Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nitro-oxidative stress, VEGF and MMP-9 in patients with cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic portal hypertension

Background and aims Nitro-oxidative stress may have pathophysiological consequences. The study aimed to assess the nitro-oxidative stress, the vascular growth factor, and metalloproteinase-9 levels in patients with noncirrohic and cirrhotic portal hypertension. Methods Patients with noncirrhotic portal hypertension (n=50) and cirrhotic portal hypertension (n=50) from the 3rd Medical Clinic in Cluj-Napoca Romania were prospectively enrolled between October 2004 and October 2006. A control group of healthy volunteers (n=50) was also evaluated. Nitro-oxidative stress was assessed by measuring serum concentration of nitrites and nitrate, 3-nitrotyrosine, total oxidative status, total antioxidant reactivity, and oxidative stress index. Serum vascular growth factor and matrix metalloproteinase-9 were also determined. Results Serum nitrites and nitrate levels significantly increased in both noncirrhotic (p<0.001) and cirrhotic portal hypertension (p=0.057). 3-nitrotyrosine also increased in noncirrhotic (p=0.001) and cirrhotic portal hypertension patients (p=0.014). Total oxidative status showed a significant increase in noncirrhotic (p<0.001) and in cirrhotic portal hypertension (p<0.001), but total antioxidant reactivity did not change significantly. The oxidative stress index increased in both noncirrhotic (p <0.001) and cirrhotic portal hypertension (p<0.001), as well as the serum vascular growth factor (p=0.005 and p=0.01, respectively). In NCPHT patients serum MMP-9 was significantly lower than in the healthy controls (p=0.03) and CPHT patients (p=0.05). Conclusion In patients with noncirrhotic and cirrhotic portal hypertension a significant systemic nitro-oxidative stress was found, correlated with an increase of VEGF. MMP-9 decreased in noncirrhotic portal hypertension.
Prognostic and Predictive Factors in Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the most common malignant tumor in American women and is second only to lung cancer as a cause of cancer-related mortality. During the past two decades the mortality rate has declined significantly, primarily due to the early use of adjuvant systemic therapy as well as detection of earlier stage tumors due to increased screening. The mainstay of treatment for patients with localized disease is surgical excision and staging axillary lymph node evaluation with or without radiation therapy. Some patients receive neoadjuvant chemotherapy or hormonal therapy prior to definitive excision of the tumor. Other treatment options include adjuvant chemotherapy, hormonal therapy or monoclonal antibody therapy with a primary goal of eliminating or delaying the subsequent appearance of clinically occult micrometastases.
Handbook of diversity in parent education : the changing faces of parenting and parent education

Preface. Contributors. American Families in the 1990s and Beyond. Gender Issues in Parenting: Parenting Teenage Girls. Teaching About Sexual Diversity: A New Frontier for Parenthood Educators. Parenting and Ethnicity. Parenting in the Global Community: A Cross-Cultural/International Perspective. A Psychoeducational Program for Parents of Dysfunctional Backgrounds. Supportive Family Training: Education and Support for the Parents of Persons with Serious Mental Illness. Parent Education for Fathers. Grandparents Raising Children. Parenting Emotionally Disturbed Children. Parenting Children with Learning Disabilities. Parenting Children with Brain Injury. Parenting Chronically Ill Children. Education Programs for Parents and Families of Children and Youth with Developmental Disabilities. Educating Parents to be Advocates for their Children. Managing Crisis: Intervention Skills for Parents. Index.
Amelioration of streptozotocin‐induced diabetes mellitus, oxidative stress and dyslipidemia in rats by tomato extract lycopene

