Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Knowledge Problems in Corrective Software Maintenance--A Case Study

Corrective software maintenance derives its importance not only from the huge costs it induces but also its importance to customer relations and ultimately, the software company's revenues. In this paper, we address the knowledge problems in the corrective software maintenance process by applying the lens of Transactive Memory System (TMS). TMS is a theory of knowledge coordination in groups. We carry out a case study of the troubled corrective software maintenance process of a multinational ICT company. We discuss our empirical case from three key TMS manifestations: specialization, credibility and coordination. Our results show that TMS could offer a fruitful avenue for understanding and managing knowledge problems that lead to poor performance in such a process. Designers of a global software maintenance process should not only pay attention to the process structure and supporting IS but also to facilitating a well-functioning TMS.
Comparison of Results from Inpatient and Outpatient Treatment of Tuberculosis in Republic of Macedonia

BACKGROUND: The successful treatment of patients with active tuberculosis is one of the priorities in the Tuberculosis Control Programs. AIM: The aim was to establish whether there was a statistically significant difference in the treatment outcome in patients with tuberculosis who began their initial treatment phase and/or pursued it as inpatient, as opposed to patients with tuberculosis who underwent their entire treatment regime as outpatient. Moreover, our goal was to determine whether there is a statistically significant difference in the outcome from the treatment between patients with tuberculosis who were hospitalized up to one month, two months, or more than two months. MATERIALS AND METHOD: The study includes 355 patients, divided into two groups. The first group, which consists of 219 patients, began their initial treatment phase as inpatient, and then they continued the treatment as outpatient. The second group, 136 patients, underwent their entire treatment as outpatient. The treatment outcome is determined with every patient (cured, treatment completed, treatment default, treatment failed, died, treatment in progress). For the statistical data analysis and for establishing the significance of the findings regarding the differences between the two groups we used the Pearson Chi-Square Test and the Yates Corrected Test. RESULTS: The statistical analysis with the Pearson Chi-Square Test showed that the treatment outcome does not significantly depend on the model of treatment (p = 0.31). The statistical data analysis showed that there is no statistically significant difference in the achievement of conversion of the bacterial result of the sputum at the end of the initial phase of treatment regarding the studied groups (p = 0.89). The statistical data analysis showed that the length of inpatient treatment affects the outcome of the treatment and that the difference is statistically highly significant (p < 0.00005). CONCLUSION: There are no statistically significant differences in the sputum conversion and the treatment outcome among inpatient/outpatient with tuberculosis or outpatient only; however, the length of inpatient treatment is statistically significant regarding its effect on the treatment outcome.
Two Types of Receptive Field Dynamics in Area V4 at the Time of Eye Movements?

How we perceive the world as stable despite the frequent disruptions of the retinal image caused by eye movements is one of the fundamental questions in sensory neuroscience. Seemingly convergent evidence points towards a mechanism which dynamically updates representations of visual space in anticipation of a movement (Wurtz, 2008). In particular, receptive fields (RFs) of neurons, predominantly within oculomotor and attention related brain structures (Duhamel et al., 1992; Walker et al., 1995; Umeno and Goldberg, 1997), are thought to “remap” to their future, post-movement location prior to an impending eye movement. New studies (Neupane et al., 2016a,b) report observations on RF dynamics at the time of eye movements of neurons in area V4. These dynamics are interpreted as being largely dominated by a remapping of RFs. Critically, these observations appear at odds with a previous study reporting a different type of RF dynamics within the same brain structure (Tolias et al., 2001), consisting of a shrinkage and shift of RFs towards the movement target. Importantly, RFs have been measured with different techniques in those studies. Here, we measured V4 RFs comparable to Neupane et al. (2016a,b) and observe a shrinkage and shift of RFs towards the movement target when analyzing the immediate stimulus response (Zirnsak et al., 2014). When analyzing the late stimulus response (Neupane et al., 2016a,b), we observe RF shifts resembling remapping. We discuss possible causes for these shifts and point out important issues which future studies on RF dynamics need to address.
Vernalization-Repression of Arabidopsis FLC Requires Promoter Sequences but Not Antisense Transcripts

