Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Single-Dose Oral Dexamethasone in the Emergency Management of Children With Exacerbations of Mild to Moderate Asthma

Objective: To compare the efficacy of a single dose of oral dexamethasone (Dex) versus 5 days of twice-daily prednisolone (Pred) in the management of mild to moderate asthma exacerbations in children. Study Design: A prospective, randomized, double-blinded trial of children 2 to 16 years of age who presented to the emergency department (ED) with acute mild to moderate asthma exacerbations. Subjects received single-dose oral Dex (0.6 mg/kg to a maximum of 18 mg) or oral Pred (1 mg/kg per dose to a maximum of 30 mg) twice daily for 5 days. After discharge, subjects were contacted by telephone at 48 h to assess symptoms and reevaluated in the ED in 5 days. The primary outcome was the number of days needed for Patient Self Assessment Score to return to baseline (score of 0-0.5). Main Results: Baseline characteristics of the 2 groups were similar. The mean number of days needed for Patient Self Assessment Score to return to baseline (0-0.5) in the Dex and Pred groups were 5.21 versus 5.22 days, respectively (mean difference, −0.01; confidence interval, −0.70, 0.68). Pulmonary index scores were similar in both groups at initial presentation, initial ED discharge and at the day 5 follow-up visit. At the first visit, mean time to discharge was 3.5 h (±1.93)for Dex and 4.3 h (±3.67) for Pred (mean difference, −0.8; confidence interval, −1.8, 0.2). Initial admission rate was 9% (Dex) versus 13.4% (Pred). There was no significant difference in the number of salbutamol therapies needed in the ED nor at home after discharge. For subjects discharged home, the admission rate after initial discharge was 4.9% (Dex) versus 1.8% (Pred), resulting in overall hospital admission rates of 13.4% (Dex) and 14.9% (Pred). Conclusion: A single dose of oral Dex (0.6 mg/kg) is no worse than 5 days of twice-daily prednisolone (1 mg/kg per dose) in the management of children with mild to moderate asthma.
Hospitality Undergraduate Students' Career Choices and Factors Influencing Commitment to the Profession

Abstract Given the high turnover rates in the hospitality industry, there is a need to better understand our potential employees - hospitality undergraduate students and their career expectations. This study collected data from 360 hospitality undergraduate students and identified factors that impact their career choices and commitment to the profession. Regression analysis revealed four variables (gender, current employment status, career decision self-efficacy, and career outcome expectation) as strong indicators in predicting hospitality graduates' retention in the industry. Results also indicated that hospitality students who believed they have compatible competence skills and relevant work experiences were more committed to their career choices.
Use of a prolactin-Cre/ROSA-YFP transgenic mouse provides no evidence for lactotroph transdifferentiation after weaning, or increase in lactotroph/somatotroph proportion in lactation

In rats, a shift from somatotroph dominance to lactotroph dominance during pregnancy and lactation is well reported. Somatotroph to lactotroph transdifferentiation and increased lactotroph mitotic activity are believed to account for this and associated pituitary hypertrophy. A combination of cell death and transdifferentiation away from the lactotroph phenotype has been reported to restore non-pregnant pituitary proportions after weaning. To attempt to confirm that a similar process occurs in mice, we generated and used a transgenic reporter mouse model (prolactin (PRL)-Cre/ROSA26-expression of yellow fluorescent protein (EYFP)) in which PRL promoter activity at any time resulted in permanent, stable, and highly specific EYFP. Triple immunochemistry for GH, PRL, and EYFP was used to quantify EYFP+ve, PRL−ve, and GH+ve cell populations during pregnancy and lactation, and for up to 3 weeks after weaning, and concurrent changes in cell size were estimated. At all stages, the EYFP reporter was expressed in 80% of the lactotrophs, but in fewer than 1% of other pituitary cell types, indicating that transdifferentiation from those lactotrophs where reporter expression was activated is extremely rare. Contrary to expectations, no increase in the lactotroph/somatotroph ratio was seen during pregnancy and lactation, whether assessed by immunochemistry for the reporter or PRL: findings confirmed by PRL immunochemistry in non-transgenic mice. Mammosomatotrophs were rarely encountered at the age group studied. Individual EYFP+ve cell volumes increased significantly by mid-lactation compared with virgin animals. This, in combination with a modest and non-cell type-specific estrogen-induced increase in mitotic activity, could account for pregnancy-induced changes in overall pituitary size.
Confession, catharsis, or cure? Rethinking the uses of reflexivity as methodological power in qualitative research

