Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The impact of self-awareness and depression on subjective reports of memory, quality-of-life and satisfaction with life following TBI

Abstract Objective: To determine the relationship between self-awareness and depressive symptomatology with self-reports of memory, Quality-of-Life (QoL) and satisfaction with life in individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methods: Cross-sectional survey of 30 community dwelling adults, who sustained a TBI at least 1 year prior to study enrolment. Participants completed questionnaires to assess the constructs of depression, self-awareness, QoL, satisfaction with life and memory. Results: Symptoms of depression were significantly associated with self-reports of poor memory abilities, lower QoL and lower satisfaction with life. Additionally, higher levels of self-awareness were associated with lower ratings of QoL and reduced memory abilities and better strategy use regarding memory. However, when examining the contribution of each construct individually, depressive symptomatology, and not self-awareness, was significantly associated with subjective self-reports of memory, QoL and satisfaction with life. Conclusions: This pattern of relationships illustrates that, when a person has a low level of depressive symptoms, his/her reports of QoL, memory and satisfaction with life will be more positive; however, he/she will demonstrate more difficulty with self-awareness. Thus, psychological aspects of recovery must, therefore, be taken into account when using self-reported measures in the evaluation of persons who have sustained TBI.
An experimental test of the EICA hypothesis in multiple ranges: invasive populations outperform those from the native range independent of insect herbivore suppression

This paper reports the results of a multi-year manipulative common garden experiment that investigates the roles of variation in plant defense and growth in the competitive ability of an invasive tree in the native range and two introduced ranges. We found that plants from invasive populations had more rapid aboveground growth rates that contributed to their success in both introduced and native ranges independent of aboveground herbivory. However, strong variation among sites indicated that plants from invasive populations only have a strong advantage in a subset of sites in the introduced range.
Effect of Nocturnal Nasal Continuous Positive Airway Pressure on Blood Pressure in Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a very common risk factor for hypertension, and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) has been widely used to treat OSA. We conducted a meta-analysis of randomized, controlled trials to evaluate the effects of CPAP on blood pressure, reported as either a primary or secondary end point, among patients with OSA. Studies were retrieved by searching Medline (January 1980 to July 2006), the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, conference abstracts, and bibliographies of review and original articles. From 255 relevant reports, 16 randomized clinical trials were selected that compared CPAP to control among participants with OSA, had a minimum treatment duration of 2 weeks, and reported blood pressure changes during the intervention or control period. Data on sample size, participant characteristics, study design, intervention methods, duration, and treatment results were independently abstracted by 2 investigators using a standardized protocol. Data from 16 trials representing 818 participants were examined using a random-effects model. Mean net change in systolic blood pressure for those treated with CPAP compared with control was −2.46 mm Hg (95% CI: −4.31 to −0.62); mean net change in diastolic blood pressure was −1.83 mm Hg (95% CI: −3.05 to −0.61); and mean net change in mean arterial pressure was −2.22 mm Hg (95% CI: −4.38 to −0.05). Net reductions in blood pressure were not statistically different between daytime and nighttime. These results indicate that CPAP decreases blood pressure among those with OSA and may help prevent hypertension.
Birational geometry for number theorists

Awfully idiosyncratic lecture notes from CMI summer school in arithmetic geometry July 31-August 4, 2006. Does not include: rationality problems, techniques of the minimal model problem and much of the rest. Includes: Lecture 0: geometry and arithmetic of curves Lecture 1: Kodaira dimension and properties, rational connectendess, Lang's and Campana's conjectures. Lecture 2: Campana's program; Campana constellations framed in terms of b-divisors, to allow for a definition of Kodaira dimension directly on the base. A speculative notion of firmaments which may deserve further investigation, especially the arithmetic side. Lecture 3: the minimal model program: very short discussion of bend-and-break; even shorter discussion of finite generation and the existence of flip. Lecture 4: Vojta's conjectures, Campana's conjectures, and ABC.
Route of delivery and baseline left ventricular ejection fraction, key factors of bone‐marrow‐derived cell therapy for ischaemic heart disease

Previous evaluation of autologous bone‐marrow stem‐cell (BMSC) therapy following acute myocardial infarction (AMI) suggests that cell dose and timing of stem‐cell administration post‐MI are important factors in the efficacy of cellular therapy. This study aimed to assess whether route of delivery and baseline left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of the participants may also affect the outcome of BMSC treatment in patients with AMI and ischaemic heart disease (IHD).
Preoperative serum lipids as prognostic predictors in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients with esophagectomy

