Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dispersion and birefringence properties of a novel As2Se3 photonic crystal fiber nanowire

In this paper, we have characterized a mid-IR nonlinear photonic device consisting of a highly nonlinear As2Se3 nanowire and a novel photonic crystal structure on silica clad. The lowest optical confinement was found about 60% over the entire bandwidth for an optimum nanowire radius of 600 nm. The highest anomalous GVD obtained was about 1348 ps/nm. km with the lowest anomalous GVD bandwidth of around 2500 nm. The lowest nonlinearity obtained was on the order of 104 W−1 km−1, which ensures that the device is ideal for mid-IR super-continuum (SC) generation. It has been found that a birefringence about 30000 times higher than that of a circular nanowire may be obtained due to only 5% deformation of the nanowire. A relationship between the peak value of birefringence and nanowire ellipticity has been obtained for a certain design parameter. Finally, supercontinuum simulation has been conducted to realize the effects of high anomalous dispersion accompanied by ultra-high nonlinearity.
Rehabilitation of aphasia: application of melodic-rhythmic therapy to Italian language

Aphasia is a complex disorder, frequent after stroke (with an incidence of 38%), with a detailed pathophysiological characterization. Effective approaches are crucial for devising an efficient rehabilitative strategy, in order to address the everyday life and professional disability. Several rehabilitative procedures are based on psycholinguistic, cognitive, psychosocial or pragmatic approaches, including amongst those with a neurobehavioral approach the Melodic Intonation Therapy (MIT). Van Eeckhout’s adaptation of MIT to French language (Melodic-Rhythmic Therapy: MRT) has implemented the training strategy by adding a rhythmic structure reproducing French prosody. The purpose of this study was to adapt MRT rehabilitation procedures to Italian language and to verify its efficacy in a group of six chronic patients (five males) with severe non-fluent aphasia and without specific aphasic treatments during the previous 9 months. The patients were treated 4 days a week for 16 weeks, with sessions of 30–40 min. They were assessed 6 months after the end of the treatment (follow-up). The patients showed a significant improvement at the Aachener Aphasie Test (AAT) in different fields of spontaneous speech, with superimposable results at the follow-up. Albeit preliminary, these findings support the use of MRT in the rehabilitation after stroke. Specifically, MRT seems to benefit from its stronger structure than the available stimulation-facilitation procedures and allows a better quantification of the rehabilitation efficacy.
Our first “IVF baby”: Israel and Canada’s press coverage of procreative technology

Provides a comparison of the press coverage of the introduction of IVF in different contexts, giving a vantage point for examining the variability and the context‐dependence of the issue. Sheds some light on the cultural‐political‐social problems that the new technology entails. Contrasts the differences between Canada and Israel, showing that both countries endorse modern technology in the field of medidine: in both countries, IVF was imported about the same time and both used the US and Britain as a frame of reference and model rather than local developments. Shows the cultural differences of how each culture embraced the new technology.
Discovering Patterns to Extract Protein-Protein Interactions from Full Biomedical Texts

Although there have been many research projects to extract protein pathways, most such information still exists only in the scientific literature, usually written in natural languages and defying data mining efforts. We present a novel and robust approach for extracting protein-protein interactions from the literature. Our method uses a dynamic programming algorithm to compute distinguishing patterns by aligning relevant sentences and key verbs that describe protein interactions. A matching algorithm is designed to extract the interactions between proteins. Equipped only with a protein name dictionary, our system achieves a recall rate of about 80.0% and a precision rate of about 80.5%.
Lakum dīnukum wa-liya dīnī: the Muhammadiyah's stance towards interfaith relations

The Muhammadiyah claims, and has been considered by many, to be one of the champions of moderate Islam. However, the movement's position in relation to religious pluralism has not yet been clarified. This article examines the Muhammadiyah's stance towards interfaith relations by looking closely at three events after the 1998 ‘Reformation’ in Indonesia: the publication of Tafsir tematik al-Qur'an tentang hubungan sosial antarumat beragama (Thematic exegesis of the Qur'an on interfaith relations), Din Syamsuddin's offer to Christians of the use of the Muhammadiyah's buildings for their Christmas services, and the publication of Kristen Muhammadiyah (Christian Muhammadiyah). This article argues that, contrary to the common perception, the guiding principle of the Muhammadiyah's approach to interfaith relations is not fa-istabiqū al-khayrāt (compete with one another in good works), but lakum dīnukum wa-liya dīnī (unto you your religion, and unto me my religion). As a consequence of this principle, the Muhammadiyah's theological approach to religious others is different from their sociological approach. Although several efforts have been made to develop the Muhammadiyah into a pluralist movement, this organization might more appropriately be considered an inclusivist movement.
Epidermal growth factor receptor positive lung cancer: The nontrial scenario.