The repression of Arabidopsis FLC expression by vernalization (extended cold) has become a model for understanding polycomb-associated epigenetic regulation in plants. Antisense and sense non-coding RNAs have been respectively implicated in initiation and maintenance of FLC repression by vernalization. We show that the promoter and first exon of the FLC gene are sufficient to initiate repression during vernalization; this initial repression of FLC does not require antisense transcription. Long-term maintenance of FLC repression requires additional regions of the gene body, including those encoding sense non-coding transcripts.
Learning to Classify Documents According to Formal and Informal Style

This paper discusses an important issue in computational linguistics: classifying texts as formal or informal style. Our work describes a genre-independent methodology for building classifiers for formal and informal texts. We used machine learning techniques to do the automatic classification, and performed the classification experiments at both the document level and the sentence level. First, we studied the main characteristics of each style, in order to train a system that can distinguish between them. We then built two datasets: the first dataset represents general-domain documents of formal and informal style, and the second represents medical texts. We tested on the second dataset at the document level, to determine if our model is sufficiently general, and that it works on any type of text. The datasets are built by collecting documents for both styles from different sources. After collecting the data, we extracted features from each text. The features that we designed represent the main characteristics of both styles. Finally, we tested several classification algorithms, namely Decision Trees, Naive Bayes, and Support Vector Machines, in order to choose the classifier that generates the best classification results.
Enrichment of coenzyme Q10 in plasma and blood cells: defense against oxidative damage

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) concentration in blood cells was analyzed by HPLC and compared to plasma concentration before, during, and after CoQ10 (3 mg/kg/day) supplementation to human probands. Lymphocyte DNA 8-hydroxydeoxy-guanosine (8-OHdG), a marker of oxidative stress, was analyzed by Comet assay. Subjects supplemented with CoQ10 showed a distinct response in plasma concentrations after 14 and 28 days. Plasma levels returned to baseline values 12 weeks after treatment stopped. The plasma concentration increase did not affect erythrocyte levels. However, after CoQ10 supplementation, the platelet level increased; after supplementation stopped, the platelet level showed a delayed decrease. A positive correlation was shown between the plasma CoQ10 level and platelet and white blood cell CoQ10 levels. During CoQ10 supplementation, delayed formation of 8-OHdG in lymphocyte DNA was observed; this effect was long-lasting and could be observed even 12 weeks after supplementation stopped. Intracellular enrichment may support anti-oxidative defense mechanisms.
Mortality of HIV-Infected Patients with or without Cancer: Comparison with the General Population in Italy

Background HAART has reduced mortality in HIV-infected patients; however, the risk of non-AIDS-related events has increased, including cancer. We compared mortality in HIV-infected patients with or without cancer with the general population in Italy. Methods Eligible patients were recorded in the San Raffaele Infectious Diseases Department database. The ratio of observed deaths to expected all-cause deaths (standardized mortality ratio [SMR]) was standardized for age and gender, and stratified by cancer occurrence or year of HIV infection (≤1998 or >1998). Expected all-cause deaths were obtained from the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (Rome, Italy; 2002 data). Results Among 6,495 HIV-infected patients, contributing 75,171 person-years, the SMR was 6.0 (95% CI 5.7, 6.4); SMRs decreased as age increased. Mortality rates were significantly higher than the general population for patients with or without cancer (SMR=15.1 [95% CI 13.6, 16.7] and 4.8 [95% CI 4.5, 5.1], respectively). For patients with or without cancer, SMRs were higher in those aged <45 years than older patients. SMRs for patients with cancer were almost stable in those infected with HIV ≤1998 (15.3; 95% CI 13.7, 17.0) or >1998 (13.5; 95% CI 9.2, 19.1). Among patients with cancer diagnosed with HIV >1998, age-adjusted SMRs ranged from 216.0 (95% CI 43.4, 631.3) to 6.8 (95% CI 4.7, 9.7) in patients <30 years or ≥70 years, respectively. Conclusions Mortality in HIV-infected patients remains higher than the general population in Italy, with marked differences according to age, and cancer contributing to an increased excess of mortality.
Navajo use of native healers.