This study was to evaluate the prognostic significance of serum lipids in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients who underwent esophagectomy. Preoperative serum lipids were collected from 214 patients who were diagnosed with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. All of the patients received esophagectomy in Qilu Hospital of Shandong University from January 2007 to December 2008. The records and data were analyzed retrospectively. We found that low total cholesterol (for T stage, p = 0.006; for TNM stage, p = 0.039) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (for T stage, p = 0.031; for TNM stage, p = 0.035) were associated with advanced T stage and TNM stage. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis indicated that low total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol were associated with shorter disease-free survival(for total cholesterol, p = 0.045; for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, p < 0.001) and overall survival (for total cholesterol, p = 0.043; for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, p < 0.001). Lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (LHR) indicated poorer disease-free survival and overall survival (both p < 0.001). In the multivariate analysis, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and LHR were independent prognostic factors for disease-free survival and overall survival. In conclusion, our study indicated that preoperative serum total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol are prognostic factors for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma patients who underwent esophagectomy. LHR can serve as a promising serum lipids-based prognostic indicator.
Preoperative management of giant retroperitoneal schwannoma: A case report and review of the literature

Schwannomas rarely occur in the retroperitoneum, and are normally not aggressive. Preoperative diagnosis is difficult and the surgeon may confront blood vessels, nerves or organs damage, since the intra-operative findings are various. The diagnosis and treatment of malignant schwannomas in the retroperitoneum are even more challenging. In addition, the prognosis of malignant schwannomas is extremely poor. The present study reports the case of a 52-year-old woman who presented with a 6-month history of an abdominal mass in the left lower quadrant. The local doctor determined a preliminary diagnosis of abdominal giant tumor and referred the patient to the First Affiliated Hospital, Medical School of Xi'an Jiaotong University, (Xi'an, China). Following discussion, the patient underwent a surgical resection. Low-grade malignant schwannoma was diagnosed following histological examination. No evidence of recurrence or any other complication was observed at the 18-month follow-up examination. The present study reports a case of giant retroperitoneal schwannoma (RS), and includes a literature review in order to provide an overview of the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of RS and discuss preoperative management strategies for the disease.
Observation on the initial inoculum source and dissemination of Entomophthorales-caused epizootics in populations of cereal aphids

A total number of 1092 migratory alates were trapped from air in wheat grown area of Yuanyang County, Henan Province from early April through May 2002 in order to confirm the source and dissemination of entomophthoralean inocula to cause epizootics of cereal aphids. Those included 415 Sitobion avenae, 642 Rhopalosiphum padi, 22 Metopolophium dirhodum, and 13 Schizaphis graminum. The trapped alates were daily collected and individually reared for 7 days on wheat plants in laboratory. Of those 341 alates died of fungal infection, taking 31.2% in the trapped alates. These included 224 S. avenae, 106 R. padi, 8 M. dirhodum, and 3 S. graminum. Deaths of all infected alates occurred during the first 5 days and 78.9% of the deaths occurred within the first 3 days. Individual examination under microscope proved that all deaths were attributed to entomophthoralean fungi. Of those Pandora neoaphidis accounted for 84.6%, Conidiobolus obscurus for 9.9%, and Entomophthora planchoniana for 5.5%. Four alate deaths died of cross infection of P. neoaphidis and C. conidiobolus. Based on the high infection rate of the migratory alates trapped from air and the field occurrence of epizootics in populations of cereal aphids during the trapping period, Entomophthorales-caused epizootics were likely disseminated by infected alates through their flight and colonization. This makes it reasonable to interpret worldwide distribution of aphid epizootics, particularly caused by P. neoaphidis that has no resting spores discovered.
The college application essay

Winning college application essays take admission officers beyond the numbers and shows them what the students really care about, how they think, and who they really are. But even the best of students can be daunted by the task. This easy-to-follow guide provides the tools to tell a memorable story. Updated to reflect recent changes to the all-important Common Application, which nearly all applicants to competitive colleges use, this book provides a clear path to an essay that says, Pick me! Features: Best approaches to the new Common Application questions. Clues to how colleges read essays Simple steps for successful drafts. Revision strategies. Quick fixes for procrastinators. The right role of parents in the process. Critiques of actual sample essays guide students toward the best practices and away from common mistakes. No other book on this topic has this breadth and depth of expertise.
The Predictors of Adolescent Smoking

Abstract One thousand nine hundred and forty-two junior and senior high school students completed a self-report survey instrument containing measures of cigarette smoking and selected intrapersonal, peer pressure and family functioning variables. Results revealed that peer pressure was significantly associated with smoking behavior across all age gender cohorts, but that intrapersonal factors were significantly more important to the smoking behavior of 12-13 year-old girls than same-age boys. Within the 14-15 year-old age group, one peer pressure variable (friends' approval of smoking) emerged as a significantly more important predictor of girls' than boys' smoking. Taken together, results suggest that while smoking prevention programs based on social reinforcement principles may be sufficient for adolescent boys, young adolescent girls are likely to benefit from programs which incorporate both peer resistance training and developmental strategies targeting conduct disorder.
Procedural and Distributive Justice Beliefs for Self and Others Assessment of a Four-Factor Individual Differences Model