The effects of various doses of lycopene were studied in streptozotocin (STZ)‐induced hyperglycaemic rats to evaluate its possible hypoglycaemic, hypolipidaemic and antioxidant activity in diabetes. Compared to the normoglycaemic group, the treatment of rats with a single dose of STZ (65 mg/kg body weight) revealed a significant increase (p<0.05) only in plasma hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), i.e. by 230 %; it increased the thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) as index of the lipid peroxidation level by 69 %, while total antioxidant activity was decreased by 36 %, with a consistently significant decrease (p<0.05) in the activity of erythrocytes antioxidative enzymes catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx). The levels of total lipid, triglycerides and total cholesterol in serum of hyperglycaemic rats were increased by 14 %, 65 % and 36 %, respectively, while HDL‐C decreased by 22 % compared to the normoglycaemic group. Exogenous administration of individual gradual doses of lycopene to hyperglycaemic rats causes a dose‐dependent decrease in glucose level, an increase of insulin concentration, a decrease of H2O2 and TBARS levels, as well as increased total antioxidant status with increased antioxidant enzyme activities (CAT, SOD and GPx) with improvement in serum lipid profile. It is obvious from this study that lycopene acts as an antidiabetic agent through lowering the free radical and has an improving effect on serum that reaches the normal level; the greatest effect of lycopene was observed at 90 mg/kg body weight.
Prejudice against asylum seekers and the fear of terrorism: The importance of context

Australia has a rich history of immigration. Historically, immigrants have often met with negativity and distrust (for example, Greek, Italian and Vietnamese immigrants). Evidence is now accumulating that many Australians also are critical of the latest 'wave' of asylum seekers. In the present study, we were interested in the effect of the wider society on the social inclusion (or not) of asylum seekers using an ecological framework and in particular focusing on the 'macrosystem' and 'location'. To do this, we examined negative attitudes toward asylum seekers as well as their correlates collected from 649 members of the West Australian community. Our results indicate that participants who reported more negative views about asylum seekers were also significantly more likely to report a fear of terrorism. Additionally, there were significant location differences in the strength of this relationship. Together with past research, our results indicate that context can greatly impact on the well-being of new Australians.
Competing patient and professional agendas in service development.

PURPOSE The purpose of this paper is to engage stakeholders in the development of a community based chronic pain-management service and identify their different agendas for service design and delivery. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH Data were collected using the Nominal Group Technique (NGT), a ten-step process that generates qualitative and quantitative data. Seven NGT groups were conducted in the south-west region of the UK, three with General Practitioners and nurses, three with chronic pain patients, and one with Healthcare Commissioners. FINDINGS The patient agenda for service development focused on process of care issues particularly the need for deep- empathy and emotional support from providers, while professionals prioritised cost-effectiveness. While there was some overlap between agendas they were largely discrete and often contradictory. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS - The findings imply service planners will need to make trade-offs between cost-containment and patient satisfaction. The methodology did not allow trade-offs to be put to participants in a structured form. However, such techniques are available, for example, Conjoint Analysis. There may also be value in bringing together patients and professionals in joint focus groups, to see if the gap between their different agendas can be bridged through discussion. ORIGINALITY/VALUE The findings provide a novel insight into the competing agendas of patients and professionals regarding service development and design which will be of value to service planners and managers as they strive to reconcile these differences.
Kernel Functions for Attributed Molecular Graphs – A New Similarity‐Based Approach to ADME Prediction in Classification and Regression

Kernel methods, like the well-known Support Vector Machine (SVM), have received growing attention in recent years for designing QSAR models that have a high predictive strength. One of the key concepts of SVMs is the usage of a so-called kernel function, which can be thought of as a special similarity measure. In this paper we consider kernels for molecular structures, which are based on a graph representation of chemical compounds. The similarity score is calculated by computing an optimal assignment of the atoms from one molecule to those of another one, including information on specific chemical properties, membership to a substructure (e.g., aromatic ring, carbonyl group, etc.) and neighborhood for each atom. We show that by using this kernel we can achieve a generalization performance comparable to a classical model with a few descriptors, which are a-priori known to be relevant for the problem, and significantly better results than with and without performing an automatic descriptor selection. For this purpose we investigate ADME classification and regression datasets for predicting bioavailability (Yoshida), Human Intestinal Absorption (HIA), Blood-Brain-Barrier (BBB) penetration and a dataset consisting of four different inhibitor classes (SOL). We further explore the effect of combining our kernel with a problem-dependent descriptor set. We also demonstrate the usefulness of an extension of our method to a reduced graph representation of molecules, in which certain structural features, like, e.g., rings, donors or acceptors, are represented as a single node in the molecular graph.
The Evaluation of the Oxidative State of Low-Density Lipoproteins in Intrauterine Growth Restriction and Preeclampsia