BACKGROUND Although the Indian Health Service provides extensive health care service to Navajo people, the role of native healers, or medicine men, has not been quantitatively described. OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence of native healer use, the reasons for use, cost of use, and the nature of any conflict with conventional medicine. METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional interview of 300 Navajo patients seen consecutively in an ambulatory care clinic at a rural Indian Health Service hospital. RESULTS Sixty-two percent of Navajo patients had used native healers and 39% used native healers on a regular basis; users were not distinguishable from nonusers by age, education, income, fluency in English, identification of a primary provider, or compliance, but Pentecostal patients used native healers less than patients of other faiths. Patients consulted native healers for common medical conditions such as arthritis, depression, and diabetes mellitus as well as "bad luck. " Perceived conflict between native healer advice and medical provider advice was rare. Cost was the main barrier to seeking native healer care. CONCLUSIONS Among the Navajo, use of native healers for medical conditions is common and is not related to age, sex, or income but is inversely correlated with the Pentecostal faith; use of healers overlaps with use of medical providers for common medical conditions. Patients are willing to discuss use of native healers and rarely perceive conflict between native healer and conventional medicine. This corroborates other research suggesting that alternative medicine is widely used by many cultural groups for common diseases.
MicroRNA-199a-3p Is Downregulated in Human Osteosarcoma and Regulates Cell Proliferation and Migration

microRNAs (miRNA, miR) play an important role in cancer cell growth and migration; however, the potential roles of miRNAs in osteosarcoma remain largely uncharacterized. By applying a miRNA microarray platform and unsupervised hierarchical clustering analysis, we found that several miRNAs have altered expression levels in osteosarcoma cell lines and tumor tissues when compared with normal human osteoblasts. Three miRNAs, miR-199a-3p, miR-127-3p, and miR-376c, were significantly decreased in osteosarcoma cell lines, whereas miR-151-3p and miR-191 were increased in osteosarcoma cell lines in comparison with osteoblasts. Transfection of precursor miR-199a-3p into osteosarcoma cell lines significantly decreased cell growth and migration, thus indicating that the inhibition effect is associated with an increase in the G1-phase and a decrease of the S-phase cell population. In addition, we observed decreased mTOR and Stat3 expression in miR-199a-3p transfected cells. This study provides new insights for miRNAs in osteosarcoma and suggests that miR-199a-3p may play a functional role in osteosarcoma cell growth and proliferation. Restoring miR-199a-3p's function may provide therapeutic benefits in osteosarcoma. Mol Cancer Ther; 10(8); 1337–45. ©2011 AACR.
Novel genetic variants contributing to left ventricular hypertrophy: the HyperGEN study

Objectives To identify genes contributing to variation in echocardiographic left ventricular mass and related traits using linkage and linkage disequilibrium analysis in sibships ascertained on hypertension. Methods The Hypertension Genetic Epidemiology Network (HyperGEN) Study of left ventricular hypertrophy characterized left ventricular mass, relative wall thickness (RWT), and aortic root diameter (ARD) with echocardiograms collected using a standardized protocol at four HyperGEN field centers. A high-throughput scanning fluorescence detector system genotyped 387 polymorphisms distributed throughout the genome. Linkage analyses were conducted once genotyping results became available for 885 siblings from 382 sibships. Results Although single logarithm of the odds (LOD) score peaks of 1.2 or more were found on chromosomes 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 17, and 21, we observed a broad band of peaks in both ethnic groups (white and black) on chromosome 4 and selected candidate genes (NPY1R, NPY2R, NPY5R, SFRP2, CPE, IL15, and EDNRA) from this region. Using cases and controls from extremes of the left ventricular mass index, RWT, and ARD distributions, we assessed associations with these phenotypes and haplotype-tagging single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the candidates. Among blacks, SNPs in IL15, NPY2R, and NPY5R showed strong evidence for association (P < 0.005); all candidates except EDNRA showed suggestive association (P < 0.05). In whites, NPY2R, NPY5R, and SFRP2 SNPs offered suggestive evidence of association with one or more traits (P < 0.05). Conclusion Genetic variation in NPY1R, NPY2R, NPY5R, CPE, IL15, and SFRP2, detected using linkage analysis in hypertensive siblings, was associated with left ventricular phenotypes in blacks and/or whites.
Neutrophil degranulation and cell lysis is associated with clinical severity in virus-induced asthma