Reflexivity is commonly used in qualitative research and has been posited and accepted as a method qualitative researchers can and should use to legitimize, validate, and question research practices and representations. This paper closely examines the role of reflexivity as a methodological tool as it intersects with debates and questions surrounding representation and legitimization in qualitative research, within modernist and postmodernist ideologies, and pays close attention to how reflexivity is being defined and used in present-day research. Specifically, the author identifies and discusses the problematics of four common trends in present-day uses of reflexivity: reflexivity as recognition of self, reflexivity as recognition of other, reflexivity as truth, and reflexivity as transcendence. The author argues for a move away from comfortable uses of reflexivity to what she terms uncomfortable reflexive practices and provides an overview of the work of three authors who practice reflexivities of discomfort. Practicing uncomfortable reflexivity interrupts uses of reflexivity as a methodological tool to get better data while forefronting the complexities of doing engaged qualitative research.
Straightening out the queer? Same‐sex experience and attraction among young people in Norway

The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of same‐sex experience, from deep kissing, through petting to genital contact, same‐sex romantic attraction and reported same‐sex arousal in a representative sample of young men and women aged 17–18 in Norway. While same‐sex experiences were reported as being more prevalent among young women (27.4%) than among young men (6.5%), the gender difference in the case of same‐sex genital experiences was smaller (F = 4.6%, M = 2.7%) than in the case of deep kissing (F = 25.7%, M = 3.9%). While same‐sex romantic attraction was more prevalent among young men with same‐sex experiences than young women, such attraction was confined to a minority of all young men. Results suggest that same‐sex experiences among Norwegian youth are not unequivocally tied to same‐sex attraction and possible homosexual self‐identity. We argue that among young men, same‐sex behaviour is more often associated with same‐sex orientation whereas young women's same‐sex relations seem to be more exploratory.
Infection with concurrent multiple hepatitis C virus genotypes is associated with faster HIV disease progression

Objective: To elucidate the importance of hepatitis C Virus (HCV) genotype in HIV disease progression. Design: This study was conducted among 126 HIV/HCV co-infected drug users with a known interval of HIV seroconversion whose HCV genotype was known early in HIV infection. Both clinical progression (to AIDS) and immunological progression (to a CD4+ T-cell count of 200 × 106cells/l) by HCV genotype were studied using Cox proportional hazards analysis. Results: The median duration of follow-up was 7.3 years [interquartile range (IQR), 4.6–10.1 years]. The majority of the HCV infections concerned genotype 1 and genotype 3; The distribution was: HCV type 1: 48%, HCV type 3: 34%, HCV type 4: 13%, multiple HCV types: 5%. Concurrent multiple infections consisted of HCV genotypes 1b+3a, 1b+4 and 3a+4. HCV genotype 1 and multiple HCV genotype infections were associated with faster immunological progression [hazard ratio (HR), 2.02; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.04–3.92 and HR, 2.74; 95% CI, 0.95–7.90, respectively]. Multiple HCV genotype infection was also associated with faster clinical progression (HR, 3.36; 95% CI, 0.82–13.79). These hazard ratios increased further and were all significant when analyses were limited to data in the pre-HAART era (HR, 3.92; 95% CI, 1.51–10.20; HR, 4.38; 95% CI, 1.04-18.40 and HR, 6.54; 95% CI, 1.39-30.76, respectively). Conclusion: HIV disease progression differs by HCV genotype and is especially faster in individuals whose HCV infection involves more than one HCV genotype. The effect of HCV genotype on HIV progression was greater in the pre-highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) era, suggesting that the effectiveness of HAART may diminish the effect of HCV genotype on HIV disease progression.
Teacher Activity Orienting Predicts Preschoolers' Academic and Self-Regulatory Skills

