2 patient groups, indicating widespread microbial differences. CONCLUSION These findings support the hypothesis that intestinal microbes participate in the etiopathogenesis of RA.
Risk Factors for Helminth, Malaria, and HIV Infection in Pregnancy in Entebbe, Uganda

Background Infections during pregnancy may have serious consequences for both mother and baby. Assessment of risk factors for infections informs planning of interventions and analysis of the impact of infections on health outcomes. Objectives To describe risk factors for helminths, malaria and HIV in pregnant Ugandan women before intervention in a trial of de-worming in pregnancy. Methods The trial recruited 2,507 pregnant women between April 2003 and November 2005. Participants were interviewed and blood and stool samples obtained; location of residence at enrolment was mapped. Demographic, socioeconomic, behavioral and other risk factors were modelled using logistic regression. Results There was a high prevalence of helminth, malaria and HIV infection, as previously reported. All helminths and malaria parasitemia were more common in younger women, and education was protective against every infection. Place of birth and/or tribe affected all helminths in a pattern consistent with the geographical distribution of helminth infections in Uganda. Four different geohelminths (hookworm, Trichuris, Ascaris and Trichostrongylus) showed a downwards trend in prevalence during the enrolment period. There was a negative association between hookworm and HIV, and between hookworm and low CD4 count among HIV-positive women. Locally, high prevalence of schistosomiasis and HIV occurred in lakeshore communities. Conclusions Interventions for helminths, malaria and HIV need to target young women both in and out of school. Antenatal interventions for malaria and HIV infection must continue to be promoted. Women originating from a high risk area for a helminth infection remain at high risk after migration to a lower-risk area, and vice versa, but overall, geohelminths seem to be becoming less common in this population. High risk populations, such as fishing communities, require directed effort against schistosomiasis and HIV infection.
Effect of Nuclear Actin on Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase Expression

Background—Previously, we showed that the 27nt repeat polymorphism in endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) intron 4 was associated with altered eNOS mRNA and protein levels, nitric oxide (NO) production and vascular disease risk; the 27-nt repeats had a cis-acting role in eNOS promoter function. In the present study, we investigated nuclear protein that binds the 27nt repeat and mediates eNOS expression. Methods and Results—Using 5′-biotin-labeled 27nt DNA duplex and streptavidin–agarose beads pull-down assay and mass spectrometry, we identified that nuclear β-actin was one of the major 27nt binding proteins. Using the pGL3 reporter vectors containing the 5×27nt repeats as an enhancer in an in vitro transcription assay, we found that exogenous β-actin significantly increased reporter gene transcription efficiency. The β-actin's upregulating effect was compromised when exogenous 27nt RNA duplex was added. Furthermore, the eNOS expression was reduced when β-actin gene was silenced by specific siRNA, and actin overexpression upregulated eNOS expression >3-fold. Conclusion—Our data demonstrate that β-actin as a transcription factor stimulates eNOS expression; and the transcriptional effect appears to be 27nt-dependent. Our findings represent a novel molecular mechanism regulating eNOS expression, which could potentially lead to discoveries of eNOS specific pharmaceutical agents, eg, active peptides, with clinical applications.
Analyzing the Role of ICTs in the Tunisian and Egyptian Unrest from an Information Warfare Perspective

Summary of the Role of ICTs in the Uprisings From the analysis using the IW Lifecycle Model, it is apparent that ICTs were employed as a communication tool to disseminate information to alter the perceptions and will of both local and international target audiences in both uprisings. ICT usage also provided a degree of co-ordination for the initial protests. Attempts by authorities to control the protests in Tunisia and Egypt by denying the social media platform were ultimately unsuccessful. The social media served to initially disseminate news of and the reasoning behind the protests. Once the uprisings had gained momentum, the need for social media involvement was reduced. This indicates that the reacting actor is at a disadvantage while the initiating actor has the opportunity to shape the perspectives of the target audience. Therefore, the reaction needs to counter those effects in addition to providing an opposing message. The role of ICTs in the uprisings from an IW perspective then could be construed as psychological operations and command and control warfare.
The Case for a Body‐Focus in Education and Physical Education