Acute exacerbations of asthma are frequently caused by viral infections, but the inflammatory mechanisms in virus-induced asthma are poorly understood. The aim of the present study was to determine whether viral infection in acute asthma was associated with increased sputum neutrophil degranulation and increased cellular lysis and whether these changes are related to clinical severity. Adults (n=49) presenting to the emergency department with acute asthma were examined for infection by means of sputum direct-fluorescence antigen detection, sputum culture, and sputum polymerase chain reaction for Mycoplasma, Chlamydia and Legionella pneumophila, and all common respiratory viruses. Subjects infected with one of these agents were classed as having an infective exacerbation. Spirometry and sputum induction were performed on presentation and 4–5 weeks later. Thirty-seven subjects (76%) had virus infection and acute asthma. Those with virus infection had increased sputum neutrophils (p<0.05) and increased neutrophil elastase (p<0.05), this was related to increased elevated sputum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Subjects with noninfective asthma had an increase in the proportion of sputum eosinophils. Both groups had elevated sputum eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) concentrations. Higher levels of sputum LDH and ECP were associated with a longer hospital stay. Virus infection and acute asthma is associated with neutrophilic inflammation, cell lysis and more severe clinical disease.
Fast Computation of Sommerfeld Integral Tails via Direct Integration Based on Double Exponential-Type Quadrature Formulas

A direct integration algorithm, based on double exponential-type quadrature rules, is presented for the efficient computation of the Sommerfeld integral tails, arising in the evaluation of multilayered Green's functions. The proposed scheme maintains the error controllable nature of the so-called partition-extrapolation methods, often used to tackle this problem, whereas it requires substantially reduced computational time. Moreover, the proposed method is very easy to implement, since the associated weights and abscissas can be precomputed. The overall behavior of the proposed method both in terms of accuracy and efficiency is demonstrated through a series of representative numerical experiments, where compared with one of the most proven methods available in the literature.
Reduced-complexity noncoherently detected Differential Space-Time Shift Keying

Motivated by the recent development of Spatial Modulation (SM) and Differential Space-Time Shift Keying (DSTSK), we propose a reduced-complexity Conventional Differential Detector (CDD) as well as a reduced-complexity Multiple-Symbol Differential Sphere Detector (MSDSD) for DSTSK. Both schemes operate on a symbol-by-symbol basis in order to reduce the complexity of the classic block-by-block-based CDD and MSDSD, whilst still approaching the optimum performance of the full-search-based Maximum Likelihood (ML) detector.
Synthesis of y-Fe O 3 nanoparticles by homogeneous co-precipitation method

Pure maghemite (γ-Fe 2 O 3 ) nanoparticles were prepared via so-called homogeneous co-precipitation method using urea and ammonia as precipitation agent for ferrous and ferric ions at ambient temperature. X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive spectrometer and Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometer revealed that the obtained product was pure γ-Fe 2 O 3 . Transmission electron microscope investigations showed the morphology of the nanoparticles were of approximate spherical shape with an average diameter of 11 nm. Magnetic measurements showed that resulting iron oxide nanopowder exhibited a characteristic ferromagnetism with a maximum saturation magnetisation of 66.83 emu/g.
Staff Nurses and Students : The Good , The Bad , and The Ugly