Both theory and research suggest that beliefs about justice for the self are distinct from beliefs about justice for others. Self-other differences, however, have not yet intersected with research on procedural and distributive justice. We examined the psycho- metrics and validity of a proposed four-dimensional measure of procedural and distributive justice beliefs for self and others. Participants from three samples (total N = 1463) completed dispositional measures of beliefs about fair outcomes (distributive justice beliefs) and processes (procedural justice beliefs). These measures were modified and expanded to record beliefs about justice for the self and justice for others. We also administered measures of well-being and harsh social attitudes. Factor analyses strongly supported the proposed four-factor model. In addition, higher-order self-others and procedural-distributive factors were indicated by theoretically appropriate lower-level factors. Finally, multiple regression analyses provided evidence for idiosyncratic links between four-factor individual dif- ferences and measures of well-being and harsh social attitudes. The proposed four-factor operationalization can provide individual differences researchers with a useful tool for bridging two important areas of justice theory and research that previously have been linked to health behavior, well-being, and harsh social attitudes.
Perceptions of midwives working in urban health care centers on the use of herbs in labour ; a case of Gweru

There has been an increase in the number of women taking herbs then go and deliver in urban health care centers. The midwives manning these institutions have no formal training in traditional medicines hence are least prepared for the outcomes. The aim of the study was to establish the perceptions of the midwives working in urban health care centers on the use of herbs in labour. The study adopted a qualitative approach with interviews and focus group discussions as the data collection instruments. The research was carried out in four urban health care centers offering maternity services and these were Clay bank Clinic, Mkoba Poly Clinic, Mtapa clinic and Gweru hospital. Purposive sampling technique was done to midwives working in Maternity departments as they are the ones who met the women who would have taken the herbs. A focus group discussion was done with midwives who had attended a peri-natal mortality meeting at Gweru Hospital. The data obtained was thematically analysed to bring out the perceptions of the midwives providing health care in urban environments. The findings revealed that the midwives believed that the herbs were effective in speeding up labour but felt that their pharmacokinetics needed to be studied. They also noted that the herbs were dangerous in women with obstetric complication. The midwives were bothered by the fact that the women did not confide in them the use of herbs until complication occurred. The study concluded that, there are still myths surrounding the use of herbs the herbs need to be scientifically tested. In addition the mistrust and judgemental attitude of the midwives hampers proper nursing assessment resulting in mismanagement. It is recommended that observation and documentation be made on the effects of the herbs so that this would be the basis of scientific testing of the herbs. The midwives also need to be sensitive and understanding to the practices of their clients so that they open up and thus enable early interventions and scientific enquiry.
Identification of the chitinase genes from the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella

Abstract Chitinases have an indispensable function in chitin metabolism and are well characterized in numerous insect species. Although the diamondback moth (DBM) Plutella xylostella, which has a high reproductive potential, short generation time, and characteristic adaptation to adverse environments, has become one of the most serious pests of cruciferous plants worldwide, the information on the chitinases of the moth is presently limited. In the present study, using degenerated polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and rapid amplification of cDNA ends-PCR strategies, four chitinase genes of P. xylostella were cloned, and an exhaustive search was conducted for chitinase-like sequences from the P. xylostella genome and transcriptomic database. Based on the domain analysis of the deduced amino acid sequences and the phylogenetic analysis of the catalytic domain sequences, we identified 15 chitinase genes from P. xylostella. Two of the gut-specific chitinases did not cluster with any of the known phylogenetic groups of chitinases and might be in a new group of the chitinase family. Moreover, in our study, group VIII chitinase was not identified. The structures, classifications and expression patterns of the chitinases of P. xylostella were further delineated, and with this information, further investigations on the functions of chitinase genes in DBM could be facilitated.
Short communication Comparison of different cell lines and incubation times in the isolation by the shell vial culture of human metapneumovirus from pediatric respiratory samples

We report a prospective study concerning the efficacy of LLC-MK2 (continuous monkey kidney cell), Hep-2, MDCK (Madin–Darby Canine Kidney), Vero and MRC-5 cell lines, by shell vial assay, and incubation time in the isolation of hMPV from pediatric respiratory samples. The overall sensitivity of the cell lines studied were: 100% for the LLC-MK2, 68.7% for the Hep-2, 28.1% for the Vero, 3.1% for the MDCK and 0% for the MRC-5. Only one strain (3.1%) showed growth in the four cell lines studied and 10 (31.2%) strains only grew in the LLC-MK2 cell line. The analysis of incubation times showed that only 14 strains (43.7%) were able to grow after 3 days of incubation, while all strains (100%) showed growth after 5 days. The use of shell vials with commercial LLC-MK2 cells could be a method for isolating hMPV from respiratory samples in the pediatric population. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Cultural influences on motivational issues in students and their goals for studying at University