ABSTRACT This paper draws upon social theory to consider whether a focus on pupils' embodiment in education, and in physical education, could enhance the status of physical education in schools. The traditional conceptualization of the body in education is outlined in terms of the privileging of theoretical knowledge at the expense of practical knowledge, and the role of schools in the social regulation and control of pupils' bodies. In such a model, physical education appears to be inextricably linked to the low status body, to practical work and to discipline functions. However, it can be argued that schools should also be concerned with the education of pupils' embodiment and that physical education has a central role to play. Numerous authors argue that in ‘high modernity’ the body is increasingly important to the development of self‐identity. Furthermore, ‘pupils' embodiment’ is a concept around which the disparate activities of the physical education curriculum could be organized and justified. It i.
Percolation in Multi-hop Wireless Networks

Models of wireless ad-hoc and sensor networks are often based on the geometric disc abstraction: transmission is assumed to be isotropic, and reliable communication channels are assumed to exist (apart from interference) between nodes closer than a given distance. In reality communication channels are unreliable and communication range is generally not rotationally symmetric. In this paper we examine how these issues affect network connectivity. We compare networks of geometric discs to other simple shapes and/or probabilistic connections, and we find that when transmission range and node density are normalized across experiments so as to preserve the expected number of connections (ENC) enjoyed by each node, discs are the “hardest” shape to connect together. In other words, anisotropic radiation patterns and spotty coverage allow an unbounded connected component to appear at lower ENC levels than perfect circular coverage allows. This indicates that connectivity claims made in the literature using the geometric disc abstraction in general hold also for the more irregular shapes found in practice.
A Theoretical Structure of High School Concert Band Performance

This study used exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to verify a theoretical structure for high school concert band performance and to test that structure for viability, generality, and invariance. A total of 101 university students enrolled in two different bands rated two high school band performances (a “first” band’s Performance 1, and “second” band’s Performance 2) using items from Sagen’s Band Performance Rating Scale. EFA methods verified a structure consisting of three interrelated primary-order factors. Items did not have the same factor loadings in both performances. For Performance 1, the factor accounting for the most variance was Expression/Tone Quality, followed by Intonation and then Rhythm. For Performance 2, the factor accounting for the most variance was Tone Quality/Intonation, followed by Expression and then Rhythm. Both performances’ structures exhibited a strong second-order general factor (g). CFA demonstrated that models consisting of three interrelated primary-order factors and one second-order g fit both sets of data. Regarding generality, the Performance 1 model did not fit Performance 2 data, whereas the Performance 2 model did fit Performance 1 data. The Performance 1 model demonstrated a high degree of invariance between the two sets of evaluators; the Performance 2 model did not.
CD14lowCD16high: A cytokine‐producing monocyte subset which expands during human immunodeficiency virus infection

Infection with the human immunodeficiency virus HIV‐1 is associated with the expansion of a CD14lowCD16high monocyte subset in peripheral blood. This subset, which represents a minor subpopulation of monocytes in healthy individuals, increases during HIV infection and, in patients with AIDS, may represent up to 40% of the total circulating monocyte cell population. The CD14lowCD16high circulating monocytes co‐express MAX.1, p150,95 and HLADR which are typical of tissue macrophage markers. These cells also express higher levels of intracellular interleukin (IL)‐1α and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α than the CD14highCD16low monocyte population from the same patients. The CD14lowCD16high cells also express low levels of CD35, CD11a and CD4 in common with normal monocytes. When cultured in vitro, monocytes from HIV‐seropositive individuals differentiated within a few hours into an elongated fibroblastoid shape characteristic of migratory cells. Our results suggest that the expansion of the CD14lowCD16high monocyte subset, which produce high amounts of TNF‐α and IL‐1α, may participate in the immune dysfunction observed during HIV infection.
Hadriaca Patera: Insights into its volcanic history from Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera

[1] High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) images of Hadriaca Patera, Mars, in combination with Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC), Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA), and Thermal Infrared Imaging System (THEMIS) data sets, reveal morphologic details about this volcano and enable determination of a chronology of the major geologic events through new cratering age assessments. New topographic measurements of the Hadriaca edifice were also made from a HRSC-based high-resolution (125 m) digital terrain model (DTM) and compared to the MOLA DTM. We find evidence for a complex formation and erosional history at Hadriaca Patera, in which volcanic, fluvial, and aeolian processes were all involved. Crater counts and associated model ages suggest that Hadriaca Patera formed from early shield-building volcanic (likely explosive pyroclastic) eruptions at ∼3.7–3.9 Ga, with caldera formation no later than ∼3.5 Ga. A variety of geologic activity occurred in the caldera and on the northern flank and plains at ∼3.3–3.5 Ga, likely including pyroclastic flows (that partially filled a large crater NW of the caldera, and plains to the NE) and differential erosion/deposition by aeolian and/or fluvial activity. There were some resurfacing event(s) in the caldera and on the eastern flank at ∼2.4–2.6 Ga, in which the eastern flank's morphology is indicative of fluvial erosion. The most recent dateable geologic activity on Hadriaca Patera includes caldera resurfacing by some process (most likely differential aeolian erosion/deposition) in the Amazonian Period, as recent as ∼1.5 Ga. This is coincident with the resurfacing of the heavily channeled south flank by fluvial erosion. Unlike the Tharsis shields, major geologic activity ended at Hadriaca Patera over a billion years ago.
Influences of Parenting Practices on the Risk of Having a Chance to Try Cannabis

Background. Parenting practices have been linked with an array of adolescent health-compromising behaviors, but little is known about their possible long-lasting effects. In this study, we estimate the extent to which parental monitoring, parental involvement and reinforcement, and coercive parental discipline during primary school might exert a durable influence on the risk of transitioning into an early stage of youthful cannabis involvement, ie, the first chance to try cannabis. Methods. Data were from a prospective study of first-graders who entered an urban public school system in the middle 1980s. Parenting was assessed in fourth grade, and cannabis experiences were evaluated during periodic assessments from middle childhood through young adulthood. Results. The estimated risk of the first chance to try cannabis peaked around 16 to 18 years of age. Lower parental involvement and reinforcement and higher coercive parental discipline were associated modestly with a greater risk of cannabis exposure opportunity through the years of adolescence and into early adulthood (parental involvement and reinforcement: adjusted relative risk: 1.4; 95% confidence interval: 1.1–1.7; parental discipline: adjusted relative risk: 1.3; 95% confidence interval: 1.1–1.5); the estimated impact of parental monitoring was less durable. Conclusions. Early-onset cannabis involvement can be hazardous. Certain parenting practices in the mid-primary school years may have a durable impact, perhaps helping to shield youths from having a chance to try cannabis throughout adolescence and into young adulthood.
The pace, sequence, and linearity of radical change

The purpose of this research was to explore how the pace, sequence, and linearity of change can affect the outcome of radical transformations. Real-time data collected over 12 years showed that, contrary to popular belief, wide-scale rapid change was not a determining factor. However, early change to specific “high-impact” elements was found to be necessary for completing radical transitions. Further, analysis conducted at the suborganization level provided insight into the ways in which change unfurls in a nonlinear manner.
Ecstasy, Joy, and Sorrow: The Religious Experience of Southern College Football

Beginning with the assumption that college football in the American South at least looks religious, this essay explores the possibility that it functions religiously to the extent that it provides opportunities for fans to have religious experiences. The essay draws upon fan descriptions and survey data, classic accounts of the nature and import of religious experience, and the contemporary philosophy of religion of Wayne Proudfoot. The conclusion is that a reasonable case can be made that the experience of the Southern college football fan is similar to the kinds of experiences of religious adherents.
Bug report assignee recommendation using activity profiles

One question which frequently arises within the context of artifacts stored in a bug tracking repository is: “who should work on this bug report? ” A number of approaches exist to semi-automatically identify and recommend developers, e.g. using machine learning techniques and social networking analysis. In this work, we propose a new approach for assignee recommendation leveraging user activities in a bug tracking repository. Within the bug tracking repository, an activity profile is created for each user from the history of all his activities (i.e. review, assign, and resolve). This profile, to some extent, indicates the user's role, expertise, and involvement in this project. These activities influence and contribute to the identification and ranking of suitable assignees. In order to evaluate our work, we apply it to bug reports of three different projects. Our results indicate that the proposed approach is able to achieve an average hit ratio of 88%. Comparing this result to the LDA-SVM - based assignee recommendation technique, it was found that the proposed approach performs better.