PURPOSE The aim of this study was to report the median overall survival (OS) in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation-positive patients who were managed out of a clinical trial. METHODS Nonsmall cell lung cancer patients harboring activating EGFR mutations who were either ineligible or refused participation in a clinical trial were selected for this analysis. The reason for not participating in trial, staging, treatment, and outcome details were obtained from a prospective lung cancer database. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate OS. Log-rank test and Cox proportion hazard model were used for univariate and multivariate analysis, respectively. RESULTS We included 225 patients in this analysis. The median age of the cohort was 56 years (range 29-85 years). A compromised Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (PS) of >2 was the major reason (83 patients, 36.9%) for ineligibility of patients in a clinical trial. The major reason provided by eligible patients for refusal to participate in a clinical trial was long distance of travel and inability to comply with the study-mandated follow-up visits (65 patients, 28.9%). The median OS in patients with PS 0-2 was 18.17 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 15.6-20.8 months) and it was 12.1 months (95% CI: 9.0-15.2 months) in patients with PS 3-4 (hazard ratio - 0.579 [95% CI: 0.398-0.843] P = 0.004). CONCLUSION EGFR positive patients who were ineligible for a clinical trial due to poor PS had lower survival; however, patients with good PS treated off-trial had similar OS to that reported in multiple clinical trials.
Impacts of Lisinopril and Lisinopril Plus Simvastatin on Erythrocyte and Plasma Arginase, Nitrite, and Nitrate in Hypertensive Patients

Angiotensin‐converting enzyme inhibitors are effective at reducing blood pressure, whereas statins decrease plasma cholesterol, impeding atherosclerosis. The authors hypothesize that these medications may improve blood pressure by modifying the arginase—nitric oxide synthase system of erythrocytes. In this study, the effects of lisinopril alone versus lisinopril + simvastatin on erythrocyte and plasma arginase enzyme and nitric oxide metabolites are compared. Patients with atherosclerosis and hypertension are randomly assigned to receive lisinopril 10 to 20 mg/d or lisinopril 10 to 20 mg/d plus simvastatin 20 mg/d for 24 weeks. Higher arginase activity is observed in erythrocytes from 100% of patients and mainly recovered after 12 and 24 weeks of treatment with lisinopril or lisinopril + simvastatin. Plasma arginase activity is 3 orders of magnitude lower than erythrocyte arginase activity in all participants, suggesting a lack of its clinical significance. Both treatments cause the increase in plasma NO2−, NO3−, and NO2− + NO3− in 100% of patients. Erythrocyte NO2− + NO3− concentration is greatly decreased in hypertensive patients but recovers after monotherapy and combined therapy. The results show for the first time that lisinopril monotherapy and combined lisinopril + simvastatin therapy exhibit pronounced and equipotential normalizing effects on erythrocyte arginase and nitric oxide synthase activities.
Pharmacodynamic Modeling of Ciprofloxacin Resistance in Staphylococcus aureus

ABSTRACT Three pharmacodynamic models of increasing complexity, designed for two subpopulations of bacteria with different susceptibilities, were developed to describe and predict the evolution of resistance to ciprofloxacin in Staphylococcus aureus by using pharmacokinetic, viable count, subpopulation, and resistance mechanism data obtained from in vitro system experiments. A two-population model with unique growth and killing rate constants for the ciprofloxacin-susceptible and -resistant subpopulations best described the initial killing and subsequent regrowth patterns observed. The model correctly described the enrichment of subpopulations with low-level resistance in the parent cultures but did not identify a relationship between the time ciprofloxacin concentrations were in the mutant selection window (the interval between the MIC and the mutant prevention concentration) and the enrichment of these subpopulations. The model confirmed the importance of resistant variants to the emergence of resistance by successfully predicting that resistant subpopulations would not emerge when a low-density culture, with a low probability of mutants, was exposed to a clinical dosing regimen or when a high-density culture, with a higher probability of mutants, was exposed to a transient high initial concentration designed to rapidly eradicate low-level resistant grlA mutants. The model, however, did not predict or explain the origin of variants with higher levels of resistance that appeared and became the predominant subpopulation during some experiments or the persistence of susceptible bacteria in other experiments where resistance did not emerge. Continued evaluation of the present two-population pharmacodynamic model and development of alternative models is warranted.
Pattern of third molar impaction in a Saudi population