Objective. To evaluate the oxidative state of lipoproteins in pregnancies complicated by intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) in comparison to preeclampsia (PE) and healthy pregnant control subjects (CN). Methods. Maternal serum of 20 PE, 29 IUGR, and 29 gestational age-matched CN were analyzed. Total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-bound cholesterol (LDL-C), and oxidized LDL (oxLDL) concentration were measured once between 25 and 34 weeks of gestation. Statistical estimates were performed by Student's t-test. Results. Serum concentrations of LDL-C and TC were significantly reduced in IUGR [LDL-C: CN – mean = 146 mg/dL, SD = ± 40.1; IUGR – mean = 102 mg/dL, SD = ± 27.3 (p < 0.0001); PE – mean = 130 mg/dL, SD = 38.8 mg/dL; TC: CN – mean = 259/dL, SD = ± 46.8; IUGR – mean = 218 mg/dL, SD = ± 35.0 (p < 0.001); PE – mean = 244 mg/dL, SD = 48.2]. There was no significant difference in oxLDL/LDL-C ratio within the three groups (CN: mean = 0.76, SD = 0.24; IUGR: mean = 0.74, SD = 0.12; PE: mean = 0.77, SD = 0.22). Conclusion. Our results show a lower maternal LDL-C and TC concentration in IUGR pregnancies. These data contribute to the hypothesis of a decreased cholesterol supply to the fetus in IUGR. However, we could not confirm the hypothesis of an altered oxidative state in neither IUGR nor PE.
pH Response Transcription Factor PacC Controls Salt Stress Tolerance and Expression of the P-Type Na+-ATPase Ena1 in Fusarium oxysporum

ABSTRACT Fungi possess efficient mechanisms of pH and ion homeostasis, allowing them to grow over a wide range of environmental conditions. In this study, we addressed the role of the pH response transcription factor PacC in salt tolerance of the vascular wilt pathogen Fusarium oxysporum. Loss-of-function pacC+/− mutants showed increased sensitivity to Li+ and Na+ and accumulated higher levels of these cations than the wild type. In contrast, strains expressing a dominant activating pacCc allele were more salt tolerant and had lower intracellular Li+ and Na+ concentrations. Although the kinetics of Li+ influx were not altered by mutations in pacC, we found that Li+ efflux at an alkaline, but not at an acidic, ambient pH was significantly reduced in pacC+/− loss-of-function mutants. To explore the presence of a PacC-dependent efflux mechanism in F. oxysporum, we cloned ena1 encoding an orthologue of the yeast P-type Na+-ATPase ENA1. Northern analysis revealed that efficient transcriptional activation of ena1 in F. oxysporum required the presence of high Na+ concentrations and alkaline ambient pH and was dependent on PacC function. We propose a model in which PacC controls ion homeostasis in F. oxysporum at a high pH by activating expression of ena1 coordinately with a second Na+-responsive signaling pathway.
Adapting Operator Settings in Genetic Algorithms

In the majority of genetic algorithm implementations, the operator settings are fixed throughout a given run. However, it has been argued that these settings should vary over the course of a genetic algorithm runso as to account for changes in the ability of the operators to produce children of increased fitness. This paper describes an investigation into this question. The effect upon genetic algorithm performance of two adaptation methods upon both well-studied theoretical problems and a hard problem from operations research, the flowshop sequencing problem, are therefore examined. The results obtained indicate that the applicability of operator adaptation is dependent upon three basic assumptions being satisfied by the problem being tackled.
RLT-S: A Web System for Record Linkage