800x600 Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE AR-SA MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 The notion of motivation in language learning comprises a discourse including terms such as 'goals', 'expectations', 'achievement' and 'success'. In most studies on motivation s uch concepts have been interpreted from a Western perspective. Similarly, underpinning motivation is the concept of values, which are also open to cultural interpretations. In an exploration into the motivation of female students at a federal university in the United Arab Emirates it was felt that such terms and notions needed to be explored and discussed before examining specific motivations for studying at higher education. This article reports on a small investigation into cultural interpretations of these terms, and how these interpretations influence motivation for learning at tertiary level. The results indicate that in a collectivist culture in transition such as that examined in this study, the values of tradition and achievement influence an extrinsic motivation to study at tertiary level.
Equatorial Kelvin waves as revealed by EOS Microwave Limb Sounder observations and European Centre for Medium‐Range Weather Forecasts analyses: Evidence for slow Kelvin waves of zonal wave number 3

[1] Temperature and ozone observations from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) on the EOS Aura satellite are used to study equatorial wave activity in the autumn of 2005. In contrast to previous observations for the same season in other years, the temperature anomalies in the middle and lower tropical stratosphere are found to be characterized by a strong wave-like eastward progression with zonal wave number equal to 3. Extended empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis reveals that the wave 3 components detected in the temperature anomalies correspond to a slow Kelvin wave with a period of 8 days and a phase speed of 19 m/s. Fluctuations associated with this Kelvin wave mode are also apparent in ozone profiles. Moreover, as expected by linear theory, the ozone fluctuations observed in the lower stratosphere are in phase with the temperature perturbations, and peak around 20-30 hPa where the mean ozone mixing ratios have the steepest vertical gradient. A search for other Kelvin wave modes has also been made using both the MLS observations and the analyses from one experiment where MLS ozone profiles are assimilated into the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) data assimilation system via a 6-hourly 3D var scheme. Our results show that the characteristics of the wave activity detected in the ECMWF temperature and ozone analyses are in good agreement with MLS data.
Multilayered Echo State Machine: A Novel Architecture and Algorithm

In this paper, we present a novel architecture and learning algorithm for a multilayered echo state machine (ML-ESM). Traditional echo state networks (ESNs) refer to a particular type of reservoir computing (RC) architecture. They constitute an effective approach to recurrent neural network (RNN) training, with the (RNN-based) reservoir generated randomly, and only the readout trained using a simple computationally efficient algorithm. ESNs have greatly facilitated the real-time application of RNN, and have been shown to outperform classical approaches in a number of benchmark tasks. In this paper, we introduce a novel criteria for integrating multiple layers of reservoirs within the ML-ESM. The addition of multiple layers of reservoirs are shown to provide a more robust alternative to conventional RC networks. We demonstrate the comparative merits of this approach in a number of applications, considering both benchmark datasets and real world applications.
An algorithm for the EEG frequency architecture of consciousness and brain body coupling

THE FREQUENCY ARCHITECTURE OF THE CONSCIOUS HUMAN BRAIN The EEG is traditionally categorized into a handful of different frequency bands (δ, θ, α, β, γ; c.f. Schomer and Lopes da Silva, 2011). This implies that EEG frequencies do not represent an unstructured continuum. But what could be the reasons for that? One obvious reason is that frequency bands such as e.g., θ and α exhibit a clear task and event related behavior (Klimesch, 1999, 2012; Buzsaki, 2006). But here the emphasis is on a formal aspect, which is to avoid unwanted “spurious” phase synchronization. If the numerical ratio between two frequencies (f1, f2; f1 < f2) is harmonic (f2 = I ∗ f1; I = integer), the excitatory phases of the two frequencies can meet and synchronize according to a strict and regular pattern. This is of great advantage when phase coupling between frequencies is an important aspect of neuronal communication. If the ratio differs from a harmonic, spurious (unwanted) phase synchronization will appear in an uncontrolled way. Pletzer et al. (2010) have shown mathematically that the golden mean (g = 1.618 . . .) is the best possible ratio to avoid spurious phase synchronization (see also Roopun et al., 2008). These aspects of phase synchronization can be summarized by two assumptions. (a) The center frequency of each EEG band is harmonically related to those of neighboring bands. A good estimate for δ, θ, α, β and γ is 2.5, 5, 10, 20, and 40Hz. (b) The width of a band is defined on the basis of the “golden mean role” (Klimesch, 2012; for an illustration, see Figure 1A left panel) to guarantee minimal interference between bands. EEG center frequencies which have these properties are termed frequency domains in the following. When considering the numerical relation between δ, θ, α, γ as described by assumption (a) it can easily be recognized that each center frequency is twice as high than its (lower) neighbor. An exponential function with base 2 defines that property.