Objective To evaluate the current pattern of third molar impaction in a sample of Saudi patients. Methods One thousand thirty-nine orthopantomograms (OPG) of patients ranging in age from 19 to 46 years (536 males and 503 females) were evaluated to determine the frequency of impacted third molars, their levels of eruption, and their angulations. Results Four hundred twenty-two (40.5%) of the 1039 OPG showed at least one impacted third molar, with no significant difference between males (222; 52.6%) and females (200; 47.4%) (P = 0.284). The most common number of impacted third molars per OPG was one (72.5%). Impacted third molars were 1.64 times more likely to occur in the mandible than in the maxilla. The most common angulation of impaction in the mandible was the mesial (33.4%), while the most common angulation in the maxilla, was the vertical (49.6%). Level B impaction was the most common in both maxilla (48.2%) and mandible (67.7%). There was no significant difference in the frequency of impaction between the right and left sides in both jaws. Conclusion The pattern of third molar impaction in the western region of Saudi Arabia is characterized by a high prevalence of impaction that is greater in the mandibles and with no sex predilection.
Outer-Sphere Redox Couples as Shuttles in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells. Performance Enhancement Based on Photoelectrode Modification via Atomic Layer Deposition

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) has been used to create conformal TiO2 blocking layers on fluorine-doped tin-oxide substrates in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), effectively eliminating shunting. ALD has also been used to deposit, in controlled fashion, ultrathin coatings of alumina on nanoparticle-based TiO2 DSSC photoanodes. These modified electrodes enable ferrocenium/ferrocene, an outer-sphere redox couple, to be used as a shuttle. The photovoltaic performance and interfacial charge-transfer dynamics were investigated in DSSCs employing this shuttle. It was found that a single ALD cycle is able to passivate surface states, resulting in a dramatic improvement in photovoltaic performance. Subsequent alumina deposition resulted in exponentially increasing electron lifetimes as a function of alumina layer thickness, indicating that the layers behave as barriers to electron tunneling. The characterization of DSSC photovoltaic performance and interfacial charge-transfer dynamics was extended to cells emplo.
Characteristics of Useful Code Reviews: An Empirical Study at Microsoft

Over the past decade, both open source and commercial software projects have adopted contemporary peer code review practices as a quality control mechanism. Prior research has shown that developers spend a large amount of time and effort performing code reviews. Therefore, identifying factors that lead to useful code reviews can benefit projects by increasing code review effectiveness and quality. In a three-stage mixed research study, we qualitatively investigated what aspects of code reviews make them useful to developers, used our findings to build and verify a classification model that can distinguish between useful and not useful code review feedback, and finally we used this classifier to classify review comments enabling us to empirically investigate factors that lead to more effective code review feedback. In total, we analyzed 1.5 millions review comments from five Microsoft projects and uncovered many factors that affect the usefulness of review feedback. For example, we found that the proportion of useful comments made by a reviewer increases dramatically in the first year that he or she is at Microsoft but tends to plateau afterwards. In contrast, we found that the more files that are in a change, the lower the proportion of comments in the code review that will be of value to the author of the change. Based on our findings, we provide recommendations for practitioners to improve effectiveness of code reviews.
The effect of exogenous factors on the Technology Acceptance Model for online shopping in the UAE

This study tests the applicability of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) within an electronic commerce setting. It aims at examining the relationship between perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and three exogenous factors (computer self-efficacy, security issues, and features of a website). The proposed modified TAM model has been tested with a survey sample of 324 which was distributed among undergraduate students in a local university in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The data has been analysed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to evaluate the strength of the hypothesised relationship. The implications of the findings of this study are discussed and suggestions for future research are presented in the paper.
Computer-Mediated Group Work: The Interaction of Sex and Anonymity

This research invokes two theoretical perspectives—the equalization hypothesis and the SIDE model—to examine the impact of individuals' sex on group members' use of anonymous, computer-mediated collaborative technologies. Data from 127 individuals in 22 enduring task groups indicate that the strategies employed differentially by men and women correspond with inferred motivations: men are more likely to seek ways to make computer-mediated interactions more like a face-to-face interaction with women, whereas women are more likely to employ strategies that maintain the reduced social cues of computer-mediated communication and afford them greater potential influence in mixed-sex interactions. The integration of theories previously regarded as oppositional, and the empirical support of hypotheses derived from these perspectives, suggest a richer, more complex view of technological support of group work at a time when collaborative technologies are increasingly important, given shifts toward more dispersed, global, and virtual organizational work groups.
Safety and efficacy of saxagliptin for glycemic control in non-critically ill hospitalized patients