Background Record linkage integrates records across multiple related data sources identifying duplicates and accounting for possible errors. Real life applications require efficient algorithms to merge these voluminous data sources to find out all records belonging to same individuals. Our recently devised highly efficient record linkage algorithms provide best-known solutions to this challenging problem. Method We have developed RLT-S, a freely available web tool, which implements our single linkage clustering algorithm for record linkage. This tool requires input data sets and a small set of configuration settings about these files to work efficiently. RLT-S employs exact match clustering, blocking on a specified attribute and single linkage based hierarchical clustering among these blocks. Results RLT-S is an implementation package of our sequential record linkage algorithm. It outperforms previous best-known implementations by a large margin. The tool is at least two times faster for any dataset than the previous best-known tools. Conclusions RLT-S tool implements our record linkage algorithm that outperforms previous best-known algorithms in this area. This website also contains necessary information such as instructions, submission history, feedback, publications and some other sections to facilitate the usage of the tool. Availability RLT-S is integrated into http://www.rlatools. com, which is currently serving this tool only. The tool is freely available and can be used without login. All data files used in this paper have been stored in https://github.com/abdullah009/DataRLATools. For copies of the relevant programs please see https://github.com/abdullah009/RLATools.
Group Differences on the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test (NNAT)

The claim of the author of the NNAT is that it produces equal proportions of Black, White, Hispanic, and low-income students scoring in the gifted range. The present study involved 392 second grade students from a rural Florida school district who were administered the NNAT in a group format. The testing by the school district was for the purpose of increasing the number of low-income and minority students in their Gifted Program. A cut-score of 115 was used as the criterion for convening a child study team meeting to discuss if a formal intellectual evaluation by the district school psychologist was warranted. Of the total sample, only the Black, White, and low-income subsamples had sufficient students to allow for statistically meaningful comparisons. Mean IQ scores for Blacks (89.0) and Whites (98.1) differed by 9.1 standard score points. Students receiving a free or reduced price lunch (used as a proxy measure for low socioeconomic status) were compared with students not receiving this service. Mean IQ scores for all students on free or reduced lunch status (93.5) and all students not receiving this service (100.6) differed by 7.1 standard score points. Mean IQs of White students receiving a free or reduced price lunch (95.1) and White students not receiving this service (100.6) differed by 5.5 standard score points. Matching Black and White students on free and reduced lunch status reduced the Black-White difference by approximately one-third, or a difference of 6.0 standard score points (89.1 and 95.1, respectively). The results of this study do not support Naglieri’s claim.
Tradeoffs between income, biodiversity, and ecosystem functioning during tropical rainforest conversion and agroforestry intensification

Losses of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning due to rainforest destruction and agricultural intensification are prime concerns for science and society alike. Potentially, ecosystems show nonlinear responses to land-use intensification that would open management options with limited ecological losses but satisfying economic gains. However, multidisciplinary studies to quantify ecological losses and socioeconomic tradeoffs under different management options are rare. Here, we evaluate opposing land use strategies in cacao agroforestry in Sulawesi, Indonesia, by using data on species richness of nine plant and animal taxa, six related ecosystem functions, and on socioeconomic drivers of agroforestry expansion. Expansion of cacao cultivation by 230% in the last two decades was triggered not only by economic market mechanisms, but also by rarely considered cultural factors. Transformation from near-primary forest to agroforestry had little effect on overall species richness, but reduced plant biomass and carbon storage by ≈75% and species richness of forest-using species by ≈60%. In contrast, increased land use intensity in cacao agroforestry, coupled with a reduction in shade tree cover from 80% to 40%, caused only minor quantitative changes in biodiversity and maintained high levels of ecosystem functioning while doubling farmers' net income. However, unshaded systems further increased income by ≈40%, implying that current economic incentives and cultural preferences for new intensification practices put shaded systems at risk. We conclude that low-shade agroforestry provides the best available compromise between economic forces and ecological needs. Certification schemes for shade-grown crops may provide a market-based mechanism to slow down current intensification trends.
Association of SLC2A9 genotype with phenotypic variability of serum urate in pre-menopausal women