One of the most valuable components of a nursing program is the clinical learning environment (CLE). This setting provides students with unique learning opportunities in which classroom theory and skills are put to the test with real life situations. Clinical learning environments include hospitals, doctors’ offices, health departments, hospice units, and other health care settings utilized for student learning. The CLE differs from the classroom or lab setting in many ways. Typically, the classroom and labs are controlled by instructors. This includes lectures, labs, tests, dress codes, student conduct, break times, attitudes, and the learning environment atmosphere. The CLE is a different story. Massarweh (1999) described the clinical setting as a clinical classroom. However, the CLE is unpredictable and relatively out of the nursing instructor’s control. Attitudes, work ethics, staff members, unit environment, equipment and supplies, census, and patients and family members are elements of the CLE that cannot be controlled by instructors. This unpredictable environment is very different from the classroom and can be a major shock for students. Also, the transition from student-learner to student learner-worker can be difficult and confusing for students and even the CLE staff. Staff members may view students as workers only, especially when patient care demands are high. Pearcey (2007) indicated nursing students are taught to provide holistic care but at times may be faced with more technical tasks than holistic patient care. In this research study, the various elements of the CLE’s role in the development of student nurses’ perceptions of nursing were explored. The above-mentioned factors are but a few of the elements that influence learning within the CLE. The aim of this study was to explore student nurses’ perceptions of their CLE experiences with the hopes of discovering positive and negative factors influencing learning.
The Loss of 5α-Reductase Type I and Type II mRNA Expression in Metastatic Prostate Cancer to Bone and Lymph Node Metastasis

Purpose: Considerable evidence has accumulated demonstrating that the 5α-reduction of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone occurs more efficiently in the normal and benign hyperplastic prostate than in prostate cancer tissues. Efforts have also been channeled into investigating the distribution of 5α-reductase isoenzymes in primary prostate tissues and in “ in vitro ” cell models of the human prostate. However, no one has, thus far, examined the expression of these isoenzymes in prostate cancer metastasis, although such studies might shed some light on the mechanism(s) responsible for the loss of hormone sensitivity in those tumors. The present report addresses this issue in the hope that this might help to identify the steps leading to the development of prostate cancer metastasis. Experimental Design: In the present study we used in situ mRNA hybridization of sections from archival paraffin-embedded material to investigate the expression of 5α-reductase type I (5αR-I) and type II (5αR-II) mRNAs in prostate cancer bony ( n = 9) and lymph node ( n = 13) metastasis, and compared the mRNA distributions with those observed in sections from primary prostate tumors ( n = 12). In parallel, sections were investigated for androgen receptor (AR) mRNA expression, and immunostained for AR and prostate-specific antigen. Results: Neither 5αR-I nor 5αR-II mRNA expression was detected in any of the prostate metastatic lesions, although the same metastatic sites expressed AR mRNA, and stained for cytoplasmic prostate-specific antigen and nuclear AR. In contrast, primary prostate tumors displayed intense staining for 5αR-I and 5αR-II. Conclusion: These findings suggest that the loss of 5α-reductase mRNA expression in bone and lymph node metastasis may be associated, in part, with the progression of these tumors to androgen insensitivity.
Synchronization through nonreciprocal connections in a hybrid hippocampus microcircuit

Synchronization among neurons is thought to arise from the interplay between excitation and inhibition; however, the connectivity rules that contribute to synchronization are still unknown. We studied these issues in hippocampal CA1 microcircuits using paired patch clamp recordings and real time computing. By virtually connecting a model interneuron with two pyramidal cells (PCs), we were able to test the importance of connectivity in synchronizing pyramidal cell activity. Our results show that a circuit with a nonreciprocal connection between pyramidal cells and no feedback from PCs to the virtual interneuron produced the greatest level of synchronization and mutual information between PC spiking activity. Moreover, we investigated the role of intrinsic membrane properties contributing to synchronization where the application of a specific ion channel blocker, ZD7288 dramatically impaired PC synchronization. Additionally, background synaptic activity, in particular arising from NMDA receptors, has a large impact on the synchrony observed in the aforementioned circuit. Our results give new insights to the basic connection paradigms of microcircuits that lead to coordination and the formation of assemblies.