Research Findings: This observational study of preschoolers (N = 140) in their classrooms (N = 41) examined variation in teacher orienting (defined as explanations and demonstrations about the procedures and rationale behind activities, including center projects, to the whole group or to individual children) and associations between orienting and children's academic and self-regulation skills. Orienting to individual children rarely occurred, but significant variation between classrooms in whole-group orienting was present. Children who experienced higher amounts of whole-group orienting had higher scores on general knowledge, mathematics, emergent literacy, and self-regulation in the spring when we controlled for child- and classroom-level background variables, including children's fall pretest scores, teacher education, and experience. For expressive vocabulary, greater exposure to orienting predicted higher spring vocabulary for younger but not older preschoolers. Practice or Policy: The results indicate the importance of reducing classroom disparities in children's preschool experience and suggest that more attention should be paid to teachers' efforts to explain upcoming activities in whole-group settings. Finally, the interaction between orienting and child age for vocabulary suggests the need to consider both child characteristics and aspects of the context to identify the optimal preschool experiences for individual children.
Fungal Endophytes in Australian Myco-heterotrophic Orchids

[Abstract]: The fungal endophytes of Australian myco-heterotrophic orchids are largely unknown. In this investigation we identified the fungal endophytes of three species of Australian myco-heterotrophic orchid: the terrestrial species Dipodium variegatum and Dipodium hamiltonianum and the vine-like Erythrorchis cassythoides. Similar to studies of myco-heterotrophic orchids in Nth America and Europe the fungal endophytes of Dipodium spp. are members of the Russulaceae. E. cassythoides contained both ectomycorrhizal and saprotrophic fungi suggesting that it can derive its carbon via fungi from both dead and living plant material.
Effects of Eicosapentaenoic Acid and Docosahexaenoic Acid on Prostate Cancer Cell Migration and Invasion Induced by Tumor-Associated Macrophages

Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are the major n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in fish oil that decrease the risk of prostate cancer. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are the main leukocytes of intratumoral infiltration, and increased TAMs correlates with poor prostate cancer prognosis. However, the mechanism of n-3 PUFAs on prostate cancer cell progression induced by TAMs is not well understood. In this study, we investigated the effects of EPA and DHA on modulating of migration and invasion of prostate cancer cells induced by TAMs-like M2-type macrophages. PC-3 prostate cancer cells were pretreated with EPA, DHA, or the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-γ antagonist, GW9662, before exposure to conditioned medium (CM). CM was derived from M2-polarized THP-1 macrophages. The migratory and invasive abilities of PC-3 cells were evaluated using a coculture system of M2-type macrophages and PC-3 cells. EPA/DHA administration decreased migration and invasion of PC-3 cells. The PPAR-γ DNA-binding activity and cytosolic inhibitory factor κBα (IκBα) protein expression increased while the nuclear factor (NF)-κB p65 transcriptional activity and nuclear NF-κB p65 protein level decreased in PC-3 cells incubated with CM in the presence of EPA/DHA. Further, EPA/DHA downregulated mRNA expressions of matrix metalloproteinase-9, cyclooxygenase-2, vascular endothelial growth factor, and macrophage colony-stimulating factor. Pretreatment with GW9662 abolished the favorable effects of EPA/DHA on PC-3 cells. These results indicate that EPA/DHA administration reduced migration, invasion and macrophage chemotaxis of PC-3 cells induced by TAM-like M2-type macrophages, which may partly be explained by activation of PPAR-γ and decreased NF-κB p65 transcriptional activity.
Differences in Irish Urban and Rural Suicide Rates, 1976–1994

The recent rise in the Irish suicide rate is a male phenomenon. The present paper calculates urban and rural suicide rates for Ireland and looks at some possible explanatory variables for the differences observed. Irish suicide and undetermined death rates, age-adjusted to the European Standard Population, are calculated for the years 1976 to 1994 to determine if there are any discernible trends between urban and rural areas. Possible associated factors are then examined, including the distribution of psychiatric illness using the National Psychiatric In-Patient Reporting Scheme. Between 1980 and 1990, the Irish rural male suicide rate rose by 50% while there was no increase in the male urban rate. The most radical increases have occurred in the young and elderly rural males. A. t the start of the study period, the urban female suicide rate was higher than the rural rate but the two rates have been almost identical since 1985. Some factors associated with suicide were examined but failed to provide sufficient explanation for the difference in rates. Further research is needed to clarify the reasons for these differences and to monitor ongoing trends.
Genetic and genomic approaches for the discovery of parasite genes involved in antimalarial drug resistance

SUMMARY The biggest threat to the war on malaria is the continued evolution of drug resistance by the parasite. Resistance to almost all currently available antimalarials now exists in Plasmodium falciparum which causes the most suffering among all human malaria parasites. Monitoring of antimalarial efficacy and the development and subsequent spread of resistance has become an important part in the treatment and control of malaria. With recent reports of reduced efficacy of artemisinin, the current recommended treatment for uncomplicated malaria, there is urgent need for better methods to recognize and monitor drug resistance for effective treatment. Molecular markers have become a welcome addition to complement the more laborious and costly in vitro and in vivo methods that have traditionally been used to monitor drug resistance. However, there are currently no molecular markers for resistance to some antimalarials. This review highlights the role of the various genetic and genomic approaches that have been used in identifying the molecular markers that underlie drug resistance in P. falciparum. These approaches include; candidate genes, genetic linkage and genome-wide association studies. We discuss the requirements and limitations of each approach and use various examples to illustrate their contributions in identifying genomic regions of the parasite associated with antimalarial drug responses.
Influence of Acute Endurance Activity on Isokinetic Strength

The purpose of the investigation was to determine whether low-intensity continuous (LSD) or high-intensity interval (INT) endurance activity prior to isokinetic strength assessment reduced torques generated 0.52 rad (30°) prior to horizontal (T30). T30 was measured at 10 contractile speeds (0.52–5.20 rad·s−1) prior to and following the LSD and INT exercise bouts. Six males (23.2±3.3yrs, 74.9±6.8 kg, 177.6±5.4 cm) with a mean peak cycle ergometer oxygen consumption (PCE VO2) of 3.85 (±0.33) L· min−1 completed 150 min cycling at 35% PCE VO2 in the LSD challenge. The 5 females and 3 males (20.8 ±4.6 yrs, 63.2±12.0 kg, 168.8±8.5 cm, 2.51 ±0.78 L·min−1) of the INT condition completed five 5-min repetitions in which the work rate was progressively increased from 40 to 100% PCE VO2. Both the LSD and INT regimens reduced T30 at all contractile speeds. The reduction in T30 was similarly small for the LSD and INT conditions when expressed as percentage of preintervention values and effect sizes. Small, acute reductions in strength as a result of temporally proximal endurance activity may partially explain the inhibition in strength development that has followed some concurrent strength and endurance training investigations.
Detection of virulence genes in Salmonella Enteritidis isolated from different sources

The presence of three virulence genes, invA, spvR, and spvC, was determined in Salmonella Enteritidis isolated from poultry, pigs, humans and food. All isolates were positive for the invA gene, with 91.2% being positive for spvR and 90.2% for spvC. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of the virulence genes between isolates from different sources. The results indicate that there is a putative high virulence potential for the S. Enteritidis isolates characterized.
Cognitive effects of bilingualism: digging deeper for the contributions of language dominance, linguistic knowledge, socio-economic status and cognitive abilities

Abstract This study explores the extent to which a bilingual advantage can be observed for executive function tasks in children of varying levels of language dominance, and examines the contributions of general cognitive knowledge, linguistic abilities, language use and socio-economic level to performance. Welsh–English bilingual and English monolingual primary school age and teenage children were tested on two executive function tasks, a tapping task and a Stroop task. Bilingual children came from homes in which only Welsh, Welsh and English, or only English was spoken. Results differed by task. On the tapping task, bilingual children from only Welsh homes showed overall superior performance, monolinguals inferior, with the other two bilingual groups between them. Performance correlated with general cognitive abilities with number and pattern discrimination, as well as, at the older age, with balanced use of the two languages. On the Stroop task, language tested mattered; there were no differences across groups in Welsh, but complex patterns in English. The only strictly bilingual advantage on the Stroop was at the younger age for children from Welsh and English homes when tested in English, and performance was also influenced by SES level, cognitive abilities, vocabulary levels and use of the two languages.
Lack of meal intake compensation following nutritional supplements in hospitalised elderly women

Undernutrition contributes to poor clinical outcomes in hospitalised elderly patients but the potential impact of oral nutritional supplements may be reduced by suppressing subsequent food intake. We investigated this possibility in elderly female patients recovering mainly from hip fracture by studying the effect of oral supplements on subsequent food intake during an ad libitum buffet luncheon meal. We tested the effect in seven women by giving the supplement 90 min before the meal and compared energy and macronutrient intake with a control water pre-load condition. A similar study was carried out in another seven women with the supplement or water drink given 30 min beforehand. Both self-rated appetite and energy intake were low in these women. The nutritional supplement did not alter ratings of hunger, fullness or prospective consumption or subsequent energy and macronutrient consumption whether given 90 or 30 min before the meal. There were significant independent correlations between the lack of adequate compensation of energy intake at meals and chronic undernutrition (as assessed by skinfold thickness) and energy intake during the control meal. We conclude that elderly women during the recovery phase after major fractures have low appetites and energy intakes and markedly impaired adjustment of energy intake following liquid oral nutritional supplements. The reasons for this are unknown but are related to anorexia and undernutrition. The consumption of liquid oral supplements given up to 30 min before a meal does not suppress subsequent energy intake from meals.
A Comparison of Predictive Algorithms for Failure Prevention in Smart Environment Applications

The functional correctness and the performance of smart environment applications can be hampered by faults. Fault tolerance solutions aim to achieve graceful performance degradation in the presence of faults, ideally without leading to application failures. This is a reactive approach and, by itself, gives little flexibility and time for preventing potential failures. We argue that the key step in achieving high dependability is to predict faults before they occur. We propose a proactive fault prevention framework, which predicts potential low-level hardware, software and network faults and tries to prevent them via dynamic adaptation. Many statistical fault prediction algorithms have been proposed in the literature. In this paper, we evaluate and compare the performances of two fault prediction models, namely, multiple linear regression, and artificial neural networks by using them to predict the remaining useful life of a battery-powered wireless sensor network node. The results show that the proposed framework will provide better control over performance degradation of smart environment applications, and will increase reliability and availability, and reduce manual user interventions.
Temperament, Stress and Family Factors in Behavioural Adjustment of 3-5-Year-Old Children

In a longitudinal study, various aspects of the pre-schooler and his/her environment were assessed to delineate those factors most predictive of behavioural adjustment at 3-4 years of age, and again 12 months later. Factor analysis and a series of backwards stepwise multiple regression analyses facilitated the selection of variables to be included in a causal model that assessed predictors of behavioural adjustment in 3-4 and 4-5-year olds. A "stress resilience" model of temperamental influence on behavioural functioning was used in the construction of the causal model. Path analysis suggested that temperamental characteristics were most strongly causally related to children's overall behavioural adjustment, and could protect children from the effects of maladjustment in the parental subsystem. According to the path model, the direct effect of parental maladjustment on pre-schoolers' behavioural adjustment was outweighed by its indirect effects, particularly at follow-up. The potential contaminating influence of parental maladjustment on their perceptions of children's temperament and behaviour, as well as the content and construct overlap between temperament and behavioural measures, was considered.