Objective To evaluate whether saxagliptin is non-inferior to basal-bolus insulin therapy for glycemic control in patients with controlled type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) admitted to hospital with non-critical illnesses. Research design and methods This was an open-label, randomized controlled clinical trial. Patients received either saxagliptin or basal-bolus insulin, both with correctional insulin doses. The main study outcome was the mean daily blood glucose (BG) after the first day of randomization. Results Of 66 patients completing the study, 33 (age 69±10 years, 40% men) were randomized to saxagliptin and 33 (age 67±10 years, 52% men) to basal-bolus insulin therapy. The mean daily BG was 149.8±22.0 mg/dL in the saxagliptin group and 146.9±30.5 mg/dL in the insulin group (p=0.59). With an observed group difference of 2.9 mg/dL and an a priori margin of 20 mg/dL, inferiority of saxagliptin was rejected in favor of non-inferiority (p=0.007). There was no significant difference in the percentage of high or low BG values. The insulin group received a higher number of insulin injections (2.3±1.7/day vs 1.2±1.9/day; p<0.001) as well as a higher daily insulin dose (13.3±12.9 units/day vs 2.4±3.3 units/day; p<0.001) than did the saxagliptin group. Continuous BG monitoring showed that glycemic variability was lower in the saxagliptin group as compared to the insulin group. Patient satisfaction scores were similar in the two groups. Conclusions We conclude that saxagliptin use is non-inferior to basal-bolus insulin in non-critically ill hospitalized patients with T2DM controlled on 0–2 oral agents without insulin. Saxagliptin use may decrease glycemic variability in these patients. Trial registration number NCT02182895.
An Ethical Justification for Research with Children

This thesis is a contribution to the ethical justification for clinical research with children. A research subject’s participation in a trial is usually justified, in part, by informed consent. Informed consent helps to uphold the moral principle of respect for persons. But children’s limited ability to make informed choices gives rise to a problem. It is unclear what, if anything, justifies their participation in research. Some research ethicists propose to resolve this problem by appealing to social utility, proxy consent, arguments explaining why it is permissible to expose children to some harm, and an argument concerning the appropriate balance between research harms and benefits. I argue that each of these is a necessary part of the justification for research with children, but that the argument concerning harms and benefits is under-developed. It relies on the concept of minimal risk, but minimal risk is inadequately justified. I propose an interpretation of minimal risk. I defend the idea that minimal risk should be interpreted according to the risks of daily life. I reject the most prominent defense of daily life, which claims that daily risks are morally relevant because they replace, rather than add to, the risks a child would ordinarily face. Instead, I propose that these risks are part of a reasonable trade-off between personal safety and our ability to pursue meaningful lives. I then examine whose daily life should be captured in the concept of minimal risk. I reject arguments that minimal risk should refer to healthy children or the subjects of the research (including healthy and sick children) and propose instead that the referent should be children who are not unduly burdened by their lives. I argue that children are not unduly burdened when they fare well and defend the idea that children fare well when they possess sufficiently high degrees of the substantive goods of childhood. I conclude by analyzing a controversial case study using my interpretation of minimal risk. I draw on this case to argue that my interpretation offers clear guidance for research ethics review and contributes to a determination that is more plausible than its rivals.
What Teachers of Science Need to Know about Models: An overview

The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the nature of models and their uses in the science classroom based on a theoretical review of literature. The ideas that science philosophers and science education researchers have in common about models and modelling are scrutinised according to five subtopics: meanings of a model, purposes of modelling, multiplicity of scientific models, change in scientific models and uses of models in the science classroom. First, a model can be defined as a representation of a target and serves as a ‘bridge’ connecting a theory and a phenomenon. Second, a model plays the roles of describing, explaining and predicting natural phenomena and communicating scientific ideas to others. Third, multiple models can be developed in science because scientists may have different ideas about what a target looks like and how it works and because there are a variety of semiotic resources available for constructing models. Fourth, scientific models are tested both empirically and conceptually and change along with the process of developing scientific knowledge. Fifth, in the science classroom, not only teachers but also students can take advantage of models as they are engaged in diverse modelling activities. The overview presented in this article can be used to educate science teachers and encourage them to utilise scientific models appropriately in their classrooms.
Ideology in English Textbooks: A Case Study of Matric Level Books in Punjab

In many nations debates over the content and format of school textbooks are sites of educational and political conflict. The research argues that school textbook knowledge is socially constructed and textbook contents are manufactured by powerful groups according to their ideological vision. The research covers four dimensions firstly the selection of material and their thematic sequence in the textbooks present Islam not simply as a belief system but a political ideology that must be accepted by all citizens.Secondly; the textbooks offer a biased treatment of non-Muslim citizens in Pakistan, thirdly; the vocabulary in the textbooks underscores Islamic teaching as Hajj, Zakat ,prayers, and little is mentioned about critical thinking, civic participation, or democratic values of freedom of speech, equality, and respect for cultural and religious diversity.