The SLC2A9 gene, that encodes a renal uric acid reuptake transporter, has genetic variants that explain ∼3% of variance in urate levels. There are previous reports of non-additive interaction between SLC2A9 genotype and environmental factors which influence urate control. Therefore, our aim was to further investigate the general phenomenon that such non-additive interactions contribute to genotype-specific association with variance at SLC2A9. Data from 14135 European individuals were used in this analysis. The measure of variance was derived from a ranked inverse normal transformation of residuals obtained by regressing known urate-influencing factors (sex, age, and body mass index) against urate. Variant rs6449173 showed the most significant effect on serum urate variance at SLC2A9 (P = 7.9 × 10-14), which was maintained after accounting for the effect on average serum urate levels (P = 0.022). Noting the stronger effect in a sub-cohort that consisted of pre-menopausal women and younger men, the participants were stratified into males and pre-menopausal and post-menopausal women. This revealed a strong effect on variance in pre-menopausal women (P = 3.7 × 10-5) with a weak effect in post-menopausal women (P = 0.032) and no effect in men (P = 0.22). The T-allele of rs6449173, which associates with increased urate levels, was associated with the greater variance in urate. There was a non-additive interaction between rs6449173 genotype and female gender in control of serum urate levels that was driven by a greater increase in urate levels associated with the T-allele in women. Female hormones, and/or other factors they influence or are associated with (such as iron levels, temperature, testosterone) interact with SLC2A9 genotype in women to determine urate levels. The association of SLC2A9 with greater variance in pre-menopausal women may reflect the cyclical changes resulting from menstruation.
Optimum near-far resistance for dual-rate DS/CDMA signals: Random signature sequence analysis

Optimum near-far resistance is studied for synchronous dual-rate DS/CDMA systems. Three multirate access schemes are considered: multicode (MC) access where high-rate users multiplex their data bits onto multiple codes and form a single-rate system; variable spreading length (VSL) access where the spreading lengths of signature sequences are inversely proportional to users' data rates; and variable chipping rate (VCR) access where the chipping rates of the signature sequences are proportional to users' data rates. In order to remove the influence of signature sequences in the comparison of the three schemes, random signature sequences are assumed. Optimum mar-far resistance is then averaged over all possible realizations. Two types of code sets are considered for the VSL system: general random codes and random repetition codes. Bounds and approximations are provided for the average optimum near-far resistance. Analytical results show that the performance depends on the access schemes and the data rate of the users. The results for the VSL scheme with general random codes are extended for performance evaluation of systems with signature sequences which span many symbol intervals.
Leptin serum concentrations in healthy neonates within the first week of life: relation to insulin and growth hormone levels, skinfold thickness, body mass index and weight

Leptin, the ob gene product, plays a key role in the regulation of body fat mass and weight in adult life. The mechanisms by which maternal and fetal/neonatal weight are regulated during human pregnancy and in early postnatal life are poorly understood. High leptin levels are observed in women during gestation and in cord blood at term. We have hypothesized that high leptin levels at term could represent an important feed‐back indicator of nutrient supply. Subsequently, leptin could signal adipose tissue status during late gestation and during early neonatal life.
Re-place-ing space: the roles of place and space in collaborative systems

Many collaborative and communicative environments use notions of “space” and spatial organisation to facilitate and structure interaction. We argue that a focus on spatial models is misplaced. Drawing on understandings from architecture and urban design, as well as from our own research findings, we highlight the critical distinction between “space” and “place”. While designers use spatial models to support interaction, we show how it is actually a notion of “place” which frames interactive behaviour. This leads us to re-evaluate spatial systems, and discuss how “place”, rather than “space”, can support CSCW design.
The Frequency and Placement of Topic Sentences in Expository Prose

Most textbooks on English composition have presented some concerted treatment of topic sentences, long hailed as means of organizing a writer's ideas and clarifying them for the reader. In the most popular composition textbook of the nineteenth century, for example, Alexander Bain recognized that topic sentences may come at the end of a descriptive or introductory paragraph, but he emphasized that expository paragraphs have topic sentences and that they usually come at the beginnings of paragraphs: